Bogie56 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 Dr. Strangelove aside, my favourite Peter Sellers film characterization is Union Shop Steward, Fred Kite in I'm All Right Jack (1959). The film brilliantly pokes fun at union/management wars in Britain without taking sides. Kite is a buffoonish radical left-wing unionist who will take "his men" out on strike at the plant without the slightest hesitation. Management has replaced the Nazis as the 'enemy.' Enter the classic English twit, Stanley Windrush played by Ian Carmichael who's efficiency at his new plant job threatens to embarrass the rest of the men and up production demand. Kite has no choice but to take 'the brothers' out on strike. And in this crazy world, any local strike could lead to a nation-wide general sympathy strike. To further complicate matters, Windrush has taken a bed-sitting room in Kite's home and Fred's wife (Irene Handl) and sex-pot daughter, Cynthia (Liz Fraser) have become quite fond of him. Cynthia also works at the plant - as a spindle polisher! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 1959 was a great year for westerns: Day of the Outlaw, Ride Lonesome, The Hanging Tree, Warlock, These Thousand Hills. I also consider They Came to Cordura a western. Gary Cooper gives two of best performances in The Hanging Tree and They Came to Cordura. Burl Ives is stupendous in Day of the Outlaw, an intelligent, partially sympathetic villain who gets one of the greatest entrances in any movie. Andre de Toth's direction of this winter-bound western is brilliant, and Robert Ryan, as usual, is first-rate. Ride Lonesome is one of my two favorite Budd Boetticher films. Don Murray was never better than as the initially innocent cowboy in These Thousand Hills, and Lee Remick, no surprise, is outstanding as a warm-hearted floozy. As for the darkly interesting Warlock, this is probably Edward Dmytryk's best 1950s film, and where else do you get to see Anthony Quinn with a crush on Henry Fonda? Add Richard Widmark and Dorothy Malone, and you have an excellent cast. Warlock is the name of a town, by the way. The color cinematography by Joe MacDonald is almost beyond praise. We're used to the brown-toned overkill of the 1970s which I call "Sepia Sludge"--see Heaven's Gate, McCabe and Mrs. Miller among many others--or today's overkill with colored filters, but MacDonald uses a brown-forward palette but with touches of other colors. Almost every shot is an exquisite composition with the use of these color accents, yet the cinematography never calls attention to itself. On a continent far away: my award for Best Cast for 1959 would go to The Nun's Story, but a close contender comes from France, Marie-Octobre. Although this isn't one of Julien Duvivier's best 1950s films, it's still a good story with a fabulous cast headed by Danielle Darrieux, Serge Reggiani, Bernard Blier, and Lino Ventura. Someone betrayed a resistance group to the Nazis, and the surviving members are assembled, Agatha Christie style, at the elegant home of the woman known during the Resistance as Marie-Octobre (Darrieux). An obvious suspect is Blier, known to have been a fascist before the war, but suspicion goes back and forth as more of the story is revealed. As one imdb reviewer noted, the film would have been even better with extensive flashbacks to the war era. The producers probably spent all their money on the cast, however. This film is available online, and I definitely recommend it. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 Here are Danny Peary’s Alternate Oscar choices for 1959. Winners in bold. Best Actor Jack Lemmon, Some Like It Hot* Tony Curtis, Some Like It Hot Cary Grant, North by Northwest Dean Martin, Rio Bravo Paul Muni, The Last Angry Man John Wayne, Rio Bravo Best Actress Marilyn Monroe, Some Like It Hot* Angie Dickinson, Rio Bravo Audrey Hepburn, The Nun’s Story Lee Remick, Anatomy of a Murder Eva Marie Saint, North by Northwest Simone Signoret, Room at the Top (58/59) And here are Michael Gerbert’s Golden Armchair choices for 1959: Best Actor Jack Lemmon, Some Like It Hot* Best Actress Marilyn Monroe, Some Like It Hot* Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I've been trying to decide on my picks for performances of the decade, and it's turning out to be more difficult than in previous decades. I didn't have a problem choosing Best Actor or Best Supporting Actress; to me, those two had clear winners. But the remaining three categories are proving troublesome. It's