Greatest Film Performances
of the 1950s (US/UK)
Criteria: Film Performances of the 1950s are ranked based on initial and lasting acclaim, popular and cultural recognition, plus influence. In order to qualify for this list the performance has to come from a predominately English-language film produced or co-produced by American or British production companies.
Actor - Film Title (Year of Release)
1. Marlon Brando
On the Waterfront (1954)
2. Gloria Swanson
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
3. Bette Davis
All About Eve (1950)
4. Alec Guinness
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
5. Marlon Brando
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
6. James Dean
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
7. Katharine Hepburn
The African Queen (1951)
8. Henry Fonda
12 Angry Men (1957)
9. Judy Garland
A Star Is Born (1954)
10. Jack Lemmon
Some Like It Hot (1959)
11. Vivien Leigh
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
12. Elizabeth Taylor
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
13. Audrey Hepburn
Roman Holiday (1953)
14. William Holden
Stalag 17 (1953)
15. Laurence Olivier
Richard lll (1955)
16. Gary Cooper
High Noon (1952)
17. Joanne Woodward
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
18. Susan Hayward
I Want to Live! (1958)
19. Simone Signoret
Room at the Top (1959)
20. Cary Grant
North by Northwest (1959)
21. Marlon Brando
Viva Zapata! (1952)
22. Shirley Booth
Come Back, Little Sheba! (1952)
23. Burt Lancaster
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
24. John Wayne
The Searchers (1956)
25. Anthony Quinn
Viva Zapata! (1952)
26. Gene Kelly
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
27. Humphrey Bogart
The African Queen (1951)
28. Anna Magnani
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
29. William Holden
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
30. Joan Crawford
Sudden Fear (1952)
31. David Niven
Separate Tables (1958)
32. James Stewart
Vertigo (1958)
33. Sidney Poitier
The Defiant Ones (1958)
34. Robert Mitchum
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
35. James Stewart
Rear Window (1954)
36. Marlon Brando
Julius Caesar (1953)
37. Montgomery Clift
From Here to Eternity (1953)
38. Paul Newman
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
39. Burt Lancaster
From Here to Eternity (1953)
40. José Ferrer
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
41. Judy Holliday
Born Yesterday (1950)
42. Laurence Olivier
Carrie (1952)
43. Marlon Brando
Sayonara (1957)
44. Ingrid Bergman
Anastasia (1956)
45. Kirk Douglas
Lust for Life (1956)
46. Charlie Chaplin
Limelight (1952)
47. Deborah Kerr
The King and I (1956)
48. James Stewart
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
49. Doris Day
Pillow Talk (1959)
50. Anna Magnani
Wild Is the Wind (1957)
51. Kirk Douglas
Paths of Glory (1957)
52. Charles Laughton
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
53. Elizabeth Taylor
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
54. Grace Kelly
The Country Girl (1954)
55. Rod Steiger
On the Waterfront (1954)
56. Marlon Brando
The Wild One (1953)
57. Alan Ladd
Shane (1953)
58. Fredric March
Death of a Salesman (1951)
59. Montgomery Clift
A Place in the Sun (1951)
60. John Wayne
The Quiet Man (1952)
61. James Stewart
Harvey (1950)
62. Humphrey Bogart
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
63. James Mason
A Star Is Born (1954)
64. Karl Malden
On the Waterfront (1954)
65. Audrey Hepburn
Sabrina (1954)
66. Deborah Kerr
From Here to Eternity (1953)
67. Audrey Hepburn
The Nun's Story (1959)
68. Marilyn Monroe
Some Like It Hot (1959)
69. Donna Reed
From Here to Eternity (1953)
70. Bing Crosby
The Country Girl (1954)
71. Dorothy Dandridge
Carmen Jones (1954)
72. Anne Baxter
All About Eve (1950)
73. Tony Curtis
Some Like It Hot (1959)
74. Ernest Borgnine
Marty (1955)
75. James Dean
East of Eden (1955)
76. Tony Curtis
The Defiant Ones (1958)
