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Nineteen Eighty-Four (1954, UK)

Well, it’s Nineteen eighty-four, and an excellent version too, featuring that guy who played a few scenes in Star Wars. But not only that, this is an early example of that huggable British form of sci-fi television where the sets look like cardboard, but the words are poetry.  Watched it all.

The Phantom of the Rue Morgue (1954, USA)

Members of the French academic elite use the power of phrenology, Freudianism and other pseudosciences to pin the murders on the gorilla. It’s an outrage of justice!  Watched: 20 minutes, + lots of screaming and Karl Malden with a very sinister moustache.

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Gojira / Godzilla (1954, Japan)

Yes, I guess Japan has made many contributions to the world of serious art, but what we really love them for is their outrageous sense of fun, isn’t it, and that all starts here. Watched it all. It’s pretty good for a stupid monster movie, and the Harryhausen-inspired stop motion effects are quite cute.

Carmen Jones (1954, USA)

After decades of segregation, there are not enough movie stars to fill this black version of Carmen with, only second raters. And the color line stands firm: No white actors at all, no mixing. It’s all or nothing. What a shame.  Watched: 10 minutes.  Now, Rita Hayworth, there was a Carmen who could lure disco donalds to a life of vice.