Highest-Rated Movies about '1850s', Sort by Popularity

Barbary Coast (1975), The Widow of Saint-Pierre (2000), The Song of Bernadette (1943), The Rising: Ballad of Mangal Pandey (2005), Django Unchained (2012), Madeleine (1950), Santa Fe Trail (1940), The Emigrants (1971) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best 1850s movies.

#16. Madame Bovary (1949)

Storyline: French author Gustave Flaubert is on trial for writing the "indecent" novel "Madame Bovary." To prove that he wrote a moral tale, Flaubert narrates the story of beautiful Emma Bovary, an adulteress who destroyed the lives of everyone she came in contact with.—Daniel Bubbeo <dbubbeo@cmp.com>

Plot Keywords: wife, husband, doctor, lawyer, wealthy man, disheartening, emotional ...

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#17. The Charge of the Light Brigade (1936)

Storyline: Major Vickers is an officer at the 27th Lancers in India 1856. When the regiment is on maneuver, the barracks are attacked by Surat Khan and his soldiers who massacre British women and children. This leaves an inextinguishable memory and Vickers promises to revenge the dead.—Mattias Thuresson

Plot Keywords: military officer, brother, fiancée, rajah, soldier, emotional, patriotic ...

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#18. Peter Ibbetson (1935)

Storyline: Architect Peter Ibbetson is hired by the Duke of Towers to design a building for him. Ibbetson discovers that the Duchess of Towers, Mary, is his now-grown childhood sweetheart. Their love revives, but Peter is sentenced to life in prison for an accidental killing. Mary comes to him in dreams and they are able to live out their romance in a dream world.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>

Plot Keywords: architect, duchess, duke, employee, best friend, love interest, dreamy ...

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#19. The Hanging Tree (1959)

Storyline: In 1873, on the Gold Trail, Montana, the mysterious and controlling Dr. Joseph Frail arrives in the small town of Skull Creek with miners in a gold rush. Dr. Frail buys a cabin on the top of a hill and he sees the smalltime thief Rune wounded and chased by a mob that wants to hang him. Dr. Frail helps and heals Rune; but in return, he demands that the young man becomes his bond servant. The alcoholic healer and preacher George Grubb tells to the locals that Dr. Frail, who is an excellent gambler and gunfighter, is a devil and has a mysterious past but nobody gives attention to his words. Soon the stagecoach is robbed by thieves that kill the passengers but the coachman survives and three days later he reaches Skull Creek. He tells that the horses had speed down the hill with a young woman inside the stagecoach. The men organize a pursuit and the rude Frenchy Plante finds the Swedish Elizabeth Mahler burnt and blind. Dr. Frail and Rune take care of her and they learn that Elizabeth and her father, who was killed in the heist, had come to America to settle down. When Elizabeth is healed, she falls in an unrequited love with Dr. Frail and she decides to stay in Skull Creek to seek gold with Rune. They form a partnership with Frenchy and Dr. Frail secretly finances them to begin their business with The Lucky Lady Mine. When Elizabeth learns that Dr. Frail is helping her, she is upset that he is trying to control them and she promises to pay her debt to him someday. During a heavy rain, a tree falls down at the mine and the trio of partners finds a fortune in gold underground. Frenchy takes some gold to town to buy drinks with the locals and when he is drunk, he takes actions that will affect the lives of the locals and Skull Creek, mostly of Dr. Frail, Elizabeth and Rune.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Plot Keywords: doctor, immigrant, townsperson, partner, criminal, servant, dark ...

