The 1950s List: Discussion and Suggestions (Decade Project Vol. 4)

[therewillbeblus]

I don’t personally care about or value cartoons much, but coincidentally enough I actually gave my typically wacky 50 slot to one this decade. Everyone will figure it out once swo17 announces the orphans, but it ain’t Bugs Bunny!

I hadn't seen it before but Casey Bats Again was pretty great, thanks for the indirect rec via simple detectivework

[knives]

It’s definitely one of the best Disney films not that that is much a competition.

[Rayon Vert]

Mann's Men in War is my highest-ranked orphan. If you haven't seen it and think Fuller's The Steel Helmet is a wonderfully hard-hitting gritty Korean War platoon war flick, definitely give this one a chance - I much prefer it. Plus it's got a great Robert Ryan performance.

[therewillbeblus]

RV, everything about your post gives me butterflies. Thankfully, I literally just got it from my Hamilton Books order a few hours ago!

[Rayon Vert]

There's hope!

[knives]

I think it’s really great as well and if I had all the spaces I desire I’d include it. It’s a bizarre practically surreal film.

[Michael Kerpan]

I'm genuinely surprised to see a few of these orphans...

Given that there are several hundred (at least) great films from this decade, not REALLY surprising that huge numbers of worthy contenders get left behind.

[therewillbeblus]

Well, I may as well defend my orphans

Les Tricheurs: This film apparently goes by many names and I personally referred to it by one of its two English translations, The Cheaters, in my initial writeup, though I’m not convinced it would escape the fate of ophanism regardless due to its obscurity. This isn’t the best film about youth of the decade, but it is the best French film about youth of the decade, which will count for something greater in the next few to come. Carne’s film is a very mature examination of the messy experience of emerging adults trying to define themselves against their social contexts, and is one well-worth seeking out for those interested in those films that dare to take unconditionally empathetic stances while being unafraid to tackle the whole range of emotions involved in the chaos of this developmental stage.

The Big Sky: An underrated film in Hawks’ canon that I only fell in love with after seeing the longer cut recently, which really helps to flesh out the core dynamic in the first act. Just adding one scene propels this into becoming one of the better depictions of natural Hawksian camaraderie, and the looseness of the rest of the film appropriately makes it hard to pin down into a genre of western, adventure, romance, comedy or drama. It’s Hawks’ first hangout film, that isn’t recognized as such, and easily his best take on that rhythm.

Two of a Kind: I guess I never wrote this one up… so I’m far less disappointed in the board than I am at myself for failing to promote this masterful noir. Edmond O’Brien and Lizbeth Scott are at their sleaziest, playing their respective conniving parts in a morality-testing scheme. What makes this film so great aren’t just the performances but the small details involved in the gambit that refuse to be cut from the central frame of action. Instead of making the setup seem easy aside from externalized threats, philosophical, emotional, and physical sacrifices must be made and meditated on for psychological effect. The no-preparation car-door scene is the prime example of relentlessly stewing on the stakes and consequences involved in an elaborate plot. Yet it’s the progression of interpersonal warmth and trust that weighs on O’Brien, and us vicariously, and sells the film’s strengths as above most noirs dealing with the same conceits. This is accomplished precisely against the grain of expectations, so rather than delivering and responding to eye-rolling guilt-trip lines of dialogue, we get exhibitions of genuineness and compassion that contrast the twisted personalities and tones established in the first part of the dark milieu. At an admirably controlled yet impetuous pace, the film develops a conscience from exposure to evidence that challenges the initial hypothesis of nihilism and absence of integrity.

Days of Wine and Roses: I like the Edwards film, and I love Lee Remick, but nothing beats Frankenheimer’s uncomfortably gritty camera suffocating us while Piper Laurie displays layered symptoms of pitch-perfect alcoholism. I’m not keen on all the Playhouse 90 episodic films, but this is one of the boldest presentations of addiction, and perhaps the best released during the Code era.

I'm most surprised that Ewa Wants to Sleep didn't wind up orphaned, though I can probably thank domino for that one

[domino harvey]

In the words of the poet, it wasn’t me

[therewillbeblus]

[therewillbeblus]

The orphan rescue mission began with a dud when unfortunately I found the bulk of The Violent Men to be a bland, mediocre western, even with the noted twisted observations of realism that feed the grey desert of morality. The best westerns explore these themes with more or less sugar, but the manner in which this one addressed ethical compromise and sadistic behavior didn’t make up for all the ways that it fit a prosaic mold and struggled to distinguish itself from the rest of the genre programmers.

Normally I give more rope to this genre’s blending of suppressed psychological processes bubbling up to contend with philosophical ones, so after that disappointment I was pleased to find myself absolutely loving Gunman’s Walk. bamwc2 wrote this one up well, though the double feature I see is with The Gunfighter. If that film is a more individualized existential meditation on the consequential harms from romanticism toward an ego-boosting gunfighter lifestyle, this counters it with a historical focus on the family system. Responsibility and accountability are divided concepts yet placed on the same table, encouraging the audience to comprehend the culpable similarities, rather than excusable differences, between direct action and indirect poisonous modeling that perpetuates harm. Add in the very understandable and validated rationalism for protecting ‘me and mine’ and you have a complex work of ethical dilemmas, bursting with anxiety.

