Film Noir HoF IV

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.jchekvFwNp5HHKbIYJb5TQHaEK%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=43fb91373ac8cc670888b381929e90a5e71e746c2fc1c4d92638ea99bb8af4c3&ipo=images
Film Noir Hall of Fame IV


Open to Films from: 1940 to 1959 that are tagged 'noir' at either IMDB or Wiki.


I'd like this to be a quick HoF, as I want to do a couple more of these before the Noir Countdown deadline. So the length will be like 6 weeks.

So what are you waiting for? Send me your noms and we'll start faster than a B-girl can make for a drunk loaded with dough in a dingy dive.
Deadline: December 16th


...............Members Reviews:...................................
Citizen - Ballot Received
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421267#post2421267)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421268#post2421268)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421820#post2421820)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421826#post2421826)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422514#post2422514)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422712#post2422712)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423037#post2423037)
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423390#post2423390)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423664#post2423664)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424106#post2424106)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424847#post2424847)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425989#post2425989)

Diehl40
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421668#post2421668)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421902#post2421902)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422395#post2422395)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422409#post2422409)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423147#post2423147)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423199#post2423199)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423384#post2423384)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423520#post2423520)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423538#post2423538)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426695#post2426695)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427516#post2427516)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427565#post2427565)

Edarsenal - Ballot Received
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422370#post2422370)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422371#post2422371)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422373#post2422373)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424722#post2424722)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424572#post2424572)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429204#post2429204)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429205#post2429205)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429327#post2429327)

Gulfport Doc - Ballot Received
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424853#post2424853)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424902#post2424902)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424904#post2424904)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424905#post2424905)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425261#post2425261)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426098#post2426098)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426098#post2426098)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426098#post2426098)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426098#post2426098)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/.)
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426947#post2426947)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427579#post2427579)

John W Constantine - Ballot Received
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421211#post2421211)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421220#post2421220)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421237#post2421237)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421466#post2421466)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421535#post2421535)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421558#post2421558)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421704#post2421704)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421708#post2421708)
Touch of Evil
(https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421736#post2421736) Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421927#post2421927)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421931#post2421931)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421958#post2421958)

























.
KeyserCorleone - Ballot Received
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421136#post2421136)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421136#post2421136)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421136#post2421136)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421192#post2421192)
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421319#post2421319)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421701#post2421701)
The Asphalt Jungle
(https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422335#post2422335) Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422851#post2422851)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423033#post2423033)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423515#post2423515)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423524#post2423524)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424095#post2424095)

Phoenix - Ballot Received
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424944#post2424944)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425167#post2425167)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425332#post2425332)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425586#post2425586)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425731#post2425731)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425780#post2425780)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425886#post2425886)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426151#post2426151)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426476#post2426476)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426779#post2426779)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426883#post2426883)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427150#post2427150)

Raul - Ballot Received
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421311#post2421311)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421413#post2421413)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421637#post2421637)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421697#post2421697)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422697#post2422697)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2423834#post2423834)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2425217#post2425217)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426102#post2426102)
Out of the Pass (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426558#post2426558)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427262#post2427262)
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427450#post2427450)

Sean - Ballot Received
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421155#post2421155)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421158#post2421158)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421183#post2421183)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421260#post2421260)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421874#post2421874)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422047#post2422047)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422174#post2422174)
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422175#post2422175)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422319#post2422319)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422326#post2422326)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422569#post2422569)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424833#post2424833)

Siddon - Ballot Received
Detour (http://https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2424142#post2424142)
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426960#post2426960)
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2426964#post2426964)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427112#post2427112)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427338#post2427338)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427474#post2427474)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427474#post2427474)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427475#post2427475)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427922#post2427922)
The Maltese Falcon (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427968#post2427968)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2428895#post2428895)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2427335#post2427335)

Thief - Ballot Received
Gun Crazy (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421248#post2421248)
Touch of Evil (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421249#post2421249)
Out of the Past (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421250#post2421250)
Detour (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422256#post2422256)
Criss Cross (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2421827#post2421827)
Murder, My Sweet (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2422843#post2422843)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429545#post2429545)
The Asphalt Jungle (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429610#post2429610)
Mildred Pierce (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429761#post2429761)
Gilda (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429933#post2429933)
Act of Violence (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429539#post2429539)
Thieves' Highway (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?p=2429545#post2429545)

[Citizen Rules]

The Nominations:

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95919
Act of Violence (1948)
Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
Nominated by: John W. Constantine
Length: 1h 22m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95920
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Directed by: John Huston
Nominated by: Edarsenal
Length: 1h 52m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95921
Criss Cross (1949)
Directed by: Robert Siodmak
Nominated by: Citizen
Length: 1h 24m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95922
Detour (1945)
Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer
Nominated by: Thief
Length: 1h 6m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95923
Gilda (1946)
Directed by: Charles Vidor
Nominated by: Phoenix
Length: 1h 50m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95924
Gun Crazy (1950)
Directed by: Joseph H. Lewis
Nominated by: Sean
Length: 1h 27m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95925
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Directed by: John Huston
Nominated by: Diehl40
Length: 1h 40m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95926
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Nominated by: KeyserCorleone
Length: 1h 51m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95927
Disqualified
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Directed by: Edward Dmytryk
Nominated by: Beelzebubble
Length: 1h 35m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95928
Out of the Past (1947)
Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
Nominated by: Gulfport Doc
Length: 1h 37m


https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95929
Thieves Highway (1949)
Directed by: Jules Dassin
Nominated by: Raul
Length: 1h 34m

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95930
Touch of Evil (1958)
Directed by Orson Welles
Nominated by: Siddon
Length: 1h 35m

[Diehl40]

I've never participated in a hall of fame before. Do I just pm you two nominations for the HOF. I'm also new to noir so this might help focus on the essential films of the genre.

[Citizen Rules]

I've never participated in a hall of fame before. Do I just pm you two nominations for the HOF. I'm also new to noir so this might help focus on the essential films of the genre.Glad to have you! Any questions just ask. Yeah pm me but it's only one movie nomination.

