Released - August, 1953 

Directed By - William Wyler

Starring – Gregory Peck (Joe Bradley), Audrey Hepburn (Princess Ann), Eddie Albert (Irving Radovich), Hartley Power (Mr. Hennessy), Harcourt Williams (Ambassador).

Description – The beautiful Princess Ann is on a widely publicized tour of several European capitals including Rome. What sounds like a great vacation is no more than a bore for the Princess. Her schedule is very regimented and includes little more than demanding official duties.

Stressed by the experience she is given a sedative by her Doctor and instructed to rest. Instead, she sneaks out of the embassy to see Rome by herself. With the sedative beginning to take effect she falls asleep on a park bench and is found by expatriate reporter Joe Bradley.

After refusing money for a taxi home, Joe takes her to his apartment to spend the night. The next morning, while she is still sleeping, Joe gets to work a little late and tells his editor that his lateness is due to an interview with a visiting princess at a press conference.

This excuse backfires as the editor informs Joe that the conference was cancelled due to the princess becoming ill. Joe now sees a picture of the princess and realizes that she is the woman in his apartment.

Sensing a great opportunity for a news exclusive Joe decides to take the girl on a tour of Rome without telling her that he knows she is the princess and that he is a reporter. Princess Ann shares with Joe her desire to live a normal life and it seems as though the two are falling in love.

Her absence from the embassy has now caused a great deal of concern and the princess is reported missing. Is is possible for the princess to marry the commoner or will a higher calling taker her away?

NOTABLE: In 1999 this motion picture was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

Roman Holiday received three Academy Awards: Best Actress in a Leading Role (Audrey Hepburn), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, and Best Writing, Motion Picture Story. The film was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Eddie Albert), Best Writing, Screenplay, Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Black-and-White, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, and Best Film Editing.

In 2008 the American Film Institute ranked Roman Holiday as the fourth best film in the romantic comedy genre.

After filming completed, Gregory Peck declared that Audrey Hepburn, in her first major starring role, should win the Oscar. As it turned out, she did.

Audrey Hepburn’s screen test for the role was good, but not great. After her test the cameraman, unknown to Hepburn, was instructed to continue filming. It was Hepburn’s candid and spontaneous interview footage that won her the role.

The film was shot in black-and-white so that the beautiful scenery of Rome would not upstage the characters.

While filming, Gregory Peck who was depressed about his recent separation and ultimate divorce from first wife Greta, met French woman Veronique Passani. The two fell in love and remained together for the rest of his life.

Personal Note: Although the ending may be thought of as bittersweet, this is an totally charming romantic comedy.

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Released - August, 1953 

Directed By - Byron Haskin

Starring – Gene Barry (Dr. Clayton Forrester), Ann Robinson (Sylvia Van Buren), Les Tremayne (Major General Mann),

Description – Dr. Clayton Forrester is fishing just outside the small town of Linda Rosa, California when what seems to be a large meteorite impacts nearby. When he reaches the impact site he meets Sylvia Van Buren, her uncle Pastor Matthew Collins, and local residents who also heard the impact.

The site is on fire and after the blaze is extinguished a mysterious object is revealed that certainly is not a meteorite. The residents of the small town hope this unusual object will become a profitable tourist attraction. Dr. Forrester is not so sure as the object is much lighter than a meteorite and is radioactive.

Three men are left behind as Dr. Forrester waits for the object to cool down so that it will be safe enough to approach and examine. While the three wait, the object unscrews to reveal a probe that is approached by the men in a friendly manner. They are all killed by a Heat-Ray that reduces them to ashes.

Reports now begin to flood in about other landings around the world and the military is called in. Pastor Collins tries to approach the object with the hope of avoiding a confrontation and is also killed.

The military takes action, but has no effect as the object is protected by a force-field that nothing can penetrate. The Heat-Ray wipes out almost all of the troops, the tanks, and their artillery. The destruction is the same everywhere there have been landings all over the world.

It seems that our Earth has been watched and its water, clean air, and natural resources are now the object of a Martian invasion. With seemingly no other choice the use of the Atomic Bomb is necessary.

The bomb fails and it is estimated that Earth will be conquered in six days. Is there anything can stop The War of the Worlds?

