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


Seven Samurai
1954 · 3h 27m
country: Japan
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.


The War of the Worlds
1953 · 1h 25m
country: United States
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.


The Vikings
1958 · 1h 55m
country: United States
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.


A Night to Remember
1958 · 2h 3m
country: United Kingdom
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.


The Hidden Fortress
1958 · 2h 19m
country: Japan
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.


Godzilla Raids Again
1955 · 1h 22m
country: Japan
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 Young Lions
1958 · 2h 47m
country: United States
The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.


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


The 7th Voyage of Sinbad
1958 · 1h 28m
country: United States
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.


Secret of the Incas
1954 · 1h 40m
country: United States
Harry Steele (Charlton Heston) is a tourist guide determined to make his fortune by finding the Sunburst, an Inca treasure.


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


The Sea Chase
1955 · 1h 57m
country: United States
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.


The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel
1951 · 1h 28m
country: United States
The life and career of Erwin Rommel and his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler.


Earth vs. the Flying Saucers
1956 · 1h 23m
country: United States
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.


Thunder Road
1958 · 1h 32m
country: United States
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.


White Feather
1955 · 1h 42m
country: United States
The story of the peace mission from the US cavalry to the Cheyenne Indians in Wyoming during the 1870s. The mission is threatened when a civilian surveyor befriends the chief's son and falls for the chief's daughter.


The Bridges at Toko-Ri
1954 · 1h 42m
country: United States
A U.S. Navy pilot and his squad are assigned to bomb a group of heavily defended bridges deep behind enemy lines during the Korean War.


The Hunters
1958 · 1h 48m
country: United States
With its electrifying flight sequences and high-powered cast, The Hunters is a mesmerizing film based on the best-selling novel by veteran fighter pilot James Salter. Set during the height of the Korean War, the story centers on Major Cleve Saville (Robert Mitchum), a master of the newly operational F-86 Sabre fighter jets. But adept as he is at flying, Saville¹s personal life takes a nosedive when he falls in love with his wingman¹s (Lee Philips) beautiful wife (May Britt). To make matters worse, Saville must cope with a loud-mouthed rookie (Robert Wagner) in a daring rescue mission that threatens all their lives in this well-crafted war drama.


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


Pony Express
1953 · 1h 41m
country: United States
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.


Son of Ali Baba
1952 · 1h 15m
country: United States
In ancient Persia the son of Ali Baba (of forty thieves fame), Kashma Baba is a military cadet by day and a party goer by night. He falls for a girl who he later finds is an escaped slave girl belonging to the wicked Caliph. They flee to his father's palace. But alas, there's more to her than meets the eye. Will the evil schemers succeed? The sons of the Forty Thieves to the rescue!


Blood Alley
1955 · 1h 50m
country: United States
An American Merchant Marine captain, rescued from a Chinese Communist jail by local villagers, is "shanghaied" into transporting the entire village to Hong Kong on an ancient paddle steamer.


Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
1954 · 1h 34m
country: Japan
Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.


Bob le Flambeur
1956 · 1h 43m
country: France
In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling -- and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob's luck turns sour, he begins to lose friends and makes the most desperate gamble of his life: to rob the Deauville casino during Grand Prix weekend, when the vaults are full. Unfortunately, Bob soon learns that the game is rigged and the cops are on to him.


Action of the Tiger
1957 · 1h 33m
country: United Kingdom
A woman hires soldier-of-fortune Carson to smuggle her into Albania by way of Greece. Their trouble is just beginning when they get there.


The Desert Rats
1953 · 1h 28m
country: United States
In North Africa, German Field Marshal Rommel and his troops have successfully fended off British forces, and now intend to take Tobruk, an important port city. A ramshackle group of Australian reinforcements sent to combat the Germans is put under the command of British Captain MacRoberts. The unruly Aussies immediately clash with MacRoberts, a gruff, strict disciplinarian, however this unorthodox team must band together to protect Tobruk from the German forces.


King Solomon's Mines
1950 · 1h 43m
country: United States
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.


Superman and the Mole Men
1951 · 58m
country: United States
Reporters Clark Kent and Lois Lane arrive in the small town of Silsby to witness the drilling of the world's deepest oil well. The drill, however, has penetrated the underground home of a race of small, furry people who then come to the surface at night to look around. The fact that they glow in the dark scares the townfolk, who form a mob, led by the vicious Luke Benson, intent on killing the strange people. Only Superman has a chance to prevent this tragedy.


Hell and High Water
1954 · 1h 43m
country: United States
A privately-financed scientist and his colleagues hire an ex-Navy officer to conduct an Alaskan submarine expedition in order to prevent a Red Chinese anti-American plot that may lead to World War III. Mixes deviously plotted schoolboy fiction with submarine spectacle and cold war heroics.


Al Capone
1959 · 1h 44m
country: United States
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.


To Hell and Back
1955 · 1h 46m
country: United States
The true WWII story of Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in U.S. history. Based on the autobiography of Audie Murphy who stars as himself in the film.


Operation Pacific
1951 · 1h 51m
country: United States
During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.


Chain Lightning
1950 · 1h 34m
country: United States
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.


Decision Before Dawn
1951 · 1h 59m
country: United States
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.


The Guns of Fort Petticoat
1957 · 1h 22m
country: United States
Opposing his commanding officer's decision to attack a group of innocent Indians and wipe them out, Lt. Frank Hewitt leaves his post and heads home to Texas. He knows that the attack will send all of the tribes on the warpath and he wants to forewarn everyone. He gets a chilly reception back home however. With most of the men away having enlisted in the Confederate army Frank, a Union officer, is seen by the local women as a traitor. He convinces them of the danger that lies ahead and trains them to repel the attack that will eventually come.


Hercules Unchained
1959 · 1h 38m
country: France
En route to Thebes for an important diplomatic mission, Hercules drinks from a magic spring and loses his memory. He spends most of the movie in the pleasure gardens of Queen Omphale of Lydia. While young Ulysses tries to help him regain his memory, political tensions escalate in Thebes, and Hercules' new wife Iole finds herself in mortal danger.


Congo Crossing
1956 · 1h 25m
country: United States
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.


Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island
1956 · 1h 45m
country: Japan
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.


The Great Locomotive Chase
1956 · 1h 25m
country: United States
During the Civil War, a Union spy, Andrews, is asked to lead a band of Union soldiers into the South so that they could destroy the railway system. However, things don't go as planned when the conductor of the train that they stole is on to them and is doing everything he can to stop them. Based on a true story.


Prince Valiant
1954 · 1h 40m
country: United States
A young Viking prince strives to become a knight in King Arthur's Court and restore his exiled father to his rightful throne.
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.