Family Portrait (1951) *

Patriotic documentary about Britain, its history and its people (especially the famous ones). Weak narration, unusual imagery. Self-congratulations galore. Directed by Humphrey Jennings.

Show Boat (1951) ***

This adaptation of the famous musical play is inferior to the great 1936 version. However, Howard Keel is a better Gaylord than Allen Jones and the "Cotton Blossom" opening number is more impressive. Songs and musical numbers:

"Cotton Blossom" ***
"Buck And Wing Dance" *
"Where's The Mate For Me" *
"Make Believe" ***
"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man" *
"I Might Fall Back On You" **
"Ol' Man River" ***
"You Are Love" **
"Why Do I Love You ?" **
"Bill" ***
"Can't Stop Lovin' Dat Man" (reprise)
"Life Upon The Wicked Stage" **
"After The Ball" **
"Make Believe" (reprise) *
"Ol' Man River" (reprise) *

Tales Of Hoffman (1951) ***

This adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's famous opera benefits from opulent decors and superb choreography.

Decision Before Dawn (1951) *

A spy drama set in Germany during the last winter of the war.

His Kind Of Woman (1951) *

Unsuccesful mixture of film noir and slapstick comedy, starring Robert Mitchum as a gambler involved in a mob plot in Mexico. A possible inspiration for John Huston's classic "Beat The Devil" (1954).

Lullaby Of Broadway (1951) *

The title suggests a remake of "Gold Diggers of 1935", but it's actually a musical version of Capra's "Lady For A Day", with Gladys George as a cabaret singer who plays a charade with her daughter (Doris Day). Very schmaltzy. Most ridiculous are life-size dancing dolls. Songs:

"Just One Of Those Things" *
"In A Shanty Town"
"You're Dependable" *
"Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart" *
"You're Getting To Be A Habit With Me" *
"Somebody Loves Me" *
"I Love The Way You Say Goodnight" *
"Please Don't Talk About Me When I'M Gone" *
"Lullaby Of Broadway" **

When Worlds Collide (1951) *

Typically cheesy 50's science-fiction flick about a group of scientists building a rocket to fly to another planet while the Earth is being destroyed in a collision with an asteroid.

Strangers On A Train (1951) ****

Classic Hitchcock's thriller about a murder pact.

The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951) ****

Excellent sci-fi film with a deeply disturbing political message.

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) ****

Marlon Brando is terrific as Stanley Kowalski in this definitive adaptation of Tennessee Williams' famous play.

The Thing (1951) ****

A sci-fi horror film about a monster from outer space.

Chained For Life (1951) ***

Curious film about siamese twins.

Laughter In Paradise (1951) ***

An original Ealing comedy about an inheritance with strings attached.

The Man In The White Suit (1951) ***

An inventor of a suit resistant to wear and stain finds that both the capitalists and the workers are trying to destroy his invention, which could completely destroy the textile industry.

The River (1951) ***

Beautiful film made in India by Jean Renoir.

An American In Paris (1951) ****

Choreography - Gene Kelly, music - George Gershwin, director - Vincente Minnelli. The result - a stylish, Oscar-winning musical about an American painter in Paris. Best sequence - a fabulous ballet, inspired by the paintings of Raoul Dufy, Auguste Renoir, Maurice Utrillo, Henri Rousseau, Vincent Van Gogh and Toulouse-Lautrec - probably the most magical 17 minutes in film history. Musical numbers:

"Nice Work If You Can Get It"
"Embraceable You (dance) **
"By Strauss"
"I Got Rhythm" **
"Tra-La-La" *
"Love Is Here To Stay" *
"I'll Build A Stairway To Paradise" *
"Concerto In F"
"S'Wonderful" ***
"The American In Paris Ballet" ***

Early Summer (1951) ***

Quiet, understated film about a Japanese family.

Ace In The Hole (1951) ***

A cynical reporter (Kirk Douglas) exploits a tragic accident in New Mexico. Aka "The Big Carnival".

The Enforcer (1951) ***

Excellent crime film about a DA (Humphrey Bogart) trying to convict a gangster. Complex story, told largely in flashbacks. Bretaigne Windust is the credited director, but the film was taken over by Raoul Walsh.

