The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the "'50s") (among other variants) was a decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU; French: Union européenne de radio-télévision, UER) is an alliance of public service media organisations whose countries are within the European Broadcasting Area or who are members of the Council of Europe. , it is made up of 113 member organisations from 56 countries, and 31 associate members from a further 20 countries. It was established in 1950, and has its administrative headquarters in Geneva.
The EBU owns and operates the Eurovision and Euroradio telecommunications networks on which major television and radio broadcasts are distributed live to its members. It also operates the daily Eurovision news exchange in which members share breaking news footage. In 2017, the EBU launched the Eurovision Social Newswire, an eyewitness and video verification service. Led by Head of Social Newsgathering, Derek Bowler, the service provides members of the EBU with verified and cleared-for-use newsworthy eyewitness media emerging on social media. (Full article...)
The title is taken from the painting Le Déjeuner sur l'herbe by Édouard Manet. The female lead in Picnic on the Grass was the first major role for Rouvel, who due to an unusual contract would not appear in another film until 1963. Filming took place around Renoir's childhood home in Provence, and inspiration came from the impressionist paintings of his father, Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The filming technique was influenced by live television and involved multiple cameras and direct audio recording. (Full article...)
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The Hideous Sun Demon (sometimes billed as The Sun Demon, or in the UK as Blood on His Lips) is a 1958 American science fictionhorror film produced, directed, and cowritten by Robert Clarke, who also starred in the title role. It also stars Patricia Manning, Nan Peterson, Patrick Whyte, and Fred La Porta. The film focuses on a scientist (portrayed by Clarke) who is exposed to a radioactive isotope and soon finds out that it comes with horrifying consequences.
The film was inspired by the financial success of The Astounding She-Monster, in which Clarke had starred earlier that year. The crew was made up of University of Southern California film students, while the cast consisted of unknowns in addition to Clarke's family and friends. Shooting took place under three different cinematographers over 12 consecutive weekends. Originally budgeted at $10,000, the film ended up costing $50,000. Distributed by Clarke's own Pacific International Pictures, The Hideous Sun Demon premiered on August 29, 1958 as part of a double bill with Roger Corman's Attack of the Crab Monsters. The film received mostly negative reviews upon its release, but has since become a cult film and has been referenced and parodied many times. An unauthorized sequel, the 1965 short filmWrath of the Sun Demon, was produced by Donald F. Glut. Two redubbed versions of the original film have been released: the comedic Hideous Sun Demon: Special Edition and What's Up, Hideous Sun Demon (also known as Revenge of the Sun Demon), the latter of which was produced with Clarke's permission. (Full article...)
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Missamma (transl. Miss Madam) is a 1955 Indian Telugu-language romantic comedy film directed by L. V. Prasad. It was produced by Nagi Reddi and Chakrapani on Vijaya Productions banner. The film stars N. T. Rama Rao, Savitri, Akkineni Nageswara Rao and Jamuna. The script was adapted by Chakrapani from Rabindranath Maitra's Bengali play Manmoyee Girls' School. It revolves around two unemployed people — M. T. Rao and Mary — who pose as a married couple to obtain employment in a high school founded by Gopalam, a zamindar. As Rao and Mary fall in love, Gopalam's nephew A. K. Raju learns that Mary is Gopalam's missing elder daughter Mahalakshmi; she is unaware of her true identity.
Production began in early 1954 with P. Bhanumathi cast as the female lead, though she would eventually be replaced by Savitri. The film was simultaneously shot in Tamil as Missiamma, with an altered cast. Principal photography ended that December; filming was delayed because of Bhanumathi's exit after filming a few reels, and the difficulty of managing two casts simultaneously. C. P. Jambulingam and Kalyanam edited the film; Marcus Bartley was the cinematographer, and S. Rajeswara Rao composed the music. Missamma focused on social issues such as unemployment, corruption, and freedom of worship. (Full article...)
The film is loosely based on the story of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the 18th-century South Indian king who rebelled against the East India Company. It was an adaptation of the play of the same name by Sakthi T. K. Krishnasamy which featured Sivaji Ganesan as the title character, and premiered in August 1957. Principal photography began in October the same year, and took place mainly in Jaipur and Madras (now Chennai) until late 1958. This was the first full-length Tamil film released in Technicolor. (Full article...)
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Loving You is a 1957 American musicaldrama film directed by Hal Kanter and starring Elvis Presley, Lizabeth Scott, and Wendell Corey. The film was Presley's first major starring role, following his debut in a supporting role in the 1956 film Love Me Tender. The film follows a delivery man who is discovered by a music publicist and a country–western musician who wants to promote the talented newcomer.
The film was written by Herbert Baker and Hal Kanter, and based on the short story "A Call from Mitch Miller". Kanter expanded the script after being inspired by Presley's last appearance on the Louisiana Hayride and his manager Colonel Tom Parker's antics. Paramount Pictures chose to ignore the first-run theater system, opting instead to release the film in sub-run neighborhood theaters, a system later dubbed the "Presley Pattern". (Full article...)
