Oscar History Part 4: 1953-1962

The Oscar nominations are out, meaning I have work quickly to catch up with 2010 by the time the winners are announced in late February. 



1953

Winner and my pick: From Here to Eternity

Other notable films: Stalag 17, Roman Holiday, Shane, Pickup on South Street, The Big Heat

I actually agree with the pick of Fred Zinnemann's all-star production of James Jones' best-selling novel From Here to Eternity; even with the level of celebrity (Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Frank Sinatra), the cast acts as an ensemble.  Also notable is the star-making performance of Audrey Hepburn in Roman Holiday, the work of William Holden in Billy Wilder's Stalag 17, the timeless western tale of Shane, and the dual film noir classics of  Samuel Fuller's Pickup on South Street and Fritz Lang's The Big Heat.

1954

Winner and my pick: On the Waterfront

Other notable films: Rear Window, A Star is Born, Forbidden Games (France, 1952), Sabrina

Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront brought mob violence and union corruption to audiences but anchored the story with an incredible cast: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden.  The Academy chose... wisely.  Also of note was Alfred Hitchcock directing James Stewart and Grace Kelly in Rear Window, Judy Garland and James Mason in the remake of A Star is Born, the U.S. release of Rene Clement's film debut Forbidden Games, and Billy Wilder and Audrey Hepburn working together in Sabrina.

1955

Winner: Marty

My pick: Rebel Without a Cause

Other notable films: The Wages of Fear (France, 1953), The Night of the Hunter, Summertime, To Catch a Thief

Marty is very much a film of its time.  The melodrama of Rebel Without a Cause is as well, but its influence on future actors/directors was large, by giving teenagers a place in the medium to see themselves and an icon/martyr to idolize: James Dean.   Henri-Georges Clouzot's great French thriller The Wages of Fear saw release.  Acting giant Charles Laughton's only directorial effort The Night of the Hunter made a child's nightmare come alive in Robert Mitchum.  David Lean collaborated with Katharine Hepburn in Summertime.  Alfred Hitchcock directed Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in the great crime caper/romance To Catch a Thief.

1956

Winner: Around the World in 80 Days

My pick: The Seven Samurai (Japan release in 1954)

Other notable films: The Searchers, La Strada (Italy, 1954), Richard III (UK, 1955), Diabolique (UK, 1955), Giant, The Killing

Around the World in 80 Days is an embarassing choice, especially looking at the strength of work from the U.S. and abroad.  Akira Kurosawa's beloved film epic Seven Samurai influenced a generation of filmmakers.  John Ford and John Wayne made their greatest film collaboration in The Searchers, while Federico Fellini launched to international stardom with La Strada.  Laurence Olivier adapted Shakespeare in Richard III and Henri-Georges Clouzot made a great psychological thriller in Diabolique.  George Stevens directed Montgomery Clift, James Dean, and Elizabeth Taylor in an epic about Texas oil barons called Giant, and Stanley Kubrick's first major film release, the heist-gone-awry film The Killing, was met with some indifference (a problem he would soon lose).

1957

Winner and my pick: The Bridge on the River Kwai

Other notable films: Paths of Glory, 12 Angry Men, Smiles of a Summer Night (Sweden, 1955), Sweet Smell of Success, Nights of Cabiria

This year is an embarassment of riches.  David Lean's The Bridge on the River Kwai captured audiences and critics' imagination, both in scope and in the performance of Alec Guinness.  Also of note: Stanley Kubrick directing Kirk Douglas in the World War I courtroom drama Paths of Glory, Sidney Lumet directing Henry Fonda and Lee J. Cobb (and 10 others) in a courthouse film of a different sort in 12 Angry Men, Federico Fellini continuing his streak with Nights of Cabira, Ingmar Bergman reaching an international audience with the tragicomedy Smiles of a Summer Night (if only all sex comedies could be this smart and fun), and Burt Lancaster being a magnificent bastard in Sweet Smell of Success.   

