Best Thriller 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
   Vertigo 1958

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on YouTube TV
   8.1

   8.1 · 6.6K votes
3. 3
   Dial M for Murder 1954

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Kanopy, FlixHouse, TCM
   7.9

   8.0 · 3K votes
4. 4
   North by Northwest 1959

   Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Philo, YouTube TV, Plex Channel
   7.9

   8.0 · 4.7K votes
5. 5
   The Wages of Fear 1953

   Directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, Tubi TV
   7.9

   8.0 · 1.1K votes
6. 6
   The Night of the Hunter 1955

   Directed by Charles Laughton · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
   7.8

   7.9 · 1.9K votes
7. 7
   Diabolique 1955

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

   7.9 · 1.1K votes
8. 8
   A Man Escaped 1956

   Directed by Robert Bresson · Streaming on Criterion Channel
   7.7

   8.0 · 643 votes
9. 9
   Touch of Evil 1958

   Directed by Orson Welles · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Plex, Plex Channel
   7.7

   7.7 · 1.7K votes
10. 10
    Rififi 1955

    Directed by Jules Dassin
    7.6

    7.8 · 661 votes
11. 11
    Strangers on a Train 1951

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Kanopy, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.6

    7.7 · 2K votes
12. 12
    A Streetcar Named Desire 1951

    Directed by Elia Kazan · Streaming on HBO Max, YouTube TV, Mometu
    7.5

    7.6 · 1.5K votes
13. 13
    The Killing 1956

    Directed by Stanley Kubrick · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube TV, Fandango at Home Free
    7.5

    7.6 · 1.8K votes
14. 14
    Godzilla 1954

    Directed by Ishirō Honda · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Cinemax
    7.5

    7.6 · 1.2K votes
15. 15
    The Big Heat 1953

    Directed by Fritz Lang · Streaming on YouTube TV, Sony Pictures Core
    7.5

    7.7 · 585 votes
16. 16
    In a Lonely Place 1950

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

    7.6 · 692 votes
17. 17
    Elevator to the Gallows 1958

    Directed by Louis Malle · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.5

    7.6 · 739 votes
18. 18
    Invasion of the Body Snatchers 1956

    Directed by Don Siegel · Streaming on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, Paramount+
    7.4

    7.5 · 1.3K votes
19. 19
    The Man Who Knew Too Much 1956

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on Mometu, Artiflix
    7.4

    7.4 · 1.6K votes
20. 20
    The Day the Earth Stood Still 1951

    Directed by Robert Wise · Streaming on Hoopla, Cultpix
    7.4

    7.4 · 1.3K votes
21. 21
    To Catch a Thief 1955

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

    7.3 · 1.7K votes
22. 22
    Mr. Photographer 1953

    Directed by Miguel M. Delgado · Streaming on YouTube TV, VIX , Darkroom
    7.2

    8.3 · 82 votes
23. 23
    Él 1953

    Directed by Luis Buñuel
    7.2

    7.7 · 167 votes
24. 24
    Pickup on South Street 1953

    Directed by Samuel Fuller · Streaming on FlixFling, Plex, Plex Channel
    7.1

    7.4 · 338 votes
25. 25
    Bad Day at Black Rock 1955

    Directed by John Sturges
    7.1

    7.3 · 442 votes
26. 26
    3:10 to Yuma 1957

    Directed by Delmer Daves · Streaming on Sony Pictures Core
    7.1

    7.3 · 448 votes
27. 27
    Suddenly, Last Summer 1959

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

    7.3 · 330 votes
28. 28
    Kiss Me Deadly 1955

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

    7.2 · 429 votes
29. 29
    I Confess 1953

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
    7.0

    7.1 · 504 votes
30. 30
    Touchez Pas au Grisbi 1954

    Directed by Jacques Becker · Streaming on Kanopy
    6.9

    7.2 · 289 votes
31. 31
    The Defiant Ones 1958

    Directed by Stanley Kramer · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    6.9

