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1962 Movies

Take a nostalgic look back at the top movies of 1962, celebrating the films, directors and actors that defined the year and left a lasting legacy in the world of entertainment.

1962 Academy Awards

To Kill a Mockingbird
Written by: Harper Lee, Horton Foote
Directed by: Robert Mulligan
Starring: Gregory Peck, Mary Badham, Phillip Alford, Robert Duvall, Brock Peters, John Megna
Country: United States of America
Outline: Set in the 1930s South, the film follows lawyer Atticus Finch as he defends a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, highlighting themes of racial injustice and moral growth.
source: imdb.com
Lawrence of Arabia
Written by: Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson
Directed by: David Lean
Starring: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Anthony Quinn, Omar Sharif, Anthony Quayle, Claude Rains, José Ferrer
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Outline: The film chronicles the life of T.E. Lawrence, focusing on his World War I experiences in the Arabian Peninsula, his leadership in guerrilla warfare against the Turks, and his complex identity struggles.
source: imdb.com
The Music Man
Written by: Meredith Willson, Franklin Lacey
Directed by: Morton DaCosta
Starring: Robert Preston, Shirley Jones, Buddy Hackett, Paul Ford, Hermione Gingold, Mary Wickes
Country: United States of America
Outline: A con artist posing as a band leader plans to swindle a small town by selling them musical instruments and uniforms for a boys' band, but his plans are complicated when he falls in love with a local librarian.
source: imdb.com
Mutiny on the Bounty
Written by: Charles Lederer, Talbot Jennings, Julien Josephson
Directed by: Lewis Milestone, Carol Reed
Starring: Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith, Daniel Massey, Francis de Wolff
Country: United States of America
Outline: The film depicts the true story of the 1789 mutiny aboard the British ship Bounty, focusing on the conflict between Captain Bligh and Lieutenant Fletcher Christian.
source: imdb.com
Hatari!
Written by: Leigh Brackett, Harry Kurnitz
Directed by: Howard Hawks
Starring: John Wayne, Hardy Krüger, Elsa Martinelli, Red Buttons
Country: United States of America
Outline: A group of men trap wild animals in Africa and sell them to zoos before the arrival of a female wildlife photographer threatens to change their ways.
source: imdb.com
Gypsy
Written by: Leonard Gershe
Directed by: Mervyn LeRoy
Starring: Natalie Wood, Rosalind Russell, Karl Malden, Gene Kelly
Country: United States of America
Outline: A musical about the life of Gypsy Rose Lee, focusing on her relationship with her ambitious mother, Rose.
source: imdb.com
In Search of the Castaways
Written by: Lowell S. Hawley
Directed by: Robert Stevenson
Starring: Hayley Mills, Maurice Chevalier, George Sanders, Wilfrid Hyde-White
Country: United States of America
Outline: A young girl and her brother search for their missing father, a sea captain, in this Disney adventure.
source: imdb.com
That Touch of Mink
Written by: Stanley Shapiro, Nate Monaster
Directed by: Delbert Mann
Starring: Cary Grant, Doris Day, Gig Young, Audrey Meadows
Country: United States of America
Outline: A wealthy businessman falls in love with a working-class woman, leading to comedic complications.
source: imdb.com
Il sorpasso
Written by: Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, Ruggero Maccari
Directed by: Dino Risi
Starring: Vittorio Gassman, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Catherine Spaak
Country: Italy
Outline: A carefree man takes a shy law student on a road trip, leading to unexpected adventures and self-discovery.
source: imdb.com
The Exterminating Angel
Written by: Luis Buñuel
Directed by: Luis Buñuel
Starring: Silvia Pinal, Enrique Rambal, Lucy Gallardo, Claudio Brook
Country: Mexico
Outline: A group of wealthy guests find themselves unable to leave after a lavish dinner party, leading to chaos and revealing the darker instincts of the aristocracy.
source: imdb.com
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
Written by: Agha Hashar Kashmiri
Directed by: Abrar Alvi
Starring: Guru Dutt, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Rehman, Nazir Hussain
Country: India
Outline: A tale of love and betrayal set in the declining days of the zamindari system in Bengal, focusing on the tragic relationship between a young man and a beautiful woman.
source: imdb.com
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
Written by: James Warner Bellah, Willis Goldbeck
Directed by: John Ford
Starring: James Stewart, John Wayne, Vera Miles, Lee Marvin, Edmond O'Brien
