Behind the Scenes: Top 40 Movies at the 1950s Box Office

One of my pet peeves is how film history (what audiences wanted) has been hijacked by movie academics who rearrange history according to their favorite theories and directors. Film stars generally play little part in academic circles and box office is swept under the carpet as though the most popular of the artistic mediums has no right to discuss anything so base as popularity. The public doesn’t know what’s good for them and needs to be told what is,  was the pervasive mantra.

Even since Andrew Sarris with his “pantheon” dismissed the vast majority of directors, critics, tumbling down even worse rabbit holes, have attempted to turn film history on his head. To find out what movies were all about there’s no surer measure than box office. In one of my random explorations of Variety magazine (“All-Time Film Rental Champs,” Variety, January 5, 1977, p16) I happened across its list of box office topper from the 1950s and thought I’d share it with you to provide a better perspective on that decade’s moviegoing.

Note how much Hollywood relies on Broadway and hit novels for source material. Several big stars were very big indeed judging by their repeat success at the box office.

1. The Ten Commandments (1956). Cecil B. DeMille’s immaculately research homage to sin and religion was far and away the decade’s biggest hit, with Charlton Heston hitting his Biblical stride and newcomer Yul Brynner in the first of a trio of hits that year. Based on the biggest bestseller of all time.
2. Ben-Hur (1959). William Wyler’s multiple Oscar-winning epic heralded the roadshow era, set new standards for thrilling action with the chariot race and the battle at sea, while still maintaining Biblical sobriety. Charlton Heston was again the star. Based on an all-time bestseller by Lew Wallace.
3. Around the World in 80 Days (1956). The most star-studded venture into the all-star-cast fraternity, much imitated in roadshows in the following decade, had a suprisingly British flavor with David Niven as star and directed by Michael Anderson. The premature death of producer Mike Todd, husband to Elizabeth Taylor, may have contributed to a sympathy vote to win the movie the Best Picture Oscar. Cemented  Jules Verne cinematic reputation.
4. The Robe (1953). Audiences got their first view of Cinemascope, the process which would dominate the 1950s, in another Biblical epic based on a massive bestseller and again Brit-heavy in the casting – Richard Burton and Jean Simmons. From Lloyd C. Douglas bestseller.
5. South Pacific (1958). The influence of Broadway on Hollywood should not be underestimated. You wouldn’t need Scope to attract an audience to Rodgers and Hammerstein’s long-running musical with many classic tunes. Directed by Joshua Logan, starring Italian export Rosanna Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor. Ran a record four years in London. Adapted from James Michener novel.
6. Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). William Holden top bills but Brits steal the glory, Oscars for director David Lean and star Alec Guinness, in World War Two drama. Snagged a record $3 million when sold to U.S. television. Based on Pierre Boulle novel.
7. This Is Cinerama (1952). A whirligig of technology took audiences on a dazzling heart-pounding triple-screen experience and ushered in the less expensive Cinemascope. Merian C. Cooper of King Kong fame, Lowell Thomas of Lawrence of Arabia fame and Mike Todd were involved.
8. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952). Cecil B. DeMille (again), Charlton Heston (again) and star-studded cast including James Stewart, Dorothy Lamour and Betty Hutton in circus drama. Won Best Picture Oscar.
9. The Lady and the Tramp (1955). Disney animated feature that would be reissued time and again.
10. Quo Vadis (1951). Historical Roman drama with biblical undertones and spectacular scenes starring Robert Taylor and Brits Deborah Kerr and Peter Ustinov. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy and Anthony Mann. 
11. Seven Wonders of the World (1956). Cinerama travelogue takes another huge bite out of the box office. Given the limited of screens able to show this, an amazing achievement.
12. The Shaggy Dog (1959). Fred MacMurray reinvented his darker screen persona in the first of the Disney live action comedies to strike gold at the box office.
13. From Here to Eternity (1953). Massive James Jones bestseller set during Pearl Harbor in World War Two. Multiple Oscar-winner. Terrific cast included Burt Lancaster, Deborah Kerr, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra (reviving a defunct movie career) and Ernest Borgnine. Directed by Fred Zinnemann.
