LISTS

[CineMaven]

Thanks for the reply, Brother Rat. I've found making these lists fascinating. Why? Because I've been really honest with myself about what film is a real favorite of mine; a movie that if I were by myself, I know that I would really want to see again and again. There were many films I've liked, but when I had to say "would I want to sit through "Dead Reckoning" again or "Crash Dive" over and over or "Spellbound" again and again, my real true answer came up "No" even though these were films I enjoyed very much.

...And when I'd choose my top ten, it really wasn't very difficult for me, because I just thought, "Could I LIVE without seeing this movie again?" If I said "No" they'd go on the list. And I really tried NOT to cheat, and just list ten. For some years, I couldn't even get up to ten. Crunch time came when I picked my top ten list for the decade. Whew!!! ( THAT was exquisite agony. ) Doing these lists also made me take a good look at myself...my tastes. I'm no Cineaste by any means. I'm a Pedestrian Populist I guess. I like plain old popular movies that go down easy, for the most part. ( I didn't even look at foreign films to include; in that category "Quai Des Orfevres" ranks as a favorite. ) I accept I yam what I yam. I agree with you about 1947, there were loads of movies that appealed to me. There were 42 movies I'd seen that year; more than any other year.

1966 huh? Cool. While you boys are in California at Dewey's Noir Film Fantasmagoric Extravaganza, it'll give me a chance to groove on through the 60's.

[ChiO]

Interesting year, that 1959. Slightly different problem than with 1958 - instead of nine rising to the top with a fight for #10, eleven rose to the top and the fight was over which one gets dropped. Then, on top of that, there are ten non-English language films that could nearly replace the English language films.

1959

1. DAY OF THE OUTLAW (Andre de Toth) - De Toth doesn't always hit on all cylinders for me, but when he does, it's as if he my favorite director. And this is my favorite of his. Robert Ryan and Burl Ives at their finest.

2. THE WASP WOMAN (Roger Corman/uncredited Jack Hill) - My favorite Corman movie. A lovely cosmetic magnate searches for eternal beauty and finds that a wasp enzyme does work wonders…except for one side effect. Some might call it cheap (well, it is) and cheesy (depends on your definition), but I call it a marvelous study of vanity, humankind vs. nature, scientific advancement vs. status quo, and male paranoia regarding female strength, beauty and sexuality. I’d even call it a film noir. And it has one of my obsessions, Bruno VeSota.

3. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (Alfred Hitchcock) - For pure entertainment, Hitchcock never did any better for me.

4. ANATOMY OF A MURDER (Otto Preminger) - Other than MY COUSIN VINNY, perhaps, my favorite courtroom movie.

5. IMITATION OF LIFE (Douglas Sirk) - Lana Turner, John Gavin and Sandra Dee are the Imitation. Juanita Moore and Susan Kohner are the Life.

6. CITY OF FEAR (Irving Lerner) - A year after MURDER BY CONTRACT, Lerner and Vince Edwards combine again for another under-appreciated film noir.

7. THE BEAT GENERATION (Charles Haas) - It could have failed in so many ways, but it doesn't (or, at least its strengths far surpass any perceived weaknesses). In my opinion.

8. SHADOWS (John Cassavetes) - Did I mention John Cassavetes?

9. PORGY AND BESS (Otto Preminger) - If it's this good on the ratty copy I've seen, then it must be incredible in a semi-decent version.

10. PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE (Edward D. Wood, Jr.) - I loathe the Medved Brothers (and their voting readership) for naming this the Worst Film. Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid! I love the Medved Brothers (and their voting readership) because if they hadn't named this the Worst Film, the Ed Wood World of Cinema might have been forgotten. Well, as long as they can think - we'll have our problems.

Honorable Mentions: SAVAGE INNOCENTS (Nicholas Ray); THE CRIMSON KIMONO (Samuel Fuller); THE HANGING TREE (Delmer Daves); COMPULSION (Richard Fleischer); and RIDE LONESOME (Budd Boetticher).

Three important TV events: Johnny Staccato (did I mention John Cassavetes?); The Twilight Zone episode directed by John Brahm, "Time Enough at Last"; and, the fifth episode of The Untouchables, "Ain't We Got Fun" (did I mention TIMOTHY CAREY?).

