REVEALED-THE ILX TOP 75 FILMS OF THE 1950s

Hey I voted for Rio Bravo! It's the greatest thing Fred Zinnemann ever did in his lif

HOWARD HAWKS, YOU INFIDEL

Wasn't Hawk's decision to film Rio Bravo as an answer to High Noon loaded with a pretty nasty political subtext? At any rate, Rio Bravo's the better movie, sure, but High Noon has its charms. Tex Ritter, for one.

xpost Alfred I think Kevin was zinging the Zinneman.

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16. Kiss Me Deadly
Robert Aldrich, 1955
POINTS: 153
VOTES: 6
#1s: 0

COMMENTS:

“”Now listen, Mike. Listen carefully. I'm going to pronounce a few words. They're harmless words. Just a bunch of letters scrambled together. But their meaning is very important. Try to understand what they mean….””

― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain)

“When the devil takes your soul from the back of your head, he also takes the suitcase from Kiss Me Deadly.”

― Dr Morbius

Will Hitchcock pull a top-10 hat trick?

And that's it for today. I'll drop 15-1 on Super Tuesday the 18th.

Daniel, I don't want Zinnemann's name anywhere near Hawk's (except when discussing "From Here to Eternity").

Why would anyone vote for anything even conceptually connected with Zinnemann?

Katy Jurado is the best thing in High Noon.

yes, Zinnemann was an ideal candidate to sanitize Eternity.

The Sundowners is worth a glance.

Julia and The Member of the Wedding are well-acted.

(esp by V Redgrave and Ethel Waters)

BORING! Back to All About Eve territory"

Fave (campy) line from Mommie Dearest: "Tear down that bitch of a bearing wall and put a window where it (godlike emphasis) OUGHT to be!"

Fave Edith line from Desperate Living: Haven't seen it in years but "Rob my safety deposit box" off the top of my head." Mink Stole has the best lines in this, though.

so this is gaythread now?

I'm wondering if there'll be many foreign films in top 15, you xenophobes.

Um, I voted for Hiroshima Mon Amour, cookie! But Hollywood owned the 1950s.

WE HAVE OFFICIALLY FORCED OUT AN AGGRIEVED MAJORITY.

Lovin' the caps today, Soto!

So gays wish it was still the 1950s? Who knew?

um, wha?

Cinematically speaking, et al.

Or maybe gays just like poles.

What??? Are you okay, EH?

I'm not the one who reckoned this poll was being owned by the gays, is what I'm saying.

Ah ok.

The best line(s)* in All About Eve comes IMMEDIATELY AFTER the most famous line.

someone sez something after "bumpy night"?

Yeah, some party goer says "have I introduced you to, et al."

Funniest line of the whole movie, one that Bette wisely doesn't sell, is the one in the car about a woman not being a woman without a husband, but is instead a book full of clippings.

We should all make a compact to watch the films only 1 person voted for.

I should make a compact to watch all the films I voted for.

Tsk tsk...not knowing our All About Eve inside and out. And Eric, even if she did sell that line, the music from the radio (or "radio") would've given the ruse away. So would "slow curtain."

Remind me of the time I looked into the heart of an artichoke.

That occurs before "bumpy night" but is genius quite the same although I've used "some snowy night, in front of the fire" on COUNTLESS occasions.

Actually, I was responding to your last post, Kev.

I distinctly remember crossing you off my guest list, what are you doing here?

YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But that's only the first part....

MARGO
(to Addison)
I distinctly remember striking your
name from the guest list. What are
you doing here?

ADDISON
Dear Margo. You were an
unforgettable Peter Pan - you must
play it again, soon.

http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/All-About-Eve.html

I knew it had something to do with Peter Pan! But I was afraid I'd confused it for a similar line in The Big Sleep.

BILL
I can't believe you're making this
up - it sounds like something out
of an old Clyde Fitch play...

MARGO
Clyde Fitch, thought you may not
think so, was well before my time!

