1950s Films About the Midwest - Need help finding movies!

Post Reply
The Original BJ
Emeritus
Posts: 4312
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 8:49 pm

Post by The Original BJ »

Damien wrote:Oh, how could I have forgotten Some Came Running, which was shot on location in Indiana.
Excellent! I love Minnelli and this is one of his I have yet to see.
Damien
Laureate
Posts: 6331
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:43 pm
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Post by Damien »

Oh, how could I have forgotten Some Came Running, which was shot on location in Indiana.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
The Original BJ
Emeritus
Posts: 4312
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 8:49 pm

Post by The Original BJ »

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.
rain Bard
Associate
Posts: 1611
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 6:55 pm
Location: San Francisco
Contact:

Post by rain Bard »

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.
Damien
Laureate
Posts: 6331
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 8:43 pm
Location: New York, New York
Contact:

Post by Damien »

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.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Penelope
Site Admin
Posts: 5663
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 11:47 am
Location: Tampa, FL, USA

Post by Penelope »

Hoosiers is set in Indiana in 1954.
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
Big Magilla
Site Admin
Posts: 19319
Joined: Wed Jan 01, 2003 3:22 pm
Location: Jersey Shore

Post by Big Magilla »

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.
Penelope
Site Admin
Posts: 5663
Joined: Sat Jan 31, 2004 11:47 am
Location: Tampa, FL, USA

Post by Penelope »

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....
"...it is the weak who are cruel, and...gentleness is only to be expected from the strong." - Leo Reston

"Cruelty might be very human, and it might be cultural, but it's not acceptable." - Jodie Foster
flipp525
Laureate
Posts: 6163
Joined: Thu Jan 09, 2003 7:44 am

Post by flipp525 »

Picnic (1955).



Edited By flipp525 on 1214520202
"The mantle of spinsterhood was definitely in her shoulders. She was twenty five and looked it."

-Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Original BJ
Emeritus
Posts: 4312
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 8:49 pm

Post by The Original BJ »

For a project I'm working on, I'm looking for films that paint a reasonably accurate portrait of life in the American Midwest during the 1950s.

Any ideas from filmgoers more seasoned than I would be much appreciated! Thank you!
Post Reply

Return to “Other Film Discussions”