The Fifties

1997    45mDocumentary, History
8.1
Archival footage and interviews with historians mark this fascinating documentary on the 1950s, based on David Halberstam's bestseller. Among the subjects covered: work and the family; the impact of TV; the Cold War; and the beginnings of the civil-rights movement and the sexual revolution.

Where to Watch The Fifties

1 Season

  • Miniseries
    Miniseries7 Episodes

Cast of The Fifties

  • Edward HerrmannNarrator
  • David HalberstamSelf
  • B.B. KingSelf
  • John ChancellorSelf
  • Jane SternSelf - Author
  • Mickey SpillaneSelf - Author
  • Jules FeifferSelf - Cartoonist
  • Allen GinsbergSelf
  • Edward TellerSelf - Scientist
  • Pete HamillSelf - Writer
  • Sam PhillipsSelf - Record Producer
  • Dan WakefieldSelf - Journalist
  • Stuart SamuelsSelf - Filmmaker
  • Jack AndersonSelf - Journalist
  • Robert SerberSelf - Nuclear Physicist
  • Frank GibneySelf - Journalist
  • Edward McCabeSelf - Korean War Vet
  • John ServiceSelf - US Foreign Service, Persecuted by McCarthy
  • Kensinger JonesSelf
  • George ReedySelf - Journalist
  • Sophie MorrisSelf
  • Carlos RodriguezSelf - Korean War Vet
  • Eugene BurnettSelf
  • Kathleen BrindleySelf
  • Bernice BurnettSelf
  • Steve BuczakSelf
  • Jess UzwySelf
  • Philip MorrisSelf
  • Cynthia DaleGrace Metalious
  • Fisher StevensJack Kerouac (Readings from On The Road)
  • Tracey UllmanSelf
  • Guy Williamscast
  • Dinah ShoreSelf - Blows Kiss
  • John Kenneth GalbraithSelf
  • Sloan WilsonSelf (author)
  • Alfred LeslieSelf (painter, filmmaker)
  • Elizabeth TaylorSelf (marries)
  • Marilyn MonroeSelf (with GIs in Korea)
  • Humphrey BogartSelf (concerned about HUAC)
  • Grace KellySelf (weds Rainier)
  • Lauren BacallSelf (concerned about HUAC)
  • Mike NicholsSelf (in Nichols & May sketch)
  • Elvis PresleySelf
  • Rita HayworthSadie Thompson
  • Carl ReinerSelf (in RCA TV ad)
  • Danny KayeSelf (concerned about HUAC)
  • Elaine MaySelf (in Nichols & May sketch)
  • Ringo StarrSelf (leaves plane)
  • John LennonSelf
  • Paul McCartneySelf (leaves plane)
  • George HarrisonSelf (leaves plane)
  • Alice PearceSelf (in girdle ad)
  • Hugh HefnerSelf
  • Gene AutrySelf (at the microphone)
  • Richard NixonSelf (HUAC, with Thomas)
  • Frank GiffordSelf (in razor ad)
  • Fidel CastroSelf
  • Prince Rainier III of MonacoSelf (weds Grace)
  • Hank WilliamsSelf (sings Hey Good Lookin')
  • Jack KerouacSelf
  • Duke EllingtonSelf
  • Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of IranMisidentification (of Mohammed Mossadegh)
  • Dizzy GillespieSelf (with his band, 1949)
  • Jackson PollockSelf (dribbles paint)
  • Fats DominoSelf
  • Thelonious MonkSelf (plays)
  • Frankie LymonSelf (with the Teenagers)
  • Charlie ParkerSelf (plays with Dizzy)
  • John Howard LawsonSelf (testifies before HUAC)
  • Alfred KinseySelf
  • Margaret Truman DanielSelf (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • Grace MetaliousSelf (interviewed by Joyce Davidson)
  • Harold L. IckesSelf (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • Mohammed MossadeghSelf (in military uniform, wears glasses)
  • Elizabeth EckfordSelf (attends Little Rock school under guard)
  • Margaret SangerSelf (interviewed by Mike Wallace)
  • John H. BradleySelf (raises flag on Iwo Jima)
  • Joyce DavidsonSelf (interviews Grace Metalious)
  • Bess TrumanSelf (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • Francis BiddleSelf (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • Syngman RheeSelf (with MacArthur)
  • Sam RayburnSelf (sees Truman take oath, 1945, behind Judge Stone)
  • Franklin SousleySelf (raises flag on Iwo Jima)
  • Edward R. Stettinius Jr.Self (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • J. Parnell ThomasSelf (HUAC)
  • William D. LeahySelf (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • Harlan F. StoneSelf (administers oath to Truman, 1945)
  • Fred M. VinsonSelf (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • Joseph W. Martin Jr.Self (sees Truman take oath, 1945)
  • Gregory PincusSelf (at the microscope)
  • Alex GibneyDirector / Writer
  • Nancy ButtonProducer

 

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