Movies from 1930s - 1960s

This was the era when some of the best movies were made . Some of them are

I am a fugitive from the chain gang - 1932

Directed by Mervyn LeRoy

A movie based on a grave injustice meted out to an individual thus putting him in the chain gang and how he manages to escape from it only to return to the same place after being betrayed by his wife .

When Ladies Meet - 1933

 Directed by Harry Beaumont

 It’s a love triangle where a writer who has advanced ideas about love and marriage gets attracted to her publisher and then one day unknowingly meets the publisher’s wife whom she finds witty and respectable . The meeting compels her to rethink about their affair .There was another remake of this movie in the year 1941 .

The bitter tea with General Yen – 1933
Directed by Frank Capra .
It is based on the novel by Grace Zaring Stone and starring Barbara Stanwyck and Nils Asther.The film was the first to play at the Radio City Music Hall upon its opening in January, 1933.General Yen was a box office failure upon its release and has since been overshadowed by Capra's later efforts. In recent years, the film has grown in critical acclaim. In 2000, the film was chosen by British film critic Derek Malcolm as one of the hundred best films in The Century of Films.

It happened one night – 1934

Directed by Frank Capra

This movie won 5 oscars . Truly one of the best romantic comedies starring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert .

Mr Deeds goes to town – 1936
Directed by Frank Capra
A comedy movie , based on the story Opera Hat by Clarence Budington Kelland that appeared in serial form in the Saturday Evening Post. Frank Capra has won the second oscar for this movie .

The life of Emile Zola - 1937

Directed by William Dieterle

The life of French writer Emile Zola , his ups and downs and how he  attained success without compromising with his ideals and his fight for truth and justice which also included the infamous dreyfuss affair . The direction was awesome . Paul Muni did a fantastic job playing the role of the Protagonist .

You cant take it with you – 1938
Directed by Frank Capra .
A good-natured but decidedly eccentric family meets a new friend.The movie won 2 oscars for Best Director and Best Picture .

Mr Smith goes to Washington – 1939
Directed by Frank Capra
A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the US Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't quit.This movie won an oscar for Best writing,Original story .

Gone with the wind – 1939
Directed by Victor Flemming .
Based on Margaret Mitchelle’s novel , in which a manipulative woman and a roguish man carry on a turbulent love affair in the American south during the Civil War and Reconstruction.The movie won 8 oscars .

High sierra – 1941

Directed by Raoul Walsh.

A crime / drama thriller that had changed the course of career of  Humphrey Bogart .

Suspicion - 1941

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

A shy young English woman marries a charming gentleman, then begins to suspect him of trying to kill her. Cary grant’s and Joan fontaine’s acting is something to look forward to .

The Maltese Falcon – 1941

Directed by John Huston .

This is definitely the most baffling mystery story that involves a private detective with three eccentric criminals , a gorgeous liar and their hunt for a priceless statuette .

Casablanca – 1942
Directed by Michael Curtiz.
Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications. It won Oscars for Best Director,Best Picture and Best writing and Screenplay .

Shadow of doubt – 1943

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

It is a thriller where a woman finds that his uncle whom she used to idolize is actually a murderer and agrees not to say anything, as long as he leaves soon, to avoid a horrible scandal in the town that would destroy her family, especially her mother, who idolizes her younger brother.But as things change she meets with a couple of near fatal accidents . In 1991, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National film resgistry by the library of congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".

Mrs Parkington - 1944

Directed by Tay Garnett

 Mrs. Parkington recounts the story of her life, beginning as a hotel maid in frontier Nevada where she is swept off her feet by mine owner and financier Augustus Parkington. He moves them to New York, tries to remake her into a society woman, and establishes their home among the wealthiest of New York's high society. Family and social life is not always peaceful, however, and she guides us, in flashbacks, through the rises and falls of the Parkington family fortunes . Greer Garson was exceptionally good in this movie as Mrs Parkington .

Arsenic and the old lace - 1944

Directed by Frank Capra

The slapstick film, with murderous aunts compassionately serving up wine to elderly gentlemen and their crazy nephew assisting  them by burying the unfortunate victims is definitely one of the best Cary Grant’s movies .

Spellbound – 1945
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
A female psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory. The movie won an oscar for Best music.

Notorious – 1946
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
A woman is asked to spy on a group of Nazi friends in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them ?

The Razor’s Edge – 1946
Directed by Edmund Goulding
An adventuresome young man goes off to find himself and loses his socialite fiancée in the process. But when he returns 10 years later, she will stop at  nothing to get him back, even though she is already married. The movie won an oscar for Best Actress in a Supporting Role .

Big sleep - 1946

Directed by Howard Hawks

The movie is a brilliant and straightforward use of the novel to present a complex and compelling set of mysteries, solved by Marlowe using methods subtle and grim. Humphrey Bogart was brilliant in this .

The Bachelor and Bobby Soxer – 1947

Directed by Irving Reis

Sidney Sheldon won an oscar award for this movie . Cary Grant in an impeccable way has shown off both his charm and comic timing . It is absolutely enjoyable and at times quite hilarious .

The paradine case – 1947

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Highly successful London barrister Anthony Keane takes on the case of Italian Maddalena Paradine who is accused of poisoning her blind military hero husband. Keane comes increasingly under her spell, threatening both his marriage and his career .

