The 10 Best Movie Casts of the '50s, Ranked

From epics like The Ten Commandments to more intimate dramas like On the Waterfront, these 1950s movies were notable for their star-studded casts.

April 20, 2025 · 1 min · 71 words · Ashley Lewis

So, lots ofmovies in the 1950s went big, and plenty of them had star-studded/attention-grabbing casts.

As for the plot ofWitness for the Prosecution?

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The-10-Best-Movie-Casts-of-the-’50s,-Ranked

Image by Federico Napoli

Roger and Eve embracing in North by Northwest

Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

WitnessForTheProsecution (2)

Image via United Artists

James Cagney as Lieutenant Commander “Captain” Morton and Henry Fonda Lieutenant (junior grade) Douglas A. “Doug” Roberts in Mister Roberts

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

seven samurai

John Wayne and Angie Dickinson stand in a hotel room of a saloon in ‘Rio Bravo’ (1959)

Image via Warner Bros.

rio bravo

Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood dancing and Cyd Charise in green dress in ‘Singin in the Rain’

Image via MGM

Singin' in the rain movie poster

Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard surrounded by onlookers

Image via Paramount Pictures

Sunset_Boulevard_(1950_poster)

On the Waterfront - 1954 (2)

Image via Columbia Pictures

Yul Brynner stars as Rameses in ‘The Then Commandments’

Image via Paramount Pictures

Elizabeth Taylor sitting next to James Dean, who stands holding a teapot in Giant (1956)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Movie

Sunset Boulevard