77. Orson Welles
The Touch of Evil (1958)
78. Susan Hayward
With a Song in My Heart (1952)
79. Kirk Douglas
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
80. Alastair Sim
A Christmas Carol (1951)
81. Eleanor Parker
Caged (1950)
82. George Sanders
All About Eve (1950)
83. Spencer Tracy
The Last Hurrah (1958)
84. John Wayne
Rio Bravo (1959)
85. Charlton Heston
Ben-Hur (1959)
86. Ingrid Bergman
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
87. Rosalind Russell
Auntie Mame (1958)
88. Spencer Tracy
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
89. Anthony Quinn
Lust for Life (1956)
90. James Dean
Giant (1956)
91. Yul Brynner
The King and I (1956)
92. Carroll Baker
Baby Doll (1956)
93. Tony Curtis
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
94. Susan Hayward
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
95. Alec Guinness
The Ladykillers (1955)
96. Katharine Hepburn
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
97. Laurence Harvey
Room at the Top (1959)
98. Alec Guinness
The Horse's Mouth (1958)
99. Deborah Kerr
Separate Tables (1958)
100. Peter Sellers
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
101. Shelley Winters
A Place in the Sun (1951)
102. Jane Wyman
Magnificent Obsession (1954)
103. James Mason
Julius Caesar (1953)
104. Leslie Caron
Lili (1953)
105. James Cagney
Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
106. Katharine Hepburn
Summertime (1955)
107. Lee J. Kobb
12 Angry Men (1957)
108. Jack Lemmon
Mister Roberts (1955)
109. Sal Mineo
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
110. Frank Sinatra
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
111. Rock Hudson
Giant (1956)
112. Cantinflas
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
113. Lee J. Cobb
On the Waterfront (1954)
114. Grace Kelly
Rear Window (1954)
115. Robert Walker
Strangers on a Train (1951)
116. Louis Calhern
The Magnificent Yankee (1950)
117. Sterling Hayden
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
118. Josephine Hull
Harvey (1950)
119. Alec Guinness
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
120. Spencer Tracy
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
121. Paul Newman
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
122. Marlon Brando
The Young Lions (1958)
123. Rock Hudson
Pillow Talk (1959)
124. George C. Scott
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
125. James Mason
North by Northwest (1959)
126. Anthony Franciosa
A Hatful of Rain (1957)
127. Spencer Tracy
Father of the Bride (1950)
128. Eva Marie Saint
On the Waterfront (1954)
129. Grace Kelly
Mogambo (1953)
130. Jack Palance
Shane (1953)
131. Spencer Tracy
The Actress (1953)
132. Gregory Peck
Roman Holiday (1953)
133. Frank Sinatra
From Here to Eternity (1953)
134. Marlene Dietrich
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
135. Marilyn Monroe
Bus Stop (1956)
136. Yul Brynner
The Ten Commandments (1956)
137. James Stewart
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
138. Eva Marie Saint
A Hatful of Rain (1957)
139. Sessue Hayakawa
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
140. Charlton Heston
The Ten Commandments (1956)
141. Katharine Hepburn
The Rainmaker (1956)
142. Kim Novak
Vertigo (1958)
143. Marlon Brando
The Men (1950)
144. Jean Simmons
The Actress (1953)
145. Julie Harris
The Member of the Wedding (1952)
146. Donald O'Connor
Singin' In the Rain (1952)
147. Eleanor Parker
Detective Story (1951)
148. Elizabeth Taylor
A Place in the Sun (1951)
149. Ava Gardner
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
150. José Ferrer
Moulin Rouge (1952)
151. Burl Ives
The Big Country (1958)
152. Robert Donat
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
153. Anthony Quinn
Wild Is the Wind (1957)
154. Jennifer Jones
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)
155. Marisa Pavan
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
156. Sam Jaffe
