Crime Films 50's
by robertcunningham-14378 | created - 19 Apr 2017 | updated - 29 Jun 2017 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Caged (1950)
Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A gentle, naive, pregnant 19-year-old widow is slowly, inexorably ground down by the hardened criminals, sadistic guards, and matron at a woman's prison. Will she be the same person when her sentence is up?
Director: John Cromwell | Stars: Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Hope Emerson
Votes: 4,703
2. Cairo Road (1950)
83 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
The never-ending struggle of an Egyptian Narcotics Bureau unit. This time around,the murder of a rich Arab named Bashiri leads colonel Yussef Bey and his right-hand man Lieutenant Mourad to... See full summary »
Director: David MacDonald | Stars: Eric Portman, Laurence Harvey, Maria Mauban, Harold Lang
Votes: 263
3. Gun Crazy (1950)
Passed | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Two disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.
Director: Joseph H. Lewis | Stars: John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Berry Kroeger, Morris Carnovsky
Votes: 14,830
4. Night and the City (1950)
Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers, Hugh Marlowe
Votes: 15,265 | Gross: $3.60M
5. No Way Out (1950)
Passed | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Two hoodlum brothers are brought into a hospital for gunshot wounds, and when one of them dies the other accuses their black doctor of murder.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, Stephen McNally, Sidney Poitier
Votes: 6,277
6. Stage Fright (1950)
Approved | 110 min | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller
A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence after he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Jane Wyman, Richard Todd, Michael Wilding
Votes: 16,135
7. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Passed | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck and solid police work cause everything to unravel.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore
Votes: 29,935
8. The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)
Approved | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A veteran homicide detective who has witnessed his socialite girlfriend kill her husband sees his newly-minted detective brother assigned to the case alongside him.
Director: Felix E. Feist | Stars: Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, John Dall, Lisa Howard
Votes: 2,855
9. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Det. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him?
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill, Bert Freed
Votes: 9,953
10. Whirlpool (1950)
Approved | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A woman suffering from kleptomania is hypnotized in an attempt to cure her. Soon afterwards, she's found at the scene of a murder with no memory of how she got there, and seemingly no way to prove her innocence.
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, José Ferrer, Charles Bickford
Votes: 4,793
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: 9,482
12. 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: 140,974 | Gross: $7.63M
13. Big Jim McLain (1952)
Approved | 90 min | Crime, Drama, History
In the post-war Hawaii, House Un-American Activities Committee investigators Jim McLain and Mal Baxter hunt down Communists.
Director: Edward Ludwig | Stars: John Wayne, Nancy Olson, James Arness, Alan Napier
Votes: 2,358
14. Clash by Night (1952)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance
Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, may wind up like Mae. Mae marries Jerry and has a baby; she is happy but restless, drawn to Jerry's friend Earl.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Paul Douglas, Marilyn Monroe
Votes: 7,354
15. Deadline - U.S.A. (1952)
Passed | 87 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
With his newspaper about to be sold, crusading editor Ed Hutcheson tries to complete an exposé on gangster Rienzi.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ethel Barrymore, Kim Hunter, Ed Begley
Votes: 4,097
16. Sudden Fear (1952)
Approved | 110 min | Film-Noir, Thriller
After an ambitious actor insinuates himself into the life of a wealthy middle-aged playwright and marries her, he plots with his mistress to murder her.
Director: David Miller | Stars: Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett
Votes: 7,335
17. Pickup on South Street (1953)
Passed | 80 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Murvyn Vye
Votes: 16,147
18. The Big Heat (1953)
Passed | 89 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller
Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby
Votes: 29,152
19. The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
Approved | 71 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Two fishermen pick up a psychopathic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.
Director: Ida Lupino | Stars: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman, José Torvay
Votes: 10,517
20. An Inspector Calls (1954)
Approved | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A wealthy family is visited by a police inspector, who questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Alastair Sim, Arthur Young, Olga Lindo, Brian Worth
Votes: 5,240
21. Dial M for Murder (1954)
PG | 105 min | Crime, Thriller
A former tennis star arranges the murder of his adulterous wife.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, John Williams
Votes: 188,722 | Gross: $0.01M
22. Night People (1954)
Approved | 93 min | Adventure, Crime, Mystery
During the Cold War, an American soldier is abducted in West Berlin, sparking a recovery effort led by Colonel Steve Van Dyke.
