I would link the cinema from the 1950s in some ways to the transition cinema is currently going through. America had ended WW2 in 1945, the times were changing. America had elected a new president, Dwight Eisenhower. Slowly but surely, the family values which were held so dear were evaporating. Cinema was going to have to keep up with the times and express these changes.
Today we are going through our own changes. We too have elected a new president. A man who back in the 1950s, never would have had the opportunity to run for the office. But we are in a transition period. Times and values are shifting again. What does America now represent? How will cinema change?
Not all of the films on this list will demonstrate the changing times but we know things were starting to simmer. Underneath America's squeaky clean image a youthful rebellion was starting to emerge. Sexual energy was finding its way in the movies, thanks largely to Tennessee Williams, I have included one of his adapted films on this list.
But personally I'm not a big fan of cinema from the 1950s. My favorite decade for American cinema has always been the 1920s-1940s. For me, those were the peak years. Cinema in the 1950s started a slow decline. It wasn't until the 1970s cinema started to do some interesting things, but crashed in the following decade, and has never been able to fully recover. Somewhere along the way cinema lost its artistic value.
But great films were being made in the 1950s. And not just in America. My list will also include international films. After WW2 America started to get a steady import of European films. Now, for the first time, many Americans would watch films directed by such great masters as Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Francois Truffaut and Akira Kurosawa.
As I have done with these previous list, I will list these films in alphabetical order and I will provide a "runner's up" list, which will be done in a random order.
Here are my choices for the best films of the 1950s;
1. 400 BLOWS (1959, Dir. Francois Truffaut; France) - This was the great Truffaut's feature length debut film. He would of course go on to become one of the great filmmakers from the nouvelle vague (new wave) movement. Here Truffaut gives us a semi-autobiographical look into his childhood. The film starred Jean-Pierre Leaud as Truffaut's alter-ego Antoine Doinel, which would lead to a series of films, as we watch Doinel grow-up. This film was nominated for a "Best Screenplay" Oscar and was also nominated for the palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival. Truffaut however won the "Best Director" award at Cannes.
Truffaut is one of my personal all time favorite filmmakers. For me, "400 Blows" is his masterpiece. I don't think he has ever made a more perfect film, which is saying a lot when you considered how many other great films he has given us.
2. ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959, Dir. Otto Preminger; U.S.) -Director Preminger was never one to shy away from controversial issues. "Anatomy of A Murder" might be his best film. Here Jimmy Stewart plays an attorney defending a military officer (Ben Gazzara) of rape charges. Coming out of WW2 and as America was also in Korea, the film's subject matter might have seen a bit unsettling. But it is because of that controversial subject the film becomes all the more powerful. The film won 7 Oscar nominations including "Best Picture", "Screenplay" and "Actor" (Stewart).
3. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957, Dir. David Lean; U.K.) - One of David Lean's very best films. The film won the Oscar for "Best Picture" as well as 6 other awards including "Best Director" and "Actor" (Alec Guinnes). The film co-stars William Holden as POWs attempting an escape.
4. NIGHTS OF CABIRIA (1957, Dir. Federico Fellini; Italy) - What no "La Strada" (1954)! Who the heck do I think I am? But "Nights of Cabiria" has always been my favorite Fellini film. It seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle of some of his other great films, but, none of them seem to have as much heart as this film does. We truly open our hearts to Cabiria (Giulietta Masina). A prostitute searching for love. The character actually made her first appearance in Fellini's "The White Sheik" (1952) in a minor role. The film went on to win the Oscar for "Best Foreign Language" film and Masina won the "Best Actress" award at Cannes where the film was also nominated for the palme d'or.
5. PATHS OF GLORY (1957, Dir. Stanley Kubrick; U.S.) - This was a tough choice for me. I knew I wanted to include something by Kubrick on this list but it was a toss-up between this and his classic heist film "The Killing" (1956), one of the all time great films. But I went with this one because it is such a powerful film, Kirk Douglas probably gives one of his very best performances as a general who is ordered to send his men on a suicide mission. It is a strong anti-war film, perhaps one of the best Hollywood ever made. I also feel this film too gets lost in the shuffle of Kubrick's other great movies. I hope just as many people have seen this film as they have Kubrick's other films. Shamefully the Academy didn't even nominate this film for a single award. It is one of a long list of reasons I am 100% oppose to such award shows. This film didn't have to win awards to prove to me it is a masterpiece.