During the jailhouse shooting towards the end my heart was beating faster than it has in a long time, as the film attempted to balance acidic drama, calm introspection, and turbulent anguish manifesting as impetuous raged destruction, and succeeded in spades. The final interaction between father and son makes a sound argument (that will likely still resonate to many people today, myself included) for how our perceptions of our parents’ or idols’ teachings differ from their own intentions, and so on from us to our children, spouses, peers, or other loved ones. That final moment of responsibility is taken internally by a man himself, a far greater punishment than contending with the law or other external system. Now this is an effective and unique use of western themes to the universal confrontations in existence. Already there's at least one viable candidate to sneak onto my final list.

[alacal2]

Four orphans for me but let's not get competitive! Am I bovvered? Well, I had a brief lower lip tremble over the apparent lack of love for The Ladykillers but I've enjoyed it for what is. I've had a great time immersing myself in British 50s cinema and hopefully generating a bit more interest in that period (and I'm threatening to do it again for the 60s list with Clayton, Losey and anderson). Thanks to the Board and Twilght Time's perfectly judged sale I'm no longer a Hollywood melodrama virgin (my first Sirk, Robson and Ritt!!!). And I got a tiny trangressive thrill from having no westerns and only the one obvious musical. My loss I know but it was'nt beauty but time, that killed the beast.

[swo17]

New Votes

The following films received no votes during the last round of the lists project but currently have two or more votes. Perhaps they were not on your radar before...

Araya (Margot Benacerraf, 1959)
Bell Book and Candle (Richard Quine, 1958)
The Breaking Point (Michael Curtiz, 1950)
Le Carrosse d'or (Jean Renoir, 1952)
La casa del ángel (Leopoldo Torre Nilsson, 1957)
Deadline U.S.A. (Richard Brooks, 1952)
Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe (Jean Renoir, 1959)
Dementia (John Parker, 1955)
Ewa Wants to Sleep (Tadeusz Chmielewski, 1958)
Il Generale Della Rovere (Roberto Rossellini, 1959)
Girl with Hyacinths (Hasse Ekman, 1950)
The Gunfighter (Henry King, 1950)
Guys and Dolls (Joseph Mankiewicz, 1955)
Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (Douglas Sirk, 1952)
I Love Melvin (Don Weis, 1953)
Kiss Me Kate (George Sidney, 1953)
Li'l Abner (Melvin Frank, 1959)
Little Fugitive (Ray Ashley et al., 1953)
Love in the Afternoon (Billy Wilder, 1957)
The Man with the Golden Arm (Otto Preminger, 1955)
The Member of the Wedding (Fred Zinnemann, 1952)
99 River Street (Phil Karlson, 1953)
The Noose (Wojciech Has, 1958)
Le notti bianche (Luchino Visconti, 1957)
Olivia (Jacqueline Audry, 1951)
One Froggy Evening (Chuck Jones, 1955)
La Pointe-Courte (Agnès Varda, 1955)
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (Nathan Juran, 1958)
The Snorkel (Guy Green, 1958)
Son of Paleface (Frank Tashlin, 1952)
Stars in My Crown (Jacques Tourneur, 1950)
Tea and Sympathy (Vincente Minnelli, 1956)
Time Without Pity (Joseph Losey, 1957)

[the preacher]

I'll definitely be checking out Cavalcanti's Song of the Sea, as well. I loved Went the Day Well? and They Made Me a Fugitive.

It's an autoremake of his silent En rade, but with a different style, a sort of poetic neorealism. A neglected (or rather unseen) masterpiece.

[bamwc2]

Will the 2010 list thread open up right away or will it be after the orphan rescue period?

[TMDaines]

Will the 2010 list thread open up right away or will it be after the orphan rescue period?

After. Only one decades list project is active at a time. This is still considered to be part of the watching period.

[bamwc2]

Will the 2010 list thread open up right away or will it be after the orphan rescue period?

After. Only one decades list project is active at a time. This is still considered to be part of the watching period.

Drat. I fell off on my movie watching habits in the mid-part of the decade to focus on writing. I've probably seen fewer films from the 2010s than any decade other than the 1910s and 20s. I'm eager to fill in the gap, but am working on a few different writing projects now. I'll probably mostly sit out the sci-fi list, and go a little slower on the 2010s than I did with the 50s.

[therewillbeblus]

If you're trying to say that 'now' is your open window to engage in the list project, you can always get a jump start in a word doc (which is what I usually do) and post when it opens. If you're looking for recs, there are lots of good ones for at least the first half of the decade here. And if now is the time to go hard, it's never too early to watch the longest best films of the next decade, La Flor and The Young Pope.

That New Votes list is heartening, especially since my number there almost doubles my orphans

[nitin]

Not surprised to see Violent Saturday is an orphan but Mr Arkadin!!! I blame therewillbeblus.