Country: United States of America
Outline: A senator returns to a western town for the funeral of an old friend and tells the story of his origins, revealing the truth behind a legendary gunfighter.
source: imdb.com
The Miracle Worker
Written by: William Gibson
Directed by: Arthur Penn
Starring: Anne Bancroft, Patty Duke, Victor Jory, Inga Swenson, Andrew Prine
Country: United States of America
Outline: The story of Anne Sullivan's struggle to teach the blind and deaf Helen Keller how to communicate, leading to a breakthrough in their relationship.
source: imdb.com
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?
Written by: Henry Farrell
Directed by: Robert Aldrich
Starring: Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Victor Buono, Wesley Addy, Anna Lee
Country: United States of America
Outline: Two aging sisters, former child stars of the silent era, live in a decaying Hollywood mansion and engage in a bitter rivalry that leads to violence and madness.
source: imdb.com
The Manchurian Candidate
Written by: Richard Condon, George Axelrod, John Frankenheimer
Directed by: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, James Gregory
Country: United States of America
Outline: During the Korean War, a U.S. platoon is captured and brainwashed by communists. After returning home, one soldier becomes an unwitting assassin in a plot to overthrow the U.S. government.
source: imdb.com
Requiem for a Heavyweight
Written by: Rod Serling
Directed by: Ralph Nelson
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney, Julie Harris
Country: United States of America
Outline: An aging boxer, Louis 'Mountain' Rivera, faces the end of his career after a brutal defeat. Struggling to find a new direction in life, he confronts the harsh realities of his past and the manipulative forces around him.
source: imdb.com
Days of Wine and Roses
Written by: J.P. Miller
Directed by: Blake Edwards
Starring: Jack Lemmon, Lee Remick, Charles Bickford, Jack Klugman
Country: United States of America
Outline: A married couple's lives spiral out of control as they struggle with alcoholism, leading to personal and professional ruin.
source: imdb.com
Billy Budd
Written by: Peter Ustinov, DeWitt Bodeen
Directed by: Peter Ustinov
Starring: Terence Stamp, Robert Ryan, Peter Ustinov, Melvyn Douglas
Country: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Outline: In 1797, during the Napoleonic Wars, young Billy Budd is pressed into service on the British warship HMS Avenger. His innocence and charm endear him to the crew, but his conflict with the sinister master-at-arms, John Claggart, leads to tragic consequences.
source: imdb.com
L'eclisse
Written by: Michelangelo Antonioni, Elio Bartolini, Tonino Guerra
Directed by: Michelangelo Antonioni
Starring: Monica Vitti, Alain Delon, Francisco Rabal, Lilla Brignone, Gabriella Giorgelli
Country: Italy
Outline: A young woman in Rome experiences a series of disillusioning relationships, reflecting the alienation of modern life.
source: imdb.com
Le Doulos
Written by: Jean-Pierre Melville
Directed by: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani
Country: France
Outline: Maurice Faugel, recently released from prison, plans a robbery with his friend Silien, unaware that Silien is a police informant. The film delves into the complexities of trust and betrayal within the criminal underworld.
source: en.wikipedia.org
Mamma Roma
Written by: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Directed by: Pier Paolo Pasolini
Starring: Anna Magnani, Ettore Garofolo, Franco Citti, Silvana Corsini
Country: Italy
Outline: A middle-aged prostitute, Mamma Roma, attempts to start a new life for herself and her son in Rome. However, her past life and the harsh realities of society make it difficult for her to escape her circumstances.
source: imdb.com
Jules and Jim
Written by: François Truffaut, Jean Gruault, Henri-Pierre Roché
Directed by: François Truffaut
Starring: Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Jeanne Moreau, Marie Dubois, Vanna Urbino
Country: France
Outline: A French and German man share a passionate love for the same woman, leading to a complex and tragic love triangle.
source: imdb.com
Cape Fear
Written by: James R. Webb
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
Starring: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin
Country: United States of America
Outline: A convicted rapist, Max Cady, is released from prison after serving an eight-year sentence. Seeking revenge on the lawyer who put him away, Cady terrorizes the lawyer's family, leading to a tense and dangerous confrontation.
source: imdb.com