1950’s Cinema

My Favorite Fritz Lang Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   M (1931)

2.   Spies (1928)

3.   Scarlet Street (1945)

4.   While the City Sleeps (1956)

5.   Liliom (1934)

6.   Fury (1936)

7.   The Woman in the Window (1944)

8.   You Only Live Once (1937)

9.   Moonfleet (1955)

10. The Big Heat (1953)

11. Rancho Notorious (1952)

12. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)

13. Die Nibelungen (1924)

14. Destiny (1921)

15. The Tiger of Eschnapur/The Indian Tomb (1959)
(a.k.a. Fritz Lang’s Indian Epic)

16. Metropolis (1927)

17. The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse (1960)

18. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) 

19. Dr. Mabuse the Gambler (1922)

20. You and Me (1937)

21. Clash by Night (1952)

22. Secret Beyond the Door (1948)

23. The Blue Gardenia (1953)

24. Human Desire (1954)

25. House by the River (1950)

26. Ministry of Fear (1944)

27. Hangmen Also Die! (1943)

28. Man Hunt (1941)

29. Western Union (1941)

30. The Return of Frank James (1940)

31. Cloak and Dagger (1946)

32. Woman in the Moon (1929)

33. The Spiders Parts I and II (1919/1920)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Harikari (1919)

2.   American Guerrilla in the Philippines (1950)

My Favorite Akira Kurosawa Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Ran (1985)

2.   High and Low (1963)

3.   Seven Samurai (1954)

4.   Ikiru (1952)

5.   Red Beard (1965)

6.   Throne of Blood (1957)

7.   Rashomon (1950)

8.   Yojimbo (1961)

9.   The Hidden Fortress (1958)

10. Stray Dog (1949)

11. Madadayo (1993)

12. Kagemusha (1980)

13. Drunken Angel (1948)

14. Sanjuro (1962)

15. Dersu Uzala (1975)

16. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

17. I Live in Fear (1955)

18. Does’ka-den (1970)

19. The Idiot (1951)

20. The Lower Depths (1957)

21. Scandal (1950)

22. The Quiet Duel (1949)

23. One Wonderful Sunday (1947)

24. No Regrets for Our Youth (1946)

25. The Men Who Tread on the Tiger’s Tail (1945)

26. Sanshiro Sugata (1943)

27. Sanshiro SUgata Part II (1945)

28. The Most Beautiful (1944)

29. Rhapsody in August (1991)

30. Dreams (1990)
(a.k.a. Akira Kurosawa’s Dreams)

My Favorite Stanley Kubrick Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Barry Lyndon (1975)

2.   2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

3.   Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

4.   The Shining (1980)

5.   The Killing (1956)

6.   Dr. Strangelove (1964)

7.   Paths of Glory (1957)

8.   Full Metal Jacket (1987)

9.   Lolita (1962)

10. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

11. Spartacus (1960)

12. Killer’s Kiss (1955)

13. Fear and Desire (1953)

My Favorite Masaki Kobayashi Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Human Condition Trilogy (1959/1961)

2.   Kwaidan (1964)

3.   Samurai Rebellion (1967)

4.   Harakiri (1962)

5.   Black River (1957)

My Favorite Gene Kelly Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   That’s Entertainment, Part II (1976)
(Documentary)

2.   Invitation to the Dance (1956)
(Live-Action/Animation)

3.   Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
(co-directed with Stanley Donen)

4.   It’s Always Fair Weather (1955)
(co-directed with Stanley Donen)

5.   On the Town (1949)
(co-directed with Stanley Donen)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Happy Road (1957)

2.   The Tunnel of Love (1958)

3.   Hello, Dolly! (1969)

My Favorite Phil Karlson Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Phenix City Story (1955)

2.   99 River Street (1953)

3.   Gunman’s Walk (1958)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

4.   Kansas City Confidential (1952)

5.   Scandal Sheet (1952)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   The Brothers Rico (1957)

2.   5 Against the House (1955)

My Favorite Kon Ichikawa Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
(Documentary)

