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Top Films by Year (1950-1954)

**—Won Academy Award for Best Picture.
*—Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

1950

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 Sunset Blvd.* Billy Wilder 25
2 All about Eve** Joseph L. Mankiewicz 56
3 Rashômon Akira Kurosawa 72
4 In a Lonely Place Nicholas Ray 361
5 Los Olvidados Luis Buñuel 387
6 Gun Crazy Joseph H. Lewis 505
7 The Asphalt Jungle John Huston 562
8 Winchester '73 Anthony Mann 668
9 Orpheus Jean Cocteau 785
10 Night and the City Jules Dassin 834
11 Cinderella Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske 847
12 Harvey Henry Koster 907
13 The Gunfighter Henry King 1104
14 Born Yesterday* George Cukor 1276
15 Rio Grande John Ford 1791
16 La Ronde Max Ophüls 1803
17 Wagon Master John Ford 1890
18 Un chant d'amour Jean Genet 2075
19 Stromboli Roberto Rossellini 2132
20 Destination Moon Irving Pichel 2359
21 Broken Arrow Delmer Daves 2475
22 Father of the Bride* Vincente Minnelli 2715

1951

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 A Streetcar Named Desire* Elia Kazan 196
2 The Day the Earth Stood Still Robert Wise 245
3 Strangers on a Train Alfred Hitchcock 263
4 The African Queen John Huston 286
5 An American in Paris** Vincente Minnelli 391
6 Ace in the Hole Billy Wilder 423
7 Diary of a Country Priest Robert Bresson 545
8 The Thing from Another World Christian Nyby 762
9 A Place in the Sun* George Stevens 786
10 The River Jean Renoir 1216
11 Alice in Wonderland Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske 1310
12 Early Summer Yasujirô Ozu 1536
13 The Lavender Hill Mob Charles Crichton 1552
14 The Man in the White Suit Alexander Mackendrick 1614
15 The Steel Helmet Samuel Fuller 1819
16 Scrooge Brian Desmond Hurst 1914
17 Othello Orson Welles 1917
18 Miracle in Milan Vittorio De Sica 2189
19 When Worlds Collide Rudolph Maté 2254

1952

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 Singin' in the Rain Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly 7
2 High Noon* Fred Zinnemann 130
3 Ikiru Akira Kurosawa 256
4 Umberto D. Vittorio De Sica 445
5 The Quiet Man* John Ford 619
6 The Life of Oharu Kenji Mizoguchi 986
7 Forbidden Games René Clément 1089
8 The Bad and the Beautiful Vincente Minnelli 1292
9 Casque d'Or Jacques Becker 1360
10 Limelight Charles Chaplin 1485
11 Le Plaisir Max Ophüls 1851
12 Rancho Notorious Fritz Lang 2156
13 The Narrow Margin Richard Fleischer 2216
14 Bend of the River Anthony Mann 2464
15 Europa '51 Roberto Rossellini 2582
16 Pat and Mike George Cukor 2646
17 The Lusty Men Nicholas Ray 2668

1953

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 Tokyo Story Yasujirô Ozu 70
2 The Wages of Fear Henri-Georges Clouzot 210
3 Roman Holiday* William Wyler 213
4 Ugetsu Kenji Mizoguchi 241
5 Shane* George Stevens 341
6 From Here to Eternity** Fred Zinnemann 372
7 The Big Heat Fritz Lang 429
8 Mr. Hulot's Holiday Jacques Tati 453
9 The Earrings of Madame De… Max Ophüls 490
10 Pickup on South Street Samuel Fuller 542
11 The Band Wagon Vincente Minnelli 585
12 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Howard Hawks 595
13 Stalag 17 Billy Wilder 633
14 The Naked Spur Anthony Mann 867
15 The War of the Worlds Byron Haskin 871
16 I Vitelloni Federico Fellini 1343
17 Peter Pan Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, and Hamilton Luske 1396
18 Duck Amuck Chuck Jones 1469
19 House of Wax André De Toth 1711
20 The Cruel Sea Charles Frend 1887
21 Calamity Jane David Butler 1947
22 Invaders from Mars William Cameron Menzies 2000
23 Kiss Me Kate George Sidney 2047
24 The Robe* Henry Koster 2065
25 El Luis Buñuel 2159
26 It Came from Outer Space Jack Arnold 2313
27 The Wild One László Benedek 2382
28 The Hitch-Hiker Ida Lupino 2415
29 Crime Wave André De Toth 2707
30 How to Marry a Millionaire Jean Negulesco 2716

1954

Rank Title Director(s) Overall
Rank
1 Seven Samurai Akira Kurosawa 22
2 Rear Window Alfred Hitchcock 34
3 On the Waterfront** Elia Kazan 64
4 La Strada Federico Fellini 276
5 Sansho the Bailiff Kenji Mizoguchi 376
6 A Star Is Born George Cukor 396
7 Johnny Guitar Nicholas Ray 419
8 Godzilla Ishirô Honda 580
9 Dial M for Murder Alfred Hitchcock 826
10 Voyage in Italy Roberto Rossellini 937
11 20,000 Leagues under the Sea Richard Fleischer 1159
12 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers* Stanley Donen 1169
13 Them! Gordon Douglas 1188
14 Senso Luchino Visconti 1364
15 Sabrina Billy Wilder 1394
16 The Caine Mutiny* Edward Dmytryk 1508
17 Carmen Jones Otto Preminger 1698
18 Creature from the Black Lagoon Jack Arnold 1849
19 White Christmas Michael Curtiz 1873
20 The Crucified Lovers Kenji Mizoguchi 2021
21 The Barefoot Contessa Joseph L. Mankiewicz 2375
22 Touchez pas au grisbi Jacques Becker 2414
23 Salt of the Earth Herbert J. Biberman 2572

**—Won Academy Award for Best Picture.
*—Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture.

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This page was last modified on April 20, 2020