Must-sees of 1959
by vitale-daniele | created - 24 Dec 2012 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicThe titles hereby listed have been selected out of 137 1959-released works seen.
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1. Floating Weeds (1959)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama
The head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Ganjirô Nakamura, Machiko Kyô, Haruko Sugimura, Ayako Wakao
Votes: 8,965
2. Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud
Votes: 35,869 | Gross: $0.09M
3. Nazarin (1959)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
A priest in a poor community lives a charitable life in accordance with his religious principles, but many others do not return the favor.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Francisco Rabal, Marga López, Rita Macedo, Ignacio López Tarso
Votes: 6,451
4. Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In need of quick money, a fallen former cop recruits a hard-bitten ex-con and a debt-ridden nightclub singer to pull off a bank job. But as the animosity between them boils over, the entire plan threatens to implode.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Shelley Winters
Votes: 5,555
5. Violent Summer (1959)
98 min | Drama, Romance, War
Summer 1943: The war is in full swing in southern Italy. Together with friends, Carlo enjoys a carefree summer in youthful naïveté. He falls in love with Roberta, whose husband was killed in the war.
Director: Valerio Zurlini | Stars: Eleonora Rossi Drago, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Lilla Brignone, Raf Mattioli
Votes: 1,876
6. The 400 Blows (1959)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Votes: 128,016
7. Rio Bravo (1959)
Passed | 141 min | Drama, Western
A small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: John Wayne, Dean Martin, Ricky Nelson, Angie Dickinson
Votes: 68,012 | Gross: $12.54M
8. The Great War (1959)
Approved | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The Italian Army fought against the Austrians during World War I.
Director: Mario Monicelli | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Vittorio Gassman, Bernard Blier, Folco Lulli
Votes: 4,602
9. Some Like It Hot (1959)
Passed | 121 min | Comedy, Music, Romance
After two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon, George Raft
Votes: 283,384 | Gross: $25.00M
10. Fires on the Plain (1959)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, War
In the closing days of WWII, remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain death by starvation.
Director: Kon Ichikawa | Stars: Eiji Funakoshi, Mantarô Ushio, Yoshihiro Hamaguchi, Osamu Takizawa
Votes: 5,319
11. The Horse Soldiers (1959)
Approved | 120 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.
Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, William Holden, Constance Towers, Judson Pratt
Votes: 11,646 | Gross: $1.75M
12. The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (I) (1959)
Not Rated | 208 min | Drama, History, War
A Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Chikage Awashima, Ineko Arima
Votes: 9,346
13. Experiment in Evil (1959 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 95 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
Mr. Joly, doctor Cordelier's lawyer, is amazed to discover that his client and friend leaves his possessions to a stranger, Opale, a sadistic criminal. He needs this man to prove that people's behavior can be adjusted at will...
Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Jean-Louis Barrault, Teddy Bilis, Sylviane Margollé, Jean Bertho
Votes: 1,246
14. North by Northwest (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 345,941 | Gross: $13.28M
15. Imitation of Life (1959)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama
An aspiring white actress takes in an African American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.
Director: Douglas Sirk | Stars: Lana Turner, John Gavin, Sandra Dee, Susan Kohner
Votes: 18,207 | Gross: $13.99M
16. Pickpocket (1959)
Not Rated | 76 min | Crime, Drama
Michel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police. His friend Jacques may suspect, while both men may have their eyes on Jeanne, the pretty neighbor of Michel's ailing mother.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri, Dolly Scal
Votes: 25,325
17. The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)
76 min | Horror
The ghost of a samurai's wife takes revenge on her husband.
Director: Nobuo Nakagawa | Stars: Shigeru Amachi, Noriko Kitazawa, Katsuko Wakasugi, Shuntarô Emi
Votes: 1,816
18. Ride Lonesome (1959)
Approved | 73 min | Western
A bounty hunter (Randolph Scott) escorts a killer (James Best) to be tried for murder, but allows the man's outlaw brother (Lee Van Cleef) to catch up with them to have a showdown over a previous shocking murder.
Director: Budd Boetticher | Stars: Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts, James Best
Votes: 6,592
19. Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Not Rated | 161 min | Drama, Mystery
An upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara, Arthur O'Connell
Votes: 71,290 | Gross: $11.90M
20. The World of Apu (1959)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
This final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherjee
Votes: 16,736 | Gross: $0.02M
21. The Facts of Murder (1959)
115 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A police detective and his team attempt to solve two crimes committed within a day of each other in neighboring apartment rooms.
