1958 - The year a Minnelli movie came in and won it all

In venturing to 1958 it was a rarity where I had only seen two movies from the year prior to watching all the great films from the year. Best Picture went to one of the films I'd seen which is such a travesty as Gigi a musical telling of the novella is such a bore that I can't believe it was able to win everything it was up for. The best picture lineup overall doesn't inspire much of anything with Autnie Mame really worth the watch for Rosalind Russell, The Defiant Ones a typical baity film and Sepearate Tables a good ensemble that are stuck with average material. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof the final nominee is really the only one I overall love with it personally making my list of the years best.

My choice for the years greatest film and probably most people's choice is Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo. Pictured above is James Stewart and Kim Novack from Vertigo who together create one of the unlikeliest of relationships. Stewart is better then he has ever been which is why he should have won the best actor award that year and the lack of a nomination for a man once loved by the academy is hard to take nowadays. Another great quality of Vertigo is just how unapologetic Hitchcock is with his camera creating new and interesting visuals that make the film as watchable as it is. For a man who was somehow underappreciated in his time Vertigo like many of Hitchcock's films goes to show how much a marvel he was.

Now that I've discussed my choice and all the disappointing choices the academy made that year I will now list some other greatly overlooked films from 1958. Along with Vertigo & Cat on a Hot Tin Roof the other three who fill out my top 5 films are Elevator to the Gallows, The Seventh Seal and Touch of Evil (Marlene Dietrich from Touch of Evil pictured above). Elevator to the Gallows is a great feature that stars Jeanne Moreau in the lead role that should've beaten Susan Hayward to the actress prize and alongside her is a greatly fascinating film to watch. It just is a great mystery on top of human error drama. Then there is The Seventh Seal which like most Ingmar Bergman films is on the level of masterpiece. It is a still and silent film approaching the themes of death like no other director would probably be capable of doing. The final film to fill out my list is Orson Welles' Touch of Evil. The film is overlooked in comparison to Welles' breakout film but it is a marvel even with the sorness of Heston's white washed casting in the lead role.

It really was a good year and of the 26 films that I've seen it stands well amongst most decades but sadly in the 1950's arguably the greatest decade for film it sort of has to be ranked lower. Although the films at the top of my best list stand high above most films I've seen so it makes me look more positive on the year. Below is the list of nominees and winners I would've chosen for 1958.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. Vertigo (Produced by Alfred Hitchcock)

2. Elevator to the Gallows (Produced by Jean Thuillier)

3. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Produced by Lawrence Weingarten)

4. The Seventh Seal (Produced by Allan Ekelund)

5. Touch of Evil (Produced by Albert Zugsmith)

6. The Horse's Mouth

7. Separate Tables

8. The Big Country

9. The Defiant Ones

10. The Horror of Dracula

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Ingmar Bergman for The Seventh Seal

Richard Brooks for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Alfred Hithcock for Vertigo

Louis Malle for Elevator to the Gallows

Orson Welles for Touch of Evil

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Tony Curtis as John "Joker" Jackson in "THE DEFIANT ONES"

Paul Newman as Brick Pollitt in "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF"

Sidney Poitier as Noah Cullen in "THE DEFIANT ONES"

James Stewart as John "Scottie" Ferguson in "VERTIGO"

Max von Sydox as Antonius Block, knight in "THE SEVENTH SEAL"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Ingrid Bergman as Gladys Aylward in "THE INN OF THE SIXTH HAPPINESS"

Susan Hayward as Barbara Graham in "I WANT TO LIVE!"

