#oscars 30

[theoscarsproject]

30th Academy Awards Best Actress winner, Joanne Woodward, The Three Faces of Eve, and nominees, Deborah Kerr, Heaven Knows, Mr Allison, Lana Turner, Peyton Place, Elizabeth Taylor, Raintree County, and Anna Magnani, Wild is the Wind.

[theoscarsproject]

30th Academy Awards Best Actor, Alec Guinness, The Bridge on the River Kwai, and nominees, Anthony Franciosa, A Hatful of Rain, Marlon Brando, Sayonara, Anthony Quinn, Wild is the Wind, and Charles Laughton, Witness for the Prosecution. 

[theoscarsproject]

30th Academy Awards Best Costume Design winner, Les Girls, and nominees, An Affair to Remember, Funny Face, Pal Joey and Raintree County.

[theoscarsproject]

Witness for the Prosecution (1957). A veteran British barrister must defend his client in a murder trial that has surprise after surprise.

Agatha Christie was such a terrific writer, and one that has been adapted surprisingly few times (I mean, in terms of the volume of her body of work). This is one of the better adaptations - tightly told, excellently performed, with some terrific cinematography to boot. It’s a thrilling courtroom drama and a mystery, and one that hits some great beats to make a great film. 8/10.

[theoscarsproject]

The Tin Star (1957). A cynical former sheriff turned bounty hunter helps a young, recently appointed acting sheriff with his advice, his experience and his gun.

I’m a little bit of a sucker for a jaded old hand accidentally mentoring a young upstart, and this is a pretty solid example of that, grounded in the wonderful, charismatic performances of Henry Fonda and Anthony Perkins respectfully. There are some great shots too, just the story feels a little thin, and the supporting cast isn’t given a lot to do. Still, not a bad little Western. 7/10.

[theoscarsproject]

Gunfight at the OK Corral (1957). Lawman Wyatt Earp and outlaw Doc Holliday form an unlikely alliance which culminates in their participation in the legendary Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.

It’s not exactly a secret that I don’t love westerns, and this is certainly not one of the better ones out there, even if it does boast an excellent cast in Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. The film centres on the real-life gunfight at the OKA Corral, but does little to tell a compelling story with it’s shallow interpretation of the real life characters. It’s not badly paced though, and the cast does the best it can with the weak script. 6/10.

[theoscarsproject]

Man of a Thousand Faces (1957). The life and career of vaudevillian and silent screen horror star Lon Chaney, his contentious relationship with his neurotic wife, and his premature death.

I’ve got a bit of a soft spot for James Cagney, but this film is representative of the twilight of his career - he was doing a lot of backstage bio pics, and he was kind of phoning it in. His natural charisma was still off the charts, but the movies were lazy, and never quite worked. Man of a Thousand Faces isn’t an exception to that. The movie never goes as deep as it should, and it feels gimmicky, in a way that is pretty gross. Cagney is solid though, and Dorothy Malone is really good, so it has that, at least. 6/10.

[theoscarsproject]

Boy on a Dolphin (1957). A woman finds a treasure and is torn between two men: one who wants to sell it and one who wants to gift it to Greece.

This sort of adventure-exploration film really isn’t my thing, but on it’s own, it’s an interesting film to watch. It oozes with the sort of sex appeal that would soon be popularised in the James Bond franchise, and obviously has fun with it’s own premise. Still, it’s pretty weak narratively, and the performances and look of it leave a lot to be desired. 5/10.