2.   An Actor’s Revenge (1963)

3.   Fires on the Plain (1959)

4.   The Burmese Harp (1956)

5.   The Makioka Sisters (1983)

6.   Odd Obsession (1959)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

7.   Being Two Isn’t Easy (1962)
(I saw it on an old VHS tape)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Anthology Films)

1.   Visions of Eight (1973)
(Segment: “The Fastest”)
(Documentary)

* * * 1/2 (Out of * * * *)

1.   Dora-heita (2001)

2.   47 Ronin (1994)

My Favorite Alfred Hitchcock Films

by John Charet

* * * * (Out of * * * *)

1.   Vertigo (1958)

2.   Marnie (1964)

3.   Family Plot (1976)

4.   Under Capricorn (1949)

5.   The Birds (1963)

6.   The Wrong Man (1956)

7.   The Trouble with Harry (1955)

8.   Psycho (1960)

9.   Rear Window (1954)

10. Frenzy (1972)

11. I Confess (1953)

12. Strangers on a Train (1951)

13. Rope (1948)

14. Notorious (1946)

15. North by Northwest (1959)

16. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)

17. The Lady Vanishes (1938)

18. Sabotage (1936)
(I watched it online)

19. The 39 Steps (1935)

20. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)

21. Stage Fright (1950)

22. Lifeboat (1944)

23. Rebecca (1940)

24. Foreign Correspondent (1940)

25. To Catch a Thief (1955)

26. Dial M for Murder (1954)

27. Suspicion (1941)

28. Young and Innocent (1937)
(I watched it online)

29. Rich and Strange (1931)
(I watched it online)

30. Mr. & Mrs. Smith (1941)
(no relation to the 2005 film)

31. Murder! (1930)

32. Blackmail (1929)

33. The Ring (1927)

34. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

35. Topaz (1969)

36. Spellbound (1945)

37. Torn Curtain (1966)

38. Saboteur (1942)

39. The Alfred Hitchcock Hour – Season 1 (1962)
39a. Episode: “I Saw the Whole Thing”
(Television)

40. The Paradine Case (1947)

41. Secret Agent (1936)
(I watched it online)

42. The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

43. Number 17 (1932)
(I watched it online)

44. The Manxman (1929)
(I watched it online)

45. The Farmer’s Wife (1928)
(I watched it online)

46. Downhill (1927)

47. Champagne (1928)
(I watched it online)

48. Easy Virtue (1928)
(I watched it online)

49. Waltzes from Vienna (1934)
(I watched it online)

50. Jamaica Inn (1939)
(I watched it online)

51. The Skin Game (1931)
(I watched it online)

52. Mary (1931)

53. The Pleasure Garden (1925)
(I watched it online)

54. Juno and the Paycock (1930)
(I watched it online)

* * * * (Out of * * * *) (Short Cinema)

1.   Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Season 1 (1955)
1a. Episode: “Revenge”
1b. Episode: “Breakdown”
1c. Episode: “The Case of Mr. Pelham”
(Television)

2.   Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Season 2 (1956/1956/1957)
2a. Episode: “Wet Saturday”
2b. Episode: “Mr. Blanchard’s Secret”
2c. Episode: “One More Mile to Go”
(Television)

3.   Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Season 3 (1957/1958/1958)
3a. Episode: “The Perfect Crime”
3b. Episode: “Lamb to the Slaughter”
3c. Episode: “Dip in the Pool”
(Television)

4.   Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Season 4 (1958/1959)
4a. Episode: “Poison”
4b. Episode: “Banquo’s Chair”
(Television)

5.   Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Season 5 (1959)
5a. Episode: “Arthur”
5b. Episode: “The Crystal Trench”
(Television)

6.   Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Season 6 (1960/1961)
6a. Episode: “Mrs. Bixby and the Colonel’s Coat”
6b. Episode: “The Horseplayer”
(Television)

7.   Alfred Hitchcock Presents – Season 7 (1961)
7a. Episode: “Bang! You’re Dead”
(Television)