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

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

As I just mentioned on my blog, I just saw 1949's THE WINDOW for the first time, and it's really something special. It predates THE NAKED CITY by a couple months to be the first documentary-style Noir, and it's shot in New York, so you get piles of amazing on-location shooting of the nasty parts of town. Really an exceptional film, and it's out now on the Warner Archives label.

http://bougieman.livejournal.com/572854.html

I've never thought of THE WINDOW as a documentary-style noir. It's a terrific movie, right up there with PHANTOM LADY and REAR WINDOW as the best Cornell Woolrich adaptations. It doesn't really have a documentary feel though and is pretty different in execution from THE NAKED CITY imo. It's incredibly tense as it goes along though, you really wonder if Bobby Driscoll (who gives an amazing performance) is going to make it. I always get a creepy feeling when I watch this, knowing that Driscoll would later be found dead of a drug overdose in an abandoned tenement building.

[Horace Cordier Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Horace Cordier]

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

Speaking of all things noir I just got my copy of PRIVATE HELL 36 today. I'm excited for this one seeing as its an early Don Siegel production and stars TWILIGHT ZONE actors Howard Duff and Ida Lupino. I've always been quite fond of Duff - he had great presence and an unforgettable voice (he achieved fame as the voice of Sam Spade on vintage radio). Hell - he was the lone badass note in KRAMER VS. KRAMER as Dustin Hoffman's lawyer!

PH 36 looks like good stuff.

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

PRIVATE HELL 36 is indeed a quality noir. I'm looking forward to getting that myself. One of my favorite heavies is in the cast, Steve Cochran. Probably best remembered for WHITE HEAT these days.

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

All released by Warner Archive today...

BORN TO BE BAD (1950) One of Nicholas Ray's earliest works is a shockingly stark and unforgiving look at a woman blessed with no restraint whatsoever when it comes to her own ambition. Joan Fontaine plays Christabel Caine, the anti-heroine who has the face of an angel and the heart of a savage. King of Noir Robert Ryan plays the rough-hewn writer who is good enough to share her bed, but not her hand, while Zachary Scott plays the aviator millionaire too much the naí¯f to escape his fate. Joan Leslie and Mel Ferrer deliver standout performances as the bystanders, one victim, one ambivalent witness, to the wreckage Christabel leaves behind. And now, Born to be Bad is more shocking than ever, thanks to the recently discovered — and never before seen — alternate, extended ending. An ending that transforms the film from biting critique to a dark, sardonic work of joy.

BONUS FEATURE: Contains alternate ending with never-before-seen footage! Newly Remastered

A WOMAN'S SECRET (1949) In this other early Nicholas Ray outing, the novice filmsmith teamed with Citizen Kane co-scribe Herman J. Mankiewicz to offer up another rumination of the nature of truth and identity. An early first act shooting sends the film spiraling down into the rabbit hole of memory through multiple flashbacks, but these flashbacks come from different characters. And all are distorted through the prism of personal perspective and desire. Melvyn Douglas plays the quick-witted composer trying to pierce through the murk into the clear sight of truth, while Maureen O'Hara and Gloria Grahame play the former chanteuse and her protégé whose secret lies at the heart of the mystery. J. C. Flippen and Mary Philips add extra spice to the stew thanks to the engaging side story of a police inspector and his meddling spouse. Newly Remastered

SOUTHSIDE 1-1000 (1950) Prolific writer/producer Boris Ingster directed less than a handful of films, but one of them was the seminal Film Noir picture, Stranger on the Third Floor. The same expressionist nightmare found in Stranger waits at the center of this film too. But to reach that Ingsterian dark heart, we must travel a more circuitous path through some intriguing narrative frames. It begins with an astonishing and apocalyptic prologue that segues into a stark procedural that's punctuated by moments of brutal violence. We then settle into pure noir, thanks to the sparks set off by Femme Fatale forger Andrea King and Don DeFore as the T-man sent undercover to capture her.

