Excellent! I love Minnelli and this is one of his I have yet to see.Damien wrote:Oh, how could I have forgotten Some Came Running, which was shot on location in Indiana.
1950s Films About the Midwest - Need help finding movies!
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Thanks everybody!
Picnic was the first picture that jumped to my mind, and it seemed, several of yours as well.
You're right, Magilla, In Cold Blood and Badlands wouldn't be the first films to jump into my mind, but both are great examples.
And since Indiana is most specifically the setting I'm looking for, I'll check out Hoosiers again. That's one I never would have thought of off the top of my head.
Picnic was the first picture that jumped to my mind, and it seemed, several of yours as well.
You're right, Magilla, In Cold Blood and Badlands wouldn't be the first films to jump into my mind, but both are great examples.
And since Indiana is most specifically the setting I'm looking for, I'll check out Hoosiers again. That's one I never would have thought of off the top of my head.
I wasn't around in the 50s but I lived in the Midwest for a good chunk of the 1990s.
First thing I think of for authenticity are documentaries. I know Disney made a nature film in 1954 called the Vanishing Prairie, but I don't believe I've seen it.
There's a terrific direct cinema documentary by Bill Jersey called a Time For Burning that shows conflict in an Omaha, Nebraska church over the possibility of racial integration. Only problem is that the film is from 1967, so it's out of period. Yet, I have a feeling it showcases some quintessentially 1950s values and attitudes, that were still firmly entrenched well past their expiration date.
Moving into Hollywood fiction features (more artificial than accurate, but surely revealing some kind of truth) I first think of North By Northwest and Night of the Hunter, which were partially shot in Illinois and the Ohio River Valley, respectively. I'm not sure if they were shot there (I doubt it) but both Kansas City Confidential and Wicked Woman were set in the Midwest. The latter is a surprisingly gritty (probably sensationalized) portrait of stifling small-town Midwestern values.
First thing I think of for authenticity are documentaries. I know Disney made a nature film in 1954 called the Vanishing Prairie, but I don't believe I've seen it.
There's a terrific direct cinema documentary by Bill Jersey called a Time For Burning that shows conflict in an Omaha, Nebraska church over the possibility of racial integration. Only problem is that the film is from 1967, so it's out of period. Yet, I have a feeling it showcases some quintessentially 1950s values and attitudes, that were still firmly entrenched well past their expiration date.
Moving into Hollywood fiction features (more artificial than accurate, but surely revealing some kind of truth) I first think of North By Northwest and Night of the Hunter, which were partially shot in Illinois and the Ohio River Valley, respectively. I'm not sure if they were shot there (I doubt it) but both Kansas City Confidential and Wicked Woman were set in the Midwest. The latter is a surprisingly gritty (probably sensationalized) portrait of stifling small-town Midwestern values.
A problem is that many movies too place in what clearly is the mid-west without specifying the location -- the mid-west was presented as the quintessentially American location during the Eisenhower era.
The only thing I can think of right now is Chicago Confidential, a crime drama from 1957.
The only thing I can think of right now is Chicago Confidential, a crime drama from 1957.
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Beyond Picnic, there isn't much. In Cold Blood (Kansas) and Badlands (the Dakotas) are not typoical stories about the Midwest but the small town midwest atomospheres they evoke are fairly accurate.
The imdb. lists over 1200 films that take place in the 1950s, but a quick scan doesn't elicit much. This Boy's Life (Washington State) and October Sky (Virginia) perfectly capture 1950s atmosphere but are not set in the midwest.
The imdb. lists over 1200 films that take place in the 1950s, but a quick scan doesn't elicit much. This Boy's Life (Washington State) and October Sky (Virginia) perfectly capture 1950s atmosphere but are not set in the midwest.
Although The Last Picture Show is set in Texas, I think it represents a reasonable accurate portrait of Midwestern life in the 1950s.
Aside from the works of William Inge (some of which, like Picnic and Come Back Little Sheba, are set in the then contemporary 50s, others of which, such as The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Splendor in the Grass, are set in an earlier era), I'm having trouble thinking of some.
Well, there's Anatomy of a Murder, which is set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan--technically the Midwest, but not the traditional image of the Midwest.
There must be more....
Aside from the works of William Inge (some of which, like Picnic and Come Back Little Sheba, are set in the then contemporary 50s, others of which, such as The Dark at the Top of the Stairs and Splendor in the Grass, are set in an earlier era), I'm having trouble thinking of some.
Well, there's Anatomy of a Murder, which is set in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan--technically the Midwest, but not the traditional image of the Midwest.
There must be more....
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