Cinema: CURRENT & CHOICE, Mar. 26, 1956

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Richard III. Shakespeare's sinister parable of power is made into a darkly magnificent film by Sir Laurence Olivier, who plays the title role with fiendish skill and satanic majesty. The supporting cast: Sir John Gielgud, Sir Ralph Richardson, Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Claire Bloom, Pamela Brown (TIME, March 12).

The Ladykillers. Farcical larceny, with light-fingered Alec Guinness lifting £60,000 from an armored truck and then losing it—and the picture—to scene-stealing Katie Johnson (TIME, March 12).

Picnic. William Inge's play about a husky athlete (William Holden) who bounces around a small town like a loose ball while the ladies (Rosalind Russell, Kim Novak) fumble excitedly for possession (TIME, Feb. 27).

The Night My Number Came Up. A low-voltage shocker from Britain, with crackling good performances by Michael Redgrave, George Rose (TIME, Jan. 2).

The Man with the Golden Arm. A painful, powerful story of human bondage, in which Frank Sinatra is unforgettable (TIME, Dec. 26).

The Rose Tattoo. Anna Magnani, in her first Hollywood film, gets the year's loudest laughs as she demonstrates why Italian ham is a delicacy (TIME, Dec. 19).

Guys and Dolls. Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, Vivian Blaine in Samuel Goldwyn's $5,000,000 version of the Broadway musical. It's a beaut, but Sam made the prints too long (TIME, Nov. 14).