WALK SOFTLY, STRANGER (1950) The Third Man co-stars Joseph Cotten and Alida Valli are paired in this Dore Schary RKO production, in which a stranger (Cotten) finds himself falling for the life he has made for himself — a life that is a lie. Valli plays the young, crippled beauty whose love compels the stranger to destroy the refuge of fictions he has built around himself and through the town that's become his haven. Spring Byington is spritely as the matron who helps steer Cotten's Chris Hale from the course he was on. Newly Remastered

THE LAS VEGAS STORY (1952) By 1952, Howard Hughes was fully in control of RKO as evinced by his giant screen credit at the start of the picture. The Las Vegas Story is a quintessential Hughes picture — Jane Russell appears in a series of low cut gowns and bathing suits, the stream-lined glory of the city of Las Vegas shines brightly, and climaxes in an aerial stunt sequence that's still thrilling. The Las Vegas Story's MacGuffin of a plot involves a missing necklace, an insurance policy, and a murder (of course). But found within that plot is a Vincent Price performance that's as suave and cynical as George Sanders at his best, a series of steamy flashbacks and staccato exchanges between leads Russell and Mature, and finally, there's Hoagy Carmichael serving as narrator/chorus, performing three of his songs, “The Monkey Song,” “My Resistance is Low,” and “I Get Along Without You Very Well.” Robert Stevenson directs. Newly Remastered

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

Got PITFALL today, and I also finally got the third set of Columbia noirs. This one was a TCM exclusive for a good while, it's now available from third party sellers at Amazon. I was hoping it would come down some in price but it was still pretty high. I figured I better grab it before it goes oop. Already seen three films on this set - that was another reason I wasn't in a big hurry to get it. THE MOB is an outstanding gangster film, has Broderick Crawford as an undercover cop and Ernest Borgnine as one of the gang. MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS is really good too, was later remade as DEAD OF WINTER. TIGHT SPOT is from Phil Karlson of KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL fame, it's well worth a look but not a favorite of mine. I'm looking forward to seeing THE BURGLAR and DRIVE A CROOKED ROAD for the first time.

[Mark C. Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Mark C.]

You'll love The Burglar, it was my favorite from the set. Can't go wrong with Dan Duryea

[Robin Bougie Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Robin Bougie]

I've never thought of THE WINDOW as a documentary-style noir. It's a terrific movie, right up there with PHANTOM LADY and REAR WINDOW as the best Cornell Woolrich adaptations. It doesn't really have a documentary feel though and is pretty different in execution from THE NAKED CITY imo.

Well, it doesn't have a modern documentary feel, no. But if you look at it from a historical standpoint, it can be lumped in that group for the way it utilizes actual locations.

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

You'll love The Burglar, it was my favorite from the set. Can't go wrong with Dan Duryea

I was reading a little about THE BURGLAR and was reminded that the cool Jean-Paul Belmondo film THE BURGLARS (1972) was a remake of it. They're both based on the novel by David Goodis.

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

Checked out PITFALL and it's a quality noir. If you do much reading about this film you'll notice a common thing mentioned is that this was one of the first films to bring the noir milieu to the suburbs, out of the city proper. Dick Powell is perfectly cast as the insurance man who's grown bored of his humdrum life and with one bad decision puts it all in jeopardy. Lizabeth Scott's character isn't a femme fatale as you might expect, she's a basically a good person looking for a commited relationship. And Raymond Burr manages to make what could have been a generic psycho thug a tad sympathetic. One of the more realistic endings too, won't say much about it to avoid spoilers but it plays out like it probably would in real life. This one does a terrific job of slowly ratcheting up the tension as Powell's life comes more and more fractured.

The Synergy bootleg isn't bad looking at all. It's not out of focus and is only mildly worn looking. I'd compare it to the better Alpha discs of pd titles. Some scratches here and there but it's very watchable.

