50s - Salon.com

"The Notorious Bettie Page"

By Stephanie Zacharek — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

This tender look at the life of Bettie Page -- played by a fearless, gorgeous Gretchen Mol -- gets intimate without demystifying the pinup icon.

"The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio"

By Stephanie Zacharek — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

Julianne Moore's '50s-era housewife digs beneath the stereotypes and reminds us that before feminism was a movement, it was a vibe of self-determination.

The haunted 50s

By David Bowman — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

In his new book about being middle-aged, James Atlas explores subjects writers rarely tackle: Limitation and loss.

Burying the '50s

By Laura Miller — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

Conservatives want America to return to the Doris Day era. But as the films "Far From Heaven" and "Down With Love" prove, those days are so gone, the only thing left to do is make costume dramas about them.

"The Quiet American"

By Stephanie Zacharek — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

A rich adaptation featuring Michael Caine honors Graham Greene's prescient story about a love triangle in '50s Vietnam.

"The Iron Giant"

By Stephanie Zacharek — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

Even against the warmer, rounder tones of traditional animation, Brad Bird's computer-
generated metal man practically breathes.

Dinner at 8

By Jodi Greenbaum — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

Where, oh where, are the children who can mix a decent vodka gimlet?

Back to the '50s

By E.L. Doctorow — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

Five favorite novels from a decade that was wilder than you think.

Fujiyama Mama

By David Hill — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

Wanda Jackson, the queen of rockabilly, erupted last weekend before a small crowd of reverent Denver fans.

50,000,000 Backstreet Boys' fans can be wrong

By Ira Robbins — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

The sweat-drenched rock 'n' rollers of the '50s knew all about good and evil. Forty years later, the Backstreet Boys are singing love songs to their moms. How did pop music get this insipid?

Exile in "Pleasantville"

By Charles Taylor — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

Director Gary Ross fetishizes the '50s in this high-concept parable about the dangers of conformity.

The Ways We Were

By Scott Rosenberg — Thu, 13 Apr 2006 04:04:00 PDT

"Our Secret Century" unearths American social history from forgotten films.