Director: Pietro Germi | Stars: Pietro Germi, Claudia Cardinale, Franco Fabrizi, Cristina Gaioni
Votes: 1,489
22. The Big Night (1959)
95 min | Crime, Drama
In Rome, small-time thieves Scinttilone and Ruggeretto steal four rifles and catch prostitutes Anna and Supplizia on the street to mislead the police. They seek the jobber Mosciarella, but ... See full summary »
Director: Mauro Bolognini | Stars: Rosanna Schiaffino, Elsa Martinelli, Laurent Terzieff, Jean-Claude Brialy
Votes: 720
23. The Swindlers (1959)
132 min | Drama, Romance
Mario is in Hannover to work as a miner but after loosing his job he decides to go back to Italy. When Totonno steals his passport to avoid the police and later on he offers him a new job ... See full summary »
Director: Francesco Rosi | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Belinda Lee, Renato Salvatori, Nino Vingelli
Votes: 616
24. Ferdinando I° re di Napoli (1959)
105 min | Comedy
In 1806 Naples, King Ferdinand I of the Two Sicilies is frowned upon by the people, especially the comic theatrical Pulcinella, who continually delivers hard sermons, earning a reputation among the Neapolitans.
Director: Gianni Franciolini | Stars: Peppino De Filippo, Titina De Filippo, Vittorio De Sica, Aldo Fabrizi
Votes: 199
25. La cambiale (1959)
109 min | Comedy
The well-known financier Pierluigi Bruscatelli is arrested after having paid two fraudsters with a bill of 100 000 lire.
Director: Camillo Mastrocinque | Stars: Vittorio Gassman, Sylva Koscina, Ugo Tognazzi, Giorgia Moll
Votes: 373
26. The Wonderful Country (1959)
Approved | 98 min | Romance, Western
A honorable drifter constantly on the run finds his enemies closing in around him.
Director: Robert Parrish | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Julie London, Gary Merrill, Albert Dekker
Votes: 2,104
27. Day of the Outlaw (1959)
Not Rated | 92 min | Drama, Western
Blaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.
Director: André De Toth | Stars: Robert Ryan, Burl Ives, Tina Louise, Alan Marshal
Votes: 4,421
28. Head Against the Wall (1959)
95 min | Drama
In order to get rid of his troublesome son François, Maître Gérane manages to have him committed to a mental hospital owned by Dr. Varmont, a supporter of traditional treatments, in ... See full summary »
Director: Georges Franju | Stars: Pierre Brasseur, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Anouk Aimée
Votes: 748
29. Look Back in Anger (1959)
Approved | 98 min | Drama
A disillusioned, angry university graduate comes to terms with his grudge against middle-class life and values.
Director: Tony Richardson | Stars: Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Mary Ure, Edith Evans
Votes: 4,365
30. ...and the Wild Wild Women (1959)
95 min | Drama
A harsh study about the grim realities of life in a female prison environment. The story concerns a young girl sent to prison who experiences the entire prison subculture. The inmates she ... See full summary »
Director: Renato Castellani | Stars: Anna Magnani, Giulietta Masina, Cristina Gaioni, Anita Durante
Votes: 577
32. Compulsion (1959)
Approved | 103 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Two wealthy law-school students go on trial for murder in this version of the Leopold-Loeb case.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Orson Welles, Dean Stockwell, Diane Varsi, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 7,493
33. Operation Petticoat (1959)
Approved | 124 min | Comedy, Romance, War
During World War II, a commander finds himself stuck with a decrepit (and pink) submarine, a con man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien, Dina Merrill
Votes: 15,865 | Gross: $23.30M
34. First Love (1959)
102 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Various sentimental events of a group of young people in Rome.
Director: Mario Camerini | Stars: Carla Gravina, Lorella De Luca, Raf Mattioli, Geronimo Meynier
Votes: 53
35. Daibosatsu tôge - Kanketsu-hen (1959)
106 min | Drama
Director: Tomu Uchida | Stars: Ushio Akashi, Noriko Aoba, Hideo Ayuba, Chiyonosuke Azuma
Votes: 56
36. The Snow Flurry (1959)
78 min | Drama
A flashback story of a young man, from his disgraced birth, his harsh life and his forbidden love, until when broken-hearted, can break out in search of a place where to live means more than being alive.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Keiko Kishi, Ineko Arima, Yoshiko Kuga, Yûsuke Kawazu
Votes: 195
37. Thus Another Day (1959)
74 min | Drama, Romance
A young wife looses patience with her career-minded husband and returns to her parents' home while an unpaid mortgage forces the couple to rent out their home for the summer to the husband's boss.
