The Decade's Cinema at a Glance

People from the '50s enjoyed going to the cinema so much that they'd dress up for it. Men would wear their best suits and ties while women would don their most beautiful dresses. It was a formal affair, complete with hats of different shapes and sizes. Without the right hat, your outfit just wasn't complete. Movies would have been undefeatable, except for the fact that the 1950s saw the rise of television. But even then, TV couldn't compete with the whole experience of dressing up and going to the movies.

People who lived through the 1950s were no strangers to drive-in movie theatres. This phenomenon was a total hit in the '50s as it offered a family-oriented and friendly activity to the car-obsessed society that thrived at the time. It became such a trendy concept that over 4,000 drive-in theatres soon spread across the United States.

To see the beautiful actors and actresses and fantastic storylines, people would gladly spend their cash on a movie ticket. It was also in the 1950s that John Whitney introduced 3D systems. Colo motion films were starting to be widely used, so going to the movies always had something new and exciting to offer.

The Best Films From The 1950s

The Thrilling Story Of The Rear Window

Directed by the iconic Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes, Rear Window tells the story of a newspaper photographer with a broken leg. Passing the time as his body heals, he accidentally witnesses a murder. With the assistance of his girlfriend and nurse, he decides to investigate and solve the crime himself. Of course, this means catching the murderer without being killed themselves.

An audience of mostly children cheer and make faces in a movie theater, mid 1950s. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images) — Hulton Archive/GettyImages

This American technicolor mystery thriller film was based on Cornell Woolrich's 1942 short story entitled It Had To Be Murder. It was released by Paramount Pictures and was first screened at the Venice Film Festival in 1954. The movie received a budget of $1 million and was a huge success, earning them $36.8 million at the box office.

The Action-Packed North By Northwest

American actor Cary Grant on the set of — Sunset Boulevard/GettyImages

North By Northwest was a film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It follows the story of NYC ad executive Roger Thornhill and the spy named Phillip Vandamm who is pursuing him. The ad executive is mistaken as a government agent, meeting a beautiful girl named Eve Kendall in the process. As Vandamm's spies approach, the protagonists engage in several action scenes that remain iconic to this day. The American thriller was released in 1959. The production received a budget of $4,326,000 and earned $9.8 million at the box office.

The Bridge On The River Kwai

Kino. Die Bruecke Am Kwai, Bridge On The River Kwai, The, Die Bruecke Am Kwai, Bridge On The River Kwai, The, Alec Guinness, Sessue Hayakawa Kurz bevor der erste Zug ueber die fertiggestellte Bruecke fahren soll, entdecken Nicholson (Alec Guinness,l) und Saito (Sessue Hayakawa) die Sabotage., 1957. (Photo by FilmPublicityArchive/United Archives via Getty Images) — United Archives/GettyImages

The Bridge On The River Kwai is a film directed by David Lean. The story is about British POWs who were ordered by their Japanese captors to build a bridge that would be strategically used against the British army. The soldiers, as you might expect, attempt to sabotage its construction, but will their efforts be enough for the Japanese to fail? This British-American epic war film was released in 1957 and earned $30.6 million at the box office, including worldwide rentals from its initial release under a $2.8 million budget.

On The Waterfront

Directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg, On The Waterfront follows a Dockworker named Terry Malloy. He is a promising boxer until he gets persuaded to participate in a fight by a powerful local mob boss named Johnny Friendly. A longshoreman is murdered before he can testify about the mob boss' control over the Hoboken waterfront. Terry teams up with the dead longshoreman's sister, Edie, and a streetsmart priest named Father Barry against Friendly. This American crime drama film was released in 1954, received a budget of $910,000, and earned over $9.6 million at the box office!

Rebel Without A Cause

Rebel Without A Cause was directed by Nicholas Ray for CinemaScope. It's about a teen troublemaker named Jim Stark who moves to a new town. As the new kid in the city, Jim faces a few issues. But he tries to get some stability by developing a friendship with a disturbed teenager named Plato. He also falls in love with a local girl named Judy who was the girlfriend of a bully named Buzz. The violent Buzz challenges Jim to a drag race, and this is where his troubles truly begin. The 1955 movie is an American drama film that revolves around emotionally confused middle-class and suburban teenagers. The production received a budget of $1.5 million and earned a whopping $4.5 million at the box office and US rentals.

Three Directors Who Made Waves in the1960s

Alfred Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was an English film director and producer born on August 13, 1899. He is revered as one of the most influential figures in cinema. He directed over 50 feature films, including To Catch a Thief and Vertigo. Known as the “Master of Suspense,” Hitchcock influenced the cinematic lexicon greatly. Thanks to his work on The 39 Steps, the term “MacGuffin” became a new word. It means the object/device/concept around which the plot revolves. A MacGuffin is the one driving the narrative forward.

He also popularized the use of “dolly zoom,” which was evident in his thriller, Vertigo. Spielberg even paid tribute to the technique in his films E.T. and Jaws. A dolly zoom technique happens when a camera moves closer or further from the subject as the cameraman adjusts the zoom simultaneously to avoid changing the size of the subject. In this process, the background-size will change.

Alfred Hitchcock's work on Psycho made waves in the film industry of the '60s. Indeed, this is where modern horror initiated. To make things more mysterious, no-one was allowed to enter the theater once the screenings started. Psycho became the most profitable black-and-white sound film ever made. It's fantastic to find out that, even now, it still shocks contemporary audiences.

William Wyler

William Wyler was born on July 1, 1902. He was a famous American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His most famous works were Ben-Hur released in 1959, The Best Years Of Our Lives in 1946, and Mrs. Miniver in 1942. These films all received Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Picture in their respective years. He is the only director that received three Best Picture Awards up to this day.

Wyler's work greatly influenced American pop culture with his unique direction, style, and work ethic. In 1968, he directed the film, Funny Girl, which starred Barbra Streisand. It was a huge financial success and enabled Streisand to win Best Actress. It made her the thirteenth actor to win an Oscar under Wyler's direction.

David Lean

Sir David Lean was born on March 25, 1908. He has been described as one of the most influential directors, screenwriter, producer, and editor of all time. The English director was known for his works like The Bridge on The River Kwai in 1957, Lawrence of Arabia in 1962, Doctor Zhivago in 1965, and A Passage To India in 1984.

David Lean's perfectionist attitude is what made his cuts, framings, and patience so magnificent. This master of all things cinematic influenced legendary directors like Steven Spielberg, amongst many others. His work on Lawrence of Arabia is incomparable, and the film still stands as one of the greatest ever made. It was a British epic historical drama film based on the life of a real person named T.E. Lawrence.