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
157. Humphrey Bogart
In a Lonely Place (1950)
158. Maureen O'Hara
The Quit Man (1952)
159. Bette Davis
Star (1952)
160. Lee Grant
Detective Story (1951)
161. Dan O'Herlihy
Robinson Crusoe (1954)
162. Kim Hunter
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
163. Kirk Douglas
Detective Story (1951)
164. Karl Malden
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
165. Arthur Kennedy
Bright Victory (1951)
166. Kirk Douglas
Ace in the Hole (1951)
167. Jane Wyman
The Blue Veil (1951)
168. Nancy Kelly
The Bad Seed (1956)
169. Karl Malden
Baby Doll (1956)
170. Deborah Kerr
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
171. Elsa Lanchester
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
172. Dean Martin
Rio Bravo (1959)
173. Christopher Lee
The Horror of Dracula (1958)
174. Grace Kelly
Dial M for Murder (1954)
175. Ray Milland
Dial M for Murder (1954)
176. John Dall
Gun Crazy (1950)
177. Richard Widmark
No Way Out (1950)
178. Peggy Cummins
Gun Crazy (1950)
179. Erich von Stroheim
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
180. William Holden
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
181. Glenn Ford
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
182. Julie Harris
East of Eden (1955)
183. Natalie Wood
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
184. Katie Johnson
The Ladykillers (1955)
185. Colette Marchand
Moulin Rouge (1952)
186. Ava Gardner
Mogambo (1953)
187. Shelley Winters
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
188. Juanita Moore
Imitation of Life (1959)
189. Peter Ustinov
Quo Vadis (1951)
190. Victor McLaglen
The Quiet Man (1952)
191. Debbie Reynolds
Singin' In the Rain (1952)
192. Dorothy Malone
Written on the Wind (1956)
193. Doris Day
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
194. Helen Hayes
Anastasia (1956)
195. Fred Astaire
The Band Wagon (1953)
196. Jack Palance
Sudden Fear (1952)
197. Marilyn Monroe
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
198. Red Buttons
Sayonara (1957)
199. Robert Mitchum
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
200. Edmond O'Brien
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
1. Marlon Brando
On the Waterfront (1954)
2. Gloria Swanson
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
3. Bette Davis
All About Eve (1950)
4. Alec Guinness
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
5. Marlon Brando
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
6. James Dean
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
7. Katharine Hepburn
The African Queen (1951)
8. Henry Fonda
12 Angry Men (1957)
9. Judy Garland
A Star Is Born (1954)
10. Jack Lemmon
Some Like It Hot (1959)
11. Vivien Leigh
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
12. Elizabeth Taylor
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
13. Audrey Hepburn
Roman Holiday (1953)
14. William Holden
Stalag 17 (1953)
15. Laurence Olivier
Richard lll (1955)
16. Gary Cooper
High Noon (1952)
17. Joanne Woodward
The Three Faces of Eve (1957)
18. Susan Hayward
I Want to Live! (1958)
19. Simone Signoret
Room at the Top (1959)
20. Cary Grant
North by Northwest (1959)
21. Marlon Brando
Viva Zapata! (1952)
22. Shirley Booth
Come Back, Little Sheba! (1952)
23. Burt Lancaster
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
24. John Wayne
The Searchers (1956)
25. Anthony Quinn
Viva Zapata! (1952)
26. Gene Kelly
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
27. Humphrey Bogart
The African Queen (1951)
28. Anna Magnani
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
29. William Holden
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
30. Joan Crawford
Sudden Fear (1952)
31. David Niven
Separate Tables (1958)
32. James Stewart
Vertigo (1958)
33. Sidney Poitier
The Defiant Ones (1958)
34. Robert Mitchum
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
35. James Stewart
Rear Window (1954)
36. Marlon Brando
