Best History Movies of the 1950s

1. 1
   Night and Fog 1956

   Directed by Alain Resnais · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
   8.0

   8.3 · 594 votes
2. 2
   Ben-Hur 1959

   Directed by William Wyler · Streaming on Plex Channel, Tubi TV
   7.8

   7.9 · 3.3K votes
3. 3
   Throne of Blood 1957

   Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
   7.8

   7.9 · 1K votes
4. 4
   The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957

   Directed by David Lean · Streaming on YouTube Free, Sony Pictures Core
   7.8

   7.8 · 2.5K votes
5. 5
   The Human Condition I: No Greater Love 1959

   Directed by Masaki Kobayashi · Streaming on Criterion Channel
   7.7

   8.2 · 306 votes
6. 6
   The Ten Commandments 1956

   Directed by Cecil B. DeMille · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+
   7.7

   7.8 · 1.9K votes
7. 7
   The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity 1959

   Directed by Masaki Kobayashi · Streaming on Criterion Channel
   7.7

   8.2 · 242 votes
8. 8
   Pather Panchali 1955

   Directed by Satyajit Ray · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Criterion Channel
   7.6

   7.8 · 517 votes
9. 9
   Hiroshima Mon Amour 1959

   Directed by Alain Resnais · Streaming on Darkroom
   7.5

   7.7 · 965 votes
10. 10
    A Night to Remember 1958

    Directed by Roy Ward Baker · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Pluto TV, Shout! Factory TV
    7.3

    7.7 · 307 votes
11. 11
    The Bridge 1959

    Directed by Bernhard Wicki · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    7.1

    7.6 · 206 votes
12. 12
    The Diary of Anne Frank 1959

    Directed by George Stevens · Streaming on Hoopla
    7.0

    7.2 · 383 votes
13. 13
    Quo Vadis 1951

    Directed by Mervyn LeRoy · Streaming on HBO Max, Plex Channel, Tubi TV
    7.0

    7.1 · 477 votes
14. 14
    Ivan the Terrible, Part II: The Boyars' Plot 1958

    Directed by Sergei Eisenstein · Streaming on Kanopy, HBO Max
    6.9

    7.3 · 185 votes
15. 15
    Don Camillo's Last Round 1955

    Directed by Carmine Gallone
    6.9

    7.3 · 191 votes
16. 16
    The King and I 1956

    Directed by Walter Lang · Streaming on BroadwayHD, Broadway HD
    6.9

    7.1 · 421 votes
17. 17
    Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress 1957

    Directed by Ernst Marischka · Streaming on JustWatch TV Free, JustWatch TV Plus, The Roku Channel
    6.9

    7.1 · 363 votes
18. 18
    Lust for Life 1956

    Directed by Vincente Minnelli · Streaming on TCM
    6.9

    7.2 · 211 votes
19. 19
    The Vikings 1958

    Directed by Richard Fleischer · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube Free, Tubi TV
    6.8

    7.0 · 392 votes
20. 20
    Julius Caesar 1953

    Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz · Streaming on YouTube TV, Plex, Plex Channel
    6.8

    7.1 · 248 votes
21. 21
    Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island 1956

    Directed by Hiroshi Inagaki · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, IndieFlix
    6.8

    7.2 · 144 votes
22. 22
    Compulsion 1959

    Directed by Richard Fleischer · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi TV, Amazon MX Player
    6.7

    7.1 · 175 votes
23. 23
    The Martyr of Calvary 1952

    Directed by Miguel Morayta
    6.7

    8.1 · 38 votes
24. 24
    Richard III 1955

    Directed by Laurence Olivier · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy
    6.7

    7.2 · 99 votes
25. 25
    The Robe 1953

    Directed by Henry Koster · Streaming on FlixFling
    6.6

    6.8 · 298 votes
26. 26
    Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. 1951

    Directed by Raoul Walsh · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.6

    7.0 · 150 votes
27. 27
    The Dam Busters 1955

    Directed by Michael Anderson · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Kanopy, Hoopla
    6.6

    6.9 · 168 votes
28. 28
    Gate of Hell 1953

    Directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    6.6

    7.1 · 102 votes
29. 29
    The Flowers of St. Francis 1950

    Directed by Roberto Rossellini · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
    6.6