Jeanne Moreau as Florence Carala in "ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS"

Kim Novak as Judy Barton / Madeleine Elster in "VERTIGO"

Elizabeth Taylor as Margaret "Maggie/Maggie the Cat" Pollitt in "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Bengt Ekerot as Death in "THE SEVENTH SEAL"

Burl Ives as Rufus Hannassey in "THE BIG COUNTRY"

Christopher Lee as Count Dracula in "THE HORROR OF DRACULA"

David Niven as Major David Angus Pollock in "SEPARATE TABLES"

Orson Welles as Will Varner in "THE LONG, HOT SUMMER"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Judith Anderson as Ida "Big Momma" Pollitt in "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF"

Gladys Cooper as Mrs. Railton-Bell in "SEPERATE TABLES"

Marlene Dietrich as Tanya in "TOUCH OF EVIL"

Wendy Hiller as Pat Cooper in "SEPERATE TABLES"

Madeleine Sherwood as Mae Flynn "Sister Woman" Pollit in "CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Nedrick Young & Harold Jacob Smith for The Defiant Ones

Paddy Chayefsky for The Goddess

William Faulkner, Irving Ravetch & Harriet Frank, Jr. for The Long, Hot Summer

Jacques Lagrange, Jean L'Hôte & Jacques Tati for Mon Oncle

Fay Kanin & Michael Kanin for Teacher's Pet

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Richard Brooks & James Poe; Based on Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Screenplay by Louis Malle & Roger Nimier; Based on Elevator to the Gallows by Noël Calef, Elevator to the Gallows

Screenplay by Nelson Gidding & Don Mankiewicz; Based on Newspaper articles and letters by Edward S. Montgomery & Barbara Graham, I Wan to Live!

Screenplay by Ingmar Bergman; Based on Trämålning by Ingmar Bergman, The Seventh Seal

Screenplay by Alec Coppel & Samuel Taylor; Based on D'entre les morts by Pierre Boileau & Thomas Narcejac, Vertigo

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Production Design & Art Direcion by Malcolm C. Bert; Set Direction by George James Hopkins for Auntie Mame

Art Direction by William A. Horning & Urie McCleary; Set Decoration by Henry Grace & Robert Priestley for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Production Design & Set Decoration by Henri Schmitt for Mon Oncle

Production Design by P.A. Lundgren for The Seventh Seal

Art Direction by Henry Burnstead & Hal Pereira; Set Decoration by Sam Comer & Frank R. McKelvy for Vertigo

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Christopher Lee (The Horror of Dracula)

Paul Newman (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)

Jack Nicholson (The Cry Baby Killer)

Vanessa Redgrave (Behind the Mask)

Madeleine Sherwood (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Lionel Lindon for I Want to Live!

Jean Bourgoin for Mon Oncle

Gunnar Fischer for The Seventh Seal

Russell Metty for Touch of Evil

Robert Burks for Vertigo

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Orry-Kelly for Auntie Mame

Helen Rose for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Jacques Cottin for Mon Oncle

Manne Lindholm for The Seventh Seal

Edith Head for Vertigo

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE OF THE YEAR:

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Judith Anderson, Jack Carson, Madeleine Sherwood, Larry Gates, Vaughn Taylor)

The Long, Hot Summer (Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles, Lee Remick, Angela Lansbury, Richard Anderson, Sarah Marshall, Mabel Albertson, J. Pat O'Malley, Bill Walker)

Separate Tables (Rita Hayworth, Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Burt Lancaster, Wendy Hiller, Gladys Cooper, Cathleen Nesbitt, Felix Aylmer, Rod Taylor, Audrey Dalton, May Hallatt, Priscilla Morgan)

The Seventh Seal (Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe, Max von Sydow, Bibi Andersson, Inga Landgré, Åke Fridell, Inga Gill, Erik Strandmark, Bertil Anderberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Maud Hansson, Gunnar Olsson, Anders Ek, Benkt-Åke Benktsson, Gudrun Brost, Lars Lind, Tor Borong, Harry Asklund, Ulf Johanson)

Touch of Evil (Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff, Joanna Cook Moore, Ray Collins, Dennis Weaver, Val de Vargas, Mort Mills, Victor Millan, Lalo Rios, Phil Harvey, Joi Lansing, Harry Shannon, Rusty Wescoatt, Wayne Taylor, Ken Miller, Raymond Rodriguez, Arlene McQuade, Dan White, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Marlene Dietrich, Mercedes McCambridge, Keenan Wynn, Joseph Cotten)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Ferris Webster for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Suzanne Baron for Mon Oncle

Lennart Wallén for The Seventh Seal

Walter Murch, Aaron Stell & Virgil W. Vogel for Touch of Evil

George Tomasini for Vertigo

OUTSTANDING FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM:

