Bing Crosby plays an abusive, manipulative alcoholic stage actor trying to make a comeback, and Grace Kelly his long suffering, salt of the earth wife, and yet it’s William Holden as the show’s director who is the least believable character in The Country Girl.
Year Eligible: 1954 (Nominated)
Additional audio from The Country Girl (1954)
(Explicit language, as always)
In which Elia Kazan uses Marlon Brando to try to not only justify snitching on his friends and colleagues to the House Un-American Activities Committee, but convince his audience it was heroic. We’re not buying it.
Year Eligible: 1954 (Won)
Additional audio from On the Waterfront (1954)
(Explicit language, as always)
Look, David and Suzan normally don’t side with musical theatre haters, but in the case of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, they’ll make an exception.
Year Eligible: 1954 (Nominated)
Additional audio from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
(Explicit language, as always)
The Caine Mutiny can’t make up its mind if it is an excellent film about the stigma of mental illness, especially in the military, or an embarrassingly boring romantic class dramedy. When Humphrey Bogart and José Ferrer are around, it’s the former and at its best.
Year Eligible: 1954 (Nominated)
Additional audio from The Caine Mutiny (1954)
(Explicit language, as always)
A picture postcard movie of Rome and Venice, Three Coins in the Fountain answers a question our hosts didn’t even know they had: can a movie devoid of stakes be good?
Year Eligible: 1954 (Nominated)
Additional audio from Three Coins in the Fountain (1954)
(Explicit language, as always)