Cary Grant, Tony Curtis and Blake Edwards in a comedy about a pink submarine. It’s silly, with a hint of sex, and darn enjoyable. In the 1950s, it was challenging to mix adult fare with family entertainment and make it work. Operation Petticoat accomplishes it. Today, it seems rather tame, but at the time, mixing … More Operation Petticoat (1959)
I’m a sucker for submarine films, particularly World War II films. It’s not the war so much as the thriller aspect, the cat-and-mouse pursuit, and the challenges of men living underwater in a long tube. Some of my favorite submarine films are: Operation Pacific, Destination Tokyo, Submarine Command, The Enemy Below, Run Silent, Run Deep, … More Submarine Films
The Blob was Steve McQueen’s feature film debut. Science fiction films of the era were either deadly serious in mood or a designed as campy entertainment. This film straddles the two and results in an enduring and enjoyable viewing. This is not high-art, it was made for almost nothing and it’s plot is very simple. … More The Blob (1958)
The original, and the best. Superbly directed by Don Siegel (Dirty Harry, The Killers, The Shootist), the film takes advantage of the science fiction craze in the 1950s and the paranoia from the Cold War. Starring Kevin McCarthy as mild-mannered doctor Miles Bennell, he doesn’t believe the sudden rash of people convinced their loved ones … More Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Filmed in Cinemascope, the film is rich in the colors and vastness of the desert landscape. Director John Sturges gives it a distinctive look and fills the screen with the tension in this town. The pacing is fast enough to advance the plot but allows the mystery to unfold in bits and pieces as cracks … More Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
The Henry Mancini theme music is even more famous than the television series. That pounding jazz vibe with the sassy horns. It’s a great song, but the television series is no slouch either. It ran from 1958-1961 and a total of 114 black & white episodes. Peter Gunn was a private detective in a television … More Peter Gunn (TV Series)
This was quite a film when it was released. The mature subject matter seems tame today, even a bit silly, but the word “rape” sounded alarm bells, and the underlying issues of sex within the story raised eyebrows. The stark black and white photography gives it a serious tone, as well as the provocative jazz … More Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Battling aluminum siding salesmen in Baltimore. That one sentence description doesn’t really tell you what this film is about. So allow me to fill in the gaps. Director Barry Levinson made four films about his hometown of Baltimore, each representing a different time. Tin Men takes place in 1963, which still feels a bit like … More Tin Men (1987)
I already claimed Rear Window as my favorite Hitchcock film, but a close second is North By Northwest. This may be Hitchcock’s best film, it certainly is a classic and arguably Cary Grant’s best film. This film ended the 1950’s on a high note for Hitchcock, in fact, it was his most successful decade, critically … More North By Northwest (1959)
This is the story of Kirk Douglas, filmmaker. Yes, he was a big movie star, and he used the stature to produce, star and occasionally direct his own films. Douglas saw his frequent co-star, Burt Lancaster, develop and produce his own films. Producing and owning the copyright on his films was smart, and the tax … More Kirk Douglas: Producer
