So I love me some older films. Last year I came here and asked for 60s recommendations and got some amazing movie recs. Now I want some from the 50s.
Ones I enjoyed so far are films like:
- Rear Window
- Sunset Boulevard
- Vertigo
- Scrooge (or A Christmas Carol the one with Alastair Sim)
- Stalag 17
The only ones I’ve seen I’m a bit just kind of eh on are Titfield Thunderbolt and Blood of Dracula. I haven’t seen anything I think is outright bad though.
Edit to add movies I’ve seen that people brought up:
- On the Waterfront
- Giant
- Strangers on a Train
- North by Northwest
From my own viewing experience, these are my recommendations that I did not see yet in the thread:
Macbeth in feudal Japan.
Heist movie, early Kubrick
Some early sci-fi. Superior to the Keanu Reeves remake.
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
Giant (1956)
A pair of James Dean roles. Unbelievable, raw talent.
Un peu de film noir.
Goes well with Dr. Strangelove (1962) and Fail-Safe (1962).
Previously mentioned, and I can’t help but include:
Vertigo
Rashomon
Edit: comments and a revision below.
Giant feels like a “big screen” movie, even when you watch it on a tv. If there’s a theater near you that shows vintage movies on a large e screen, I’d ask them if they ever show this one.
Giant was one I watched expecting a kind of alright film, but came out of it just in love with everything. It’s the only James Dean movie I’ve seen, but I have a few on my watchlist. Rebel Without a Cause, East of Eden, Letter to Jane, and Has Anybody Seen My Gal.