Top 10 Movies of 1955

1955? That's the year that was 35 years before I was born! What a coincidence...

10. Rebel Without Cause

Making the list more for its impact than anything else, Rebel Without A Cause is one of the ultimate troubled teen films.

9. The Prisoner

Powered by an incredible central performance by Alec Guinness, The Prisoner is a very challenging, but rewarding experience.

8. Mister Roberts

Screwball at times, and equally dark at others, Mister Roberts features strong performances and just the right blend of comedy and drama to make for a compelling story.

7. Pather Panchali

The first installment in Satyajit Ray's famed 'Apu Trilogy', Pather Panchali is dark, powerful little drama that ends on a very strong note and leaves a great impact.

6. I Live In Fear

Yet another Kurosawa film breaking its way into one of my top 10s (and expect many more in following lists), I Live in Fear is one of his great underrated works, but definitely worth giving a look.

5. Les Diaboliques

Perhaps even more intense in some ways than his previous film The Wages Of Fear, Henri-Georges Clouzot's Les Diaboliques is atmospheric, creepy, and features one of the greatest twist endings of all-time.

4. Marty

One of the most oft-neglected Best Picture winners in Oscar history, Marty is also perhaps one of the most poignant. Borgnine's performance is fantastic, definitely earning the Oscar and essentially carrying the film.

3. Rififi

A film largely memorable for its extended silent heist scene, Rififi has a heart-stoppingly intense final act and brilliant set-up that makes it one of the greatest crime films of its time.

2. Ordet

With the exception of The Passion Of Joan Of Arc, this is probably Carl Dreyer's finest film. Heavily spiritual and deeply moving, Ordet gets close to becoming incredibly sappy, but manages to save itself with a powerful ending.

1. The Night Of The Hunter

The first and only directorial effort by famed actor Charles Laughton, The Night Of The Hunter is the greatest Hitchcock film the master of suspense never made. With a powerhouse leading performance by Robert Mitchum as one of the greatest screen villains of all-time, fantastic art direction and set design, and great pacing, the few mistakes to be found in this film are swiftly forgotten once you allow yourself to be fully immersed in the experience. This one is a true classic.