14. Samson and Delilah (1949). Cecil B. DeMille (again) fillets the Bible (again). Man mountain Victor Mature tempted by sensual Hedy Lamarr. Released in the last two weeks of the previous decade but included here because it made the vast bulk of its money in 1950.
15. 20,000 Leagues under the Sea (1954). Disney gives warning of mainstream live-action intent. Kirk Douglas battles mysterious Captain Nemo and convincing giant squid. Action spectacular from Richard Fleischer. Jules Verne rules.
16. Sayonara (1957). Marlon Brando in doomed Japanese-set romance dealing with racism and prejudice. Joshua Logan directs from James Michener novel. 
17. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958). Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman spar in marital drama directed  by Richard Brooks. Based on Tennessee Williams Broadway smash.
18. Old Yeller (1957). Disney (again) minting gold from cutesy canine tale. Brit Robert Stevenson directs. Based on novel by Fred Gipson.
19. Auntie Mame (1958). Rosalind Russell reprises her Broadway role. Based on bestseller by Patrick Denis that was turned into a hot Broadway play and in the following decade a hit musical.
20. Shane (1953). Iconic George Stevens western starring Alan Ladd. Jack Palance won the Oscar for his eye-catching supporting role. From the Jack Schaefer bestseller.
21. The Caine Mutiny (1954). Oscar nomination for Humphrey Bogart as wayward ship’s captain. Directed by Edward Dmytryk from Herman Wouk bestseller.
22. Mister Roberts (1955). Might come as a shock to academics to learn that this was far and away John Ford’s most successful picture. Name of a ship rather than a character. Henry Fonda reprises Broadway role. Also stars James Cagney and Jack Lemmon. Novel and subsequent play by Thomas Heggen.
23. The King and I (1956). Rodgers and Hammerstein (again) Broadway hit won Oscar for Yul Brynner (again) although Deborah Kerr (again) was top-billed. Directed by Walter Lang.
24. Sleeping Beauty (1959). Disney mines another fairy tale for box office gold.
25. Battle Cry (1955). Surprise hit for Raoul Walsh. World War Two drama starring Ven Heflin. From Leon Uris bestseller.
26. Some Like it Hot (1959). Marilyn Monroe and cross-dressing Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in Billy Wilder’s classic comedy.
27. The Glenn Miller Story (1954). James Stewart (again) in Anthony Mann (again) biopic about bandleader who vanished in World War Two.
28. No Time for Sergeants (1958). The power of Broadway. Screen unknown Andy Griffiths reprises Broadway role as recruit who causes chaos in the US Air Force.  Originally a novel by Mac Hyman turned into a hit play by Ira Levin. Directed by (again) Mervyn LeRoy.
29. Pillow Talk (1959). Launches the Rock Hudson-Day comedy partnership. Original screenplay directed by Michael Gordon.
30. How to Marry a Millionaire (1953). Intended as showcase for new Cinemascope process, Marilyn Monroe (again) stole the show from Betty Grable and Lauren Bacall. Another original screenplay. Directed by Jean Negulesco.
31. Gigi (1958). Multiple Oscar-winning musical starring French duo Leslie Caron and Maurice Chevalier. The Lerner and Loewe hit Broadway show adapted a novel by Colette. Directed by Vincente Minnelli.
32. Trapeze (1956). Burt Lancaster (again), Tony Curtis (again) and Italian export Gina Lollobrigida in another circus drama. Directed by Brit Carol Reed from the Max Catto novel.
33. Oklahoma (1955). Another Rodgers and Hammerstein Broadway hit brought to the screen by Fred Zinnemann (again). Adapted from an original straight play by Lyn Riggs.
34. Gone with the Wind (1939). Legendary Civil War epic makes this list purely on the strength of its 1954 reissue. (Did even better in its 1967 revival).
35. The Country Girl (1954). Grace Kelly won the Oscar in movie drama co-starring Bing Crosby and William Holden (again). Directed by George Seaton and based on Broadway play.
36. Imitation of Life (1959). Douglas Sirk weepie starring Lana Turner, remake of 1934 picture.
37. North by Northwest (1959). Alfred Hitchcock classic. Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint find romance among the crop-spraying plane and Mount Rushmore.
38. Suddenly, Last Summer (1959). Top-heavy Tennessee Williams (again) drama starring Elizabeth Taylor (again), Montgomery Clift (again) and Katharine Hepburn. Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. From Williams’ Broadway hit.
39. Picnic (1955). William Holden (again) and Kim Novak in adaptation of Broadway play. Directed by Joshua Logan (again).
40. The Vikings (1958) Richard Fleischer reteams with Kirk Douglas for action adventure also starring Tony Curtis and then-wife Janet Leigh.