Best Documentary Movies of 1955

Orson Welles recounts various stories from his life while drawing sketches of the events.

Part of Disney's True-Life Adventures series, this film focuses on the lives of lions in Africa.

With a combination of documentary footage and animation, the science and history of rockets, and the effects of space travel on man are illustrated.

A day in the life of a game warden.

Impressionistic picture of the Third Avenue Elevated Railway in Manhattan, New York City, before it was demolished.

Rhythm and Blues Revue is a plotless variety show, one of several compiled for theatrical exhibition from the made-for-television short films produced by Snader and Studio Telescriptions, with newly-filmed host segments by Willie Bryant. Originally 86 minutes, the "short" version available on public domain collections and websites is missing a reel

This short film documents the daily life of the goings-on on Orchard Street, a commercial street in the Lower East Side New York City.

This film was shot entirely at the Gettysburg National Military Park, where the decisive battle of the American Civil War was fought. Leslie Nielsen narrates the story while contemporary songs and the sounds of battle are heard in the background. The sites of the various engagements, the statues of the leaders of the Northern and Southern troops, and the battlefield cemetery are featured. President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address is read at the end.

This Warner Bros. short reviews in an often humorous way the impact of the automobile on the United States. By 1900, the horseless carriage was beginning to have an impact. Early adopters were often the object of attention by large curious crowds. There were many car manufacturers and the quality of their product varied considerably. Traffic jams, pollution and automobile racing were only a few of the outcomes.

This Academy Award winning short subject documentary follows the United States Coast Guard icebreaker ships Eastwind and Westwind for four months as they work to clear navigational paths for ships traversing the arctic sea.

The Eames House and Studio is explored via a series of slides.

One year after Abbé Pierre's famous call for help on 1-2-1954 exposing the appalling conditions in which millions of French people barely survived, nothing had changed much. In 1955, the housing crisis was rife and entire families were forced to live cramped in dilapidated buildings or in slums. Jean Dewever, outraged like Abbé Pierre by such an infamous situation, took his camera and made this militant short in the hope of alerting not only the average viewer but also the competent authorities.

An important early film by Stan Brakhage, which Joseph Cornell commissioned as a record of New York's Third Avenue before it was torn down. Curiously lacking in people, the film focuses on the rhythms of the ride and reflections in train windows, finding a real-world version of the superimpositions Brakhage would later create in the lab.

Superstitions are examined in the context of mid-20th century America. Walking under ladders, spilt salt, stepping on cracks, haunted houses, voodoo dolls, and such are used to illustrate the widespread belief in the supernatural.

A film interpretation of the poem 'The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo' by Gerard Manley Hopkins. Margaret Tait speaks the poem throughout the film.

Burlesque film starring some of the greatest pin-up girls such as Bettie Page and Tempest Storm. There are some strippers, some stand-up comics of the take-my-wife-please variety and cult favorite Bettie Page who introduces the acts and frames the film by strutting her stuff.

Survival City is a 1955 American short documentary film directed by Anthony Muto. It shows the effects of an atomic bomb on an American town. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

The filmed record of an expedition to the African interior, with scenes of animal life and native customs and practices.

Documentary by Torgny Anderberg

The U.S. Office of Civil Defense illustrates facts about fallout from nuclear explosions.

A look at the dangers and possible causes of gangs and teenage delinquency including over-crowded and under-funded schools with few after-school activities and over-worked parents who have little time to spend with their children.

Warner Brothers looks back to the early days of talking pictures. Dwight Weist narrates film clips from five movies: "Sinner's Holiday," introducing James Cagney with a glimpse of Joan Blondell, "20,000 Years in Sing Sing," with a young Spencer Tracy and a younger Bette Davis, "Five Star Final," with Edward G. Robinson and a cameo from Boris Karloff, "Night Nurse," starring Barbara Stanwyck with a small role for Clark Gable, and "Svengali," with John Barrymore and Marian Marsh. Each movie is summarized and each star celebrated for work early in the history of sound cinema.

Oscar nominated short film from 1955

Walt Disney discusses the history of animation, beginning with J. Stuart Blackton and his Humorous Phases of Funny Faces in 1906, and including Gertie the Dinosaur.

