1950s

  • Roman Polanski – Lampa aka The Lamp (1959)

    1951-1960MysteryPolandRoman PolanskiShort Film

    In waning winter light, a doll maker works in his shop, a kerosene lamp beside him, a jumble of dolls and doll parts, whole and broken, surrounding him. There are noises, too: a cuckoo clock chirps the workday’s end. The artisan completes a repair and leaves, shuttering the shop from outside. Back inside, whispering begins. What else is in store for the shop’s seemingly lifeless denizens?Read More »

  • Robert Hossein – La nuit des espions AKA Night Encounter (1959)

    1951-1960DramaFranceMysteryRobert Hossein

    Synopsis:
    ‘In England during the Second World War, a German spy is pursued by the British secret service in a bid to prevent him from returning to France with a valuable microfilm. In a mountain chalet, two spies, one male, the other female, meet, neither knowing the identity of the other. Not knowing which side the other is on, they are powerfully drawn to one another…’
    – James TraversRead More »

  • Andrzej Munk – Kolejarskie slowo AKA A Railwayman’s Word (1953)

    1951-1960Andrzej MunkDocumentaryPolandShort Film

    Quote:
    Waiting for coke from the Silesian mines is the “Szczecin” steelworks, and with it the cities and grand constructions of People’s Poland. Steam locomotive drivers undertake not to allow any train delay, and give a letter of guarantee – the railroad’s watchword.Read More »

  • Alberto Lattuada – La Lupa AKA The Devil Is a Woman (1953)

    1951-1960Alberto LattuadaDramaItaly

    From IMDB:
    A woman in her thirties is a single mother of a teenager daughter, and both are in love with the same young soldier. Mother sacrifices herself for Maricchia’s marriage, but ultimately falls to her own passion, leading to family disruption.Read More »

  • Spencer Gordon Bennet – Pirates of the High Seas (1950)

    Spencer Gordon Bennet1941-1950ActionAdventureUSA

    15 Part Columbia serial starring Buster Crabbe concerns the search for 5 million dollars in diamonds that went missing at the close of the Second World War. Crabbe plays Jeff Drake who is summoned to a small south pacific island by a war time buddy who has run in a nest of vipers looking for the stolen gems. The story begins as Jeff is summoned to the island, and how he reluctantly heads out, the result not so much of wanting to help a friend, rather because several people, including his friends sister, all want to go to the island. Once he’s on his way Crabbe and his friends are beset by many of the usual and several unusual serial dangers.Read More »

  • Marcel Carné – La Marie du port AKA Marie of the Port (1950)

    Marcel Carné1941-1950DramaFranceRomance

    Synopsis:
    Recovering from his disastrous experience with the never-completed La Fleur de L’Age, French filmmaker Marcel Carne proved he hadn’t lost his touch with La Marie du Port. Played by Nicole Courcel, the eponymous Marie is the younger sister of Odile (Blanchette Burnoy). Odile in turn is the mistress of been-there-done-that Chatelard (Jean Gabin). Upon meeting Marie, Chatelard’s cynicism melts away. Still, he merely toys with the girl’s affections–at least until he discovers that Odile is carrying on an affair with Marie’s boyfriend. Chatelard stops Marie from committing suicide, and for the first time in his life really means it when he pledges his undying devotion. Like many French films of the era, La Marie du Port was but a shadow of its former self when the American censors got through with it.Read More »

  • Spencer Gordon Bennet – King of the Congo (1952)

    USA1951-1960ActionAdventureSpencer Gordon Bennet

    Plot
    The film series is a complicated serial with more twists than a maze that basically centers around a U.S. Air Force captain and his quest for missing microfilm that contains vital information. The heroic Buster Crabbe plays Captain Roger Drum, who shoots down an enemy plane on its way to Africa with the secret microfilm. Intent on revealing the subversive group that the message was for, Drum assumes the pilot’s identity and flies to Africa himself and crashes in the jungle. He is rescued by the pacific Rock People, led by Princess Phi (Gloria Dea), and is renamed Thunda, King of the Congo, after he rings a temple gong in alarm. With the subversives believing Thunda is their missing pilot and under constant attack by another tribe called the Cave Men, our hero plots to bring down the subversives who are searching for a new metal more radioactive than uranium. At the end, Thunda (or Drum) clear the jungle of villains and reunites the Rock People and Cave Men for well. From WikipediaRead More »

  • Roman Polanski – Rozbijemy zabawe… AKA Break Up The Dance… (1957)

    Roman Polanski1951-1960ArthousePolandShort Film

    Quote:
    Youths get ready for a party, decorating the dance floor, cleaning out the fountain of a pond. That evening, the party starts and guests arrive: everyone has a ticket, and a guy at the gate, wearing a formal shirt, tails, and shorts, makes sure only those with tickets gain entrance. Some are in costume, some dressed informally, some in fancy clothes: everyone is there to have a good time. A group of tough-looking guys watch through the high fence while the band plays jazzy rock and couples dance or kiss. With the party in full swing, as the band plays “When the Saints Go Marching In,” over the wall comes the gang. Is there any chance they’ll join in the festivities?Read More »

  • Roman Polanski – Morderstwo aka Murder (1957)

    Short Film1951-1960CrimePolandRoman Polanski

    The camera shows us a door handle and the door’s striker plate; from this angle, they form a cross. The door opens and in steps someone in a dark trench coat. He approaches a bed in the room, where a shirtless man sleeps. The intruder takes out a knife. His movements are without haste, but deliberate and efficient. Will his sleeping victim awake in time to offer resistance?Read More »

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