6. RASHOMON (1952, Dir. Akira Kurosawa; Japan) - When I first discovered the great Akira Kurosawa, this was my introduction into his work. Since that time it has remained my favorite of his films, and one of my favorite films of all time. Here too I had a tough choice. I thought about a tie between this film and "Seven Samurai" (1954) but I wanted to praise and honor this film on its own. It has been extremely influential inspiring filmmakers everywhere. Watch Bertolucci's "The Grim Reaper" (1962) as a prime example.
7. (TIE) RIFIFI /ASPHALT JUNGLE (1955, Dir. Jules Dassin; France/1950 Dir. John Huston; U.S.) - It is because of these two films I didn't list Kurbrick's "The Killing" but it belongs in the same class as these films as the greatest heist movies ever made. Dassin's "Rififi" is considered by many filmbuffs as the single greatest heist movie, the most influential. And it is definitely a fine choice. Though Huston's "Asphalt Jungle" is no slouch either. I wonder if Dassin saw this film before he directed "Rififi"? Dassin won a "Best Director" award at the Cannes Film Festival where the film was also nominated for the palme d'or. "Jungle" was nominated for 4 Oscars including "Best Director" and "Screenplay".
8. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951, Dir. Elia Kazan; U.S.) - After all these years I'm still mad this film did not win the Oscar for "Best Picture". Why the Academy went with "An American In Paris" (1951) is beyond me. Is "Paris" a good movie? Sure. But "Streetcar" is a classic. A more more important film than "Paris" and it has one of, if not Brando's best performance. Equal to what he did in "On the Waterfront" (1954). I can't even believe Brando didn't win the "Best Actor" Oscar for this movie. Instead Humphrey Bogart won for John Huston's "The African Queen" (1951). "Queen" is also a very good movie. But, Bogart's performance is not as influential as Brando's in this film. And I love Humphrey Bogart, don't get me wrong. But "A Streetcar Named Desire" is really one of the great American films. Kazan, like Preminger, was not afraid to stir trouble. Few films have the sexual tension this one does. The film went on to earn 12 Oscar nominations winning 4 for "Best Actress" (Vivien Leigh), "Supporting Actors" (the late Karl Malden). It was nominated for "Best Picture", "Director" and "Actor" (Brando).
9. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950, Dir. Billy Wilder; U.S.) - Some people might have been expecting Wilder's "Some Like It Hot" (1959) on this list. But I don't like to flood my list with such cliche choices. I like celebrate films that don't always get the attention they deserve. Not to say this Billy Wilder film hasn't been praised. It has. It is one of the best back stage looks at old Hollywood. Director Wilder has rarely been this sharp and cynical. William Holden, Erich von Stroheim and Gloria Swanson star. Swanson's Oscar lost has been one of the most talked about Oscar categories of all time. Every actress nominated that year would have been an acceptable choice. The film was nominated for 11 Oscars and won 3 including "Best Screenplay".
10. WILD STRAWBERRIES (1959, Dir. Ingmar Bergman; Sweden) - "Wild Strawberries" isn't just my favorite Bergman film it is my second favorite movie of all time. It use to be my all time time but than I saw "The Bicycle Thief" (1947) and that changed everything. But Bergman has rarely been as poignant as he is here. It is a meditative look at death and the passage of father to son. The film stars Victor Sjostrom, himself a film director, and co-stars Bergman regulars Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin and Gunnar Bjornstrand. The film was nominated for "Best Screenplay" as was "400 Blows" but both films lost to "Pillow Talk" (1959), the Doris Day/Rock Hudson comedy. What in the name of God was the Academy thinking?!
Here is my runner's up list in random order;
1. The Seventh Seal (1958, Dir. Ingmar Bergman; Sweden)
2. Korhinta (1958, Dir. Zoltan Fabri; Hungary)
3. La Strada (1954, Dir. Federico Fellini; Italy)
4. Seven Samurai (1954, Dir. Akira Kurosawa; Japan)
5. The Killing (1956, Dir. Stanley Kubrick; U.S.)
6. Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1955, Dir. Richard Brooks; U.S.)
7. Stalag 17 (1953, Dir. Billy Wilder; U.S.)
8. Singin' in the Rain (1952, Dir. Stanley Donen; U.S.)
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