The Great Caruso (1951) ***

The life of the famous opera singer, Enrico Caruso. Or, if you prefer, some of the finest arias from the best Italian operas, sung by Mario Lanza. Musical numbers include:

"La Donna e Mobile (Rigoletto)" ***
"Numi Pieta (Aida)" *
"Celeste Aida" **
"O Terra Addio (Aida)" *
"Sweethearts" *
"Vesti la Giubba (Pagliacci)" ***
"Ave Maria" **
"The Loveliest Night Of The Year" **
"Because" **
"M'Appari (Martha)" **

Royal Wedding (1951) ***

Among all Fred Astaire's film from the 1950's, this is probably the most enjoyable one. It's set in London during the wedding of Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Prince Philip. Musical numbers:

"Every Nite At Seven" *
"Sunday Jumps" **
"Open Your Eyes" **
"The Happiest Day Of My Life" *
"How Could You Believe Me" ***
"Too Late Now" **
"You're All The World To Me" ***
"I Left My Hat In Haiti" *
"What A Lovely Day For A Wedding" *

Symphony In Slang (1951) *****

This little-known spot gag cartoon might well be the most hilarious laugh feast ever served by that master of animated nonsense, Tex Avery. The guardians of heaven try hard to visualize a life story told in American slang by a freshly deceased applicant. Born with a silver spoon in his mouth, the lucky fellow couldn't cut the mustard, so the proprietor drew a gun on him (with a pencil) and gave him the gate (torn from a fence). After doing a stretch in a jar, he went to a shop where a bunch of the boys were hanging around (from flagposts). He heard from the grapevine (the green one) that his girl Mary was going out with an old flame (a hot one). Outside it was raining cats and dog, but he carried ON (on his back). Discovering that Mary had a bunch of little ones (numbers), the fellow died laughing.

Rabbit Fire (1951) *****

Bugs and Daffy constantly argue about who will be the victim of Elmer's passion for hunting. They read receipes from cooking books and try to find out if it's a duck season or a rabbit season. Finally, they decide it's actually "Elmer season", so they dress in hunting outfits and whisper "be wewy wewy quiet, we're hunting Elmews!".

Chow Hound (1951) *****

A mean, nasty dog has a clever racket: a cute little kitty whom he sends to different houses to get juicy steaks. Another swindle has the dog collecting rewards for the supposedly missing kittie. This cartoon is a marvelously cynical masterpiece of black humor. It's also a superb example of Chuck Jones' ability to logically develop a simple premise and to fully explore its comic potential.

Canned Feud (1951) *****

One of the funniest Warner Bros. cartoons. Hungry Sylvester, locked in an empty house, desperately tries to stay alive, but a sadistic mouse thwarts his every attempt to get food. Superb timing of gags.

Room And Bird (1951) ****

One of the best Tweety & Sylvester cartoons, hilarious from start to finish.

Scent-imental Romeo (1951) ****

Pepe becomes a "lover's chaser", relentlessly pursuing an adorable kitten. Highlights include a "tunnel of love" courtship. One of Pepe le Pew's finest, most inventive cartoons.

Rooty Toot Toot (1951) ****

John Hubley's masterpiece is a musical cartoon about jealous Frankie shooting her sweetheart Johnny.

Wonder Gloves (1951) ***

An amusing cartoon about a magical pair of boxing gloves.

Georgie And The Dragon (1951) ***

A slapstick cartoon from UPA.

Cheese Chasers (1951) ***

Zany farce about two suicidal mice trying to get eaten by a cat.

The Merry Circus (1951) ***

Czech cartoon set in a circus.

The Wearing Of The Grin (1951) ***

Inventive cartoon with Porky sentenced to dancing an Irish jig by a leprechaun court. A curious and bizarre mixture of horror, fantasy and plain weirdness.

The Two Mouseketeers (1951) ***

Handsome, Oscar-winning Tom & Jerry cartoon vaguely inspired by Alexandre Dumas' immortal opus.

Slicked-Up Pup (1951) ***

Tom must keep a little puppy dog from getting dirty.

Nit-Witty Kitty (1951) ***

Tom thinks he's a mouse.

Jerry And The Goldfish (1951) ***

They forgot about Tom in the title.

Lovelorn Leghorn (1951) ***

Prissy's looking for a husband. Foggie and Mandrake are her potential mates.

Rabbit Every Monday (1951) ***

Silly cartoon with Yosemite Sam forcing Bugs Bunny to get inside a burning stove.

