The 1950s (pronounced nineteen-fifties; commonly abbreviated as the "Fifties" or the "'50s") (among other variants) was a
decade that began on January 1, 1950, and ended on December 31, 1959.
Logo for celebrations commemorating the 50th anniversary of the treaty in 2008
The US–UK Mutual Defense Agreement, or the 1958 UK–US Mutual Defence Agreement, is a
bilateral treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom on
nuclear weapons co-operation. The treaty's full name is Agreement between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for Cooperation on the uses of Atomic Energy for Mutual Defense Purposes. It allows the US and the UK to exchange nuclear materials, technology and information. The US has
nuclear co-operation agreements with other countries, including France and other
NATO countries, but this agreement is by far the most comprehensive. Because of the agreement's strategic value to Britain,
Harold Macmillan (the
Prime Minister who presided over the United Kingdom's entry into the agreement) called it "the Great Prize".
The treaty was signed on 3 July 1958 after the
Soviet Union had
shocked the American public with the launch of
Sputnik on 4 October 1957, and the
British hydrogen bomb programme had successfully tested a
thermonuclear device in the
Operation Grapple test on 8 November. The
special relationship proved mutually beneficial, both militarily and economically. Britain soon became dependent on the United States for its nuclear weapons since it agreed to limit their nuclear program with the agreement of shared technology. The treaty allowed American nuclear weapons to be supplied to Britain through
Project E for use by the
Royal Air Force and
British Army of the Rhine until the early 1990s when the UK became fully independent in designing and manufacturing its own warheads. (Full article...)
In 1955, Edmund Goldman acquired the 1954 film from Toho and enlisted the aid of Paul Schreibman, Harold Ross,
Richard Kay, and
Joseph E. Levine to produce a revised version for American audiences. This version
dubbed most of the Japanese dialogue into English, and altered and removed key plot points and themes. New footage was produced with Burr interacting with body doubles and Japanese-American actors in an attempt to make it seem like Burr was part of the original Japanese production. (Full article...)
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Nadodi Mannan (
transl. The Vagabond King) is a 1958 Indian
Tamil-language
action adventure film directed by
M. G. Ramachandran in his debut as a filmmaker. He stars in dual roles alongside
P. Bhanumathi,
M. N. Rajam and
B. Saroja Devi.
P. S. Veerappa,
M. N. Nambiar,
M. G. Chakrapani,
T. K. Balachandran and
Chandrababu play supporting roles. The film revolves around a king being replaced by a look-alike after getting abducted on the eve of his coronation. The look-alike begins to implement social and economic reforms to uplift the poor which irks the kingdom's high priest, who has kidnapped the very person the look-alike resembles. The rest of the film shows how the look-alike saves the man he impersonates and defeats the high priest.
Made on a budget of ₹1.8 million, Ramachandran co-produced the film with Chakrapani and
R. M. Veerappan under the banner of Em.Gee.Yar Pictures.
C. Kuppusami, K. Srinivasan, and
P. Neelakantan were in charge of the screenplay.
Kannadasan and Ravindar undertook the responsibility of writing the dialogues. The cinematography was handled by G. K. Ramu while K. Perumal and C. P. Jambulingam did the editing.
S. M. Subbaiah Naidu and N. S. Balakrishnan composed the film's soundtrack and score. Songs from the soundtrack like "Thoongathey Thambi Thoongathey", "Thadukkathey", "Summa Kedandha", and "Senthamizhe" became popular hits. (Full article...)
The film began production in February 1956, as director Corman wanted to shoot one final film in six days before a change in union contracts meant that actors were limited to working only five days a week. Filming of Gunslinger was marred by several inconveniences; rain caused the filming location to become muddy, and the two lead actresses were both injured on set. Eventually, Gunslinger was released to mixed reviews, and, in 1993, was featured in a fifth-season episode of the film-mocking comedy television series Mystery Science Theater 3000. (Full article...)
Executive producer Iwao Mori instructed producer
Tomoyuki Tanaka to immediately commence production on a second Godzilla film, fearing to lose the momentum of the
first film's success. Oda was chosen to direct the film as
Ishirō Honda was busy directing Lovetide. (Full article...)
