Top Ten 1950s
Tuesday, March 19, 2013 at 8:14PM This will be the last top ten off the top of my head whole decade thingies for a bit -- we need to get to real articles but I've been swamped off blog. But these discussions are fun, don't you agree? The 1950s were the first film decade I was obsessed with in that when I was first becoming interested in cinema in the mid 80s, the 50s somehow came to signify MYTHIC CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD to me, though cinema obviously stretched much much further back. So I guess I'll always be kind of attached to this decade when the movies got literally bigger (I do so prefer rectangulars to squares) and the era's stars really defined (at least for me) the concept of "Movie Star". I mean it's hard to argue with LIZ, BRANDO, CLIFT, DEAN, MONROE in all caps.
Which is why GIANT is such a perfect 1950s movie in so many ways even if it doesn't make my top ten
- Sunset Boulevard
- Singin' in the Rain
- A Place in the Sun
- A Streetcar Named Desire
- Night of the Hunter
- All About Eve
- Some Like it Hot
- Rear Window
- Sleeping Beauty
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
ask me again tomorrow and maybe i'd vote for: All That Heaven Allows, Ben-Hur, Vertigo, Rebel Without a Cause, Imitation of Life, and A Star is Born
or maybe... Roman Holiday, Strangers on a Train, On the Waterfront, East of Eden, Breathless, Giant and From Here to Eternity ...
What are you favorite 50s films?
Nina Foch & William Holden in "Executive Suite"Here's a few more notes from me on this CINEMASCOPE decade...
childhood favs (not all of them aged well): Brigadoon, Auntie Mame, The King and I, How to Marry a Millionaire, Kiss Me Kate, The Ten Commandments, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
underappreciated these days but that doesn't make them any less awesome: Face in the Crowd, Executive Suite, Black Orpheus, It Should Happen To You, Magnificent Obsession and Written on the Wind
I should probably rewatch: 400 Blows, High Noon, La Strada
I am not a fan of The African Queen, Gigi, or The Country Girl and I'm even cool on An American in Paris despite my beloved Gene Kelly.
Reader Comments (66)
The fifties were such a great era for movies:
- Strangers on a Train + Rear Window + Vertigo + North by Northwest (anayone would kill to make just one of these movies in a lifetime, let alone 4 in a decade! Gotta admire Hitch)
- Rififi (that 25 minute silent robbery scene alone is worth inclusion in any top ten list)
- Throne of Blood (never seen a better Shakespeare adaptation. Birnam wood marching towards the castle is visually stunning!)
- Ace in the hole + All About Eve + Sunset Blvd. (three parts of the holy quadrology of greatly entertaining yet disturbingly cynical movies about respectively journalism, the theatre and movies. The final part of the quadrology (about tv) would of course be 1976's Network)
- The Band Wagon + Singin' in the Rain (both perfect musicals)
- 12 Angry Men (forget about Citizen Kane. THIS is the best debut movie I've ever seen)
- Roman Holiday (romantic comedies usually age horribly, so it's saying a lot that this 60 y.o. gem still sizzles)
- High Noon (not just a great western but also a brilliant allegory for the McCarthy era)
I didn't realize it until just now, but the 50s is responsible for more of my All-Time Favorites than any other decade:
Singin' In The Rain
Some Like it Hot
M. Hulot's Holiday
Rear Window
Vertigo
North by Northwest
To Catch a Thief
All About Eve
The Ten Commandments
12 Angry Men
Nights of Cabiria
La Strada
Hiroshima, mon amour
Summertime
Sabrina
Harvey
Born Yesterday
Rebel Without A Cause
A Streetcar Named Desire
The 400 Blows
...and, of course, The Red Balloon
I couldn't order them, but whenever I think of my favorite movies of all time, every single one of these pops into my head, more than from any other single decade.
So many great movies from this decade, and so many I haven't seen, so I won't make a list, but I will say that a movie from that period that is VERY underrated - seriously, no one seems to watch it anymore - is THE BIG COUNTRY (directed by William Wyler, starring Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives). It's not perfect, but it's awesome, and has possibly the best musical score of the decade.
princess, I adore The Big Country! It is bold, unbuttoned, fiery, idyllic. A visual banquet and near-perfect entertainment. And you're right about that rousing music, I need to get that on CD.
Nathan, I agree with you about TAQ, Gigi and TCG. I'm pretty sure that if the first choice for the role--my Jennifer Jones--hadn't been pregnant and had been in the TCG, it would have been a thousand times better. Grace won the Oscar for two reasons--she was hot at the time (a factor that often figures into the Best Actress win) and she had been "deglammed" for the part. That is really open to debate. She still looked pretty damn good to me. Looking like you need a nap doesn't qualify in my book as being glammed down.