Lion Down (1951) ***

A lion doesn't take kindly to Goof's uprooting of his favorite tree. Hilarious cartoon full of mid-air acrobatics.

Drip-Along Daffy (1951) ***

Porky and Daffy arrive in a lawless town, where even horses carry guns. Daffy wants to become a sheriff, but he can't hold his liquor.

Lambert Ther Sheepish Lion (1951) ***

A lion is raised by sheep. A great title song.

Corn Chips (1951) ***

Donald tricks Chip and Dale into shoveling the snow from his front yard. The chipmunks are not amused and they steal Donald's popcorn to get even.

The Prize Pest (1951) ***

Porky is a lucky prize winner. His prize is none other than Daffy Duck, who pretends to suffer from a personality disorder to terrorize the poor pig.

Droopy's Double Trouble (1951) ***

Droopy has a twin brother and the results are hilarious.

Plutopia (1951) ***

Mickey and Pluto find themselves in an isolated backwood cabin, where a strict regulation requires a muzzle and a leash for every dog. Miserable Pluto has a bizarre dream, imagining having a masochistic cat for a servant and living in a sumptuous palace (with huge bones instead of columns).

Fuddy Duddy Buddy (1951) ***

Mr Magoo is playing tennis with a walrus.

French Rarebit (1951) ***

Bugs' holiday in Paris is interrupted by two French chefs, who insist on having the same rabbit on their menus.

Ballot Box Bunny (1951) ***

Yosemite Sam and Bugs Bunny are both running for mayor, using every dirty trick in the book to win (dynamite sticks, canons, booby-trapped pianos etc.). But the winner is, quite literally, a dark horse candidate.

The Woody Woodpecker Polka (1951) ***

Fairly amusing little cartoon (aka "The Gate Crasher") with Woody in drags, dancing polka in a barn. Fine title song.

A Fox In The Fix (1951) ***

A fox disguises himself as a dog to steal chickens from a poultry farm. The guard dog teaches him a few tricks.

The Fair-Haired Hare (1951) ***

When Yosemite Sam builds his house on Bugs Bunny's property, the rabbit takes his case to the highest court (set atop the highest mountain). The court declares them joint owners, which encourages Sam to go after Bugs with a big hammer. He even uses dynamite, that sends his house flying, transforming it into a "cabin in the sky".

A Hound For Trouble (1951) ***

A cartoon about a dog and an Italian pizzeria owner.

The Story Of Time (1951) ***

British animated documentary short about the evolution of mesuring time. Nominated for an Oscar as One-Reel Short Film.

Corn Plastered (1951) **

A wise-cracking crow invades a corn field owned by an elderly farmer.

Wicket Wacky (1951) **

Woody plays cricket with a gopher.

Sleepy Time Tom (1951) **

After an all-night revelry with his tomcat pals, Tom is sleeping instead of chasing Jerry. And Mammy Two-Shoe isn't amused.

Tweety's SOS (1951) **

Sylvester chases Tweety aboard an ocean liner. The best gags involve a pair of glasses.

Tweet Tweet Tweety (1951) **

In Yellowstone, Sylvester climbs trees and steals eggs from nests in a mad pursuit of Tweety. He finally falls into a waterfall.

Tomorrow We Diet (1951) **

Once a great athlete, Goofy becomes a fat glutton and decides to go on a diet. His desperate efforts almost drive him insane.

Test Pilot Donald (1951) **

Donald is playing with his minature airplane.

Casanova Cat (1951) **

Debonair playboy Tom is wooing a rich feline heiress. A little mouse (Jerry) is among the presents he brings her. Jerry gets even by encouraging another cat to become Tom's rival.

Droopy's Good Deed (1951) **

Two scouts (Droopy and Spike) perform good deeds to win a trip to Washington and meet the President. There are a few good gags, but otherwise it's a routine effort.

R'coon Dawg (1951) **

A fat racoon desperately tries to avoid hunter Mickey and his dog Pluto. He wisely covers his tracks, driving the poor hunting dog insane.

Leghorn Swoogled (1951) **

To capture Foghorn Leghorn, a chicken hawk must find a bone for a dog, a fish for a cat and a piece of cheese for a mouse.

Dog Collared (1951) **

Porky tries to get rid of a huge, white dog.