Having said that, Winchester 73 was my 51st so I am partly responsible for orphaning that one.

Also, Violent Saturday is a heist movie set in Peyton Place, what’s not to like?

[therewillbeblus]

I may include Mr. Arkadin on my final list... there are just so many gems this decade and I already feel guilty for excluding at least ten other wonderful films not mentioned here (We're No Angels, another last-minute cut, surely would have been an orphan and felt like it could have been this year's Apartment for Peggy if the field wasn't so competitive). Winchester '73 is the film I was most surprised to see orphaned, since I'm pretty sure almost everyone likes it a lot, but apparently everyone also doesn't love it quite enough. Also, I really disliked Violent Saturday but think Peyton Place is one of the decade's most undervalued masterpieces, so I don't know what to tell you there!

[bamwc2]

Here are my orphans. I may or may not have a chance to write a defense for them, but I would be tickled pink in any of you watched them as a favor for me.

Bad Day at Black Rock (John Sturges, 1954)
The Bigamist (Ida Lupino, 1953)
The Ghosts of Kasane Swamp (Nobuo Nakagawa, 1957)
Giants and Toys (Yasuzō Masumura, 1958)
Ice Cold in Alex (J. Lee Thompson, 1958)
Odd Obsession (Kon Ichikawa, 1959)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Stanley Donen, 1954)
A Sun-Tribe Myth from the Bakumatsu Era (Yūzō Kawashima, 1957)
Three Cases of Murder (Orson Welles et al., 1955)
Venom and Eternity (Isidore Isou, 1951)
The Well (Leo Popkin & Russell Rouse, 1951)

[Rayon Vert]

Winchester 73 was at no. 70 for me. (Conversely I'm the only on who voted for The Far Country.) My top 80 or 90 or even 100 are all films I like/love a lot. Out of the orphans, Viva Zapata was the one I voted highest, at 57.

[dustybooks]

I was counting it up on my phone so I might've missed something but I think I only had five orphans, which surprises me! The only live action feature among them is The Trouble with Harry, which I think I've defended at some length here in the past. It's a film I consider one of Hitchcock's masterpieces and a particularly moving depiction of how art enhances life, but I'm going to have to wait until another time to delve more seriously into it.

Among the shorts I got orphaned, I would like to single a couple out for attention. The first is Renais' Toute la mémoire du monde, which I only saw for the first time last year on Kino's recent Blu of Last Year at Marienbad. It's a truly beautiful, reverent portrait of the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris; once again I can't separate myself from my feelings about the film, as someone who's dedicated my life to service in libraries, but I was riveted by Resnais' textured appreciation for the profession and its hallowed corners. I hope this won't be taken as flippant but in a strange way, I think of it as a companion piece to Frederick Wiseman's Ex Libris in the same way that Night and Fog is a companion piece to Shoah -- the artfully minimalist versus the maximalist view, both instructive and illuminating in their own manner.

I'm sure most of you were already familiar with the Resnais film, but in case anyone wasn't, I hope my ridiculously high placement of it will make some sense to you!

[therewillbeblus]

Well I had 20 minutes and watched Toute la mémoire du monde (up for free on YT), which bookended itself with optimistic and empowering deconstructions of knowledge's utility to impact versatile areas of life beyond intellectualization. I particularly appreciated the celebration of endless possibilities for discovery and the links to Resnais' own preoccupation with memory's defining qualities on our lives, where I interpreted this as an ode to all the opportunities to create more memories and shape ourselves and the world. The middle parts that delve into the tangible innerworkings of libraries were interesting but probably much more for you or other members who are library employees, and at times felt at odds with the more abstract ideas at the beginning and end. Still, a solid rec from Resnais' strong early days, which is always welcome!

[Toland's Mitchell]

The Violent Men was one of my orphans. Admittedly, while having 25+ films I wanted to cram at the bottom of my list but simply couldn't, my decision to include The Violent Men at #48 was perhaps a matter of goodwill from having just seen it the day before deadline. However, as I plow through more titles this month, it's likely to drop out of the Top 50. Nevertheless, I find it a very good Western for reasons I mentioned before.

My highest ranked orphan appears to be The Fly, less talked about than its Cronenberg remake. While the the remake succeeds on many levels, it never really offered its scientist character much hope to reverse the metamorphosis (which is not an insult to the remake, but demonstrates how the two versions differ). However, the main story in the 1958 original is about hope, the mission to catch the insect who was trapped with him during the experiment, and then try to reverse the outcome. But every time the script teases at a hopeful outcome, it quickly strips it away, eventually culminating with the iconic "help me" sequence that is both depressing and horrifying. At the same time, the film has an element of mystery, stemming from its flashback structure that begins after the scientist character died, while his widow is suspected of his murder. Thus The Fly ultimately succeeds for how it blends sci-fi, horror, and drama, and has a great Vincent Price performance to boot. It doesn't rely on effects or some apocalyptic story-line (as was common in 50s Sci-Fi), and instead contains a strong human element that sets it apart from many of its genre contemporaries, and it remains one of my personal favorite 50s Sci-Fi flicks.