really coming down to that old argument between performances that are your favorite, and those may be more technically proficient. My choice for Best Actress is narrowed to two choices, where as my Best Supporting Actor has one that I would pick as my favorite, but it isn't the most nuanced, if you know what I mean. And with the Best Juvenile, there are 5 clear front runners: 2 of them are wonderfully naturalistic, with nary an artificial moment. But the remaining three are more moving, and mean more to me personally, even if they have moments of "Hollywood kid acting". So any help in making a decision would be appreciated. I don't want anyone to pick the actual performance, but should I lean more toward personal favorites, or more relatively objective technical accomplishment? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 28, 2016 Author Share Posted August 28, 2016 I'm afraid I can't help, Lawrence. My choices are a blend of those two factors but somehow the answer is usually obvious to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I'm afraid I can't help, Lawrence. My choices are a blend of those two factors but somehow the answer is usually obvious to me. I'll settle on personal favorites, then. That's what makes everyone's choices more interesting, anyway. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 I'll settle on personal favorites, then. That's what makes everyone's choices more interesting, anyway. That's it. Go with your gut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 kingrat, thanks for the writeup on 1959 westerns. I've never seen Day of the Outlaw but I see that it's on You Tube so I will now take a look at it. Ride Lonesome and The Hanging Tree are both favourites of mine. In fact, the Cooper film is one of my favourite westerns of the decade, a dark, moody tale with wonderful work by the cast and a sense of atmosphere in that little gold mining camp. The last outstanding performance of Coop's career, in my opinion, but everyone is good in that film. By the way, a couple of rare Cooper films are coming on TCM in October - LILAC TIME, with Colleen Moore, a 1928 silent, and THE NAKED EDGE, his last film, a suspenser made in England, a little reminiscent of Hitchcock's Suspicion though not a quarter as good. Coop had the cancer that would take him when he made this film and his appearance, unfortunately, is pretty tired. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kay Posted August 28, 2016 Share Posted August 28, 2016 Kay, there is no rule against being brief. If you would like to give us a winner or two and perhaps a runner-up we would be most interested and will include it in our tally. Okay, but now I've thoroughly made it sound like I've given this whole year the royal shaft, hah. I didn't mean to. I certainly wouldn't list something that wasn't list-worthy. Heaven forbids. Meager list of 1959 favorites: Actor Jack Lemmon - Some Like It Hot*** Burt Lancaster - The Devil's Disciple Cary Grant - North by Northwest Vincent Price - The Tingler Dick Miller - A Bucket of Blood Zacharia Mgabi - Come Back, Africa (documentary) [this may not count, as he plays a fictionalized version of himself, but his portrayal is moving, and I recommended it as a rare slice of life in South Africa during apartheid.] Actress Katsuko Wakasugi - The Ghost of Yotsuya*** Supporting Actor Fred Astaire - On the Beach*** Supporting Actress Katherine Hepburn - Suddenly, Last Summer***** Jessie Royce Landis - North by Northwest 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 The Golden Globe Awards for 1959 were … Best Actor in a Drama Anthony Franciosca, Career* Richard Burton, Look Back In Anger Charlton Heston, Ben-Hur Fredric March, Middle of the Night Joseph Schildkraut, The Diary of Anne Frank Best Actress in a Drama Elizabeth Taylor, Suddenly, Last Summer* Audrey Hepburn, The Nun’s Story Katharine Hepburn, Suddenly, Last Summer Lee Remick, Anatomy of a Murder Simone Signoret, Room at the Top (58/59) Best Actor in a Comedy or Musical Jack Lemmon, Some Like It Hot* Clark Gable, But Not For Me Cary Grant, Operation Petticoat Dean Martin, Who Was That Lady? (60) Sidney Poitier, Porgy and Bess Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical Marilyn Monroe, Some Like It Hot* Dorothy Dandridge, Porgy and Bess Doris Day, Pillow Talk Shirley MacLaine, Ask Any Girl Lili Palmer, But Not For Me Best Supporting Actor Stephen Boyd, Ben-Hur* Fred Astaire, On the Beach Tony Randall, Pillow Talk Robert Vaughn, The