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Grand Canyonscope (1954, Charles A. Nichols)
In Grand Canyonscope, Donald Duck is the typical disrespectful, annoying American tourist. What’s funny about the cartoon is how–in 1954–it was one in every bunch of tourists… whereas now it’s the...
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An Inspector Calls (1954, Guy Hamilton)
For the majority of An Inspector Calls, I thought Alastair Sim’s delicate, thoughtful performance was out of place. The film’s incredibly melodramatic and contrived. After the twist ending… well, I’m...
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By Word of Mouse (1954, Friz Freleng)
I feel like By Word of Mouse should be better. It turns out it’s a Sylvester cartoon–not without good gags–but the concept deserves more. A German mouse heads to the U.S. to visit a relation; free...
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Dragon Around (1954, Jack Hannah)
If someone was unfamiliar with Donald Duck–and missed the opening titles, which imply Dragon Around is a Donald Duck cartoon–he or she might read the ending as Chip and Dale killing Donald Duck. And...
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Wild Wife (1954, Robert McKimson)
Wild Wife is easily McKimson’s best cartoon (of those I’ve seen, anyway). I was going to start by talking about McKimson as an unlikely feminist, since Wife mostly concerns a housewife whose male...
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Social Lion (1954, Jack Kinney)
Social Lion is such a truly awful cartoon, one would need to sit with pencil and paper to make notes on every moronic detail in its six minutes. Director Jack Kinney–brother to co-writer Dick Kinney,...
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Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, Jack Arnold)
Almost all of Creature from the Black Lagoon is a compelling mix of science fiction, workplace drama and horror. The Creature makes a great “villain” because there’s nothing human about him (except...
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The Shadow (1954, Charles F. Haas)
So why not turn The Shadow into an amateur detective procedural? Haas’s pilot for a “Shadow” television series is a good reason, though it’s inexplicable why someone would want to turn it into such a...
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Godzilla (1954, Honda Ishirô)
Godzilla is a peculiar picture. It's intensely serious, with director Honda never letting the viewer get a moment's relief. This approach is all throughout the film, which opens with a documentary...
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Baby Buggy Bunny (1954, Chuck Jones)
Baby Buggy Bunny opens with its weakest sequence–a bank robbery. The perpetrator is a baby-sized thug who gets away by throwing on a bonnet and hopping in a carriage. Clearly there are some Baby Herman...
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Garden of Evil (1954, Henry Hathaway)
For a while it seems like the third act of Garden of Evil will make up for the rest of the film’s problems. Or at least give it somewhere to excel. Sadly, director Hathaway and screenwriter Frank...
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On the Waterfront (1954, Elia Kazan)
On the Waterfront is relentlessly grim until the strangest moment in the finale. As the film finally reaches the point of savage, physical violence–it opens with the implication, but not the...
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The Naked Jungle (1954, Byron Haskin)
If there are faults with The Naked Jungle, ones not the result of having to follow the Hays Code–which the film skirts thanks to Ben Maddow and Ranald MacDougall’s excellent dialogue, Eleanor Parker’s...
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Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954, Stanley Donen)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is a lot of fun. The songs are always pretty good, with some standouts and the dance numbers are fantastic (ditto the choreographed fight sequences–director Donen and...
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Wild Wife (1954, Robert McKimson)
Wild Wife is easily McKimson’s best cartoon (of those I’ve seen, anyway). I was going to start by talking about McKimson as an unlikely feminist, since Wife mostly concerns a housewife whose male...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Social Lion (1954, Jack Kinney)
Social Lion is such a truly awful cartoon, one would need to sit with pencil and paper to make notes on every moronic detail in its six minutes. Director Jack Kinney–brother to co-writer Dick Kinney,...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Creature from the Black Lagoon (1954, Jack Arnold)
Almost all of Creature from the Black Lagoon is a compelling mix of science fiction, workplace drama and horror. The Creature makes a great “villain” because there’s nothing human about him (except...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Shadow (1954, Charles F. Haas)
So why not turn The Shadow into an amateur detective procedural? Haas’s pilot for a “Shadow” television series is a good reason, though it’s inexplicable why someone would want to turn it into such a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Garden of Evil (1954, Henry Hathaway)
For a while it seems like the third act of Garden of Evil will make up for the rest of the film’s problems. Or at least give it somewhere to excel. Sadly, director Hathaway and screenwriter Frank...
View ArticleClik here to view.
On the Waterfront (1954, Elia Kazan)
On the Waterfront is relentlessly grim until the strangest moment in the finale. As the film finally reaches the point of savage, physical violence–it opens with the implication, but not the...
View Article
