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The Best Movies of 1953

Updated September 23, 2019 6.3k votes 180 voters 5.1k views 788 items

List of the best movies of 1953, with movie trailers when available. Action hero Steve McQueen made his first appearance on the big screen in 1953. These top movies of 1953 are listed by popularity, so the movies with the most votes are at the top. This list consists of all different movie genres, but each film was released in 1953. You can filter this list of films that came out in 1953 for various bits of information, such as who directed the movie and what genre it is. Think the best 1953 movie isn't as high as it should be? Vote up your favorite so it will rise to the top.

List features movies like Shane, Peter Pan and more!

This list answers the questions, "What are the best movies from 1953?" and "What are the most popular movies of 1953?"

1953 was a great year for movies, since a lot of classic films were released in 1953. This is a crowd sourced list that has been voted on by many people, so these top films of 1953 aren't just one persons opinion.

Data-driven recommendations based on voting from over 40 million monthly visits to Ranker. Try the free app

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Shane Jack Palance, Jean Arthur, Alan Ladd

Released: 1953

Directed by: George Stevens

Shane is a 1953 American Technicolor Western film from Paramount. It was produced and directed by George Stevens from a screenplay by A. B. Guthrie, Jr., based on the 1949 novel of the same name ...more

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Calamity Jane Doris Day, Howard Keel, Dick Wesson

Released: 1953

Directed by: David Butler

Calamity Jane is a "Wild West"-themed film musical released in 1953. It is loosely based on the life of Wild West heroine Calamity Jane and explores an alleged romance between Calamity ...more

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#57 of 377 The Best Musical Movies of All Time #179 of 395 The Best Western Movies Ever Madelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Titanic Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Wagner, Thelma Ritter

Released: 1953

Directed by: Jean Negulesco

Titanic is a 1953 American drama film directed by Jean Negulesco. Its plot centers on an estranged couple sailing on the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic, which took place in April 1912.

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Roman Holiday Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert

Released: 1953

Directed by: William Wyler

Roman Holiday is a 1953 American romantic comedy directed and produced by William Wyler. It stars Gregory Peck as a reporter and Audrey Hepburn as a royal princess out to see Rome on her own. ...more

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#284 of 410 The Best Rainy Day Movies #381 of 1,210 The Absolute Funniest Movies Of All Timelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Peter Pan June Foray, Bobby Driscoll, Heather Angel

Released: 1953

Directed by: Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney

Peter Pan is a 1953 American animated fantasy-adventure film produced by Walt Disney and based on the play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up by J. M. Barrie. It is the 14th film in the ...more

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H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds Gene Barry, Ann Robinson

Released: 1953

Directed by: Byron Haskin

This film is a 1953 American Technicolor science fiction film from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal, directed by Byron Haskin, and starring Gene Barry and Ann Robinson. The film is a ...more

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#1,376 of 1,699 The Most Rewatchable Movies #137 of 568 The Greatest Disaster Movies of All Timelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

From Here to Eternity Frank Sinatra, Burt Lancaster, Ernest Borgnine

Released: 1953

Directed by: Fred Zinnemann

From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film directed by Fred Zinnemann and based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three soldiers, played by ...more

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The Big Heat Lee Marvin, Glenn Ford, Carolyn Jones

Released: 1953

Directed by: Fritz Lang

The Big Heat is a 1953 film noir directed by Fritz Lang, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and Lee Marvin. The film was written by former reporter Sydney Boehm, based on a serial by William P. ...more

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Stalag 17 William Holden, Peter Graves, Otto Preminger

Released: 1953

Directed by: Billy Wilder

Stalag 17 is a 1953 comedy-drama war film which tells the story of a group of American airmen held in a German World War II prisoner of war camp, who come to suspect that one of their number is ...more

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#57 of 375 The 50+ Best War Movies Ever Made, Ranked #24 of 222 The Greatest World War II Movies of All Timelisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes Marilyn Monroe, Jane Russell, Harry Carey

Released: 1953

Directed by: Howard Hawks

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Niagara Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters

Released: 1953

Directed by: Henry Hathaway

Niagara is an American 1953 thriller-film noir, released by Twentieth Century-Fox, directed by Henry Hathaway, and starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Casey Adams, and Marilyn Monroe. Unlike ...more

