Best Movies of 1956

The highest-rated films from 1956 according to MovieMagicScore. Rankings based purely on what viewers actually think.

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The Ten Commandments

1956 · 1,832 ratings

Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal quest to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people.

7.8

The Searchers

1956 · 1,506 ratings

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

7.7

The Killing

1956 · 1,635 ratings

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

7.6

A Man Escaped

1956 · 585 ratings

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

7.9

Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy

1956 · 362 ratings

Antonio, Peppino and Lucia are three brothers who live in the country near Naples. Lucia's son, Gianni, goes to Naples to study medicine, but there he knows a ballet dancer. They fall in love and, when she goes to Milan, Gianni follows her. Informed of this and afraid that their nephew will stop studying, the three Caponi brothers leave for Milan to persuade Gianni to come back and continue studying and abandon the "Malafemmina" (bad girl).

8.0

The Man Who Knew Too Much

1956 · 1,487 ratings

An American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.

7.5

Giant

1956 · 724 ratings

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

7.6

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

1956 · 1,143 ratings

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

7.5

The Red Balloon

1956 · 420 ratings

A young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world’s harsh realities finally interfere.

7.7

#10

Aparajito

1956 · 272 ratings

Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.

7.9

#11

Forbidden Planet

1956 · 1,005 ratings

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

7.3

#12

The Band of Honest Men

1956 · 226 ratings

Italy, mid '60s. Three guys from a poor neighbourhood try to get rich by printing fake money using the fact that one of them works as a typographer. The story unravels around their embarrassed efforts to spend the money, their little family issues and ends with a surprise.

7.7

#13

The Burmese Harp

1956 · 162 ratings

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

7.9

#14

The Wrong Man

1956 · 586 ratings

In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

7.1

#15

Street of Shame

1956 · 143 ratings

The lives of five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation is debating the passage of an anti-prostitution law.

7.7

#16

La Traversée de Paris

1956 · 283 ratings

Two unlikely companions must smuggle four suitcases filled with contraband pork across Nazi-occupied Paris.

7.3

#17

Bob le Flambeur

1956 · 284 ratings

In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling -- and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob's luck turns sour, he begins to lose friends and makes the most desperate gamble of his life: to rob the Deauville casino during Grand Prix weekend, when the vaults are full. Unfortunately, Bob soon learns that the game is rigged and the cops are on to him.

7.3

#18

Moby Dick

1956 · 446 ratings

In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.

7.1

#19

Sissi: The Young Empress

1956 · 359 ratings

Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.

7.1

#20

The King and I

1956 · 391 ratings

Widowed Welsh mother Anna Loenowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.

7.1

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About 1956 Movies

These are the best-rated movies released in 1956 according to MovieMagicScore. Our ranking system aggregates genuine viewer ratings to give you an honest picture of what audiences actually think about these films.

From blockbusters to indie gems, discover what made 1956 memorable in cinema based on the collective opinion of movie lovers worldwide.

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