America, America 1963  N/R, 168 min.
Genre: Drama
aka: The Anatolian Smile
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Stathis Giallelis, Frank Wolff, Elena Karam, Estelle Hemsley, Lou Antonio, John Marley, Harry Davis, Linda Marsh, Paul Mann, George Foundas
This film received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture, Director, and Story and won the Oscar for Best Art Direction. The story depicts the struggles of a young immigrant (Stathis Giallelis) who, through hard work, is able to survive in his new land and bring his family to America.
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The Arrangement 1969  R, 127 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Kirk Douglas, Faye Dunaway, Deborah Kerr, Richard Boone, Hume Cronyn, Michael Higgins, Carol Rossen, Harold Gould, Michael Murphy, Charles Drake
Unhappy with his job and marriage, Eddie (Kirk Douglas) tries and fails to commit suicide. He then ignores his wife's (Deborah Kerr) needs and has an affair with a coworker (Faye Dunaway). Finally, he recognizes that his problems come from his unsatisfactory relationship with his own father (Richard Boone).
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Baby Doll 1956  N/R, 114 min.
Genre: Comedy / Drama / Romance
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Eli Wallach, Mildred Dunnock, Rip Torn, Lonny Chapman, Eades Hogue, Noah Williamson, R.G. Armstrong, Madeleine Sherwood
The setting for this Tennessee Williams tale is Mississippi where Silva Vacarro (Eli Wallach) runs a cotton mill, and Archie Lee Meighan (Karl Malden) lives with his young wife, Baby Doll (Carroll Baker), who sleeps in a crib. Following a suspicious fire at Vacarro's mill, he plays on Baby Doll's naivete to invalidate Meighan's alibi. Academy Award nominations included Best Actress (Carroll Baker), and Mildred Dunnock was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Aunt Rose.
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Blues in the Night 1941  N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Drama / Musical
Director: Anatole Litvak
Cast: Priscilla Lane, Betty Field, Richard Whorf, Lloyd Nolan, Jack Carson, Wallace Ford, Howard Da Silva, Elia Kazan, Billy Halop, Peter Whitney, Joyce Compton, Herbert Heywood, George Lloyd, Charles C. Wilson, Matt McHugh
"Jigger" Pine (Richard Whorf) forms a jazz band, and the trumpeter Leo's (Jack Carson) wife Ginger "Character" Powell (Priscilla Lane) is their singer. They wait for that big break that doesn't come and spend their time riding the trains from one small gig to another. On one train ride they meet gangster Del Davis (Lloyd Nolan) who offers the band a job at his New Jersey roadhouse. They begin performing for Davis and employ sultry Kay (Betty Field) as their singer–and, too late, learn how mobster's moll Kay can tear the band apart.
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Boomerang! 1947 N/R, 88 min.
Genre: Drama / Mystery
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy, Sam Levene, Ed Begley, Taylor Holmes, Robert Keith, Karl Malden, Cara Williams, Philip Coolidge, William Challee, Bert Freed, Lucia Backus Seger, George Petrie
When a New England priest is murdered, John Waldron (Arthur Kennedy) is arrested. He is beaten into confessing that he is the killer and then tried for the crime. Based on the true story of a 1924 murder case that is still unsolved, the film follows State's Attorney Henry Harvey (Dana Andrews) as he works to sort out the facts.
