Favorite Films of 1953

by bertramsharp | created - 11 Jul 2011 | updated - 26 Jul 2022 | Public

Updated: 7/26/2022

I have watched 28 films with a 1953 release date. I have listed them here ranked from best to worst (in my opinion).

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1. Ugetsu (1953)

Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy, War

A tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Mitsuko Mito

Votes: 25,810 | Gross: $0.01M

2. Peter Pan (1953)

G | 77 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

76 Metascore

Wendy and her brothers are whisked away to the magical world of Neverland with the hero of their stories, Peter Pan.

Directors: Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Jack Kinney | Stars: Bobby Driscoll, Kathryn Beaumont, Hans Conried, Bill Thompson

Votes: 153,074 | Gross: $87.40M

3. Stalag 17 (1953)

Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, War

84 Metascore

After two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.

Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss

Votes: 58,805

4. Thunder Bay (1953)

Approved | 103 min | Adventure, Drama

Shrimpers and oilmen clash after an ambitious wildcatter begins constructing an off-shore oil rig.

Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: James Stewart, Joanne Dru, Gilbert Roland, Dan Duryea

Votes: 2,167

5. Bear Country (1953)

Not Rated | 33 min | Short, Documentary, Family

The lives of black bears in Yellowstone National Park.

Director: James Algar | Stars: Winston Hibler, Kjeld Jacobsen

Votes: 175

6. The Living Desert (1953)

G | 69 min | Family, Documentary

69 Metascore

Although first glance reveals little more than stones and sand, the desert is alive. Witness moving rocks, spitting mud pots, gorgeous flowers and the never-ending battle for survival between creatures of every shape, size and description.

Director: James Algar | Star: Winston Hibler

Votes: 1,716

7. Scared Stiff (1953)

Approved | 108 min | Comedy, Horror, Musical

Fleeing a murder charge, a busboy and a nightclub singer wind up on a spooky Caribbean island inherited by a young woman.

Director: George Marshall | Stars: Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Lizabeth Scott, Carmen Miranda

Votes: 2,090

8. Prowlers of the Everglades (1953)

Approved | 32 min | Documentary, Short, Family

Watch as the alligator, the unquestioned apex predator of the Everglades, follows its cycle of life much the same as it did in prehistoric times.

Director: James Algar | Star: Winston Hibler

Votes: 123

9. The Robe (1953)

Approved | 135 min | Drama, History, Romance

In the Roman province of Judea during the 1st century, Roman tribune Marcellus Gallio is ordered to crucify Jesus of Nazareth but is tormented by his guilty conscience afterwards.

Director: Henry Koster | Stars: Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Victor Mature, Michael Rennie

Votes: 11,736 | Gross: $36.00M

10. From Here to Eternity (1953)

Passed | 118 min | Drama, Romance, War

85 Metascore

At a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his commanding officer's wife and top aide begin a tentative affair.

Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed

Votes: 50,810 | Gross: $30.50M

11. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (1953)

Approved | 80 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

A ferocious dinosaur awakened by an Arctic atomic test terrorizes the North Atlantic and, ultimately, New York City.

Director: Eugène Lourié | Stars: Paul Hubschmid, Paula Raymond, Cecil Kellaway, Kenneth Tobey

Votes: 8,724 | Gross: $5.00M

12. Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953)

Approved | 81 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

The wartime adventures of Scotish highland leader Rob Roy MacGregor during the reign of King George I in the 18th century.

Director: Harold French | Stars: Richard Todd, Glynis Johns, James Robertson Justice, Michael Gough

Votes: 660

13. The War of the Worlds (1953)

G | 85 min | Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller

78 Metascore

A small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.

Director: Byron Haskin | Stars: Gene Barry, Ann Robinson, Les Tremayne, Robert Cornthwaite

Votes: 38,527 | Gross: $4.36M

14. Abbott and Costello Meet Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1953)

Passed | 76 min | Comedy, Horror, Mystery

Two bumbling American cops hunt for the mysterious Mr. Hyde in London, England.

Director: Charles Lamont | Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Boris Karloff, Craig Stevens

Votes: 4,998 | Gross: $2.62M

15. Private Eyes (1953)

Approved | 64 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

After a punch in the nose, Sach gains the ability to read minds, so Slip and the gang take on a detective agency to try cashing in on Sach's new power.

