Tag Archives: 1950s

The Quiet Gun (1957) William F. Claxton, Forrest Tucker, Mara Corday, Jim Davis, Western

The Quiet Gun (1957)
Hired gun Doug Sadler rides into a small Western town and immediately provokes the local sheriff, Carl Brandon, by tormenting a simpleminded local named Sampson. Brandon is further provoked by a visit from city attorney Hardy, who announces that the town council is charging local rancher Ralph Carpenter with violations of morality for living with an Indian girl. Brandon, who is in love with Carpenter’s estranged wife Teresa, realizes that there is something sinister behind both these events, but he is unsuccessful in preventing calamity from erupting. Eventually he must stand against his entire town in order to protect it and the law he represents.
Read More »

Joe Dakota (1957) Richard Bartlett, Jock Mahoney, Luana Patten, Charles McGraw, Romance, Western

Joe Dakota (1957)
In the sparsely populated town of Arborville, California, rides a lone stranger.His name is Joe Dakota and he’s looking for an old friend whom he calls The Old Indian.The townsfolk claim the Old Indian had packed up and left town but Joe doubts it.Heading for the old man’s farm Joe notices a group of men working on a new oil rig dug right on The Old Indian’s property. When Joe starts asking questions about his old friend,the men either clam up or state that the old Indian has sold his land and left town.However,Joe Dakota knew his friend well and is sure that his friend wouldn’t have sold his land.Joe decides to stick around and investigate further, despite protests from the townsfolk who want to see the back of Joe.Amid threats,intimidation and lies Joe makes one new friend, Miss Jody Weaver, who is willing to shed some light on The Old Indian’s fate. Nevertheless, town baddie Cal Moore, who claims to have purchased The Old Indian’s land, is stirring the townsfolk against Joe Dakota.
Read More »

The Iron Mistress (1952) Gordon Douglas, Alan Ladd, Virginia Mayo, Joseph Calleia, Action, Adventure, Biography

The Iron Mistress (1952)
Barely historical presentation of the life of Jim Bowie. Here he goes to New Orleans to sell lumber but falls in love with Judalon. To match his rivals he must become sophisticated and does so. By the time he sells the mill, starts a plantation and tries to wed Jedualon the woman has wed playboy Phillipe. Along the way to true wisdom he designs a special knife made from part of a meteorite.
Read More »

Il boia di Lilla / Milady and the Musketeers (1952) Vittorio Cottafavi, Rossano Brazzi, Yvette Lebon, Armando Francioli, Action, Adventure, Drama

Milady and the Musketeers (1952)
La storia narra della vita Anne de Beuil, meglio conosciuta come Milady De Winter, famosa per essere la nemica dei 3 moschettieri, donna crudele dal passato oscuro legato a quello del conte de La Fère , prima come moglie e poi come avversari. La donna riuscirà a sopravvivere al tentato omicidio del marito ma la rincontrerà con il nome di Athos. Alla fine verrà condotta al patibolo, e il boia che deve ucciderla si scopre essere…
Read More »

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) Edward D. Wood Jr., Gregory Walcott, Tom Keene, Mona McKinnon, Horror, Sci-Fi

Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
In California, an old man (Bela Lugosi) grieves the loss of his wife (Vampira) and on the next day he also dies. However, the space soldier Eros and her mate Tanna use an electric device to resurrect them both and the strong Inspector Clay (Tor Johnson) that was murdered by the couple. Their intention is not to conquer Earth but to stop mankind from developing the powerful bomb “Solobonite” that would threaten the universe. When the population of Hollywood and Washington DC sees flying saucers on the sky, a colonel, a police lieutenant, a commercial pilot, his wife and a policeman try to stop the aliens.
Read More »

Femmes de Paris (1953) Jean Boyer, Michel Simon, Brigitte Auber, Henri Génès, Comedy, Drama