    7.1 · 101 votes
30. 30
    Ivanhoe 1952

    Directed by Richard Thorpe · Streaming on Plex Channel, Tubi TV
    6.6

    6.8 · 211 votes
31. 31
    Viva Zapata! 1952

    Directed by Elia Kazan
    6.6

    6.8 · 253 votes
32. 32
    Salt of the Earth 1954

    Directed by Herbert J. Biberman · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+
    6.6

    7.0 · 105 votes
33. 33
    The Man Who Never Was 1956

    Directed by Ronald Neame
    6.6

    7.0 · 96 votes
34. 34
    Forever a Woman 1955

    Directed by Kinuyo Tanaka · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    6.5

    7.5 · 37 votes
35. 35
    The Cruel Sea 1953

    Directed by Charles Frend · Streaming on Kanopy, BFI Player
    6.5

    6.9 · 85 votes
36. 36
    War and Peace 1956

    Directed by King Vidor · Streaming on Paramount Plus Essential, Kanopy, Hoopla
    6.5

    6.6 · 282 votes
37. 37
    The Spirit of St. Louis 1957

    Directed by Billy Wilder · Streaming on YouTube TV
    6.5

    6.7 · 155 votes
38. 38
    The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel 1951

    Directed by Henry Hathaway
    6.5

    6.7 · 121 votes
39. 39
    Hiroshima 1953

    Directed by Hideo Sekigawa · Streaming on ARROW
    6.4

    7.4 · 32 votes
40. 40
    The Hunchback of Paris 1959

    Directed by André Hunebelle
    6.4

    6.7 · 107 votes
41. 41
    The Men Who Tread on the Tiger's Tail 1952

    Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on Philo, Criterion Channel, Fandor
    6.4

    6.7 · 104 votes
42. 42
    The Lovers of Montparnasse 1958

    Directed by Jacques Becker
    6.4

    6.9 · 54 votes
43. 43
    The Story of Vickie 1954

    Directed by Ernst Marischka · Streaming on The Roku Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
    6.4

    6.9 · 52 votes
44. 44
    Pork Chop Hill 1959

    Directed by Lewis Milestone · Streaming on YouTube Free, ScreenPix, ScreenPix Amazon Channel
    6.4

    6.7 · 79 votes
45. 45
    The Witches of Salem 1957

    Directed by Raymond Rouleau
    6.4

    6.9 · 49 votes
46. 46
    Princess Yang Kwei-fei 1955

    Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi · Streaming on Criterion Channel, Plex, Plex Channel
    6.3

    6.7 · 70 votes
47. 47
    Demetrius and the Gladiators 1954

    Directed by Delmer Daves · Streaming on Mometu
    6.3

    6.6 · 96 votes
48. 48
    Moonfleet 1955

    Directed by Fritz Lang
    6.3

    6.5 · 134 votes
49. 49
    Houdini 1953

    Directed by George Marshall · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    6.3

    6.6 · 82 votes
50. 50
    The Tall Target 1951

    Directed by Anthony Mann
    6.3

    6.8 · 48 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes.

1. 1
   The Conquest of Everest 1953

   Directed by George Lowe · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, GuideDoc, Pluto TV
   6.3

   7.2 · 25 votes
2. 2
   Land of Men 1959

   Directed by Ismael Rodríguez
   6.3

   7.2 · 20 votes
3. 3
   This Was Pancho Villa: First chapter 1957

   Directed by Ismael Rodríguez
   6.2

   7.2 · 18 votes
4. 4
   Martin Luther 1953

   Directed by Irving Pichel · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Hoopla, Fandor
   6.2

   7.3 · 14 votes
5. 5
   Albert R.N. 1953

   Directed by Lewis Gilbert · Streaming on Cohen Media, Tubi TV
   6.2

   7.3 · 12 votes
6. 6
   Der Schinderhannes 1958

   Directed by Helmut Käutner
   6.2

   7.3 · 12 votes
7. 7
   Memories of a Mexican 1950

   Directed by Salvador Toscano
   6.2

   7.1 · 16 votes
8. 8
   A Tale of Two Cities 1958

   Directed by Ralph Thomas
   6.2

   6.8 · 22 votes
9. 9
   Ludwig II 1955

   Directed by Helmut Käutner
   6.2

   7.1 · 11 votes
10. 10
    Royal Affairs in Versailles 1953

    Directed by Sacha Guitry
    6.2

    6.7 · 32 votes