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Theatrical release poster
Warning from Space (
Japanese: 宇宙人東京に現わる,
Hepburn: Uchūjin Tōkyō ni arawaru,
lit.'Spacemen Appear in Tokyo') is a Japanese tokusatsuscience fiction film directed by
Koji Shima. Produced and distributed by
Daiei Film, it was the first Japanese science fiction film to be produced in color and predates Daiei's most iconic tokusatsu characters,
Gamera and
Daimajin. In the film's plot,
starfish-like
aliens disguised as humans travel to Earth to warn of the imminent collision of a
rogue planet and Earth. As the planet rapidly accelerates toward Earth, a
nuclear device is created at the last minute and destroys the approaching world.
The film was one of many early Japanese monster films quickly produced after the success of
Toho's Godzilla in 1954. After release, the film was met with negative reviews, with critics calling it "bizarre" and accusing it of using science fiction
clichés. Warning from Space influenced many other Japanese science fiction films, such as Gorath. The film, along with other 1950s tokusatsu science fiction films, influenced director
Stanley Kubrick, who would later direct 2001: A Space Odyssey. (Full article...)
The film's iconic soundtrack was written by songwriters
Mike Stoller and
Jerry Leiber. The dance sequence to the film's
title song is often cited as "Presley's greatest moment on screen." (Full article...)
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I Vampiri (
lit. The Vampires) is a 1957 Italian
horror film directed by
Riccardo Freda and completed by the film's cinematographer,
Mario Bava. It stars
Gianna Maria Canale,
Carlo D'Angelo and Dario Michaelis. The film is about a series of murders on young women who are found with their blood drained. The newspapers report on a killer known as the Vampire, which prompts young journalist Pierre Lantin to research the crimes. Lantin investigates the mysterious Du Grand family who lives in a castle occupied by Gisele Du Grand who is in love with Lantin. She lives with her aunt, who hides her face in a veil, as well as the scientist Julian Du Grand, who is trying to find the secret to eternal youth.
The film was developed during a growth in the Italian film industry which allowed for the market to expand beyond a local Italian audience and would allow Italian film makers to explore new genres of filmmaking. Freda made a deal with producers at the Italian film studio
Titanus to create a low budget horror film by writing a story in one day and filming it in two weeks. The producers agreed and Freda began filming. On the final day of shooting, Freda left the set which led to the cinematographer Mario Bava to direct the rest of the film, which changed various plot points and added the inclusion of stock footage. (Full article...)
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Mallishwari is a 1951 Indian
Telugu-language
historical romance film produced and directed by
B. N. Reddy under his banner
Vauhini Studios.
N. T. Rama Rao and
P. Bhanumathi star as a couple – Nagaraju and Mallishwari – who are separated by Mallishwari's greedy mother. Mallishwari is sent to the king's palace according to the custom of "Rani Vasam", a tradition during the
Vijayanagara Empire wherein young women were fetched to the palace with an offering of gold and jewellery to their parents. The rest of the film focuses on the consequences faced by Nagaraju when he, against all rules, surreptitiously enters the palace to meet Mallishwari.
Reddy wanted to make a film based on Krishnadevaraya's character ever since his visit to
Hampi for the filming of his debut film Vandemataram (1939). He employed
Devulapalli Krishnasastri to write the film's script and took inspiration from
Buchibabu's play "Rayalavari Karunakruthyamu" and Devan Sharar's short story "The Emperor and the Slave Girl". He also incorporated into the script a few incidents from his childhood for the pranks between Nagaraju and Mallishwari.
S. Rajeswara Rao composed the film's music, Adi M. Irani and B. N. Konda Reddy provided the cinematography, H. R. Narayana and Vasu edited the film, and A. K. Shekhar was the film's production designer. (Full article...)
The plot follows the conflicts of the Varner family after ambitious drifter Ben Quick (Newman) arrives in their small Mississippi town. Will Varner (Welles), the patriarch, has doubts about his son, Jody (Franciosa) and sees Ben as a better choice to inherit his position. Will tries to push Ben and his daughter Clara (Woodward) into marriage. (Full article...)
Presley later indicated that of all the characters he portrayed throughout his acting career, the role of Danny Fisher in King Creole was his favorite. To make the film, Presley was granted a 60-day deferment from January to March 1958 for beginning his military service. Location shooting in
New Orleans was delayed several times by crowds of fans attracted by the stars, particularly Presley. (Full article...)
The film tells the story of powerful and sleazy newspaper columnist J.J. Hunsecker (portrayed by Lancaster and based on
Walter Winchell) who uses his connections to ruin his sister's relationship with a man he deems unworthy of her. (Full article...)
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Devadasu is a 1953 Indian
romance film directed by
Vedantam Raghavayya and produced by D. L. Narayana for Vinodha Pictures.
