1950s

  • Kurt Neumann – The Fly (1958)

    1951-1960HorrorKurt NeumannSci-FiUSA

    Quote:
    After her husband Andre Delambre is crushed to death in a mechanical press, his wife recounts to his brother Francois Delambre and police Inspector Charas the events of the previous few months. They were very much in love and with their little boy, a very happy family. Andre was experimenting with teleportation – transporting objects from one point to another by breaking the object down to the atomic level and then reassembling it in a receiver a distance away. The system had some glitches – it seemed to work with inanimate object but his cat disappeared when he tried teleporting it. He thinks he’s solved all of the problems with his invention and decides to try and teleport himself. When a fly enters the teleportation device with him, disaster strikes.Read More »

  • Various – O. Henry’s Full House (1952)

    Drama1951-1960ComedyMarilyn MonroeUSAVarious

    Synopsis:
    John Steinbeck introduces five of O. Henry’s most popular short stores in this anthology film. In “The Cop and the Anthem” a homeless alcoholic is increasingly frustrated in numerous attempts to get arrested and jailed for 90 days in a warm cell rather than face the rigors of a New York winter. In “The Clarion Call” a NYPD detective has a crisis of conscience when he is torn between his duty to arrest a childhood friend for a murder only he knows he committed and the debt of honor he still owes to him. In “The Last Leaf” a naive young girl is stricken with pneumonia after being seduced and jilted by venal actor. Read More »

  • William A. Berke – Pier 23 (1951)

    1951-1960CrimeFilm NoirUSAWilliam A. Berke

    Plot Synopsis by Hal Erickson
    Pier 23 was one of three hour-long mysteries produced by Lippert Productions for both TV and theatrical release. Each of the three films was evenly divided into two half-hour “episodes,” and each starred Hugh Beaumont as San Francisco-based amateur sleuth Dennis O’Brien. In Pier 23, O’Brien first tackles the case of a wrestler who has died of a suspicious heart attack after refusing to lose a match. He then agrees to help a priest talk an escaped criminal into returning to prison. The film’s two-part structure leads to repetition and predictability, but it’s fun to watch TV’s “Ward Cleaver” making like Philip Marlowe.Read More »

  • René Vautier – Les Anneaux d’or (1956)

    1951-1960DocumentaryFranceRené VautierShort Film

    Quote:
    At the time of Tunisian independence, owners of large boats decide to sell, while many small fishermen soon find themselves without work. Their wives then decide to pool their gold rings to sell them and thus buy boats.Read More »

  • Robert Frank – Pull My Daisy (1959)

    1951-1960ArthouseExperimentalRobert FrankUSA

    Quote:
    From Wikipedia: Pull My Daisy (1959) is a short film that typifies the Beat Generation. Directed by Robert Frank and Alfred Leslie, Daisy was adapted by Jack Kerouac from the third act of a never-completed stage play entitled Beat Generation. Kerouac also provided improvised narration. It starred Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Larry Rivers, Peter Orlovsky, David Amram, Richard Bellamy, Alice Neel, Sally Gross, Delphine Seyrig and Pablo Frank, Robert Frank’s then-young son.Read More »

  • Alf Sjöberg – Barabbas (1953)

    Drama1951-1960Alf SjöbergSweden

    The story about the thief who didn’t get crucified because Jesus was chosen to take his place.

    This is the final cut, shown on Swedish TV for the very first time this Easter.Read More »

  • Keisuke Kinoshita – Karumen kokyo ni kaeru AKA Carmen Comes Home [+extras] (1951)

    1951-1960ComedyDramaJapanKeisuke Kinoshita

    Quote:
    A light-heartedly humorous take on post-war female emancipation, Carmen Comes Home is a fairly typical offering from Shochiku, a studio renowned at the time for its conservative output specialising predominantly in comedies and domestic dramas based firmly within the framework of the traditional Japanese family structure. Produced at a time when the company’s fortunes were still riding high, to celebrate their 30th anniversary studio head Shiro Kido (himself the subject of a retrospective at the Nederlands Filmmuseum in 1994) allowed director Keisuke Kinoshita to direct this light and breezy comedy drama in Fujicolor, and thus Japan’s first ever colour motion picture came to be made.Read More »

  • Alf Sjöberg – Karin Månsdotter (1954)

    1951-1960Alf SjöbergDramaSweden

    After failing to arrange a marriage with Elizabeth Tudor of England, king Erik XIV of Sweden needs a wife and children to secure his throne, fast. He falls in love with Karin Månsdotter, a very beautiful young girl, but of lowborn stock. The King’s secretary sees a chance to secure the good opinion of the populace, to act as a counterweight to the rich noblemen who always seek more influence. A marriage is made, but the king is not fully at his wits at a time when it is most needed…Read More »

  • Fred F. Sears – Escape from San Quentin (1957)

    1951-1960CrimeDramaFred F. SearsUSA

    Plot:
    Singing star Johnny Desmond (Calypso Heat Wave, China Doll) goes dramatic in this Sam Katzman production. Desmond plays convict Mike Gilbert, who goes on the lam with fellow prisoners Gruber (Richard Devon, The Undead) and Graham (Roy Engel, Rogue River) when he finds out his wife is divorcing him and feels he has nothing to lose. While hiding from the law, Gilbert falls in love with Robbie (Merry Anders, Tickle Me, The Quick Gun), his ex-wife’s sister. Through Robbie’s influence, Gilbert decides to go straight, but his cohorts aren’t quite so willing to reform. Like most Sam Katzman productions of the era, this was loosely based on a true story. Directed by Fred F. Sears and featuring an original score by Laurindo Almeida. Newly remastered. From Warner Brothers Website!Read More »

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