1955

Academy winnerMarty poster

Marty

Composite 71.13

vs
Should have wonThe Night of the Hunter poster

The Night of the Hunter

Composite 77.13

The Academy's ballot

Your #1 was The Night of the Hunter (#1).

The full slate

#1
The Night of the Hunter poster

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 77.13

Dir. Charles Laughton · Robert Mitchum · Shelley Winters · Lillian Gish · Billy Chapin

IMDb 8.0 (107,895 votes) · TMDB 7.857

In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.

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#2
Diabolique poster

Diabolique (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 76.89

Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot · Véra Clouzot · Simone Signoret · Paul Meurisse · Charles Vanel

IMDb 8.1 (73,409 votes) · TMDB 7.889

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 Delassalle's corpse mysteriously disappears.

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#3
Pather Panchali poster

Pather Panchali (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 75.46

Dir. Satyajit Ray · Kanu Bannerjee · Karuna Banerjee · Chunibala Devi · Uma Das Gupta

IMDb 8.2 (41,766 votes) · TMDB 7.817

Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his wife, Sarbojaya, looks after her rebellious daughter, Durga, and her young son, Apu, as well as Harihar's elderly aunt Indir. The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them.

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#4
Rififi poster

Rififi (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 74.7

Dir. Jules Dassin · Jean Servais · Carl Möhner · Robert Manuel · Janine Darcey

IMDb 8.1 (39,420 votes) · TMDB 7.772

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.

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#5
Rebel Without a Cause poster

Rebel Without a Cause (1955)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #9

Composite 73.71

Dir. Nicholas Ray · James Dean · Natalie Wood · Sal Mineo · Jim Backus

IMDb 7.6 (103,466 votes) · TMDB 7.498

After moving to a new town, troublemaking teen Jim Stark is supposed to have a clean slate, although being the new kid in town brings its own problems. While searching for some stability, Stark forms a bond with a disturbed classmate, Plato, and falls for local girl Judy. However, Judy is the girlfriend of neighborhood tough, Buzz. When Buzz violently confronts Jim and challenges him to a drag race, the new kid's real troubles begin.

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#6
East of Eden poster

East of Eden (1955)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #8

Composite 73.27

Dir. Elia Kazan · James Dean · Julie Harris · Raymond Massey · Richard Davalos

IMDb 7.8 (50,703 votes) · TMDB 7.5

In the Salinas Valley in and around World War I, Cal Trask feels he must compete against overwhelming odds with his brother for the love of their father. Cal is frustrated at every turn, from his reaction to the war, how to get ahead in business and in life, and how to relate to his estranged mother.

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#7
Ordet poster

Ordet (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 73.22

Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer · Henrik Malberg · Birgitte Federspiel · Emil Hass Christensen · Preben Lerdorff Rye

IMDb 8.2 (18,973 votes) · TMDB 8.0

The three sons of devout Danish farmer Morten have widely disparate religious beliefs. Youngest son Anders shares his father's religion, but eldest son Mikkel has lost his faith, while middle child Johannes has become delusional and proclaims that he is Jesus Christ himself. When Mikkel's wife, Inger goes into a difficult childbirth, everyone's beliefs are put to the test.

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#8
To Catch a Thief poster

To Catch a Thief (1955)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #4

Composite 71.65

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock · Cary Grant · Grace Kelly · Jessie Royce Landis · John Williams

IMDb 7.4 (86,932 votes) · TMDB 7.27

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 game of pursuit, deception, and desire.

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#9
Lady and the Tramp poster

Lady and the Tramp (1955)

⭐ Top-rated💰 Box office #1

Composite 71.39

Dir. Clyde Geronimi · Barbara Luddy · Larry Roberts · Peggy Lee · Bill Thompson

IMDb 7.3 (162,287 votes) · TMDB 7.124

Lady, a golden cocker spaniel, meets up with a mongrel dog who calls himself the Tramp. He is obviously from the wrong side of town, but happenings at Lady's home make her decide to travel with him for a while.

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#10
Marty poster

Marty (1955)

🏆 Winner⭐ Top-rated

Composite 71.13

Dir. Delbert Mann · Ernest Borgnine · Betsy Blair · Esther Minciotti · Augusta Ciolli

IMDb 7.6 (30,731 votes) · TMDB 7.5

Marty, a butcher who lives in the Bronx with his mother is unmarried at 34. Good-natured but socially awkward he faces constant badgering from family and friends to get married but has reluctantly resigned himself to bachelorhood. Marty meets Clara, an unattractive school teacher, realising their emotional connection, he promises to call but family and friends try to convince him not to.

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#11
The Ladykillers poster

The Ladykillers (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 70.8

Dir. Alexander Mackendrick · Alec Guinness · Cecil Parker · Herbert Lom · Peter Sellers

IMDb 7.6 (34,251 votes) · TMDB 7.3

Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.

