50s Films
In the 1950s, the now completely established art of film continues into the next decade, conveying a completely new attitude to life. Europe has survived the Second World War and people are aligning themselves with a new era. In Europe, the 50s stand for the time of reconstruction and behave positively and optimistically. This is exactly what becomes very clear in the films of this time: orderly, bourgeois conditions in clear stories.
TVs are becoming affordable!
The film industry catapults to the top once again in the 1950s, after the first television stations begin broadcasting in Germany in 1952 and television sets become affordable even for ordinary households. It is not uncommon for people in the neighbourhood to share a television set, but with the television the films now also come directly into the living room. Nevertheless, cinemas and projectionists remain trendy. The home audience will see the first series in the 50s. Bonanza and Smoking Guns are the first series that become a permanent institution for many viewers. Of course, television of this time lives not only through the programme, but also through the enthusiasm for the new medium itself. Having one's own television set was simply a novelty.
Memories are awakened!
Every older person who lived through this time will have his or her very own memories, and it is not uncommon to enjoy having such memories recounted. In the 50s, neighbourhoods often met to watch films, series or football broadcasts together in a parlour. Whole hordes of children disappeared from the streets and playgrounds at certain times to watch certain series that "everyone" had to have seen. But the stations did not broadcast around the clock. A children's programme was shown in the late afternoon, followed by the news and concluded with an evening film. After that, the programme ended for the day. This programming was not only standard in the 1950s, but continued well into the 1980s. Night-time programmes only became current with the emergence of private stations.
The 50s films at a glance
While Hollywood cinema still tends more towards purely fictional films, German cinema conveys the new feeling of home. Films like Sissi inspire the whole country and remain in the hearts of the population for decades. New idols spill over from Hollywood into Europe, and in Germany, too, the young James Dean with his film Denn sie wissen nicht, was not only the favourite of female viewers. The youth image of the "half-stars" is very much fuelled by such films. Older cinema-goers tend to enjoy intelligent thrillers or homeland films that seem schmaltzy today, depicting a peaceful, ideal world.
In the USA, Alfred Hitchcock begins to thrill audiences with films like The Invisible Third and Marilyn Monroe enchants her fans in the classic Some Like It Hot.
Apart from Hitchcock, many films of this period have a slightly naïve charm that certainly does not appeal to every audience. Hollywood, however, made a grandiose hit with the monumental costume film Ben Hur, featuring the legendary Roman chariot race. This is cinema the likes of which had never been seen before. But the 40s make it possible!
The films of the 50s have not yet completely disappeared into the archives of the broadcasting companies. Every now and then you will see Hitchcock films and the Sissi films with Romy Schneider are part of the annual pre-Christmas programme. In the masses, the films of the 50s are certainly far out of fashion due to their "kitschy touch" and can only be endured by real fans. There will certainly be exceptions to this and also join the caste of film classics. Here, too, it is rather the serious films that we would like to mention. The film Es geschah am hell ichten Tag with Heinz Rühmann and Gert Fröbe is certainly a film that will still move viewers today. Like Fritz Lang's classic M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder, this film is about a child murderer. Even though the film does not show any explicit cruelty, the actors succeed in conveying a feeling of oppression. In short, the film has everything that makes a good "thriller". Other films from this decade also succeed quite well:
- Murder Call
- Vertigo
The technical possibilities
Despite the technical possibility of colour films, many films were still shot in black and white in the 1950s. This was not only as a "stylistic device", but also for cost reasons. The television sets of the 50s were not yet capable of colour. So it would have made little sense to shoot series produced for television like Stahlnetz in colour. The big films like Sissi and Ben Hur were of course in colour. With Ben Hur, Hollywood started a small series of monumental films in the 50s that were characterised by a large expenditure of scenes and extras. In the 50s, it was not yet possible to cut crowds of people into films using animation technology. Appropriate scenes therefore had to be shot with real people/compares. In this context, The Chariot Race is indeed one of the great throws of film history and is still well worth seeing today.
On kitsch and today's popularity values of 50s films
Most films of the 50s do not gather large fan bases behind them. The big winners on this criteria are without question [nbsp]Sissi and Ben Hur, although [nbsp]Sissi has stayed in the programme far longer. The reason for this will certainly be largely due to the character and the leading actress rather than the "cinematic craft".
The Stars
In this respect, the films of the 50s are in no way different from those of other decades: good actors or even audience favourites rescue many a film from a rather thin story. In the 50s, this may be particularly noticeable, as so many Heimat films convey a message and mood that is very difficult to lift into our time. Keyword: kitsch. However, this sense of style is not meant to be a malicious reproach, because these films merely document the attitude to life of their time and "fashions" change. The westerns of the 50s are also no longer contemporary. Nevertheless, they were popular in their time, especially with younger audiences. So who would disparage western series that began in the 50s and stayed on the airwaves for over twenty years? Bonanza and Smoking Guns are among the most successful series of all time. The series of our time should first come close to such a length of play. And even the Sissi films with their constant repetitions seem record-breaking. At least we know of only a few films that are presented to us year after year with such constant malice. Film fans of the 1950s, however, will probably take their cue from the first Hitchcock films, which may not appear regularly in the current TV programme, but are certainly among the repeats that don't hurt. Hitchcock is also one of the few directors who is still better known today than his actors. This puts Hitchcock alongside Marilyn Monroe, Romy Schneider, Charlton Heston and James Dean among the very great names of the films of the 50s.
To be fair, Hitchcock appears as an extra or walks through the frame at least once in each of his films; a trademark he continues in later films.