Femmes de Paris (1953)
Le professeur Charles Buisson, Astronome et prix Nobel, vient de découvrir une nova. Il en informe par téléphone les autres observatoires. Alors qu’il croit que l’un d’eux le rappelle, il se retrouve à l’appareil avec une jeune femme menaçant de se suicider au cabaret Le Ruban Bleu, si son amoureux ne l’a pas rejoint à minuit. Intrigué, le professeur décide d’aller empêcher la malheureuse de passer à l’acte. Une de ses étudiantes, qui gagne sa vie comme doublure dans un numéro de couteaux, l’aide dans son enquête, tandis que le directeur de l’établissement et un policier le soupçonnent d’être un farceur ou même, de vendre de la drogue. Ce sera pour le savant l’occasion de découvrir un univers de music-hall qu’il ignorait jusqu’alors : « Je croyais connaître la carte du ciel par cœur mais il est une planète qui m’était totalement inconnue : la terre. J’y reviendrai ! »
Read More »

Written on the Wind (1956) Douglas Sirk, Rock Hudson, Lauren Bacall, Robert Stack, Drama

Written on the Wind (1956)
On 24 October 1955, the hard-work geologist of the Hadley Oil Company Mitch Wayne meets the executive secretary Lucy Moore in the office of her boss Bill Ryan in New York and invites her to go to a conference with the alcoholic playboy and son of a tycoon Kyle Hadley. On the way of the meeting, he confesses that they had traveled from Houston to New York to satisfy the wish of the reckless Kyle, who is his best friend since their childhood, of eating a sandwich from club 21 and the meeting was just a pretext to Kyle’s father Jasper Hadley. Mitch and Kyle immediately fall in love for Lucy, and Kyle unsuccessfully uses his money to impress Lucy; then he opens his heart and proposes Lucy. They get married and travel to Acapulco and the insecure Kyle stops drinking. Meanwhile, Kyle’s sister Marylee is an easy woman and has a non-corresponded crush on Mitch that sees her as a sister. One year later, Kyle discovers that he has a problem and might be sterile and starts drinking again.
Read More »

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958) Edward L. Cahn, Marshall Thompson, Shirley Patterson, Kim Spalding, Horror, Sci-Fi

It! The Terror from Beyond Space (1958)
In 1973, the first manned expedition to Mars is marooned; by the time a rescue mission arrives, there is only one survivor: the leader, Col. Edward Carruthers, who appears to have murdered the others! According to Carruthers, an unknown life form killed his comrades during a sandstorm. But the skeptical rescuers little suspect that “it” has stowed away for the voyage back to Earth…
Read More »

Dial M for Murder (1954) Alfred Hitchcock, Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller

Dial M for Murder (1954)
Ex-tennis pro Tony Wendice (Ray Milland) wants to have his wealthy wife, Margot (Grace Kelly), murdered so he can get his hands on her inheritance. When he discovers her affair with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), he comes up with the perfect plan to kill her. He blackmails an old acquaintance into carrying out the murder, but the carefully-orchestrated set-up goes awry, and Margot stays alive. Now Wendice must frantically scheme to outwit the police and avoid having his plot detected.
Read More »

East of Eden (1955) Elia Kazan, James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Drama, Romance

East of Eden (1955)
In this film based on John Steinbeck’s epic novel, Cal Trask (James Dean), the son of a California farmer (Raymond Massey), feels that his father cares only about his brother, Aron (Richard Davalos). When Cal embarks on a business venture to gain the favor of his dad, he finds himself dealing with his estranged mother (Jo Van Fleet), now the owner of a brothel, and tensions in the family rise even further when he begins to fall for Aron’s girlfriend, Abra (Julie Harris).
Read More »

Speed / Lotna (1959) Andrzej Wajda, Jerzy Pichelski, Adam Pawlikowski, Jerzy Moes, Drama, War

Speed (1959)
Poland, during the World War. Lotna is a magnificent specimen of Arabian horse, the pride of her owner, too old to actually ride her but to whom she remains faithful nevertheless. The Polish cavalry army is also proud of their land, and loyal to rules, and custom. The German army is leading an overwhelming speed attack with tanks, an almost unheard of weapon, and bringing a way of life to an end. It’s the last battle between Lotna (speed horse) and Blitzkriega (speed war).
Read More »