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The Fraeon Archive · The 1950s
19551957

1956

Widescreen spectacle at the movies, quiet revolutions in Japan and Europe, and television arriving to change everything.

The films everyone saw

See all
The Ten Commandments

Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal quest to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people.

3.9

The Ten Commandments

1956

The Searchers

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

3.8

The Searchers

1956

Around the World in 80 Days

Based on the famous book by Jules Verne the movie follows Phileas Fogg on his journey around the world. Which has to be completed within 80 days, a very short period for those days.

3.4

Around the World in 80 Days

1956

Night and Fog

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

4.2

Night and Fog

1956

Helen of Troy

Prince Paris of Troy, shipwrecked on a mission to the king of Sparta, meets and falls for Queen Helen before he knows who she is. Rudely received by the royal Greeks, he must flee...but fate and their mutual passions lead him to take Helen along. This gives the Greeks just the excuse they need for much-desired war.

3.2

Helen of Troy

1956

Giant

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

3.8

Giant

1956

The Killing

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

3.8

The Killing

1956

Forbidden Planet

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

3.6

Forbidden Planet

1956

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

Paris, 1482. Today is the festival of the fools, taking place like each year in the square outside Cathedral Notre Dame. Among jugglers and other entertainers, Esmeralda, a sensuous gypsy, performs a bewitching dance in front of delighted spectators. From up in a tower of the cathedral, Frollo, an alchemist, gazes at her lustfully. Later in the night, Frollo orders Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer and his faithful servant, to kidnap Esmeralda. But when the ugly freak comes close to her is touched by the young woman's beauty...

3.4

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

1956

The Man Who Knew Too Much

An American doctor and his wife, a former singing star, witness a murder while vacationing in Morocco, and are drawn into a twisting plot of international intrigue when their young son is kidnapped.

3.7

The Man Who Knew Too Much

1956

High Society

With socialite Tracy Lord about to remarry, her ex-husband - with the help of a sympathetic reporter - has 48 hours to convince her that she really still loves him.

3.4

High Society

1956

War and Peace

The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.

3.3

War and Peace

1956

Moby Dick

In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.

3.6

Moby Dick

1956

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

3.7

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

1956

The Bad Seed

Air Force Colonel Kenneth Penmark and his wife, Christine, adore their daughter Rhoda, despite her secret tendency for selfishness. Christine keeps her knowledge of her daughter's darker side to herself, but when a schoolmate of Rhoda's dies mysteriously, her self-deception unravels.

3.6

The Bad Seed

1956

Bus Stop

Cowboys Beauregard Decker and Virgil Blessing attend a rodeo in Phoenix, where Decker falls in love with beautiful cafe singer Cherie. He wants to take Cherie back to his native Montana and marry her, but she dreams of traveling to Hollywood and becoming famous. When she resists his advances, Decker forces Cherie onto the bus back to Montana with him, but, when the bus makes an unscheduled stop due to bad weather, the tables are turned.

3.0

Bus Stop

1956

...And God Created Woman

18-year-old orphan Juliette's unbridled appetite for pleasure shakes up all of St Tropez; her sweet but naïve husband Michel endures beatings, insults, and mambo in his futile attempts to tame her wild ways.

3.0

...And God Created Woman

1956

The King and I

Widowed Welsh mother Anna Leonowens becomes a governess and English tutor to the wives and many children of the stubborn King Mongkut of Siam. Anna and the King have a clash of personalities as she works to teach the royal family about the English language, customs and etiquette, and rushes to prepare a party for a group of European diplomats who must change their opinions about the King.

3.5

The King and I

1956

What the critics kept

See all
Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy

Antonio, Peppino and Lucia are three brothers who live in the country near Naples. Lucia's son, Gianni, goes to Naples to study medicine, but there he knows a ballet dancer. They fall in love and, when she goes to Milan, Gianni follows her. Informed of this and afraid that their nephew will stop studying, the three Caponi brothers leave for Milan to persuade Gianni to come back and continue studying and abandon the "Malafemmina" (bad girl).

4.0

Toto, Peppino, and the Hussy

1956

A Man Escaped

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

4.0

A Man Escaped

1956

The Red Balloon

A young boy discovers a stray balloon, which seems to have a mind of its own, on the streets of Paris. The two become inseparable, yet the world’s harsh realities finally interfere.

3.9

The Red Balloon

1956

La Traversée de Paris

Two unlikely companions must smuggle four suitcases filled with contraband pork across Nazi-occupied Paris.

3.6

La Traversée de Paris

1956

Bob le Flambeur

In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling -- and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob's luck turns sour, he begins to lose friends and makes the most desperate gamble of his life: to rob the Deauville casino during Grand Prix weekend, when the vaults are full. Unfortunately, Bob soon learns that the game is rigged and the cops are on to him.

3.6

Bob le Flambeur

1956

The Wrong Man

In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

3.6

The Wrong Man

1956

Sissi: The Young Empress

Sissi is now the empress of Austria and attempts to learn etiquette. While she is busy being empress she also has to deal with her difficult new mother-in-law, while the arch-duchess Sophie is trying to tell the emperor how to rule and also Sissi how to be a mother.

3.5

Sissi: The Young Empress

1956

Hidden gems of 1956loved by the few who found them

Aparajito

Apu and his family have moved away from the country to live in the bustling holy city of Benares. As he progresses from wide-eyed child to intellectually curious teenager, eventually studying in Kolkata, we witness his academic and moral education, as well as the growing complexity of his relationship with his mother.

