Midcentury Miserable Movies
by markcmason | created - 8 months ago | updated - 8 months ago | PublicI’m really not sure how to further categorize or even describe these movies, which include some great films (Rosemary’s Baby, Suddenly Last Summer) and some not so great, but all of these are suffused with dread, horror and a deep sense of hopelessness, possibly the most depressing movies ever made.
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1. Suddenly, Last Summer (1959)
Approved | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A surgeon is assigned the case of a young woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.
Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Katharine Hepburn, Montgomery Clift, Albert Dekker
Votes: 17,223 | Gross: $13.90M
2. Pull My Daisy (1959)
30 min | Short
A married couple vainly hopes that their irreverent beat poet friends will behave themselves when the bishop comes to visit.
Directors: Robert Frank, Alfred Leslie | Stars: Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Larry Rivers
Votes: 815
3. The Fugitive Kind (1960)
Not Rated | 119 min | Drama, Romance
Valentine "Snakeskin" Xavier, a trouble-prone drifter trying to go straight, wanders into a small Mississippi town looking for a simple and honest life but finds himself embroiled with problem-filled women.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Marlon Brando, Joanne Woodward, Anna Magnani, Maureen Stapleton
Votes: 7,152
4. The Children's Hour (1961)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Romance
A rebellious student at a girls' school accuses two teachers of lesbianism.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Audrey Hepburn, Shirley MacLaine, James Garner, Miriam Hopkins
Votes: 18,415
5. Days of Wine and Roses (1962)
Approved | 117 min | Drama
An alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically addicts her to booze so that they can share his "passion" together.
Director: Blake Edwards | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman
Votes: 14,060
6. Lord of the Flies (1963)
Not Rated | 92 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Schoolboys marooned on a Pacific island create their own savage civilization.
Director: Peter Brook | Stars: James Aubrey, Tom Chapin, Hugh Edwards, Roger Elwin
Votes: 20,424
7. The Haunting (1963)
G | 112 min | Horror
Hill House has stood for about 90 years and appears haunted: its inhabitants have always met strange, tragic ends. Now Dr. John Markway has assembled a team of people who he thinks will prove whether or not the house is haunted.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn
Votes: 42,505 | Gross: $2.62M
8. Four Days in November (1964)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary, Biography, History
From more than eight million feet of newsreels, amateur footage, tape-recordings and more, David L. Wolper presents a priceless detailed account of the time and events surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
Director: Mel Stuart | Stars: Richard Basehart, John Brewer, Raymond Buck, Earle Cabell
Votes: 655
9. The Naked Kiss (1964)
Approved | 90 min | Crime, Drama
A former prostitute relocates to a buttoned-down suburb, determined to fit in with mainstream society. But perverse secrets simmer beneath the wholesome surface.
Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Constance Towers, Anthony Eisley, Michael Dante, Virginia Grey
Votes: 8,759
10. Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A woman reports that her young daughter is missing, but there seems to be no evidence that she ever existed.
Director: Otto Preminger | Stars: Keir Dullea, Carol Lynley, Laurence Olivier, Martita Hunt
Votes: 10,238
11. Film (1965)
Not Rated | 20 min | Short, Drama
A twenty-minute, almost totally silent film (no dialogue or music, save one 'shhh!') in which Buster Keaton attempts to evade observation by an all-seeing eye. But, as the film is based ... See full summary »
Directors: Samuel Beckett, Alan Schneider | Stars: Buster Keaton, Nell Harrison, James Karen, Susan Reed
Votes: 2,291
12. Repulsion (1965)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller
A sex-repulsed woman who disapproves of her sister's boyfriend sinks into depression and has horrific visions of rape and violence.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux
Votes: 57,296
13. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Not Rated | 131 min | Drama
A bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use their young houseguests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis
Votes: 79,949
14.
ABC Stage 67 (1966–1967)
Episode:
Evening Primrose
(1966)
Not Rated | 60 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
A man becomes part of a secret society of people who live in a department store and quickly falls in love with their leader's young maid.
Director: Paul Bogart | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Dorothy Stickney, Larry Gates, Charmian Carr
Votes: 288
15. Seconds (1966)
R | 106 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller
An unhappy middle-aged banker agrees to a procedure that will fake his death and give him a completely new look and identity - one that comes with its own price.
Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Rock Hudson, Frank Campanella, John Randolph, Frances Reid
Votes: 22,223
16. Point Blank (1967)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the money that was stolen from him.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Carroll O'Connor
Votes: 23,256
17. Charly (1968)
M | 103 min | Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
An intellectually disabled man undergoes an experiment that gives him the intelligence of a genius.
