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The 1950s: 1950–1959
1950–1959 · worldwide, all places
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The Korean War, the Hungarian rising of 1956 and the Suez crisis kept the Cold War hot at the edges while American suburbs filled with televisions. France lost Indochina in 1954, Ghana became independent in 1957, and teenagers invented rock and roll.
1956 crushed Budapest and 1957 freed Accra. Sidney Lumet's 12 Angry Men deliberates in a 1950s New York jury room, and Miyazaki's My Neighbor Totoro moves two sisters to the Japanese countryside of the same decade. Open the 1950s on the StoryTerra map and explore its stories by place.
9 famous stories set in the 1950s
Live snapshot of the top 9 most popular catalogue items (2026-09-05). Click any card to open this entry on the live map.
Browse 924 books, 1,696 movies, 12 TV shows and 24 games set in the 1950s (1950–1959).
Shutter Island
World War II soldier-turned-U.S. Marshal Teddy Daniels investigates the disappearance of a patient from a hospital for the criminally insane but his efforts are compromised by troubling visions and a mysterious doctor.
12 Angry Men
The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon…
Dead Poets Society
At an elite old-fashioned boarding school in New England a passionate English teacher inspires his students to rebel against convention and seize the potential of every day courting the disdain of the stern headmaster.
Rear Window
A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
North by Northwest
Advertising man Roger Thornhill is mistaken for a spy triggering a deadly cross-country chase.
My Neighbor Totoro
Two sisters move to the country with their father in order to be closer to their hospitalized mother and discover the surrounding trees are inhabited by Totoros magical spirits of the forest. When the youngest runs away…
Vertigo
A retired San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.
The Iron Giant
In the small town of Rockwell Maine in October 1957 a giant metal machine befriends a nine-year-old boy and ultimately finds its humanity by unselfishly saving people from their own fears and prejudices.
The Nun II
In 1956 France a priest is violently murdered and Sister Irene begins to investigate. She once again comes face-to-face with a powerful evil.
The 9 stories above are just a sample of the 2,656 in the catalogue for this entry. For the live 1950–1959 catalogue, use the button above — or browse the whole 20th century. On the live map you can also filter by the exact time the stories take place — any year, decade or century, from BCE to the future.
Relevant picks from this decade
1950s Havana — The colorful yet tense Havana before the revolution — known for jazz, nightlife, and mobster tales featured in numerous novels and movies. The button… Explore 1950s Havana
Korean War: 1950–1953 — Enter the 'Forgotten War' — a brutal conflict that solidified the division of the Korean peninsula, with intense fighting between North and South,… Explore Korean War: 1950–1953
Post-War Japan: 1945–1960 — The rapid reconstruction and modernization after WWII — depicted in films and stories about resilience and change across the entire country, from… Explore Post-War Japan: 1945–1960
Golden Age Hollywood: 1930–1959 — The roaring studios era where cinema legends rose — glamour mixed with scandal, and film noir stories shaped the city's mythos. The button below… Explore Golden Age Hollywood: 1930–1959
Vietnam War: 1955–1975 — Experience the turbulent decades of the Vietnam War — political upheaval, cultural shifts, and the human cost of one of the 20th century's defining… Explore Vietnam War: 1955–1975
Cold War Berlin: 1945–1989 — A city divided by ideology — Berlin during the Cold War was a hotspot of espionage, culture, and tension, inspiring numerous novels and films. The… Explore Cold War Berlin: 1945–1989
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1940s · 20th century · Time hub · All places · 1960s