Movie Masterpieces Through the Decades: The 1950s
Max Newsom, film director, scriptwriter, producer and sometime film lecturer will deliver four 90-minute talks on film of the 1930’s, ’40’s, ’50’s and ’60’s. After each talk, there will be a presentation of a classic film of the era.
Each lecture will include a short recap of the previous decade’s main contributions to the developing form as well as an outline of the prevailing political and social issues.
There will be short clips to illustrate some of the key trends in each decade, as well as an attempt to explain the origins of the famous labels from each decade (eg Film Noir, Italian Neo-Realism, New Wave).
Max will illuminate some of the most remarkable films from each decade and attempt to place them within a broader context of that age as well as the filmmakers’ biographies. The survey does not pretend to be comprehensive but attempts to pull out some evolutionary trends that have given us some of the masterpieces of each decade.
Each talk will conclude with a preview of the coming decade’s lecture and the opportunity to ask some questions.
There will be a short, complementary tea break with biscuits before the film’s screening.
The 1950s
The ending of Film Noir; McCarthyism and the search for a-political entertainment; Classic Hollywood and post-War recovery; new prosperity and new horizons, the coming of the New Wave and the birth of Independent movie making.
The 1950s featured movies will include: Roman Holiday, 12 Angry Men, High Noon, Ice Old in Alex, The Seven Samurai, Gentlemen Prefer Blonds, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Rebel Without A Cause, Rear Window, Wild Strawberries; Some Like It Hot; The Searchers; The White Sheik; The Ladykillers; High Society; An American in Paris; Singing in the Rain; The 400 Blows
