About key features of 1950's thrillers and best examples of films that are considered classics now

1. 1950’s Thrillers
FILMS

2. Hays Code
 Hays Code is an ethical code whose observance was compulsory in the United
States from 1934 until1967 when New Hollywood started. Here is what was
completely banned:
 The use of obscene language and expressive words (e.g. ‘’God’’, ‘’Jesus Christ’’,
‘’Damn’’, ‘’Hell’’, ‘’Lord’’ etc.)
 The depiction of any seductive nudity
 Drug trafficking
 Anything that may suggest sexual perversion
 Portrayal of mixed marriages and indications of interracial sexual relations
 Making fun of clergy. On screen the priest couldn’t be a villain or a comic
character

3. Films
 So no wonder that it influenced the movies that were released during that
time. The films were still dark and serious but they lacked the extreme
violence that could be if hays code didn’t exist. But there were still plenty
of classics that are enjoyable even now.

4. Narrative Theory
 If talking about Levi Strauss narrative theory, in 1950’s thrillers there are
many confrontations for example protagonist and antagonist, day and
night, the opposite between music melody, men and women etc.
 There can be elements of Barthes theory especially with enigma codes and
when action of characters influences the plot.

5. Representation
 We have a protagonist who has to investigate the crime happened. Usually
it’s a male detective who fulfills a woman’s request which is common in
thriller subgenre. We can’t say that the main protagonist is always positive
because he may do many deeds which aren’t common for usual
protagonists. They are called ,,antiheroes,,

6. Examples of 1950’s Thrillers
Dial ‘’M’’ for Murder
(Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
Sunset Boulevard
(Billy Wilder, 1950)
Rear Window (Alfred
Hitchcock, 1954)
Touch of Evil (Orson
Welles, 1958)
The Night of the Hunter
(Charles Laughton, 1955)
Vertigo (Alfred
Hitchcock, 1958)

7. What else is thriller?
 The thrillers are not only about detectives and crimes, the thriller is a
movie whose main task is to keep viewer in suspense. War films and trial
films can be thrillers too. Examples:
A Streetcar Named
Desire (Elia Kazan,
1951)
On the Waterfront
(Elia Kazan, 1954)
Paths of Glory (Stanley
Kubrick, 1957)
12 Angry Men (Sidney
Lumet, 1957)