Tuesday, June 06, 2017

5 Off My Head: Siri Says 1951

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I'm forced to listen to all the "Apple Events" by my Apple-crazed co-workers (click here to gauge my typical reaction to these shenanigans) but my ears perked up during yesterday's over-hyped announcements when Apple said they're upgrading Siri! It won't hit until December but I sure do hope whatever they've come up with won't effect our game here, where I ask Siri to pick a number between 1 and 100 and she tells me a number between 1 and 100, which I then use to pick my 5 favorite movies of the corresponding year. Don't fix what ain't broke! 

But hey maybe Siri will just be soooo smart now that she'll be able to choose the 5 movies for me while she's at it? And then she can write the post too, even. Oh my god, Siri is stealing my job. Anyway let's hurry before Siri grows a mouth to eat me with and let's write up our favorite movies from The Movies of 1951 or whatever...

My 5 Favorite Movies of 1951

(dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
-- released on June 30th 1951 --

(dir. Howard Hawks)
-- released on July 22nd 1951 --

(dir. Powell & Pressburger)
-- released on April 4th 1951 --

(dir. Billy Wilder)
-- released on July 4th 1951 --

(dir. Elia Kazan)
-- released on September 19th 1951 --

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Runners-up: Alice in Wonderland (dir. Hamilton Luske),  The African Queen (dir. Huston), The Day the Earth Stood Still (dir. Robert Wise), An American in Paris (dir. Vincente Minnelli), A Place in the Sun (dir. George Stevens), Rashomon (dir. Kurosawa)

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What are your favorite movies of 1951?
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6 comments:

Anonymous said...

1. A Streetcar Named Desire
2. Rashomon
3. Miracle In Milan
4. Strangers on a Train
5. A Place In the Sun
6. Ace In the Hole
7. Death of a Salesman
8. Detective Story
9. The Browning Version
10. La Ronde

Fritz said...

Shirtless Brando, Shirtless Clift and Gene Kelly shaking that ass...yes, 1951 was a good year.

Pierce said...

When I taught film classes, my students, mostly grades 3-5 loved The African Queen. Sometimes I had to show it twice.
Disney Alice in Wonderland is terrific
The Browning Version, beautifully acted.
The Day the Earth Stood Still, a masterpiece
Happy Go Lovely, a charming musical set in Scotland.
The Lavender Hill Mob, great Ealing Studio comedy.
The Magic Box. Marvelous movie about the invention of movies
The Man in the White Suit, another clever Ealing Studio comedy.
The Model and the Marriage Broker, first starring role for Thelma Ritter.
My Favorite Spy, decent script, good Bob Hope comedy.
On Moonlight Bay. Doris Day and Gordon MacRae. Delightful
On the Riviera. Two words: Danny Kaye.
People Will Talk, clever Cary Grant movie.
A Place in the Sun, sexy Monty Clift thriller
Rhubarb has been showing up on TV lately and its silly fun.
Alastair Sim as Scrooge. The best Christmas Carol ever made.
Strangers on a Train. Outstanding gay Hitchcock movie.
A Streetcar Named Desire. As close to the original as possible.
The Tales of Hoffman, Powell turned the opera into a ballet.

I hate American in Paris. I find it very difficult to sit through, because it's essentially a monument to Gene Kelly's egotism!

joel65913 said...

’51 was an exceptionally great year in film though picking my top 5 was easy there are tons more that are worthy of mention.

Love all your top 5 though only 2 make mine. However I’m with Pierce above in hating An American in Paris. Outside of Kelly’s butt and legs in those skintight pants I find it agony to watch.

Top 5
Show Boat-The music is great, the leads charming, the supporting cast perfect and Ava Gardner heartbreaking as the hard luck Julie.
The Mating Season-Utterly adorable movie with Thelma Ritter’s best showcase role plus Gene Tierney and Miriam Hopkins! Who could ask for more?
Westward the Women-Tough western of an all-female wagon train except for wagon master Robert Taylor and the hardships they face.
Strangers on a Train-One of Hitchcock’s top films. What a great career Robert Walker would have had if he hadn’t died so suddenly.
Ace in the Hole-Hard eyed unfortunately prescient drama with amazing performances.