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City for Conquest 1940  N/R, 105 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Anatole Litvak
Cast: James Cagney, Ann Sheridan, Frank Craven, Donald Crisp, Arthur Kennedy, George Tobias, Elia Kazan, Anthony Quinn, Frank McHugh, Bob Steele, Jerome Cowan, Lee Patrick, Blanche Yurka, Joyce Compton, Thurston Hall
Gotham truck driver Danny (James Cagney) goes back into the boxing ring to help his kid brother Eddie (Arthur Kennedy) with tuition for music school where he is studying to become a composer. Meanwhile, Danny's girlfriend Peggy (Ann Sheridan), hoping to make a career as a nightclub dancer, breaks off their engagement and goes into partnership with sleazy, professional dancer Murray Burns (Anthony Quinn). Now, Danny accepts a championship bout but ends up blind after resin dust is put on his gloves by his opponent's handlers. Danny and Peggy appear irreconcilable–until Eddie composes a symphony that tells how Peggy and Danny really feel and conducts his first major work at Carnegie Hall. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | Mr. Music 11/28/2007 | | Music Score Excellent with strong melodies that were parallel to the drama in good contrapuntal style. |
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 East of Eden 1955 N/R, 115 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: James Dean, Julie Harris, Raymond Massey, Richard Davalos, Jo Van Fleet, Burl Ives, Albert Dekker, Lois Smith, Lonny Chapman, Timothy Carey, Harold Gordon, Nick Dennis, Richard Garrick, Earle Hodgins, John Halloran
In this film, James Dean's first starring role, he plays Cal Trask, a rebellious son who wants his father Adam's (Raymond Massey) love; however, religious zealot Adam appears to favor Cal's brother Aron (Richard Davalos). Cal is always in trouble, and only Aron's girlfriend Abra (Julie Harris) and sheriff Sam (Burl Ives) see the good in him. Adam, who owns a Salinas Valley lettuce farm, invests in a new method to ship his crops. But, the venture fails, and Adam loses a fortune. Cal goes to his long-lost mother Kate (Jo Van Fleet), who now owns a brothel. She gives him money, and Cal invests in a bean crop that proves very successful. Cal offers Adam money from the profits. Adam refuses Cal's offer to help, and tragedy ensues. Jo Van Fleet won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, and nominations were received for Best Actor (Dean) and Director.
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A Face in the Crowd 1957 N/R, 125 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Andy Griffith, Patricia Neal, Anthony Franciosa, Lee Remick, Walter Matthau, Rip Torn, Percy Waram, Rod Brasfield, Kay Medford, Charles Irving
Lonesome Rhodes (Andy Griffith) rises from small-time entertainer to television star. Along the way, he becomes involved in greed and corruption.
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Gentleman's Agreement 1947 N/R, 118 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, John Garfield, Celeste Holm, Anne Revere, June Havoc, Albert Dekker, Jane Wyatt, Dean Stockwell, Sam Jaffe, Nicholas Joy, Harold Vermilyea
Journalist Phil Green (Gregory Peck) pretends to be Jewish for an article he is writing; in the process he encounters anti-Semitism. This experiment affects his family when his son Tommy (Dean Stockwell) suffers prejudice at school as a direct result of his father's article. The film won the Best Picture Academy Award, Elia Kazan won for Best Director, and Celeste Holm carried away an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. Nominations went to Peck, McGuire, and Revere.
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The Last Tycoon 1976 PG, 123 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Robert De Niro, Tony Curtis, Robert Mitchum, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Nicholson, Donald Pleasence, Ray Milland, Dana Andrews, Anjelica Huston, John Carradine
This F. Scott Fitzgerald story is about an aging Hollywood film executive, Monroe Stahr (Robert De Niro), who finds that he is powerless to control his destiny.
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 On the Waterfront 1954  N/R, 108 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, Pat Henning, Leif Erickson, Rudy Bond, James Westerfield, Barry Macollum, Tony Galento, John F. Hamilton, Martin Balsam, Fred Gwynne, Pat Hingle
It takes courage to testify against union racketeering, and that is what dockworker Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) must face. His girlfriend Edie (Eva Marie Saint) and priest, Father Barry (Karl Malden), help Terry come to terms with his conscience. This film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Director, Actor (Marlon Brando), and Supporting Actress (Eva Marie Saint). Rod Steiger, Lee J. Cobb, and Karl Malden were all nominated for Oscars.
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Panic in the Streets 1950 N/R, 96 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes, Jack Palance, Zero Mostel, Dan Riss, Tommy Cook, Tommy Rettig, Alex Minotis, Lewis Charles
This Oscar winner (Best Writing/Story) is set in New Orleans where Blackie (Jack Palance) and Fitch (Zero Mostel), unknowingly, are carriers of a deadly virus after they murder an illegal alien. Now, police race against time to track them down.
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Pinky 1949 N/R, 102 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Jeanne Crain, Ethel Barrymore, Ethel Waters, Nina Mae McKinney, William Lundigan, Basil Ruysdael, Griff Barnett, Evelyn Varden, Raymond Greenleaf, Arthur Hunnicutt
The absurdity of racial prejudice is shown in this film about a Black woman (Jeanne Crain) who passes for White in the Deep South. Crain was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar, and both Ethel Barrymore and Ethel Waters were nominated for Best Supporting Actress.
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The Sea of Grass 1947  N/R, 122 min.