I should say as per the usual HOF rules, noirs that already won an HOF aren't eligible...Laura, In a Lonely Place, Sunset Blvd, The Big Heat, The Big Sleep and The Third Man

[John W Constantine]

I'll help out with a good recommendation.

[John W Constantine]

Good! I'm starting my noir watching binge tonight. After 6 months of war films I need something cheery;)
Lol, very cheery.

[Wyldesyde19]

I may join this. I’ll wait and see what’s nominated first. I plan on watching noir this month anyways

[rauldc14]

I'll bite.

[Citizen Rules]

I'll help out with a good recommendation.Cool

I may join this. I’ll wait and see what’s nominated first. I plan on watching noir this month anywaysCool and yeah you wait until the reveal.

I'll bite.Cool

[KeyserCorleone]

I'm in. Sending nom.

[Citizen Rules]

I'm in. Sending nom.Cool once again.

[Siddon]

I gotta look up what has already been nominated but thankyou for doing this.

[Citizen Rules]

I gotta look up what has already been nominated but thankyou for doing this.I hope to be able to do another Noir HoF and also a Neo Noir HoF before the Noir and Neo Noir countdowns deadlines are up.

[Siddon]

I hope to be able to do another Noir HoF and also a Neo Noir HoF before the Noir and Neo Noir countdowns deadlines are up.


That's good because I'm trying to find this noir I saw on Noir Alley that was really good but it's hard to find in my records and I don't want to give away the big twist(which is what makes it so special). I know somebody did a review of it so it might pop in this Hall

[Citizen Rules]

Still room for more...I think I'll do the reveal fairly soon and anyone who wants to join after they see what noirs are in the HoF are welcomed to do so!

[Thief]

Yeah, count me in.

[PHOENIX74]

It's a toughie - I'd like to find a Film Noir from this era that's never been nominated before. I might go blind, I'm not so well watched Film Noir-wise, though spending two and a half years here has sure broadened my noir knowledge somewhat.

[Citizen Rules]

Blind noms are fine for this HoF. I've done that plenty of times myself for other HoFs.

[edarsenal]

I'm in. Just need to pick a nom.

[GulfportDoc]

Glad to have you! Any questions just ask. Yeah pm me but it's only one movie nomination.

I should say as per the usual HOF rules, noirs that already won an HOF aren't eligible...Laura, In a Lonely Place, Sunset Blvd, The Big Heat, The Big Sleep and The Third Man
You bet, CR. I'll be happy to join the fun.

Just to be sure, you're wanting only 1 nomination per person sent to you; and that nomination can't be a noir that has won before. Is that correct?

[Citizen Rules]

I'm in. Just need to pick a nom.Aces.

You bet, CR. I'll be happy to join the fun.

Just to be sure, you're wanting only 1 nomination per person sent to you; and that nomination can't be a noir that has won before. Is that correct?Yup just 1 nom per person that hasn't won an HoF before. If we get alot of people joining, I'll extend the HoF time some.

[edarsenal]

Just sent my nom over

[rauldc14]

Looking to be a biggie

[Citizen Rules]

Looking to be a biggieI'm stoked that people are interested in noir I've got to say that every single nom is worthy of win, very impressive choices so far!

[cricket]

I'm going to pass on this one but I will attempt to watch the nominations that I haven't seen.

[Citizen Rules]

I'm going to pass on this one but I will attempt to watch the nominations that I haven't seen.I know you've seen some of the noms from past HoFs. I think you would dig some of the ones you haven't seen. I hope to post the movies real soon.

[edarsenal]

I'm going to pass on this one--
https://media1.giphy.com/media/nze8j1PCX7h3L30sVf/giphy.gif

you're gonna piss off, Bogey. I'm just saying.



;)

[Citizen Rules]

@Diehl40 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=88140) John W Constantine @rauldc14 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=60169) @KeyserCorleone (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=94296) @Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) @Thief (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353) @PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) @edarsenal (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=50536) @GulfportDoc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=96919) @beelzebubble (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109178) @seanc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=75240)


The Nominations are up on the 2nd post. Take a look, the posters are pretty and all the same size😁

Act of Violence (1948)
Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
Nominated by: John W. Constantine
Length: 1h 22m

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Directed by: John Huston
Nominated by: Edarsenal
Length: 1h 52m

Criss Cross (1949)
Directed by: Robert Siodmak
Nominated by: Citizen
Length: 1h 24m

Detour (1945)
Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer
Nominated by: Thief
Length: 1h 6m

Gilda (1946)
Directed by: Charles Vidor
Nominated by: Phoenix
Length: 1h 50m

Gun Crazy (1950)
Directed by: Joseph H. Lewis
Nominated by: Sean
Length: 1h 27m

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Directed by: John Huston
Nominated by: Diehl40
Length: 1h 40m

Mildred Pierce (1945)
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Nominated by: KeyserCorleone
Length: 1h 51m

Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Directed by: Edward Dmytryk
Nominated by: Beelzebubble
Length: 1h 35m

Out of the Past (1947)
Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
Nominated by: Gulfport Doc
Length: 1h 37m

Thieves Highway (1949)
Directed by: Jules Dassin
Nominated by: Raul
Length: 1h 34m

Touch of Evil (1958)
Directed by Orson Welles
Nominated by: Siddon
Length: 1h 35m

[seanc]

Absolutely pumped for this. I have seen a few, but a couple I really want to rewatch anyway. Act Of Violence was high on my to watch list, and I was planning on checking out all the Marlowe adaptations.

Can't wait to get started. Not a bad choice in this group.

[John W Constantine]

That's a damn fine lineup there fellas. A few I'm happy to revisit after not seen in years to favorites like Welles and Dassin. Great lineup.

