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

[Andrew Monroe]

I had never seen CRASHOUT before the new Olive Blu-ray so I had to pop it in last night as soon as it arrived. I still get a real jolt of excitement discovering a new noir, and this one being a prison break story just sweetens the deal. It doesn't really break any new ground but it compensates by having a great cast of heavies and plenty of tough, surprisingly violent action. It opens running, literally, as the break is in progress when the film starts, and soon seven convicts have gone to ground in an abandoned mine while the guards and police scour the area. Led by William Bendix, who has his hands full keeping them all in the mine till the heat cools, the bickering group find a reason to stick around when he offers to split his stashed robbery dough if they get a doctor for him (he took a slug in the escape). Most of the film follows their attempts to avoid cops and roadblocks as they make their way to the mountains where the loot is stashed. A falling out among thieves and killers seems inevitable...Bendix is fine here, one hell of a rough customer and he's equaled by William Talman, Marshall Thompson, and Arthur Kennedy in particular among the group. Talman was almost always cast as a psycho in the noirs but he certainly doesn't seem to be just going through the motions here, relishing every scene he has as the unstable religious con with a liking for throwing knives. Kennedy is the one likeable escapee, not as callous about the lives of the innocents who get in their way as the others. Sam Fuller regular Gene Evans is also among the cons. Funny to see Adam Williams, another typecast heavy, in a rare average joe role as one of those civilians the cons trample. No, this one doesn't really vary that much from the typical prison break film, but it keeps things moving at a good clip and the cast of pros handle every scene with precision. Good, if non-showy direction from Lewis Foster. If you enjoy these films, I can damn near guarantee you will not regret spending 90 minutes with this one.

[Richard--W]

Check out my review of TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A. (1985):

http://www.backalleynoir.com/showthr...L-A-%281985%29

[Richard--W]

So, how did you like THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME ?

Interesting review of DESERT FURY (Paramount, 1947) --

http://livius1.wordpress.com/2008/10/13/desert-fury/

-- which has been hard to see in the USA. I'll have to track down that region 4 DVD on DV1. Found a region 2 but I've had it up to here with PAL speed-up.

[Andrew Monroe]

THEY WON'T BELIEVE ME, which we mentioned briefly above, is on TCM tonite as part of the night's Jonathan Latimer focus at 9:45 if anyone wants to check it out. I recommend it. TCM article -- worth a read.

[Ian Jane]

That last one with Lee looking over from the corner is great. Well they're all great, but anytime you have Lee Marvin peeking in, the greatness level increases significantly - even if that's a huge spoiler on the left side there.