The Movie Journal

  Some Like It Hot (1959) Billy Wilder’s 1959 comedy Some Like It Hot is honestly something else. While not my favorite movie in the long career spanning decades for Wilder, this is still an outrageous comedy featuring three very fine performances and a subject that went against social taboos at the time. This is a screwball comedy that is often compared to films created by the Marx Brothers. While I see the comparisons as easy as the light of day, Wilder’s film resonates more thematically. As for the three leads, Marilyn Monroe has never been sexier, Tony Curtis has never been cooler, and this is Jack Lemmon at the height of his career. The film did not speak to me like other Wilder’s films ( The Apartment is a great one) because not all the jokes work, and the pacing can be slow at times. Still, there is no denying the presence it has in the canon of the best, influential movies. And the ending? Loved it! When Osgood quotes, “Well, nobody’s perfect” to Lemmon’s bewildered face to...

North by Northwest (1959) Over the course of his career, Alfred Hitchcock has made many highly-regarded works and every film of his was treated like an event. After a very successful decade of the 1950’s which includes famed works such as Rear Window and Vertigo , Hitchcock closes out the decade with perhaps his greatest work, 1959’s North by Northwest . After the dark erotic film that was Vertigo , Hitchcock decided to make something more fun, action/adventure-oriented, and something light-hearted in general. This film is essentially the first James Bond film, even though the first James Bond film would be produced several years later. This is an incredibly tense and suspenseful spy thriller that boasts two of the most memorable scenes in cinematic history-the crop duster scene and the dramatic rescue upon the rocks of Mount Rushmore. This film has lots of incredible talent working on camera and behind the scenes. In addition to Hitchcock, we have great acting from the likes ...

Ben-Hur (1959) In 1956, The Ten Commandments was released to a massive success around the world. It had such a worldwide appeal due to the story being well-known everywhere. Three years later, another wildly successful epic was released in the form of Ben-Hur. This movie seems like the first cousin of The Ten Commandments . Both are stories based off biblical events, and Charlton Heston plays the lead role in both films. Heston wasn’t nominated for any major awards with his 1956 film, but he was nominated and won an Oscar for his amazing portrayal of Judah Ben-Hur, an influential man amongst his people. If I had to choose what my favorite epic was from this era, I would have chosen Ben-Hur. It has such a fascinating story as it’s about a man who wants what is only right for his people. His people are conquered by the Romans, and he wants a better life for them. The movie goes into so much detail on the man Judah was. He was alive for the teachings of Jesus Christ, although...