3.9

Aparajito

1956

The Burmese Harp

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

3.9

The Burmese Harp

1956

The Railroad Man

Train operator Andrea Marcocci has to witness the suicide of a desperate man who jumps in front of his train. Under the influence of this shock he starts making mistakes. A check up by a doctor reveals that he's at the brink of becoming an alcoholic. Due to this evaluation he is degraded and must accept a salary cut.

3.9

The Railroad Man

1956

The Band of Honest Men

Italy, mid '60s. Three guys from a poor neighbourhood try to get rich by printing fake money using the fact that one of them works as a typographer. The story unravels around their embarrassed efforts to spend the money, their little family issues and ends with a surprise.

3.9

The Band of Honest Men

1956

Street of Shame

Follows five sex workers employed at a Japanese brothel while the nation debates the passage of an anti-prostitution law.

3.9

Street of Shame

1956

Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge

Antonio and Peppino live in a small town in central Italy: Peppino is the barber, Totò is maintained by the rich but avaricious wife Teresa.

3.8

Totò, Peppino e i fuorilegge

1956

Early Spring

A young salaryman and his wife struggle within the confines of their passionless relationship while he embarks on an extramarital affair.

3.8

Early Spring

1956

Deadlier Than the Male

In the heart of Paris, a restaurateur's mundane life is disrupted by the arrival of his ex-wife's daughter, who claims to be in need after her mother's death. After marrying her, tensions rise when she becomes involved with a young student, leading to betrayal and murder. As secrets unfold, he uncovers the truth about her past and her manipulative nature.

3.6

Deadlier Than the Male

1956

Somebody Up There Likes Me

The story of boxer Rocky Graziano's rise from juvenile delinquent to world champ.

3.6

Somebody Up There Likes Me

1956

Bigger Than Life

A friendly, successful suburban teacher and father grows dangerously addicted to cortisone, resulting in his transformation into a household despot.

3.6

Bigger Than Life

1956

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island

A humble and simple Takezo abandons his life as a knight errant. He's sought as a teacher and vassal by Shogun, Japan's most powerful clan leader. He's also challenged to fight by the supremely confident and skillful Sasaki Kojiro. Takezo agrees to fight Kojiro in a year's time but rejects Shogun's patronage, choosing instead to live on the edge of a village, raising vegetables. He's followed there by Otsu and later by Akemi, both in love with him. The year ends as Takezo assists the villagers against a band of brigands. He seeks Otsu's forgiveness and accepts her love, then sets off across the water to Ganryu Island for his final contest.

3.6

Samurai III: Duel at Ganryu Island

1956

Lust for Life

An intense and imaginative artist, revered Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh possesses undeniable talent, but he is plagued by mental problems and frustrations with failure. Supported by his brother, Theo, the tormented Van Gogh eventually leaves Holland for France, where he meets volatile fellow painter Paul Gauguin and struggles to find greater inspiration.

3.6

Lust for Life

1956

The Harder They Fall

Jobless sportswriter Eddie Willis is hired by corrupt fight promoter Nick Benko to promote his current protégé, an unknown Argentinian boxer named Toro Moreno. Although Moreno is a hulking giant, his chances for success are hampered by a powder-puff punch and a glass jaw. Exploiting Willis' reputation for integrity and standing in the boxing community, Benko arranges a series of fixed fights that propel the unsophisticated Moreno to #1 contender for the championship. The reigning champ, the sadistic Buddy Brannen, harbors resentment at the publicity Toro has been receiving and vows to viciously punish him in the ring. Eddie must now decide whether or not to tell the naive Toro the truth.

3.6

The Harder They Fall

1956

There's Always Tomorrow

When a toy manufacturer feels ignored and unappreciated by his wife and children, he begins to rekindle a past love when a former employee comes back into his life.

3.6

There's Always Tomorrow

1956

On the page

See all
Slaughterhouse-Five

American science fiction · bombing of Dresden

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut

1956

Diamonds are Forever

British · Diamond smuggling

Diamonds are Forever

Ian Fleming

1956

Max Ernst

Friends and associates · Kreissparkasse Köln (Germany)

Max Ernst

Max Ernst

1956

Breakfast at Tiffany's

American Short stories · Manners and customs

Breakfast at Tiffany's

Truman Capote

1956

The Last Battle

Juvenile Fiction · Science Fiction & Fantasy

The Last Battle

C. S. Lewis

1956

The Art of Loving

Love · Liefde

The Art of Loving

Erich Fromm

1956

Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies

Fiction · Naval History

Admiral Hornblower in the West Indies

C. S. Forester

1956

Dead Man's Folly

Fiction · Historical Fiction

Dead Man's Folly

Agatha Christie

1956

Plague Ship

Fiction, science fiction, general · Fiction

Plague Ship

Andre Norton

1956

Le Balcon

Intellectual life · Continental european drama (dramatic works by one author)

Le Balcon

Jean Genet

1956

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Vol. I

History · Great britain, history

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Vol. I

Winston S. Churchill

1956

The American Pageant

History · United states, history, colonial period, ca. 1600-1775

The American Pageant

Thomas A. Bailey

1956

Giovanni's Room

Race relations · African Americans

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

1956

The Hundred and One Dalmatians

Motion Pictures · Juvenile Fiction

The Hundred and One Dalmatians

Dodie Smith

1956

The Mask of Apollo

Actors · Fiction

The Mask of Apollo

Mary Renault

1956

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Vol. II

History · Politics and government

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, Vol. II

Winston S. Churchill

1956

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples (Four Volume Set)

History

A History of the English-Speaking Peoples (Four Volume Set)

Winston S. Churchill

1956

The Last of the Wine

Fiction · Greece Peloponnesian War, 431-404 B.C.

The Last of the Wine

Mary Renault

1956

More of the 1950s

The whole decade
1959195819571956195519541953195219511950
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