Muscle Beach was shown in competition at Cannes in 1949 and won a prize at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in 1951. The short became a cult favorite, screening at film clubs around the world. Strick used an army surplus movie camera to shoot the film during weekends in the fall of 1948. The songs in “Muscle Beach,” composed and sung by political folk singer Earl Robinson, with lyrics by screenwriter and poet Edwin Rolfe, accent the film’s three-movement structure as it transitions between soaring gymnastics shows, flirty beachgoers and children playing near the now-demolished pier at Ocean Park. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2009.
Heartless
Drama
6.9
As
7.0
Boudica
Action, War
5.9
Monster's Battlefield
Science Fiction, Action, Horror
6.8
Q
Crime, Horror, Mystery
5.7
The Accursed
Horror
6.5
National Family
Comedy, Action
6.7
Operation Napoleon
Thriller
6.2
Sayen: The Huntress
Action, Thriller
5.9
Evil Does Not Exist
Drama
6.7
The Burning Sea
Action, Thriller, Drama
6.6
Abbé Pierre - A Century of Devotion
History
6.6
The Zone of Interest
Drama, History, War
7.0
Muzzle
Action, Thriller
6.5
Sayen: Desert Road
Action, Thriller
6.3
Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms
Action, Fantasy, War
7.1
The Clean Up Crew
Action, Crime, Thriller
5.5
How to Make a Killing
Comedy, Thriller
6.6
Damsel
Fantasy, Action, Adventure
7.0
The Benetón Family
Comedy, Family
5.4
Primary
Documentary
6.4
Manzanar
Documentary
0.0
Hoop Dreams
Documentary
7.6
The Costume Designer
Documentary
0.0
California's Golden Beginning
Documentary
0.0
Appointment in Tokyo
Documentary, War, History
5.8
The Town
Documentary
5.0
God Respects Us When We Work, But Loves Us When We Dance
Documentary
5.5
The Sun's Gonna Shine
Documentary, Music
6.6
Sikkim
Documentary
6.5
Food and Magic
War, Documentary, Fantasy
5.0
Marjoe
Documentary
7.7
Wonderland of California
Documentary
0.0
The Man Who Skied Down Everest
Documentary, Adventure
6.6
Angels of Mercy
Documentary, Music
0.0
Seeing Them Through
Documentary
0.0
Migration
Documentary
6.0
One Hand Don't Clap
Documentary, Music
6.0
Hearts and Minds
Documentary, War
7.6
No No Nooky T.V.
Documentary, Animation
6.0