Young Philadelphians Joseph N. Welch, Anatomy of a Murder Best Supporting Actress Susan Kohner, Imitation of Life* Juanita Moore, Imitation of Life Shelley Winters, The Diary of Anne Frank Edith Evans, The Nun’s Story Estelle Hemsley, Take a Giant Step 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Maybe this is a good time for a note about Career. I'll bet some people would look at Anthony Franciosa receiving the Golden Globe and say, "Wait a minute. Isn't that the guy who wasn't so hot in Film X (say, The Naked Maja)?" When Jean Simmons has to choose between him and Paul Douglas in This Could Be the Night, I want to holler out, "Monty, I'll trade both of them for whatever's behind Door #3." And yet Franciosa's award for Career isn't unreasonable, though he wouldn't have been my top choice. This film, based on a Broadway play by James Lee, is almost unknown, but is available online. Franciosa plays an aspiring actor who leaves his sweet wife behind in the Midwest to go to New York. He meets with little success, but does get cast in an off-Broadway play directed by Dean Martin, a go-getter both personally and professionally. Martin is interested in a lovely but kooky gal with a drinking problem (Shirley MacLaine), mainly because her father is a top Broadway producer. Franciosa finds a sympathetic friend in his agent (Carolyn Jones), formerly an unsuccessful actress. All four stars give memorable performances. Nobody plays kooky gals like Shirley MacLaine. Carolyn Jones is enough like her in type to make me wonder if she would have played some of MacLaine's roles had Shirley decided on another career. Carolyn Jones has the larger role in this film, and she makes every glance, every intonation count. Though he probably didn't know it at the time, Dean Martin is at the height of his movie career--he's really good in Some Came Running, Rio Bravo, and Career. Martin is so good as a villain in Career that it's unfortunate he didn't get the opportunity to play more of them. Career actually mentions blacklisting. When Franciosa almost gets his big break, it's taken away because he has been linked with Communists. Dean Martin admits that he joined the party, purely because he thought it would help his career. As for Franciosa, when he's playing a talented actor who can't quite make it to the top, how can he not think he's playing his own life? He's passionate and believable, and not over the top. This is as solid as his work in A Hatful of Rain. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 The San Sebastian Film Festival is one of the world’s oldest having started in 1953. Sorry I missed posting it until now. I’ve discovered it often has interesting choices for its acting awards. It takes a few years to get going and become a bit more international in scope. Here is a recap of the previous awards and those that were handed out in 1959. Best Actor 1953 Francisco Rabel, There Is a Path to the Right Best Actress 1953 Julia Martinez, There Is a Path to the Right Best Actor 1954 Enrique Diosdado, North Wind Best Actress 1954 Marisa de Leza, La Patrulla none awarded in 1955 Best Actor 1956 Alberto Closas, Todos Somas Necesarios Best Foreign Actor 1956 O.E. Hasse, Canaris (54) Best Foreign Actress 1956 Luisa Della Doce, The Railroad Man Best Actor 1957 Charles Vanel, Burning Fuse Best Actress 1957 Giulietta Masina, Nights of Cabiria Best Actors 1958 Kirk Douglas, The Vikings James Stewart, Vertigo Best Actress 1958 Jacqueline Sassard, March’s Child Best Actor 1959 Adolfo Marsallach, Leap to Fame Best Actress 1959 Audrey Hepburn, The Nun’s Story 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Maybe this is a good time for a note about Career. Thanks, kingrat. Another one I just downloaded off You Tube due to your review. Keep 'em coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 The 1959 Berlin International Film Festival winners were… Best Actor Jean Gabin, The Magnificent Tramp Best Actress Shirley MacLaine, Ask Any Girl —————————————————————————————— The 1959 Cannes Film Festival winners were… Best Actors Dean Stockwell, Bradford Dillman and Orson Welles, Compulsion Best Actress Simone Signoret, Room at the Top (58/59) ————————————————————————————— The Moscow International Film Festival began in August of 1959. It is held every two years until 2000 when it becomes an annual event. It is interesting to see when it becomes more international in scope and which years it chooses to award films from Soviet satellite countries. Its 1959 