[KeyserCorleone]

Detour

Detour bears a healthy dose of all the bare essentials needed for a great, twisty noir movie. Some of these events are extremely shocking and unpredictable. I really have to handle it to the writers for not only keeping this full of events, but really relying on the personality and intelligence of the main character. On the BOTTOM side, they're also a little hokey, which tells me the movie needed a little more length to flesh out the story. But in the end it's an excellent tale of bad luck and how life really bites us in the ass. This on top of the excellent first-person narration make this a very easy movie to get behind, as well as making our protagonist easier to sympathize with than many other protagonists in the genre.


rating_4_5


Mildred Pierce

Mildred Pierce is NOT a typical noir movie. We have yet another protagonist that's unique and easy to relate to because we see all her life-related pains before her eyes a la Jeanne Dielman, except this movie's happening over the course of a few years, which means our feelings are building up with the main characters. The movie has a lot of story to it, but instead of packing it with all the detective crime stuff you can expect in those Mr. Wong movies, we're getting a Jane Austen tale of love, loss, betrayal and everything attached to it. But one of the biggest, and most powerfully heartstring-teasing aspects is the ****ed-up family aspect. Through this, our noir story beats at our own feats of betrayal like a bombshell. I adored the characterization of this movie, and that's why I was happy to nominate it.


rating_5


Touch of Evil

Saw this twice. It's a real shame that a standout for movie nerds is the opening cinematography, because the real meat of this movie is the realism of the setting and all of the characters' reactions, responses and actions as a result of the surroundings. In lieu of a thoroughly developed wife / female deuteragonist (a criticism I also gave Strangers on a Train, North By Northwest and Doctor Strage 2), we have a couple of cops doing their own thing and going against the powers that be for their own agenda. Both Heston and Welles play excellent foils, one being a temperamental man on the side of the law who will do anything for his wife, and one being the exact kind of person you can guarantee will justify any crime he commits with "the law." It's not my favorite Welles movie, as I still wish the lady had more development, but it's still an amazing movie.


rating_5

[Citizen Rules]

Wow Keyser did you just do three reviews within 30 minutes of the noms being posted...That's a HoF record!

[KeyserCorleone]

Wow Keyser did you just do three reviews within 30 minutes of the noms being posted...That's a HoF record!


Whoa. Didn't think I'd make a record.


I was gonna add Out of the Past to it, but I think I need to watch that one again.

[Citizen Rules]

Whoa. Didn't think I'd make a record.


I was gonna add Out of the Past to it, but I think I need to watch that one again.I'm impressed! I'll link yours and everyones reviews to the 1st post as usual. I'll do that as soon as I wake up:eek:

[Wyldesyde19]

Act of Violence (1948)
Directed by: Fred Zinnemann
Nominated by: John W. Constantine
Length: 1h 22m

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Directed by: John Huston
Nominated by: Edarsenal
Length: 1h 52m

Criss Cross (1949)
Directed by: Robert Siodmak
Nominated by: Citizen
Length: 1h 24m

Detour (1945)
Directed by: Edgar G. Ulmer
Nominated by: Thief
Length: 1h 6m

Gilda (1946)
Directed by: Charles Vidor
Nominated by: Phoenix
Length: 1h 50m

Gun Crazy (1950)
Directed by: Joseph H. Lewis
Nominated by: Sean
Length: 1h 27m

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Directed by: John Huston
Nominated by: Diehl40
Length: 1h 40m

Mildred Pierce (1945)
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Nominated by: KeyserCorleone
Length: 1h 51m

Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Directed by: Edward Dmytryk
Nominated by: Beelzebubble
Length: 1h 35m

Out of the Past (1947)
Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
Nominated by: Gulfport Doc
Length: 1h 37m

Thieves Highway (1949)
Directed by: Jules Dassin
Nominated by: Raul
Length: 1h 34m

Touch of Evil (1958)
Directed by Orson Welles
Nominated by: Siddon
Length: 1h 35m

I’ve seen 7 out of 12.
Haven’t seen Act of Violence, Gun Crazy, Murder my Sweet, Out of the Past, or Thieves Highway.

Nice set of nominations.

[Siddon]

Gun Crazy (1950)
Nominated by: Sean
Excellent pick from Sean...this isn.t going to "win" might even finish at the bottom...but this is a whole lot of fun for the genre piece.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Nominated by: Edarsenal
Ed going with his pick for the last Hall. I think this might place higher for me on second watch because it has stuck with me a bit.


Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Nominated by: Beelzebubble

Didn't care for this one and actually prefer the neo-noir remake Farewell My Lovely.


Mildred Pierce (1945)
Nominated by: KeyserCorleone
I don't know if this is going to hold up on rewatch for me. It's a good film though,


Detour (1945)
Nominated by: Thief
Thieves Highway (1949)
Nominated by: Raul


Happy to rewatch these two because they might make my ballot with a revisiting.





Act of Violence (1948)
Nominated by: John W. Constantine


Criss Cross (1949)
Nominated by: Citizen

I might have seen these before but good to see again with a more critical eye.


And here we are with the films that should rank highly here and on the countdown


Gilda (1946)
Nominated by: Phoenix

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Nominated by: Diehl40

Out of the Past (1947)
Nominated by: Gulfport Doc

Touch of Evil (1958)
Directed by Orson Welles
Nominated by: Siddon
Length: 1h 35m


I don't know what version of the film they should see...I think the Theatrical cut is actually the worst one

[Citizen Rules]

Touch of Evil (1958)
Directed by Orson Welles
Nominated by: Siddon
Length: 1h 35m

I don't know what version of the film they should see...I think the Theatrical cut is actually the worst oneWhen you say theatrical cut, do you mean the first version that was edited without Orson Welles guidance and originally shown in the theater?

I first watched Touch of Evil for the Noir HoF II, the person who nominated it drop out so it's not listed as being in an HoF. I had wrote this about the different versions of the movie:
I just watched Touch of Evil, excellent film. There's the edited by the studio version done without Orson Welles permission much like was done with Magnificent Ambersons and The Lady From Shanghai.

Then there's a 1978 reworked version.
Then there's the fully restored to Orson Welles's original intent version which was done in 1998 which is called the restored version. I highly recommended the 1998 version as it's what Orson had intended the film to be.

If you see title credits role during the opening scene, that's not the restored version. Orson specified that no credits roll during the opening scene and in the 1998 version they don't.

About the different versions: (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Touch_of_Evil#Versions)

[Citizen Rules]

I've seen all the noms except Thieves Highway (1949). I considered some of the other noms for my own choice. One of the noms is in my Top 10 profile and many of them are contenders for my Noir Countdown ballot. Looking forward to rewatching all of them.