BILL
(laughs)
I've always denied the legend that
you were in 'Our American Cousin'
the night Lincoln was shot...

MARGO
I don't think that's funny!

$2 for Eric!!!!!!!!!

shouldn't that be a $3 for me?

Ikiru is the hardest I have ever cried at a movie ever

Tsk tsk...not knowing our All About Eve inside and out.

Yeah; I like baseball, too.

Is Kiss Me Kate really the only MGM musical to make the list so far?! Perverse.

Yeah; I like baseball, too.

Who doesn't?

Short takes FWIW:

In a Lonely Place: Love the club scenes and Los Angeles night scenes, but didn't quite get caught up the first time. Maybe I just don't buy that murderousness and emotional violence come from the same place.

12 Angry Men: It's painful waiting for the plot points to clock in on third look (and doesn't Henry Fonda have his jury-swaying strategy planned out from the start?). But edifying righteousness and a good setup go a long way. I really do believe a lot of tough-on-crime types are punishing children or themselves.

Ugetsu: Fell asleep at the theater both times I tried to appreciate this, so I'm tempted to wonder why tragic drear is so exalted, but I know I'm missing something Japanese see.

Strangers on a Train: Lesser Hitchcock for me, with a less interesting psycho, but love anything to do with the train and the fair.

The Searchers: I found its classically composed look and racism pretty plain and uninvolving the first time, but I know I'll watch it again someday.

Paths of Glory: Probably my 23nd favorite film here, mostly for the ending.

Kiss Me Deadly: The answering machine recording was on my voicemail for years, and there are many great scenes--22nd favorite. I guess I just wish the hero were less of an asshole.

Maybe I just don't buy that murderousness and emotional violence come from the same place.

I think it's more that the former can come from the latter (pretty difficult to discuss this w/o spoiling the movie)

I've not seen Kiss Me Deadly, but surely the hero cannot be more of an asshole than Hammer is in the novels?

I likes me the antiheroes.

Let's do this.

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15. Wild Strawberries
Ingmar Bergman, 1957
POINTS: 159
VOTES: 6
#1s: 0

COMMENTS:

“The reason "Wild Strawberries" works with the heavy-handed symbolism (while "Seventh Seal" does not) is that it balances it with nostalgia and humanism. The symbolism is also much more visceral & less blatant (although it could be argued that the "clock with no hands" is on par with "playing chess with death" in the cheese factor--but at the same time, it's a dream sequence in "Wild Strawberries", so maybe it's a bit more justifiable.”

― jay blanchard

“yeah, on paper that dream sequence in "wild strawberries" shouldn't work, but i've seen the film three or four times and i always want to leap out of my seat at the creaking sound of the tilted carriage. and the blinding sunlight is truly eerie. it's too visceral to roll your eyes and say "oh A symbolizes B and C symbolizes D, we get it". …i've never known quite what to make of the bickering couple in "wild strawberries". their appearance is unexpected, unsettling, and over quickly.”

― a spectator bird

“I'm weird like this, but I thought Wild Strawberries was a lot more funny than Smiles of a Summer Night (which, pace me and screwball, didn't make me laugh at all).”

― Eric H.

BONUS FEATURE

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14. The 400 Blows
François Truffaut, 1959
POINTS: 162
VOTES: 7
#1s: 0

COMMENTS:

“The least overthunk juvenile hero in film.”

--Dr. Morbius

“I remember only the groovy vibe soundtrack--playing in my head right now--and the feeling I got that I was watching a new film language invent itself as it went--not just the jump cuts, but the eye-level empathy with children.”

-- Peter S. Scholtes

“the end of 400 blows gives me chills every time.”

― cutty

“Really captures the feeling of being in a family where you’re either at each other’s throats trying to kill each other or busy being best friends—with little or no middle ground. I always thought it was funny that for such a (supposed) monster, Doinel’s mom was still kinda hot.”

― The Wild Shirtless Lyrics of Mark Farner (C. Grisso/McCain)

the four hundred blows

BONUS FEATURE