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

[Andrew Monroe]

I'll have to think about it some but off the top of my head, the already mentioned THEY MADE ME A FUGITIVE is probably the one British film that captures the film noir atmosphere best imo. THE OCTOBER MAN is a good call too. I'd also mention CAST A DARK SHADOW, and though it's not a particularly good film, also THE LIMPING MAN.

[Paul L]

All three of those are very good. I considered including THE LONG MEMORY in my list, in particular, but thought there were enough titles for the time being. It's a superb film.

[Colin]

In addition to those mentioned, They Made Me a Fugitive, The October Man and The Long Memory should be included.

[Paul L]

I'm of the mindset that there are very few British films that could be labelled 'films noirs': it's a bit of misnomer, I think. (British crime films of the period, whilst often very dark, were rather different to US films noirs - the US films are very expressionistic, the British films owe more to the French poetic realism strand.) However, I'd suggest the following: Val Guest's HELL IS A CITY, pretty much any of Basil Dearden's 'social problem' films (VIOLENT PLAYGROUND particularly, but also I BELIEVE IN YOU), Carol Reed's ODD MAN OUT, Jules Dassin's NIGHT AND THE CITY, Robert Hamer's IT ALWAYS RAINS ON SUNDAY, Cy Enfield's HELL DRIVERS, Vernon Sewell's SOHO INCIDENT, Lewis Gilbert's THE GOOD DIE YOUNG, Carol Reed's THE FALLEN IDOL.

[Richard--W]

To answer my own question, according to amazon, the USA edition will contain all three versions on one disc. I expect that may change to three discs as the release gets closer. I'll wait and watch.

A question for the group.

What are the most essential British noirs?

Let's compile a list. Let's make a distinction between the noir of the classic period and the more recent noirs, the neo and ex-post facto noirs.

No doubt BRIGHTON ROCK (1947) is among the classic British noirs.

Any care to contribute their thoughts?

[Richard--W]

I was on about to click Buy It Now on the British release of TOUCH OF EVIL, luckily I saw this. The Eureka edition is three versions of the film on three discs. Will the Universal blu include all three versions on three discs, Ian?

[Andrew Monroe]

Yeah, those will be mine. I knew DOUBLE INDEMNITY would eventually get a release here.


Just to clarify something Richard posted above, Eddie Muller posted (post #322) this at the BAN forums:

"I want to clarify that I did NOT do an audio commentary for LADY FROM SHANGHAI. I did a 20-minute on-camera interview. I have no idea how much of it TCM will use. Nobody seems to be doing audio commentaries anymore."

[Ian Jane]

Coming 4/15/14...

[Richard--W]

Crime novelist Wallace Stroby on the five best heist films you never saw;

http://www.criminalelement.com/blogs...wallace-stroby

[Richard--W]

TCM is pricey.

At least there is a commentary by Eddie Mueller. So far as I know this is the first TCM release to have a commentary or any kind of supplement other than Robert Osborne's intro, which is no supplement at all, really. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI on blu is a significant release, and very welcome.

Didn't I read that Olive had THE RECKLESS MOMENT on its schedule for 2014?

[Mark C.]

well this is coming out, wish it wasn't through this site cause they charge 22 dollars shipping to Canada for one disc.
http://shop.tcm.com/the-lady-from-sh...l.php?p=505914

[Paul L]

THE RECKLESS MOMENT is a good one. Second Sight released it on DVD over here ( http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Reckless.../dp/B000HCO57U ), though I don't own that disc - I've only seen the film on television. It's quite a good price, however. There's a more expensive French disc from Carlotta too.

[Andrew Monroe]

I sure hope we'll get another unjustly neglected suburban noir on disc here soon - Max Ophuls' THE RECKLESS MOMENT (1949). I think an import dvd was released but I'd like to think it'd get a US one. Olive released a BD of Ophuls' LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN, but since Columbia was behind THE RECKLESS MOMENT it's probably more likely to turn up on one of those Sony/Columbia noir sets. TCM has run it a couple times and that's how I managed to see it, excellent film with strong performances from Joan Bennett and James Mason.

[Paul L]

My comments were written back before the Film Chest disc was out, Paul. I bought it (the Film Chest) when it was released, and I agree it's got some problems but it's a big step up from the Synergy one. I've never read anything that suggests the boy is Powell's stepson, or picked up any hints of that myself. On the contrary, I felt very sure he was indeed his son. Not discounting your thoughts, mind you. In fact, I'm interested in watching it again soon and see if I catch any of that. One of my favorite things is the ending, it's laid out pretty plainly that there are no guarantees their marriage will survive this.

It may have just been my sleep-addled brain adding another element of complexity to the film, Andrew, but Forbes' wife uses some curious phraseology when she talks about Tommy that made me think the script was hinting at this. Coupled with Forbes' insecurity about his role during the war, it made me wonder whether there was a suggestion that Tommy's father had died in service.

Either way, that ending's a corker.

[Andrew Monroe]

I watched PITFALL the other night (my first film viewing of 2014) and thoroughly enjoyed it. It's strange that I'm reading Jim Thompson's A HELL OF A WOMAN at the same time, as the two are quite similar. Both feature protagonists who, bored with their married lives, shack up with a 23 year old woman named Mona (the latter detail is the most striking similarity - although there's a suggestion that the Mona of Thompson's novel is far younger than the protagonist-narrator claims her to be). The Thompson book is much more bitter, though, and is filtered through a highly unreliable narrator.

For the record, I watched this via the Film Chest disc, which has all sorts of funky contrast issues and looks very soft in its appearance (almost as if it's been transferred from a tape).

One detail I'd forgotten about PITFALL is just how creepy Raymond Burr's MacDonald is. He's ultra sleazy in this; the scene in which he administers a beating to Dick Powell's character is quite brutal and shocking. I also liked the scenes of Powell's home life: his character's relationship with his son was quite touching, I thought - although am I right in thinking that his wife's reference to Tommy as 'my son' (not 'our son') was meant as a suggestion that Forbes was the boy's stepfather? There was an element of insecurity in Forbes' war record - that he fought the war at home and is shamed by Tommy's discussion of his friend's father, who won the Silver Star. There's a lot that seemed hinted at in terms of Forbes' relationship with his wife and son, that wasn't confronted directly.

My comments were written back before the Film Chest disc was out, Paul. I bought it (the Film Chest) when it was released, and I agree it's got some problems but it's a big step up from the Synergy one. I've never read anything that suggests the boy is Powell's stepson, or picked up any hints of that myself. On the contrary, I felt very sure he was indeed his son. Not discounting your thoughts, mind you. In fact, I'm interested in watching it again soon and see if I catch any of that. One of my favorite things is the ending, it's laid out pretty plainly that there are no guarantees their marriage will survive this.

Just the other night I rewatched LOOPHOLE (1954), a film that also tells a tale of threat coming to the suburbs. The plot is different - a bank teller is accused of theft after he comes up short $50,000 at his drawer - but it covers similar themes. It's a terrific noir with a great villain turn from Charles McGraw as a relentless bond insurance investigator who makes life hell for the teller (Barry Sullivan). Dorothy Malone is also very good as his wife. Warner Archive released it this year, and I'd actually consider it one of the discs of the year.