Films of 1951
by christopherpip | created - 08 Jul 2013 | updated - 21 Mar 2022 | PublicThese are the films I have seen from the year 1951.
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1. The African Queen (1951)
PG | 105 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In WWI East Africa, a gin-swilling Canadian riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced English missionary to undertake a trip up a treacherous river and use his boat to attack a German gunship.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley, Peter Bull
Votes: 84,335 | Gross: $0.54M
2. Alice in Wonderland (1951)
G | 75 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
Alice stumbles into the world of Wonderland. Will she get home? Not if the Queen of Hearts has her way.
Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney | Stars: Kathryn Beaumont, Ed Wynn, Richard Haydn, Sterling Holloway
Votes: 154,100 | Gross: $1.07M
3. An American in Paris (1951)
Passed | 114 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Three friends struggle to find work in Paris. Things become more complicated when two of them fall in love with the same woman.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant, Georges Guétary
Votes: 36,894 | Gross: $4.50M
4. Bright Victory (1951)
Approved | 97 min | Drama, Romance, War
After he gets blinded by a German sniper's bullet in 1943, Sergeant Larry Nevins begins the long and painful road to recovery.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Arthur Kennedy, Peggy Dow, Julie Adams, James Edwards
Votes: 978
5. The Browning Version (1951)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama
Andrew Crocker-Harris (Michael Redgrave), a classics teacher at an English school, is afflicted with a heart ailment and an unfaithful wife (Jean Kent). His interest in his pupils wanes as he looks towards his final days in employment.
Director: Anthony Asquith | Stars: Michael Redgrave, Jean Kent, Nigel Patrick, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Votes: 5,438
6. Call Me Mister (1951)
Approved | 96 min | Musical, Romance
A G.I. in occupied Japan tries to re-woo his old love, who's putting on a show for the troops.
Director: Lloyd Bacon | Stars: Betty Grable, Dan Dailey, Danny Thomas, Dale Robertson
Votes: 279 | Gross: $2.70M
7. Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951)
Approved | 80 min | Crime, Mystery
With a ruthless gang terrorizing London, Scotland Yard calls Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond out of retirement. With the help of detective Helen Smith, Drummond infiltrates the gang under an ... See full summary »
Director: Victor Saville | Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Margaret Leighton, Robert Beatty, David Tomlinson
Votes: 471
8. Come Fill the Cup (1951)
113 min | Crime, Drama
Alcoholic newspaperman Lew Marsh hits bottom, loses his job and is rehabilitated by Charley Dolan. After six years on the wagon he gets his job back and devotes himself to other recovering ... See full summary »
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: James Cagney, Phyllis Thaxter, Raymond Massey, James Gleason
Votes: 546
9. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
G | 92 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
An alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Michael Rennie, Patricia Neal, Hugh Marlowe, Sam Jaffe
Votes: 85,783
10. Decision Before Dawn (1951)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama, War
As the US Army approaches Nazi Germany, they recruit German prisoners to spy behind German lines.
Director: Anatole Litvak | Stars: Richard Basehart, Gary Merrill, Oskar Werner, Hildegard Knef
Votes: 2,994
11. Detective Story (1951)
Approved | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
On one day in the 21st Precinct squad room, assorted characters form a backdrop for the troubles of hard-nosed Detective Jim McLeod.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Eleanor Parker, William Bendix, Cathy O'Donnell
Votes: 9,495
12. Father's Little Dividend (1951)
Not Rated | 82 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Shortly after coming to terms with his daughter's marriage, a father faces the prospect of becoming a grandfather.
Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennett, Elizabeth Taylor, Don Taylor
Votes: 4,297 | Gross: $6.81M
13. Force of Arms (1951)
Approved | 99 min | Drama, Romance, War
During World War II in Italy, an American sergeant and WAC lieutenant take time out for romance.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: William Holden, Nancy Olson, Frank Lovejoy, Gene Evans
Votes: 692
14. Fourteen Hours (1951)
Approved | 92 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
An unhappy man threatens suicide by standing on the ledge of a high-rise building for 14 hours.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Paul Douglas, Richard Basehart, Barbara Bel Geddes, Debra Paget
Votes: 2,968
15. The Golden Horde (1951)
Approved | 77 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The princess of Samarkand and an English knight confront the armies of Genghis Khan.