winners were … Best Actor Wienczyslaw Glinski, Bronislaw Pawlik and Aleksander Sewruk, Orzel/The Eagle Best Actress Pureviin Tsevelsuren, Ardyn Elch/A Messenger of the People ————————————————————————————— The 1959 Venice Film Festival winners were: Best Actors James Stewart, Anatomy of a Murder Best Actress Madeleine Robinson, A Double Tour 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 What if there were a 1950s film that showed women working successfully in administration, medicine, teaching, and even as Resistance fighters against the Nazis? The catch, of course, is that all of these women are nuns, for I'm talking about The Nun's Story. If you want to study the problems that a CEO faces, take a good look at Edith Evans' scenes. What a cast: nine of the actors had been or would be nominated for Oscars--Audrey Hepburn, Peter Finch, Dean Jagger, Edith Evans, Peggy Ashcroft, Mildred Dunnock, Beatrice Straight, Patricia Collinge, and Barbara O'Neil. For good measure let's add Colleen Dewhurst, Ruth White, and Rosalie Crutchley. Audrey Hepburn, probably the greatest fashion plate in movie history, has to wear a nun's habit, and this wonderfully charming actress can't use any of her charm. For many of her admirers, this is her greatest achievement, the one that forces her to dig deeply within herself. Robert Anderson (a friend of our movie buddy Swithin) made the outstanding adaptation from Kathryn Hulme's novel. Fred Zinnemann drew on his roots in documentary in the opening section, which shows the process by which a young woman at that time became a nun. Non-Catholics may find this part of the film horrifying. The Nun's Story gains immeasurably from being shot on location; from now on, all of Zinnemann's films would be made in countries other than the United States. By now Zinnemann is being to receive his due as a director. Martin Scorsese has written warmly about his admiration for The Nun's Story. What seems clear to me on re-watchings is that with Zinnemann's characteristic objectivity, each small piece of the picture is in perfect relationship with every other piece of the mosaic. Nothing is scanted or overemphasized. This pays enormous dividends in the romantic tension between Sister Luke and Dr. Fortunati; these feelings are acknowledged, at least silently, but we're a long way from the melodrama of The Sins of Rachel Cade. The complex shot where the doctor first encounters Sister Luke on his way to something more important is perfection, and so is the editing of the last scene between the two, as Sister Luke leaves on the train. The final scene of the film, which has been copied by other directors, is justly famous. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speedracer5 Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 1959 Winner in BOLD BEST PICTURE Donald in Mathmagic Land (cartoon) The Gazebo Gidget A Hole in the Head North By Northwest On the Beach Operation Petticoat Pillow Talk Sleeping Beauty Some Like it Hot Suddenly, Last Summer A Summer Place The Wasp Woman BEST ACTOR Donald Duck, Donald in Mathmagic Land Glenn Ford, The Gazebo Cliff Robertson, Gidget James Darren, Gidget Frank Sinatra, A Hole in the Head Cary Grant, North by Northwest Gregory Peck, On the Beach Cary Grant, Operation Petticoat Tony Curtis, Operation Petticoat Rock Hudson, Pillow Talk Jack Lemmon, Some Like it Hot Tony Curtis, Some Like it Hot Montgomery Clift, Suddenly, Last Summer Troy Donahue, A Summer Place BEST ACTRESS Debbie Reynolds, The Gazebo Sandra Dee, Gidget Eva Marie Saint, North by Northwest Ava Gardner, On the Beach Doris Day, Pillow Talk Eleanor Audley, voice of Maleficent in Sleeping Beauty Marilyn Monroe, Some Like it Hot Elizabeth Taylor, Suddenly, Last Summer Sandra Dee, A Summer Place Susan Cabot, The Wasp Woman BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR Carl Reiner, The Gazebo Edward G. Robinson, A Hole in the Head James Mason, North by Northwest Fred Astaire, On the Beach Anthony Perkins, On the Beach Tony Randall, Pillow Talk Joe E. Brown, Some Like it Hot Mike Mazurki, Some Like it Hot Arthur Kennedy, A Summer Place Richard Egan, A Summer Place BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS Thelma Ritter, A Hole in the Head Eleanor Parker, A Hole in the Head Carolyn Jones, A Hole in the Head Thelma Ritter, Pillow Talk Beverly Willis, Some Like it Hot Joan Shawlee, Some Like it Hot Katharine Hepburn, Suddenly, Last Summer Dorothy McGuire, A Summer Place Constance Ford, A Summer Place BEST QUOTES IN "SOME LIKE IT HOT" DOLORES: First you hear... "Have you heard the one about the one-legged jockey?" and Later... "So the one-legged jockey says: 'don't worry 'bout me baby, I ride side saddle!'" JERRY/DAPHNE: "No crackers in bed!" "You tore off one of my chests!" "I smoke! I smoke all the time" "I'm a boy. I'm a boy. I wish I were dead." MIKE MAZURKI: "Buttermilk." "My mashie!" MR. OSGOOD "Nobody's perfect." ...there are so many more great quotes from that film. The whole script is gold. FUNNIEST IMPRESSION Tony Curtis impersonating Cary Grant in Some Like it Hot. "Nobody talks like that!" BEST SMACKDOWN In A Summer Place, Constance Ford (Helen Jorgenson) expresses yet another prejudice against some group of people and husband Richard Egan (Ken Jorgenson) says: Helen Jorgenson: [really angry now] No decent girl lets a boy kiss and maul her the very first night they meet! I suppose it's your Swedish blood in her. I've read about how the Swedes bathe together and... and have trial marriages and free love. I've read all about that. Anything goes. Ken Jorgenson: [angry and disgusted] So, now you hate the Swedes. How many outlets for your hate do you have, Helen? We haven't been able to find a new house because of your multiplicity of them. We can't buy near a school because you hate kids. They make noise. And there can't be any Jews or Catholics on the block, either. And, oh, yes, it can't be anywhere near the Polish or Italian sections. And, of course, Negroes have to be avoided at all costs. Now, let's see: No Jews, no Catholics, no Italians, no Poles, no children. No Negroes. Do I have the list right, so far? And now, you've added Swedes. And, oh, yes, you won't use a Chinese laundry because you distrust Orientals. And you think the British are snobbish, the Russians fearful, the French immoral, the Germans brutal, and all Latin Americans lazy. What's your plan? To cut humanity out? Are you anti-people and anti-life? Must you suffocate every natural instinct in our daughter, too? Must you label young love-making as cheap and wanton and indecent? Must you persist in making sex, itself, a filthy word? MOST DISTURBING SCENE Constance Ford forcing daughter Sandra Dee to submit to an invasive physical examination to see if she's still a virgin in A Summer Place. BEST THEME SONG "The Theme From A Summer Place," From A Summer Place (duh!) BEST OPENING CREDITS The credits from North by Northwest WORST EXTRA The little boy at the Mt. Rushmore cafeteria who covers his ears right before Eva Marie Saint "shoots" Cary Grant in North by Northwest. BEST INNUENDO The train into the tunnel scene at he conclusion of North By Northwest MOST UNFAIRLY MALIGNED FILM ON THE TCM BOARDS North By Northwest. It's shown often because it's a damn good movie. MOST SURPRISING DRAMATIC PERFORMANCE Fred Astaire as the scientist in On the Beach who is tracking the radiation fallout. SADDEST MOVIE On the Beach. The ending of the film is tragic. The entire film, even if there are happy moments, like Ava Gardner and Gregory Peck falling for each other at the dance, is completely bittersweet. You know from the get go, that there is going to be no happy ending for these characters. STRANGEST MOVIE Hands down, Suddenly Last Summer. What a bizarre movie. Yet, I enjoy watching it. BEST BATHING SUIT Elizabeth Taylor's white one-piece bathing suit in Suddenly Last Summer. BEST BODY Wasp Woman after she transforms into an actual "Wasp Woman" due to having consumed too much of the wasp serum. A woman's body with a wasp head? Hilarious. HOTTEST CHARACTER Prince Phillip in Sleeping Beauty. For a cartoon character, he's smokin' hot. PLOT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED WITH ONE SIMPLE STEP: In Sleeping Beauty: Just invite Maleficent to the freaking party. Then she wouldn't have cast the spell on your baby. BEST MOVIE ABOUT ONE OF MY LEAST FAVORITE TOPICS About Math: Donald in Mathmagic Land BEST MOVIE ABOUT ONE OF MY MOST FAVORITE TOPICS Teen Beach Movies: Gidget SPEEDRACER'S TAKEAWAY FROM "GIDGET" Why is Gidget so hot for Big Kahuna? Moondoggie is way cuter, and he sings! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 29, 2016 Author Share Posted August 29, 2016 (edited) Here are some performances from 1959 that will be recognized in subsequent years … Italy’s David di Donatello Awards are given out in the summer which makes for split years. Anna Magnani won the Best Actress Award in 58/59 for And the Wild Wild Women (1959). Charlton Heston won the Best Foreign Actor Award for Ben-Hur (1959). George Hamilton will be nominated for the BAFTA Best Foreign Actor Award in 1960 for Crime and Punishment, USA (1959). Vladimir Ivashov will be nominated for the BAFTA Best Foreign Actor Award in 1961 for Ballad of a Soldier (1959). Emmanuelle Riva will be nominated for the BAFTA Best Foreign Actress Award in 1960 for Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959). Edited September 7, 2016 by Bogie56 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 Italy’s David di Donatello Awards for 1959 were … Best Actor Vittorio Gassman and Alberto Sordi, The Great War Best Foreign Actor Cary Grant, North by Northwest Best Foreign Actress Audrey Hepburn, The Nun’s Story* 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TomJH Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Special Some Like It Hot Award to voice actor Paul Frees The voice of Josephine (Tony Curtis) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 Japan’s Blue Ribbon Awards for 1959 were … Best Actor Hiroyuki Nagato, My Second Brother Best Actress Tanie Kitabayashi, Kiki to Isamu Best Supporting Actor Shoichi Ozawa, My Second Brother Best Supporting Actress Michiyo Aratama, The Human Condition I, The Human Condition II and I Want to be a Shellfish ————————————————————————————— Japan’s Mainichi Awards for 1959 were … Best Actor Eiji Funakoshi, Fires on the Plain Best Actress Tanie Kitabayashi, Kiki to Isamu Best Supporting Actor Jukichi Uno, Ningen no Kabe Best Supporting Actress Kazuko Yoshiyuki, My Second Brother 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 Special Some Like It Hot Award to voice actor Paul Frees The voice of Josephine (Tony Curtis) I always thought that Josephine sounded like Eve Arden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kingrat Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Notes on some 1959 films: Middle of the Night is an older man/younger woman drama, but possibly more interesting for what it can't quite say. The characters in Paddy Chayefsky's Marty could be openly Italian, but the family in Middle of the Night can't quite say they are Jewish. (We had an extensive discussion about this a few years back.) Fredric March says he came to this country from Russia as a boy, and he works in the garment trade on Seventh Avenue. Those in the know will understand that this means he is Jewish. March, of course, seems WASP to the core--too bad Edward G. Robinson couldn't reprise his stage role--and his family seems mixed Jewish and gentile. The best performance, to my mind, comes from Joan Copeland as one of March's daughters. Copeland, who is Arthur Miller's sister, could have come from one of Woody Allen's films. She's smart, prickly, neurotic, but not bad-hearted, especially when her husband (Martin Balsam, in one of his good performances) forces her to confront herself. She brings a specific New York energy to a film that can really use it. Joan Copeland's career was more in the theater and on the daytime soaps, where she made an excellent villain or complicated heroine. I just love Kon Ichikawa's Odd Obsession (Kagi, which means "the key"), a champagne cocktail of a film. An aging man has trouble satisfying his younger wife (Machiko Kyo). Jealousy seems to arouse him, however, so he arranges for the boyfriend of his daughter to pay attention to his wife. What could possibly go wrong? My favorite scene has the older man, in full traditional kimono, watching TV where a sexy young woman in a leotard is leading an exercise class. This is probably not available on DVD; I saw it on VHS. The Journey is probably Anatole Litvak's most personal film. Born in Kiev, he worked in Germany, then France, then again escaping the Nazis he got to the United States. After making Decision Before Dawn in the ruins of Germany he moved back to Paris permanently. I had considered Litvak as a capable, if not outstanding, director of vehicles for star actresses: Bette Davis in All This and Heaven Too. Barbara Stanwyck in Sorry, Wrong Number, Ingrid Bergman in Anastasia and Goodbye Again, etc. However, The Snake Pit, The Long Night, Decision Before Dawn, and The Journey suggest a still better director. The Journey is set in Hungary in 1956, as the Soviets have moved in to put down the anti-Communist rebellion. A group of tourists wants to get out of the country, but the airport is closed down. They are bused toward the Austrian border, but a Soviet officer (Yul Brynner) has the power to decide their fate. Deborah Kerr