1958

Winner: Gigi

My pick: Vertigo

Other notable films: The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957), Touch of Evil, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Defiant Ones

Vincente Minnelli's Gigi is one of the less-interesting musicals made by the Hollywood studio system.  A film that did not find its audience and support upon release was Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo, a masterpiece of love and obsession.  Ingmar Bergman's meditation on life and death The Seventh Seal created a generation of art house film fans interested in the work of foreign directors.  Orson Welles directed Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and himself in the crime noir Touch of Evil, also unfairly edited and maligned when released.  Paul Newman and Elizabeth Taylor electrified audiences in the adaptation of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Stanley Kramer directed Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis in the racially charged The Defiant Ones. 

1959

Winner: Ben-Hur

My pick: Some Like It Hot

Other notable films: Wild Strawberries (Sweden, 1957), North by Northwest, The 400 Blows, Ivan the Terrible Part II (USSR, 1958)

William Wyler's Ben-Hur is still a respectable epic, featuring a grandiose performance by Charlton Heston.  But Billy Wilder struck comedy gold with Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot; men in drag is an easy joke for lesser filmmakers today, but Wilder keeps the humor honest and earns every laugh.  Ingmar Bergman continues to prove his great talent with Wild Strawberries, an introspective look at one's life and relationships.  Alfred Hitchcock revisited his own "wrong man" scenario with Cary Grant in North by Northwest.  Franocis Truffaut transitions from film critic to director in his semi-autobiographical story of youth The 400 Blows.  Sergei Eisenstein' second part of his chronicle of Ivan IV of Russia, showcasing the leader's descent into paranoia, finally saw a Soviet release in 1958 and hit stateside a year later; Eisenstein had died in 1948, never seeing the release or completing the third part of the planned trilogy. 

1960

Winner: The Apartment

My pick: Psycho

Other notable films: Spartacus, Ikiru (Japan, 1952), The Virgin Spring

The Academy honored Billy Wilder's The Apartment, the perfect blend of comedy, romance, and drama.  But Alfred Hitchcock made a film so unlike his previous works that he scandalized audiences and critics; dismissed as being trashy by some, Psycho represents another milestone in creativity by the Master of Suspense (you got to love the trailer for this).  Stanley Kubrick made the most of being a work-for-hire in Kirk Douglas' Roman slave revolt chronicle Spartacus.  From the global stage, Akira Kurosawa's exploration of a man's death in Ikiru and Ingmar Bergman's tale of revenge in The Virgin Spring found homes in art house theaters.

1961

Winner and my pick: West Side Story

Other notable films: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Throne of Blood (Japan, 1957), La Dolce Vita (Italy, 1960), Yojimbo, The Hustler

A musical triumph, West Side Story is more of an American achievement than a successful Shakespeare adaptation, which is fine.  Audrey Hepburn pushes us away and makes us want her more in Breakfast at Tiffany's.  Paul Newman faces off against Jackie Gleason and George C. Scott in The Hustler.  Federico Fellini's most audacious film La Dolce Vita leaves Italian neo-realism behind and horrifies the Catholic Church (something that is quite fun for filmmakers and audiences).  Akira Kurosawa had two more film classics made their way to the states: his take on MacBeth in Throne of Blood and his classic man playing both sides to his advantage Yojimbo.

1962

Winner and my pick: Lawrence of Arabia

Other notable films: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Manchurian Candidate, Jules and Jim, Through a Glass Darkly (Sweden, 1961)

David Lean and Peter O'Toole make film history with Lawrence of Arabia.  Gregory Peck brings one of the great heroes of all time from page to screen in To Kill a Mockingbird.  John Frankenheimer makes Cold War paranoia heats up with his assassination thriller The Manchurian Candidate.  Francois Truffaut gives the classic friends-love-triangle a look with Jules and Jim.  Ingmar Bergman begins his exploration of the absence of God with a family's destruction by mental illness in Through a Glass Darkly.