Best Mystery Movies of the 1950s

1. 1
   Rear Window 1954

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on YouTube TV, TCM
   8.3

   8.3 · 7.4K votes
2. 2
   Witness for the Prosecution 1957

   Directed by Billy Wilder · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
   8.1

   8.2 · 1.8K votes
3. 3
   Vertigo 1958

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on YouTube TV
   8.1

   8.1 · 6.6K votes
4. 4
   Rashomon 1950

   Directed by Akira Kurosawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, YouTube Free
   8.0

   8.0 · 2.6K votes
5. 5
   Ugetsu 1953

   Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Plex
   7.8

   8.0 · 676 votes
6. 6
   Diabolique 1955

   Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot · Streaming on HBO Max, The Roku Channel, TCM
   7.8

   7.9 · 1.1K votes
7. 7
   Anatomy of a Murder 1959

   Directed by Otto Preminger · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, The Roku Channel, Fawesome
   7.7

   7.8 · 1.2K votes
8. 8
   In a Lonely Place 1950

   Directed by Nicholas Ray · Streaming on YouTube Free, Fawesome, Tubi TV
   7.5

   7.6 · 692 votes
9. 9
   The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Mometu, Artiflix
   7.4

   7.4 · 1.6K votes
10. 10
    To Catch a Thief 1955

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, MGM Plus
    7.2

    7.3 · 1.7K votes
11. 11
    Bad Day at Black Rock 1955

    Directed by John Sturges
    7.1

    7.3 · 442 votes
12. 12
    Suddenly, Last Summer 1959

    Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz · Streaming on YouTube TV, Fawesome
    7.0

    7.3 · 330 votes
13. 13
    Kiss Me Deadly 1955

    Directed by Robert Aldrich · Streaming on JustWatch TV Free, Mometu
    7.0

    7.2 · 429 votes
14. 14
    The Trouble with Harry 1955

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on TCM
    6.9

    7.0 · 940 votes
15. 15
    Night of the Demon 1957

    Directed by Jacques Tourneur · Streaming on Philo, Fandor, Night Flight Plus
    6.8

    7.0 · 326 votes
16. 16
    An Inspector Calls 1954

    Directed by Guy Hamilton · Streaming on Kanopy, BFI Player
    6.7

    7.2 · 113 votes
17. 17
    Marie-Octobre 1959

    Directed by Julien Duvivier
    6.7

    7.3 · 87 votes
18. 18
    The Hound of the Baskervilles 1959

    Directed by Terence Fisher · Streaming on JustWatch TV Free, JustWatch TV Plus, The Roku Channel
    6.7

    6.8 · 397 votes
19. 19
    House on Haunted Hill 1959

    Directed by William Castle · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, JustWatch TV Free, fuboTV
    6.7

    6.7 · 649 votes
20. 20
    Maigret Sets a Trap 1958

    Directed by Jean Delannoy · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, Kino Film Collection
    6.6

    7.0 · 127 votes
21. 21
    Mr. Arkadin 1955

    Directed by Orson Welles · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, JustWatch TV Free, JustWatch TV Plus
    6.6

    6.8 · 203 votes
22. 22
    The Facts of Murder 1959

    Directed by Pietro Germi · Streaming on Philo, Hoopla, Night Flight Plus
    6.6

    7.2 · 68 votes
23. 23
    Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case 1959

    Directed by Jean Delannoy · Streaming on Kanopy, Kino Film Collection
    6.5

    7.0 · 97 votes
24. 24
    Woman on the Run 1950

    Directed by Norman Foster · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+
    6.5

    6.8 · 120 votes
25. 25
    Autumn Leaves 1956

    Directed by Robert Aldrich · Streaming on YouTube Free, Tubi TV, Artiflix
    6.4

    7.0 · 62 votes
26. 26
    Sapphire 1959

    Directed by Basil Dearden · Streaming on Criterion Channel, YouTube Free, Plex
    6.4

    7.0 · 53 votes
27. 27
    Deduce, You Say 1956

    Directed by Chuck Jones
    6.4

    7.1 · 44 votes
28. 28
    Girl with Hyacinths 1950

    Directed by Hasse Ekman
    6.4

    7.3 · 31 votes
29. 29
    Chase a Crooked Shadow 1958

    Directed by Michael Anderson
    6.4

    7.1 · 39 votes
30. 30
    23 Paces to Baker Street 1956

    Directed by Henry Hathaway
    6.4

    6.7 · 87 votes
31. 31
    The Mad Magician 1954

    Directed by John Brahm · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Tubi TV
    6.4