Top 6-10
Goodbye, My Fancy-Joan Crawford in Roz Russell territory. She’s a congresswoman returned to the college she attended for an honorary degree and perhaps some romance accompanied by trusty aide Eve Arden.
The Lady Pays Off-Vacationing school teacher Linda Darnell gets into debt in Las Vegas and has to serve as a governess to the casino owner’s daughter to pay off. Directed by Douglas Sirk.
I’d Climb the Highest Mountain-Lovely piece of Americana with Susan Hayward aces as a circuit priest’s naïve wife
Lightning Strikes Twice-Ruth Roman (LOVE her!) goes to a dude ranch out West for a quiet vacation but gets more than she bargained for when she meets the locals which include Mercedes McCambridge.
Mr. Belvedere Rings the Bell-Clifton Webb puts some life back into a bunch of retirees throwing stinging barbs around while he’s at it.

Hovering just below:
Encore- Three excellent short stories adaptations of W. Somerset Maugham stories with the Glynis Johns lead Gigolo & Gigolette the best.
Rawhide-Ty Power & Susan Hayward imperiled at a desert waystation in the old West.
No Highway in the Sky-Jimmy Stewart as an engineer certain the flight is going to crash with stewardess Glynis Johns calming him down and uber glamorous fellow passenger Marlene Dietrich lending a friendly ear.
His Kind of Woman-Jane Russell & Robert Mitchum were always a great team and they’re joined by a wonderfully wry Vincent Price.
Quo Vadis?
Here Comes the Groom
The Lemon Drop Kid
The Great Caruso

So many more but these are some of the best:

Another Man’s Poison-This is not a good movie but a prime chance to watch Bette Davis throw away any sense of restraint while chewing the scenery.
Appointment with Danger
The Blue Veil
Call Me Mister
Come Fill the Cup
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Detective Story
Elopement
Fourteen Hours
Hard, Fast and Beautiful
He Ran All the Way
I Can Get it for You Wholesale
I’ll See You in My Dreams
Kind Lady
The Lavender Hill Mob
Meet Me After the Show
On Moonlight Bay
A Place in the Sun
The Prowler
Royal Wedding-Fred Astaire dances on the ceiling while falling for Winston Churchill’s real life daughter!
The Scarf
The Tall Target
The 13th Letter
Vengeance Valley

Alias74 said...

DAMN Kelly got DAT ASS!

Anonymous said...

American films-
-An American in Paris*
-On the Riviera*
-Show Boat* * all three are wonderful entertainment.
-The Day the Earth Stood Still - insightful sci-fi.
-Sirocco
British films-
-African Queen - British/American co-production.
-Cry, the Beloved Country - so telling.
-The Magic Garden - co-production South Africa
French films-
-Atoll K - Laurel and Hardy in France :)
-Diary of a Country Priest - so poignant
Italian films-
-Anna *
-Bellissima *
-Guardi e Ladrie / Cops and Robbers *
-Il Cristo Proibito / The Forbidden Christ *
-Miracle in Milan *
-La Medium * *Films of the Italian firmament.
Russian and East European Films-
-Dream of a Cossack - Russia
-Trevoga - Bulgaria
-The Proud Princess - Czechoslovakia
-A Strange Marriage - Hungary
Scandinavian films
-Miss Julie - Sweden
-Cafe Paradis - Denmark
-A True Face - Denmark
-The Man of a Hundred Swords - Finland
Spain
-The Evil Forest - beautifully filmed
-Black Sky*
-Day by Day*
-Furrows* - Neo-realist films Spanish style.
Greek and Turkish films
-Dead City - Greece
-Namik Kemal and the Motherland - Turkey
Latin American films
-The Renegade - Cuba
-The Absentee, Girls in Uniform, In the Flesh - Mexico
-Amazon Symphony - Brazil
-The Beautiful Brummel, The Girls Houseboy, Los Isleros, The Earring film noir Latin style, Native Son, The Souls of the Children -Argentina
Egyptian films
-Night of Love, Son of the Nile
Indian films
-Awaara, Gamble film noir Hindi style
Asian films
-Dream of Red Mansions -Hong Kong
-Boyhood, Miss Oyu, Lady from Musashino, Repast, Koibito, Carmen Comes Home, Elegy,
Story of a Beloved Wife, Clothes of Deception, The Idiot, Ginza Cosmetics, Early Summer, Life of a Horse Trader, The Blue Pearl -Japan
:-) -Rj