Based on our compendium of all film polls[2011 Edition, updated with 2011 film polls]
© William L. Sinclair

This continues our series of top-ranked films by year, based on the Top Ranked 1000 Films on the Net that we compiled. (Photo: Tishiro Mifune, Seven Samurai)
Total Ranked Films in the 50's: 116 (down from 144)

- [ 1950 ] -
1. Sunset Boulevard - Wilder, Billy #19 (photo rt)
2. Rashomon

Wilder juggles the three Oscars he won for The Apartment
Billy Wilder (born Samuel Wilder) was a newspaper reporter in Vienna in the 20's, then later Berlin, and began writing screenplays in 1929, which he did until Hitler came to power in 1933. With Jewish ancestry, he fled to Paris to escape the Nazis, then came to the U.S. He first started as a screenwriter, penning the famous Garbo film

These famous roles were all refused by the directors first choice, making someone else famous or more so as a result.

The Maltese Falcon – George Raft was well-known for turning down roles that made Bogart’s career: High Sierra (41), Maltest Falcon (42), Casablanca (42). He refused Falcon because he didn’t want to work with first-time director John Huston! As for High Sierra, Paul Muni also