Ten Movies From The Year: 1955

This is a new column in which I'll pick a random year and we'll go back to look at ten classics that were released during that time. First up: Grab your Davy Crockett coonskin caps, and head down into the bomb cellar. The year is 1955:

1. Rebel Without a Cause--James Dean. Teenage rebellion. Do I have to say more?

     2. The Night of the Hunter--A massive failure upon its release. This was Charles Laughton's only directorial effort--but what a one-hit wonder. Robert Mitchum had one of his most terrifying roles as a fake preacher willing to kill his two stepchildren to get ahold of $10,000 in hidden loot.

     3. Lady and the Tramp--Classic Disney, and marvelous Peggy Lee songs.

     4. Marty--Classic "kitchen sink" drama that ushered in an era of personal, smaller dramas. Ernest Borgnine won an Oscar as a 34-year-old butcher, unmarried and lonely.

     5. East of Eden--James Dean again. More family angst, this time from director Elia Kazan. Two brothers, one loved by his father, the other shunned. And Mom's nowhere to be found: she's too busy running a brothel.

     6. All That Heaven Allows--Director Douglas Sirk was the master of the "women's film." His works were woefully overlooked until the '70s; not only are they entertaining but provide great insight into the social classes of the time. Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson, fresh from Sirk's hit Magnificent Obsession, play a wealthy widow who falls in love with a much younger landscaper. (Yes it's as campy as it sounds, but it still works.)

     7. Bad Day at Black Rock--One of Spencer Tracy's best films. He's a stranger pulling into town to give a Japanese farmer his son's war medal. But the townspeople do everything to discourage him. What are they hiding?

     8. The Seven-Year Itch--Tom Ewell's wife is away, and he's tempted by his new neighbor--Marilyn Monroe. The film where she stands over the grate and the air blows her skirt up...way up. Down boy.

     9. Guys and Dolls--Producer Samuel Goldwyn almost chocked on his cigar when he had to pay $1,000,000 for the rights to the musical. How did he insure his investment? By giving the plum role of gambler Nathan Detroit to Marlon Brando. And as the Salvation Army soldier he falls for? Jean Simmons.

    10. It's Always Fair Weather--The M-G-M musical turned around on it cynical ear. Three GI's make a pact to meet ten years later and compare notes. Needless to say, life hasn't treated them well. How well acted was this musical? It stars Gene Kelly...but his co-star Dan Dailey won an Oscar nomination for Best Actor!

For more on East of Eden on DVD, click here: