Fifty Years Ago
Fifty years ago I was small child living in an American neighborhood on Grass Mountain outside Taipei, Taiwan because my dad was in the army and was assigned there to help the Nationalist Chinese with their radar. We didn't have TV the two years I lived there, but we had a little theater right in the neighborhood where for a quarter I could see a matinee every Saturday or a feature once in a while in the early evening. Here's a list of the movies from back then that made such an impact on me that I still think of them in that context. I'm listing them in alphabetical order.
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- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsFred MacMurrayNancy OlsonKeenan WynnA college professor invents an anti-gravity substance which a corrupt businessman wants for himself.
- DirectorJohn WayneStarsJohn WayneRichard WidmarkLaurence HarveyIn 1836, a small band of soldiers sacrifice their lives in hopeless combat against a massive army in order to prevent a tyrant from smashing the new Republic of Texas.
- DirectorJack DonohueStarsRay BolgerTommy SandsAnnette FunicelloMary Contrary is set to marry Tom Piper when he is kidnapped by Roderigo and Gonzorgo, two goons working for the evil Barnaby who wants to marry Mary for her inheritance.
- DirectorSpencer Gordon BennetStarsRobert LoweryJohnny DuncanJane AdamsSecond serial featuring the comic book character Batman. In it, Batman, together with his sidekick Robin, face off against the Wizard, a hooded villain with an electronic device that remotely controls vehicles.We also got to see serials at the matinee. This is the only one I remember. It was my first experience of Batman and made me a fan.
- DirectorJerry LewisStarsJerry LewisAlex GerryBob ClaytonMute bellboy Stanley works at the luxurious Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. In spite of being a serviceable and friendly employee, the clumsy Stanley gets successively into trouble with his mistakes.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsTony CurtisJanet LeighDavid FarrarPeasant Myles Falworth is trained for knighthood and is groomed by various nobles to defeat the evil Earl of Alban who's plotting to usurp King Henry IV's throne.
- DirectorFord BeebeStarsJohnny SheffieldPeggy Ann GarnerOnslow StevensGeorge Harland and his daughter, Patricia, are photographers who discover a wild boy in the jungle. When Patricia become lost, Bomba brings her back, overcoming plagues of locusts, forest fires and fierce wild animals.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
- DirectorFrank TashlinStarsJerry LewisEd WynnJudith AndersonA gender-swapped retelling of Charles Perrault's classic, where Cinderfella is visited by a fairy godfather to help him escape from his wicked stepmother and stepbrothers.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsGlenn FordJack LemmonAnna KashfiAn idealistic tenderfoot Chicago hotel clerk is taken on a cattle-drive to Mexico by famous trail boss Tom Reece but discovers that cowboy life isn't what he expected.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsClifford EvansOliver ReedYvonne RomainIn eighteenth-century Spain, an adopted boy becomes a werewolf and terrorizes the inhabitants of his town.
- DirectorJerry LewisStarsJerry LewisBrian DonlevyHoward McNearA goofy paperhanger is hired to root out a financial inefficiency on a Hollywood studio lot, wreaking havoc as he goes.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanStarsAudie MurphyFelicia FarrStephen McNallyMistaken for a murderous outlaw, an innocent passerby is forced to go on the run to try and clear his name by catching the real culprit.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsFrank SinatraEdward G. RobinsonEleanor ParkerWidower Tony is trying to keep a small Miami hotel afloat while raising a 12-year-old son. He's forced to ask his harried brother Mario for help, but he'll only bail Tony out if he quits his bohemian lifestyle and marries a sensible woman.
- DirectorRobert StevensonStarsHayley MillsMaurice ChevalierGeorge SandersIn 19th century England, young Mary Grant and her brother, Robert, embark on a dangerous quest to find their missing father, a sea captain who vanished somewhere along the Chilean coast.
- DirectorWalter LangStarsYul BrynnerDeborah KerrRita MorenoA widow accepts a job as a live-in governess to the King of Siam's children.
- DirectorAkira DaikubaraTaiji YabushitaStarsKatsuo NakamuraHiroko SakuramachiTeruo MiyazakiA young Japanese boy climbs a mountain in search of a magic wizard. The youth finds the wizard, and is tutored by him. Reinforced with magic powers, the boy eventually fights and defeats the evil witches of down under.
- DirectorDaisaku ShirakawaTaiji YabushitaOsamu TezukaStarsKiyoshi KomiyamaNoriko ShindôHideo KinoshitaAn arrogant monkey is forced to go on a journey where he learns about gluttony, greed, love and humility.
- DirectorBert I. GordonStarsBasil RathboneEstelle WinwoodGary LockwoodThe son of a sorceress, armed with weapons, armour and six magically summoned knights, embarks on a quest to save a princess from a vengeful wizard.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsYul BrynnerSteve McQueenCharles BronsonSeven gunfighters are hired by Mexican peasants to liberate their village from oppressive bandits.
- DirectorJack CardiffStarsShirley MacLaineYves MontandEdward G. RobinsonAn actress disguises herself as a geisha in order to land the lead role in her director husband's film version of 'Madam Butterfly'.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsMichael CraigJoan GreenwoodMichael CallanDuring the Civil War a group of Union soldiers, a Confederate and a civilian escape the stockade using a hot-air balloon and end up on a strange Pacific island.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsJohn WayneStewart GrangerErnie KovacsDuring the Alaska gold rush, prospector George sends partner Sam to Seattle to bring his fiancée but when it turns out that she married another man, Sam returns with a pretty substitute, the hostess of the Henhouse dance hall.
- DirectorMelville ShavelsonStarsDanny KayeDana WynterWilfrid Hyde-WhiteAt the time of the invasion of Normandy, an American soldier is asked to impersonate a British general in order to confuse German spies and assassins in London.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJames CagneyHorst BuchholzPamela TiffinIn West Berlin during the Cold War, a Coca-Cola executive is given the task of taking care of his boss' socialite daughter.
