Feature-Length Films of 1952

by xbutougames | created - 18 May 2017 | updated - 10 months ago | Public

Annual Bests.

Picture: Singin' in the Rain Director: Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, Singin' in the Rain Actor: Takashi Shimura, Ikiru Actress: Debbie Reynolds, Singin' in the Rain Supporting Actor: Broderick Crawford, Scandal Sheet Supporting Actress: Jean Hagen, Singin' in the Rain Original Screenplay: Singin' in the Rain Adapted Screenplay: Scandal Sheet Editing: Singin' in the Rain Cinematography: Singin' in the Rain Production Design: Singin' in the Rain Costume Design: The Golden Coach Visual Effects: The Greatest Show on Earth Sound Mixing: Singin' in the Rain Score: The Big Sky Song: "The Ballad of High Noon," High Noon Documentary: -N/A- Foreign Language: Ikiru

Scene: Wild Ride, The Bad and the Beautiful

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How my Ratings Work:

100-90: Masterpiece, or very close. Very rare. 089-80: Fan-freaking-tastic. Near-lock for yearly top 10 list. 079-70: Definitely something special. Do not miss. 069-60: Very good, but missing some crucial element. 059-50: Didn’t work, but has many redeeming qualities. 049-40: Demerits clearly outweigh merits. 039-30: Didn't enjoy the film, but talent was involved. 029-20: When will this picture end. When... 019-10: Outright fiasco and/or unwatchably boring. 009-00: One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Very rare.

Note: This list is a constant work in progress.

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Master List: http://goo.gl/kG8QAC

< 1950s | 1950 | 1951 | 1952 | 1953 | 1954 | 1955 | 1956 | 1957 | 1958 | 1959 >

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1. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

99 Metascore

A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.

Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen

Votes: 260,737 | Gross: $8.82M

Score: 80

2. Scandal Sheet (1952)

Passed | 82 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

The editor of an exploitation newspaper commits a murder and assigns his protégé to investigate hoping to divert attention away from himself.

Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John Derek, Donna Reed, Broderick Crawford, Rosemary DeCamp

Votes: 3,480

Score: 79

3. The Narrow Margin (1952)

Approved | 71 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

A woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against potential assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.

Directors: Richard Fleischer, William Cameron Menzies | Stars: Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White, Gordon Gebert

Votes: 8,658

Score: 77

4. Ikiru (1952)

Not Rated | 143 min | Drama

92 Metascore

A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka

Votes: 87,597 | Gross: $0.06M

Score: 76

5. Angel Face (1952)

Approved | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

Ambulance driver Frank Jessup is ensnared in the schemes of the sensuous but dangerous Diane Tremayne.

Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman, Herbert Marshall

Votes: 9,032

Score: 75

6. The Big Sky (1952)

Approved | 140 min | Adventure, Drama, Western

The success of the journey focuses on keeping the Indian girl alive as well as themselves to complete trade with the Blackfeet.

Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Dewey Martin, Elizabeth Threatt, Arthur Hunnicutt

Votes: 4,751

Score: 74

7. The Lusty Men (1952)

Passed | 113 min | Action, Drama, Sport

Retired rodeo champion Jeff McCloud agrees to mentor novice rodeo contestant Wes Merritt against the wishes of Merritt's wife who fears the dangers of this rough sport.

Directors: Nicholas Ray, Robert Parrish | Stars: Susan Hayward, Robert Mitchum, Arthur Kennedy, Arthur Hunnicutt

Votes: 3,657

Score: 72

8. Umberto D. (1952)

Not Rated | 89 min | Drama

92 Metascore

An elderly man and his dog struggle to survive on his government pension in Rome.

Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Carlo Battisti, Maria Pia Casilio, Lina Gennari, Ileana Simova

Votes: 28,205 | Gross: $0.07M

Score: 69

9. Forbidden Games (1952)

Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, War

A young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.

Director: René Clément | Stars: Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amédée, Laurence Badie

Votes: 13,108 | Gross: $0.01M

Score: 68

10. Kansas City Confidential (1952)

Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

An ex-con trying to go straight is framed for a million dollar armored car robbery and must go to Mexico in order to unmask the real culprits.

Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster, Neville Brand

Votes: 8,143

Score: 67

11. Park Row (1952)

Approved | 83 min | Drama, Thriller

The Globe is a small, but visionary newspaper started by Phineas Mitchell, an editor recently fired by The Star. The two newspapers become enemies, and the Star's ruthless heiress Charity Hackett decides to eliminate the competition.

Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Bela Kovacs, Herbert Heyes, Tina Pine, George O'Hanlon

Votes: 2,014

Score: 66

12. The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)

Passed | 118 min | Drama, Romance

86 Metascore

An unscrupulous movie producer uses an actress, a director and a writer to achieve success.

Director: Vincente Minnelli | Stars: Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Dick Powell

Votes: 16,464

Score: 65

13. The Quiet Man (1952)

Passed | 129 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

85 Metascore

A retired American boxer returns to the village of his birth in 1920s Ireland, where he falls for a spirited redhead whose brother is contemptuous of their union.

