Best Drama Movies of 1954

The highest-rated drama films from 1954, ranked by MovieMagicScore based on authentic viewer ratings.

Drama 1953 Drama 1955 All Time Drama

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Seven Samurai

1954

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

8.5

Rear Window

1954

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

8.3

On the Waterfront

1954

A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.

7.9

La Strada

1954

When Gelsomina, a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò to be his wife and partner, she loyally endures her husband's coldness and abuse as they travel the Italian countryside performing together. Soon Zampanò must deal with his jealousy and conflicted feelings about Gelsomina when she finds a kindred spirit in Il Matto, the carefree circus fool, and contemplates leaving Zampanò.

7.9

Sansho the Bailiff

1954

In medieval Japan, a woman and her children journey to find the family's patriarch, who was exiled years earlier.

8.1

Sabrina

1954

Linus and David Larrabee are the two sons of a very wealthy family. Linus is all work – busily running the family corporate empire, he has no time for a wife and family. David is all play – technically he is employed by the family business, but never shows up for work, spends all his time entertaining, and has been married and divorced three times. Meanwhile, Sabrina Fairchild is the young, shy, and awkward daughter of the household chauffeur, who goes away to Paris for two years, and returns to capture David's attention, while falling in love with Linus.

7.5

Johnny Guitar

1954

On the outskirts of town, the hard-nosed Vienna owns a saloon frequented by the undesirables of the region, including Dancin' Kid and his gang. Another patron of Vienna's establishment is Johnny Guitar, a former gunslinger and her lover. When a heist is pulled in town that results in a man's death, Emma Small, Vienna's rival, rallies the townsfolk to take revenge on Vienna's saloon – even without proof of her wrongdoing.

7.4

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

1954

In 1850 Oregon, when a backwoodsman brings a wife home to his farm, his six brothers decide that they want to get married too.

7.1

Journey to Italy

1954

Married for eight years with no children, Brits Katherine and Alex Joyce are driving to Italy, their ultimate destination just outside of Naples to sell the villa they have just inherited from his uncle, the villa where they will be staying during their time there. On the drive, they come to the realization that this trip marks the first time that they have truly been alone together, and as such don't really know one another in the true sense.

7.3

#10

Chikamatsu Monogatari

1954

When the wife of a 17th century Kyoto scroll-maker is falsely accused of having an affair with his best employee, the pair flee the city and find themselves falling for one another.

7.7

#11

The Caine Mutiny

1954

When a US Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardize his ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court martial for mutiny.

7.2

#12

Animal Farm

1954

Animals on a farm lead a revolution against the farmers to put their destiny in their own hands. However this revolution eats their own children and they cannot avoid corruption.

7.0

#13

Senso

1954

A troubled and neurotic Italian Countess betrays her entire country for a self-destructive love affair with an Austrian Lieutenant.

7.2

#14

A Star Is Born

1954

A movie star helps a young singer-actress find fame, even as age and alcoholism send his own career into a downward spiral.

7.1

#15

Hobson's Choice

1954

Henry Hobson owns and tyrannically runs a successful Victorian boot maker’s shop in Salford, England. A stingy widower with a weakness for overindulging in the local Moonraker Public House, he exploits his three daughters as cheap labour. When he declares that there will be ‘no marriages’ to avoid the expense of marriage settlements at £500 each, his eldest daughter Maggie rebels.

7.3

#16

Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto

1954

Struggling to elevate himself from his low caste in 17th century Japan, Miyamoto trains to become a mighty samurai warrior.

7.2

#17

The Gold of Naples

1954

A tribute to Naples, this film presents six episodes: a clown exploited by a gangster, a pizza seller losing her husband’s ring, a child's funeral, a gambler beaten by a kid, a prostitute's unusual wedding, and a "wisdom seller" offering advice.

7.3

#18

An Inspector Calls

1954

An upper-crust family dinner is interrupted by a police inspector who brings news that a girl known to everyone present has died in suspicious circumstances. It seems that any or all of them could have had a hand in her death. But who is the mysterious Inspector and what can he want of them?

7.1

#19

The Glenn Miller Story

1954

A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.

6.9

#20

The Barefoot Contessa

1954

Has-been director Harry Dawes gets a new lease on his career when the independently wealthy tycoon Kirk Edwards hires him to write and direct a film. They go to Madrid to find Maria Vargas, a dancer who will star in the film.

6.8

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Best Drama Movies of 1954

This ranking features the top drama movies released in 1954, sorted by MovieMagicScore viewer ratings. Looking for more? Browse all genres from 1954 or see the best drama movies of all time.