    6.9 · 51 votes
32. 32
    So Long at the Fair 1950

    Directed by Antony Darnborough · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    6.3

    6.9 · 45 votes
33. 33
    Rosaura at 10 O'Clock 1958

    Directed by Mario Soffici
    6.3

    7.4 · 24 votes
34. 34
    Time Limit 1957

    Directed by Karl Malden · Streaming on ScreenPix, ScreenPix Amazon Channel
    6.3

    7.2 · 28 votes
35. 35
    The Tall Target 1951

    Directed by Anthony Mann
    6.3

    6.8 · 48 votes
36. 36
    My Cousin Rachel 1952

    Directed by Henry Koster
    6.3

    6.7 · 53 votes
37. 37
    The Blue Gardenia 1953

    Directed by Fritz Lang · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Kanopy
    6.3

    6.5 · 106 votes
38. 38
    The Scapegoat 1959

    Directed by Robert Hamer
    6.3

    6.8 · 41 votes
39. 39
    The Night My Number Came Up 1955

    Directed by Leslie Norman · Streaming on Kanopy
    6.3

    6.9 · 34 votes
40. 40
    Madeleine 1950

    Directed by David Lean · Streaming on Criterion Channel, YouTube Free, Plex
    6.3

    6.8 · 39 votes
41. 41
    Lake of the Dead 1958

    Directed by Kåre Bergstrøm · Streaming on Plex, Plex Channel, Eternal Family
    6.2

    6.6 · 48 votes
42. 42
    Stakeout 1958

    Directed by Yoshitarō Nomura · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    6.2

    7.1 · 20 votes
43. 43
    The Long Arm 1956

    Directed by Charles Frend
    6.2

    6.9 · 25 votes
44. 44
    Man on the Tracks 1957

    Directed by Andrzej Munk
    6.2

    6.9 · 24 votes
45. 45
    Edge of Eternity 1959

    Directed by Don Siegel · Streaming on Philo
    6.2

    6.7 · 33 votes
46. 46
    Libel 1959

    Directed by Anthony Asquith
    6.2

    6.8 · 27 votes
47. 47
    The Adventures of Arsène Lupin 1957

    Directed by Jacques Becker · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, Kino Film Collection
    6.2

    6.6 · 41 votes
48. 48
    Fellowship of the Frog 1959

    Directed by Harald Reinl
    6.2

    6.6 · 40 votes
49. 49
    The Spies 1957

    Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
    6.2

    6.6 · 40 votes
50. 50
    Time Without Pity 1957

    Directed by Joseph Losey · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
    6.2

    6.5 · 53 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
   Return to Youth 1954

   Directed by Juan Bustillo Oro
   6.2

   7.4 · 11 votes
2. 2
   Signed, Arsène Lupin 1959

   Directed by Yves Robert · Streaming on Kanopy, Hoopla, Kino Film Collection
   6.2

   7.1 · 14 votes
3. 3
   State Secret 1950

   Directed by Sidney Gilliat
   6.2

   6.9 · 18 votes
4. 4
   The Man with a Cloak 1951

   Directed by Fletcher Markle · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.2

   6.8 · 20 votes
5. 5
   Hollywood Story 1951

   Directed by William Castle
   6.2

   6.7 · 24 votes
6. 6
   Full House 1952

   Directed by Henri Verneuil
   6.1

   6.9 · 12 votes
7. 7
   The Late Edwina Black 1951

   Directed by Maurice Elvey
   6.1

   6.7 · 16 votes
8. 8
   Blonde in a White Car 1959

   Directed by Robert Hossein
   6.1

   6.8 · 12 votes
9. 9
   Ten Little Indians 1959

   Directed by Paul Bogart · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
   6.1

   6.8 · 12 votes
10. 10
    The Boy and the Fog 1953

    Directed by Roberto Gavaldón · Streaming on Darkroom, Fawesome, Tubi TV
    6.1

    6.7 · 15 votes