[Jamie Edwards High School Caesar Find all posts View Profile Close Jamie Edwards]

PRIVATE HELL 36 is indeed a quality noir. I'm looking forward to getting that myself. One of my favorite heavies is in the cast, Steve Cochran. Probably best remembered for WHITE HEAT these days.

Yeah, Im fan of Steve Cochran too. One of the best scenes in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is the part when Dana Andrews comes home to find his wife hanging out with Steve.

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

Yeah, Im fan of Steve Cochran too. One of the best scenes in THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is the part when Dana Andrews comes home to find his wife hanging out with Steve.

Yeah, that's right. Interesting that the woman cheating with Cochran in both BEST YEARS and WHITE HEAT is Virginia Mayo. BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is one of my favorite films. Love love love it! Never fail to get a lump in my throat when Dana Andrews has a combat-related nightmare and Teresa Wright (who's simply amazing in everything) comes in to comfort him.

Jamie, if you haven't seen it, you should check out HIGHWAY 301. It's a tough gangster picture with Cochran as the leader of the Tri-State Gang, a group of bank robbers. It's a cut above the average, Cochran isn't above rubbing out a chatty girlfriend if he thinks she's a liability. It's available from Warner Archives.

[Randy G Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Randy G]

All released by Warner Archive today...

BORN TO BE BAD (1950) One of Nicholas Ray's earliest works is a shockingly stark and unforgiving look at a woman blessed with no restraint whatsoever when it comes to her own ambition. Joan Fontaine plays Christabel Caine, the anti-heroine who has the face of an angel and the heart of a savage. King of Noir Robert Ryan plays the rough-hewn writer who is good enough to share her bed, but not her hand, while Zachary Scott plays the aviator millionaire too much the naí¯f to escape his fate. Joan Leslie and Mel Ferrer deliver standout performances as the bystanders, one victim, one ambivalent witness, to the wreckage Christabel leaves behind. And now, Born to be Bad is more shocking than ever, thanks to the recently discovered — and never before seen — alternate, extended ending. An ending that transforms the film from biting critique to a dark, sardonic work of joy.

Sounds awesome, love me some Joan Fontaine.

[Jamie Edwards High School Caesar Find all posts View Profile Close Jamie Edwards]

Yeah, that's right. Interesting that the woman cheating with Cochran in both BEST YEARS and WHITE HEAT is Virginia Mayo. BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES is one of my favorite films. Love love love it! Never fail to get a lump in my throat when Dana Andrews has a combat-related nightmare and Teresa Wright (who's simply amazing in everything) comes in to comfort him.

Jamie, if you haven't seen it, you should check out HIGHWAY 301. It's a tough gangster picture with Cochran as the leader of the Tri-State Gang, a group of bank robbers. It's a cut above the average, Cochran isn't above rubbing out a chatty girlfriend if he thinks she's a liability. It's available from Warner Archives.

Yeah for sure, Best Years is an excellent film. Really touching and nothing phoney/contrived about it. I do already have Highway 301, Im a Film Noir fiend! :)

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

I had a chance to check out THE BURGLAR from the Columbia Noir V. 3 set...Wow! It's an ultra-stylish little gem and if you're a fan of Dan Duryea from the Fritz Lang noirs, you will love this one. He's front and center as the leader of a crew of thieves. He and Jane Mansfield of all people give really affecting preformances, this film does a wonderful job of capturing the dead-end lives and cynical dialogue of the best pulps. Another cool thing about this one is the presence of Martha Vickers (from THE BIG SLEEP), she's not a great actress but she has an undeniable bad girl sexiness. It's a shame this is the first home video release of any kind for it, I'm certain it would have a minor cult following if it had been easier to see. There's some interesting Atlantic City location shooting and it climaxes in a spook house on the boardwalk.

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

According to a thread on Blu-ray.com by way of the Home Theater Forum, Laura will be getting a Blu-ray release in early 2013.