The 100 Project: Top 25 Movies of the 1950s

And The 100 Project rolls on. This time we're tackling the decade that immediately comes to mind when I think of the iconic combination of mom and apple pie. However, as this batch of films tells us, things weren't all hunky-dory. In fact, many of them share a general sense of paranoia. Or, is it just that I tend to like those sorts of films more? Those of you who are far more versed in the films of this era than I can let me know. Anyhoo, here they are...

• The number of films, I've watched for this decade is more than double the number I watched for the 1940s, hence the reason this list includes 25 movies instead of 10.
• This is the first decade to include a film with a black protagonist and a predominantly black cast.
• There are four musicals on this list and two more as honorable mentions. I'm fairly certain no other decade will boast as many.
• Six of the films on this list, plus three of the honorable mentions, have received a remake during my lifetime.

This is a slow burning sci-fi allegory warning us of our own self-destructive. The film makes no bones about letting us know that the rate at which we will destroy ourselves has increased exponentially since the dawn of The Atomic Age. Sadly, this is still a very relevant issue which makes it all the more disappointing that the 2008 remake sucked so badly.

This one is an epic is every sense of the word. It’s a redemption story told on a grand scale, sparing no expense. However, the story drags a bit and becomes a chore to get through. After all, it stretches out for three-and-a-half hours. So why is it here? Two words: chariot race.

An uppity lady from a wealthy family, meets a rough-around-the-edges guy from the wrong side of town. Romance ensues. Of course, these are dogs, not people. The story still works as good as it ever did. And there has never been a more romantic movie moment than the spaghetti kiss.

The story is simple. A bad guy and his gang are headed to a small town so he can take revenge on the man who locked him up. The magic is in its telling. The plot plays out in real-time, the oldest of the movies that I’ve seen that use this technique, and builds beautifully until we inevitably get to the point when the clock strikes high noon.

What happens when man tries to play God? This film warns us that nothing good can come of it. A man who has built a matter transportation device is the unlucky genius, in this case. The problem is a fly got into the machine while he was using it and things got all screwy. It has an odd place in my own viewership because it was followed by an inferior sequel, then thirty years later, got a superior remake.

I was introduced to this through the play which I read in high school. After the class finished it, the teacher let us watch this smoldering inferno. At first, I thought Marlon Brando’s voice was just too silly sounding, and too much of a mismatch with the person I was seeing, to be anything other than funny. By the end, he was a terrifying figure I couldn’t stand the sight of. That’s a great performance.

Often, the best horror flicks are allegories addressing our real-world fears. Such is the case with Godzilla. In a similar fashion to The Day the Earth Stood Still, it tackles nuclear war. It does so in a more entertaining fashion using a giant, destructive monster in place of magnanimous aliens. Inadvertently, it spawned a franchise that’s continued to entertain the world for the next sixty-plus years.

A man, a knight who fought in the Crusades no less, plays Death in a game of chess. It sounds too goofy to work when you say it out load. Somehow, director Ingmar Berman makes it work. Admittedly, this is probably the most polarizing film here because it’s a deep, ponderous piece of art. It’s the type of film I can imagine causes Terrence Malick masturbate furiously. Still, against my normal tendencies, I enjoyed it. A lot.

A pair of besties, played by Marilyn Monroe and Jane Russell, leave their small hometown and head to the big city in search of the men of their dreams. It’s an extremely fun musical that showcases what made each of these ladies the icons they would become. (My Full Review)

The animals take over the farm from their abusive owner. Then the real trouble begins. It’s a propaganda film, financed by the CIA no less, warning against the rise of the Soviet Union during the early days of The Cold War. I tend to stay away from such movies, but this one is clever enough to work even if you have no knowledge of its history or intentions.

War is tricky business. It’s especially tricky when those in charge try to blame their subordinates for their own failures. That’s what we have here. It’s part battlefield movie, part courtroom drama, and all Kirk Douglas.

A man is killed and his wife raped. The film tries to piece together what happened as each of three travelers relays the story from their own recollection. Every plot unfolds. Kurosawa unfolds his in brilliant fashion.

Eve meets her idol, aging star Margo Channing, and immediately sets about trying to replace her in every way possible while being conspicuous as possible. One of several movies on this list to concentrate on a fading icon, this one takes back-biting to a whole new level.

I knew this was a highly regarded musical when I first sat down to watch it a few years ago. I had even seen the magical title number several times. What I didn’t know what was that it’s a love-letter to and examination of the Hollywood of the time when silent movies were on their way out and talkies on their way in. It’s about embracing change. And love, of course.

There’s a lot going on here. All the relationships jostle for position, threatening to take down the people having them. Most known for depicting the struggles of an interracial child, it also shows the difficulties of mother-daughter relationships, a friendship between a white woman and a black, and the emotional toll taken by the chase for fame, money, and romance. (My Full Review)

This film is about a group of samurais who take on the task of protecting the population of a small village from a pack of ruthless bandits. As actiony as that sounds, this is really about its brilliant character development. Take away the swords and add some six shooters and you get what it really is, a western…a magnificent one, at that.

This is considered one of the greatest comedies of all-time, and for good reason. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon are marvelous as a pair of friends who go on the run after witnessing a mob hit. They disguise themselves as women and things get even more complicated when Marilyn Monroe wanders into their sphere. We wind up with an excellent movie as progressive as it is funny.

On the surface, this is a movie about a guy whose stuck in his apartment with a broken leg and thinks he witnessed a murder in the apartment across from his. It’s really a dissertation on voyeurism, pointing its accusatory finger right at us in the viewing audience.

Let’s take the classic opera “Carmen,” and flip it on its ear. We’ll set it during World War II and give it an all-black cast. You know what? That’s just crazy enough to work. And it does thanks to the insane talent and chemistry of stars Dorothy Dandridge and Harry Belafonte. For her efforts, Dandridge became the first African-American woman to earn an Oscar nomination for Best Actress.

At its core, this is just a case of mistaken identity. Hitchcock elevates it by injecting it with his trademark suspense, widening his scope to include a wider playing field than he ever has, and stepping out of his comfort zone a bit to make an all-out action flick.

Once again, we look at a star past her prime. Like Singin’ in the Rain this one is about a silent star trying to make the transition to talkies. Unlike that movie, this one goes dark as we witness a woman having a breakdown, brilliantly played by Gloria Swanson.

We get to pal around with a little boy often left to his own devices. As you might imagine, he imagines to get himself into some trouble. This is the directorial debut of Truffaut and it is nothing short of riveting. (My Full Review)

After most of his brother’s family has been killed, a Civil War vet goes looking for his niece who was abducted by “Injuns.” What follows is a surprisingly thoughtful examination of prejudice. The legendary John Wayne may never have been better.

This is stunt casting at its very best. We take Jimmy Stewart, the ultimate gee-willikers, golly gee personality and makes him a dude with a pretty creepy obsession. Worse, he acts on it. It’s an endlessly compelling movie that many think is the direct dealing with his own sexual issues in a most open fashion.

Lumet takes a film built on men talking in a room they never leave and somehow makes it the most intriguing thing you’ve ever seen. While the actors act, delivering some fantastic performances, he subtly shrinks the wall of this room and induces claustrophobia in the viewer. It’s a master class in how to be an unobtrusive, yet supremely effective director.


Honorable Mentions: The Caine Mutiny, Cinderella, Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, The Killing, Sleeping Beauty, The Ten Commandments