[seanc]

Gun Crazy

95932

My nom that I just watched a couple of weeks ago. I like fun movies, but I don't think it's too often I love a movie when I feel like that's the main point going for it. I just thought this was a blast. Also has maybe my favorite femme fatale. The story is silly but imaginative. the dialogue is funny and colorful. I don't really have a ton to say about it. i just hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.

[seanc]

Thieves Highway

95933

A Noir of highs and lows for me. The highs were very high though. I love the opening scene. There is a very tense scene about half an hour in that had me sitting up straight a couple of times, that's one I won't soon forget. The climatic scene is also fantastic.

The problem for me comes with the protagonist. I like the actor, but the character as a whole is slightly baffling. I kept expecting his plan to some together, but instead I just kept getting left asking what in the world is intentions are. This wouldn't be a big problem if the character was written as dumb, but that's not how he comes across 80% of the time. I also thought the relationship with his girlfriend was under developed. Which leaves that arc very unsatisfying.

Overall this Noir has much more good than bad, and I am glad it was nominated.

[CosmicRunaway]

Just found out about this Hall and see that it's already started. You guys aren't wasting any time! haha

I've seen half the nominations, some of which thanks to previous HoFs, and might check out the remainder since apparently there's a Noir Countdown coming up that I also didn't know about.

I've definitely been living under a rock for far too long, but hope to change that!

[KeyserCorleone]

Be sure to use this as a good marker for your homework pertaining to the countdown as well. Some o the featured directors have several noir movies. Example, Siodmak is attached to a few other eligible noir classics: The Phantom Lady, The Killers, Cry of the City, The Suspect and The Dark Mirror.

[seanc]

Detour


95938

My second watch of Detour. Of course, I remembered absolutely nothing about it, so a rewatch was most certainly in order. I spent the first fifteen minutes wondering why I gave it such a low score. Then Ann Savage shows up. Yikes, now I remember why I did not like this film. The character and performance just don't work for me on any level. the last forty five minutes of Detour just grate on my nerves. It's not like over the top performances are rare for Noir, so I really don't know why this one kills the movie for me, but it sure does. I know this one is pretty well liked, so I won't lose any sleep over not being a champion for it.

[Siddon]

I first watched Touch of Evil for the Noir HoF II, the person who nominated it drop out so it's not listed as being in an HoF. I had wrote this about the different versions of the movie:


The one I own is the 1998 cut....it's excellent and got it thanks to Siskel and Ebert


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3krdeLKh6g

[GulfportDoc]

Gun Crazy

https://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=95932

My nom that I just watched a couple of weeks ago. I like fun movies, but I don't think it's too often I love a movie when I feel like that's the main point going for it. I just thought this was a blast. Also has maybe my favorite femme fatale. The story is silly but imaginative. the dialogue is funny and colorful. I don't really have a ton to say about it. i just hope everyone enjoys it as much as I did.
IMO this is a great noir, and very unusual for its time. One of my favorite scenes is the long take bank heist scene, shot from the back of Cummins and Dahl. That's a pretty unique long take:
https://youtu.be/2on8Wp7WXJ4?si=f77EHhenYhlKu4ds

Here's a fascinating interview of Peggy Cummins by Eddie Muller, the "Czar of Noir":
https://youtu.be/1NCjQb33big?si=XYQ10U22h_PeNhFJ

[KeyserCorleone]

Criss Cross

OK, it needs to be said that the first half is a bit slow, because thanks to the heavy romantic plotting, one can easily forget it's supposed to be a crime story. So the second half bears a little of a genre switch. But this doesn't mean the progression from one to the other isn't very good. Aside from our typical noir villain, our leading romantic couple has some excellent development, whether alone or together, and thanks to this we feel their pain very easily. And thanks to the development throughout the movie, the ending is a pretty serious bang despite being pretty traditional. So while some of the tropes weren't fully fleshed out, the great storytelling largely compensates for this.

rating_4_5

This also marks a third Siodmak movie to put in my chart, which means Siodmak's getting a score on my directors list.

[Thief]

Nice! I unknowingly started yesterday, cause I watched Criss Cross last night :D With that, I've seen 6 of the 12 films. I will probably rewatch some, including my nom, but will post reviews for the others soon.

[John W Constantine]

Criss Cross (1949 Robert Siodmak)

Steve Thompson has returned to his home town after being away for a while. He returns home looking to settle back in and hopefully move past some things that happened in the past and maybe forget some others. It doesn't take long after returning that he begins to get involved in things he would rather forget, like his ex woman Anna, who after a bad breakup starts to gravitate towards against his better judgment. His mother and his old friend Pete (a detective) don't see any positives of Steve being involved with Anna as it caused friction in the past. It also doesn't help that Anna has married local town crook Slim Dundee, but soon plans are put into motion that Steve sees a way he can be with Anna once more.

I think I first watched this in 2021 when I was navigating TSPDT noir pictures list. It didn't make a huge impression on me compared to some of the others I watched during that time. I'm not the biggest Burt Lancaster fan but I felt he was almost at home in this one. His love interest was prickly and on point for the ladies that occupy this genre. Dan Duryea I can't quite put my finger on why but he just enhances any of the pictures from this genre and time, almost the only self aware actor in these types of movies. This one was greatly enhanced by this revisit.

[SpelingError]

I've seen 9/12 of the nominations. At least 3 ‐ 4 of them are locks for my ballot.

[John W Constantine]

Mildred Pierce (1945 Michael Curtiz)

Mildred Pierce has trouble making ends meet. When her husband leaves (or she gives him the boot) she chooses to enter the job market. Working as a waitress, she eventually works her way up and successfully amasses a chain of successful restaurants. While becoming financially stable it seems Mildred has gained a pretty good life for herself, if only her daughter weren't such a spoiled brat who didn't hate the smell of grease and dirty kitchens.