Director: Ralph Nelson | Stars: Cliff Robertson, Claire Bloom, Lilia Skala, Leon Janney
Votes: 7,288 | Gross: $15.83M
18. The Swimmer (1968)
M/PG | 95 min | Drama
A man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.
Directors: Frank Perry, Sydney Pollack | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley
Votes: 13,785
19. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Approved | 137 min | Drama, Horror
A young couple trying for a baby moves into an aging, ornate apartment building on Central Park West, where they find themselves surrounded by peculiar neighbors.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer
Votes: 235,349
20. The Boston Strangler (1968)
Approved | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A series of brutal murders in Boston sparks a seemingly endless and increasingly complex manhunt.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Tony Curtis, Henry Fonda, George Kennedy, Mike Kellin
Votes: 10,825
21. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)
M | 129 min | Drama
The lives of a disparate group of contestants intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young
Votes: 20,872 | Gross: $12.60M
22. Salesman (1969)
G | 91 min | Documentary, Drama
Four dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics.
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Paul Brennan, Charles McDevitt, James Baker, Raymond Martos
Votes: 5,709
23. A Boy Named Charlie Brown (1969)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Drama
Charlie Brown makes his way to the national spelling bee finals.
Director: Bill Melendez | Stars: Peter Robbins, Pamelyn Ferdin, Glenn Gilger, Andy Pforsich
Votes: 5,645 | Gross: $13.08M
24. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
R | 113 min | Drama
A naive hustler travels from Texas to New York City to seek personal fortune, finding a new friend in the process.
Director: John Schlesinger | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles, John McGiver
Votes: 120,900 | Gross: $44.79M
25. Five Easy Pieces (1970)
R | 98 min | Drama
A dropout from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.
Director: Bob Rafelson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush, Fannie Flagg
Votes: 40,575 | Gross: $19.40M
26. Catch-22 (1970)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Drama, War
A man is trying desperately to be certified insane during World War II, so he can stop flying missions.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Alan Arkin, Martin Balsam, Richard Benjamin, Art Garfunkel
Votes: 26,511 | Gross: $24.91M
27.
Great Performances (1971– )
Episode:
A Memory of Two Mondays
(1971)
TV-G | 88 min | Music, Musical
A group of workers earn their livings in a Brooklyn automobile parts warehouse during the Great Depression. Most are filled with hopelessness; some are alcoholics. Kenneth, however, is a young man yearning for a college education.
Director: Paul Bogart | Stars: Arthur Miller, Donald Buka, Catherine Burns, J.D. Cannon
Votes: 70
28. Cabaret (1972)
PG | 124 min | Drama, Music, Musical
A female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Liza Minnelli, Michael York, Helmut Griem, Joel Grey
Votes: 59,430 | Gross: $42.77M
29. The Other (1972)
PG | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A series of gruesome accidents plague a small American farming community in the summer of 1935, encircling two identical twin brothers and their family.
Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Uta Hagen, Diana Muldaur, Chris Udvarnoky, Martin Udvarnoky
Votes: 6,986 | Gross: $0.48M
30. Don't Look Now (1973)
R | 110 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A married couple grieving the recent death of their young daughter are in Venice when they encounter two elderly sisters, one of whom is psychic and brings a warning from beyond.
Director: Nicolas Roeg | Stars: Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland, Hilary Mason, Clelia Matania
Votes: 62,365 | Gross: $0.98M
31. The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama
After his last crime has him looking at a long prison sentence for repeat offenses, a low level Boston gangster decides to snitch on his friends to avoid jail time.
Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats
Votes: 12,211
32. Lenny (1974)
R | 111 min | Biography, Drama
The story of acerbic 1960s comic Lenny Bruce, whose groundbreaking, no-holds-barred style and social commentary was often deemed by the Establishment as too obscene for the public.
Director: Bob Fosse | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Valerie Perrine, Jan Miner, Stanley Beck
Votes: 17,596 | Gross: $8.43M
33. The Conversation (1974)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 121,939 | Gross: $4.42M
34. The Parallax View (1974)
R | 102 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
An ambitious reporter gets in way-over-his-head trouble while investigating a senator's assassination which leads to a vast conspiracy involving a multinational corporation behind every event in the world's headlines.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Warren Beatty, Paula Prentiss, William Daniels, Walter McGinn
Votes: 21,790 | Gross: $2.15M
35. Chinatown (1974)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez
Votes: 350,060
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