Julius Caesar (1953)
37. Montgomery Clift
From Here to Eternity (1953)
38. Paul Newman
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
39. Burt Lancaster
From Here to Eternity (1953)
40. José Ferrer
Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
41. Judy Holliday
Born Yesterday (1950)
42. Laurence Olivier
Carrie (1952)
43. Marlon Brando
Sayonara (1957)
44. Ingrid Bergman
Anastasia (1956)
45. Kirk Douglas
Lust for Life (1956)
46. Charlie Chaplin
Limelight (1952)
47. Deborah Kerr
The King and I (1956)
48. James Stewart
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
49. Doris Day
Pillow Talk (1959)
50. Anna Magnani
Wild Is the Wind (1957)
51. Kirk Douglas
Paths of Glory (1957)
52. Charles Laughton
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
53. Elizabeth Taylor
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
54. Grace Kelly
The Country Girl (1954)
55. Rod Steiger
On the Waterfront (1954)
56. Marlon Brando
The Wild One (1953)
57. Alan Ladd
Shane (1953)
58. Fredric March
Death of a Salesman (1951)
59. Montgomery Clift
A Place in the Sun (1951)
60. John Wayne
The Quiet Man (1952)
61. James Stewart
Harvey (1950)
62. Humphrey Bogart
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
63. James Mason
A Star Is Born (1954)
64. Karl Malden
On the Waterfront (1954)
65. Audrey Hepburn
Sabrina (1954)
66. Deborah Kerr
From Here to Eternity (1953)
67. Audrey Hepburn
The Nun's Story (1959)
68. Marilyn Monroe
Some Like It Hot (1959)
69. Donna Reed
From Here to Eternity (1953)
70. Bing Crosby
The Country Girl (1954)
71. Dorothy Dandridge
Carmen Jones (1954)
72. Anne Baxter
All About Eve (1950)
73. Tony Curtis
Some Like It Hot (1959)
74. Ernest Borgnine
Marty (1955)
75. James Dean
East of Eden (1955)
76. Tony Curtis
The Defiant Ones (1958)
77. Orson Welles
The Touch of Evil (1958)
78. Susan Hayward
With a Song in My Heart (1952)
79. Kirk Douglas
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
80. Alastair Sim
A Christmas Carol (1951)
81. Eleanor Parker
Caged (1950)
82. George Sanders
All About Eve (1950)
83. Spencer Tracy
The Last Hurrah (1958)
84. John Wayne
Rio Bravo (1959)
85. Charlton Heston
Ben-Hur (1959)
86. Ingrid Bergman
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
87. Rosalind Russell
Auntie Mame (1958)
88. Spencer Tracy
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
89. Anthony Quinn
Lust for Life (1956)
90. James Dean
Giant (1956)
91. Yul Brynner
The King and I (1956)
92. Carroll Baker
Baby Doll (1956)
93. Tony Curtis
The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
94. Susan Hayward
I'll Cry Tomorrow (1955)
95. Alec Guinness
The Ladykillers (1955)
96. Katharine Hepburn
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
97. Laurence Harvey
Room at the Top (1959)
98. Alec Guinness
The Horse's Mouth (1958)
99. Deborah Kerr
Separate Tables (1958)
100. Peter Sellers
The Mouse That Roared (1959)
101. Shelley Winters
A Place in the Sun (1951)
102. Jane Wyman
Magnificent Obsession (1954)
103. James Mason
Julius Caesar (1953)
104. Leslie Caron
Lili (1953)
105. James Cagney
Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
106. Katharine Hepburn
Summertime (1955)
107. Lee J. Kobb
12 Angry Men (1957)
108. Jack Lemmon
Mister Roberts (1955)
109. Sal Mineo
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
110. Frank Sinatra
The Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
111. Rock Hudson
Giant (1956)
112. Cantinflas
Around the World in 80 Days (1956)
113. Lee J. Cobb
On the Waterfront (1954)
114. Grace Kelly
Rear Window (1954)
115. Robert Walker
Strangers on a Train (1951)
116. Louis Calhern
The Magnificent Yankee (1950)
117. Sterling Hayden
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
118. Josephine Hull
Harvey (1950)
119. Alec Guinness
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
120. Spencer Tracy
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
121. Paul Newman
The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
122. Marlon Brando
The Young Lions (1958)
123. Rock Hudson
Pillow Talk (1959)
124. George C. Scott
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
125. James Mason
North by Northwest (1959)
126. Anthony Franciosa
A Hatful of Rain (1957)
127. Spencer Tracy
Father of the Bride (1950)
128. Eva Marie Saint
On the Waterfront (1954)
129. Grace Kelly
Mogambo (1953)
130. Jack Palance
Shane (1953)
131. Spencer Tracy
The Actress (1953)
132. Gregory Peck
Roman Holiday (1953)
133. Frank Sinatra
From Here to Eternity (1953)
134. Marlene Dietrich
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
135. Marilyn Monroe
Bus Stop (1956)
136. Yul Brynner
The Ten Commandments (1956)
137. James Stewart
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
138. Eva Marie Saint
A Hatful of Rain (1957)
139. Sessue Hayakawa
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
140. Charlton Heston
The Ten Commandments (1956)
141. Katharine Hepburn
The Rainmaker (1956)
142. Kim Novak
Vertigo (1958)
143. Marlon Brando
The Men (1950)
144. Jean Simmons
The Actress (1953)
145. Julie Harris
The Member of the Wedding (1952)
146. Donald O'Connor
Singin' In the Rain (1952)
147. Eleanor Parker
Detective Story (1951)
148. Elizabeth Taylor
A Place in the Sun (1951)
149. Ava Gardner
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
150. José Ferrer
Moulin Rouge (1952)
151. Burl Ives
The Big Country (1958)
152. Robert Donat
The Inn of the Sixth Happiness (1958)
153. Anthony Quinn
Wild Is the Wind (1957)
154. Jennifer Jones
Love Is a Many-Splendored Thing (1955)
155. Marisa Pavan
The Rose Tattoo (1955)
156. Sam Jaffe
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
157. Humphrey Bogart
In a Lonely Place (1950)
158. Maureen O'Hara
The Quit Man (1952)
159. Bette Davis
Star (1952)
160. Lee Grant
Detective Story (1951)
161. Dan O'Herlihy
Robinson Crusoe (1954)
162. Kim Hunter
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
163. Kirk Douglas
Detective Story (1951)
164. Karl Malden
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
165. Arthur Kennedy
Bright Victory (1951)
166. Kirk Douglas
Ace in the Hole (1951)
167. Jane Wyman
The Blue Veil (1951)
168. Nancy Kelly
The Bad Seed (1956)
169. Karl Malden
Baby Doll (1956)
170. Deborah Kerr
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
171. Elsa Lanchester
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
172. Dean Martin
Rio Bravo (1959)
173. Christopher Lee
The Horror of Dracula (1958)
174. Grace Kelly
Dial M for Murder (1954)
175. Ray Milland
Dial M for Murder (1954)
176. John Dall
Gun Crazy (1950)
177. Richard Widmark
No Way Out (1950)
178. Peggy Cummins
Gun Crazy (1950)
179. Erich von Stroheim
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
180. William Holden
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
181. Glenn Ford
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
182. Julie Harris
East of Eden (1955)
183. Natalie Wood
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
184. Katie Johnson
The Ladykillers (1955)
185. Colette Marchand
Moulin Rouge (1952)
186. Ava Gardner
Mogambo (1953)
187. Shelley Winters
The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
188. Juanita Moore
Imitation of Life (1959)
189. Peter Ustinov
Quo Vadis (1951)
190. Victor McLaglen
The Quiet Man (1952)
191. Debbie Reynolds
Singin' In the Rain (1952)
192. Dorothy Malone
Written on the Wind (1956)
193. Doris Day
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
194. Helen Hayes
Anastasia (1956)
195. Fred Astaire
The Band Wagon (1953)
196. Jack Palance
Sudden Fear (1952)
197. Marilyn Monroe
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
198. Red Buttons
Sayonara (1957)
199. Robert Mitchum
Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)
200. Edmond O'Brien
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
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Edited By: Tim, Bruno
List Begun: 2019-10-19