The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

The Hound of the Baskervilles (1959)

[7] In these cynical, recklessly progressive, polarized, impersonal times, I find comfort in many films from Britain's Hammer Studios from the '50s and '60s. Most of these films are pure genre entertainment, devoid of divisive subtext or dreaded political messaging,…
Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)

[7] A doctor visits a woman in an insane asylum to determine if she requires a lobotomy to forget the horror of seeing her cousin murdered, or if her aunt is pushing for the procedure to cover the truth. Tennessee…
Sleeping Beauty (1959)

Sleeping Beauty (1959)

[6] From a technical and artistic point of view, this may be the finest animated film ever made. But it's also dull. I dislike how the three floating fat ladies (Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather) steal the show, while the prince…
The 400 Blows (1959)

The 400 Blows (1959)

[8] François Truffaut made his feature directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical tale of a disenfranchised twelve-year-old Parisian boy who takes his first steps into a life of petty crime. Truffaut went into The 400 Blows with an admirable mission statement --…
House on Haunted Hill (1959)

House on Haunted Hill (1959)

[5] Vincent Price headlines as a millionairre who offers $10,000 to five people if they'll spend the night with him and his wife in their haunted hilltop mansion. The house is the site of countless murders and is supposed to…
A Summer Place (1959)

A Summer Place (1959)

[6] A bold film for its time, A Summer Place deals with sexual awakening and reawakening. Sandra Dee and Troy Donahue play the teenaged lovers; Richard Egan and Dorothy McGuire play the adulterous middle-aged ones. The first forty-five minutes of…
The Young Philadelphians (1959)

The Young Philadelphians (1959)

[5] Paul Newman stars as a lawyer who rises to power through the manipulations of his mother and other socialites. He finally finds his own voice and something worth standing for when an old friend is put on trial for…
The Giant Behemoth (1959)

The Giant Behemoth (1959)

[4] Just six years after directing The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, director Eugene Lourie goes back to the well for another giant lizard movie, only this time the monster is radioactive. While production values are high for a low-budget British…
Never So Few (1959)

Never So Few (1959)

[4] Frank Sinatra stars as a US army captain in charge of helping Kachin natives in WWII Burma defend themselves against the Japanese. Never So Few divides its attention between the gun battles in the jungle and Sinatra's makeout sessions…
Green Mansions (1959)

Green Mansions (1959)

[5] Bizarre, lavish misfire featuring Audrey Hepburn as a jungle girl who falls in love with a political refugee played by Anthony Perkins. The movie's beautiful in a kitschy kind of way, but the story is slow-moving and suffers from…