1950s

It was a spectacular night, that March 5, 1959, at the Ambassador Hotel's Coconut Grove, for the Golden Globe Awards. The Defiant Ones defied expectations by winning Best Picture, Drama (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof was also competing, and considered perhaps the favorite coming in).

1959 was a watershed year for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. That’s the year they decided to split the music/comedy award, giving two separate Golden Globes, one to Gigi.

Les Girls.

This epic war drama – Golden Globe for Best Picture Drama of the year in 1958 – became the first Golden Globe Award for British director David Lean: he would go on to win for Lawrence of Arabia (1963) and Doctor Zhivago (1965). Sir Alec Guinness won as Best Actor – Drama; many years later he was nominated by the HFPA for the role of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars (1977), and one last time for Little Dorrit (1987).

This is the year in which the HFPA started announcing the nominations in advance of the awards. Of the contenders, four were comedies and only one a musical.

At the turn of the (last) century, a Victorian Englishman, Phileas Fogg (David Niven), makes a bet with his gentleman's club (the London Reform Club) friends: with steamships and hot-air balloons and railways he can circumnavigate the world in 80 days. He wins the bet of course, but not after many close calls.

Guys and Dolls was the movie no one loved except the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, who gave it its best comedy or musical Golden Globe that year. At the time of its release, the film was deemed a huge disappointment considering its pedigree and all the talent legendary producer Sam Goldwyn had lavished on the production.

East of Eden, one of the first films to be shot in Color Cinemascope, was awarded Best Motion Picture - Drama at the 1956 Golden Globes. Sadly, the Golden Globe for Best Dramatic Actor had to be awarded to James Dean posthumously - the actor died in a car accident, at 25, just a few months before, on that infamous September 30, 1955 (in Cholame, California).

Who can forget Marlon Brando at his method-acting best? “I could have been a contender.

1955 - what a great year for musicals! In those days the Hollywood Foreign Press offered no nominations but they certainly had an impressive list choose from – Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, A Star Is Born, just to name two. And the surprising win? Otto Preminger’s groundbreaking Carmen Jones.