Director: George Sherman | Stars: Ann Blyth, David Farrar, George Macready, Henry Brandon
Votes: 230
16. Goodbye, My Fancy (1951)
Not Rated | 107 min | Comedy, Romance
Congresswoman Agatha Reed returns to her alma mater for commencement, although she's more interested in renewing her romance with an old flame who's now the college president. Their ... See full summary »
Director: Vincent Sherman | Stars: Joan Crawford, Robert Young, Frank Lovejoy, Eve Arden
Votes: 959 | Gross: $1.13M
17. Green Grow the Rushes (1951)
77 min | Comedy, Thriller
After their vessel runs aground during a storm and is impounded by the British authorities, local smugglers must find a way of disposing of their contraband brandy cargo before it's discovered by the Customs Officers.
Director: Derek N. Twist | Stars: Roger Livesey, Honor Blackman, Richard Burton, Frederick Leister
Votes: 252
18. Here Comes the Groom (1951)
Approved | 113 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Foreign correspondent Pete Garvey has 5 days to win back his former fiancée, or he'll lose the orphans he adopted.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Bing Crosby, Jane Wyman, Alexis Smith, Franchot Tone
Votes: 1,204
19. I'll See You in My Dreams (1951)
Passed | 110 min | Biography, Comedy, Musical
The success and decline of songwriter Gus Kahn is portrayed, with his wife, Grace Kahn, sticking by him the whole time.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Doris Day, Danny Thomas, Frank Lovejoy, Patrice Wymore
Votes: 1,221
20. The Idiot (1951)
Not Rated | 166 min | Drama, Romance
A Japanese veteran, driven partially mad from the war, travels to the snowy island of Hokkaido where he soon enters a love triangle with his best friend and a disgraced woman.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Setsuko Hara, Masayuki Mori, Toshirô Mifune, Yoshiko Kuga
Votes: 5,663
21. Kind Lady (1951)
78 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Mary Herries (Ethel Barrymore) has a passion for art and fine furniture. Even though she is getting on in years, she enjoys being around these priceless articles. One day she meets a ... See full summary »
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Ethel Barrymore, Maurice Evans, Angela Lansbury, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 1,124
22. The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Approved | 78 min | Comedy, Crime
A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipment of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country as miniature Eiffel Towers.
Director: Charles Crichton | Stars: Alec Guinness, Stanley Holloway, Sidney James, Alfie Bass
Votes: 15,563
23. Lullaby of Broadway (1951)
Passed | 92 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A showgirl returns to her New York home to visit her alcoholic mother, where she catches the eye of a Broadway producer.
Director: David Butler | Stars: Doris Day, Gene Nelson, S.Z. Sakall, Billy De Wolfe
Votes: 1,252
24. The Magic Box (1951)
Approved | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
A chronicle of the life of William Friese-Greene, a British inventor and early pioneer in cinema.
Director: John Boulting | Stars: Robert Donat, Maria Schell, Renée Asherson, Richard Attenborough
Votes: 1,419
25. The Man in the White Suit (1951)
Approved | 85 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
An altruistic chemist invents a fabric which resists wear and stain as a boon to humanity, but big business and labor realize it must be suppressed for economic reasons.
Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Alec Guinness, Joan Greenwood, Cecil Parker, Michael Gough
Votes: 10,815 | Gross: $0.01M
26. The Mating Season (1951)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Ellen McNulty loses her hamburger joint and goes to see her son, who marries a socialite at the same time. Due to her modest background and a case of mistaken identity, Ellen poses as the newlyweds' cook.
Director: Mitchell Leisen | Stars: Gene Tierney, John Lund, Miriam Hopkins, Thelma Ritter
Votes: 1,970
27. Meet Danny Wilson (1952)
Approved | 88 min | Drama, Musical
A nightclub singer has a racketeer for a manager and a rivalry with his pianist for a girl.