Puddy Tat Twouble (1951) **

Even a harsh winter cannot deter two alley cats, Sylvester and Sam, from their desperate attempts to capture sweet little Tweety bird.

The Redwood Sap (1951) **

During a harsh winter, Woody has to beg his neighbors for food.

Home Made Home (1951) **

Mr Goofy builds his dream house in this average little cartoon.

Cold Turkey (1951) **

Pluto and his feline pal from "Puss-Cafe" (1950) are watching a TV commercial for a juicy turkey and they decide to get one from the refrigirator. There are many funny gags, but the cartoon is quite uneven.

A Bone For A Bone (1951) **

Goofy Gophers have a problem with a bone-burying dog.

Hare We Go (1951) **

Bugs Bunny joins Christopher Columbus on his historic voyage and graciously declines to share the credit for their joint discovery.

Cold Storage (1951) **

During a harsh winter, Pluto has to share his doghouse with a stork. Amusing gags.

Big Top Bunny (1951) **

Bugs becomes a circus acrobat, but his jealous partner Bruno (a bear) uses various dirty tricks to eliminate his rival.

Cock-A-Doodle Dog (1951) **

Spike tries to silence a loud cock. Repetitive gags.

Bee On Guard (1951) **

Donald tricks a dim-witted guardian of a beehive and steals the honey. The disgraced guard must redeem himself by recovering the loot and punishing the offender. One of Donald's B(ee) pictures.

Out Of Scale (1951) **

Donald is very pround of his miniature train. He also likes to torment Chip and Dale.

A Bear For Punishment (1951) **

It's Father's Day and Papa Bear has to endure countless tortures (breakfast in bed, a shave, a vaudeville performance etc. etc.).

Chicken In The Rough (1951) **

Chip and Dale are playing with little chickens.

Fathers Are People (1951) **

The harsh realities of fatherhood are fully exposed in this Goofy cartoon.

Family Circus (1951) **

A little girl is jealous of her baby brother. Flawed film with some excellent ideas.

Sleepy Time Possum (1951) **

A sleepy possum's father disguises himself as a dog to wake (and scare) his lazy son.

Early To Bet (1951) **

A "gambling bug" bites a stupid cat, who suffers countless humiliations after loosing at cards.

Dude Duck (1951) **

Donald visits a dude ranch, but his horse scorns such an unattractive rider. Donald ends up riding an enraged bull.

Cat Napping (1951) **

Both Tom and Jerry want to sleep in a hammock.

Car Of Tomorrow (1951) *

The weakest of all Tex Avery's "Of Tomorrow" cartoons, but it still has a couple of good gags.

Sleep Happy (1951) *

Unable to find a motel, Woody Woodpecker finds a place to sleep... in Wally Walrus' bed.

Slingshot 6 7/8 (1951) *

A Woody Woodpecker cartoon with slingshots.

Puny Express (1951) *

A cartoon western starring Woody Woodpecker.

Lucky Number (1951) *

A frustrating and very manipulative cartoon about Donald stupidly wrecking a superb new car he has just won in a lottery.

His Mouse Friday (1951) *

Tom is a castaway on a tropical island inhabited by Jerry and the cannibals.

Cold War (1951) *

Goofy gets sick, but his wife soon finds appropriate cures. One of Goofy's less memorable efforts.

Bunny Hugged (1951) *

A boxing match between "The Crusher" (a champion) and Bugs Bunny (a substitute challenger). Fairly routine.

His Hare Raising Tale (1951) *

Bugs Bunny tells his nephew about his careers as a baseball player, a circus performer, a boxer, a test pilot and an astronaut.

Grizzly Golfer (1951) *

Mr Magoo wants to play golf in the Ozarks, but he encounters a grizzly bear and two hillbilly hicks. Silly and boring.

Get Rich Quick (1951) *

Goofy is a compulsive gambler in this hopelessly tedious cartoon.

No Smoking (1951) *

Goofy tries to quit smoking.

Barefaced Flatfoot (1951) *

Mr Magoo mistakenly assumes that his nephew Waldo is in trouble with the law. An unsuccesful pastiche of the "film noir" style.

Daredevil Droopy (1951) *

Repetitive gags in this Droopy cartoon set in a circus.

I Love Lucy: The Girls Want To Go To The Nightclub (1951) ****

The very first "I Love Lucy" show, hilarious from start to finish.