Genre: Western
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Walker, Melvyn Douglas, Phyllis Thaxter, Edgar Buchanan, Harry Carey, Charles Trowbridge, Ruth Nelson, Robert Barrat
Cattle baron Colonel Jim Brewton (Spencer Tracy) is so busy feuding with farmers over land rights that he ignores his wife Lutie (Katharine Hepburn) who, in turn, finds the attentions of Brice Chamberlain (Melvyn Douglas) to her liking.
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 Splendor in the Grass 1961 N/R, 124 min.
Genre: Drama / Romance
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Natalie Wood, Warren Beatty, Pat Hingle, Audrey Christie, Sean Garrison, Phyllis Diller, Sandy Dennis, Zohra Lampert, Barbara Loden, Gary Lockwood, Fred Stewart, Joanna Roos, John McGovern, Jan Norris, Martine Bartlett
This film marked Warren Beatty's film debut. He plays Bud Stamper whose family is affluent, and Natalie Wood plays Bud's girlfriend Deanie Loomis who has a nervous breakdown following the end of her romance with Bud. Soap? You bet. But there's some good acting, and the setting of the Midwest in the 1920s helps the atmosphere. Wood was nominated for an Oscar. Remade (for TV) in 1981.
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 A Streetcar Named Desire 1951 N/R, 125 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden, Rudy Bond, Nick Dennis, Peg Hillias, Richard Garrick, Mickey Kuhn, Marietta Canty, Wright King, Charles Wagenheim, Ann Dere, Edna Thomas, Mickey Kuhn
Southern belle Blanche Dubois (Vivien Leigh) visits her sister, Stella (Kim Hunter), in New Orleans and is confronted by her sister's brute of a husband, Stanley (Marlon Brando). The results are tragic in this Tennessee Williams story of the Old South losing out to the contemporary world. Stanley's plea: "Stella! Hey, Stella!" Vivien Leigh carried away a Best Actress Oscar for her performance, as did Kim Hunter and Karl Malden for their supporting roles. Other nominations included Best Picture, Actor (Marlon Brando), and Director.
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A Tree Grows in Brooklyn 1945 N/R, 125 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Dorothy McGuire, Joan Blondell, James Dunn, Peggy Ann Garner, Lloyd Nolan, James Gleason, Ruth Nelson, John Alexander, Ferike Boros, Ted Donaldson, B.S. Pully, Al Bridge, Virginia Brissac, Charles Halton, J. Farrell McDonald
Financial worries of her parents, Katie and Johnny Nolan (Dorothy McGuire and James Dunn), affect the happiness of teenager Francie (Peggy Ann Garner) at the end of the 19th century. Growing up in a tenement existence, Francie wants a better life but struggles just to survive. A tree that survives the seasons is visible from their tenement and is her family's symbol of survival. This film is the first directorial effort of Elia Kazan. Dunn won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and Garner was presented an Honorary Oscar as Outstanding Child Actress.
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Viva Zapata! 1952 N/R, 112 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn, Joseph Wiseman, Mildred Dunnock, Arnold Moss, Frank Silvera, Margo, Alan Reed, Lou Gilbert
During the Mexican Revolution Emiliano Zapata (Marlon Brando) came down from the hills and rose to the presidency of his country. Once in office, he was confronted with the ease of corruption. Anthony Quinn carried away an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, and Marlon Brando was nominated for Best Actor.
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Wild River 1960 PG, 110 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Montgomery Clift, Lee Remick, Jo Van Fleet, Albert Salmi, Jay C. Flippen, James Westerfield, Frank Overton, Bruce Dern, Pat Hingle, Malcolm Atterbury
As a TVA official of the 1930s, Chuck Glover (Montgomery Clift) tries to convince Ella Garth (Jo Van Fleet) to sell her home (which is located on an island in the Tennessee River) and allow plans for the government's development of power and transportation on the river proceed.
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| Oscars: Best Director for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Best Director for On The Waterfront (1954) |
1. America, America (1963)
aka: The Anatolian Smile
2. The Arrangement (1969)
3. Baby Doll (1956)
4. Blues in the Night (1941)
5. Boomerang! (1947)
6. City for Conquest (1940)
7. East of Eden (1955)
8. A Face in the Crowd (1957)
9. Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
10. The Last Tycoon (1976)
11. On the Waterfront (1954)
12. Panic in the Streets (1950)
13. Pinky (1949)
14. The Sea of Grass (1947)
15. Splendor in the Grass (1961)
16. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
17. A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (1945)
18. Viva Zapata! (1952)
19. Wild River (1960)
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