50s – Page 5 – Yesterday's Movies

Always a Bride

August 14, 2015August 14, 2015temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie:

The concept sounds like it could be a stage play (it doesn’t appear to be), though the setting deserves a film. A father and daughter team travel up and down the Riviera posing as newlyweds (ew) to scam resort goers. Of course, she wants out, and she meets a romantic lead who might present an escape.

The only way a mid-century British comedy can go wrong (I hope) is by being too dry for a modern American audience, but even though it’s almost certainly not as madcap as it looks, this should still be fun.

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Fast and Loose

June 5, 2015June 5, 2015temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie: Automatically recommended to me based on titles like The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown and Monkey Business, this appears to be somewhere between manners comedy and code-compliant titillation farce. A happily married man and a happily married woman who used to date get separated from their spouses, have to share a room at an inn, and find themselves in increasingly compromising situations.

What caught my attention are the words “British” and “Farce”. And Stanley Holloway, although I’m not sure if I’ve actually seen him in anything, or if his name is just close to Sterling Holloway. None of the other people involved ring any bells, although apparently Kay Kendall was a Name at the time. I’m just not familiar enough with that era, most likely. Continue reading →

Monkey Business

March 20, 2015March 20, 2015temporalparadox1 Comment

Before watching the movie:

Here’s another that I found rattling around my automated recommendations, having never heard of it before The log line for this movie goes something like “a scientist discovers the fountain of youth, and a screwball comedy ensues”. It looks like there’s a love triangle, and there’s probably some dispute over who gets control over the youth serum, but I’m fairly clueless about it otherwise. Maybe it’s a bit like The Man in the White Suit?

I often think about how I’d like to watch a movie without knowing anything other than the genre, the cast, and the title, if that. But while it’s nice to watch a movie without preconceptions, it’s not as enjoyable to write about a lack of them.

I’m pretty sure I’ve seen Cary Grant handle witty screwball dialogue well before, but I don’t think I know Ginger Rogers as anything but Fred Astaire’s dancing partner, which now occurs to me as almost certainly unfair to her.

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The Fuzzy Pink Nightgown

January 30, 2015January 30, 2015temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie:

This popped up on my radar as an automatic recommendation related to my interest in other movies of about the same era, which were in turn probably automatic recommendations based on other films. At this point, I have no idea what the original search was, but isn’t that what algorithmic recommendations are for?

So, as the poster says, this is the story of a bombshell who gets kidnapped for ransom and squabbles with her kidnapper until they fall in love. The synopsis I originally saw focused on her arguing the ransom amount was far too low, which is at least by now an old joke. So this sounds like a fairly stock screwball comedy, but it looks like it’s been cast with people who can pull it off well.

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Cheaper by the Dozen

November 21, 2014temporalparadox1 Comment

Before watching the movie:

This is a movie about a very large family. There’s currently a franchise of movies with the title that stars Steve Martin, but this doesn’t appear to have much to do with it, aside from perhaps a “suggested by” remake. I have the distinct impression that the modern version (which I haven’t seen either) involves a blended family, while this doesn’t appear to.

It does appear to just be anecdotes from a real family’s life strung together into a feature film. Not quite as attractive as a slapstick comedy with Steve Martin, but it should be fun and interesting.

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The Long, Long Trailer

October 23, 2014October 23, 2014temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie:

This was recommended to me because I was going to pull a trailer across the country in a move as “something to watch after you’re done with the trailer”. The trailer is gone, and the movie is here, so here it is. Mine was somewhat smaller. I couldn’t imagine my car pulling a 36′ camper trailer, but I think they did make cars more powerful back then.

I was thinking more about a few Disney cartoons with misbehaving trailers, but I can certainly see the potential for comic mishap. It’ll be interesting to see if there’s any difference between Lucy and Desi’s characters here versus on I Love Lucy, since both are star vehicles meant to showcase what they do best and giving audiences what they expect of the actors.
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Rock, Rock, Rock!

September 12, 2014temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie:

The title pretty much says it all. There’s a plot about high schoolers and some kind of competition, but this is basically a concert film.

The cast is full of appearances from acts who were famous in their day, but the main name I recognize now is Chuck Berry, and I think I’ve seen much more of him now than at the top of his career, so that will be interesting. When I think of Chuck Berry in the 50s, I think of Marty McFly.

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How to Marry A Millionaire

August 8, 2014temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie:

You couldn’t make this kind of movie today (I hope). Three women make it their top goals to marry into money. This will probably be a fun little romantic comedy romp running on outdated gender values, which isn’t in itself a bad thing, as long as one keeps in mind that it’s no longer considered healthy.

I was kind of looking forward to this until I put on my feminist glasses.

Anyway, three powerhouse ladies of the golden age of cinema in a story about taking control of their lives by manipulating anybody in reach with a thick enough wallet.

Maybe I should just get on with watching it.

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Suddenly

July 25, 2014temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie:

One from my grandparents’ library, highly recommended for Sinatra’s performance as a hired assassin. It sounds like a tight-knit drama, since it concerns a hitman taking over a small-town household, but it has the potential to be a political thriller, since it concerns an attempt to assassinate the president. Either way it seems like a movie I’ll be gladder to have seen than to watch, but it comes highly recommended.

There was a poster I liked better showing a Sinatra that looked more like a killer than like he’s crooning about what he’s going to do to this woman, but I try to keep to posters that have a traditional poster shape.

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Moby Dick

July 11, 2014April 14, 2016temporalparadoxLeave a comment

Before watching the movie:

The most intriguing big name here is the writer: Ray Bradbury. Gregory Peck rarely gets mentioned outside of To Kill a Mockingbird anymore, I’m sure director John Huston has a following among deep film buffs, and of course Melville’s novel is a (somewhat sloppy) masterpiece, but Bradbury gets my attention. When I think of Bradbury, I think of his sci-fi concepts. I never think of his words, only his ideas. In a medium dominated by actors and directors, using someone else’s ideas and doubtless many of his words, I’m curious to see if I can spot any of Bradbury coming through.

Note should be made that this is once again from my late great aunt’s collection.

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