1950s

Vintage: Behind the Scenes: Rear Window (1954)

Vintage: Behind the Scenes: Rear Window (1954)

Rear Window is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock and written by John Michael Hayes based on Cornell Woolrich’s 1942 short story “It Had to Be Murder”. Originally released by Paramount Pictures, the film stars James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter and Raymond Burr.
Vintage: 12 Angry Men (1957)

Vintage: 12 Angry Men (1957)

12 Angry Men is a 1957 American drama film adapted from a teleplay of the same name by Reginald Rose. Written and co-produced by Rose himself and directed by Sidney Lumet, this trial film tells the story of a jury made up of 12 men as they deliberate the guilt or acquittal of a defendant on the basis of reasonable…
Behind the scenes: Some Like It Hot (1959)

Behind the scenes: Some Like It Hot (1959)

Some Like It Hot is a 1959 American comedy film set in 1929, directed by Billy Wilder, starring Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon. The film is about two musicians who dress in drag in order to escape from mafia gangsters whom they witnessed commit the Valentines Day Massacre.
Behind the Scenes: Forbidden Planet (1956)

Behind the Scenes: Forbidden Planet (1956)

Forbidden Planet (aka Fatal Planet) is a 1956 American science fiction film from MGM. Starring Walter Pidgeon, Anne Francis, Leslie Nielsen, Warren Stevens, Jack Kelly, and Robby the Robot. Forbidden Planet is the first science fiction film in which humans are depicted traveling in a starship of their own creation. It was also the first science fiction film set entirely…
Vintage: Classic Polish Films (1940s and 50s)

Vintage: Classic Polish Films (1940s and 50s)

After the horrors of the Nazi occupation and repressive postwar Soviet domination, Polish cinema suddenly took off in the mid-50s to become a major international force. Initially, it was Andrzej Wajda’s trilogy (1954-58) on wartime resistance that attracted attention. That was followed by a wave of films approaching contemporary society with skilful circumspection before there was a further clampdown in…
Behind the Scenes: Vertigo (1958)

Behind the Scenes: Vertigo (1958)

Vertigo is a 1958 American psychological thriller film directed and produced by Alfred Hitchcock. The story was based on the 1954 novel D’entre les morts by Boileau-Narcejac. The film stars James Stewart as former police detective John “Scottie” Ferguson. Scottie is forced into early retirement because an incident in the line of duty has caused him to develop acrophobia (an…
Neofuturistic architecture of Eero Saarinen (1950s and 60s)

Neofuturistic architecture of Eero Saarinen (1950s and 60s)

Eero Saarinen was a Finnish American architect and industrial designer of the 20th century famous for shaping his neofuturistic style according to the demands of the project: simple, sweeping, arching structural curves or machine-like rationalism. Photographer Balthazar Korab worked for Saarinen, skillfully capturing the nuances, shapes, and lines of his structures and documenting the creative process involved. In the process,…
Bill Perlmutter: Europe in the Fifties. Through a Soldier’s Lens

Bill Perlmutter: Europe in the Fifties. Through a Soldier’s Lens

Beginning in 1954, on assignment for the US Army, Perlmutter traveled through Europe. “Europe in the Fifties. Through a Soldier’s Lens” shows a selection of his images taken in Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain. The 82-year old’s work is a historical treasure that will be presented for the first time in Berlin. The photographer’s view of war-torn Europe is…
Street Scenes of Madrid and Barcelona in the 1950’s

Street Scenes of Madrid and Barcelona in the 1950’s

In 1948, Francesc Català-Roca began working independently as a photojournalist for magazines such as “Destino” and “Revista.” His work dealt with a variety of themes, from landscapes to cityscapes, from artistic documentation to ethnography. He is considered as one of the major photographers in Catalonia not only for his role as a pioneer in the field of avant-garde photography but…
Bohemian Life in Paris in 1950

Bohemian Life in Paris in 1950

Dutch photographer Ed van der Elsken was part of the scene in Paris at the time, and in 1956, he published a ground-breaking photobook called Love on the Left Bank. His gritty, sexy, black-and-white photos of bohemian life in Paris captured a reckless, carefree, decadent and hedonistic love for life. Vali Myers, the Australian artist, featured in this book as…