Editing Fred Zinnemann (section)

===1950s===
''[[The Men (1950 film)|The Men]]'' (1950) stars [[Marlon Brando]] as a [[paraplegic]] war veteran. It was Brando's first film. Zinnemann filmed many scenes in a California hospital where real patients served as extras. It was followed by ''[[Teresa (1951 film)|Teresa]]'' (1951), starring [[Pier Angeli]].

Perhaps Zinnemann's best-known work is ''[[High Noon]]'' (1952), one of the first 25 American films chosen in 1989 for the [[National Film Registry]]. With its psychological and moral examinations of its lawman hero Marshall Will Kane, played by [[Gary Cooper]] and its innovative chronology whereby screen time approximated the 80-minute countdown to the confrontational hour, the film broke the mold of the formulaic western. Working closely with cinematographer and longtime friend [[Floyd Crosby]], he shot without filters, giving the landscape a harsh "newsreel" quality that clashed with the more painterly cinematography of John Ford's westerns.<ref>J. E. Smyth, "Fred Zinnemann and the Cinema of Resistance", Univ. Press of Mississippi, 2014. Pages 103–04.</ref> During production he established a strong rapport with [[Gary Cooper]], photographing the aging actor in many tight close-ups which showed him sweating, and at one point, even crying on screen.

Screenwriter [[Carl Foreman]] apparently intended ''[[High Noon]]'' to be an allegory of Senator [[Joseph McCarthy]]'s vendetta against alleged Communists. However, Zinnemann disagreed, insisting, late in life, that the issues in the film, for him, were broader, and were more about conscience and independent, uncompromising fearlessness. He says, "''High Noon'' is "not a Western, as far as I'm concerned; it just happens to be set in the Old West."

Film critic [[Stephen Prince]] suggests that the character of Kane actually represents Zinnemann, who tried to create an atmosphere of impending threat on the horizon, a fear of potential "fascism", represented by the gang of killers soon arriving. Zinnemann explained the general context for many of his films: "One of the crucial things today [is] trying to preserve our civilization."<ref name=Nolletti/>{{rp|86}}

Prince adds that Zinnemann, having learned that both his parents were murdered in the Holocaust, wanted Kane willing to "fight rather than run", unlike everyone else in town. As a result, "Zinnemann allies himself" with the film's hero.<ref name=Nolletti>Nolletti, Arthur, ed. ''The Films of Fred Zinnemann: Critical Perspectives'', State Univ. of N.Y. Press (1999)</ref>{{rp|86}} Zinnemann explains the theme of the film and its relevance to modern times:

{{blockquote|I saw it as a great movie yarn, full of enormously interesting people ... only later did it dawn on me that this was ''not'' a regular Western myth. There was something timely{{snd}}and timeless{{snd}}about it, something that had a direct bearing on life today. To me it was the story of a man who must make a decision according to his conscience. His town{{snd}}symbol of a democracy gone soft{{snd}}faces a horrendous threat to its people's way of life. Determined to resist, and in deep trouble, he moves all over the place looking for support but finding that there is nobody who will help him; each has a reason of his own for not getting involved. In the end, he must meet his chosen fate all by himself, his town's doors and windows firmly locked against him. It is a story that still happens everywhere, every day.<ref name=Zinnemann>Fred Zinnemann, ''A Life in the Movies. An Autobiography'', Macmillan Books, (1992)</ref>{{rp|96–97}}}}

For his screen adaptation of the play ''[[The Member of the Wedding]]'' (1952), Zinnemann chose [[Julie Harris (American actress)|Julie Harris]] as the film's 12-year-old [[protagonist]], although she was by then 26 years old. Two years earlier Harris had created the role on Broadway just as the two other leading actors, [[Ethel Waters]] and [[Brandon deWilde]], had.<ref>[http://www.thedigitalbits.com/item/member-of-the-wedding-bd ''The Member of the Wedding'' review], ''The Digital Bits'', July 28, 2016</ref>

Zinnemann's next film, ''[[From Here to Eternity]]'' (1953), based on the novel by [[James Jones (author)|James Jones]], was nominated for 13 [[Academy Awards]] and would go on to win 8, including Best Picture and Best Director. Zinnemann fought hard with producer [[Harry Cohn]] to cast [[Montgomery Clift]] as the character of Prewitt, although [[Frank Sinatra]], who was at the lowest point of his popularity, cast himself in the role of "Maggio" against Zinnemann's wishes.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SiK_3d6a7DQC&pg=PA30|title=Fred Zinnemann: Interviews|first=Fred|last=Zinnemann|date=August 3, 2018|publisher=Univ. Press of Mississippi|access-date=August 3, 2018|via=Google Books|isbn=9781578066988}}</ref> Sinatra would later win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. ''From Here to Eternity'' also featured [[Deborah Kerr]], best known for prim and proper roles, as a philandering Army wife. [[Donna Reed]] played the role of Alma "Lorene" Burke, a prostitute and mistress of Montgomery Clift's character which earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for 1953.

[[File:Don Murray - Eva Marie Saint - 1957.jpg|thumb|Don Murray and [[Eva Marie Saint]] in ''A Hatful of Rain'' (1957)]]
In ''[[Oklahoma (1955 film)|Oklahoma!]]'' (1955), Zinnemann's version of the [[Richard Rodgers|Rodgers]] and [[Oscar Hammerstein II|Hammerstein]] musical, the wide screen format [[Todd-AO]] made its debut, as did the film's young star, [[Shirley Jones]]. It was also an expression of Zinnemann's continued faith and optimism about America, with its energy and exuberance.<ref name=Nolletti/>{{rp|3}}

His next film was ''[[A Hatful of Rain]]'' (1957), starring [[Don Murray (actor)|Don Murray]], [[Eva Marie Saint]] and [[Anthony Franciosa]], and was based on the play by [[Michael V. Gazzo]]. It is a drama story about a young married man with a secret morphine addiction who tries to quit and suffers through painful withdrawal symptoms. The film was a risk for Zinnemann, since movie depictions of drug addiction and withdrawal were rare in the 1950s.<ref name=Nolletti/>{{rp|3}}

Zinnemann rounded out the 1950s with ''[[The Nun's Story (film)|The Nun's Story]]'' (1959), casting [[Audrey Hepburn]] in the role of Sister Luke, a nun who eventually gives up the religious life to join the Belgian resistance in the [[Second World War]]. Based on a popular novel by [[Kathryn Hulme]] (inspired by the experiences of [[Marie Louise Habets]]), the film depicts a young woman's struggles with convent life in Belgium and the Congo. Hepburn, who gave up the chance to play [[Anne Frank]] in order to work on ''The Nun's Story'', considered the film to be her best and most personal work. Zinnemann's style of cutting from close-up to close-up was heavily influenced by Carl Theodor Dreyer's ''[[The Passion of Joan of Arc]]'' (1928), his favorite film. He was grateful that Hepburn was easy to work with:
{{blockquote|I have never seen anyone more disciplined, more gracious or more dedicated to her work than Audrey. There was no ego, no asking for extra favors; there was the greatest consideration for her co-workers.<ref name=Zinnemann/>{{rp|166}}}}