New York in the Fifties

2000

1h 12m

Documentary

List

100%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

In this documentary, aspiring writer Dan Wakefield moves from Indianapolis to New York City to attend college in the early 1950s, where his world is opened to a swirling array of wonders. He falls in love, dreams of writing a novel and undergoes psychotherapy. But he also meets a wide variety of prodigiously talented people -- including poet Allen Ginsberg, "new journalist" Gay Talese and conservative writer William F. Buckley -- who are destined to mold America's cultural history.

Stephen Holden

New York Times

Rated: 3/5

May 7, 2002

Full Review

Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

Rated: 3/5

Aug 14, 2005

Full Review

Joshua Tanzer

Offoffoff

It doesn't present a very thorough vicarious experience of the New York scene, but it does present conversations with some of the period's most interesting people.

Rated: 2.5/4

Mar 11, 2003

Full Review

Ed Kelleher

Film Journal International

A likeable documentary that strives to tie up a number of cultural themes and make sense of a very disparate group of 1950s social and artistic innovators, and even a few phonies.

Oct 15, 2002

Full Review

Greg Dean Schmitz

Greg's Previews at Yahoo! Movies

Rated: 3/4

May 7, 2002

Full Review

James Kendrick

Q Network Film Desk

a fascinating slice of modern history

Rated: 3/4

May 7, 2002

Full Review

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Audience Member

I thought this would be more of a generic look at the 1950's rather than focusing on (what I found to be) a pretentious group of writers..

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

01/24/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This documentary is what it says it is, but from the subjective viewpoint of author Dan Wakefield, and it's mostly about a few writers around at the time, and some musicians. There's good footage of iconic people involved in the pre sixties beat vibe, cool commentary from Robert Redford explaining the cultural scene in New York in the fifties.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/21/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This movie had potential, but fell through the cracks. To bad.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/10/23

Full Review

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Betsy Blankenbaker

Director

Betsy Blankenbaker

Producer

Dorka Keehn

Producer

Bobby Shepard

Cinematographer

Steve Marra

Film Editing

Steve Allee

Original Music

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Synopsis

In this documentary, aspiring writer Dan Wakefield moves from Indianapolis to New York City to attend college in the early 1950s, where his world is opened to a swirling array of wonders. He falls in love, dreams of writing a novel and undergoes psychotherapy. But he also meets a wide variety of prodigiously talented people -- including poet Allen Ginsberg, "new journalist" Gay Talese and conservative writer William F. Buckley -- who are destined to mold America's cultural history.

Director: Betsy Blankenbaker
Producer: Betsy Blankenbaker, Dorka Keehn
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 7, 2017
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.6K
Runtime: 1h 12m