Ten Non-English Language Favorites:
1. HIROSHIMA, MON AMOUR (Alain Resnais)
2. FLOATING WEEDS (Yasujiro Ozu)
3. THE VIRGIN SPRING (Ingmar Bergman)
4. EYES WITHOUT A FACE (Georges Franju)
5. GOOD MORNING (Yasujiro Ozu)
6. BREATHLESS (Jean-Luc Godard)
7. PICKPOCKET (Robert Bresson)
8. FIRES ON THE PLAIN (Kon Ichikawa)
9. L'AVVENTURA (Michelangelo Antonioni)
10. THE 400 BLOWS (Francois Truffaut)

[CineMaven]

“ANATOMY OF A MURDER” - ( Otto Preminger )


Lee Remick, Arthur O’Connell, James Stewart and Ben Gazzara

My favorite genre is the courtoom drama, and this film is the best of the best, for my money. Adult interrogation, excellent acting, good score...and Lee Remick.
______________________________________________

“THE GIANT BEHEMOTH” - ( Douglas Hickox, Eugène Lourié )


Giant Behemoth

A giant creature attacks England stomping and radiating people all the way. What can I say...you know the drill: I like monster movies.
______________________________________________

“THE BEST OF EVERYTHING” - ( Jean Negulesco )


Hope Lange, Suzy Parker and Diane Baker

“THE BEST OF EVERYTHING” is in the great tradition of other films like: “Three On A Match” “Three Coins in a Fountain” or “The Pleasure Seekers” where we have a trio of gals try to find what they’re not looking for. I love Hope Lange ( capable, competent, mature ) Diane Baker ( youthful and naive ) and ( especially ) Suzy Parker ( the bombshell who becomes a love obsessed stalker ) Enjoyed watching their 1959 struggles and triumphs as working girls.
______________________________________________

“IMITATION OF LIFE” - ( Douglas Sirk )


Juanita Moore & Lana Turner

If it’s the 50’s, and Lana’s in it...you know it’s a soap opera. Still a heartbreaker: Annie and Sara Jane’s story. A big colorful splashy soap opera. I love being sirked by Sirk.
______________________________________________

“PILLOW TALK” - ( Michael Gordon )


Doris Day & Rock Hudson

See...there’s this telephone party line that Doris Day and Rock Hudson share and...

(( SUBLIME! ))
______________________________________________

“PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE” - ( Edward D. Wood Jr. )



Another masterpiece from auteur Ed Wood. Pay no attention to the pie pans ( aka flying saucers ) and the double for the late Bela Lugosi. Yeah yeah, it’s easy to make fun of this movie. But Wood had the best of intent, and I love the sweet charm of its sincerity.
______________________________________________

“A SUMMER PLACE” - ( Delmer Daves )


Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue

Blonde meets blonder in this summer place where young love ( Troy Donahue and Sandra Dee ) is thwarted by alcoholic repressed and unrequited grown-ups. Percy Faith wrote one of the great theme songs for this movie. Again, if it’s a big splashy soap opera, I’m inclined to curl up with it.
______________________________________________

“WARLOCK” - ( Edward Dmytryk )


Henry Fonda & Anthony Quinn

A western town hires two gunmen to clean up their town. But now, the gunmen want to take over...

Be careful what you wish for.

Bad guys turn good guys, leaving your tribe, jealousies where you least expect it. This is one of my top five westerns of all time.
______________________________________________

“WASP WOMAN” - ( Edward Dmytryk )


Susan Cabot

Youth...beauty...at all costs! So the head of a cosmetic company gets a mad scientist to extract queen wasp jelly to use in retarding aging.

______________________________________________

“THE YOUNG PHILADELPHIAN” - ( Vincent Sherman )


Barbara Rush & Paul Newman

This is one of my favorite favorite movies of the 50's where we see young and dreamy Paul Newman's career-rise as a lawyer in tony Main-Line Philadelphia. He goes for what he wants like a shark, but then is faced with helping a college friend ( Robert Vaughn in a great performance ) get justice. Newman is matched toe-for-toe in the acting department by Barbara Rush.

I think this'd be a good film for a screening at 2015's TCMFF.

