Jane Sloan Media Librarian jsloan@rci.rutgers.edu June 2006

Research Resources: Subject Research Guides: Media Collections:
Feature Films U.S. 1950s

This guide is a browsing aid to selected titles in the video/DVD collections at Rutgers Libraries. The most up-to-date, accurate, and complete information regarding the libraries' holdings is available only through IRIS, our online catalog.

All about Eve 1987

"An aspiring young actress ingratiates herself with a prominent group of theatre people, but passion to perform and jealousy consume her as she viciously betrays her colleagues in her struggle for success."--Video Source Book.

1 videocassette (VHS) (130 min.) :

MEDIA 2-297

The Bad and the beautiful 1952

Biting drama that tells the story of a ruthless, manipulative movie producer who lets nothing and nobody stand in his way. Now he's broke and needs the help of the very people he used and betrayed on his climb to the top.

1 videocassette (120 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2063

Bad day at Black Rock 1955

Spencer Tracy's smoldering, tight-reined portrayal of a man pitted against a town whose souls have been twisted by a dark secret.

1 videocassette (82 min.) :

MEDIA 2-866

The Bad seed 1956

Meet 8-year old Rhoda Penmark, she's a well-mannered, sunny-faced, perfect little lady with long golden braids and a winning smile. She's also an efficient, unfeeling killer. She's The bad seed. And in this spell-binding chronicle of evil, her twisted mind follows a straight foward doctrine: What Rhoda wants, she ruthlessly gets.

1 videocassette (129 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1509

The Band wagon 1953

A Hollywood song-and-dance man finds trouble when persuaded to star in a Broadway musical.

1 videocassette (112 min.) :

MEDIA 2-109

Beat the Devil 1953

Each person on a slow boat to Africa has a scheme to beat the other passengers to the uranium land that they all hope to claim.

1 videocassette (89 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2861

Bend of the river 1952

As a former outlaw turned wagon train guide, Stewart is pitted against warring Indians, murderous hijackers and a traitorous ally as he attempts to lead a group of settlers through the treacherous Oregon wilderness.

1 videodisc (92 min.)

DANA 103

The Big heat 1953

A crime melodrama about an honest police sergeant who risks his life and his job when his investigations lead to the exposure of the crime syndicate that controls the city administration.

1 videocassette (90 min.) :

MEDIA 2-128

The Bigamist 199-1953

A traveling salesman from San Francisco marries another woman in Los Angeles, without revealing to her that he was already married.

1 videocassette (ca. 80 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2658

Blackboard jungle 1989

This is a film about life in an inner city high school in the 50's that was the first to utilize a rock 'n' roll soundtrack. A dedicated young teacher soon loses his idealism when he has to deal with the tensions that threaten to destroy his classroom.

1 videocassette (102 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1708

Carmen Jones 1994

Joe, a military policeman about to make officer, is infatuated with the flirtatious and sexy Carmen Jones. Their ill-fated romance comes to a grisly end by the conclusion of the drama but not before their liaison has wreaked havoc with their lives and all who cross their paths.

1 videocassette (105 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 1347 2-3790

Carrie 1952

A powerhouse of human passions transformed into soul-withering frailties, as love-doomed George Hurstwood throws everything away for the love of Carrie.

1 videodisc (121 min.)

MEDIA 10-562

The Court-martial of Billy Mitchell 1989

The true story of Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, who devoted his life to the military and his career to developing a superior air defense force for the United States. When top army brass fail to recognize the importance of air power following its crucial role in winning WWI, Mitchell (Cooper) initiates a campaign to change their minds that will ultimately lead to his demotion and the most controversial military trial in U.S. history.

1 videocassette (100 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2274

Curse of the demon 1957

When a psychologist's colleague is murdered, he denies that it's the work of the devil until he becomes the next target.

1 videocassette (96 min.) :

MEDIA 2-702

D.O.A 1950

When he is slipped a dose of slow-acting poison, a man sets out to find his own murderer.

1 videodisc (84 min.)

DANA 38

Desk set 1957

A classic Hepburn-Tracy romance about the head of the research department at a television network and an absent-minded computer genius.

1 videocassette (103 min.) :

MEDIA 2-885

The Desperate hours 1996

Escaped convicts hold hostage and terrorize a banker's family.

1 videocassette (112 min.) :

DANA 1521

Dial M for murder 1954

From the Warner Brothers series, A night at the movies, which recreates the experience of actually going to the movies (circa 1954). The first twenty minutes contains newsreels, a cartoon and previews of coming attractions. The feature film is a classic Alfred Hitchcock suspense film.