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#12
Bad Day at Black Rock poster

Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 70.18

Dir. John Sturges · Spencer Tracy · Robert Ryan · Walter Brennan · Lee Marvin

IMDb 7.6 (26,794 votes) · TMDB 7.3

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.

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#13
The Court Jester poster

The Court Jester (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 69.27

Dir. Norman Panama · Danny Kaye · Glynis Johns · Basil Rathbone · Angela Lansbury

IMDb 7.8 (15,103 votes) · TMDB 7.3

A hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against a usurper who has overthrown the rightful king of England.

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#14
Kiss Me Deadly poster

Kiss Me Deadly (1955)

⭐ Top-rated

Composite 69.23

Dir. Robert Aldrich · Ralph Meeker · Albert Dekker · Paul Stewart · Juano Hernández

IMDb 7.5 (23,750 votes) · TMDB 7.2

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 hears Christina being tortured until she dies. Hammer, both for vengeance and in hopes that "something big" is behind it all, decides to pursue the case.

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#15
Mister Roberts poster

Mister Roberts (1955)

🎬 Nominee⭐ Top-rated

Composite 68.78

Dir. John Ford · Henry Fonda · James Cagney · William Powell · Jack Lemmon

IMDb 7.6 (19,711 votes) · TMDB 7.093

Mr. Roberts is a Navy officer who's yearning for battle but is stuck in the backwaters of World War II on a non-commissioned ship run by the bullying Captain Morton.

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#16
The Seven Year Itch poster

The Seven Year Itch (1955)

💰 Box office #2

Composite 68

Dir. Billy Wilder · Marilyn Monroe · Tom Ewell · Evelyn Keyes · Sonny Tufts

IMDb 7.0 (45,474 votes) · TMDB 7.043

When his family goes away for summer vacation, a hitherto faithful publishing executive with an overactive imagination is tempted by an attractive new neighbor.

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#17
The Trouble with Harry poster

The Trouble with Harry (1955)

💰 Box office #5

Composite 67.8

Dir. Alfred Hitchcock · John Forsythe · Shirley MacLaine · Edmund Gwenn · Mildred Natwick

IMDb 7.0 (43,041 votes) · TMDB 7.0

The trouble with Harry is that he’s dead. In a quiet Vermont village, a corpse creates unexpected chaos as several townspeople each believe they may be to blame.

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#18
The Man with the Golden Arm poster

The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)

💰 Box office #10

Composite 67.43

Dir. Otto Preminger · Frank Sinatra · Eleanor Parker · Kim Novak · Arnold Stang

IMDb 7.3 (13,432 votes) · TMDB 7.2

When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.

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#19
Guys and Dolls poster

Guys and Dolls (1955)

💰 Box office #6

Composite 65.7

Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz · Marlon Brando · Jean Simmons · Frank Sinatra · Vivian Blaine

IMDb 7.1 (20,924 votes) · TMDB 6.549

In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!

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#20
Summertime poster

Summertime (1955)

💰 Box office #7

Composite 65.5

Dir. David Lean · Katharine Hepburn · Rossano Brazzi · Isa Miranda · Darren McGavin

IMDb 7.1 (11,366 votes) · TMDB 6.8

Middle-aged Ohio secretary Jane Hudson has never found love and has nearly resigned herself to spending the rest of her life alone. But before she does, she uses her savings to finance a summer in romantic Venice, where she finally meets the man of her dreams, the elegant Renato Di Rossi.

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#21
The Rose Tattoo poster

The Rose Tattoo (1955)

🎬 Nominee

Composite 64.63

Dir. Daniel Mann · Anna Magnani · Burt Lancaster · Marisa Pavan · Ben Cooper

IMDb 6.9 (4,997 votes) · TMDB 6.913

A grieving widow embarks on a new romance when she discovers her late husband had been cheating on her.

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#22
Picnic poster

Picnic (1955)

🎬 Nominee💰 Box office #3

Composite 64

Dir. Joshua Logan · William Holden · Kim Novak · Rosalind Russell · Betty Field

IMDb 7.0 (10,708 votes) · TMDB 6.4

Labor Day in a small Kansas farm town. Hal, a burly and resolute drifter, jumps off a dusty freight train car with the purpose of visiting Alan, a former college classmate and son of the richest man in town.

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#23
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing poster

Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)

🎬 Nominee

Composite 61.41

Dir. Henry King · Jennifer Jones · William Holden · Torin Thatcher · Isobel Elsom

IMDb 6.4 (5,875 votes) · TMDB 6.022

A widowed doctor of both Chinese and European descent falls in love with a married American correspondent in Hong Kong during China's Communist revolution.

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How scoring works: films are ranked by a composite of a weighted (Bayesian) IMDb rating — the same method as the IMDb Top 250, so a high score from few voters can't outrank a strong score from many — blended with TMDB. Box office is a tiebreaker and a badge, never part of the score. Raw IMDb ratings and vote counts are shown on each card.