The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952)

British actor Claude Rains stars in this European-set UK production of a novel by Belgian author Georges Simenon. Confusing? At least the plot is straightforward: the little guy loses his mind when he discovers his boss has cheated and lied and is now perpetrating a crime that will ruin the little guy's life: chaos ensues. A stellar European cast really makes this sordid tale a gripping film noir, with an especially dark turn by Märta Torén who plays the femme fatale. I could watch her laugh at the little man all day! Aka "The Paris Express" -- recommended! 

Three Husbands (1951)

The ensemble cast was pretty lively, and Eve Arden was fun to watch. An interesting premise: a dead gallant leaves letters to three neglectful husbands. He had befriended their wives and (spoiler) claimed they were in love with him in those posthumous missives. Chaos ensues. Some snappy dialogue made this flick sort of entertaining. Kinda mediocre as far as a comedy, but a real gem regarding women's rights and how they shouldn't have to be beholden to inattentive husbands to take care of them.

Peyton Place (1957)

Trigger warnings: violence, sexual violence. 

Spoilers.

The complicity of women characters in maintaining the rape culture of mid-twentieth-century white society makes movies like Peyton Place (1957) hard to watch. While the three women protagonists are each strong in their own ways, they refuse to buck the suffocating culture that only places value on women when they are possessed by men. The sexual, emotional, and psychological possession of the three women plays out in the eponymous town "with a seductively beautiful facade that hides a plethora of ills." Scandal, malicious gossip, secrets, rape, child abuse, suicide, and murder fill the plot of this frankly disturbing film (see Wikipedia for the basic plot). Nominated for many academy awards: I guess we know what people want to watch ... sadly. Lana Turner's acting is luminous, and I wanted to watch this film as a North American cultural artifact that has had an enormous influence on white storytelling. The ending highlights a few happy reconciliation moments, and a jury finds the young woman not guilty of murdering her rapist stepfather who had impregnated her; however, I recommend that you save yourself the 2h 42m (!) running time and watch something more edifying and life-affirming.