Director: Edward Bernds | Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bernard Gorcey, Robert Osterloh

Votes: 358

16. Abbott and Costello Go to Mars (1953)

Approved | 77 min | Comedy, Family, Fantasy

Two workmen accidentally launch a space rocket intended for Mars, and find mistakenly landing in New Orleans just the beginning of their misadventures.

Director: Charles Lamont | Stars: Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Robert Paige, Mari Blanchard

Votes: 3,604

17. The Long, Long Trailer (1954)

Approved | 96 min | Comedy, Romance

Nicky and Tacy are going to be married. Nicky wants to save up money for a house, but Tacy dreams of starting off with their own home on wheels--a trailer.

Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz, Marjorie Main, Keenan Wynn

Votes: 5,503

18. It Came from Outer Space (1953)

Approved | 81 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

A spaceship from another world crashes in the Arizona desert and only an amateur stargazer and a schoolteacher suspect alien influence when the local townsfolk begin to act strangely.

Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake, Joe Sawyer

Votes: 11,042

19. Invaders from Mars (1953)

Approved | 78 min | Horror, Sci-Fi

A young boy learns that space aliens are taking over the minds of earthlings.

Director: William Cameron Menzies | Stars: Helena Carter, Arthur Franz, Jimmy Hunt, Leif Erickson

Votes: 8,832

20. Jennifer (1953)

Not Rated | 73 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Agnes Langsley gets a job, through Jim Hollis, as caretaker of an old and vacated estate. The owner's cousin, Jennifer, was the last occupant and mysteriously disappeared. Agnes soon begins... See full summary »

Director: Joel Newton | Stars: Ida Lupino, Howard Duff, Robert Nichols, Mary Shipp

Votes: 487

21. Donovan's Brain (1953)

Approved | 84 min | Sci-Fi, Horror

Three scientists unlawfully remove the still living brain of a dead tycoon and experiment with it but the evil brain begins to telepathically control the lead scientist.

Director: Felix E. Feist | Stars: Lew Ayres, Gene Evans, Nancy Reagan, Steve Brodie

Votes: 1,719

22. House of Wax (1953)

GP | 88 min | Horror

68 Metascore

An associate burns down a wax museum with the owner inside, but he survives only to become vengeful and murderous.

Director: André De Toth | Stars: Vincent Price, Frank Lovejoy, Phyllis Kirk, Carolyn Jones

Votes: 20,249 | Gross: $23.75M

23. Glen or Glenda (1953)

PG | 65 min | Drama

A psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).

Director: Edward D. Wood Jr. | Stars: Edward D. Wood Jr., Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell

Votes: 9,189

24. The Maze (1953)

Approved | 80 min | Drama, Fantasy, Horror

A Scotsman abruptly breaks off his engagement to pretty Kitty and moves to his uncle's castle in the Scottish highlands. Kitty and her aunt follow Gerald a few weeks later, and discover he ... See full summary »

Director: William Cameron Menzies | Stars: Richard Carlson, Veronica Hurst, Katherine Emery, Michael Pate

Votes: 1,261

25. Four Sided Triangle (1953)

Approved | 81 min | Romance, Sci-Fi

Bill and Robin, helped by their childhood friend, Lena, develop a "reproducer" which can exactly duplicate any object. Bill, crushed when Lena marries Robin, convinces her to allow him to ... See full summary »

Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Barbara Payton, James Hayter, Stephen Murray, John Van Eyssen

Votes: 823

26. Spaceways (1953)

74 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller

A small group of closely-guarded British scientists test their first rocket amidst indications of matrimonial strife in the community. After the partial failure of the firing, a couple go ... See full summary »

Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: Howard Duff, Eva Bartok, Alan Wheatley, Philip Leaver

Votes: 530

27. Kansas Pacific (1953)

Approved | 73 min | Western

With the Civil War about to begin, Southern saboteurs attack frontier railroad construction.

Director: Ray Nazarro | Stars: Sterling Hayden, Eve Miller, Barton MacLane, Harry Shannon

Votes: 802

28. Robot Monster (1953)

Approved | 66 min | Comedy, Family, Horror

The monstrous Ro-Man attempts to annihilate the last family alive on Earth, but finds himself falling for their beautiful daughter.

Director: Phil Tucker | Stars: George Nader, Gregory Moffett, Claudia Barrett, Selena Royle

Votes: 5,451 | Gross: $1.00M



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