"Eisenstein journeyed to Mexico in late 1930 to begin shooting a film. With backing provided by Upton and Mary Craig Sinclair, the great Soviet auteur planned to make an epoch-spanning pageant of Mexico’s political history and cultural iconography, moving from the pre-Columbian era through colonization and, finally, revolution ... with the project running over budget the film was shut down. Sinclair eventually deposited the film materials at MoMA in 1953, at which point the scholar Jay Leyda assembled and annotated the shots, ordering them according to the filmmaker’s plans and presenting the images just as they had been shot, unedited ... here one is given the opportunity to attend to Eisenstein in an entirely different way, and aspects that might otherwise be overshadowed come to the fore: the way he works with nonprofessional actors, for example, or the striking mise-en-scène." - MoMA

With the grand opening of Disneyland just a matter of days away, Walt Disney brings us an update on the construction of the new magic kingdom. Winston Hibler narrates scenes depicting the construction on the attarctions and settings in the park as work speeds up to meet the deadline before opening day.

Two farming brothers take a chance on a sick cow and send cattle that have been in contact with it to market.

Light verse and gay music make their own comment on the holidaymakers of the Yorkshire coastline. Between Tees and Humber thousands each year enjoy the sea and the sands, the funfair and the ballroom: for a row or romance, there's something for each!

Cast and crew members of "Giant" in a reunion about locations in Marfa, Texas. The narrator explains about the George Stevens' adaptation of Edna Ferber's novel.

The profession of capturing animals in action on celluloid is both an art and science. Some of the most exciting footage can be obtained in different ways. Examples are: a large herd, such as of reindeer, moving as one; slow motion footage of fast moving animals, such as racing greyhounds, especially when they do something unexpected; mothers and their newborn offspring doing what comes naturally; animals placed among special props; animals placed in human situations; combining the exciting and dangerous, such as the running of the bulls in Pamplona and the bullfights to follow; placing animals that are not natural companions together; and placing animals in the situation of a challenge, such as a bunch of bananas just out of reach of a hungry monkey. Many of these elements are combined into the final sequence of a steeplechase race.

In this Shell-sponsored short, the celebrated British poet narrates this travelogue about the Avebury stone circle and nearby burial grounds.

This short film takes the viewer on a tour through the world of harness racing and show horses.

Photomicrography reveals the unusual structure and behavior of the Venus's flytrap, the trumpet plant, the cobra plant, the common pitcher plant, the sundew plant and the utricularia.

This short film takes a look at the sights, sounds, and customs along Italy's Amalfi Coast.

Anna Sokolow’s choreographed reinterpretation of a bullfight. Sokolow plays the matador, an audience member, and the doomed animal.

Three Kisses is a 1955 English language short film written and directed by Justin Herman. Shot in Ireland, it was promoted as a documentary about hurling, “fifteen wild men on a side racing around a cow pasture.” It is in fact a mostly fictional story narrated by the hero of the piece, Colm Gallagher, who is given the chance to play for his county. The film features Cork County’s All-Ireland winning team. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Short Subject, One-Reel.

Carnival time in Quebec, Canada, is also time for racing with sled-dogs, horse-drawn sleighs, hockey, curling the carving of ice-statues, obstacle races by youngsters, fireworks, and also the selection of a Carnival Queen.

A school journey through the city of London as seen through the eyes of the children and their teacher.

Professional bowlers Lee Jouglard and Sylvia Wene give instruction to young bowlers, then show their skill at making difficult spares.

In this Sportscope series entry, members of the Florida State University gymnastics team demonstrate their athletic skills.

Fishing tips from Lee Wulff. Filmed off the coast of Florida.

This short film looks at the history of gold, and how the less expensive gold filled process is used to bring glitter to the masses.

See the variety of water-skiing in beautiful Cypress Gardens, Florida!

In this short National Safety Council film, the perfect crime is presented as excess speed. Accidents at high speed often results in deaths and are rarely investigated like the robbery of a corner grocery shown at the beginning of the film. The film ends with a plea to support the costs of new modern roads.

A minister reflects on the devastating traumas and injuries of railroad workers in his congregation.

Newsman Chet Huntley narrates this documentary showing the rise of the African resistance movement known as the "Mau-Mau" against British rule in East Africa in the early 1950s.

Vassar College's Department of Child Study produced this training film for nursery school staff, one of a series on "Preschool Incidents." Unstaged playground scenes of two to five-year-olds in conflict are shown, then repeated for further analysis and discussion. We learn how to "size-up situations," differentiating between "playful attacks" the kids can adequately handle themselves and truly aggressive behavior (as when "a child has gone on a rampage") that requires immediate adult intervention.

Short movie from Centron Corporation

A production of the association of American Railroads outlining the wonders of America's rail system.