NOTABLE: The War of the Worlds won the Academy Award for Best Effects, Special Effects, and was also nominated for Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Recording.

This film was the first screed depiction of the H. G. Wells classic novel.

Producer George Pal has wanted to film the final third of the film in 3-D, but that was considered to be too expensive.

Two days into filming production had to stop as it was realized that the rights to film the novel were for a silent version only. Fortunately, the estate of H. G. Wells quickly gave permission for the sound production.

The film had a production budget of $2 million using $600,000 for live action and $1,400,000 for special effects.

Animator Walter Lantz and Producer George Pal were good friends and Pal would always try to work Lantz’s character Woody Woodpecker into his films. Look carefully, and you will see Woody in the branches of the tree during the initial flyover of the Martian craft.

Personal Note: This was, and still is, one of my favorite Science Fiction films from the fifties, or for that matter, any other decade. There is sci-fi magic in many of the classics made during this time that no remake can ever capture.

Vivid color and excitement make this superior 1950′s sci-fi!

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Released - August, 1953 

Directed By - Charles Frend

Starring – Jack Hawkins (Ericson), Donald Sinden (Lockhart), John Stratton (Ferraby), Denholm Elliott (Morell), John Warner (Baker), Stanley Baker (Bennett), Virginia McKenna (Julie Hallam).

Description – Based on the bestselling novel by Nicholas Monsarrat, this is an impressively accurate account of the British naval officers and seamen who served on escort ships during World War II.

After completing service in the British Merchant Navy, Lt. Commander George Ericson is called upon by the Royal Navy and given command of the HMS Compass Rose intended for convoy escort duties.

Led by mostly inexperienced and newly-commissioned officers the first threat they face is bad weather. Initially, German submarines lacked the ability to strike far into the Atlantic, but after the fall of French ports this all changes. With the advantage of new ports to strike from, the German U-boats can now reach convoys anywhere in the Atlantic.

Months of dangerous crossings of the Atlantic have taken its toll on the crew of the Compass Rose as has the emotional strain of having lost so many convoy ships along with their crew to the relentless German attacks.

Now, the seemingly inevitible happens; the Compass Rose is torpedoed. Most of the crew are lost. Among the survivors are Commander Ericson and First Lt. Lockhart. With the battle for the Atlantic still raging, the Commander and First Lieutenant are given a new ship to command and the vital, but hazardous escort duties must continue.

The Cruel Sea is a gripping adventure filmed in the style of a semi-documentary.

NOTABLE: The Cruel Sea received an Oscar nomination for Best Writing, Screenplay.

The film remains true to the novel which were based on the author’s personal experience serving as an escort vessel officer during the war. However, some of Nicholas Monsarrant’s grimmist images were ommitted from the film. 

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Released - August, 1953 

Directed By - Fred Zinnemann

Starring – Burt Lancaster (Sgt. Milton Warden), Montgomery Clift (Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt), Deborah Kerr (Karen Holmes), Donna Reed (Alma ‘Lorene’ Burke), Frank Sinatra (Pvt. Angelo Maggio).

Description – In the months before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt has reported for duty on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Pvt. Prewitt has transferred from a previous duty station after a serious accident during a base boxing match that resulted in the blinding of a friend while sparring.

His new company commander and Regimental boxing head, Capt. Dana Holmes knows of Prewitt’s boxing skills and wants him to join the company’s boxing club in time to help the company win a scheduled boxing championship. In return, Holmes promises Prewitt a promotion.

Prewitt refuses, not wanting to fight again after the tragic accident at his last duty station. Capt. Holmes’s adjutant, Sgt. Milton Warden, warns Prewitt about going against the wishes of the Captain. Almost immediately, Capt. Holmes encourages the other team members to relentlessly harass Prewitt in the hope of pressuring him to join the team.

Capt. Holmes’s wife Karen visits the base and Sgt. Warden, upon hearing of her “reputation” visits their home knowing the Captain is not there and makes a pass at Mrs. Holmes. Initially, she is not interested, but it isn’t long before the two begin a torrid affair.

