Yes, indeed, 1955 was a stellar year. One of the events with the greatest impact happened in December - RKO became the first movie studio to sell its film library for TV distribution.
1955
1. KISS ME DEADLY (Robert Aldrich) - What was left of Hollywood after THE BIG KNIFE (Robert Aldrich 1955) was destroyed by Greek mythology and the Great Whatzit (which may have been the code name for Aldrich & A.I. Bezzerides).
2. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (Nicholas Ray) - You're tearing me apart! Just because a movie is - excuse the use of an overused word - iconic doesn't mean it isn't great.
3. ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS (Douglas Sirk) - Perhaps the greatest - or, at least, my favorite - of Sirk's false Happy Endings.
4. THE BIG COMBO (Joseph H. Lewis) - The remainder of the fatalism and transgressive sexuality that Lewis had left from GUN CRAZY (1949).
5. KILLER'S KISS (Stanley Kubrick) - A photographer's movie. He made a couple of movies I like more, but none that I like to look at more.
6. DEMENTIA (John Parker or, maybe, Bruno VeSota) - A silent nightmare.
7. THE PHENIX CITY STORY (Phil Karlson) - Noir reality.
8. MR. ARKADIN (Orson Welles) - I know, replied the scorpion, but I cannot help it - it is my nature.
9. THE MAN FROM LARAMIE (Anthony Mann) - Greek Tragedy in the West.
10. HOLD BACK TOMORROW (Hugo Haas) - More Survivor's Guilt.
Honorable Mentions (that were real contenders): BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (John Sturges); EAST OF EDEN (Elia Kazan); THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (Otto Preminger); NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Charles Laughton); WICHITA (Jacques Tourneur); THE BIG KNIFE (Robert Aldrich); HOUSE OF BAMBOO (Samuel Fuller).
Favorite Non-English Language Films: ORDET (Carl Th. Dreyer); LOLA MONTES (Max Ophuls); NUIT ET BROUILLARD (Alain Resnais); BOB LE FLAMBEUR (Jean-Pierre Melville); DIABOLIQUE (Henri-Georges Clouzot); UMBERTO D. (Vittorio de Sica); PATHER PANCHALI (Satyajit Ray).
Best Performance in a Timothy Carey Role: (tie) Timothy Carey in EAST OF EDEN (Elia Kazan) and Timothy Carey in THE FINGER MAN (Harold Schuster).
LISTS
Re: LISTS
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
Re: LISTS
I concur, Masha. To be honest, I used only one source when I listed it for 1955. I've now checked 6 sources and it is evenly divided. My favorite conflict: in The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (2009), author David Thomson lists it as 1955; in "Have You Seen...?": A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films (2008), author David Thomson lists it as 1956.
What are we, the Great Unwashed, to do?
What are we, the Great Unwashed, to do?
Everyday people...that's what's wrong with the world. -- Morgan Morgan
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
I love movies. But don't get me wrong. I hate Hollywood. -- Orson Welles
Movies can only go forward in spite of the motion picture industry. -- Orson Welles
Re: LISTS
King Rat, you have one Hell of a guilty pleasure in QUEEN BEE. That's a great box of popcorn! Olivier's RICHARD is talky, but well-acted. My favorite of the director's Shakespeare films. I like PICNIC. It's a little over wrought, perhaps. But good drama. MARTY is MARTY. Known for its remarkably small scale as much as for overall quality. And that quality is considerable. One of the great ones!
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Rita Hayworth
- Posts: 10068
- Joined: February 6th, 2011, 4:01 pm
Re: LISTS
Erik / Rita Hayworth's Top 20 War Movies of All Time
1-5
Patton (1970)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Sergeant York (1941)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
6-10
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Casualties of War (1989)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
11-15
Das Boot (1981)
Gallipoli (1981)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Platoon (1986)
The Big Red One (1980)
16-20
Battleground (1949)
The Great Escape (1963)
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Not an easy list to prepare - but this is the best I can do ...
1-5
Patton (1970)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Sergeant York (1941)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
6-10
The Story of G.I. Joe (1945)
Paths of Glory (1957)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
Casualties of War (1989)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
11-15
Das Boot (1981)
Gallipoli (1981)
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Platoon (1986)
The Big Red One (1980)
16-20
Battleground (1949)
The Great Escape (1963)
The Red Badge of Courage (1951)
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Not an easy list to prepare - but this is the best I can do ...
