The 40 most popular 1950s action movies, ranked. Click any film for ratings, reviews, trailers, and where to watch.


Seven Samurai
1954 · 3h 27m · JP
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.


Pony Express
1953 · 1h 41m · US
Buffalo Bill and Wild Bill Hickok join forces to establish a mail route that can get mail from St. Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, in ten days. Along the way they must battle bad weather, hostile Indians and outlaws intent on robbing the mail and shutting down the entire operation.


The War of the Worlds
1953 · 1h 25m · US
The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.


Ghost Captain
1953 · 1h 30m · IT
A disgraced member of the Spanish Navy must redeem his family's honor after his father betrays his country to the French.


Chain Lightning
1950 · 1h 34m · US
Former World War II flying ace Matt Brennan takes a position as a test pilot for a commercial aircraft corporation and bumps into his old girlfriend, Jo Holloway, who now works as a receptionist for the company.


Hot Rod
1950 · 1h 1m · US
A young man builds a hot rod despite the disapproval of his father, a Juvenile Court judge. Circumstantial evidence points to the innocent teenager when his car is involved in a hit-and-run accident and he must reconcile with his father.


Blocked paths
1955 · 1h 21m · ES
After committing a crime, four fugitives intend to cross the border just to find the roads are blocked.


Godzilla Raids Again
1955 · 1h 22m · JP
Two fishing scout pilots make a horrifying discovery when they encounter a second Godzilla alongside a new monster named Anguirus. Without the weapon that killed the original, authorities attempt to lure Godzilla away from the mainland. But Anguirus soon arrives and the two monsters make their way towards Osaka as Japan braces for tragedy.


The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
1958 · 1h 28m · US
When the lovely Princess Parisa is shrunken by wicked Sokurah the Magician, Sinbad must embark on a quest to an island of monsters to cure her and prevent a war.


The Vikings
1958 · 1h 55m · US
Einar, brutal son of the viking Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with clever slave Eric, for the hand of a beautiful English maiden.


Red Snow
1952 · 1h 15m · US
An Eskimo Army Sergeant is sent to his Arctic tribal village to gather information about a mysterious unmarked black airplane which shadows military planes in northern Alaska and equally-mysterious flashings lighting up the sky from Siberia across the Bering Strait. He soon discovers Soviet espionage at work. Along the way he must also deal with an ice-floe evacuation, an air-ice rescue, a fight with a polar bear and marriage to his fiancee.


The Hidden Fortress
1958 · 2h 19m · JP
In feudal Japan, during a bloody war between clans, two cowardly and greedy peasants, soldiers of a defeated army, stumble upon a mysterious man who guides them to a fortress hidden in the mountains.


Abe Hayat
1955 · 2h 20m · IN
Saamri, an evil magician, causes trouble in the lives of Prince Jalal and his princess. As the situation worsens, the prince sets out to destroy the magician.


Sugarfoot
1951 · 1h 20m · US
The lawless west had never met a gun-throwing gent like...


Zarak
1956 · 1h 39m · UK
A notorious bandit develops a grudging respect for the English military man assigned to capture him.


Thunder Road
1958 · 1h 32m · US
Unrepentant Tennessee moonshine runner Luke Doolin makes dangerous high-speed deliveries for his liquor-producing father, Vernon, but won't let his younger brother Robin join the family business. Under pressure from both out-of-town gangster Kogan, who wants a piece of the local action, and Treasury agent Barrett, who wants to destroy the moonshine business, Luke fights for his fast-fading way of life.


A Night to Remember
1958 · 2h 3m · UK
The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.


Congo Crossing
1956 · 1h 25m · US
Congotanga, West Africa, has no extradition laws; the government is controlled by foreign gangsters, headed by Carl Rittner. The latest plane from Europe carries lovely Louise Whitman, fleeing a French murder charge, and Mannering, who pays resident hit man O'Connell to kill her. Through a chain of circumstances Louise, O'Connell, and heroic surveyor David Carr end up alone in the jungle on Carr's mission to determine the true border of Congotanga... in which Rittner is keenly interested.


Huracán Ramírez
1953 · 1h 43m · MX
Family comedy and family melodrama involving father and son wrestlers, little brothers, little sisters, girlfriends, waitresses...


Army Bound
1952 · 1h 1m · US
Race car driver Frank Cermak is in love with Jane Harris. Jane and her parents watch Frank win a tight race from Bill Peters, an army lieutenant on leave. Peters tries to foul Frank, and Frank beats him in a fist fight after the race. Frank is drafted into the army and (against staggering and overwhelming odds) finds Lt. Peters to be his commanding officer.


The Great Warrior Skanderbeg
1953 · 2h 3m · AL
A biography of George Kastriot Skanderbeg widely known as Skanderbeg, a 15th-century Albanian lord who defended his land against the Ottoman Empire for more than two decades.


Okinawa
1952 · 1h 7m · US
On the eve of their return to the states, the crew of the U.S.S. Blake is unpleasantly surprised when their new captain, Lt. Commander Hale, announces that they've been reassigned to the upcoming invasion of Okinawa. With the news turning the crew against him, Hale must rise to the occasion to keep his men inline.


