1950s

  • Gavin Lambert – Another Sky (1954)

    Drama1951-1960Gavin LambertUnited Kingdom

    Quote:
    The real coup here is the presentation of the one movie Gavin directed. It is called Another Sky, made in 1954, and shot largely in North Africa in black and white. It is the story of a demure governess named Rose who comes to work in Marrakesh, and who is gradually seduced by the heat, the mystery and the latent sexuality of the desert. It is a picture made under the moon of Paul Bowles, a friend to Gavin, and the author only a few years earlier of The Sheltering Sky, a novel that has much the same themes… I don’t say that Another Sky is totally successful, but as soon as you think of it as a British film made in 1954, then its boldness, its mood and its attempt at something novel fall into place. The French took up the cause of Another Sky a long time ago, but in the two countries where Gavin lived most of his life — Britain and America — it is hardly known. – David Thomson, reviewing a retrospective of Lambert’s workRead More »

  • Gennadiy Kazanskiy – Starik Khottabych AKA The Flying Carpet (1957)

    1951-1960ClassicsFantasyGennadiy KazanskiyUSSR

    A boy finds a special jug and releases an ancient genie. The powerful and kind wizard is ready to fulfill all desires, but he doesn’t know anything about the reality of the 20th century.Read More »

  • Hui Shi – Tian xian pei AKA Fairy Couple (1955)

    1951-1960ChinaHui ShiMusicalRomance

    Based on the legendary story of Dong Yong and the Seventh Fairy Princess, Marriage of the Fairy Princess is a retelling of how a celestial maiden spies a dutiful young man and, taking pity on him, flies down from heaven and helps him pay back his debt to the local landlord. But their happy relationship is doomed when the Emperor of Heaven discovers his daughter’s absence.Read More »

  • Lewis Gilbert – Albert, R.N. (1953)

    1951-1960DramaLewis GilbertUnited KingdomWar

    When several escapes at an German pow camp go wrong, the prisoners begin to think, that there is an informer revealing their plans to the enemy. Then Lt Ainsworth, an artist in civvie street, invents a model head of a fictious prisoner, who can take the place of an escaper, when the men march back from the bath house, which is situated outside the camp. Written by mike.wilsonRead More »

  • Alain Resnais – Nuit et brouillard AKA Night and Fog (1955)

    1991-2000Alain ResnaisDocumentaryFrance

    The history of Nazi Germany’s death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.Read More »

  • Kon Ichikawa – Ano Te Kono Te aka This Way, That Way (1952)

    1951-1960AsianComedyJapanKon Ichikawa

    An intellectual couple in a staid and tedious marriage are surprised when the wife’s niece, who has run away from home, turns up unexpectedly to stay with them. Their mundane lives are sent into disarray by the emotional and energetic Ako.Read More »

  • Kurt Hoffmann – Fanfaren der Liebe aka Fanfares of Love (1951)

    1951-1960ComedyGermanyKurt HoffmannRomance

    Two musicians, Hans and Peter, are out of work. They make regular visits to the booking agent, but there’s no work. After several false starts, they are desperate, and when they hear that an all-woman band, the Alpine Violets, have been let down and are desperate for two female musicians, they know that fate is knocking for them. When they hear that the band is going to a luxury Alpine hotel to record a gramophone record, they can’t wait to get on board. They enlist the help of a friendly makeup artiste and practise their girly body language. After a street test they are sure they pass, so it’s back to the agency to volunteer. They pass a quick audition, so it’s down to the station for the night train to Ingolstadt, with the rest of the band. Read More »

  • Allan Dwan – Montana Belle (1952)

    1951-1960Allan DwanUSAWestern

    Synopsis
    In a fictionalized biography, Oklahoma outlaw Belle Starr (Jane Russell) meets the Dalton gang when rescued from lynching by Bob Dalton (Scott Brady), who falls for her. So do gang member Mac (Forrest Tucker) and wealthy saloon owner Tom Bradfield (George Brent), who’s enlisted in a bankers’ scheme to trap the Daltons. Dissension among the gang and Bradfield’s ambivalence complicate the plot, as Belle demonstrates her prowess with shootin’ irons, horses, and as a surprisingly racy saloon entertainer. ~ IMDbRead More »

  • Umetsugu Inoue – Shi no jûjiro AKA Crossroads of Death (1956)

    1951-1960CrimeFilm NoirJapanUmetsugu Inoue

    Quote:
    Ise, a successful entrepreneur, accidentally murders his lunatic wife after he is spotted having an affair with his secretary, Harumi. In his attempt to perfect his crime, he drives to a remote quarry to bury his wife’s body, but along the way, he finds another dead body in the back of his car! Given no choice, Ise dumps both bodies. Meanwhile, Yoshie begins her search for her missing brother, Yoshihiko. After surprising twists and turns, Ise faces his fate.Read More »

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