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#20. Third Man on the Mountain (1959)

Storyline: In 1865 Switzerland, a country mostly covered by high mountains, the main hobby is mountain-climbing. For some locals it's a personal passion and for others it's a lucrative business. Many tourists, mostly rich foreigners and explorers, come to Switzerland to attempt world records by climbing mountain peaks that have never been climbed or seldom been climbed before. Of course, some of these brave explorers lose their lives in their dangerous quests. The local Swiss villages provide experienced mountain guides and porters to the mountain climbers willing to pay the price, in coins or lives. Kurtal is such a small Swiss village located at the base of the famous Citadel mountain. The Citadel is the highest and the most dangerous peak in the region. Many have died trying to climb it but for the past 16 years no one has ventured on it. The last man to lose his life on the Citadel was the famous local mountain guide Josef Matt who died sacrificing himself in order to save the lives of his clients for whom he was serving as a guide. Josef's son, Rudi, is raised by his mother and by his uncle, Franz Lerner, who is also a professional mountain guide. Rudi is only 18 years old but he dreams of becoming a guide like his father. His family disapproves of Rudi's dangerous aspirations and relegate him to much safer jobs, such as being the dishwasher at the local motel run by Herr Hempel and his daughter Lizbeth. Often times, Rudi sneaks out of the kitchen to go climb smaller mountain peaks for exercise. Rudi knows the local rumor claiming that his father Josef had discovered a secret path to the summit of the Citadel on the day he died. Rudi hopes to one day climb the Citadel himself and find the secret path to the top his father supposedly discovered. One day, Rudi is at work washing dishes at the motel and he decides to sneak out of the kitchen in order to do a bit of mountain climbing. On the mountain, Rudi finds a stranded foreign tourist who got trapped when he fell onto a crag into a crevasse. Rudi throws a rope into the crevasse and saves the man who is none other than famed British mountain climber Capt. John Winter. The Captain thanks Rudi for saving his life and explains that accidents on the mountain could even happen to the most experienced climber. On their way back to town, Rudi and the Englishman pass by Rudi father's grave and the two pay their respects. The Captain reveals to Rudi that he believes in the dream of finding Josef's secret path to the top of the Citadel. In town, the Englishman hires Rudi's uncle Franz Lerner as a guide and convinces him to allow Rudi to come along as a porter. He also buys a new complete set of equipment and climbing gear for Rudy. Secretly, the foreigner wants to take a closer look at the famed and evil Citadel. When Rudi's uncle finds out the real aim of Capt. John Winter, he vehemently refuses to be the Englishman's guide to the Citadel. The Englishman leaves town and Rudi's uncle sells Rudi's new climbing gear that was gifted to Rudi by the foreigner. However, Rudi's girlfriend Lizbeth has purchased the hiking boots from Rudi's uncle and gives them back to Rudi. For the next few weeks Rudi undergoes a strict training in mountain climbing and guiding under the supervision of Teo Zurbriggen, Rudi father's old partner. Teo tells Rudi to never work for praise, glory and rewards but rather for the safety of his clients. Soon after, the locals spot two men, climbing the Citadel, through a telescope. One of them is Englishman John Winter and the other is Emil Saxo, a Swiss mountain guide from a nearby rival village. The next day, curious onlookers spot three men climbing the Citadel. With Rudi Matt gone from the village and nowhere to be found, the biggest question in everyone's mind is - who is the third man on the mountain ?—nufs68

Plot Keywords: mountain climber, mother, father, son, captain, teammate, inspiring ...

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#21. In the Heart of the Sea (2015)

Storyline: In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex was assaulted by something no one could believe: a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance. The real-life maritime disaster would inspire Herman Melville's Moby-Dick. But that told only half the story. "In the Heart of the Sea" reveals the encounter's harrowing aftermath, as the ship's surviving crew is pushed to their limits and forced to do the unthinkable to stay alive. Braving storms, starvation, panic and despair, the men will call into question their deepest beliefs, from the value of their lives to the morality of their trade, as their captain searches for direction on the open sea and his first mate still seeks to bring the great whale down.

Plot Keywords: captain, crew member, whale, wife, family member, child, bleak ...

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#23. The World in His Arms (1952)

Storyline: Roistering sea captain Jonathan Clark, who poaches seal pelts from Russian Alaska, meets and woos Russian countess Marina in 1850 San Francisco. Events separate them, but after an exciting sea race to the Pribilof Islands they meet again; now, both are in danger from the schemes of villainous Prince Semyon.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: captain, first mate, pilot, countess, merchant, prince, gripping ...

