12 Movies of the 1950s That Are Still a Pleasure to Watch

We've all watched classic movies that are undeniably great, but not much fun anymore. These movies of the 1950s are both great and fun.

All About Eve (1950)

Bette Davis plays a Broadway star who won't give up the spotlight, and Anne Baxter is Eve Harrington, a shrewd manipulator ready to take her place. It's a dynamic we've seen a million times since, from The Devil Wears Prada to Showgirls, but no one's done it better than All About Eve.

It also features an early appearance by Marilyn Monroe. And consider for a second how cool it is that the line, "Fasten your seat belts, it's going to be a bumpy night!" came just a few years into commercial air travel becoming a thing.

It won Best Picture at the Oscars, but it isn't one of those exhausting Best Picture winners that takes itself too seriously — it's a charmer from the first frames and one of the most beloved movies of the 1950s and of all time.

Singing in the Rain (1952)

Another perfect vehicle for Gene Kelly's immense talents — and those of Donald O'Connor and Debbie Reynolds (above, from left to right, are O'Connor, Reynolds and Kelly saying "Good Mornin'").

If you just remember a bunch of plucky songs and perfect dance numbers, that's fine. But Singing in the Rain is also a timeless sendup of Hollywood trend-chasing and vapidity. Lina Lamont's clueless declaration, "I gave an exclusive to every newspaper in town!" is arguably even funnier in 2023, when seemingly every news story is both "breaking" and "exclusive."

It's great to stay up late watching a movie this delightful. Maybe our favorite of all the movies of the 1950s, and that's saying something.

High Noon (1952)

In a tight 85 minutes, High Noon delivers a perfectly paced, utterly engrossing story of courage.

Gary Cooper plays lawman Will Kane (above left), newly married to the pacifistic Quaker Amy Fowler (above right).

When he learns that a vicious outlaw he once put away will soon return to town, looking for revenge, he'd be well within his rights to ride off into the sunset with his beautiful new bride.

But that's not what he does.

The Quiet Man (1952)

The Quiet Man is a very old-fashioned movie — the plot revolves largely around a dowry — but just turn off your brain and enjoy the Technicolor beauty of the unspoiled Irish countryside as John Wayne's Sean Thornton and Maureen O'Hara's Mary Kate Danaher fall madly in love.

It was filmed around the charming village of Cong, which still has a statue of Wayne. It's fun to see him a straight romantic lead instead of a grizzled cowboy, but don't worry manly men: His character's still plenty tough.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Another 1950s travelogue, Roman Holiday stars Audrey Hepburn as a princess who wants to see the world and Gregory Peck as a reporter who wants to show it to her. This is a movie fueled by happy accidents, cheerful deceptions and boundless charm.

Dalton Trumbo, often known for darker fare, was one of the writers, though the Blacklist — a scourge of the movies of the 1950s — cost him his rightful credit at the time.

Rear Window (1954)

A Hitchcock classic, and the second film on our list to star future princess Grace Kelly.

Rear Window is a fascinating, fast-moving film is about our natural inclination to pry — whether online, or, back in the day, into our neighbor's windows. Jimmy Stewart plays a news photographer sidelined by a broken leg who doesn't appreciate what a seemingly perfect thing he has going with Lisa (Kelly, above).

He ponders single life, represented by the ballet dancer Miss Torso (Georgine Darcy) and the sometimes grim compromises of co-habitation. There's a point in the film when it's absolutely impossible to guess what will happen next. And then things get really good.

It's now available on the Criterion Channel.

Vertigo (1958)

Another pairing of Alfred Hitchcock and Jimmy Stewart, Vertigo is among the best films ever made: In 2012, in fact, it topped the Sight and Sound list of the greatest films of all time, before it was bumped in 2022 by Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, in a major upset. (Nothing against Jeanne Dielman — it's on our list of 10 Excellent Films Where Not Much Happens.

But back to Vertigo: Well worth watching just to see San Francisco in the 1950s, its the story of a former detective who has to retire early due to, well, vertigo. He falls for a captivating woman named Madeleine (Kim Novak), but she takes a fall, too — to her death.

Or so it seems. Soon he meets a woman named Judy... who looks an awful lot like Madeline. Then things get very interesting.