Semerah Padi
1956 · 1h 40m · SG
Aduka and Teruna are sworn brothers. They have been tasked to keep the law and order according to the Islam ways of the village, Semerah Padi. The village Headmaster has a daughter, Dara, whom has fallen for Aduka secretly. The Headmaster decided to marry his daughter to Teruna not knowing about the relationship between Dara and Aduka. The lovebirds were heart broken but decided to keep things to themselves, Dara not wanting to go against her father's wishes and Aduka not wanting to hurt his brother. The country was attacked by the pirates and Teruna was sent by the Headmaster to render his services to the Sultan. Whilst Teruna was away, Semerah Padi was attacked by Borek and his gang and Dara was kidnapped. Aduka managed to kill Borek and rescued her. With love and passion overcoming their emotions, they committed adultery. Teruna came back victorious and discovered what had happened. What was Teruna's reaction? What happened to Dara and Aduka?


Yellow Fin
1951 · 1h 14m
WWII veteran Mike Donovan decides to sell his fishing boat after suffering a a series of accidents, the worst of which sends his father, Captain John Donovan, to the hospital suffering from amnesia. His decision is opposed by hie sweetheart, Nina Torres, and his loyal crew, but supported by his father's nurse, Jean Elliott, who also has romantic designs on Mike.


Hit and Run
1959 · 1h 35m · FR
The unfortunate journalist Fred falls in love with the young wife of an older business tycoon. Fred's involvement with her involves him in both blackmail and murder.


The Vanquished
1953 · 1h 24m · US
A man returns to his home -- a post Civil-War village -- and finds the law is in the hands of a few scrupulous people.


Buccaneer's Girl
1950 · 1h 17m · US
A New Orleans performer loves a pirate who robs only from the shipowner who ruined his father.


Nepoţii gornistului
1953 · 1h 46m · RO
The story of three generations of the Dorobantsu peasant family, who fought bravely and selflessly against the oppressors of their homeland. The viewer sees the people who took an active part in the peasant uprisings of 1907 and their descendants who won the war against fascism.


Tiger Girl
1954 · 1h 41m · SU
The story is about heiress of the circus family who organizes show "Let's get married" right in the cage for the tigers. Famous motorcyclist Fedya Yermolaev is invited to the circus for a ‘death-defying number’ – to perform a jump on a motorcycle under the big dome! Lena, a custodian at the circus, dreams of becoming a tiger tamer. Stray tigers growl and frighten. Lena enters the cage and...


Sergeant Hassan
1958 · 1h 52m · SG
Hassan (P. Ramlee) is 10 when his father died. His mother had died when he was younger. His late father's boss feels sorry for Hassan and adopts him. However, Hassan's foster father's own child, Aziz (Jins Shamsudin) is jealous of Hassan and hates him. When both of them have fully grown up, Aziz and Buang (Salleh Kamil) always bully Hassan. At the same time, Salmah (Saadiah) has developed a crush towards Hassan, fuelling Aziz's fury. When the Second World War is approaching, the Royal Malay Regiment begins recruiting young soldiers.


El Indio
1953 · 1h 30m · PH
Based on Francisco V. Coching's adventure comics novel, the film tells the story of Fernando (Cesar Ramirez), a handsome and dashing Spanish mestizo who goes back to the Philippines to exact revenge on his father whom he believed abandoned him and his mother Blanquita. There, he discovers the cruel and oppressive colonial government and joins the rebels in the fight against the oppressors as El Indio.


King Solomon's Mines
1950 · 1h 43m · US
Fortune hunter Allan Quatermain teams up with a resourceful woman to help her find her missing husband lost in the wilds of 1900s Africa while being pursued by hostile tribes and a rival German explorer.


The Sea Chase
1955 · 1h 57m · US
As the Second World War breaks out, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich is about to leave Sydney, Australia with his vessel, the Ergenstrasse. Ehrlich, an anti-Nazi but proud German, hopes to outrun or out-maneuver the British warship pursuing him. Aboard his vessel is Elsa Keller, a woman Ehrlich has been ordered to return to Germany safely along with whatever secrets she carries. When Ehrlich's fiercely Nazi chief officer Kirchner commits an atrocity, the British pursuit becomes deadly.


Emergency Hospital
1956 · 1h 22m · US
About the lives and loves of the staff of an emergency hospital as reflected in a single frenetic night of business-as-usual.


Diego Silang
1951 · PH
This movie captures the core and colorful saga of the famous Ilocano hero Diego Silang.


Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
1956 · 1h 23m · US
Test space rockets exploding at liftoff and increased reporting of UFO sightings culminate in a direct attempt by alien survivors of a dead, extra-galactic civilization to invade Earth from impervious flying saucers, using ray-weapons of mass destruction.


Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
1956 · 1h 45m · JP
A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.


Dragstrip Riot
1958 · 1h 8m · US
An adolescent arrives in a new town where he tries to join the drag-racing crowd.


Decision Before Dawn
1951 · 1h 59m · US
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. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.


Kongeligt besøg
1954 · DK
In the year 1646, Denmark is at peace. Only recently have the last occupying troops left Jutland, leaving behind the sad traces of iron heels. The administration has partially collapsed, the kingdom is short of money, and what money there is is unevenly distributed. This is the unusual and sad background to this unpretentious account.
1950s cinema fought television with everything it had: widescreen formats, colour, and spectacle. Underneath the scale, it was also the decade of Japanese cinema's international breakthrough and the birth of the modern art film.
Action cinema runs from the stunt-driven spectacle of Hollywood blockbusters to the choreographed precision of Hong Kong and Korean thrillers. The best of it treats physical performance as storytelling — chases, fights, and set pieces that reveal character rather than pause for it.