So I love me some older films. Last year I came here and asked for 60s recommendations and got some amazing movie recs. Now I want some from the 50s.

Ones I enjoyed so far are films like:

  • Rear Window
  • Sunset Boulevard
  • Vertigo
  • Scrooge (or A Christmas Carol the one with Alastair Sim)
  • Stalag 17

The only ones I've seen I'm a bit just kind of eh on are Titfield Thunderbolt and Blood of Dracula. I haven't seen anything I think is outright bad though.

Edit to add movies I've seen that people brought up:

  • On the Waterfront
  • Giant
  • Strangers on a Train
  • North by Northwest
  • Dial M for Murder

all 22 comments

sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] 19 points 3 weeks ago*
  • 12 Angry Men
  • The Ladykillers
  • Monsieur Hulot's Holiday
  • Seven Samurai
  • Wages of Fear
  • Rashomon
  • Invasion of the Bodysnatchers
  • The African Queen
  • Les Diaboliques
  • Mon Oncle
  • The Seventh Seal
  • Forbidden Planet
  • Harvey
  • Singin' In The Rain
  • source
  • Bicycles Thieves (48)

  • source
  • [–] 7 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

    Some I haven't seen mentioned:

    • The Night of the Hunter
    • Ikiru
    • Paths of Glory
    • Los Olvidados
    • El
    • The Apu Trilogy
    • Sansho the Bailiff
    • Nights of Cabiria

    Edit: was heading out earlier. Here are some more:

    • The 400 Blows
    • Tokyo Story
    • Wild Strawberries
    • Ordet
    • The Sweet Smell of Success
    • Johnny Guitar
    • A Man Escaped
    • Pickpocket
    • Hiroshima Mon Amour
    • Ugetsu
    • The Cranes are Flying
    • The Bridge Over River Kwai
    • High Noon
    • Rio Bravo
    • The Searchers
  • source
  • [–] 7 points 3 weeks ago

    Some Like It Hot is a good one

  • source
  • [–] 7 points 3 weeks ago*

    hate to beat a dead stewart but, harvey?

  • source
  • [–] 5 points 3 weeks ago

    The Day the Earth Stood Still

  • source
  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago) (2 children)

    From my own viewing experience, these are my recommendations that I did not see yet in the thread:

    Macbeth in feudal Japan.

    Heist movie, early Kubrick

    Some early sci-fi. Superior to the Keanu Reeves remake.

    A pair of James Dean roles. Unbelievable, raw talent.

    Un peu de film noir.

    Goes well with Dr. Strangelove (1962) and Fail-Safe (1962).

    Previously mentioned, and I can't help but include:

    • Vertigo

    • Rashomon

    Edit: comments and a revision below.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 2 weeks ago)

    Giant feels like a “big screen” movie, even when you watch it on a tv. If there’s a theater near you that shows vintage movies on a large e screen, I’d ask them if they ever show this one.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] [S] 1 point 3 weeks ago

    Giant was one I watched expecting a kind of alright film, but came out of it just in love with everything. It's the only James Dean movie I've seen, but I have a few on my watchlist. Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, Letter to Jane, and Has Anybody Seen My Gal.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 4 points 3 weeks ago (2 children)

    On the waterfront

    Brando just out there setting a bar never to be surpassed

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago

    First time I ever watched it, I kinda expected to be underwhelmed. One of those movies you hear about so much that it can't actually be that good, right?

    Blew me away. Plot and pacing were very good, and the acting was one of the best performances I've ever seen.

  • source
  • parent
  • [–] 2 points 2 weeks ago (2 children)

    Well, if you've seen most of the Hitchcock, then don't miss on Dial M for Murder. You know, for the full picture so to say.

  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago* (1 child)
  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago
    • Zero Hour! (1957)

    There's a very well known remake of this movie under a different title. Odds are that you've already seen the remake, so surely you'll find it somewhat familiar.

  • source
  • [–] 2 points 3 weeks ago

    A touch of evil, that opening sequence is fantastic

    The creature from the black lagoon and the incredible shrinking man are both classic 50s horror movies along with the original version of the fly, the blob, and the thing. The lost skeleton of cadavera is a pretty funny parody of the style too.

    The day the earth stood still for some 50s sci-fi, and Hitchcock hits his prime in the mid to late 50s for suspense

  • source
  • [–] 3 points 3 weeks ago
    [–] [S] 1 point 2 weeks ago

    Thanks for the recs everyone! I actually went to my local retro store to see what they had and picked some of these up!

  • source