| Title | Director | Cast | Genre | Notes |
| Odds Against Tomorrow | Robert Wise | Harry Belafonte, Shelley Winters, Robert Ryan | Film noir | United Artists |
| On the Beach | Stanley Kramer | Gregory Peck, Ava Gardner, Fred Astaire | Science fiction | United Artists; 2 Oscar nominations; BAFTA award for Kramer |
| Operation Dames | Louis Clyde Stoumen | Eve Meyer, Byron Morrow, Cindy Girard | War | AIP |
| Operation Petticoat | Blake Edwards | Cary Grant, Tony Curtis, Joan O'Brien | Comedy | Universal |
| The Oregon Trail | Gene Fowler Jr. | Fred MacMurray, Nina Shipman, Gloria Talbott | Western | 20th Century Fox; became TV series |
| Paratroop Command | William Witney | Richard Bakalyan, Ken Lynch, Jack Hogan | War | AIP |
| Pier 5, Havana | Edward L. Cahn | Cameron Mitchell, Allison Hayes, Eduardo Noriega | Crime | United Artists |
| Pillow Talk | Michael Gordon | Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall | Comedy | Universal; Oscar for screenplay, 5 nominations |
| Plan 9 from Outer Space | Ed Wood | Bela Lugosi, Maila Nurmi, Tor Johnson | Science fiction | Referenced in Ed Wood |
| Plunderers of Painted Flats | Albert Gannaway | Corinne Calvet, John Carroll, George Macready | Western | Republic |
| Porgy and Bess | Otto Preminger | Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge, Sammy Davis, Jr. | Musical | Columbia. Music by George Gershwin |
| Pork Chop Hill | Lewis Milestone | Gregory Peck, Woody Strode, Harry Guardino | War | United Artists |
| Prisoner of the Volga | Victor Tourjansky | John Derek, Elsa Martinelli, Dawn Addams | Adventure | Paramount |
| A Private's Affair | Raoul Walsh | Sal Mineo, Christine Carère, Barbara Eden | Musical | 20th Century Fox |
| The Rabbit Trap | Philip Leacock | Ernest Borgnine, Bethel Leslie, David Brian | Drama | United Artists |
| The Rebel Set | Gene Fowler Jr. | Kathleen Crowley, John Lupton, Gregg Palmer | Drama | Allied Artists |
| The Remarkable Mr. Pennypacker | Henry Levin | Clifton Webb, Dorothy McGuire, Jill St. John | Comedy | 20th Century Fox |
| Return of the Fly | Edward Bernds | Vincent Price, Brett Halsey, Danielle De Metz | Science fiction | 20th Century Fox; sequel to The Fly |
| Ride Lonesome | Budd Boetticher | Randolph Scott, Karen Steele, Pernell Roberts | Western | Columbia |
| Rio Bravo | Howard Hawks | John Wayne, Dean Martin, Angie Dickinson | Western | Warner Bros. |
| Riot in Juvenile Prison | Edward L. Cahn | Scott Marlowe, Dorothy Provine, Marcia Henderson | Drama | United Artists |
| The Rookie | George O'Hanlon | Tommy Noonan, Julie Newmar, Peter Marshall | Comedy | 20th Century Fox |
| The Sad Horse | James B. Clark | Rex Reason, Patrice Wymore, David Ladd | Drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Say One for Me | Frank Tashlin | Bing Crosby, Debbie Reynolds, Robert Wagner | Musical | 20th Century Fox |
| Shadows | John Cassavetes | Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd | Drama | Independent |
| The Shaggy Dog | Charles Barton | Fred MacMurray, Tommy Kirk, Jean Hagen | Comedy | Disney |
| Shake Hands with the Devil | Michael Anderson | James Cagney, Don Murray, Dana Wynter | Drama | United Artists; filmed in Ireland |
| Sleeping Beauty | Clyde Geronimi | Eleanor Audley, Mary Costa, Bill Shirley | Animation | Disney |
| Solomon and Sheba | King Vidor | Yul Brynner, Gina Lollobrigida, David Farrar | Epic | United Artists |
| Some Like It Hot | Billy Wilder | Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis | Comedy | United Artists; won 3 Golden Globes; nominated for 6 Oscars; remake of 1939 film |
| The Sound and the Fury | Martin Ritt | Yul Brynner, Joanne Woodward, Margaret Leighton | Drama | 20th Century Fox; from book by William Faulkner |
| Speed Crazy | William J. Hole Jr. | Brett Halsey, Yvonne Lime, Baynes Barron | Crime | Allied Artists |
| A Stranger in My Arms | Helmut Käutner | Jeff Chandler, June Allyson, Mary Astor | Drama | Universal |
| The Story on Page One | Clifford Odets | Rita Hayworth, Anthony Franciosa, Gig Young | Drama | 20th Century Fox |
| Suddenly, Last Summer | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift | Drama | Columbia; written by Tennessee Williams; Golden Globe for Taylor |
| A Summer Place | Delmer Daves | Richard Egan, Sandra Dee, Troy Donahue | Drama | Warner Bros.; based on the novel |
| Surrender - Hell! | John Barnwell | Keith Andes, Susan Cabot, Nestor de Villa | War | Allied Artists. Co-production with the Philippines |