1 videocassette (VHS) (123 min.) :

MEDIA 2-222

East of Eden 1950

Set in 1913 in the town of Monterey, a young man competes with his brother for his father's love, only to discover a secret about his mother.

1 videocassette (105 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 1381 2-1443

A face in the crowd 1990

Lonesome Rhodes, a big ol' teddy bear of a man, sits in a dusty, squalid Arkansas jail, swapping stories with his fellow drifters and plunking on his guitar. It's not much of a life -- until a chance encounter skyrockets Lonesome to more fame, money, and power than even the greediest man can handle.

1 videocassette (126 min.) :

MEDIA 2-6209

The five pennies 1959

Pleasant biography of jazzman Loring "Red" Nichols.

1 videocassette (117 min.)

JAZZ 421

Gentlemen prefer blondes 1953

A musical comedy about the adventures of two beautiful showgirls--an apparently stupid blonde golddigger and her provocative brunette friend--during a voyage from New York to Paris.

1 videocassette (92 min.) :

MEDIA 2-91

The Glenn Miller story 1953

This vibrant tribute to Glenn Miller charts his rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940's.

1 videocassette (113 min.) :

JAZZ 385

Harvey 1990

Comedy about a good-natured fellow whose constant companion is a six-foot tall invisible rabbit. His sister is determined to marry her daughter off and decides to commit her brother to a mental hospital to get him out of the way. Due to a mix-up the sister is committed instead, and it is up to the kindly brother and his imaginary friend to straighten things out!

1 videocassette (104 min.) :

MEDIA 2-990

High noon 1952

A retired marshal's wedding is interrupted when he learns that an outlaw he helped send to jail will return to town on the noon train to seek revenge. The townspeople are unwilling to help the marshal, so, reluctantly, he takes up his badge and guns again. This alienates his new bride, a Quaker woman who is opposed to any kind of violence.

1 videocassette (84 min.) :

DOUGLASS 107

The hitch-hiker 1953

Two middle-class American men enroute to Mexico on a long-awaited fishing trip find their lives threatened when they pick up a hitchhiker who turns out to be a fugitive maniacal killer.

1 videocassette (70 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3485

I want to live! 1999

A screen adaptation of the dramatic events in the life of a "B-Girl," Barbara Graham, which led to a sensational murder trial and afterwards, her execution.

1 videocassette (122 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5550

Invasion of the body snatchers 1989

A weird form of giant plant life has descended on Santa Mira, and has spread to nearby towns. These "pods" contain blank human-life forms that systematically take over the townspeoples' bodies while they sleep. Once this is realized by the survivors, their fight to escape becomes as dangerous as the need to sleep.

1 videodisc (80 min.) :

MEDIA 7-77

Jailhouse rock 1957

Sent to prison for accidentally killing a man the convicted young man learns to sing and when released he becomes a pop music star.

1 videocassette (96 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1831

Japanese war bride 1997

A Korean War vet (Taylor) falls in love with a Japanese nurse (Yamaguchi) and brings her back to his California home as his wife. However, the neighboring farmers who still harbor anti-Japanese sentiments from World War II, try to break up their marriage.

1 videocassette (91 min.) :

MEDIA 2-5570

Johnny Guitar 1954

A western in which Vienna, a saloon owner, is determined to resist the townspeople's efforts to run her out of town. Johnny Guitar, a reformed gunfighter and her ex-boyfriend, eventually saves her from an attempted lynching and assists her in a final confrontation with the townspeople.

1 videocassette (110 min.) :

MEDIA 2-183

The killing 1989

A straightforward accounting of a racetrack robbery engineered by a group of small-time crooks.

1 videocassette (85 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3574

King Lear 1953

1 videocassette (75 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1615

Magnificent obsession 1985

An irresponsible playboy causes the widowhood and blindness of a beautiful woman. After a later encounter with her, he decides to dedicate his life to becoming a surgeon to try to cure her blindness.

1 videocassette (108 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3483

The man from Laramie 1955

A resolute vigilante obsessed with finding the man responsible for his brother's death. Among the suspects are an arrogant cattle baron, his sadistic son, and his ranch foreman. One explosive confrontation in which Stewart is dragged by a wild horse and shot in the hand at close range is one of movie history's most memorable sequences.

1 videodisc (104 min.) :

MEDIA 10-58

The Man who knew too much 1991

An Englishman, his wife and child become involved in a plot to assassinate a foreign diplomat; the child is kidnapped before her father canturn a coded massage over to the British Foreign Office.