Seen this many a long time ago and remember thinking in my movie watching "not quite adult level" that this was pretty good but I never went back to watch it again. This is a very well told classic movie in a not your typical film noir style, but Joan is not your typical noir leading lady. Its like they swapped her with the usual male lead and she did all the dirty work except for the shooting, and for the way her daughter acted in this I'm surprised Joan didn't pull the trigger. This was much better than I remember and I already thought highly of it. If the daughter didn't make you want to slap her after seeing this then I believe you have reached a level of non violence zen that I haven't achieved yet. Excellent choice for this countdown.

[edarsenal]

Just found out about this Hall and see that it's already started. You guys aren't wasting any time! haha

I've seen half the nominations, some of which thanks to previous HoFs, and might check out the remainder since apparently there's a Noir Countdown coming up that I also didn't know about.

I've definitely been living under a rock for far too long, but hope to change that!

And OH SO wonderful to see you come out!
https://media.tenor.com/Zv1Snk7zXEQAAAAM/wtf-curious.gif

[edarsenal]

This is such a juicy list of nominations! How f@ckin awesome!

Act of Violence (1948) This was my original nom, so serious kudos to John for feeling the same way about this film.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) This one's mine. I love the cinematography in this; it grips my attention from the opening exterior shots to that final country scene. Just amazing. And oh, yeah, the heist is pretty f@ckin cool, too.

Criss Cross (1949) This one is unknown, but seeing that Yvonne De Carlo is in this caught my complete attention.

Detour (1945) On my list of Need-To-Sees and now I get to, THANKS Thief

Gilda (1946) Been far too long since I've watched this one. Sweet!

Gun Crazy (1950) Only caught this one about two-thirds of the way and, for whatever reason, got the opportunity to finish, and now I can. So thank you, Sean.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) This one is imprinted on my brain with utter love and appreciation since my teenage years. I could write a review, but f@ck that, I'm gonna happily revisit this one.

Mildred Pierce (1945) Very cool call. I've seen this one several times and am looking forward to it once more.

Murder, My Sweet (1944) And what's a noir HoF without a lil bit of Chandler? Power does an excellent Phillip Marlowe, one of my favorite renditions of the literary character.

Out of the Past (1947) A very solid noir I always enjoy watching.

Thieves Highway (1949) Another complete unknown and quite f@ckin curious about.

Touch of Evil (1958) Another multiple rewatch that will be a pleasure to revisit.

[John W Constantine]

Detour (1945 Edgar G. Ulmer)

Al Roberts plays the piano in the night clubs to make ends meet. He shares the stage with his singing partner (future wife?) who shares with him that she wants to make a move to Los Angeles and put their marriage plans on hold until she and him get established. Al stays behind for a bit but decides to also make his way west to be with Sue (singing partner). Little by little Roberts makes his way west eventually being helped along by a driver who is also heading his way, but things take a turn for the worse when his travel partner ends up dead on the side of the road.

I'm pretty sure this may have been the first strictly low budget film noir I watched many years ago. It has a very simplistic story structure (even more less complicated than the typical noir story) but it works with a simple hook. Nothing is overbooked (probably due to the low budget) and it sort of just moves along. Tom Neal's sad disillusioned facial expression seems like it was made as a prototype for noir cinema. Ann Savage is also classical in a almost black widow type of female predator in this journey. Nothing too outrageous to speak of in this just a lot of familiar beats played to great effect.

[rauldc14]

This is such a juicy list of nominations! How f@ckin awesome!

Act of Violence (1948) This was my original nom, so serious kudos to John for feeling the same way about this film.

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) This one's mine. I love the cinematography in this; it grips my attention from the opening exterior shots to that final country scene. Just amazing. And oh, yeah, the heist is pretty f@ckin cool, too.

Criss Cross (1949) This one is unknown, but seeing that Yvonne De Carlo is in this caught my complete attention.

Detour (1945) On my list of Need-To-Sees and now I get to, THANKS Thief

Gilda (1946) Been far too long since I've watched this one. Sweet!

Gun Crazy (1950) Only caught this one about two-thirds of the way and, for whatever reason, got the opportunity to finish, and now I can. So thank you, Sean.

The Maltese Falcon (1941) This one is imprinted on my brain with utter love and appreciation since my teenage years. I could write a review, but f@ck that, I'm gonna happily revisit this one.

Mildred Pierce (1945) Very cool call. I've seen this one several times and am looking forward to it once more.

Murder, My Sweet (1944) And what's a noir HoF without a lil bit of Chandler? Power does an excellent Phillip Marlowe, one of my favorite renditions of the literary character.

Out of the Past (1947) A very solid noir I always enjoy watching.

Thieves Highway (1949) Another complete unknown and quite f@ckin curious about.

Touch of Evil (1958) Another multiple rewatch that will be a pleasure to revisit.

It's feckin. Get it right. Fecken!

[Thief]

GUN CRAZY
(1950, Lewis)

https://i.imgur.com/8VlG3bG.jpg


"We go together, Annie. I don't know why. Maybe like guns and ammunition go together."



The concept of "love at first sight" is a common idea among romantics and lovers. The belief that upon seeing someone you just can't imagine your life without that person, disregarding anything else. This classic film noir puts a bit of a spin to it by presenting what can be referred to as "love at first shot". But will it last?

Gun Crazy follows Bart Tare (John Dall), a young man that has been obsessed with guns since he was a kid. This obsession took him from reform school to the Army, and eventually back to his hometown. When he meets circus sharpshooter Annie Starr (Peggy Cummins) during one of her performances, the two become infatuated with each other. Is it love, or is it that gun obsession again?

Eventually, Bart and Annie embark on a crime spree across the nation. With Annie's ambitions and Bart's obsession, the idea of losing each other is so unbearable that they disregard law and morals in favor of a life on the run. Both Dall and Cummins are fantastic transmitting this attraction in a way that's believable, and both charming and toxic at the same time.

But aside from that, the camerawork from Lewis, especially during the car chases is nothing short of impressive. Moreover when you consider this was a low budget film, with little resources when compared to the big studio productions of the time. All of this adds a certain energy to the film that's maintained until the last scene.

Until a couple of weeks or months ago, I don't think I had heard about this film. But after Dr. Richard Edwards brought it up on one of my latest podcast episodes, and after reading some of you mention it, and praise it here, I decided to give it a shot. It is no surprise why it is so well regarded, cause Gun Crazy is a wonderful and thrilling ride. I guess it's love at first sight.

