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Thriller films from the 1950s
The best 100 of 246
- 1
Rear Window
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
- 2
Vertigo
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
- 3
North by Northwest
Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy, triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
- 4
Dial M for Murder
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
- 5
The Night of the Hunter
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
- 6
The Wages of Fear
In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.
- 7
Strangers on a Train
A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.
- 8
Diabolique
The cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, is murdered by an unlikely duo -- his meek wife and the mistress he brazenly flaunts. The women become increasingly unhinged by a series of odd occurrences after Dela
- 9
Touch of Evil
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
- 10
The Killing
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife a
- 11
A Streetcar Named Desire
A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace — but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.
- 12
Godzilla
Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the nativ
- 13
The Day the Earth Stood Still
An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.
- 14
The Man Who Knew Too Much
An American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.
- 15
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
- 16
A Man Escaped
A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.
- 17
Rififi
Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
- 18
To Catch a Thief
When a string of jewel robberies hits the French Riviera, suspicion falls on retired thief John “The Cat” Robie. To clear his name, he sets out to trap the copycat himself—entangling a wealthy widow and her beguiling daughter in a seductive
- 19
Elevator to the Gallows
A self-assured businessman murders his employer, husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.
- 20
In a Lonely Place
A violent screenwriter and a female neighbor fall in love after she clears him of murder, but she begins to have second thoughts.
- 21
The Big Heat
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
- 22
Bad Day at Black Rock
One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.
- 23
3:10 to Yuma
Dan Evans, a small time farmer, is hired to escort Ben Wade, a dangerous outlaw, to Yuma. As Evans and Wade wait for the 3:10 train to Yuma, Wade's gang is racing to free him.
- 24
Pickup on South Street
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the co
- 25
Kiss Me Deadly
One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he he
- 26
I Confess
When a priest hears a murderer’s confession, he becomes bound by his vow of silence—even as circumstantial evidence turns suspicion toward him. Torn between faith and self-preservation, he faces public scandal and trial for a crime he canno
- 27
Suddenly, Last Summer
The only son of wealthy widow Violet Venable dies while on vacation with his cousin Catherine. What the girl saw was so horrible that she went insane; now Mrs. Venable wants Catherine lobotomized to cover up the truth.
- 28
Él
Gloria encounters Francisco, a man whose social veneer betrays a truer self burrowed underneath.
- 29
Touchez Pas au Grisbi
Gentleman gangster Max and his partner, Riton, pull off their last, most successful heist and find themselves comfortable enough to retire in the style they enjoy. However, Max confides the details of the theft to his younger mistress, Josey -- who has secretly taken up with ambitious young rival gangster Angelo. Angelo then has Riton kidnapped and demands the stash of gold as ransom, which threatens Max's dreams of the perfect retirement.
- 30
The Defiant Ones
Two convicts—one white, one black—escape while chained to each other.
- 31
The Bad Seed
Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's die
- 32
Where the Sidewalk Ends
A police detective's violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.
- 33
The Narrow Margin
A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster's widow on a train journey from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- 34
Niagara
Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and G
- 35
The Hound of the Baskervilles
When a nobleman is threatened by a family curse on his newly inherited estate, detective Sherlock Holmes is hired to investigate.
- 36
Stage Fright
A struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence when he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.
- 37
5 Fingers
During WWII, the valet to the British Ambassador to Ankara sells British secrets to the Germans while trying to romance a refugee Polish countess.
- 38
The Desperate Hours
Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.
- 39
Panic in the Streets
A medical examiner discovers that an innocent shooting victim in a robbery died of bubonic plague. With only 48 hours to find the killer, who is now a ticking time bomb threatening the entire city, a grisly manhunt through the seamy underwo
- 40
Mr. Arkadin
Claiming that he doesn't know his own past, a rich man enlists an ex-con with an odd bit of detective work. Gregory Arkadin says he can't remember anything before the late 1920s, and convict Guy Van Stratten is happy to take the job of expl
- 41
While the City Sleeps
Newspaper men compete against each other to find a serial killer dubbed "The Lipstick Killer".
- 42
Crime Wave
Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter. The other two former cellmates then attempt to force him into doing a bank job.
- 43
The Man Who Never Was
The true story of a British effort to trick the Germans into weakening Sicily's defenses before the 1943 attack. A dead soldier is dressed as a British officer and outfitted with faked papers showing that the Allies were intending to invade
- 44
Maigret and the St. Fiacre Case
Police Commissioner Jules Maigret returns to the small village where he spent his childhood at the request of the Countess of Saint-Fiacre, who has received a disturbing anonymous letter.
