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River of No Return
Great 66 Points 1954

Marilyn Monroe didn’t want to appear in River of No Return, nor did Otto Preminger want to direct it, especially if Marilyn was to star. Studio contracts forced them into it and we’re all the better for it today. River of No Return is a fine mid-Fifties Western, with surprising Italian root…

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WikChip Video Marilyn sings: Let it wash over you.
The Wild One
OK 66 Points 1953

The Wild One is an iconic movie better now as an iconic image and line than a motion picture experience. The image? Marlon Brando as an outlaw biker, inspiring popular culture for the next half-century. The line?

Whattaya got?

You don’t have to be a Jeopardy whiz to k…

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WikChip Image "Whattaya got?"
How to Marry a ...
Very Good 66 Points 1953

How to Marry a Millionaire opens with a five minute bravura orchestral concert, which amazing though it is, is five minutes of men in tuxes when you’re expecting Marilyn Monroe.

Then you get Lauren Bacall as the queen bee, the head girl, the model with a plan. And a luscious Marilyn. And …

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WikChip Image Marilyn at the premier. 'Nuff said.
Hondo
Good 66 Points 1953

John Wayne starring in an Old West fairytale based on a Louis L’Amour story endows Hondo with loads of old fashioned panache, yet saddles it with too many cliches for enduring greatness. That’s in 2D however. Having seen it years ago in 3D, I recall it as being better but still not great.

It…

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WikChip Video The trailer hypes Hondo a bit too much.
Shane
Great 66 Points 1953

“Shane, come back!” could have been a Simon & Garfunkel lyric. Instead, the troubadours chose Joe DiMaggio, another icon of mid-Century American manhood. Yet, Shane endures as a cultural touchstone.

Thousands of baby boomers were christened with his clarion clear name

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WikChip Image Jack Palance: a badass star is born
Singin' in the ...
Perfect 71 Points 1952

Hollywood perfection, thy name is Singin’ in the Rain.

Forget the singing, forget the dancing, see it for the sparkling comedy. It’s simply studded with LOLs.

Though many of us have seen outtakes, especially Gene Kelly’s Singing’ in the Rain number, every movie fan should see the entir…

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WikChip Video Dancing with the Stars? Stars dancing.
High Noon
Great 66 Points 1952

Gary Cooper walking alone down a dusty Western street to confront a gang of killers is as iconic as Hollywood gets, making High Noon an archetype even more than a legend. That’s quite a weight.

Fortunately the movie itself is engaging, suspenseful and tight. A mere 85 minutes, it runs in ne…

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WikChip Video High Noon (Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My D...
The House on Te...
OK 66 Points 1951

The House on Telegraph Hill is a triumph of art direction. That’s good. It’s also unintentionally campy. That’s bad. The result is a just OK movie, yet one that belongs in the San Francisco Cinema Hall of Fame.

The views are marvelous. And the views are the thing with San Francisco real…

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WikChip Image Grt Views, Lrg House, fake Telegraph ...
Winchester '73
Very Good 66 Points 1950

Classic Westerns come no more accomplished than Winchester ’73. It ably weaves a tale around “The Gun that Won the West,” the Winchester 1873. This Precious changes hands almost as often as My Precious in Lord of the Rings, …

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WikChip Image Rock Hudson before Indians played Ind...
All About Eve
Perfect 66 Points 1950

All About Eve is surely one of the greatest Best Pictures most people have never seen. It won six Oscars: Best Picture, Best Screenplay & Best Director to the extraordinary Joseph L. Mankiewicz, Best Costume Design to Charles Le Maire & Edith Head the Costume Doctor, Best Supporting Actor to Ge…

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WikChip Video A Bumpy Night at a Glamorous Party