Ashes and Diamonds (Directed by Andrzej Wajda)

Mon Oncle (Directed by Jacques Tati)

The Seventh Seal (Directed by Ingmar Bergman)

OUTSTANDING MAKEUP:

William Tuttle for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Charles Parker for Gigi

Phil Leaky for The Horror of Dracula

Nils Nittel for The Seventh Seal

Bud Westmore for Touch of Evil

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/MUSICAL SCORE:

Jerome Moross for The Big Country

Charles Wolcott for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof

Franck Barcellini & Alain Romans for Mon Oncle

Henry Mancini for Touch of Evil

Bernard Herrmann for Vertigo

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

Gigi, "Gigi" (Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner)

Some Came Running, "To Love and Be Loved" (Music by Jimmy Van Heusen; Lyrics by Sammy Cahn)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER OF THE YEAR:

Charlton Heston (The Big Country, The Buccaneer, Touch of Evil)

Burl Ives (The Big Country, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Desire Under the Elms)

Paul Newman (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Left Handed Gun, The Long, Hot Summer, Rally 'Round the Flag' Boys!)

Orson Welles (The Long, Hot Summer, The Roots of Heaven, Touch of Evil)

OUTSTANDING SOUND RECORDING:

Wesley C. Miller for Gigi

Jock May for The Horror of Dracula

Lennart Wallin & Aaby Wedin for The Seventh Seal

Leslie I. Carey & Frank Wilkinson for Touch of Evil

Winston H. Leverett & Harold Lewis for Vertigo

OUTSTANDING VISUAL EFFECTS:

Sydney Pearson for The Horror of Dracula

Farciot Edouart, John P. Fulton & W. Wallace Kelley for Vertigo

If you are in anyway like this come back next time where I'll be traveling back to 1942. That year the academy choose the in some ways relevant Mrs. Miniver. Relevant for what is adding to the perspective of the war but did it add anything to the film cultural come back and see if I think it did.

1948 - The year a British stage actor bet one of america's greats

Starting off my first introduction to films of 1948 was when I wanted to see at least all the best picture winners with Hamlet being one of these. Also as a lifelong Shakespeare fanatic I knew that I had to watch Olivier's version of Hamlet even if it is not the truest adaptation of the play. Hamlet the film is OK if not a bit stiff and stagy, Olivier and Simmons are truly spectacular with Jean Simmons especially shining through even more on a second viewing. The other best picture nominees from 1948 were Johnny Belinda, The Red Shoes, The Snake Pit and my choice of the years greatest John Huston's timeless The Treasure of the Sierra Madre.

The thing that makes Sierra Madre stand above all the other films from this year is how it magnificently tracks the descent into madness of man, Also the way men react to one another. Huston probably made his greatest film with this one. Bogart and John's father Walter Huston give winning performances adding the perfection of the film. From the other nominees for best picture it's clear that the academy early was trying to cover multiple genres. Whether it was the melodramatic feel good disabled film Johnny Belinda, the high art ballet drama The Red Shoes and the mental diseased female centric The Snake Pit. Of the other nominees The Red Shoes is the only other film that I love however the other two along with the eventual winner Hamlet are rather dated and in retrospective are rather obvious.

Now that I've discussed what the academy choose to reward in 1948 let me talk about what I would've chosen as some of the greatest film achievements of 1948. Above is a photo of Max Ophüls's spellbinding and romantic Letter from an Unknown Women. The attention to detail alone in this film is gorgeous to behold. Led by Joan Fontaine in a performance that was overlooked is truly a marvel to behold. Also great from that year is Howard Hawk's Red River one of the greatest westerns to ever be filmed. Starring Montgomery Clift in one of his first breakout roles it's Hawks yet again showing his talent for variety in cinema. Rounding out my best picture lineup would've been Alfred Hitchcock's Rope which was one of the first films to film in long takes and even today is a great affect. Also Abraham Polonsky's Force of Evil would've made my list.

