My Top Ten Movies of the '50s

I watch a lot of movies, but my list of movies that came out before the '60s is fairly short.  One of these days I need to expand my familiarity with '50s cinema, but as of now, these are my ten favorites of the decade.

Harvey (1950) - I first heard of this movie because I was curious about the origin of the name of my aunt's cat, Chumley. She explained that he was a character from this film, and that she'd also had a cat named Elwood. That's the character Jimmy Stewart plays, a mild-mannered bachelor who scandalizes his socialite sister by hanging around in bars and consorting with a six-foot-tall rabbit no one else can see. Very funny and, in its way, extremely wise.

Hans Christian Andersen (1952) - We rented this when The Little Mermaid came out in theaters. I assume that this was to give my brother and me some background on the man who wrote this story that had so enchanted us. The story of the mermaid who longs to be human is only one of many Andersen tales referenced in this delightful musical biopic. Thumbellina and The Ugly Duckling are other standouts, all magnificently told by the vivacious Danny Kaye.

Lady and the Tramp (1955) - One of Disney's most romantic movies, despite the fact that the main characters are dogs. More than just about any animated Disney film up to this point, there's ample time taken to develop their individual personalities and let their romance unfold gradually. A high-class dame and a scallywag make a go of it, once he's demonstrated that he's not such a scoundrel after all. That candlelit spaghetti dinner stands as one of the most romantic scenes in any film, animated or not.

Oklahoma! (1955) - I was in high school before I got into this one. I'd seen it once but hadn't been that impressed. Then I heard it was to be the spring musical my junior year. Soon I was well acquainted with it, and my classmates' production, particularly one friend's tour de force performance as overbearing Ado Annie, won me over to the musical completely. It's hardly my favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, but it has some wonderful moments, including the auction and anything involving Ado Annie or Ali Hakim.

Carousel (1956) - I didn't know a thing about this musical until I saw the play, starring my future acting teacher's wife, my freshman year of high school, at which point I became completely obsessed with it. Though the movie doesn't quite capture the play's magnificence, in part because of a strange framing device that takes away the element of surprise, it's one of Rodgers and Hammerstein's most thought-provoking efforts. The songs range from comical to inspiring, with You'll Never Walk Alone transcending the musical to attain its own iconic status.

The Court Jester (1956) - Danny Kaye again, in one of his silliest and most entertaining roles. He was such a wonderful performer, and he pulls out everything in his arsenal here. A master of slapstick, he was ideally suited to play a jester, but it's the verbal acrobatics that really stick with me. "The vessel with the pestle holds the pellet with the poison. The flagon with the dragon holds the brew that is true." Try saying that ten times fast!

The King and I (1956) - Yes, it was a good decade for Rodgers and Hammerstein. This, too, has a high school connection, as my acting teacher, his wife and their two children starred in a local production of it. But I'd loved the musical long before that and in particular the performance of Yul Brynner as the imperious king whose bark is generally worse than his bite. Though certain elements of this culture clash saga paint him in an antagonistic light, he is my favorite character, a man who, much like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof, struggles to reconcile centuries of tradition with a world clearly changing around him.

The Red Balloon (1956) - Short, sweet, sad. This nearly-wordless French film depicts one glorious day in which a boy befriends a balloon and roves through town with it, reveling in the spirit of adventure but never far from hostile forces. A gentle fantasy whose tragic elements cannot overpower its ability to uplift. "No one can be un-cheered by a balloon," postulates Pooh; this film may prove that he is correct.

Old Yeller (1957) - Now, if you really want depressing, this is the movie for you. Most of its cast would go on to star in Swiss Family Robinson, which features several exotic creatures, none of which end up with rabies. It's a fate not to be wished on any dog, especially one so faithful as Yeller. This classic with the deceptively cheerful theme song is the quintessential Boy Meets Pet-Boy and Pet Have Adventures-Boy Kills Pet tale, so if you like weepy animal stories, you can't consider your repertoire complete until you've seen it.

The Shaggy Dog (1959) - If you'd rather have the animals without the tragedy, Disney proves itself equally adept with live-action comedy. Tommy Kirk from Old Yeller returns for this goofy tale of a teen with the unhappy habit of transforming into an enormous English Sheepdog. There's a reason for this, of course, and the aim is to ultimately get his normal life back. It all ends very happily - but not happily enough to prevent a couple of equally silly sequels.