1 videocassette (75 min.) :

DANA MEDIA 575 2-257 2-594 2-1686

Marty 1955

Ernest Borgnine stars as a lonely butcher from the Bronx who finds love when he meets another lonely soul (Betsy Blair).

1 videocassette (94 min.) ;

MEDIA 2-1265

The Member of the wedding 1952

Story of a motherless 12-year-old struggling to cope with adolescence.

1 videocassette (ca. 91 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1491

The member of the wedding 1992

The story of 12-year-old Frankie, who is grappling with the loneliness of entering adolescence, and the household cook who provides her compassion and understanding.

1 videocassette (91 min.)

JAZZ 427

Night and the city 1993

Harry Fabian, a London hustler and con man, dreams of scamming his way into the big time. When he plunges into the wrestling world as a promoter, Harry thinks he has found his ticket to the top, but learns he must scheme his way around the ruthless boss of London's underworld.

1 videocassette (96 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3578

No way out 1997

When a young African-American doctor operates on two white brothers brought in for gunshot wounds, it sets off a chain of violent confrontations between a vicious psychopath, his gang and the black community.

1 videocassette (106 min.) :

DANA MEDIA 1356 2-6200

North by northwest 1988

Special features: Side 5. Theatrical trailer. Storyboards. Production and publicity. Bernard Hermann, a short biography -- Side 6. Hitchcock explains, an interview. Storyboard repriseSuspense film in which a suave Madison Avenue adman is mistaken for a Federal intelligence man by foreign agents. When he is falsely implicated in a murder, he flees cross-country, followed by spies, counterspies, police - and a blonde Mata Hari who apparently is aiding the agents chasing him. The film ends with a mad scramble across the giant sculpted faces of Mount Rushmore.

3 videodiscs (136 min.) : 1 videocassette (137 min.) :

MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA DANA 7-143 disc 1 7-144 disc 2 7-145 disc 3 549

Pickup on South Street 1991

A thief with a record as a three-time loser pickpockes a street-smart beauty who's carrying secret microfilm for a gang of communist spies.

1 videocassette (83 min.)

DANA 1924

Pillow talk 1959

The romantic comedy about a carefree bachelor who shares a telephone party line with an independent career girl.

1 videocassette (103 min.) :

MEDIA 2-863

Rear window 1954

Stewart, a photographer with a broken leg, is confined to his apartment during a Greenwich Village heat wave. He takes up spying on his neighbors and suspects his neighbor has murdered his wife.

1 videocassette (113 min.) : DVD

DANA MEDIA 531 10-91

Rebel without a cause 1996

The teen-age son of a well-to-do family gets involved in violence when he attempts to win the approval of a gang of high-school hoodlums. Added material includes a "safe-driving" interview withdrawn from airing following Dean's death.

1 videocassette (147 min.) :

DANA 1079

Rebel without a cause 1999

The teen-aged son of a well-to-do family gets involved in violence when he attempts to win the approval of a gang of high-school hoodlums.

1 videodisc (111 min.) : 1 videocassette (147 min.) :

MEDIA DANA 10-63 1079

The red badge of courage 1985

During his service in the Civil War, a young Union soldier matures to manhood and finds peace of mind as he comes to grips with his conflicting emotions about war.

1 videocassette (70 min.) :

MEDIA 2-137

Red planet Mars 1990

An American scientist establishes radio contact with Mars, and discovers that the average life span there is 300 years and there is an abundance of food and energy. The world is thrown into a panic, but the question soon arises--is this real or the work of an imposter?

1 videocassette (89 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2895

Rio Bravo 1959

John Wayne stars as Sheriff John T. Chance in this lean, classic Western that packs solid heroics around a strong emotional core. Joining Wayne are Dean Martin as the deputy coming off a two-year drunk, Walter Brennan as the old coot whose fiery spirit matches his crippled stride, Ricky Nelson as a youngster out to prove himself, and Angie Dickinson as a woman with a past who hopes to rope Chance.

1 videocassette (141 min.) :

MEDIA 2-745

Roman holiday 2002

A modern-day princess rebels against her royal obligations and explores Rome on her own. She meets an American newspaperman who, seeking an exclusive story, pretends ignorance of her identity. But his plan falters as they fall in love.

1 videodisc (118 min.) :

MEDIA 10-187

The searchers 1956

A Confederate war veteran tracks down the Indians who killed his brother and sister-in-law and carried off their daughter.