Director: Keisuke Kinoshita | Stars: Teiji Takahashi, Yoshiko Kuga, Kanzaburô Nakamura, Shûji Sano
Votes: 114
38. Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
Approved | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A surgeon is assigned the case of a young woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, Albert Dekker
Votes: 17,197 | Gross: $13.90M
39. On the Passage of a Few Persons Through a Rather Brief Unity of Time (1959)
20 min | Short
A semi-autobiographical Situationist short combines images of Paris, of director Debord and his friends, and of an advertisement for soap.
Director: Guy Debord | Stars: Jean Harnois, Guy Debord, Claude Brabant, Anna Karina
Votes: 171
40. Westbound (1958)
Passed | 72 min | Western
In 1864 Capt. John Hayes goes to Colorado to take over the stagecoach line and keep the flow of Western gold flowing and help the North win the Civil War.
Director: Budd Boetticher | Stars: Randolph Scott, Virginia Mayo, Karen Steele, Michael Dante
Votes: 1,502
41. Warlock (1959)
Passed | 121 min | Western
A famous gunman becomes the marshal of Warlock to end a gang's rampages, but is met with some opposition by a former gang member turned deputy sheriff who wants to follow only legal methods.
Director: Edward Dmytryk | Stars: Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Anthony Quinn, Dorothy Malone
Votes: 7,050 | Gross: $3.71M
42. A Town of Love and Hope (1959)
62 min | Drama
A young man runs a scam selling pigeons that always return to his home. A rich girl takes an interest in him and tries to help him find a good job.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Fumio Watanabe, Yuki Tominaga, Kakuko Chino, Yûko Mochizuki
Votes: 606
43. Good Morning (1959)
Not Rated | 94 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Two boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishû Ryû, Kuniko Miyake
Votes: 11,016
44. Arrangiatevi (1959)
110 min | Comedy
In post-war Italy during the 1950s, finding a house to rent is so difficult that a family ends up living in a former brothel.
Director: Mauro Bolognini | Stars: Peppino De Filippo, Laura Adani, Cristina Gaioni, Cathia Caro
Votes: 380
45. Strejda (1959)
6 min | Short, Comedy, Crime
A burglar breaks into a home and is caught by a young boy. The burglar then poses as the boy's uncle in order not to get caught by the parents.
Director: Jaromil Jires | Stars: Vlastimil Brodský, Vladimír Zavázal
Votes: 219
46. Poor Millionaires (1959)
95 min | Comedy
Salvatore has an accident that makes him lose his memory and becomes director of the department store where his brother-in-law works.
Director: Dino Risi | Stars: Maurizio Arena, Renato Salvatori, Lorella De Luca, Alessandra Panaro
Votes: 309
47. The Widower (1959)
91 min | Comedy
A mediocre businessman who's married to a much more successful businesswoman relies heavily on her financial support for his bad business ideas, and to pay off his mounting debt, but both of them have had enough of each other.
Director: Dino Risi | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Franca Valeri, Livio Lorenzon, Nando Bruno
Votes: 1,475
48. The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity (II) (1959)
Not Rated | 181 min | Drama, History, War
As a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.
Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Kokinji Katsura, Jun Tatara
Votes: 7,491
49. My Second Brother (1959)
101 min | Drama
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Hiroyuki Nagato, Kayo Matsuo, Takeshi Okimura, Akiko Maeda
Votes: 261
50. The Rambling Guitarist (1959)
Not Rated | 77 min | Crime
Arriving in the town of Hakodate, a wandering musician, Shinji Taki, is soon recruited by the local gang as a hired hand. However, with the arrival of a sinister gunman, Taki's mysterious past catches up with him.
Director: Buichi Saitô | Stars: Akira Kobayashi, Ruriko Asaoka, Sanae Nakahara, Misako Watanabe
Votes: 222
51. They Came to Cordura (1959)
Approved | 123 min | Adventure, Drama, History
An army major, himself guilty of cowardice, is asked to recommend soldiers for the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Mexican Border Incursion of 1916.
Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Gary Cooper, Rita Hayworth, Van Heflin, Tab Hunter
Votes: 2,451
52. Jirôchô Fuji (1959)
105 min | Drama, History
An all-star cast from Daiei Film Company has made "the ultimate Jirocho movie" about the legendary yakuza Shimizu no Jirocho, the biggest Boss in the Tokaido area.
Director: Kazuo Mori | Stars: Kazuo Hasegawa, Raizô Ichikawa, Shintarô Katsu, Jun Negami
Votes: 85
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