Eight Iron Men (1952)

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Very rarely seen movie, it doesn't appear to have gotten any sort of proper release on home video.  It's reputation is basically non-existent.  It's actually pretty good, I don't know why it's so poorly distributed and rarely talked about.  This is a human drama with tension and suspense, not a run and gun WWII action flick.  It's in a similar vein to something like Stalag 17.  The characters are well developed and drive the plot along nicely.  Lee Marvin, in his biggest role up to that time, plays the gruff Sergeant of the outfit.

The film is based on a stage play.  Incredibly enough, the guy who played the Sergeant in the stage version was none other than Burt Lancaster.  It was this role that was responsible for him being noticed and working in Hollywood soon after.

Rear Window (1954)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

I have a rather big problem with this movie, in that I really just did not find the plot convincing.  To me, the events Stewart's character observes did not spell out any real cause for alarm or any reason to suspect anything.  You really just cannot possibly know what is happening from such small glimpses into another person's life.  

So anyway, even though I didn't really buy the story here, there is so much to admire about this film.  The way it is shown entirely from the perspective of the one character's room, and how there is no music in the movie except what his neighbor (a composer) is playing on the piano. Very clever. And you have to admire the craft of the wonderfully constructed set that comprises the rear window view. It's a small world unto itself.

And of course there is the simple fact of, Jimmy Stewart. 

Sunset Blvd. (1950)

Directed by Billy Wilder

Billy Wilder's tale of a desperate screenwriter's reluctant involvement with a faded silent film star has become a classic of american film.  I wont bother explaining all the ways it's permeated popular culture.  The eerie atmosphere full of gloom that hangs over every scene marks it as very noir indeed. Norma Desmond is an eccentric recluse, at once manipulative and pitiful.  Wilder has a habit of maybe trying to tie up all the loose ends a little to tight at the end but it's probably fine here.

12 Angry Men (1957)

Directed by Sidney Lumet

One can definitely see why it's considered a classic. A little ridiculous that it's ranked as the number 5 best movie on IMDB though. But it is a good movie. It's a call for non-conformism that probably hit a bit harder in 1957 than it does today. It feels a bit "stagey". Doesn't use the film medium very well. It was Sidney Lumet's first movie though, so I have say in that respect it is very good.

The Wrong Man (1956)

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

A different sort of picture for Hitchcock.  Instead of his usual suspense thriller this is what you might call a docu-drama.  An attempt to realistically paint a picture of events as they really happened.  A fascinating look at how an innocent man can get caught up in the criminal justice system.

The Big Combo (1955)

Directed by Joseph Lewis

Has all the archetypal noir identifiers, unfortunately fairly hindered by poor performances by the male and female leads and not particularly interesting characters or plot. Well overrated on IMdB; probably because the only people interested in watching it are film noir fanboys.

Marty (1955)

Directed by Delbert Mann

One of the most gentle, kind-hearted movies I have ever seen.  Marty is thirty-something and lives at home with his mother who regularly gets on his case about going out and meeting a nice girl.  He's tired of the whole exercise but reluctantly goes out anyway.  But this night things don't go as he expected.  The characters have a real authenticity and the movie doesn't look down upon them.  Surprisingly for such an unassuming movie, it won four Oscar's including Best Picture and the Palme d'Or at Cannes.

The Killing (1956)

Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Quintessential yet often overlooked is this early Stanley Kubrick classic.  It's a heist film that starts slow but accelerates quickly as the plan goes into action culminating in an unforgettable conclusion.  Often classified as film noir because the story is told from the criminal's POV and they are characters with reasons for their actions, not just flatly rendered bad men. However it doesn't have the necessary dark tonal quality that would make it a true noir in my opinion. Kubrick is sardonic, not dark.

The Wild One (1953)

Directed by Laslo Benedek

Loosely based on a real life story of a biker gang terrorizing a small town.  Brando is just effortlessly cool here.  One of the first "counter-culture" movies, this movie basically solidified the image of bikers in pop culture.  It's difficult to overstate the influence of this movie on countless later sub-cultures like rock'n'roll, and punk rock.