Grade: 4

[Thief]

TOUCH OF EVIL
(1958, Welles)

https://www.zekefilm.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/TouchEvil2-1280x600.jpg


"I'm always thinking of her, drunk or sober. What else is there to think about, except my job, my dirty job?"



Set in the US-Mexican border, Touch of Evil follows the investigation of a car bombing that kills a wealthy businessman and his girlfriend. Even though he's on his honeymoon, "Mexican" agent Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston) tries to assist in the investigation, which is led by Captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles), a veteran but shady officer that might have other motivations in mind.

Objectively speaking, this is a pretty good film. Welles does a great job both behind and in front of the camera. His Quinlan is certainly despicable, but still layered. There's so much thing that he does with his expressions and his stance that communicate so much. As for his direction, what can be said? From the impressive opening shot, you know you're in for a technical treat. He uses some techniques similar to the ones he used in Citizen Kane, low angle shots, pans and zooms, but he also manages to create a good deal of tension, especially regarding the fate of Vargas' wife, Susie (Janet Leigh).

However, one can't deny the context of some of the other decisions made for this. As good as Heston's performance is, his casting as a "dark-skinned Mexican" is... problematic, to say the least. Moreover when he ends up being the *only* "honorable" Latino character in the film, while the others are all thugs, criminals, or prostitutes. There are some things I can give a pass, chalk it up to just a sign of the times. But there are others, like the implications of a single throwaway line in the ending, which kinda neuters any goodwill the film could have.

So the movie feels much like the duality in Quinlan, being a seemingly competent and renowned police officer, haunted by a past that he just can't shake. The film has undeniable technical merits and an inherently thrilling nature, in addition to great performances... but unfortunately, it's haunted by decisions of the past that I just can't shake that easily.

Grade: 4?

[Thief]

OUT OF THE PAST
(1947, Tourneur)

https://i.imgur.com/7ulexEL.jpg


"You liked me because you could use me. You could use me because I was smart."



Out of the Past follows Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum), a former private investigator trying to escape the past. Unfortunately, it all comes back to haunt him when Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), a greedy former client and his alluring and mysterious girlfriend Kathie (Jane Greer) reappear in his life.

My first time watching this film was back in 2015, when I was taking an online course on film noir, and I think it was the most perfect choice to capture what a film noir is. Mitchum is perfectly smooth in the lead role as the man who seems to have all the cards stacked against him but still pushes through, while Douglas is cool as ice as the antagonist who just won't leave him alone. Finally, Greer does a great job reeling you in, while you're still wondering her real motives.

But aside from the performances, Tourneur delivers a smooth direction that always gives prominence to the lead characters. Pair that with a flawless script that keeps you going back and forth, trying to guess what will happen next, and an inevitably dark ending, and you have the perfect recipe for a film noir.

I remember that back when I first saw it, I couldn't stop grinning at how much I was enjoying this and how great it was. Rewatching it now, already knowing what will happen, made me pay more attention to the nuances in the performances, and I think I liked it even more. Considering that I had given it a 5/5 already, not sure how much higher I could go. This is an undeniable masterpiece.

Grade: 5

[Thief]

Those are three of the six I've seen. I thought I had something written on The Maltese Falcon, which I've seen several times, but I didn't. I also didn't have anything on my nom, Detour, but that's one I'm planning on rewatching anyway. The other one is Criss Cross, which I just saw this week, so my review is pending.

[seanc]

I love Out Of The Past. Looking forward to my third watch.

[Thief]

Yeah, I love it. It's great and, what the heck, an almost sure lock for my #1 spot. I think I've seen it twice as well, with the last time being back in 2021 before I recorded that noir episode with Dr. Edwards, but I think I'm gonna make it a #Noirvember tradition and rewatch it again this year.

[seanc]

Gilda

95941


Gilda is a movie I really wanted to rewatch for the list, but honestly don't know if I would have gotten to it if it wasn't nominated here. That was a big reason I wanted to be in the Hall because I knew it would push me to rewatch a few that I need to.

This is a really great Noir, driven by Hayworth who, I think, gives one of the better femme performances I have seen in a Noir. She is a force and extremely sexy, but she also brings a vulnerability that I don't think we see in these movies enough, and is appropriate considering the man she finds herself hitched too.

I don't remember how I first watched Gilda, but I would bet is wasn't under optimal viewing conditions, because the biggest up tick on this viewing for me was how it looked. The cinematography is beautiful full stop, but there are also a handful of shots that really make you take notice. The setting is very simple but the director and cinematographer mined every bit of texture out of it.

Gilda was going to do very well on our list regardless of me, but I will be surprised if it doesn't get some extra help from me.

Oh yeah. Yes Red, I "love it when she does that ***** with her hair".

[Thief]

Detour

Detour bears a healthy dose of all the bare essentials needed for a great, twisty noir movie. Some of these events are extremely shocking and unpredictable. I really have to handle it to the writers for not only keeping this full of events, but really relying on the personality and intelligence of the main character. On the BOTTOM side, they're also a little hokey, which tells me the movie needed a little more length to flesh out the story. But in the end it's an excellent tale of bad luck and how life really bites us in the ass. This on top of the excellent first-person narration make this a very easy movie to get behind, as well as making our protagonist easier to sympathize with than many other protagonists in the genre.


rating_4_5



This is probably the main reason why I chose this. As we are in the wake of our own Film Noir countdown, where the questions of "what is a film noir" has come up often, I think this one gives us a glimpse of all those little things that make a noir. Watch out for beaten-down protagonists betrayed by femme fatales and fate itself, dark twists and a bleak ending, black and white cinematography, foggy lighting, flashbacks, canted angles, oversized props... it's all in here, wrapped in a short package.

