1950s

  • Kurt Hoffmann – Fanfaren der Liebe aka Fanfares of Love (1951)

    1951-1960ComedyGermanyKurt HoffmannRomance

    Two musicians, Hans and Peter, are out of work. They make regular visits to the booking agent, but there’s no work. After several false starts, they are desperate, and when they hear that an all-woman band, the Alpine Violets, have been let down and are desperate for two female musicians, they know that fate is knocking for them. When they hear that the band is going to a luxury Alpine hotel to record a gramophone record, they can’t wait to get on board. They enlist the help of a friendly makeup artiste and practise their girly body language. After a street test they are sure they pass, so it’s back to the agency to volunteer. They pass a quick audition, so it’s down to the station for the night train to Ingolstadt, with the rest of the band. Read More »

  • Allan Dwan – Montana Belle (1952)

    1951-1960Allan DwanUSAWestern

    Synopsis
    In a fictionalized biography, Oklahoma outlaw Belle Starr (Jane Russell) meets the Dalton gang when rescued from lynching by Bob Dalton (Scott Brady), who falls for her. So do gang member Mac (Forrest Tucker) and wealthy saloon owner Tom Bradfield (George Brent), who’s enlisted in a bankers’ scheme to trap the Daltons. Dissension among the gang and Bradfield’s ambivalence complicate the plot, as Belle demonstrates her prowess with shootin’ irons, horses, and as a surprisingly racy saloon entertainer. ~ IMDbRead More »

  • Umetsugu Inoue – Shi no jûjiro AKA Crossroads of Death (1956)

    1951-1960CrimeFilm NoirJapanUmetsugu Inoue

    Quote:
    Ise, a successful entrepreneur, accidentally murders his lunatic wife after he is spotted having an affair with his secretary, Harumi. In his attempt to perfect his crime, he drives to a remote quarry to bury his wife’s body, but along the way, he finds another dead body in the back of his car! Given no choice, Ise dumps both bodies. Meanwhile, Yoshie begins her search for her missing brother, Yoshihiko. After surprising twists and turns, Ise faces his fate.Read More »

  • Tengiz Abuladze – Skhvisi shvilebi AKA Somebody Else’s Children (1958)

    Tengiz Abuladze1951-1960ArthouseDramaGeorgia

    A widowed train engineer begins looking for a wife to help him raise his kids. He proposes to his girl friend, but she is not interested in caring for the children of another woman. Fortunately his persistence pays off and he finds a suitable wife and mother. Unfortunately, father turns out to be a selfish cad and when the old girl friend suddenly shows up again, he leaves his family without a backward glance. The angry wife also decides to leave, but just as she prepares to board the train, she sees the children running after her and decides to stay.

    Won awards at the international film festivals in Tashkent, Helsinki, London and Tehran.Read More »

  • Michael McCarthy – Assassin for Hire (1951)

    1951-1960CrimeMichael McCarthyMysteryUnited Kingdom

    Pretending to be rare stamp dealer, a man devotedly supports wife and musically talented younger brother as a professional hit-man.Read More »

  • Allison Anders & Dean Lent & Kurt Voss – Border Radio (1987)

    1981-1990Allison AndersCultDean LentDramaKurt VossUSA

    Before carving out a niche as one of the most distinct voices in nineties American cinema , Allison Anders made her debut, alongside codirectors and fellow UCLA film school students Kurt Voss and Dean Lent, with 1987’s Border Radio. A low-key, semi-improvised postpunk diary that took four years to complete, Border Radio features legendary rocker Chris D., of the Flesh Eaters, as a singer/songwriter who has stolen loot from a club and gone missing, leaving his wife (Luanna Anders), a no-nonsense rock journalist, to track him down with the help of his friends (John Doe of the band X; Chris Shearer). With its sprawling Southern Californian and Mexican landscapes, captured in evocative 16mm black and white, Border Radio is a singular, DIY memento of the indie film explosion in America.Read More »

  • Rudolph Maté – The Mississippi Gambler (1953)

    1951-1960RomanceRudolph MatéUSAWestern

    In 1854 Mississippi, honest riverboat card gambler Mark Fallon wins young Laurent Dureau’s diamond necklace, a family heirloom which, in the end, will bring him happiness and tragedy alike.Read More »

  • Alexander Hall – Up Front (1951)

    1951-1960Alexander HallComedyUSAWar

    Based on the famed W.W.II cartoons: Lowbrow G.I.s Willie and Joe, on the Italian front, are good soldiers in combat, but meet the antics of gung-ho Captain Johnson and other military snafus with a barrage of wry comments. On a 3-day pass in Naples, Joe’s penchant for wine and women involves the pair with luscious Emi Rosso and her moonshiner father, whose tangled affairs land them in ever deeper trouble.Read More »

  • Akira Kurosawa – Shûbun AKA Scandal (1950)

    1941-1950Akira KurosawaCrimeDramaJapan

    A handsome, suave Toshiro Mifune lights up the screen as painter Ichiro, whose circumstantial meeting with a famous singer (Yoshiko Yamaguchi) is twisted by the tabloid press into a torrid affair. Ichiro files a lawsuit against the seedy gossip magazine, but his lawyer, Hiruta (Kurosawa stalwart Takashi Shimura), is playing both sides. A portrait of cultural moral decline, Scandal is also a compelling courtroom drama and a moving tale of human redemption.Read More »

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