1948 was a good film year with truly stupendous films like Sierra Madre and Letter from an... but overall the consistency of films wasn't as strong as I would've wanted it to be which is why I overall don't mind the choices made by the academy that year because clearly they weren't given the greatest amount of longtime great films. Below is my list of what my nominees and winners from that year would've looked like from the 25 films I have seen released in the untied states of america in 1948.

OUTSTANDING PICTURE:

1. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Produced by Henry Blanke)

2. Rope (Produced by Alfred Hitchcock)

3. Red River (Produced by Howard Hawks)

4. Force of Evil (Produced by Bob Roberts)

5. Hamlet (Produced by Laurence Olivier)

6. Letter from an Unknown Woman

7. All My Sons

8. The Lady from Shanghai

9. Key Largo

10. The Naked City

OUTSTANDING DIRECTOR:

Howard Hawkes for Red River

Alfred Hitchcock for Rope

John Huston for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Laurence Olivier for Hamlet

Abraham Polonsky for Force of Evil

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTOR:

Humphrey Bogart as Fred C Dobbs in "THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE"

Montgomery Clift as Matthew "Matt" Garth in "RED RIVER"

Laurence Olivier as Hamlet in "HAMLET"

Edward G. Robinson as Joe Keller in "ALL MY SONS"

James Stewart as Rupert Cadell in "ROPE"

OUTSTANDING LEADING ACTRESS:

Olivia de Havilland as Virginia Stuart Cunningham in "THE SNAKE PIT"

Irene Dunne as Mama in "I REMEMBER MAMA"

Joan Fontaine as Lisa Berndie in "LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN"

Moira Shearer as Victoria Page in "THE RED SHOES"

Jane Wyman as Belinda McDonald in "JOHNNY BELINDA"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR:

Glenn Anders as George Grisby in "THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI"

Walter Brennan as Nadine Groot in "RED RIVER"

Marius Goring as Julian Craster in "THE RED SHOES"

Walter Huston as Howard in "THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE"

Edward G. Robinson as Johnny Rocco in "KEY LARGO"

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS:

Mady Christians as Kate Keller in "ALL MY SONS"

Ann Miller as Nadine Hale in "EASTER PARADE"

Beatrice Pearson as Doris Lowry in "FORCE OF EVIL"

Jean Simmons as Ophelia in "HAMLET"

Claire Trevor as Gaye Dawn in "KEY LARGO"

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY:

Written by Sidney Sheldon, Frances Goodrich & Albert Hackett for Easter Parade

Screenplay by Albert Maltz & Malvin Wald; Story by Malvin Wald for The Naked City

Screenplay by Borden Chase & Charles Schnee; Story by Borden Chase for Red River

Written by Hans Christian Andersen, Michael Powell,  Emeric Pressburger & Keith Winter; Based on The Red Shoes by Hans Christian Andersen The Red Shoes

OUTSTANDING ADAPTED SCREENPLAY:

Screenplay by Laurence Olivier; Based on Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Hamlet

Screenplay by Richard Brooks & John Huston; Based on Key Largo (play) 1939 play by Maxwell Anderson, Key Largo

Written by Hume Cronyn; Screenplay by Arthur Laurents; Based on Rope (1929) by Patrick Hamilton, Rope

Screenplay by Millen Brand & Frank Partos; Based on The Snake Pit by Mary Jane Ward, The Snake Pit

Screenplay by John Huston; Based on The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by B. Traven, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

OUTSTANDING ART DIRECTION:

Art Direction by Carmen Dillon for Hamlet

Art Direction by Leo K. Kuter; Set Decoration by Fred M. MacLean for Key Largo

Art Direction by Alexander Golitzen; Set Decoration by Russell A. Gausman & Ruby R. Levitt for Letter from an Unknown Woman

Production Design by Hein Heckroth; Art Direction by Arthur Lawson for The Red Shoes

Art Direction by Perry Ferguson; Set Decoration by Howard Bristol & Emile Kurl for Rope

OUTSTANDING BREAKTHROUGH/DEBUT:

Barbara Bel Geddes (I Remember Mama)

Montgomery Clift (Red River)

Louisa Horton (All My Sons)

Beatrice Pearson (Force of Evil)

Moira Shearer (The Red Shoes)