Re: LISTS
1955
I can’t say that my lists contain the fanciest, most prestigious of films. But they are my favorites:
“ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS” - ( Douglas Sirk )
Jane Wyman & Rock Hudson
Wyman and Hudson are back, and 1955’s got ‘em. A widow can’t love the man she wants just because society says so. Thank gosh things have changed...some. The set-up is typical, where being young is presented as creative and free; bohemian. And being middle-age is cocktail parties, stodgie and warm milk before an early bedtime. A beautiful soap opera. And Rock Hudson is truly beautiful to look at.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“SUMMERTIME” - ( David Lean )
Katharine Hepburn & Rosanno Brazzi
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Well, if you have David Lean craft your tale, it might not hurt as much. Brazzi is dashing and romantic. Hepburn is at her most vulnerable, tender. Brazzi touches something in her, and she’s open and ready. Love among the ruins. Beautiful movie and storytelling.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“TARANTULA” - ( Jack Arnold )
It has all the earmarks of your 50’s sci fi. Experimenting scientist, a pretty girl professional and a stalwart hero. Mix ‘em all together with day for night shots and giant spiders and voila! I’m there every time. John Agar and ( Ava-lookalike ) Mara Corday.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME” - ( Charles Vidor )
Doris Day & James Cagney
I don’t know how much Doris Day sounds like Ruth Etting, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a good dramatic turn for Day and she stands toe-to-toe with Cagney and gives as good as she gets in this Hollywood’d biography. Love Ms. Day’s singing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, she can do anything.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“FEMALE ON THE BEACH” - ( Joseph Pevney )
Jeff Chandler & Joan Crawford
Boy Toy Alert!!! Boy Toy Alert!! Natalie Schaeffer and Cecil Kellaway show just how hard out there for a pimp it is, as they set gigolo Jeff Chandler to work his rugged charm on Joan Crawford. Jan Sterling and Charles Drake are in the wings. Yeah it's a woman's picture. And I love it!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“BRIDE OF THE MONSTER” - ( Ed Wood )
Bela Lugosi vs. Fake Octopus
Again, when a scientist goes around mucking in creation, experiments go awry. John Ford, William Wyler or George Stevens cannot do what Ed Wood does. Not even Wellman directed the great Lugosi. It's all about Lugosi and that octopus. Hilarious! What's NOT to love?
I can’t say that my lists contain the fanciest, most prestigious of films. But they are my favorites:
“ALL THAT HEAVEN ALLOWS” - ( Douglas Sirk )
Jane Wyman & Rock Hudson
Wyman and Hudson are back, and 1955’s got ‘em. A widow can’t love the man she wants just because society says so. Thank gosh things have changed...some. The set-up is typical, where being young is presented as creative and free; bohemian. And being middle-age is cocktail parties, stodgie and warm milk before an early bedtime. A beautiful soap opera. And Rock Hudson is truly beautiful to look at.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“SUMMERTIME” - ( David Lean )
Katharine Hepburn & Rosanno Brazzi
‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all. Well, if you have David Lean craft your tale, it might not hurt as much. Brazzi is dashing and romantic. Hepburn is at her most vulnerable, tender. Brazzi touches something in her, and she’s open and ready. Love among the ruins. Beautiful movie and storytelling.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“TARANTULA” - ( Jack Arnold )
It has all the earmarks of your 50’s sci fi. Experimenting scientist, a pretty girl professional and a stalwart hero. Mix ‘em all together with day for night shots and giant spiders and voila! I’m there every time. John Agar and ( Ava-lookalike ) Mara Corday.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“LOVE ME OR LEAVE ME” - ( Charles Vidor )
Doris Day & James Cagney
I don’t know how much Doris Day sounds like Ruth Etting, but it doesn’t matter. It’s a good dramatic turn for Day and she stands toe-to-toe with Cagney and gives as good as she gets in this Hollywood’d biography. Love Ms. Day’s singing. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, she can do anything.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“FEMALE ON THE BEACH” - ( Joseph Pevney )
Jeff Chandler & Joan Crawford
Boy Toy Alert!!! Boy Toy Alert!! Natalie Schaeffer and Cecil Kellaway show just how hard out there for a pimp it is, as they set gigolo Jeff Chandler to work his rugged charm on Joan Crawford. Jan Sterling and Charles Drake are in the wings. Yeah it's a woman's picture. And I love it!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
“BRIDE OF THE MONSTER” - ( Ed Wood )
Bela Lugosi vs. Fake Octopus
Again, when a scientist goes around mucking in creation, experiments go awry. John Ford, William Wyler or George Stevens cannot do what Ed Wood does. Not even Wellman directed the great Lugosi. It's all about Lugosi and that octopus. Hilarious! What's NOT to love?
Re: LISTS
Boy,Cinemaven,I love the way you sum up a film in a few sentences - and get right to the heart of it. This time, my favorite was for All That Heaven Allows. Keep 'em coming!
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DavidLanceRoten
- Posts: 16
- Joined: March 30th, 2014, 12:53 pm
- Location: South Carolina. United States.
- Contact:
Re: LISTS
Man, these lists. I'm just blown away by the cinema knowledge on this site. My circle of friends thinks I have knowledge about movies, classic cinema , etc. Doesn't even come close to what I see posted on here daily 
. I learn something new every day on here 
. I learn something new every day on here