Movies Came Out In (1956)
Winner:
Around the World in 80 Days – Wow, was this long and boring, and quite frankly way on the silly side. And what’s up with casting Shirley MacClaine as the “Indian” princess??? What’s next, casting me as Nelson Mandela??? I did not like this movie at all. TCM intro mentioned that it was popular at the time because the showing (over 3 hours) was treated as an event at the theaters with red carpets, ushers, and reserved seating. I guess you had to be there to appreciate it.
Friendly Persuasion – Gary Cooper & family are Quakers and trying to stay out of the US Civil War. It sounds like it’d be pretty good, but honestly it was pretty slow moving and corny. The first hour of the film seemed to last forever with very little movement. From the Gary Cooper films I’ve watched, I think Gary Cooper saw every script and said, “I’ll do it, if you increase the corniness by 38%”. Samantha the Goose may have been the best thing about this movie.
Giant – This film was way better than the winner (Around the World…); however, it was way too long. This was James Dean last role before dying, and to be honest, it wasn’t that great of a performance in my opinion. It was a decent story/tale/epic. It has your typical outward racist sentiments of the day which are pretty unnerving that it was acceptable behavior. Watched this on TCM, and it’s the first Rock Hudson film I think I’ve ever seen, that dude canNOT act, like at all.
The King and I – Just watched recently, as I had never seen this musical. It has a few memorable/catchy tunes, but I wasn’t a big fan of the overall plot (English female school teacher goes to Siam to teach the children English, King interferes and struggles with Western customs and their conflicts with his culture). It was just okay in my opinion.
The Ten Commandments – Perhaps I have seen this as a kid, but I honestly don’t remember, so I rewatched for this quest. I think Charlton Heston had a goal of being shirtless, in tattered rags, and dirty in a bunch of his movies (Planet of the Apes, Ben Her, this one, etc…). I gotta say this movie is pretty corny with the special effects (parting of the Red Sea in particular and the snakes from a staff scene). It’s a good movie to watch to learn about this bible story without having to read about it, but other than that I wasn’t impressed.
Brian’s Winner:
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Ceremony Year (1957) – Movies Came Out In (1956)