Best of the 1950's, a list by Chiggerz

9.0

/968668/

88

/16278/

85

/9643/

4.6

/1304036/

100

/63/

97

/6764/

97

/18/

4.0

age 12+

The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.

92

8.6

/398157/

84

/5714/

84

/4069/

4.6

/383477/

100

/103/

97

/6724/

98

/7/

4.0

age 13+

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

91

8.5

/564100/

82

/9351/

83

/6954/

4.4

/758503/

99

/134/

95

/8885/

100

/18/

4.0

age 10+

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

90

8.3

/100778/

82

/1711/

83

/1272/

4.5

/175635/

98

/57/

96

/1465/

92

/20/

4.0

age 11+

Kanji Watanabe is a middle-aged man who has worked in the same monotonous bureaucratic position for decades. Learning he has cancer, he starts to look for the meaning of his life.

90

8.4

/258598/

81

/3751/

82

/2832/

4.4

/329171/

98

/125/

95

/3486/

94

/32/

4.0

age 13+

A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.

90

8.2

/147938/

79

/2294/

80

/1643/

4.4

/133156/

99

/110/

94

/2747/

98

/15/

4.0

age 12+

From the moment she glimpses her idol at the stage door, Eve Harrington is determined to take the reins of power away from the great actress Margo Channing. Eve maneuvers her way into Margo's Broadway role, becomes a sensation and even causes turmoil in the lives of Margo's director boyfriend, her playwright and his wife. Only the cynical drama critic sees through Eve, admiring her audacity and perfect pattern of deceit.

90

8.3

/19635/

79

/389/

81

/411/

4.4

/34418/

100

/20/

95

/266/

96

/17/

4.0

In medieval Japan, a woman and her children journey to find the family's patriarch, who was exiled years earlier.

90

8.1

/76663/

81

/1443/

81

/1174/

4.4

/136430/

100

/52/

93

/871/

100

/19/

4.0

The elderly Shukishi and his wife, Tomi, take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children in Tokyo. Their elder son, Koichi, a doctor, and their daughter, Shige, a hairdresser, don't have much time to spend with their aged parents, and so it falls to Noriko, the widow of their younger son who was killed in the war, to keep her in-laws company.

90

8.3

/279724/

82

/5495/

81

/3383/

4.3

/572196/

100

/78/

95

/7922/

99

/17/

4.0

age 6+

In 1927 Hollywood, a silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his paranoid screen partner struggle to make the difficult transition to talking pictures.

89

8.1

/194488/

79

/3196/

80

/2436/

4.2

/266593/

98

/64/

93

/2665/

98

/18/

4.0

age 15+

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

89

8.2

/455500/

80

/8221/

81

/6162/

4.2

/740688/

93

/98/

92

/6508/

100

/32/

4.0

age 13+

A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

89

8.6

/23190/

84

/589/

82

/539/

4.6

/54083/

100

/26/

95

/414/

age 15+

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

89

8.2

/302318/

80

/4881/

80

/3752/

4.3

/346766/

95

/74/

94

/5923/

98

/19/

4.0

age 11+

In Prohibition-era Chicago, musicians Joe and Jerry witness a mob hit, and flee the state in an all-female band disguised as Josephine and Daphne, but further complications set in.

89

8.4

/236320/

81

/3644/

82

/3165/

4.5

/277050/

96

/77/

95

/1856/

90

/18/

4.0

age 13+

A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.

88

8.1

/30296/

80

/599/

79

/589/

4.3

/63121/

100

/43/

93

/288/

4.0

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

88

8.1

/176333/

77

/2305/

78

/1705/

4.2

/135168/

99

/115/

95

/3158/

91

/15/

4.0

age 13+

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.

88

8.1

/39095/

78

/708/

77

/614/

4.3

/42109/

92

/53/

95

/536/

97

/13/

4.0

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

88

8.1

/72729/

78

/1149/

80

/1041/

4.4

/61173/

100

/54/

94

/694/

85

/15/

4.0

In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.

88

8.0

/39214/

77

/697/

76

/557/

4.2

/62025/

98

/62/

91

/532/

100

/5/

4.0

New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.

88

8.1

/27916/

78

/561/

80

/626/

4.3

/55624/

100

/34/

93

/412/

4.0

In 16th century Japan, peasants Genjuro and Tobei sell their earthenware pots to a group of soldiers in a nearby village, in defiance of a local sage's warning against seeking to profit from warfare. Genjuro's pursuit of both riches and the mysterious Lady Wakasa, as well as Tobei's desire to become a samurai, run the risk of destroying both themselves and their wives, Miyagi and Ohama.

88

8.1

/30300/

79

/526/

79

/721/

4.2

/43205/

98

/41/

93

/453/

92

/9/

4.0

When elderly pensioner Umberto Domenico Ferrari returns to his boarding house from a protest calling for a hike in old-age pensions, his landlady demands her 15,000-lire rent by the end of the month or he and his small dog will be turned out onto the street. Unable to get the money in time, Umberto fakes illness to get sent to a hospital, giving his beloved dog to the landlady's pregnant and abandoned maid for temporary safekeeping.

88

8.1

/56616/

79

/783/

80

/831/

4.4

/72745/

100

/45/

94

/619/

4.0

Rome, 1957. A woman, Cabiria, is robbed and left to drown by her boyfriend, Giorgio. Rescued, she resumes her life and tries her best to find happiness in a cynical world. Even when she thinks her struggles are over and she has found happiness and contentment, things may not be what they seem.

88

8.0

/133432/

79

/2254/

80

/2263/

4.3

/248873/

99

/72/

94

/2056/

4.0

age 13+

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

87

7.9

/114192/

76

/1726/

78

/1543/

4.2

/96972/

96

/85/

92

/1684/

99

/24/

4.0

When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan. When Vargas begins to suspect that Quinlan and his shady partner, Menzies, are planting evidence to frame an innocent man, his investigations into their possible corruption quickly put himself and his new bride, Susie, in jeopardy.

87

8.1

/246857/

78

/3975/

78

/2279/

4.2

/109378/

96

/103/

93

/2260/

88

/16/

4.0

age 11+

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.

87

8.2

/18711/

77

/330/

79

/397/

4.3

/34753/

100

/29/

91

/259/

4.0

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

87

8.0

/72756/

78

/1602/

78

/1222/

4.2

/69439/

96

/50/

90

/1204/

93

/18/

4.0

A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.

87

8.0

/106460/

77

/2189/

78

/1757/

4.3

/221585/

93

/87/

90

/1894/

97

/21/

4.0

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

87

8.1

/214001/

78

/3440/

81

/3237/

4.3

/366360/

93

/73/

93

/3119/

88

/15/

4.0

age 13+

When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death to a chess match for his life. Tormented by the belief that God does not exist, Block sets off on a journey, meeting up with traveling players Jof and his wife, Mia, and becoming determined to evade Death long enough to commit one redemptive act while he still lives.

87

8.3

/367189/

80

/6064/

79

/4374/

4.2

/313996/

97

/119/

94

/5406/

98

/16/

age 11+

Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.

88

86

8.4

/19547/

83

/345/

81

/266/

4.4

/27918/

97

/29/

95

/192/

Apu, now a jobless ex-student dreaming vaguely of a future as a writer, is invited to join an old college friend on a trip up-country to a village wedding.

86

7.9

/119248/

75

/1837/

76

/1440/

4.0

/144904/

97

/63/

89

/2833/

97

/20/

4.0

age 14+

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

86

7.8

/7272/

78

/154/

74

/155/

4.1

/12950/

100

/24/

91

/75/

4.0

An aging, decadent landlord’s passion for music becomes the undoing of his legacy as he sacrifices his wealth in order to compete with the opulent music room of his younger, richer neighbour.

86

8.0

/8295/

76

/138/

77

/188/

4.2

/12753/

100

/14/

89

/66/

4.0

In 17th century Edo Period Japan, a noblewoman's banishment for her love affair with a lowly page signals the beginning of her inexorable fall.

86

8.0

/14055/

75

/293/

77

/338/

4.1

/13032/

100

/20/

92

/223/

4.0

Orphaned after a Nazi air raid, Paulette, a young Parisian girl, runs into Michel, an older peasant boy, and the two quickly become close. Together, they try to make sense of the chaotic and crumbling world around them, attempting to cope with death as they create a burial ground for Paulette's deceased pet dog. Eventually, however, Paulette's stay with Michel's family is threatened by the harsh realities of wartime.

86

8.2

/41174/

80

/658/

78

/470/

4.3

/59998/

98

/82/

93

/368/

Impoverished priest Harihar Ray leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. His wife, Sarbojaya, looks after their rebellious daughter, Durga, and young son, Apu. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life.

86

8.0

/77028/

78

/1655/

79

/1109/

4.2

/84585/

100

/53/

91

/822/

95

/15/

age 13+

Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.

86

8.1

/123391/

79

/1670/

80

/1759/

4.3

/162526/

94

/49/

94

/1307/

88

/17/

Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne, in order to receive an honorary degree from his alma mater. Along the way, they encounter a series of hitchhikers, each of whom causes the elderly doctor to muse upon the pleasures and failures of his own life. These include the vivacious young Sara, a dead ringer for the doctor's own first love.

86

7.9

/104719/

76

/1992/

76

/1662/

4.0

/142728/

96

/48/

92

/1286/

91

/15/

4.0

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

86

8.4

/159564/

82

/2431/

82

/1595/

4.4

/112804/

100

/41/

95

/743/

76

/12/

age 11+

An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.

86

7.9

/148084/

76

/2580/

77

/1817/

4.1

/156832/

98

/60/

92

/1908/

88

/15/

4.0

age 14+

A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.

85

7.8

/14369/

76

/290/

76

/278/

4.1

/32181/

97

/33/

89

/209/

4.0

A famous poet in postwar Paris, scorned by the Left Bank youth, is in love with both his wife Eurydice and a mysterious princess. Seeking inspiration, the poet becomes obsessed and follows the princess from the world of the living to the land of the dead.

85

8.0

/45249/

79

/841/

80

/669/

4.1

/60355/

96

/52/

92

/830/

89

/16/

In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.

85

7.9

/9657/

77

/186/

75

/198/

4.1

/18074/

96

/23/

91

/122/

4.0

When a theater troupe's master visits his old flame, he unintentionally sets off a chain of unexpected events with devastating consequences.

85

7.9

/11993/

74

/219/

75

/250/

4.1

/22148/

97

/36/

90

/154/

4.0

In late 19th century France, the Countess Louise, wife of a wealthy general, sells the earrings her husband gave her on their wedding day to pay off her secret debts, then claims to have lost them. Her husband quickly learns of the deceit, which is the beginning of many tragic misunderstandings, all involving the earrings, the general, the countess, and her new lover, the Italian Baron Donati.

85

7.9

/32076/

77

/701/

77

/536/

4.1

/46376/

95

/75/

90

/360/

4.0

After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.

85

7.9

/38666/

77

/877/

75

/642/

4.2

/70603/

96

/52/

89

/442/

4.0

A violent screenwriter and a female neighbor fall in love after she clears him of murder, but she begins to have second thoughts.

85

8.0

/69421/

77

/883/

79

/1137/

4.2

/81612/

98

/80/

93

/988/