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fklimbim2014.files.wordpress.com%2F2017%2F12%2Flarge_gilda_02x_blu-ray_.jpg%3Fw%3D400&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=a320a0a97ef9d2d90c55f7587a1608288b956ef7340fdae482022829177e2447&ipo=images
Gilda (1946)


Third time watching and my reaction was the same as last time. Rita Hayworth is wrong for the role. She was a light drama actress who was better suited for rom-coms and musicals. It bugged me that through out the film she had that same 'posed' expression on her face. I never bought her as a scorned woman who would do anything to get back at the man she loved & hated, Glen Ford. Mostly she played her role as a lark, so I never bought that she was Gilda. Which is funny as I once read a quote from her about her marriages including Orson Welles and she said, 'they wanted to marry Gilda but got Rita.' I seen Rita in that role, not Gilda. That brought an otherwise good movie with a good script down a couple notches. Don't get me wrong I actually do like Rita but not in this role. I'm sure she was cast as she was box office gold at the time and could dance and sing. But I wish the role had went to Marie Windsor or Lizabeth Scott. Both of those noir actresses could've brought needed dimension to the role.

[Citizen Rules]

95943
Detour (1945)


Gosh I really like Ann Savage, I thought she was cute. Especially in the beginning in that little white sweater, when she doesn't have so much make-up on and her hair isn't curled. I love that look in her eyes in that photo, it says so much about her.

I got this feeling that her character Vera had been through a lot of pain in her life. As she was dying of tuberculous she had this pragmatic negative outlook on life, yet I don't think she was evil, just troubled. I believe she could've been helped and Tom Neal 'Al' was an idiot for not taking her up on her offer to spend the night...I mean what does he have to lose at that point?

His character is well written...he's the world's biggest loser with this sour, down trodden and beaten by life look on his face. His blonde girlfriend leaves him for California and he makes the world's stupidest decision when he steals the dead guys car, money and ID. In true noir fashion he's doomed himself! So why not sleep with Vera, just don't kiss her. She clearly likes him and I found that touching in a doomed sorta way.

Detour was the first 'B' movie chose by the Library of Congress to include it it's National Film Registry...that says a lot!
rating_4

[edarsenal]

It's feckin. Get it right. Fecken!
Feckin it is! lol

[rauldc14]

Detour

https://artscenter.duke.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/DETOUR-HI-RES.jpg

This was my second watch of this film but I really didn't remember all too much about it. That's why I figured it would be good to join this Hall to refresh my memory on a lot of these. I enjoy the hitch hiking aspect of the film and it works really well with the swift pacing of the movie. From start to finish there really isn't a dull moment in the 69 minutes of film. The film really heats up when Vera shows up. I thought Ann Savage gave the best performance in this film and her chemistry with Tom Neals character was really great. In particular, I really thought the last 20 minutes or so were the epitome of what a noir should strive for in terms of tension and atmosphere. This is a really good one and I increased my rating to support it.

4

[KeyserCorleone]

Act of Violence

It seems that the focal point of this movie is building tension. Because of this, there's a bit of a slow run for the first act. Also, our villain has so little screentime that it disappoints, but this also makes his scenes more memorable as we get some great dialogue and development from those few scenes. To add to the characterization commentary, some of the development for the wife suffers, and she's just another noir woman in the end. But once we get the scoop on our lead character's reasoning for caution, things get extremely interesting. There's chaos in the lead's mind as he aimlessly goes from person to person wondering what to do about the ghost from his war days. Unfortunately, this also makes the movie a little aimless at times. Thankfully, the air of tension stays thick enough to bounce a ball off throughout most of the movie. And I have to say, I like where the ending went. It seems perfectly fitting for all the chaos that the lead went through during the film. I can't say I'll put this at the top of my list or anything, but I liked what I saw.


rating_4

[Citizen Rules]

It's getting lopsided. (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2420575#post2420575):D

[Citizen Rules]

Detour: This is probably the main reason why I chose this. As we are in the wake of our own Film Noir countdown, where the questions of "what is a film noir" has come up often, I think this one gives us a glimpse of all those little things that make a noir. Watch out for beaten-down protagonists betrayed by femme fatales and fate itself, dark twists and a bleak ending, black and white cinematography, foggy lighting, flashbacks, canted angles, oversized props... it's all in here, wrapped in a short package.Detour has what I consider to be the key noir element, "someone who through an event or outside influences was doomed in one way or another, often by their own behavior, life choices or even by randomness." That's from the Noir countdown thread and Detour has that. The movie even mentions how a twist of fate has led Al (Tom Neal) down a dark road that he himself didn't chose.

[rauldc14]

Detour has what I consider to be the key noir element, "someone who through an event or outside influences was doomed in one way or another, often by their own behavior, life choices or even by randomness." That's from the Noir countdown thread and Detour has that. The movie even mentions how a twist of fate has led Al (Tom Neal) down a dark road that he himself didn't chose.

Never thought of this being a key element. But I really like that.

[rauldc14]

It's getting lopsided. (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?anchor=1&p=2420575#post2420575):D

I'm on the wrong side, I bet get moving!

[Thief]

Never thought of this being a key element. But I really like that.

If you look at it closely, most noir films feature that. Characters that think they have control of the situation, and yet they are doomed by fate. Out of the Past? Sunset Boulevard? Double Indemnity? etc.

[Citizen Rules]

Never thought of this being a key element. But I really like that.Seems to be mostly true. Nothing is 100% of course but it's often present in noir films to some degree or another.

[Citizen Rules]

If you look at it closely, most noir films feature that. Characters that think they have control of the situation, and yet they are doomed by fate. Out of the Past? Sunset Boulevard? Double Indemnity? etc.I'd say in films like Detour the character is doomed by random circumstance, he even talks about that during the inner monologues. In other noirs they are doomed by character flaws, like weakness for the dames! or outside influences.

[ScarletLion]

This looks like a quality HoF. Sorry I couldn't join but I have a watchlist as long as my arm that needs to get done before the end of the year. I'll dip into the thread to see how it's going.

I have seen these ones and they are all fabulous films with perhaps Touch of Evil being my favourite

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Detour (1945)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Out of the Past (1947)
Touch of Evil (1958)

[rauldc14]

Thieves Highway

https://trailersfromhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/4936topHigh.jpg

This was a very well directed film and overall I thought the story was told very well. I like the set up where we are introduced to Nick and it's a nice buildup to where he meets Figlia. The part I dislike the most is Nick's character in general, as I often thought he made stupid boneheaded decisions. The fact that he seems to end up on the road to getting married with Rica is honestly quite mindbaffling to me. Kind of strange how he wouldn't want to be with Polly but maybe that's just me. The highlight of the film for me is Lee Cobbs performance. I've always enjoyed Cobb in the villain role much like On the Waterfront he is quite on point here

It's a mixed bag film but one that I'm happy to have nominated blind.