Director: John Ford | Stars: John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara, Barry Fitzgerald, Ward Bond

Votes: 42,410 | Gross: $10.55M

Score: 64

14. Clash by Night (1952)

Approved | 105 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance

Mae Doyle comes back to her hometown a cynical woman. Her brother Joe fears that his love, fish cannery worker Peggy, may wind up like Mae. Mae marries Jerry and has a baby; she is happy but restless, drawn to Jerry's friend Earl.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Paul Douglas, Marilyn Monroe

Votes: 7,361

Score: 61

15. Casque d'Or (1952)

Not Rated | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

Three gangsters and an ex-con carpenter all fall for the same beautiful golden-haired woman in Belle Époque France.

Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: Simone Signoret, Serge Reggiani, Claude Dauphin, Raymond Bussières

Votes: 6,220

Score: 59

16. Bend of the River (1952)

Approved | 91 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

When a town boss confiscates homesteaders' supplies after gold is discovered nearby, a tough cowboy risks his life to try and get it to them.

Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: James Stewart, Rock Hudson, Arthur Kennedy, Julie Adams

Votes: 9,904

Score: 58

17. Limelight (1952)

G | 137 min | Drama, Music, Romance

84 Metascore

A fading comedian and a suicidally despondent ballet dancer must look to each other to find purpose and hope in their lives.

Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Claire Bloom, Nigel Bruce, Buster Keaton

Votes: 22,142 | Gross: $1.00M

Score: 56

18. High Noon (1952)

PG | 85 min | Drama, Thriller, Western

89 Metascore

A town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.

Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges

Votes: 110,206 | Gross: $9.45M

Score: 55

19. The Life of Oharu (1952)

Not Rated | 133 min | Drama

Follows a woman's fight and survival amid the vicissitudes of life and the cruelty of society.

Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Kinuyo Tanaka, Tsukie Matsuura, Ichirô Sugai, Toshirô Mifune

Votes: 7,646

Score: 54

20. The Golden Coach (1952)

Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Drama, History

Three men of varying social standing - a viceroy, a bullfighter, and a soldier - vie for the affections of an actress in 18th-century Peru.

Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Anna Magnani, Odoardo Spadaro, Nada Fiorelli, Duncan Lamont

Votes: 3,445

Score: 53

21. The Flavor of Green Tea Over Rice (1952)

Not Rated | 116 min | Drama

A childless middle-aged couple faces a marital crisis.

Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Shin Saburi, Michiyo Kogure, Kôji Tsuruta, Chishû Ryû

Votes: 3,689

Score: 51

22. Rancho Notorious (1952)

Approved | 89 min | Western

After the murder of his fiancée, a Wyoming ranch hand sets out to find her killer.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Ferrer, Gloria Henry

Votes: 5,529

Score: 51

23. Le Plaisir (1952)

Not Rated | 97 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

Three separate stories about the same thing: le plaisir (pleasure).

Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: Jean Gabin, Danielle Darrieux, Simone Simon, Claude Dauphin

Votes: 5,381

Score: 47

24. Mexican Bus Ride (1952)

74 min | Comedy

A newly-wed country boy receives the terrible news that his mother is dying, and takes a long and dangerous bus trip to the city to contact a notary for her last will and testament. Will he resist temptation and do the right thing?

Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Lilia Prado, Carmelita González, Esteban Mayo, Luis Aceves Castañeda

Votes: 1,453

Score: 44

25. Europe '51 (1952)

Not Rated | 118 min | Drama

A wealthy woman becomes obsessed with humanitarianism when her young son dies after committing suicide.

Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Alexander Knox, Ettore Giannini, Giulietta Masina

Votes: 4,787

Score: 43

26. Viva Zapata! (1952)

Approved | 113 min | Biography, Drama, History

The story of Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata, who led a rebellion against the corrupt, oppressive dictatorship of President Porfirio Díaz in the early 20th century.

Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn, Joseph Wiseman

Votes: 12,466

Score: 41

27. Way of a Gaucho (1952)

Passed | 93 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

In 1875 Argentina, after killing a man, a gaucho is sentenced to harsh army duty but he deserts the army and becomes a bandit leader.

Director: Jacques Tourneur | Stars: Rory Calhoun, Gene Tierney, Richard Boone, Hugh Marlowe

Votes: 821

Score: 37

28. Monkey Business (1952)

Approved | 97 min | Comedy, Sci-Fi

A chemist finds his personal and professional life turned upside down when one of his chimpanzees finds the fountain of youth.

Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Cary Grant, Ginger Rogers, Marilyn Monroe, Charles Coburn

Votes: 15,576

Score: 36

29. Ivanhoe (1952)

Approved | 106 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance

75 Metascore

A knight seeks to free the captive King Richard and put him back on the throne.

Director: Richard Thorpe | Stars: Robert Taylor, Elizabeth Taylor, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders

Votes: 10,231

Score: 35

30. The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)

Passed | 152 min | Drama, Family, Romance

76 Metascore

The dramatic lives of trapeze artists, a clown, and an elephant trainer are told against a background of circus spectacle.

Director: Cecil B. DeMille | Stars: James Stewart, Charlton Heston, Betty Hutton, Cornel Wilde

Votes: 16,063 | Gross: $36.00M

Score: 33



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