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Mallishwari is a 1951 Indian Telugu-language historical romance film produced and directed by B. N. Reddy under his banner Vauhini Studios. N. T. Rama Rao and P. Bhanumathi star as a couple – Nagaraju and Mallishwari – who are separated by Mallishwari's greedy mother. Mallishwari is sent to the king's palace according to the custom of "Rani Vasam", a tradition during the Vijayanagara Empire wherein young women were fetched to the palace with an offering of gold and jewellery to their parents. The rest of the film focuses on the consequences faced by Nagaraju when he, against all rules, surreptitiously enters the palace to meet Mallishwari.
Reddy wanted to make a film based on Krishnadevaraya's character ever since his visit to Hampi for the filming of his debut film Vandemataram (1939). He employed Devulapalli Krishnasastri to write the film's script and took inspiration from Buchibabu's play "Rayalavari Karunakruthyamu" and Devan Sharar's short story "The Emperor and the Slave Girl". He also incorporated into the script a few incidents from his childhood for the pranks between Nagaraju and Mallishwari. S. Rajeswara Rao composed the film's music, Adi M. Irani and B. N. Konda Reddy provided the cinematography, H. R. Narayana and Vasu edited the film, and A. K. Shekhar was the film's production designer. (Full article...)
Production began after the success of Mayabazar (1957), with M. S. Chalapathi Rao and Jagannadham the film's executive producers. Marcus Bartley was the director of photography. S. Rajeswara Rao composed the soundtrack and background score. G. Kalyanasundaram and K. Radhakrishna edited the film, and Madhavapeddi Gokhale and Kaladhar were its art directors. The film is shown almost entirely in black and white, with the exception of a dance sequence filmed in Gevacolor. (Full article...)
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Rififi (French: Du rififi chez les hommes) is a 1955 French crime film adaptation of Auguste Le Breton's novel of the same name. Directed by American blacklisted filmmaker Jules Dassin, the film stars Jean Servais as the aging gangster Tony "le Stéphanois", Carl Möhner as Jo "le Suédois", Robert Manuel as Mario Farrati, and Jules Dassin as César "le Milanais". The foursome band together to commit an almost impossible theft, the burglary of an exclusive jewelry shop in the Rue de la Paix. The centerpiece of the film is an intricate half-hour heist scene depicting the crime in detail, shot in near silence, without dialogue or music. The fictional burglary has been mimicked by criminals in actual crimes around the world.
After he was blacklisted from Hollywood, Dassin found work in France where he was asked to direct Rififi. Despite his distaste for parts of the original novel, Dassin agreed to direct the film. He shot Rififi while working with a low budget, without a star cast, and with the production staff working for low wages. (Full article...)
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I Vampiri (lit. The Vampires) is a 1957 Italian horror film directed by Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer, Mario Bava. It stars Gianna Maria Canale, Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a series of murders on young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Gisele Du Grand who is in love with Lantin. She lives with her aunt, who hides her face in a veil, as well as the scientist Julian Du Grand, who is trying to find the secret to eternal youth.
The film was developed during a growth in the Italian film industry which allowed for the market to expand beyond a local Italian audience and would allow Italian film makers to explore new genres of filmmaking. Freda made a deal with producers at the Italian film studio Titanus to create a low budget horror film by writing a story in one day and filming it in two weeks. The producers agreed and Freda began filming. On the final day of shooting, Freda left the set which led to the cinematographer Mario Bava to direct the rest of the film, which changed various plot points and added the inclusion of stock footage. (Full article...)
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Darah dan Doa ([daˈrahˈdandoˈa]; Indonesian for Blood and Prayer, released internationally as The Long March) is a 1950 Indonesian war film directed and produced by Usmar Ismail, telling the story of the Siliwangi Division and its leader Captain Sudarto on a march to West Java. Following Ismail's Dutch-produced Tjitra (1949), Darah dan Doa is often cited as the first 'Indonesian' film, and the film's first day of shooting – 30 March – is celebrated in Indonesia as National Film Day.
Produced on a budget of 350,000 rupiah and intended to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival, financial difficulties led production of Darah dan Doa to almost stop before the director received financial backing. After raising controversy for its subject material, the film underwent censorship and was finally released to commercial failure. Retrospective analysis has, however, been more positive, and Ismail has been dubbed the "father of Indonesian film". (Full article...)
Pathala Bhairavi is based on Kasi Majilee Kathalu, written by Madhira Subbanna Deekshitulu, though it was also partially inspired by the story of Aladdin. As the film is shot as a bilingual, production lasted for a whole year starting from 5 February 1950 until 8 February 1951. Ghantasala composed the film's music and Marcus Bartley served as the cinematographer. The film was edited by the duo C. P. Jambulingam and M. S. Money, while Madhavapeddi Gokhale and Kaladhar were the film's art directors. (Full article...)