Chakrapani wrote the script based on
Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel, Devdas. C. R. Subbaraman composed the film's music. The film was edited by P. V. Narayanan, while B. S. Ranga provided the cinematography.
The film focuses on Devadasu and Parvati, who have been in love since childhood. Devadas' father rejects the proposal from Parvati's family. Parvati's father forces her to marry a middle-aged zamindar. Unable to cope with his failure to win Parvati, Devadas turns into a drunkard, and the rest of the film is about whether or not Devadas meets Parvati again. (Full article...)
Central Studios initially planned on creating a film based on the Parasakthi play and T. S. Natarajan's play En Thangai; however, the idea was dropped after Natarajan objected. The film rights of Parasakthi were later bought by P. A. Perumal of
National Pictures, with the patronage of
A. V. Meiyappan. The soundtrack was composed by
R. Sudarsanam, cinematography was handled by
S. Maruti Rao, and Panju edited the film under the alias "Panjabi". Filming began in mid-1950, but took over two years to complete (Full article...)
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Missamma (
transl. Miss Madam) is a 1955 Indian
Telugu-language
romantic comedy film directed by
L. V. Prasad. It was produced by
Nagi Reddi and
Chakrapani on Vijaya Productions banner. The film stars
N. T. Rama Rao,
Savitri,
Akkineni Nageswara Rao and
Jamuna. The script was adapted by Chakrapani from Rabindranath Maitra's
Bengali play Manmoyee Girls' School. It revolves around two unemployed people — M. T. Rao and Mary — who pose as a married couple to obtain employment in a high school founded by Gopalam, a
zamindar. As Rao and Mary fall in love, Gopalam's nephew A. K. Raju learns that Mary is Gopalam's missing elder daughter Mahalakshmi; she is unaware of her true identity.
Production began in early 1954 with
P. Bhanumathi cast as the female lead, though she would eventually be replaced by Savitri. The film was
simultaneously shot in
Tamil as Missiamma, with an altered cast.
Principal photography ended that December; filming was delayed because of Bhanumathi's exit after filming a few reels, and the difficulty of managing two casts simultaneously. C. P. Jambulingam and Kalyanam edited the film;
Marcus Bartley was the cinematographer, and
S. Rajeswara Rao composed the music. Missamma focused on social issues such as
unemployment,
corruption, and
freedom of worship. (Full article...)
Image 6Motorcycle clubs became more prominent in the 1950s. Pictured is a vintage 1950s motorcycle toy. (from 1950s)
Image 7In 1957, the Soviet Union launches to space
Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite (from 1950s)
Image 8Castle Bravo: A 15 megaton hydrogen bomb experiment conducted by the United States in 1954. Photographed 78 miles (125 kilometers) from the explosion epicenter. (from 1950s)
Image 11The creation and expansion of many multinational restaurant chains still in existence today, including the likes of
McDonald's (as a franchise),
IHOP,
Pizza Hut and
Burger King, all occurred in the 1950s. (from 1950s)
Image 12The world map of military alliances during the Cold War in 1959 (from 1950s)
Image 13The 1950s was the beginning period of rapid television ownership. In their infancy, television screens existed in many forms, including round. (from 1950s)
Image 19In the 1950s lengthy
poodle skirts were popular with women, as were
leather jackets with men. Pictured is a 1950s leather jacket label. (from 1950s)
Image 24The
jukebox was particularly popular in the 1950s, and was used as entertainment in public establishments such as diners and
malt/soda shops. (from 1950s)
Image 25Elvis Presley was the best-selling musical artist of the decade. He is considered as the leading figure of the
rock and roll and
rockabilly movement of the 1950s. (from 1950s)
Image 26Top, L-R: U.S. Marines engaged in street fighting during the Korean War,
c. late September 1950; The first polio vaccine is developed by
Jonas Salk. Centre, L-R: US tests its first thermonuclear bomb with code name Ivy Mike in 1952. A 1954 thermonuclear test, code named Castle Romeo; In 1959,
Fidel Castro overthrows
Fulgencio Batista in the Cuban Revolution, which results in the creation of the first and only communist government in the Western Hemisphere;
Elvis Presley becomes the leading figure of the newly popular music genre of rock and roll in the mid-1950s. Bottom, L-R: Smoke rises from oil tanks on Port Said following the invasion of Egypt by Israel, United Kingdom and France as part of the Suez Crisis in late 1956; The Hungarian Revolution of 1956; The
Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite to orbit the
Earth, in October 1957. This starts the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the
United States. (from 1950s)
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