Have to say, I don't get the love for Vertigo. For me, it's fascinating, but an icy-cold diamond.
nat - seriously, NO foreign films??
princess & brookesboy - count me in on loving The Big Country, too!
i feel like i could make a top 10 using just bresson, hitchcock and ophuls. or anthony mann, nicholas ray and sam fuller. or minnelli, kurosawa and john ford. or rosselini, kazan and hawks.
picking a definitive top 10 is impossible, but here are 11 for now, with only one film per director:
01. Vertigo
02. Wild Strawberries
03. A Man Escaped
04. Rio Bravo
05. Sansho the Bailiff
06. The Earrings of Madame de...
07. Pickup on South Street
08. Touch of Evil
09. The Man from Laramie
10. The Band Wagon
11. The Last Hurrah
roark -- like i said my formative years were spent with 80s and 50s cinema so yes it was very american skewing as most formative years for americans are ;) but yeah, i need to catch up with more foreign films made after the silents (when i never notice country of origin) and before the 60s.
Yikes, for some reason I always think Vertigo is 1960...that goes in mine over Rear Window.
1. High Noon (1952) - just saw this the other day and I love everything about it. The ever-present music is especially perfect.
2. On the Waterfront (1954) - Brando's performance is probably the greatest performance by an actor ever. His scenes with Eva Marie Saint, like the one where they walk and she drops her glove, which he picks up and puts on, are especially tender, while his scenes with Lee J. Cobb are ferocious. Perfect movie!
3. Singin' in the Rain (1952) - maybe the best musical comedy of all time
4. Some Like It Hot (1959) - Wilder's true masterpiece
5. Around the World in 80 Days (1956) - for a fan of classic movie stars and character actors, this is a must-see. Absolute fun from start to finish and David Niven is always good. Hilarious too!
6. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - the performances and action are so exciting! All around a great movie and my favorite Lean film. The climax is unforgettable
7. Rear Window (1954) - Hitchcock's best film, in my opinion. The tension in the scene where Grace Kelly goes over to Raymond Burr's apartment as Jimmy Stewart watches is one of the many highlights of this classic. And Thelma Ritter's presence seals the deal for me.
8. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - the perfect 1950s movie about the '50s, this is the whole cast's best film and James Dean will never die because of it. "I saw that red jacket and I thought..."
9. 12 Angry Men (1957) - Of all the classic movies, this is the one you show to people who don't necessarily like black and white films. It's as true today as it was then and the whole cast doesn't miss a beat. One of the most exciting movies ever and it takes place in a single room!
10. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) - Dietrich's best performance. The whole cast is great and the ending is positively shocking! I love Agatha Christie and this is one of her best mysteries, as realized by Billy Wilder. Maybe the best courtroom drama ever
More than 60% of my top 100 movies of all time were filmed in the '50s and the first half of the '60s. The following are my top 25 of the '50s.
1. An Affair to Remember '57
2. Sabrina '54
3. North by Northwest '59
4. A Place in the Sun '51
5. A Streetcar Named Desire '51
6. White Christmas '54
7. Picnic '55
8. The Eddy Duchin Story '56
9. Suddenly, Last Summer '59
10. All About Eve '50
11. Separate Tables '58
12. Love Is A Many-Splendored Thing '55
13. Auntie Mame '58
14. Vertigo '58
15. How to Marry A millionaire '53
16. Gigi '58
17. The Man Who Knew Too Much '56
18. Some Like It Hot '59
19. Dial M for Murder '54
20. The Swan '56
21. Rear Window '54
22. The Great Caruso '51
23. Damn Yankees! '58
24. I Want to Live! '58
25. The Diary of Anne Frank '59
All About Eve
Sunset Blvd
A Place in the Sun
Vertigo
Night of the Hunter
East of Eden
Touch of Evil
In a Lonely Place
Strangers on a Train
From Here to Eternity
Rear Window, Rear Window, REAR WINDOW. Two words - Film Perfection. Perfect on every level. Grace's Oscar should have been for Rear Window instead of TCG.
Sunset Blvd is great but what about Vertigo :( it's the best movie ever.
Me -- weirdly i don't love Vertigo as much as most Hitchcock fanatics (though it'd make my top 25 of that decade 100%). I mean it's a great movie but it's not even in my top 3 Hitchcocks. Admittedly though his filmography is just an abundance of riches.
Great lists. My picks would go:
Some Like It Hot
12 Angry Men
Sleeping Beauty
Sunset Boulevard
All About Eve
Singin' in the Rain
A Streetcar Named Desire
Rashomon
Vertigo
Night of the Hunter
this is probably my favorite decade of movies ever. Some of my favorites are: Singin in the rain (one of my three fave films ever), All About Eve,Vertigo, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes( this has such an irresistible performace from Marilyn and Jane),Rear Window, Sunset Boulevard,The searchers,auntie mame,rebel without a cause( Sal Mineo thats all i need to say i adore the movie but Sal mineo is handsome). this is sooo difficult cause so many gems from this era.
1 - REAR WINDOW
2- VERTIGO
3- SING IN THE RAIN
4- SOME LIKE IT HOT
5- NORTH BY NORTHWEST
6- 12 ANGRY MEN
7- THE NIGHT OF HUNTER
8- TOUCH OF EVIL
9 - ON THE WATERFRONT
10 -DIAL M FOR MURDER