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY:

Charles Lawton Jr. for The Lady from Shanghai

Jack Cardiff for The Red Shoes

Russell Harlan for Red River

William V. Skall & Joseph A. Valentine for Rope

Ted D. McCord for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

OUTSTANDING COSTUME DESIGN:

Elizabeth Hennings for Hamlet

Jean Louis for The Lady from Shanghai

Travis Banton for Letter from an Unknown Woman

Tom Keogh for The Pirate

Hein Heckroth for The Red Shoes

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE:

All My Sons (Edward G. Robinson, Burt Lancaster, Louisa Horton, Mady Christians, Frank Conroy, Howard Duff, Lloyd Gough, Arlene Francis, Harry Morgan, Elisabeth Fraser)

Hamlet (Basil Sydney, Eileen Herlie, Laurence Olivier, Norman Wooland, Terence Morgan, Jean Simmons, John Laurie, Esmond Knight, Anthony Quayle, Niall MacGinnis, Harcourt Williams, Patrick Troughton, Tony Tarver, Peter Cushing, Stanley Holloway, Russell Thorndike)

Johnny Belinda (Jane Wyman, Lew Ayres, Charles Bickford, Agnes Moorehead, Stephen McNally, Jan Sterling, Rosalind Ivan, Dan Seymour, Mabel Paige, Alan Napier, Barbara Bates, Monte Blue)

Key Largo (Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore, Claire Trevor, Thomas Gomez, Harry Lewis, John Rodney, Marc Lawrence, Dan Seymour, Monte Blue, William Haade)

Rope (James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Joan Chandler, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Constance Collier, Douglas Dick, Edith Evanson)

OUTSTANDING FILM EDITING:

Art Seid for Force of Evil

Viola Lawrence for The Lady from Shanghai

Christian Nyby for Red River

William H. Ziegler for Rope

Owen Marks for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL/MUSICAL SCORE:

William Walton for Hamlet

Heinz Rosemheld for The Lady from Shanghai

Leenie Hayton & Conrad Salinger for The Pirate

Brian Easdale for The Red Shoes

Alfred Newman for The Snake Pit

OUTSTANDING ORIGINAL SONG:

The Lady from Shanghai, "Please Don't Kiss Me" (Music and Lyrics by Allan Roberts & Doris Fisher)

The Paleface, "Buttons and Bows" (Music and Lyrics by Jay Livingston & Ray Evans)

The Pirate, "Be a Clown" (Music and Lyrics by Cole Porter)

OUTSTANDING PERFORMER:

Humphrey Bogart (Key Largo, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)

Montgomery Clift (Red River, The Search)

Judy Garland (Easter Parade, The Pirate, Words and Music)

Edward G. Robinson (All My Sons, Key Largo)

Claire Trevor (The Babe Ruth Story, Key Largo, Raw Deal)

OUTSTANDING SOUND RECORDING:

Dolph Thomas for Key Largo

Lodge Cunningham for The Lady from Shanghai

Leslie I. Carey & Vernon W. Kramer for The Naked City

Richard DeWeese for Red River

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

OUTSTANDING SPECIAL EFFECTS:

The Pirate

Hans F. Koenekamp & William C. McGann for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Come Back next time were I'll travel a decade later but still in the past to 1958 when Vincente Minnelli's Gigi came in and won everything it was up for beating some other films that like the eventual winner are not really considered the best that 1958 had to offer in film.

Welcolme

WELCOME TO REVISITING THE YEARS

Hello to all and anyone willing to read this blog I'm going to be starting now. This blog is going to be used for me to discuss my favorite films and everything about them from a given year in the entire history of film. The years will be spread apart from one another and not in any particular order but just know I have in depth looked at these years and have watched all I need to come to a decision on what is best for me.

Whether this is weekly, biweekly, monthly or even yearly I will be posting one post on each year and discussing in depth my love of the films from that year.

The first year however will be 1948 the year in which British great Laurence Olivier came from across the pond and won all the Oscars for the first and only Shakespeare adaptation to win the big prize. Now did it deserve it wait and see.

P.S. Thank to anyone who takes the time to read this blog if you do.