1950s in film
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The decade of the1950s in filminvolved many significant films.
Trends[edit]
Films of the 1950s were of a wide variety. As a result of the introduction of television, the studios and companies sought to put audiences back in theaters. They used more techniques in presenting their films through widescreen and big-approach methods, such asCinemascope,VistaVision,andCinerama,as well as gimmicks like3-D film.Big production and spectacle films were perfect for this gained popularity, with the many historic and fantasy epics likeThe Robe(1953),The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men(1952),The Ten Commandments(1956),The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad(1958), andBen-Hur(1959). Other big-scoped films thrived internationally, too, such as Soviet fantasy directorAleksandr Ptushko's mythological epicsSadko,Ilya Muromets,andSampo,and Japanese directorAkira Kurosawa's historicSeven Samurai,Throne of Blood,andRashomon.Toshiro Mifune,who starred in those Kurosawa films, also starred in the color spectacleSamurai Trilogy.
This spectacle approach, coupled withCold Warparanoia, a renewed interest in science from theatomic bomb,as well as increased interest in the mysteries of outer space and otherforteana,lent itself well to what this film decade is best known for,science fiction.Thescience fictiongenre began itsgolden ageduring this decade with such notable films asThe Day the Earth Stood Still(1951),The Thing from Another World(1951),The War of the Worlds(1953),It Came from Outer Space(1953),Creature from the Black Lagoon(1954),Them!(1954),This Island Earth(1955),Earth vs. the Flying Saucers(1956), andForbidden Planet(1956), as well asJapanese science fictiontokusatsufilms. There were also Earth-based "sci-fi" subjects, includingkaijufilms such as theGodzillaseries as well as20,000 Leagues Under the Sea(1954) andWhen Worlds Collide(1951). Companies such asAmerican International Pictures,Japan'sToho,and Britain'sHammer Film Productionswere created to solely produce films of thefantastiquegenres.
The decade was equally adept at both character and realistic films. The highly noted actorsJames Stewart,John Wayne,andMarlon Brandowere at the peak of their popularity. Stewart, starring inWinchester '73,and Wayne, starring in John Ford's Cavalry Trilogy andThe Searchers,revitalized thewestern.Brando mastered versatile roles in films such asA Streetcar Named Desire,The Wild One(1953),Julius Caesar,On the Waterfront(1954),Guys and Dolls(1955),The Teahouse of the August Moon(1956), andSayonara(1957).
DirectorAlfred Hitchcockwas at the peak of his craft, with films such asStrangers on a Train(1951),Dial M for Murder(1954),Rear Window(1954),To Catch a Thief(1955),The Man Who Knew Too Much(1956),Vertigo(1958), andNorth by Northwest(1959), withJames StewartandGrace Kellystarring in three each. TheBengaliIndian directorSatyajit Ray,who began his career in the 1950s, was also at the peak of his career during this decade, with films such asThe Apu Trilogy(1955–1959),Jalsaghar(1958), andParash Pathar(1958).