plays a married English aristocrat who is desperate to get her lover (Jason Robards, Jr.) out of the country. Although he has forged papers, he's really a Hungarian revolutionary wanted by the Soviets. He's been wounded, which makes matters even more difficult. To complicate matters further, Brynner falls for Kerr in a big way. They have just as good romantic chemistry here as in The King and I. E.G. Marshall and Anne Jackson add a great deal of spice as an American couple; she's pregnant and close to term. Ronny Howard plays their young son. Anouk Aimee is a Hungarian revolutionary; Robert Morley, not camping it up for once, is an English journalist. Most of the film was shot in Austria, and actors speak their own languages. I'm not sure why The Journey has been so overlooked; a couple of posters recommended it to me, and I liked it as much as they did. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bogie56 Posted August 30, 2016 Author Share Posted August 30, 2016 Here are the films from 1959 that were mentioned that I have not seen as yet. And the Wild Wild Women with Anna Magnani and Giulietta Masina Ask Any Girl with Shirley MacLaine But Not For Me with Clark Gable and Lili Palmer Come Dance With Me with Brigitte Bardot The Cow and I with Fernandel Crime and Punishment, USA with George Hamilton The Crimson Kimono with James Shigeta Day of the Outlaw with Robert Ryan and Burl Ives The Devil’s Disciple with Laurence Olivier and Burt Lancaster A Double Tour with Madeleine Robinson The Great War with Vittorio Gassman and Alberto Sordi The Hanging Tree with Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden and George C. Scott A Hole In the Head with Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Thelma Ritter, Eleanor Parker and Carolyn Jones The Human Condition I with Michiyo Aratama The Human Condition II with Michiyo Aratama I Want to be a Shellfish with Michiyo Aratama Kiku to Isamu with Tanie Kitabayashi Leap to Fame with Adolfo Marsillach Libel with Dirk Bogarde The Magnificent Tramp with Jean Gabin Marie-Octobre with Serge Reggiani, Danielle Darrieux, Bertrand Blier and Lino Ventura A Messenger of the People with Purevin Tsevelsuren Middle of the Night with Fredric March and Joan Copeland My Second Brother with Hiroyuki Nagato, Shoichi Ozawa and Kazuko Yoshiyuki Ningen no Kabe with Jukichi Uno No Trees In the Street with Sylvia Syms Odds Against Tomorrow with Ed Begley Orzel with Wienczyslaw Glinski, Bronislaw Pawlik and Aleksander Sewruk Porgy and Bess with Sidney Poitier, Dorothy Dandridge and Sammy Davis, Jr. Take a Giant Step with Estelle Hemsley These Thousand Hills with Lee Remick They Came to Cordura with Gary Cooper Yesterday’s Enemy with Stanley Baker and Gordon Jackson And I would like to see these again … Operation Petticoat for Cary Grant and Tony Curtis A Summer Place for Troy Donahue, Sandra Dee and Arthur Kennedy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Here are the films from 1959 that were mentioned that I have not seen as yet. The Devil’s Disciple with Laurence Olivier and Burt Lancaster The Hanging Tree with Gary Cooper, Maria Schell, Karl Malden and George C. Scott A Hole In the Head with Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson, Thelma Ritter, Eleanor Parker and Carolyn Jones Odds Against Tomorrow with Ed Begley They Came to Cordura with Gary Cooper I've seen these 5. I would recommend The Hanging Tree and Odds Against Tomorrow the most highly. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LawrenceA Posted August 30, 2016 Share Posted August 30, 2016 Here are the 1959 movies I have not seen: And the Wild, Wild Women Ardyn Elch Ask Any Girl The Bridal Path But Not for Me Career Carry On Nurse Carry On Teacher Come Back, Africa Come Dance With Me! The Cow and I Crime & Punishment, USA The Crimson Kimono Day of the Outlaw** (I have this one taped) A Double Tour Expresso Bongo The Gazebo General Della Rovere The Ghost of Yotsuya Gidget The Great War The Human Condition I Want to Be a Shellfish Kiki to Isuma Leap to Fame Letter Never Sent Libel L'il Abner The Magnificent Tramp Marie-Octobre Middle of the Night My Second Brother Nella citta l'inferno Ningen no Kabe No Trees In the Street Operation Petticoat Orzel Our Man In Havana Porgy and Bess Sapphire Take a Giant Step These Thousand Hills A Touch of Larceny The World of Apu** (I have this one taped) Yesterday's Enemy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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