The Band Wagon Fred Astaire, Julie Newmar, Cyd Charisse

Released: 1953

Directed by: Vincente Minnelli

The Band Wagon is a 1953 musical comedy film that many critics rank, along with Singin' in the Rain, as the finest of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals, although it was only a modest box-office ...more

Island in the Sky John Wayne, James Arness, Fess Parker

Released: 1953

Directed by: William A. Wellman

Island in the Sky is a 1953 American aviation adventure drama film written by Ernest K. Gann based on his 1944 novel Island in the Sky, directed by William A. Wellman, and starring and ...more

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The Glenn Miller Story James Stewart, Louis Armstrong, Marion Ross

Released: 1953

Directed by: Anthony Mann

The Glenn Miller Story is a 1954 American film about the eponymous American band-leader, directed by Anthony Mann and starring James Stewart in their first non-western collaboration. ...more

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#61 of 209 The Best Movies About Music #24 of 24 Great Movies About Starting a Bandlisted on Every Oscar Winning Film Ever

Hondo John Wayne, James Arness, Geraldine Page

Released: 1953

Directed by: John Farrow, John Ford

Hondo is a 1953 Warnercolor 3D Western film starring John Wayne and directed by John Farrow. The screenplay is based on the July 5, 1952 Collier's short story "The Gift of Cochise" by ...more

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#29 of 395 The Best Western Movies Ever Made #6 of 63 The Best Western Movies of the 1950s #19 of 99 The Best John Wayne Movies of All Time, Ranked

Abbott and Costello Go to Mars Anita Ekberg, Lou Costello, Harry Shearer

Released: 1953

Directed by: Charles Lamont

Abbott and Costello Go To Mars is a 1953 American science fiction comedy film directed by Charles Lamont and starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello. The film follows the misadventures ...more

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The Actress Spencer Tracy, Anthony Perkins, Jean Simmons

Released: 1953

Directed by: George Cukor

The Actress is an 1953 American comedy-drama film based on Ruth Gordon's autobiographical play Years Ago. Gordon herself wrote the screenplay. The film was directed by George Cukor and stars ...more

Never Let Me Go Clark Gable, Gene Tierney

Released: 1953

Directed by: Delmer Daves

Never Let Me Go is a 1953 MGM romantic adventure film starring Clark Gable and Gene Tierney. The picture was directed by Delmer Daves, produced by Clarence Brown, from a screenplay by George ...more

Young Bess Deborah Kerr, Jean Simmons, Charles Laughton

Released: 1953

Directed by: George Sidney

Young Bess is a 1953 Technicolor biographical film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer about the early life of Elizabeth I, from her turbulent childhood to the eve of her accession to the throne of ...more

It Came from Outer Space Russell Johnson, Richard Carlson, Dave Willock

Released: 1953

Directed by: Jack Arnold

It Came from Outer Space is a 1953 American black-and-white science fiction film, the first in the 3-D process from Universal-International. It was produced by William Alland, directed by Jack ...more

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The Robe Richard Burton, Jean Simmons, Harry Shearer

Released: 1953

Directed by: Henry Koster

The Robe is a 1953 American Biblical epic film that tells the story of a Roman military tribune who commands the unit that crucifies Jesus. The film was made by 20th Century Fox and is notable ...more

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House of Wax Vincent Price, Charles Bronson, Carolyn Jones

Released: 1953

Directed by: André de Toth

House of Wax is a 1953 American 3-D horror film about a disfigured sculptor who repopulates his destroyed wax museum by luring people and using their wax-coated corpses as displays. It stars ...more

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Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation Marjorie Main, Percy Kilbride

Released: 1953

Directed by: Charles Lamont

Ma and Pa Kettle on Vacation is a 1953 American comedy film directed by Charles Lamont. It is the fifth installment of Universal-International's Ma and Pa Kettle franchise starring Marjorie Main ...more

I Vitelloni Alberto Sordi, Leopoldo Trieste, Franco Interlenghi

Released: 1953

Directed by: Federico Fellini

I Vitelloni is a 1953 Italian comedy-drama directed by Federico Fellini from a screenplay by Fellini, Ennio Flaiano, and Tullio Pinelli. The film launched the career of Alberto Sordi, one of ...more

A Blueprint for Murder Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Mae Marsh

Released: 1953

Directed by: Andrew L. Stone

A Blueprint for Murder is a 1953 thriller film noir starring Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, and Gary Merrill. Andrew L. Stone wrote and directed the film.