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#24. Canyon Passage (1946)

Storyline: In 1856, backwoods businessman Logan Stuart escorts Lucy Overmire, his friend's fiancée, back home to remote Jacksonville, Oregon; in the course of the hard journey, Lucy is attracted to Logan, whose heart seems to belong to another. Once arrived in Jacksonville, a welter of subplots involve villains, fair ladies, romantic triangles, gambling fever, murder, a cabin-raising, and vigilantism...culminating with an Indian uprising that threatens all the settlers. No canyon in sight.—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>

Plot Keywords: shop owner, fiancée, banker, gambler, best friend, love interest, spirited ...

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#25. The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)

Storyline: A chronicle of events that led to the British involvement in the Crimean War against Russia and which led to the siege of Sevastopol and the fierce Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854 which climaxed with the heroic, but near-disastrous cavalry charge made by the British Light Brigade against a Russian artillery battery in a small valley which resulted in the near-destruction of the brigade due to error of judgment and rash planning on part by the inept British commanders.—matt-282

Plot Keywords: lord, captain, british soldier, wife, spirited, brutal, gutsy ...

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#26. Dimples (1936)

Storyline: Dimples is a busker - a street entertainer, and lives in mid-19th century New York City's Bowery with her kindhearted but pickpocketing Grandfather, Prof. Eustace Appleby. Dimples is a talented child and is hired to perform at a party in the home of Mrs. Caroline Drew, an elderly widow living in Washington Square. Dimples delights the gathering and charms not only the elderly mistress of the house but her nephew Allen as well, a theatrical producer betrothed to a lovely society belle. Allen engages Dimples to perform the role of Little Eva in his production of "Uncle Tom's Cabin" while Mrs. Drew makes it possible for Dimples to remain in her genteel home and enjoy its benefits. Various complications ensue and Dimples bravely makes the decision to sacrifice her happiness to return to her slum dwelling Grandfather. Mrs. Drew traces Dimples's whereabouts and convinces Prof. Appleby that his lovely granddaughter deserves something better than a life of poverty and crime in the Bowery. The situation is resolved to everyone's satisfaction and the film ends with Dimples performing in New York City's first minstrel show.—eamon

Plot Keywords: street performer, grandfather, wealthy woman, nephew, fiancée, actor, cheery ...

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#27. Shipwrecked (1990)

Storyline: Haakon Haakonsen didn't want to go to sea so young, but when his father, a Norwegian sailor, comes home with a badly wounded foot in the 1850s, the Haakonsen family finances require him to enlist as ship boy aboard a British ship under Royal Navy authority. After some hazing he buckles up to learn the hard work and gets accepted by the rough crew. Then Royal Navy lieutenant John Merrick is welcomed to take charge of security on a long voyage to Sidney and Calcutta, through pirates-infested waters, but Haakon distrusts him after finding out that he packed concealed weapons; indeed Merrick secretly poisons the captain. Haakon and his guardian angel, his father's best mate Jens, were about to feel the claw of the cat for helping a stowaway when a rock wrecks the ship. Haakon washes up an island where he finds a pirates treasure and weapons.—KGF Vissers

Plot Keywords: cabin boy, father, pirate, girl, native, amusing, lighthearted ...

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#28. Mountains of the Moon (1990)

Storyline: Richard Burton (Patrick Bergin) and John Hanning Speke (Iain Glen) are explorers determined to find the source of the Nile somewhere in central Africa. Together, they run afoul of native peoples, inclement weather and no end of personal injury before reaching what could be the discovery they'd hoped for. When they get back to England, however, the two have a falling out. Speke insists he has discovered the Nile's source, while Burton thinks the evidence insufficient.

Plot Keywords: explorer, wife, tribal leader, publisher, doctor, manservant, tense ...

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#29. Paint Your Wagon (1969)

Storyline: A Michigan farmer and a prospector form a partnership in the California gold country. Their adventures include buying and sharing a wife, hijacking a stage, kidnaping six prostitutes, and turning their mining camp into a boomtown. Along the way there is plenty of drinking, gambling, and singing. They even find time to do some creative gold mining.

Plot Keywords: prospector, wife, husband, mormon, amusing, madcap, california ...

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