[RedRiver]

I love the sweet charm of its sincerity

I can't say PLAN 9 is one of my favorites. But I very much agree about "cine-cerity". I admire a movie that means well so much more than a bombshell that tries to trick the viewer into thinking it's something special. It's not. Those cheap, flawed B features have a lot to offer!

[ChiO]

I listed those on based on a command-search of the list of films I own, which includes the year (sources being as varied as my tastes and whims, not to mention typos). A check of my copy of The St. James Film Directors Encyclopedia (Andrew Sarris, ed.) has L'AVVENTURA and BREATHLESS both as 1959. Maybe it uses date of filming as opposed to release? Or, either IMDb or it is just plain wrong. 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die also has BREATHLESS as 1959. As for THE VIRGIN SPRING, one of my earliest reference books on directors has it as 1959. Or, I can blame it all on hallucinations.

Good movies regardless of year.

[Vienna]

CineMaven,you got me again. Laughing out loud at "Blonde meets blonder" (A Summer Place).

And "I love being sirked by Sirk".

[CineMaven]

MY TOP TEN FAVORITES OF THE 1950's

Call me high brow. Call me low brow. Just don’t call me late for dinner. With any one of these films, I could just as easily plunk down and watch. Some, I invest my attention. Some, I invest my emotion. Some wash over me like whiskey. And some are just good clean fun. These are my favorite films of the 1950’s:

( 1950 ) - “ALL ABOUT EVE” - ( Joseph L. Mankiewicz )


Bette Davis

This movie is perfect...with one exception, Thelma Ritter could have been in it more. No really, the stars aligned to give Bette Davis gives the performance of her career. Great story. Brilliant cast. ( “Sunset Boulevard” is a notch below it. )

1950 Faves: “The Asphalt Jungle” “Born Yesterday” “Caged” “D.O.A.” “Gun Crazy” “In A Lonely Place” “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” “No Way Out” and “Sunset Boulevard.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1951 ) - “A PLACE IN THE SUN” - ( George Stevens )


Montgomery Clift and Elizabeth Taylor

His reach exceeds his grasp. It’s the power of the movies to lead us to root for young beautiful love, over the life of a young woman “in trouble.” ( I’m guilty as charged and you know you had doubts too, come on... )

1951 Faves: “Ace in the Hole” “Anne of the Indies” “Detective Story” “His Kind of Woman” “Pandora & the Flying Dutchman” “A Place in the Sun” “Strangers On A Train” “A Streetcar Named Desire” “The Thing From Another World” and “When Worlds Collide.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1952 ) - “THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL” - ( Vincente Minnelli )


Kirk Douglas and Lana Turner

Hollywood on Hollywood. Overblown, stereotypes, I love it. Just like we like Hollywood to be. Great title too!

1952 Faves: “Angel Face” “High Noon” “The Marrying Kind” and “The Narrow Margin.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1953 ) - “NIAGARA” & “A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER” ( Henry Hathaway & Andrew L. Stone)


Marilyn Monroe and Jean Peters ( Together but separate... )

I can not deny Marilyn. I only wish she had played more baaad girls.
________

Such a close close second, I had to include this in my tip top faves of the fifties. Jean Peters is calculating, steely, no affect...and beautiful. She appeals to my film noir, feminist sensibilities. Her only rival would come sixty years later:



1953 Faves: “Beast from 20,000 Fathoms” “The Big Heat” “I Confess” “It Came From Outer Space” “Mogambo” “On Dangerous Ground” “Pick Up On South Street” “Robot Monster” and “The Snows of Kilimanjaro.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1954 ) - “THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA” - ( Joseph L. Mankiewicz )


Humphrey Bogart and Ava Gardner

More Hollywood on Hollywood, only this time, earthy Ava is the focus of it all. Her fate is already written. Even Bogie can’t save her.

1954 Faves: “The Caine Mutiny” “Demetrius & the Gladiator” “Dial M for Murder” “Johnny Guitar” “Magnificent Obsession” “Pushover” and “Rear Window.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1955 ) - “FEMALE ON THE BEACH” - ( Joseph Pevney )


Joan Crawford, Jeff Chandler, Natalie Schaefer and Cecil Kellaway

It’s a “woman’s picture.” You don’t know HOW much I hate that term, but it fits here...and I love it. It’s an easy movie for me to watch. ...And so is Jeff Chandler as the object.