Julie Misbehaves – 1948

Directed by Jack Conway

English dancehall actress Julia Packett hasn't seen her daughter since Susan was a few months old, having given her up to be raised by her respectable and wealthy father William (whom Julia never divorced.) When she gets an invitation to her daughter's wedding, she "borrows" some money from a male friend and heads off to the south of France for the nuptuals. While there she manages to establish a mother-daughter relationship, get another man to provide her with a lot of money, provoke her mother- in-law's ire, string along a potential husband and his mother, and rekindle the spark in William, all within a day or two.

Hollow Triumph – 1948

Directed by Steve Sekely

This story revolves around a medical school dropout and brilliant crook who poses as a psychiatrist Victor Bartok . But he was not aware of a lot of things the doctor was into for which he had to pay with his life .

The Treasure of Sierra Madre -1948
Directed by John Huston
Frank Dobbs and Bob Curtin, two Americans searching for work in Mexico, convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.

Bicycle Thief (Ladri di biciclette ) - 1949

Directed by Vittorio De Sico

An exceptional film that should be treasured . Its about a poor young father in postwar-ravaged Rome who finally finds work putting up Rita Hayworth posters around town, only to have his precious bicycle stolen  the first day on the job.

A Place in the Sun – 1951
Directed by George Stevens.
American drama film based on the novel "An American Tragedy" by Theodore Dreiser and the play of the same name adapted from it by Patrick Kearney. It tells the story of a working class young man who is entangled with two women, one who works in his wealthy uncle's factory and the other a beautiful socialite.The movie won 6 oscars .

A streetcar named desire – 1951

Directed by Elia Kazan

The movie won 4 oscars . It is a subversive, steamy film classic that was adapted from Tennessee Williams' 1947 Pulitzer Prize-winning play .It tells us a feverish story of the pathetic mental and emotional demise of a determined, yet fragile, repressed and delicate Southern lady (Blanche) born

to a once-wealthy family of Mississippi planters. Her impoverished, tragic downfall in the squalid, cramped and tawdry French Quarter one-bedroom apartment of her married sister (Stella) and animalistic brother-in-law (Stanley) is at the hands of savage, brutal forces in modern society. In her search for refuge, she finds that her sister lives (approvingly) with drunkenness, violence, lust, and ignorance.

High Noon - 1952
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
A marshall, personally compelled to face a returning deadly enemy, finds that his own town refuses to help him.

Roman Holiday - 1953
Directed by William Wyler .
This movie needs no introduction . One of the best romantic comedies made so far . This movie has also fetched Audrey Hepburn an oscar .

From here to eternity – 1953
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
From Here to Eternity is a 1953 drama film based on the novel of the same name by James Jones. It deals with the troubles of soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Frank Sinatra, and Ernest Borgnine stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed portrayed the women in their lives.The movie won 8 oscars .
 
Dial M for murder - 1954
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock .
One of my favourite mystery thriller movies . An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to murder his wife. When things go wrong, he improvises a brilliant plan B. As the movie progresses supreme suspense unfurls.

On the waterfront - 1954
Directed by Elia Kazan .
A movie based on crime , drama and romance . The story is about a Waterfront Crime Commission who is about to hold public hearings on union crime and underworld infiltration. As workers are turned against each other, Terry Malloy inadvertently participates in the murder of fellow longshoreman Joey Doyle. Union boss Johnny Friendly orchestrates the murder along with other illegal dockside activities, aided by Terry's brother Charley. Terry begins to feel pangs of conscience. When Joey's sister Edie sees more in Terry than he sees in himself and Father Barry urges him on, Terry reassesses his past and begins to regain responsibility for his actions.

The Bad Seed - 1956
Directed by Mervyn Leroy
An ideal housewife begins to suspect her loving adolescent daughter may be a heartless killer.

An affair to remember - 1957
Directed by Leo McCarey

Handsome playboy Nicky Ferrante and beautiful night club singer Terry McKay have a romance while on a cruise from Europe to New York. Despite being engaged to other people, both agree to reunite at the top of the Empire State Building in six months. However, an unfortunate accident keeps Terry from the reunion, and Nicky fears that she has married or does not love him anymore. Will he discover the truth behind her absence and reunite with his one true love, or has fate and destiny passed them by?

Sayonara – 1957
Directed by Joshua Logan.
A US air force major in Kobe confronts his own opposition to marriages between American servicemen and Japanese women when he falls for a beautiful performer. The movie won 4 academy awards .

Witness of the prosecution - 1957
Directed by Billy Wilder.
Agatha Christie’s tale of a man on trial for murder: a trial featuring surprise after surprise. Another must watch . Absolutely thrilling and engaging till the end .

Wild Strawberries - 1957
Directed by : Ingmar Bergman
After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence.

Vertigo – 1958
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
One of the Hitchcock thrillers where a San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

North by northwest – 1959

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock .

A hapless New York advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent  by a group of foreign spies, and is pursued across the country while he looks for a way to survive. It is an adventure movie that is still great to watch after 40 years.

The Journey – 1959

Directed by Anatole Litvak

Against the gravely ominous background of the Hungarian uprising of 1956 and the overriding menace of the Soviet military power, Anatole Litvak gives us an absorbing romantic adventure film in his handsomely made movie  "The Journey" .

Last Train from Gun Hill - 1959
Directed by John Sturges.
A marshal tries to bring the son of an old friend, an autocratic cattle baron, to justice for the rape and murder of his wife.