After a payday, Prewitt and his friend Pvt. Angelo Maggio visit the New Congress Club where Prewitt meets and becomes infatuated with hostess Lorene Burke, and a drunken Pvt. Maggio has a confrontation with stockade Sgt. Judson.

Each of these personal story’s will continue to become more complicated with a great deal of tragedy inevitable. The military and private lives of those serving at Schofield Barracks on the island of Oahu will never be the same.

As for the impending attack by the Japanese, all hell is about to break loose.

NOTABLE: From Here to Eternity won eight Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director (Fred Zinnemann), Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Frank Sinatra), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Donna Reed), Best Writing, Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Black-and-White, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound, Recording. The film also received nominations for Best Actor in a Leading Role (Burt Lancaster), Best Actress in a Leading Role (Deborah Kerr), Best Costume Design, Black-and-White, and Best Music, Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture.

In 2002, this motion picture was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress.

Although dismissed by cast and crew, it has been rumored that Frank Sinatra, who had been in a downside to his career, was given this role due to his reputed association with organized crime. This rumor was the basis for a subplot in the film The Godfather.

Based on the steamy novel by author James Jones, the film had a rough time with the censors. The famous beach scene between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr was toned down from the novel where making it less obvious that the two had sex. Also, Sinatra’s character, Sgt Maggio, was in the novel portrayed as a male hustler.

The on-screen chemistry between Lancaster and Kerr apparently continued off-screen as the pair reportedly became romantically involved during filming.

Actor Eli Wallach originally was set to play Sgt. Maggio. However, he turned the role down in order to appear in Elia Kazan’s Broadway production of “Camino Real.” This opened the door for the Oscar winning performance of Frank Sinatra in the role.

Due to the negative portrayal of the U. S. Army in the novel changes had to be made before filming would be approved. A brothel became a night club, whore’s became hostesses, much of the profanity was removed, brutal treatment in the stockade was lessened, and the fate of Capt. Holmes changed from him being promoted to his discharge from the service.

Author James Jones was not happy with the film adaptation of his novel. He believed it to be “too sanitized.”

Burt Lancaster was a little nervous about this role. Previously, his films had a lighter side to them and he was slightly intimidated by the acting skill of Montgomery Clift.

From Here to Eternity’s eight winning Oscars tied for the most Oscars won, up to that time, with Gone With the Wind.

Personal Note: This motion picture is a riveting look at military personal lives. Although toned down from the novel, the film still is a powerful masterpiece featuring a great story, great direction, and solid performances. 

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Released - August, 1953 

Directed By - Vincente Minnelli

Starring – Fred Astaire (Tony Hunter), Cyd Charisse (Gabrielle Gerard), Oscar Levant (Lester Martin), Nanette Fabray (Lily Martin), Jack Buchanan (Jeffrey Cordova).

Description – Tony Hunter is a veteran musical comedy star of both the stage and screen who’s feeling a little insecure lately. Tony is afraid he’s getting older and losing his popularity.

He needs a show for a strong comeback and his friends Lester and Lily Martin are there to help. The duo has written a show they think is perfect for Tony. Everything seems to be working out until a director is hired.

Chosen to direct the play is big-shot, overly “artistic” director, producer Jeffrey Cordova who has brought with him a prima ballerina to costar with Tony. Cordova changes the theme of the light comedy to a dark reinterpretation of Faust starring himself as the Devil and Tony as the Faust character.

As for Tony and costar ballerina Gabrielle Gerard…it’s hate at first sight. When the out-of-town tryout fails miserably, both the show and Tony’s career seem doomed.

Can a rewrite of the show by Tony and the addition of the originally intended light musical comedy be restored and successful? And if so, there is still one huge problem; the financial backers have pull out.

NOTABLE: In 1995, The Band Wagon was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

The film received three Academy Award nominations; Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay, and Best Costume Design, Color.

Although only a modest box-office success, The Band Wagon is considered by many critics to rank right up there with the top MGM musicals.

In 2006, this motion picture was ranked as #17 on the American Film Institutes list of best musicals.

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The Classic Musicals Collection – Broadway to Hollywood (Easter Parade Two Disc Special Edition / The Band Wagon Two Disc Special Edition / Bells Are Ringing / Finian’s Rainbow / Brigadoon)

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