Director: Joseph Pevney | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Shelley Winters, Alex Nicol, Raymond Burr
Votes: 472
28. Meet Me After the Show (1951)
Passed | 87 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
Delilah Lee is the star of husband Jeff Ames' Broadway show when she starts to suspect he has been exchanging more than contracts with the show's vampish backer. Alimony and amnesia become the order of the day.
Director: Richard Sale | Stars: Betty Grable, Macdonald Carey, Rory Calhoun, Eddie Albert
Votes: 215 | Gross: $2.61M
29. Mr. Imperium (1951)
Not Rated | 87 min | Drama, Musical, Mystery
A beautiful romance between a singer and a persistent prince
Director: Don Hartman | Stars: Lana Turner, Ezio Pinza, Marjorie Main, Barry Sullivan
Votes: 571
30. My Forbidden Past (1951)
Passed | 70 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Barbara Beaurevel lives with her aunt and cousin in New Orleans in the late 1800s. In love with Mark Lucas, a research doctor at Tulane University, her plans to marry him are thwarted. ... See full summary »
Director: Robert Stevenson | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Ava Gardner, Melvyn Douglas, Lucile Watson
Votes: 1,158
31. On Moonlight Bay (1951)
Approved | 95 min | Comedy, Family, Musical
During World War I, a teenage girl begins a romance with a college student, but his unconventional attitudes cause friction with her father.
Director: Roy Del Ruth | Stars: Doris Day, Gordon MacRae, Jack Smith, Leon Ames
Votes: 3,059
32. On the Riviera (1951)
Approved | 89 min | Comedy, Musical
An American entertainer impersonates a wealthy aviator and flirts with his lookalike's neglected wife.
Director: Walter Lang | Stars: Danny Kaye, Gene Tierney, Corinne Calvet, Marcel Dalio
Votes: 1,178 | Gross: $2.50M
33. Painting the Clouds with Sunshine (1951)
Approved | 87 min | Musical
Tired of her boyfriend's gambling, a young woman joins two vaudeville performers on a trek to Las Vegas to search for millionaires to marry.
Director: David Butler | Stars: Dennis Morgan, Virginia Mayo, Gene Nelson, Lucille Norman
Votes: 239
34. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
Approved | 124 min | Drama, Fantasy, Mystery
A seductive woman falls in love with a mysterious ship's captain.
Director: Albert Lewin | Stars: James Mason, Ava Gardner, Nigel Patrick, Sheila Sim
Votes: 4,739
35. People Will Talk (1951)
Approved | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Dr. Noah Praetorius falls in love with Deborah, a student who discovers that she is pregnant by her old boyfriend.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Cary Grant, Jeanne Crain, Finlay Currie, Hume Cronyn
Votes: 7,103
36. A Place in the Sun (1951)
Passed | 122 min | Drama, Romance
A poor boy gets a job working for his rich uncle and ends up falling in love with two women.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters, Anne Revere
Votes: 24,793
37. Pool of London (1951)
Approved | 85 min | Crime, Drama
When their ship docks the crew disembark as usual to pick up their lives in postwar London. For one of them his petty smuggling turns more serious when he finds himself caught up with a robbery in the City.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Bonar Colleano, Susan Shaw, Renée Asherson, Earl Cameron
Votes: 1,183
38. Quo Vadis (1951)
Not Rated | 171 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
Directors: Mervyn LeRoy, Anthony Mann | Stars: Robert Taylor, Deborah Kerr, Leo Genn, Peter Ustinov
Votes: 16,747 | Gross: $24.29M
39. The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Passed | 69 min | Drama, War
Truncated adaptation of Stephen Crane's novel about a Civil War Union soldier who stuggles to find the courage to fight in the heat of battle.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Audie Murphy, Bill Mauldin, Douglas Dick, Royal Dano
Votes: 4,839
40. Rhubarb (1951)
Passed | 94 min | Comedy, Family, Sport
Rich, eccentric T.J. Banner adopts a feral cat who becomes an affectionate pet. Then T.J. dies, leaving to Rhubarb most of his money and a pro baseball team, the Brooklyn Loons. When the ... See full summary »
Director: Arthur Lubin | Stars: Ray Milland, Jan Sterling, Gene Lockhart, William Frawley
Votes: 846
41. Rich, Young and Pretty (1951)
Passed | 95 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
Jim Stauton Rogers, a Texas rancher turned international diplomat, takes his young daughter, Elizabeth Rogers, on a trip to Paris. He is concerned that his daughter might come in contact ... See full summary »
Director: Norman Taurog | Stars: Jane Powell, Danielle Darrieux, Wendell Corey, Vic Damone
Votes: 571
42. The River (1951)
Approved | 99 min | Drama, Romance
The growing pains of three young women contrast with the immutability of the holy Bengal River, around which their daily lives unfold.
Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Patricia Walters, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight, Arthur Shields
Votes: 6,890
43. Royal Wedding (1951)
Not Rated | 93 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance
A brother and sister dance act encounter challenges and romance when booked in London during the Royal Wedding.
Director: Stanley Donen | Stars: Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford, Sarah Churchill
Votes: 6,109
44. Show Boat (1951)
Approved | 108 min | Drama, Family, Musical
The daughter of a riverboat captain falls in love with a charming gambler, but their fairy tale romance is threatened after his luck turns sour.
Director: George Sidney | Stars: Kathryn Grayson, Ava Gardner, Howard Keel, Joe E. Brown
Votes: 5,382
45. Strangers on a Train (1951)
PG | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll
Votes: 141,050 | Gross: $7.63M
46. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
PG | 122 min | Drama
Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Votes: 114,377 | Gross: $8.00M
47. The Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
Not Rated | 128 min | Fantasy, Music, Musical
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: Moira Shearer, Robert Rounseville, Ludmilla Tchérina, Ann Ayars
Votes: 3,944 | Gross: $0.09M
48. Target Unknown (1951)
Passed | 90 min | Drama, War
In 1944, an American bomber squadron is tense and discontented from too many missions over France. Luck runs out for Capt. Stevens and his crew; they must bail out and are promptly taken ... See full summary »
Director: George Sherman | Stars: Mark Stevens, Alex Nicol, Robert Douglas, Don Taylor
Votes: 76
49. Texas Carnival (1951)
Passed | 77 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
A showmen team is mistaken for a cattle baron and his sister.
Director: Charles Walters | Stars: Esther Williams, Red Skelton, Howard Keel, Ann Miller
Votes: 560
50. The Thing from Another World (1951)
Approved | 87 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
Scientists and American Air Force officials fend off a bloodthirsty alien organism while at a remote arctic outpost.
Directors: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks | Stars: Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, James Arness, Robert Cornthwaite
Votes: 33,390
a/k/a 'The Thing'
51. Two Tickets to Broadway (1951)
Approved | 106 min | Musical, Romance
Nancy Peterson and her friends want to get a spot on Bob Crosby's TV show, but their agent has linked them.
Director: James V. Kern | Stars: Tony Martin, Janet Leigh, Gloria DeHaven, Eddie Bracken
Votes: 614
52. Venom and Eternity (1951)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama
In this experimental film, Isidore Isou, the leader of the lettrist movement, lashes out at conventional cinema and offers a revolutionary form of movie-making: through scratching and ... See full summary »
Director: Isidore Isou | Stars: Isidore Isou, Jean-Louis Barrault, Blanchette Brunoy, Blaise Cendrars
Votes: 452
53. Westward the Women (1951)
Passed | 118 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A trail guide escorts a group of women from Chicago to California to marry men that have recently begun settling there.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Robert Taylor, Denise Darcel, Hope Emerson, John McIntire
Votes: 3,804
54. When Worlds Collide (1951)
Approved | 83 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
As a new star and planet hurtle toward a doomed Earth, a small group of survivalists frantically work to complete the rocket which will take them to their new home.
Director: Rudolph Maté | Stars: Richard Derr, Barbara Rush, Peter Hansen, John Hoyt
Votes: 9,232
55. You Never Can Tell (1951)
Passed | 78 min | Comedy, Crime, Fantasy
An ex-army dog inherits a fortune from his eccentric millionaire owner, and which is poisoned, asks the leader in the heaven for animals to send him back to Earth, as a human private investigator, to solve his own murder.
Director: Lou Breslow | Stars: Dick Powell, Peggy Dow, Joyce Holden, Charles Drake
Votes: 787
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