Director: Nunnally Johnson | Stars: Gregory Peck, Broderick Crawford, Anita Björk, Rita Gam
Votes: 1,511
23. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 164,830 | Gross: $9.60M
24. Riot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
Not Rated | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Fed up with the inhumane prison living conditions, a general prison riot breaks out, leading to hostage-taking, a stand-off with the guards and eventual negotiations with the prison administration officials.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Neville Brand, Emile Meyer, Frank Faylen, Leo Gordon
Votes: 2,425
25. The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
Not Rated | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
This is the life of a Hollywood movie star named Maria, as told by writer/director Harry Dawes, from being discovered in Madrid, Spain, until her funeral in Italy.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Marius Goring
Votes: 12,693
26. Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
Passed | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A one-armed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep secret, by violent means if necessary.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Robert Ryan, Anne Francis, Dean Jagger
Votes: 24,247
27. No Man's Woman (1955)
Approved | 70 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
The police investigates five possible suspects in the murder of a greedy and scheming woman who wronged them.
Director: Franklin Adreon | Stars: Marie Windsor, John Archer, Patric Knowles, Nancy Gates
Votes: 611
28. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
Director: Charles Laughton | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason
Votes: 97,307 | Gross: $0.65M
29. Violent Saturday (1955)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Three hoodlums carefully case a small town while planning to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday. On Saturday, things turn violent and deadly.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Victor Mature, Richard Egan, Stephen McNally, Virginia Leith
Votes: 2,862
30. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
Not Rated | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A novelist aided by his future father-in-law conspires to frame himself for the murder of a burlesque dancer as part of an effort to ban capital punishment.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer, Arthur Franz
Votes: 5,900
31. While the City Sleeps (1956)
Approved | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A serial killer has been killing beautiful women in New York and the new owner of a media company offers a high ranking job to the first of his senior executives who can get the earliest scoops on the case.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff
Votes: 7,080
32. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 864,609 | Gross: $4.36M
33. Crime of Passion (1956)
Approved | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Kathy leaves the newspaper business to marry homicide detective Bill but is frustrated by his lack of ambition and the banality of life in the suburbs. Her drive to advance Bill's career soon takes her down a dangerous path.
Director: Gerd Oswald | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Sterling Hayden, Raymond Burr, Fay Wray
Votes: 2,854
34. Plunder Road (1957)
Approved | 72 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Five men rob a train in Utah of 10 million dollars in gold and head to Los Angeles in 3 trucks hoping to meet up with their beautiful accomplice and leave the country.
Director: Hubert Cornfield | Stars: Gene Raymond, Jeanne Cooper, Wayne Morris, Elisha Cook Jr.
Votes: 1,294
35. Portland Exposé (1957)
Approved | 72 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A tavern owner in mid-century Portland, Oregon finds the safety of himself and his family threatened when he becomes involved in a war between labor unions and a violent local crime syndicate.
Director: Harold D. Schuster | Stars: Edward Binns, Carolyn Craig, Virginia Gregg, Russ Conway
Votes: 286
36. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester
Votes: 137,789 | Gross: $8.18M
37. I Want to Live! (1958)
Approved | 120 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A prostitute, sentenced to death for murder, pleads her innocence.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Susan Hayward, Simon Oakland, Virginia Vincent, Theodore Bikel
Votes: 7,346
38. The Defiant Ones (1958)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
Two chained-together escaped convicts, White and Black, must learn to get along in order to elude capture.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Tony Curtis, Sidney Poitier, Cara Williams, Theodore Bikel
Votes: 17,821
39. Touch of Evil (1958)
PG-13 | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia
Votes: 109,787 | Gross: $2.24M
40. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Not Rated | 161 min | Drama, Mystery
An upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell
Votes: 71,301 | Gross: $11.90M
41. Compulsion (1959)
Approved | 103 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Two wealthy law-school students go on trial for murder in this version of the Leopold-Loeb case.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell, Diane Varsi, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 7,494
42. The St. Louis Bank Robbery (1959)
Not Rated | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A gang's plans for a St. Louis bank robbery are complicated when the sister of one of the thieves starts voicing her well-founded suspicions.
Directors: Charles Guggenheim, John Stix | Stars: Steve McQueen, Crahan Denton, David Clarke, James Dukas
Votes: 1,704
43. The Wreck of the Mary Deare (1959)
Not Rated | 105 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
A disgraced merchant marine officer elects to stay aboard his sinking cargo ship in order to prove the vessel was deliberately scuttled and, as a result, vindicate his good name.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Gary Cooper, Charlton Heston, Michael Redgrave, Emlyn Williams
Votes: 2,938
44. Sapphire (1959)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The murder of a young woman in London exposes deep racial tensions and prejudices inherent in the area.
Director: Basil Dearden | Stars: Nigel Patrick, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael Craig, Paul Massie
Votes: 2,307
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