    7.2 · 344 votes
32. 32
    It Happened in Broad Daylight 1958

    Directed by Ladislao Vajda
    6.9

    7.4 · 157 votes
33. 33
    Cairo Station 1958

    Directed by Youssef Chahine
    6.9

    7.4 · 155 votes
34. 34
    The Narrow Margin 1952

    Directed by Richard Fleischer · Streaming on YouTube TV
    6.9

    7.3 · 181 votes
35. 35
    The Bad Seed 1956

    Directed by Mervyn LeRoy · Streaming on fuboTV, Philo, Kanopy
    6.9

    7.1 · 278 votes
36. 36
    5 Fingers 1952

    Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    6.9

    7.5 · 108 votes
37. 37
    Where the Sidewalk Ends 1950

    Directed by Otto Preminger · Streaming on YouTube TV, FlixFling, Plex
    6.9

    7.2 · 214 votes
38. 38
    Sudden Fear 1952

    Directed by David Miller · Streaming on Kanopy, Fawesome, Cohen Media
    6.8

    7.2 · 147 votes
39. 39
    The Desperate Hours 1955

    Directed by William Wyler · Streaming on fuboTV, MGM+, Philo
    6.7

    7.1 · 193 votes
40. 40
    Compulsion 1959

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

    7.1 · 175 votes
41. 41
    Niagara 1953

    Directed by Henry Hathaway · Streaming on Hoopla, FlixFling, Plex
    6.7

    6.8 · 463 votes
42. 42
    Stage Fright 1950

    Directed by Alfred Hitchcock · Streaming on TCM, Darkroom
    6.7

    6.8 · 381 votes
43. 43
    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
44. 44
    The Enforcer 1951

    Directed by Bretaigne Windust · Streaming on fuboTV
    6.7

    7.1 · 117 votes
45. 45
    Death of a Cyclist 1955

    Directed by Juan Antonio Bardem · Streaming on Criterion Channel
    6.7

    7.1 · 113 votes
46. 46
    Panic in the Streets 1950

    Directed by Elia Kazan
    6.6

    6.9 · 173 votes
47. 47
    The Lineup 1958

    Directed by Don Siegel
    6.6

    7.1 · 100 votes
48. 48
    The Hitch-Hiker 1953

    Directed by Ida Lupino · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, JustWatch TV Free, Brew
    6.6

    6.8 · 214 votes
49. 49
    Deadlier Than the Male 1956

    Directed by Julien Duvivier
    6.6

    7.3 · 71 votes
50. 50
    Crime Wave 1953

    Directed by André de Toth · Streaming on TCM
    6.6

    7.1 · 87 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
   Between Heaven and Earth 1959

   Directed by Salah Abu Seif
   6.4

   8.6 · 12 votes
2. 2
   Beyond Oblivion 1956

   Directed by Hugo del Carril
   6.4

   7.9 · 18 votes
3. 3
   Rosaura at 10 O'Clock 1958

   Directed by Mario Soffici
   6.3

   7.4 · 24 votes
4. 4
   Orders to Kill 1958

   Directed by Anthony Asquith
   6.3

   7.2 · 25 votes
5. 5
   The Chasers 1959

   Directed by Erik Løchen
   6.2

   7.4 · 14 votes
6. 6
   Never Open That Door 1952

   Directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen
   6.2

   7.2 · 15 votes
7. 7
   The Ship That Died of Shame 1955

   Directed by Basil Dearden · Streaming on FlixFling, Filmtap
   6.2

   7.3 · 12 votes
8. 8
   The Long Arm 1956

   Directed by Charles Frend
   6.2

   6.9 · 25 votes
9. 9
   Post Office Box 1001 1950

   Directed by Julio Salvador
   6.2

   7.2 · 13 votes
10. 10
    Red Fish 1955

    Directed by José Antonio Nieves Conde
    6.2

    7.1 · 15 votes