- 45
- 46
Nightfall
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
- 47
No Way Out
Two hoodlum brothers are brought into hospital for gunshot wounds, and when one dies, the other accuses their Black doctor of murder.
- 48
Don't Bother to Knock
An airline pilot pursues a live-in babysitter at his hotel and gradually realizes she is not as stable as perhaps she should be.
- 49
Tiger Bay
In Tiger Bay, the docklands of Cardiff, rough-and-tumble street urchin Gillie witnesses the brutal killing of a young woman at the hands of visiting Polish sailor Korchinsky. Instead of reporting the crime to the authorities, Gillie merely
- 50
Scandal Sheet
A tabloid editor assigns a young reporter to solve a murder the editor committed himself.
- 51
Murder by Contract
Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer. His next target, a woman, is the most difficult.
- 52
No Highway in the Sky
James Stewart plays aeronautical engineer Theodore Honey, the quintessential absent-minded professor: eccentric, forgetful, but brilliant. His studies show that the aircraft being manufactured by his employer has a subtle but deadly design
- 53
Odds Against Tomorrow
An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.
- 54
The Prowler
Los Angeles, California. A cop who, unhappy with his job, blames others for his work problems, is assigned to investigate the case of a prowler who stalks the home of a married woman.
- 55
His Kind of Woman
Career gambler Dan Milner agrees to a $50,000 deal to leave the USA for Mexico, only to find himself entangled with fellow guests at a luxurious resort and suspecting that the man who hired him may be the deported crime boss Nick Ferraro ai
- 56
Footsteps in the Fog
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
- 57
Mystery Street
When a young woman's skeletal remains turn up on a Massachusetts beach, Barnstable cop Peter Moralas teams with Boston police and uses forensics, with the help of a Harvard professor, to determine the woman's identity, how she died, and who
- 58
The Ogre of Athens
On New Year’s Eve, a timid bank clerk is mistaken for a notorious criminal mastermind who rules the streets of Athens. Embracing his mistaken identity comes with a price though, as his unwitting white lie begins to unravel.
- 59
The Snorkel
On the Italian coast, writer Paul Decker has grown unhappy in his marriage and executes what appears to be a perfect murder of his wife. While Paul is believed to be writing a book in France, his stepdaughter, Candy, suspects him of murderi
- 60
23 Paces to Baker Street
Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, atte
- 61
The Mad Magician
Don Gallico is an inventor of stage magic effects who aspires to become a star in his own right. Just before his first performance his act is shut down by capricious manager Ross Ormond who wants Gallico's brilliant buzz saw effect for the
- 62
The Sniper
Eddie Miller struggles with his hatred of women, he's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. He starts a killing spree as a sniper by shooting women from far distances. In an attempt to get caught, he writes an anonymous let
- 63
The Devil Strikes at Night
Hamburg, Germany, 1944, during World War II. A serial killer terrorizes the city. When it seems clear that the local police are unable to catch him, forces as dark and terrible as the criminal himself become involved in the case.
- 64
No Man of Her Own
A penniless pregnant woman adopts the identity of a rich woman killed in a train crash.
- 65
The Tall Target
A detective tries to prevent the assassination of President-elect Abraham Lincoln during a train ride headed for Washington in 1861.
- 66
The Beast Must Die
A crime writer searching for the truth about a personal tragedy becomes involved in a murder investigation.
- 67
Decision Before Dawn
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information
- 68
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Ralph Cotter, a ruthless criminal, escapes violently from a farm prison. Then, he seduces a dead inmate’s sister, gets back quickly into the crime business, faces corrupt local cops who run the city’s underworld and meets a powerful tycoon’
- 69
The Killer Is Loose
A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies meek bank teller Leon Poole as the inside man. In capturing him, detective Sam Wagner accidentally kills Poole's young wife, and at his trial Poole swears vengeance again
- 70
No Name on the Bullet
When hired killer John Gant rides into Lordsburg, the town's folk become paranoid as each leading citizen has enemies capable of using the services of a professional killer for personal revenge.
- 71
Seven Days to Noon
When Professor Willingdon becomes wary of the nuclear weapons he is helping build, he steals a warhead and threatens to detonate it in London in seven days unless the government begins nuclear disarmament. As Willingdon goes into hiding, De
- 72
Cry Danger
After serving five years of a life sentence, Rocky Mulloy hopes to clear his friend who's still in prison for the same crime.
- 73
The Night My Number Came Up
British Air Marshal Hardie is attending a party in Hong Kong when he hears of a dream, told by a pilot, in which Hardie's flight to Tokyo on a small Dakota propeller plane crashes on a Japanese beach. Hardie dismisses the dream as pure fant
- 74
Zero Hour!
