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The War of the Worlds (1953, USA)

Imagine the perfect 50s alien invasion movie, one that is primitive enough to be fun, (no “the aliens are actually the good guys”), has characters who mostly behave like people, and where the special effects are used intelligently to build up a sense of otherworldly awe.  Well, this is it.  Watched it all.

Roman Holiday (1953, USA, Wyler)

The sort of movie where the characters’ inability to talk to each other force them into absurd situations that eventually teach them about life and love and so on.  Watched: 35 minutes.  For a long time I thought Audrey Hepburn was Katharine’s sister, but it doesn’t add up, does it?

Stalag 17 (1953) - One führer is enough

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Stalag 17 (1953, USA, Wilder)

It’s not true what the narrator says, that nobody had made a POW movie before.  The British had made several by this point, and I’m already sick of the format.  But bless that Billy Wilder and his magic, there’s no way I can resist this.  Watched it all, all two hours of it, and I would happily spend hours more with these guys.  Not least of its charms is that prison guard Schulz is played like Londo Mollari.

The Lady Wants Pink (1953, USA)

A stereotype brought to life: Suburban 1950s America as later generations have preferred to remember it.  Identical wives using ever more expensive fur coats to assert their status, while their identical husbands bankrupt themselves and the children watch television, and ha ha consumerism is silly BUT NOT REALLY SO GO SPEND SPEND SPEND.  Watched: 11 minutes.