Best French Films of the 1950s

The Decade of Despised Quality

Our present impression of 1950s French cinema has been enormously skewed by the opinions of those critics (François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette) who later went on to spearhead the French New Wave. Truffaut's thesis that by the middle of the decade French cinema was in a lamentable state is patently untrue, evidenced by the quality and rich diversity of films being made by such capable filmmakers as Claude Autant-Lara, Jean Delannoy, Henri Decoin and Christian-Jaque. Some new boys on the block (Robert Bresson, Jean-Pierre Melville, Georges Franju, Jacques Tati and Roger Vadim) defied the highly regimented studio system and imposed their own idiosyncratic ideas about filmmaking, paving the way for the auteur insurgence of the Nouvelle Vague towards the end of the decade. For a more complete list consult our best films index and complete films index.

Journal d'un curé de campagne (1951)

Image depicting the film Journal d'un cure de campagne

The heart-rending tale of a young country priest who has to contend with the rejection from his parishioners and a debilitating illness. Bresson's profoundly spiritual cinematography attains a new level of austerity.

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La Ronde (1950)

With the grace of a Vienese waltz, this film carries its audience through a series of dove-tailing love vignettes. With a wealth of acting talent at his disposal, Ophüls conjures up one of his most entertaining and charming films.

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Casque d'or (1952)

With its realistic reconstruction of Paris of the 1900s and a legendary performance from Simone Signoret, Casque d'or has become one of the most emblematic and memorable French films of the 1950s.

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L'Étrange Madame X (1951)

Image depicting the film L'Etrange Madame X

This is a simple story about love, deception and infidelity, but Grémillon's masterly direction and the calibre of the acting performances (particularly from an unforgettable Michèle Morgan) elevate the film to the status of a masterpiece.

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Jeux interdits (1952)

A profoundly moving portrait of childhood innocence at a time of great human tragedy, making a subtle yet powerful anti-war statement. With a captivating performance from Brigitte Fossey and tragically poignant music from Narciso Yepes.

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Le Plaisir (1952)

With some remarkable cinematography, which ranges from the disturbingly sombre to the voyeristic, with a smattering of comedy, the film relates three short stories by Guy de Maupassant which have a common theme: pleasure.

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Madame de... (1953)

Widely regarded as Max Ophüls' best film, the director displays both artistic genius and technical mastery in this tragic story of rejection, in which a stunning Danielle Darrieux attains the height of her talents.

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Le Salaire de la peur (1953)

Image depicting the film Le Salaire de la peur

Clouzot's best film out-does Hitchcock at almost every level, making this one of the greatest suspense thrillers of all time. The film has a sustained dramatic intensity which makes it a truly exhausting and harrowing cinematic experience.

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Touchez pas au grisbi (1954)

Image depicting the film Touchez pas au grisbi

One of the earliest and best examples of the crime thrillers which would dominate French cinema in the following decades. Its origins in American film noir are very apparent, particularly in the nocturnal photography, the haunting music and the inevitable bloody shoot-out.

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Du rififi chez les hommes (1955)

Image depicting the film Du rififi chez les hommes

An unashamed direct import of American film noir, this film became a cult in it own time and is now regarded as one of the true masterpieces of its genre. It is best known for the meticulously filmed jewellery robbery, in which not a single word of dialogue is used.

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Nuit et brouillard (1955)

Image depicting the film Nuit et brouillard

Alain Resnais' solemn meditation on the Holocaust offers both a harrowing historical record of the worst attrocity in human history and also a grim warning to future generations.

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Voici le temps des assassins (1956)

Image depicting the film Voici le temps des assassins

Julien Duvivier's most cynical portrait of human nature is most noted for its recreation of the Halles market in Paris and for Danèle Delorme's shocking portayal of an unscrupulous gold digger.

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Les Diaboliques (1955)

Image depicting the film Les Diaboliques

An extraordinarily compelling suspense thriller which, with its chillingly macabre murder scene and nerve-shattering climax, remains a popular classic with a very wide audience.

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Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (1956)

Image depicting the film Un condamne a mort s'est echappe

Bresson's austere and intentionally untheatrical, introspective style of film-making is perfectly suited for this portrait of a real-life prison escape attempt. Many regard it as the director's finest work.

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La Traversée de Paris (1956)

Image depicting the film La Traversee de Paris

Black marketeering during the Occupation is an odd subject for a film but it gave its director Autant-Lara the perfect vehicle to vent his hostility towards sham bourgeois conventions. With towering comic performances from Gabin and Bourvil, the film has become a popular classic.

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Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)

Image depicting the film Ascenseur pour l'echafaud

This stylish variation on the popular policier genre gave an early glimpse of the determination of fresh young directors to break away from the traditional film form.

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Hiroshima mon amour (1959)

Image depicting the film Hiroshima mon amour

The scars of the present reflect the unspeakable tragedy of the past, at both a personal and societal level in this remarkable debut film from Alain Resnais. Although thin on content, the cinematography is a work of unfettered genius.

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Pickpocket (1959)

This compelling study in which a young man is consumed by an uncontrollable desire to steal allows Bresson to develop his unique cinematography and explore the themes of sin and redemption. A film with a rare silent eloquence and humanity.

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Deux hommes dans Manhattan (1959)

Image depicting the film Deux hommes dans Manhattan

This film is less a traditional policier and more a homage to American film noir. Melville himself plays both detective and director, leaving no cliché unturned but somehow managing to create a work of art from the familiar trappings of the genre.

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Les Yeux sans visage (1960)

Image depicting the film Les Yeux sans visage

The most celebrated French fantasy horror film, and rightly so with its graphic depiction of mad scientist surgery set in the creepiest house to make it onto celluloid. Guaranted to give you nightmares.

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Les Quatre cents coups (1959)

Image depicting the film Les Quatre cents coups

The film that established Truffaut as a director is this moving account of childhood rejection and rebellion, based on Truffaut's own experiences as a child. It was the first in a series of five films following the life of Truffaut's alter ego, Antoine Doinel.

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A bout de souffle (1960)

Image depicting the film A bout de souffle

With its radical departure from film-making conventions, this film firmly heralded the arrival of the French New Wave. A defiant gesture of rebellion, Godard's first full length film is also supremely entertaining, a tongue-in-cheek ironic parody of the crime thriller.

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