1955 Faves: “All That Heaven Allows” “Bride o the Monster” “Summertime” “Tarantula” and “Love Me Or Leave Me.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1956 ) - “WRITTEN ON THE WIND” - ( Douglas Sirk )


Dorothy Malone and Robert Stack

I should have had “Written On the Wind” listed in my section for 1956. How I neglected to add that to my list, ( ha, so busy being a wise-acre about “The Ten Commandments” I guess. ) But I do know that it is my favorite film OF 1956. It has all the big emotions: Jealousy / Love / Worship and the ever powerful: Unrequited.

My other faves of 1956 are: “The Earth vs. The Flying Saucers” “Julie” “The Killing” “A Kiss Before Dying” “The Bad Seed” “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” “The Man Who Knew Too Much” and “The Ten Commandments.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1957 ) - “THE TATTERED DRESS” - ( Jack Arnold )


Jeanne Crain and Jeff Chandler

There’s something lurid about this movie, in a quiet way. Besides, it has Jeff Chandler. Loving “Sweet Smell of Success” but that movies takes commitment and concentration.

1957 Faves: “20 Million Miles to Earth” “The Amazing Colossal Man” “Attack of the Crab Monsters” “Beginning of the End” “Black Scorpions” “A Face in the Crowd” “The Incredible Shrinking Man” “Paths of Glory” and “Sweet Smell of Success.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1958 ) - “VERTIGO” - ( Alfred Hitchcock )


Kim Novak

The poignant yearning tugs at my heart strings.

1958 Faves: “Attack of the 50 Foot Woman” “Bonjour Tristesse” “Screaming Mimi” “Tarnished Angels” “War of the Colossal Beast” and “Witness for the Prosecution.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

( 1959 ) - “PILLOW TALK” - ( Michael Gordon )


Doris Day and Rock Hudson

This battle of the sexes, is just so much fun, it should be illegal. The stars look gorgeous, the clothes and the sets...well, let’s just say that everything about this film looks as good as its stars. You can’t have a heart and dislike this film. If you do, don’t tell me...

I’m not sure how far the Lists thread will go, but you can include the other two films of the Day - Hudson trilogy among my favorite films for their year.

The stellar acting in “The Young Philadelphians” makes this one my close second favorite film of 1959.

1959 Faves: “Anatomy of a Murder” “The Giant Behemoth” “The Best of Everything” “Imitation of Life” “Plan 9 From Outer Space” “A Summer Place” “Warlock” and “ Wasp Woman” and “The Young Philadelphians.”

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I've seen these directors' films multiple times:

Jack Arnold - 2, George Cukor - 2, Delmer Daves - 2, Edward Dymytryk - 2, Bert I. Gordon - 3, Alfred Hitchcock - 5, Nathan Juran - 2, Elia Kazan - 2, Eugene Lourie - 2, Joseph L. Mankiewicz - 3, Rudolph Mate - 2, Gerd Oswald - 2, Otto Preminger - 3, Nicholas Ray - 4, Douglas Sirk - 4, Andrew L. Stone - 2, Billy Wilder - 4, Ed Wood - 2.

[RedRiver]

Wow! You've selected some cine-magnificent movies. THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL is textbook melodrama. Want to write one? Watch this movie! ALL ABOUT EVE is just about perfect. It makes almost everybody's list. The Doris/Rock movies (and let's not forget Tony Randall's hilarious contributions) are all good. But PILLOW TALK is THE Doris/Rock/and let's not forget Tony film!

The tragic but lovely A PLACE IN THE SUN is like James M. Cain with no relief. It's murder, obsession and consequences, but with more depth than a mere crime story. It's probably George Stevens' second best movie. (And SHANE never did come back!) NIAGARA is a taut, exciting and ever so colorful thriller. I don't think I've seen A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER. I have a feeling I'd like it!

CINEMA-RIFIC!

[ChiO]

A listing of The Director's Whose Films Were Most Often Listed in the '50s Top Ten aka The Triumph of Auteurism?