Godzilla (1954)

Godzilla has a very heavy, powerful messages that probably resonated more with Japanese audiences than American ones — it's about the evils of the atomic bomb, and how some weapons are too powerful to ever be used.

But even if you ignore that message, this is a crackerjack monster movie, beautifully crafted. If you associate Godzilla with a guy in a cheap-looking lizard suit, you aren't thinking of the original Godzilla.

In black and white, with ominous sound design and terrific effects (by 1954 standards), Godzilla is a 70 year-old thriller that lands harder than many of the kitschy and CGI-marred versions that followed. Of all the movies of the 1950s, it may be the most scarily resonant.

It might even be a good double feature with Oppenheimer.

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

Look, if you aren't charmed by dogs eating spaghetti, we're not sure you can be charmed. Lady and the Tramp tells a simple, always delightful story of a proper lady falling for a dog from the wrong side of the tracks who becomes a better man — um, we mean dog — in the process.

It's painterly animation is far superior to most of the cheap-looking computer animation of today — this is a true feast for the eyes.

And it inspired our favorite bit of film criticism within a movie, the roundtable debate of the meaning of Lady and the Tramp that serves as the unlikely climax of Whit Stillman's 1998 Last Days of Disco, another film that is a total delight. It's from four decades after these movies of the 1950s, but don't hold that against it.

This is our favorite of all the Disney movies of the 1950s.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

We know, war movies aren't typically delightful, but most aren't as deft and transfixing as The Bridge on the River Kwai, a movie that never follows the course you expect.

The war of wills between captured British P.O.W. Colonel Nicholson (Alec Guiness) and his honorable captor, Colonel Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) is fascinating enough — both men are masterfully written and acted characters, and director David Lean shows stellar show-don't-tell restraint that is, well, captivating.

But then the film layers on the story of the charming Shears, William Holden, and you have one of the most layered yet elegant war movies of all, with a theme you'll be whistling for weeks. For our money this is the best of the war movies of the 1950s.

The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

This story of powerful columnist J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) and ruthless press agent Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis, above right) is as juicy as a gossip column — because it revolves around one.

Hunsecker is a powerful columnist covering nightlife around Broadway, who can make or break careers with a few words. But he's also a controlling older brother who tries to break up little sister Susan (Susan Harrison, above left) and a jazz guitarist, without leaving any fingerprints. Sidney Falco sees a sleazy opportunity and seizes it. He's a creep, sure, but a smart one, who shows us the ins and outs of a 24-7 media landscape that seems to move even faster than the one today.

This is a completely intoxicating movie, beautifully shot and magnificently acted. It's one of the greatest movies of the 1950s, but it's also timeless.

An American in Paris (1951)

Another charmer from the very start — thanks to the George Gershwin score and Gene Kelly's winning voiceover — an American in Paris, directed by directed by Vincente Minelli and written by Alan Jay Lerner — won Best Picture the year after All About Eve. But again, it's anything but pompous.

You realize how light on its feet the film will be even before you even see Kelly and Leslie Caron dance (above).

Just watching Kelly get ready in the morning — by switching his miniscule studio apartment from evening to morning mode — you know you're in incredibly good hands.

Some Like It Hot (1959)

The American Film Institute named Some Like It Hot the funniest American movie of all time, and who are we to argue with AFI?

One of the most imitated movies of the 1950s, it stars Marilyn Monroe and Tony Curtis, making their second appearances on this list, as well as the always great Jack Lemmon, who will certainly turn up when we make our list of delightful films of the 1960s.

And yes, we're pretty sure the Tom Hanks sitcom Bosom Buddies borrowed a few jokes from Some Like It Hot, starting with the wordplay on the poster. Plenty of other TV shows and movies have taken lessons from the Billy Wilder classic, too.

Liked This List of Old Movies of the 1950s That Are Still an Absolute Pleasure to Watch?

You might also like this list of some of our favorite films of the 1960s, this list of Rad '80s Movies Only Cool Kids Remember, or this list of Stars of Movies of the 1950s Who Are Still Going Strong.

Main image: Leslie Caron in a publicity still for An American in Paris. MGM.