1 videocassette (119 min.) :

MEDIA 2-11

The Seven year itch 1955

A husband of seven years, alone in New York while his family vacations, fantasizes an affair with the TV model in the upstairs apartment and develops the seven year itch. Tortured by guilt, he envisions so many dire consequences he finally runs off to join his wife.

1 videocassette (105 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1255

Shadows 1996

A gripping story of racism set against a New York background in the 1950's. Lelia, a light-skinned black woman living in New York with her two brothers, has an affair with a white man. The relationship soon sours when he meets one of her brothers and discovers she is really black.

1 videocassette (87 min.)

JAZZ 420

Shane 1953

A retired gunfigher, now drifter, comes to the assistance of a homestead family terrorized by a hired gunman.

1 videocassette (VHS) (117 min.) :

MEDIA DANA 2-278 98

Singin' in the rain 1952

An affectionate spoof of the turmoil that afflicted the motion picture industry in the late 1920's during the changeover from silent films to sound.

1 videocassette (103 min.) :

MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA. MEDIA 2-138 2-314 5-542 5-543 5-544

Some like it hot 1997

Two unemployed male musicians, witness to a Chicago murder, disguise themselves as females and join an all-girl band headed to Miami to escape the gangster's retaliation.

1 videocassette (121 min.) :

DANA 1842

Stage fright 1990

A drama student poses as a maid and goes to work for the woman who has framed her boyfriend for murder.

1 videocassette (110 min.) :

DANA 550

Strangers on a train 1987

A tennis star who hates his wife is approached by a stranger who hates his father, and who also offers a plan: each could murder the other's victim.

1 videodisc (101 min.) : 1 videocassette (101 min.) :

MEDIA DANA 7-136 533

A Streetcar named Desire 1951

Drama about a fading beauty clinging to an illusory world of aristocratic gentility and a thug who destroys her feeble grip on reality.

1 videocassette (VHS) (122 min.) :

DANA. MEDIA 18 2-317

Sudden fear 1952

A wealthy woman playwright marries a actor who, with his mistress, plots to kill her.

1 videocassette (ca. 110 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3555

The Sun shines bright 1990

Vivid and compelling tale about a Fairfield, Kentucky judge whose compassionate nature involves him in romantic and racial affairs packed with political suicide.

1 videocassette (92 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2846

Teacher's pet 1995

A school-of-hard-knocks newspaperman who despises journalism schools is forced by his boss to visit a night school journalism class. Smitten by the course's lovely professor, he enrolls masquerading as a novice and soon becomes her prize pupil, all the while trying to make her his own prize.

1 videocassette (120 min.) :

DANA 492

The three faces of Eve 1993

Based on a true story, this psychological drama about a woman with three personalities explores dimensions of the human mind.

1 videocassette (91 min.) :

MEDIA. MEDIA 2-3597 2-5670

A Touch of evil 1958

The story starts with a murder that ensnares a vacationing narcotics agent (Heston) and his wife (Leigh) in a web of shadowy figures. Orson Welles plays a corrupt police official in the squalid town on the Mexican border where the action takes place. The elaborately mysterious plot builds to an intense confrontation between Welles and Heston, each intent on destroying the other.

1 videocassette :

MEDIA 2-970

Vertigo 1997

Scottie Ferguson is a San Francisco police detective who is forced to retire when a freak accident gives him a severe case of acrophobia. Ferguson is hired by a rich shipbuilder to follow his wife who is behaving suspiciously and might be planning suicide. He falls in love with her, she is later murdered and Ferguson becomes demonic in his desire to re-create her in another woman.

2 videodiscs (128 min.) : 1 videocassette (128 min.) :

MEDIA. MEDIA DANA 7-146 disc 1 7-147 disc 2 566

Wagon master 1950

Ben Johnson and Ward Bond star as two easygoing wranglers who sign on with an ill-fated Mormon wagon train. In their travels, they encounter parching deserts, marauding Indians, and low down desperados.

1 videocassette (85 min.) :

MEDIA 2-1220

Written on the wind 1956

A story of the decline of an oil magnate's dynasty amidst moral ruin and death.

1 videocassette (99 min.) :

MEDIA 2-2158

Young man with a horn 1987

A lonely boy is inspired by the soaring magic played by a small jazz combo. So with a second-hand trumpet, and the loving guidance of a brilliant bluesman, the boy develops into a superb artist obsessed by music.

1 videocassette (112 min.) :

MEDIA 2-3472