Paramount Pictures came down from the mountain with a beautifully restored version of Cecil B DeMille’s epic 1956 version of The Ten Commandments that featured Charlton Hestson in the iconic, almost career-defining role of Moses, with Yuk Brynner going toe to toe with him as the pharaoh, Ramses. The film plays like a who’s who…
Tag: 1956
1984 (1956) – Michael Anderson
DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies provides a glimpse into a dystopian future that may not be so different from a time we live in now, with the 1956 adaptation of Orwell’s classic novel, 1984. The screenwriters say they ‘freely’ adapted the original story so there are differences from book to screen, but thematically, it…
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) – Alfred Hitchcock
James Stewart and Doris Day find themselves caught up in international intrigue and a political assassination in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, a remake of his own film from 1934. While on a working holiday that takes the family to Paris, Casablanca and Marrakesh, Dr. Benjamin McKenna (Stewart), his wife, Jo (Day)…
Diamonds Are Forever (1956) – Ian Fleming
The fourth James Bond adventure by Ian Fleming is on my book shelf this week, and I dug into it eagerly. Despite some troubling moments of racism, 007’s literary adventure in this book is damned enjoyable, and you can see a number of themes and locales survived the jump to the big screen with Sean…
The Sword and The Dragon (1956) – Aleksandr Ptushko
The next title in DK Canada’s Monsters in the Movies, as I continue to delve into Dragons and Dinosaurs, takes me to Russia, where the legendary hero Ilja Moromez (Boris Andreyev) is brought to life in the first Russian film to be shot and shown in Cinemacope. It was released in ’56 in Russia, and…
The Girl Can’t Help It (1956) – Frank Tashlin
The first recommendation following my screening of Jailhouse Rock for the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film is the very enjoyable The Girl Can’t Help It starring the stunning Jayne Mansfield. The film follows an alcoholic PR man, Tom Miller (Tom Ewell) who used to the top of his game, and could find the…
The King and I (1956) – Walter Lang
Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr light up the screen in the next recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Oklahoma! The Rogers and Hammerstein musical soars to life in a stunning adaptation that doesn’t sacrifice story for musical numbers. Instead, the story is just as important, if…
The Searchers (1956) – John Ford
John Ford and John Wayne. When it comes to westerns there are few names better, and they are my next stop in the Action section of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. Confederate soldier, Ethan (Wayne) returns to his family’s homestead in Texas after the end of the Civil War, where he…
Quantum Leap (1989) – Genesis Parts I & 2
Quantum Leap. Scott Bakula. Dean Stockwell. I love a lot of science fiction television (and movies) and as much as I love my Star Trek, Quantum Leap has been my favorite show since my introduction to it. I came to it towards the end of Season 2 originally, in fact, I still recall the…
The Ten Commandments (1956) – Cecil B. DeMille
Melodrama and spectacle are the order of the day as I dive back into the Historical genre of the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book. DeMille’s remake of his own 1923 is a towering, four hour long epic that boasted top of the line effects (at the time), stellar casting, including Charlton…
The Mind Reels 