The Film Noir Thread! Gats, dames, and cheap hooch welcome.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Watched The City That Never Sleeps last night and dug it quite a bit. Great performances, a few cool twists and I really liked the way that they used the 'robot man' towards the end of the movie during a very important climactic scene. Marie Windsor and Mala Powers both look great and do good work here and Gig Young is pretty good too. Nice atmosphere, some good action towards the finish. Very enjoyable.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Watched CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS too and I agree, it's a good one. I wished for a little more screen time for Marie Windsor, felt she was a little under used here. Gig Young was very believable in that cynical role, and William Talman was fantastic in another slimy, arrogant thug part. Man, I love that guy! The "robot man" bit added some surprising emotional touches in addition to his neat bit as a key player in the climax and I could certainly see why Young was steppin' out with Mala Powers...she's a cutie. I was thinking the film was a bit short on noirish atmosphere but the last 30 minutes or so really made up for it during that extended climactic chase - great location work there - and was there any doubt how Talman would get it? The only negative I would point out is that the bone deep cynicism of Young's cop mixed a little uneasily with the happy ending. The character of "Joe the cop" was a unique touch, reminded me of a TWILIGHT ZONE episode kinda. Fine film though and well worth checking out.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I can see what you mean about the ending. It didn't bug me but I definitely see where you're coming from with that criticism. And yeah, Windsor is underused but she's good when she's on screen. The Mechanical Man angel stuck with me after it was over. What a weird but really effective way to bring some pathos to the story.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

LOOPHOLE (1954) uses the familiar noir theme of an innocent man whose life is randomly destroyed, it doesn't matter that you're a war veteran with a spotless record. One (false) allegation is enough to toss all that. Michael Donovan (Barry Sullivan) is head teller at the bank that employs him. He comes up $50,000 short one Friday and disastrously waits the weekend to report it. The bank's bonding company sends dogged investigator Gus Slavin (Charles McGraw) to hunt down the missing money. Soon Donovan has lost his job - then a succession of jobs - and his house as well. His wife believes he's innocent but as they're forced to move into seedier and seedier digs she has trouble putting on a brave face. LOOPHOLE has three stand out central performances - Sullivan, McGraw, and Dorothy Malone as the wife. Malone has a moving scene where she finally breaks down as they're moving into a small dingy apartment after losing their nice suburban home. McGraw is amazing as the relentless Slavin, he will never believe Donovan is innocent and follows him everywhere - getting him fired from each new job by spreading lies.

In his McGraw biography, Alan Rode draws interesting parallels between the film and the then current Blacklist - "the thematic thrust of LOOPHOLE concerning the consequences of the officious abuse of power by those who can wield it remains powerful, particularly in the shadowy netherworld of noir." It's also worth noting that just a few years ago, when Rode's book came out, LOOPHOLE was considered a lost film with no known 35mm print available, so I think it's fortunate we even have the Warner Archive disc. It looks fine too.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

FRITZ LANG REPORT CARD


I've been watching a Fritz Lang marathon and having a wonderful time with his noirs. Each film holds a special place in my heart. They are each memorable and enduring experiences. But just for the heck of it, here's how I rate his noirs, or those films having a noir foundation:


1960 1000 Eyes of Dr. Mabuse -- B
1956 Beyond a Reasonable Doubt -- B
1956 While the City Sleeps -- B
1954 Human Desire -- haven't seen, need to get.
1953 Big Heat -- A+
1953 The Blue Gardenia -- B
1952 Clash By Night -- A
1950 House By the River -- B
1947 Secret Beyond the Door -- B
1946 Cloak and Dagger -- B
1945 Scarlet Street -- A
1944 The Woman In the Window -- A
1944 Ministry of Fear -- B+ or A-
1943 Hangman Also Die! -- B
1941 Man Hunt -- A
1937 You Only Live Once -- A
1936 Fury -- A
1933 The Testament of Dr. Mabuse -- A+
1931 M -- A+
1928 Spies -- A+
1922 Dr Mabuse the Gambler -- B


Now it's your turn.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

I'll do a Lang report card later, wanted to mention this coming from Olive (I think) in June: CRASHOUT aka GUNMEN ON THE LOOSE. Saw this at the BAN forums. Never seen it, but it's got a good cast, including William Bendix, William Talman, Marshall Thompson, and Arthur Kennedy. I dig prison break films.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Okay, here's a Lang grade. I am sticking to noir stuff.

BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT - C
WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS - B+
HUMAN DESIRE - A
THE BIG HEAT - A+
THE BLUE GARDENIA - B+
CLASH BY NIGHT - C
THE HOUSE BY THE RIVER - A
SECRET BEYOND THE DOOR - B-
SCARLET STREET - A+
THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW - A+
MINISTRY OF FEAR - A+
HANGMEN ALSO DIE - B
MAN HUNT - A
YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE - A

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

I was reading DVD Savant's review of the new Olive BD of THE ENFORCER and he speculates that the beautiful cover is from the Italian poster and mentions a couple other racier Italian noir posters, got me looking around a little. This one for THE BIG HEAT is pretty awesome.



They really are works of art...always liked their horror, gialli, and western ones but these are spectacular too.

[Clive Smith noodle doodle Find all posts View Profile Close Clive Smith]

Yeah, that's lovely. If I had unlimited space and funds, I'd be surrounded by stuff like that in a heartbeat.

[Richard--W a straight arrow Find all posts View Profile Close Richard--W]

That's an impressive poster alright.

I'll be happy to post several foreign posters for The Enforcer (1951) and The Big Heat (1953) if anyone wants to see them.

I've fallen behind in keeping up with the Olive blus. Saving my money for the 3-D Expo in September.
Have you seen Twilight Time's blu-ray of The Big Heat, Andrew? It's a beauty. Monochrome never felt so real. And it's a perfect film; absolutely immaculately perfect in the dramatic and visual sense. I love it.

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

I'll be happy to post several foreign posters for The Enforcer (1951) and The Big Heat (1953) if anyone wants to see them.

Yes please.

Have you seen Twilight Time's Blu-ray of The Big Heat, Andrew? It's a beauty. Monochrome never felt so real. And it's a perfect film; absolutely immaculately perfect in the dramatic and visual sense. I love it.

I'm not Andrew but I loved that disc. Perfect presentation of a perfect movie. I need to rewatch it. Maybe I'll make my mom sit through it this weekend.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Yeah, I have the TT BD of THE BIG HEAT and it is probably the finest looking noir on blu so far. I can't wait to see what their disc of LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN looks like - my pre-order has been in for a couple weeks. Another I'm looking forward to is WB's WHITE HEAT blu, coming soon.

Post away with the posters, Richard.

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Some exciting news from the BAN Forums --

"Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics IV available now for pre-order for August release. Films included are SO DARK THE NIGHT (1946), JOHNNY O'CLOCK (1947), WALK A CROOKED MILE (1948), BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN (1950), and WALK EAST ON BEACON! (1952)."

A very solid group of noirs there! TCM has run all of those at one time or another.



http://shop.tcm.com/columbia-picture...on_coming-soon

[Ian Jane Administrator Find all posts View Profile Close Ian Jane]

Steve Ruskin just posted this on FB...

"Friday nights in June are dedicated to Film Noir on TCM. This Friday (6/14/13) writer David Goodis is highlighted. Looking forward to The Burglar, 1957

8:00 PM Dark Passage (1947)
10:00 PM Nightfall (1956)
11:30 PM Burglar, The (1957)
1:15 AM Shoot The Piano Player (1960)
2:45 AM Burglars, The (1971)"

[Andrew Monroe Pallid Hands Find all posts View Profile Close Andrew Monroe]

Film Noir expert Eddie Muller is the guest programmer for these. He'll introduce the films, should be worth tuning in for his comments even if you've seen the films. It's noir writers each Friday - Dashiell Hammett (last week), David Goodis, Jonathan Latimer, James M. Cain, Cornell Woolrich, and Raymond Chandler. TCM article.