In 1950s Canada, during a commercial flight, the pilots and some passengers suffer food poisoning, thus forcing an ex-WW2 fighter pilot to try to land the airliner in heavy fog.
- 75
The Scapegoat
An Englishman in France unwittingly is placed into the identity, and steps into the vacated life, of a look-alike French nobleman.
- 76
Man in the Shadow
In a modern cow town, the powerful ranch owner’s henchmen kill a ranch hand, prompting the sheriff to investigate despite facing strong opposition. He finds an unlikely ally in the rancher's overprotected daughter, but their quest for justi
- 77
The Mob
An undercover officer tracks waterfront corruption from California to New Orleans and back.
- 78
The Chasers
A love triangle of two men who desire the same woman. We follow them through three days of grouse hunting, a chase that ends violently. Or does it?
- 79
Storm Warning
A fashion model witnesses the brutal assassination of an investigative journalist by the Ku Klux Klan while traveling to a small town to visit her sister.
- 80
Jeopardy
A woman is kidnapped when she goes to get help for her husband who is trapped on a beach with the tide coming in to surely drown him.
- 81
The Blue Lamp
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared
- 82
Never Open That Door
A man tries to avenge the death of his sister, a gambling addict. Another man, an ex-convict who whistles when he commits a crime, is reunited with his blind mother.
- 83
Park Row
In New York's 1880s newspaper district, a dedicated journalist manages to set up his own paper. It is an immediate success but attracts increasing opposition from one of the bigger papers and its newspaper heiress owner.
- 84
Libel
A California commercial pilot sees a telecast in London of an interview with Sir Mark Lodden at his home. The Canadian is convinced that the baronet is a fraud, and he is actually a look-alike actor named Frank Welney.
- 85
Jet Storm
Crisis in the air: A passenger aboard a commercial airplane flying from London to New York threatens to detonate a bomb over the Atlantic.
- 86
Fellowship of the Frog
Both Scotland Yard and an amateur American sleuth are tracking a master criminal known as The Frog. This moniker refers to the bulging-eyed mask worn by the evildoer, and is reflected by the frog icons painfully tatooed onto the forearms of
- 87
Pushover
A police detective falls for the bank robber's girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
- 88
The Spies
A doctor at a run-down psychiatric hospital is offered a large sum of money to shelter a new patient. Soon the place is full of suspicious and secretive characters, all apparently international secret agents trying to find out who and what
- 89
Armored Car Robbery
While executing an armored car heist in Los Angeles, icy crook Dave Purvis shoots policeman Lt. Phillips before he and his cronies make off with the loot. Thinking he got away scot-free, Purvis collects his money-crazy mistress, Yvonne, the
- 90
Pool of London
Jewel thieves, murder, and a manhunt swirl around a sailor off a cargo ship in post-war London.
- 91
Verboten!
A young American serviceman stationed in Germany after the fall of the Third Reich, jeopardises his future after falling in love with a German woman.
- 92
Man on a Tightrope
The owner of an impoverished circus in Communist-ruled Czechoslovokia plots to flee across the border to freedom, taking his entire troupe of performers and wild animals with him.
- 93
The Camp on Blood Island
Set in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II, the film focuses on the brutality and horror that the allied prisoners were exposed to as the Japanese metered out subjugation and punishment to a disgraced and defeated enemy. Thi
- 94
Cast a Dark Shadow
Edward "Teddy" Bare is a ruthless schemer who thinks he's hit the big time when he kills his older wife, believing he will inherit a fortune. When things don't go according to plan, Teddy sets his sights on a new victim: wealthy widow Freda
- 95
Nowhere to Go
A professional thief is sprung from prison with the assistance of a new partner who wants to know where he's hid his loot.
- 96
Crisis
An American doctor gets caught in the middle of a revolution when he's forced to operate on a South American dictator.
- 97
Shadow on the Wall
Angered that her sister Celia has stolen her fiance, Dell Faring kills her and allows Celia's husband David, knocked out in an argument with Celia, to take the blame and end up on death row. Later Dell, finding out that David's young daught
- 98
Union Station
Police catch a break when suspected kidnappers are spotted on a train heading towards Union Station. Police, train station security and a witness try to piece together the crime and get back the blind daughter of a rich business man.
- 99
Dark City
Gamblers who "took" an out-of-town sucker in a crooked poker game feel shadowy vengeance closing in on them.
- 100
Two of a Kind
A con woman and a lawyer get a carnival grifter to pose as an elderly rich couple's long-lost son.