20 Films From The 1950s That Everybody Should Watch

By Alex Porritt / February 21, 2015

For some, the 1950s was not the decade of cinema. It was the decade of television. But the shiny new box in the corner of everybody's living rooms meant more than just being able to watch The Twilight Zone from the comfort of your favourite chair. Because of the risk it posed to cinema ticket sales, it meant filmmakers needed to step up their game to get audiences back into theatres. Hollywood needed to give people something that a 5 inch black and white screen couldn't, and that meant spectacle. They went the route of epics, presenting releases in vast Cinemascope and VistaVision, drawing their audiences into their pictures like never before. Primitive 3D techniques were implemented, and stories drifted away from real-life and into the realms of science-fiction. It was the decade that wow-factor cinema came of age, and though such styles may seem like common practice to movie-goers today, certain films have still stood the test of time, and are as engaging today as they were sixty years ago. Condensing ten years of Hollywood excellence into a mere twenty-entry list isn't easy, so expect controversy. But whether your own personal favourite makes the cut or not, the following are the films that MUST be seen. Don't think you've seen all of the 50s films that matter? Then you'd better start watching these.