1951
PRO TEEN
The bible of adolescent spiritual angst, J.D. Salinger's The
Catcher in the Rye raised ''phoniness'' to the status of original sin
and made teenagers the arbiters of morality and authenticity.
Middle-aged critics greeted the turmoil of Holden Caulfield with a
mixture of surprise, appreciation, and dismay, but the young
preppie's following among adolescents was virtually unreserved from
the start.
1952
SPLASH DANCEWhere Fred Astaire glided across shiny dance floors, Gene Kelly
bounced. Where Fred tapped, Gene stomped. Where Fred was an airy
continental concoction, Gene was an all-American jock — and his rise to
stardom revitalized the movie musical. Kelly's apotheosis came when
he sang ''Singin' in the Rain'' in Singin' in the Rain. High-voiced and
easy, alone in the patently fake downpour of a studio set, Kelly
reveled in the plastic bliss of a world where one can breathe out
one's longings in song and dance. The truth is, he filmed the scene
while suffering from a bad cold. The point is, you can't tell.
1952
COOP'S SOLITARY STAND
Was ever a lawman so awesome? Was ever victory so lonely and
bitter? Did ever a town clock tick so ominously? As sheriff Will Kane
in High Noon, Gary Cooper wasn't afraid to walk the empty streets of
Hadleyville alone. Even to face killers sworn to get him. Even when
everyone who might help him who flees in cowardice. (''This ain't our
job!'') Angry? Disillusioned? You haven't seen despair and disgust
'til you've seen a ''victorious'' Cooper toss his sheriff's badge on
the ground. At least he didn't toss his Academy Award for the role.
1953
BEACH AND MOAN
How many scenes are instantly recognizable even to people who
haven't seen the movie? From Here to Eternity's steamy, sandy
surfside clinch between Burt Lancaster and Deborah Kerr was an erotic
'50s icon right up there with Monroe on the subway grating.
Accordingly, it has been parodied by everyone from Sid Caesar to the
bad boys of Airplane! What no one remembers is that the role of the
adulterous wife turned Kerr's tea-and-crumpet image around 90
degrees, giving her career a needed boost. Other actors saved by
Eternity: Donna Reed (playing a hooker!) and Frank Sinatra, who
literally begged the producers for the role of Maggio. Both won
Oscars.
1953A COMEDY CLASSIC IS BORN
She would do anything for a laugh. Stuff her cheeks with
assembly-line chocolates. Set her putty nose on fire. Put her face in
cement and her feet in vats of grapes. Even drink Vitameatavegamin.
But Lucille Ball's single greatest piece of physical comedy was a
more literal kind of hard labor. Timorous censors banned the word
''pregnant'' from I Love Lucy's scripts. But not the concept. On Jan.
19, Lucy and Ricky and Fred and Ethel, in quadruple dithers, headed
for the hospital, arriving just in time for little Ricky to debut in
front of just about everyone who owned a TV. Everyone except Ball
herself: That night, she gave birth to Desi Arnaz Jr. off-camera. Her
timing, as always, was peerless.