Por moi:

A list of 100 movies resulted in 52 directors. Those listed multiple times are --

Nicholas Ray - 8
Samuel Fuller - 5
Hugo Haas - 5
Douglas Sirk - 5
Otto Preminger - 4
Orson Welles - 3
Jacques Tourneur - 3
Anthony Mann - 3
Phil Karlson - 3
Alfred Hitchcock - 3
Don Siegel - 3
Stanley Kubrick - 3
Cy Endfield - 2
Ida Lupino - 2
Joseph Losey - 2
Alexander Mackendrick - 2
Howard Hawks - 2
Vincente Minnelli - 2
Edward D. Wood, Jr. - 2
Andre de Toth - 2
Jack Arnold - 2
Irving Lerner - 2
Bruno VeSota - 1.5 (gets a 0.5 added because some sources - he being the main one - claimed he directed DEMENTIA, and he was in it & associate producer)

[ChiO]

Some of the better auteurist discoveries did their best work in the 50s.

Which coincides with...?

Your Honor, I rest my case.

Goats vs. sheep? Old issue. There are some directors who I consider (generally) awful (did I mention Stanley Kramer?), but who I would still consider auteurs. If a body of work reflects a consistency of style or theme, then you're an auteur -- even if you're a bad auteur (with apologies to Truffaut and Sarris).

Hey, even mass-produced paintings of wide-eyed children hanging in motel (remember motels?) rooms reflect a consistency of style and theme. Doesn't mean they're good (not that there's anything wrong with that).

Long live Edward D. Wood, Jr.!

[CineMaven]

RED RIVER writes: “Wow! You've selected some cine-magnificent movies. ‘THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL’ is textbook melodrama. Want to write one? Watch this movie!



It’s a big fat juicy Hollywood soap opera. A little over-the-top. And that's a bad thing????
__________________________________

“ ‘ALL ABOUT EVE’ is just about perfect. It makes almost everybody's list.”



Nothing is perfect. The only thing is...I can’t find a darned thing wrong with this movie. I really can’t.
__________________________________

“The Doris/Rock movies (and let's not forget Tony Randall's hilarious contributions) are all good. But ‘PILLOW TALK’ is THE Doris/Rock/and let's not forget Tony film!”



I love their trilogy of films. They’re the perfect anectdote for me when I’m feeling bummed out. I would never leave out Tony Randall; he is the crazy little cherry on top of this triumvirate. His fidgety fussy self, trying to keep Hudson on the straight and narrow and is his biggest supporter, is what I wait for. ( "Complaints! Complaints! I can complain a little too, you know. You ever cut your toe nails?!!" ) - Randall in "Send Me No Flowers."
__________________________________

“The tragic but lovely ‘A PLACE IN THE SUN’ is like James M. Cain with no relief. It's murder, obsession and consequences, but with more depth than a mere crime story. It's probably George Stevens' second best movie. (And ‘SHANE’ never did come back!)



I just love this movie. First off, the two leads’ beauty is to die for. Then, it’s George Stevens whose direction is Filmmaking 101 at its best. If this was a Silent movie you would know what is going on. I still think the deck was stacked against Monty in this film. I mean...it's Elizabeth Taylor, for Pete's Sake. As for “Shane”- it's ending makes me think of “Casablanca” where instead of sending ‘Ilsa’ away, he rides away. I wonder where he went.
__________________________________

“ ‘NIAGARA’ is a taut, exciting and ever so colorful thriller.”



I like it. A lot. Two hapless husbands: one good-natured, the other - shell shocked. Two wives: Marilyn, trying on the mantle of femme fatale. She wears it well. She’s no victim. She’s trying to kill her husband. I also like Jean Peters being drawn into this other marriage. Hmmm...the Ultimate Betty and Veronica??
__________________________________

“I don't think I've seen ‘A BLUEPRINT FOR MURDER.’ I have a feeling I'd like it!”



Red, you’ve got to see this movie. Now, I’ve no idea if you’d really like it or not. But Jean Peters does a terrific job. She was a fine actress and ( besides marrying Howard Hughes ) I can’t for the life of me figure out why she didn’t become a bigger star. << Sigh! >>
__________________________________

CINEMA-RIFIC!

Hooray! Thanxxx man.