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Devadasu is a 1953 Indian romance film directed by Vedantam Raghavayya and produced by D. L. Narayana for Vinodha Pictures. Chakrapani wrote the script based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel, Devdas. C. R. Subbaraman composed the film's music. The film was edited by P. V. Narayanan, while B. S. Ranga provided the cinematography.
The film focuses on Devadasu and Parvati, who have been in love since childhood. Devadas' father rejects the proposal from Parvati's family. Parvati's father forces her to marry a middle-aged zamindar. Unable to cope with his failure to win Parvati, Devadas turns into a drunkard, and the rest of the film is about whether or not Devadas meets Parvati again. (Full article...)
Executive producer Iwao Mori instructed producer Tomoyuki Tanaka to immediately commence production on a second Godzilla film, fearing to lose the momentum of the first film's success. Oda was chosen to direct the film as Ishirō Honda was busy directing Lovetide. (Full article...)
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Theatrical release poster
Warning from Space (Japanese: 宇宙人東京に現わる, Hepburn: Uchūjin Tōkyō ni arawaru, lit.'Spacemen Appear in Tokyo') is a Japanese tokusatsuscience fiction film directed by Koji Shima. Produced and distributed by Daiei Film, it was the first Japanese science fiction film to be produced in color and predates Daiei's most iconic tokusatsu characters, Gamera and Daimajin. In the film's plot, starfish-like aliens disguised as humans travel to Earth to warn of the imminent collision of a rogue planet and Earth. As the planet rapidly accelerates toward Earth, a nuclear device is created at the last minute and destroys the approaching world.
The film was one of many early Japanese monster films quickly produced after the success of Toho's Godzilla in 1954. After release, the film was met with negative reviews, with critics calling it "bizarre" and accusing it of using science fiction clichés. Warning from Space influenced many other Japanese science fiction films, such as Gorath. The film, along with other 1950s tokusatsu science fiction films, influenced director Stanley Kubrick, who would later direct 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Full article...)
Brando fell under the influence of Stella Adler and Stanislavski's system in the 1940s. He began his career on stage, adeptly reading his characters and consistently anticipating where scenes flowed. He transitioned to film, initially gaining acclaim and his first Academy Award for Best Actor nomination for the role of Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). He received further praise and his first Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for his performance as Terry Malloy in On the Waterfront (1954), which remains a watershed moment in the history of Hollywood, and his work continues to be studied and interpreted. His portrayal of the rebellious motorcycle gang leader Johnny Strabler in The Wild One (1953) became an emblem of the era's generational gap. (Full article...)
Image 4Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War, c. late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by Jonas Salk. Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with code name Ivy Mike in 1952. A 1954 thermonuclear test, code named Castle Romeo; In 1959, Fidel Castro overthrows Fulgencio Batista in the Cuban Revolution, which results in the creation of the first and only communist government in the Western Hemisphere; Elvis Presley becomes the leading figure of the newly popular music genre of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. Bottom, L-R: Smoke rises from oil tanks on Port Said following the invasion of Egypt by Israel, United Kingdom and France as part of the Suez Crisis in late 1956; The Hungarian Revolution of 1956; The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the Earth, in October 1957. This starts the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States. (from 1950s)
Image 5Motorcycle clubs became more prominent in the 1950s. Pictured is a vintage 1950s motorcycle toy. (from 1950s)
Image 6In 1957, the Soviet Union launches to space Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite (from 1950s)
Image 7The 1950s was the beginning period of rapid television ownership. In their infancy, television screens existed in many forms, including round. (from 1950s)
Image 8The world map of military alliances during the Cold War in 1959 (from 1950s)
Image 14In the 1950s lengthy poodle skirts were popular with women, as were leather jackets with men. Pictured is a 1950s leather jacket label. (from 1950s)
Image 15The creation and expansion of many multinational restaurant chains still in existence today, including the likes of McDonald's (as a franchise), IHOP, Pizza Hut and Burger King, all occurred in the 1950s. (from 1950s)
Image 19Elvis Presley was the best-selling musical artist of the decade. He is considered as the leading figure of the rock and roll and rockabilly movement of the 1950s. (from 1950s)
Image 20Harry Belafonte in 1954, whose breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist. (from 1950s)
Image 21Leading figures of the Nepali Congress and King Tribhuvan (from 1950s)
Image 27An American family watching television together in 1958. (from 1950s)
Image 28Castle Bravo: A 15 megaton hydrogen bomb experiment conducted by the United States in 1954. Photographed 78 miles (125 kilometers) from the explosion epicenter. (from 1950s)
Image 29The jukebox was particularly popular in the 1950s, and was used as entertainment in public establishments such as diners and malt/soda shops. (from 1950s)
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