50s

The Seven-Year Itch

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The Seven Year Itch. 20th Century Fox 1955.
The Seven Year Itch. 20th Century Fox 1955.

Before watching the movie:

If AFI hasn’t done a countdown of iconic movie images yet, it’s probably on their to-do list. The one thing anybody remembers about this movie is probably in the top five, if not the number one.

What’s this film actually about, if not Marylin Monroe’s antigravity dress? I recall vaguely from a few synopses something about a man who’s bored with his marriage and strongly tempted by Monroe’s character. At least this poster has him standing nearby with his attention diverted by her, even if he’s not the focus.

I’m still trying to figure out how to describe Billy Wilder. So far all I’ve come up with is “gets it right.”

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Seven Brides for Seven Brothers

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Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1954.
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer 1954.

Before watching the movie:

I’ve heard of this movie, and the basic synopsis, but I never got the impression it was a musical. So I don’t know much of anything. I’d even forgotten until I looked it up that the reason it reminds me of the legend of the Rape of the Sabine Women is because it’s based on it.

When I think of frontier musicals, I think of the infamy of Paint Your Wagon. Which I haven’t actually seen and would probably like better than its reputation.

I think Howard Keel wore the same mustache that’s pictured in the last movie I saw him in. I think I’d like him better without it.

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The Man in the White Suit

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The Man in the White Suit. Ealing Studios 1951.

Before watching the movie:

I’d heard about the premise of this movie before, but I never considered the idea that it might be a comedy. Alec Guinness leading a comedy sounds like the sort of idea Leslie Nielsen leading Airplane! was: a serious actor playing the straight man. However, the blurb describes him as “impish”, so I’m highly intrigued.

I also hadn’t realized until I started filing this post into categories that I’ve never done a movie from the 1950s. Now I just need to review Birth of a Nation and a Charlie Chaplin film, and I’ll have the entire span of feature-length movies represented (at least I assume the medium was too new to tell stories that long before 1910).

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