Some Came Running (1958)

Some Came Running (1958)

[6] Frank Sinatra plays an unhappy writer and WWII veteran who has trouble readjusting to life in his scenic Indiana hometown. The screenplay, based on a novel by James Jones, gets lackadaisical in the middle, but Vincent Minnelli does a…
Lonelyhearts (1958)

Lonelyhearts (1958)

[4] Montgomery Clift plays an eager journalist who risks losing his girlfriend after his editor nudges him into an affair with another woman. The dreary storyline struggles to rise above its theatrical roots and lead star Clift, whom I normally…
The Left Handed Gun (1958)

The Left Handed Gun (1958)

[6] On one hand, Arthur Penn's take on Billy the Kid isn't as whitewashed as other tellings. On the other hand, why should we care that some hot-headed simpleton ran out and got himself shot? Despite an admirable effort from…
A Night to Remember (1958)

A Night to Remember (1958)

[7] If you've only seen James Cameron's telling of the R.M.S. Titanic's tragic 1912 sinking, you might be surprised how much that film owes to this earlier British version directed by Hammer and Amicus alum Roy Ward Baker (Scars of…
The Blob (1958)

The Blob (1958)

[6] A meteorite crashes to Earth, carrying a blob of jelly that grows exponentially by devouring everyone in its path. The original Blob movie is charming in a retro-gitchy way, even if you never buy then 28-year old Steve McQueen…
Too Much, Too Soon (1958)

Too Much, Too Soon (1958)

[6] Dorothy Malone and Errol Flynn play father and daughter John and Diana Barrymore, real-life members of Hollywood's famous Barrymore family, both of whom suffered famously from alcoholism. Flynn is very good here in the final noteworthy role of his…
Gigi (1958)

Gigi (1958)

[3] What a shitty Best Picture winner Gigi is. It's a musical about an unhappy playboy (Louis Jourdan) and an unhappy debutante (Leslie Caron) who fall in love, but then out of love, and back in love, and out, and…
The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958)

[8]

Sinbad must rescue his wife-to-be from the clutches of an evil sorcerer who takes her away to an island full of dangerous monsters in this ebullient fantasy adventure from director Nathan Juran and pioneering effects artist Ray Harryhausen. Harryhausen’s stop-motion animation combine with Bernard Herrmann’s music to give this romantic adventure wings. You can see and hear the passions of both men in the film, and these achievements pretty much make The 7th Voyage of Sinbad what it is:  sweet, charming, escapist fare for the whole family. 

Auntie Mame (1958)

Auntie Mame (1958)

[10] A young boy is orphaned and left in the care of his only living relative, an eccentric aunt who defies convention and encourages discovery. The pair endure challenge after challenge in an episodic narrative that ends in the boy…