American Films, 1946-1964: A Selective Filmography

The following list of film titles (and directors) is arranged chronologically. We have tried to include films that will illuminate some of the central themes of the course. The actual period covered by these films begins with some representative post-World War II movies; we've continued into the early 1960s to suggest both continuity and divergence. This list is very far from a comprehensive filmography of this period, but it may serve as a starting-point for those working on a film project for the course. Details on films and directors with highlighted titles are available from The Internet Movie Database. Or better yet: visit the IMDB and use their comprehensive search facility.

• SPELLBOUND (1945) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) (William Wyler)
• THE BIG SLEEP (1946) (Howard Hawks)
• THE BLUE DAHLIA (1946) (George Marshall)
• IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946) (Frank Capra)
• MY DARLING CLEMENTINE (1946) (John Ford)
• NOTORIOUS (1946) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1946) (Tay Garnett)
• RED RIVER (1947) (Howard Hawks)
• FORT APACHE (1948) (John Ford)
• THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948) (Orson Welles)
• THE NAKED CITY (1948) (Jules Dassin)
• ROPE (1948) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) (John Huston)
• ADAM'S RIB (1949) (George Cukor)
• ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949) (Robert Rossen)
• SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949) (John Ford)
• WHITE HEAT (1949) (Raoul Walsh)

• ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
• THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950) (John Huston)
• BORN YESTERDAY (1950) (George Cukor)
• SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) (Billy Wilder)
• YOUNG MAN WITH A HORN (1950) (Michael Curtiz)
• ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1951) (Walt Disney)
• AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951) (Vincente Minnelli and Stanley Donen)
• THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951) (Robert Wise)
• A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) (George Stevens)
• THE THING (1951) (Christian Nyby)
• A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) (Elia Kazan)
• THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1952) (John Huston)
• THE BIG SKY (1952) (Howard Hawks)
• DEATH OF A SALESMAN (1952) (Laslo Benedek)
• HIGH NOON (1952) (Fred Zinnemann)
• PAT AND MIKE (1952) (George Cukor)
• THE QUIET MAN (1952) (John Ford)
• RED PLANET MARS (1952) (Harry Horner)
• SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952) (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen)
• SON OF PALEFACE (1952) (Frank Tashlin)
• THE BIG HEAT (1953) (Fritz Lang)
• DIAL M FOR MURDER (1953) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953) (Fred Zinnemann)
• HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE (1953) (Jean Negulesco)
• THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING (1953) (Fred Zinnemann)
• THE NAKED SPUR (1953) (Anthony Mann)
• SHANE (1953) (George Stevens)
• STALAG 17 (1953) (Billy Wilder)
• THE STOOGE (1953) (Norman Taurog)
• THE BLACKBOARD JUNGLE (1954) (Richard Brooks)
• MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION (1954) (Douglas Sirk)
• ON THE WATERFRONT (1954) (Elia Kazan)
• REAR WINDOW (1954) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• RIVER OF NO RETURN (1954) (Otto Preminger)
• A STAR IS BORN (1954) (George Cukor)
• THEM (1954) (Gordon Douglas)
• WAR OF THE WORLDS (1954) (Byron Haskin)
• THE WILD ONE (1954) (Laslo Benedek)
• BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK (1955) (Robert Sturges)
• BATTLE CRY (1955) (Raoul Walsh)
• EAST OF EDEN (1955) (Elia Kazan)
• THE FAR COUNTRY (1955) (Anthony Mann)
• GUYS AND DOLLS (1955) (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
• THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN ARM (1955) (Otto Preminger)
• MARTY (1955) (Delbert Mann)
• THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955) (Charles Laughton)
• OKALAHOMA! (1955) (Fred Zinnemann)
• REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955) (Nicholas Ray)
• THIS ISLAND EARTH (1955) (Joseph Newman)
• TO CATCH A THIEF (1955) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH (1955) (Billy Wilder)
• BABY DOLL (1956) (Elia Kazan)
• FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956) (Fred M. Wilcox)
• GIANT (1956) (George Stevens)
• INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956) (Don Siegel)
• THE MAN IN THE GRAY FLANNEL SUIT (1956) (Nunnally Johnson)
• THE KING AND I (1956) (Walter Lang)
• BABY FACE NELSON (1957) (Don Siegel)
• DECISION AT SUNDOWN (1957) (Budd Boetticher)
• THE DELICATE DELINQUENT (1957) (Don McGuire)
• GUNFIGHT AT THE O.K. CORRAL (1957) (John Sturges)
• PATHS OF GLORY (1957) (Stanley Kubrick)
• SOUTH PACIFIC (1957) (Joshua Logan)
• THE SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957) (Alexander Mackendrick)
• THE THREE FACES OF EVE (1957) (Nunnally Johnson)
• THE WRONG MAN (1957) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• BUCHANAN RIDES ALONE (1958) (Budd Boetticher)
• MACHINE-GUN KELLY (1958) (Roger Corman)
• PULL MY DAISY (1958) (Alfred Leslie)
• VERTIGO (1958) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959) (Otto Preminger)
• THE FBI STORY (1959) (Mervyn LeRoy)
• HORSE SOLDIERS (1959) (John Ford)
• IMITATION OF LIFE (1959) (Douglas Sirk)
• NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• PILLOW TALK (1959) (Michael Gordon)
• RIO BRAVO (1959) (Howard Hawks)
• SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) (Billy Wilder)

• THE APARTMENT (1960) (Billy Wilder)
• THE BELLBOY (1960) (Jerry Lewis)
• THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (1960) (Roger Corman)
• THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960) (John Sturges)
• MURDER, INC. (1960) (Stuart Rosenberg)
• PSYCHO (1960) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• THE RISE AND FALL OF LEGS DIAMOND (1960) (Budd Boetticher)
• THE SUBTERRANEANS (1960) (Ranald MacDougall)
• ELMER GANTRY (1961) (Richard Brooks)
• THE HUSTLER (1961) (Robert Rosen)
• LOVER COME BACK (1961) (Delbert Mann)
• THE MISFITS (1961) (John Huston)
• ONE, TWO, THREE (1961) (Billy Wilder)
• THE PIT AND THE PENDULUM (1961) (Roger Corman)
• THE MAN WHO SHOT LIBERTY VALENCE (1962) (John Ford)
• THE MUSIC MAN (1962) (Morton da Costa)
• RIDE THE HIGH COUNTRY (1962) (Sam Peckinpah)
• WEST SIDE STORY (1962) (Robert Wise)
• THE BIRDS (1963) (Alfred Hitchcock)
• DR. STRANGELOVE (1963) (Stanley Kubrick)
• GYPSY (1963) (Mervin LeRoy)
• THE NUTTY PROFESSOR (1963) (Jerry Lewis)
• THE KILLERS (1964) (Don Siegel)
• MY FAIR LADY (1964) (George Cukor)