Going Through the Era's {Matinee Saturday} - 1950s

I'm linking up to Bramblewood Fashion's Going Through the Era's event!

This week {March 18th-24th} is the 1950s.

Today's theme is...Matinee Saturday!

{do movie reviews of movies from the era. share your favorite Actors/Actresses, fun movie trivia, etc....}

The films that stand out to me from this era are the lavish Biblical epics (The Ten Commandments, Ben-Hur, Quo Vadis, The Robe, etc.) and, at the other end of the scale, the totally bizarre Science Fiction adventures (The Day the Earth Stood Still, Them!, This Island Earth, Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Blob, etc.).

I loved watching The Ten Commandments when I was little and was delighted when I discovered the other wonderful Biblical epics.  They're big, colorful, and in many ways bring the Bible to life for me and encourage me.

I also grew up watching the old sci-fi films, thanks to my dad.  There's really nothing he likes better than to sit down with all of us and watch The Day the Earth Stood Still, Journey to the Center of the Earth, or When World's Collide.  All of that exposure to sci-fi fare at an early age must have had it's effect, because I'm right there with him enjoying every minute.  It makes for a rather startling contrast to my usual old-fashioned, girly self;)

I  was too lazy didn't have time to review a film today, so I thought I'd steal Ashley's idea (hope you don't mind, Ashley:) and just list my favorite films from the 50s.
I have included links to any films I have previously reviewed.

Born Yesterday

1950

Annie Get Your Gun (Betty Hutton & Howard Keel)

Born Yesterday (Judy Holliday & William Holden)

Broken Arrow (James Stewart)

Father of the Bride (Spencer Tracy & Elizabeth Taylor)

Harvey (James Stewart)

Winchester '73 (James Stewart)

The Day the Earth Stood Still

1951

The African Queen (Humphrey Bogart & Katherine Hepburn)

Bedtime for Bonzo (Ronald Reagan)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (Michael Rennie & Patricia Neal)

Quo Vadis (Robert Taylor & Debora Kerr)

Royal Wedding (Fred Astaire, Jane Powell, Peter Lawford)

When Worlds Collide (Barbara Rush)

Singin' in the Rain

 

1952

Bend of the River (James Stewart)

High Noon (Gary Cooper & Grace Kelly)

The Quiet Man (John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara)

 Singin' in the Rain (Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor & Debbie Reynolds)

Roman Holiday

 

1953

Calamity Jane (Doris Day)

The Naked Spur (James Stewart)

Peter Pan (Disney)

The Robe (Richard Burton & Jean Simmons)
Rob Roy, the Highland Rouge (Richard Todd & Glynis Johns)

Roman Holiday (Gregory Peck & Audrey Hepburn)

Stalag 17 (William Holden)

On the Waterfront

 

1954

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Kirk Douglas & James Mason)

Brigadoon (Gene Kelly, Van Johnson, Cyd Charisse)

The Caine Mutiny (Humphrey Bogart, Van Johnson, Fred MacMurray)

The Country Girl (Bing Crosby, William Holden, Grace Kelly)

The Long, Long Trailer (Lucille Ball & Desi Arnaz)

On the Waterfront (Marlon Brando & Eva Marie Saint)

Sabrina (Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, William Holden)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Jane Powell & Howard Keel)

Suddenly (Frank Sinatra & Sterling Hayden)

Them! (James Arness)

White Christmas (Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera-Ellen, Rosemary Clooney)

Young at Heart (Frank Sinatra & Doris Day)

This Island Earth

 

1955

Daddy Long Legs (Fred Astaire & Leslie Caron)

Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier (Fess Parker & Buddy Ebsen)

Guys and Dolls (Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons)

Rage at Dawn (Randolph Scott)

This Island Earth (Jeff Morrow, Rex Reason, Faith Domergue)

War and Peace

1956

Anastasia (Ingrid Bergman & Yul Brynner)

Friendly Persuasion (Gary Cooper, Dorthy McGuire, Anthony Perkins)

High Society (Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, Grace Kelly)

The King and I (Deborah Kerr & Yul Brynner)

The Man Who Knew Too Much (James Stewart & Doris Day)

The Ten Commandments (Charlton Heston, Yul Brynner, Anne Baxter, etc.)

War and Peace (Audrey Hepburn, Henry Fonda, Mel Ferrer)

The Wrong Man (Henry Fonda) {my review}

Funny Face

1957

Battle Hymn (Rock Hudson)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (William Holden & Alec Guinness)

Designing Woman (Gregory Peck & Lauren Bacall)

Funny Face (Audrey Hepburn & Fred Astaire) {my review}

Johnny Tremain (Disney)

Love in the Afternoon (Gary Cooper & Audrey Hepburn)

Old Yeller (Dorthy McGuire, Fess Parker, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran)

The Spirit of St. Louis (James Stewart)

Tammy and the Bachelor (Debbie Reynolds & Leslie Nielsen)

The Big Country

1958

The Big Country (Gregory Peck, Jean Simmons, Charlton Heston, Burl Ives)

The Blob (Steve McQueen)

A Night to Remember (Kenneth More) {my review}

North by Northwest

1959

Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston)

Journey to the Center of the Earth (James Mason & Pat Boone)

Never So Few (Frank Sinatra, Steve McQueen, Peter Lawford, Dean Jones, Charles Bronson)

North by Northwest (Cary Grant & Eva Marie Saint)

The Shaggy Dog (Fred MacMurray, Jean Hagen, Tommy Kirk, Kevin Corcoran)

.....

Whew!  I thought I might not make it through to '59. ;)

Happy Trails, y'all!

P.S.
This comes under the heading of bragging rights rather than trivia, but I recently discovered that I share ancestors both with William Holden and with Ronald Reagan.  They're cousins 7x removed...or something like that.  I'm not exactly sure on that point, but...
I thought that was pretty cool and I just had to tell someone=)