3.5

[Citizen Rules]

This looks like a quality HoF. Sorry I couldn't join but I have a watchlist as long as my arm that needs to get done before the end of the year. I'll dip into the thread to see how it's going.

I have seen these ones and they are all fabulous films with perhaps Touch of Evil being my favourite

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Detour (1945)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Out of the Past (1947)
Touch of Evil (1958)There's not a bad apple in the whole bunch with this HoF. Maybe I should've nominated Ed Wood Jr's Jail Bait (1954) (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0047127/) just so that people had at least one nom that wasn't up to snuff. Still I kind like that movie, it's probably one of Ed's better flicks.

[John W Constantine]

Gun Crazy (1950 Joseph H. Lewis)

Bart Tare has a fascination. It just happens to be with guns. When his fascination leads to a sentence in reform school and the military he returns home hoping to make a way of life. When he makes a trip to the local traveling carnival he meets the sharpshooter Annie. It seems to be attraction at first sight that leads Bart on a much more adventurous life than the one he was expecting at home.

Nice to see this one again, I never quite forgot this one as it was one of the first ones I watched years ago. Love the two leads, looks wonderful, and has a sizzle underneath all of the events but still has some of the cheesy dialogue and wit that makes these movies worth watching. Excellent choice.

[John W Constantine]

Out of the Past (1947 Jacques Tourneur)

Jeff Bailey lives a seemingly mundane life running a gas station in small remote town. He spends his time fishing and dating his girlfriend Ann Miller. When a stranger stops in town at the gas station it leads to a revelation that Jeff has a secret past with some shady characters.

This doesn't reach that creative qualities are some of these entries for this countdown, you could almost say the story gets a tab bit confusing. It feels more of a character study for Robert Mitchum's Jeff Bailey (Marcum?) wrapped in a noir setting. Jane Greer's character is interesting enough on the other side of the story. Kirk Douglas does Kirk Douglas but his "Kirk Douglas" moment is strangely missing. Another excellent choice here.

[John W Constantine]

Gilda (1946 Charles Vidor)

Johnny Farrell has just arrived in Buenos Aires and through some harmless entertainment seems to have made a great connection with local Ballin Mundson who runs a club type business that just happens to offer gambling, which Johnny likes. Soon Johnny is placed as Ballin's right hand man to help run his business and all seems gravy. That is until Johnny is introduced to Mundson's new wife Gilda, who seems as they have maybe met before in a previous life.

I found this one good enough, it's really the exchanges between Ford and Hayworth that are the sizzle to the steak and I enjoy the dialogue between them and also Macready. The story is interesting enough to go along with the love triangle and Rita is easy on the eyes I guess you can say.

[rauldc14]

Gilda

https://prdaficalmjediwestussa.blob.core.windows.net/images/2020/04/AFI20_Gilda_BlogImage_Graphic.jpg

This one is just my kind of jam. And I liked it even more the second time around. Rita Hayworth as Gilda may be my favorite female noir performance of all time and if not it's damn close. I thought she was stunning to look at obviously but I also thought her chemistry with Glen Ford was perfect. I'm also a sucker for casino scenes so those scenes were amongst my favorites. I really thought the ending was quite tense too, with Ballin coming back out of nowhere and reaching his eventual demise. And it was a really great performance by Glen Ford too. Yeah, this is probably among the noir GOATs for me.

4.5

[Diehl40]

Act of Violence


This turned out to be a good film to watch first. it is said that it has the typical elements that make for a good opening to a Noir film. The city in the dark in the cold and rain. A man (Ryan) limps badly (the film noir figure of the weakened male, I've read) We find out later that Ryan is the avenging male who is seeking revenge against Heflin who has done his compatriots and himself wrong. Throughout this film this character pursues his target relentlessly. In the end the traitor (Heflin) pursues performs a selfless act to save the avenger's life. He redeems himself at a terrible price.



This was only my second Noir (I watched the Big Sleep first). As i watch I hope to pick up enough about Noir style to be able to recognize oir elements when I see them This will not only help identify film noir, but also Neo Noir films.

[rauldc14]

Gun Crazy

https://trailersfromhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/5726topGun.jpg

The type of noir that's right down my alley. It does a lot of things right for me. The opening sequence introducing us to Batts obsession is a very effective scene in my opinion. I also love the scene where Laurie and Bart meet. His obsession with guns turns into an obsession with her. John Dall and Peggy Cummins have really great chemistry together and the scenes that they are in with each other are really well done. It's cool to see the characters fate spiral out of control yet they keep finding ways out of their misery. It's such a badass ending I wouldn't have seen it coming at all. In the end, Barts obsession really did do him in. Technically it may not be the best of this bunch but I'll be damned if it won't end up as one of the most entertaining.

4+

[KeyserCorleone]

The Maltese Falcon

The strongest point of this movie is easily Humphrey Bogart's performance. It came to him so utterly naturally that it was like watching a flower blossom. He brings constant charisma with everything he does, even among an entire cast of unfortunately one-sided tropes. But these tropes only survive through pop culture because of the constantly developing story. This mystery has danger all over the damn place, and even to try and avoid it puts you at unease. But there's another flaw: this noir movie doesn't feel as dark as future noirs because the characterization is constantly one-sided. But overall, on the second watch, I had already liked it before and I still like it well enough. But I wouldn't call it one of the greatest ever as boasted about by the pop culture parodies.


rating_4_5

[John W Constantine]

Thieves Highway (1949 Jules Dassin)

The son returns home to find his father permanently injured after being taken advantage by the crooked business man. The son decides to get even and even finds a business opportunity and a woman along the way.

Victor Conte is a staple of some good noir pieces and Lee J. Cobb is always a gruff welcome character. Dassin seems to really nail seedy characters in his movies and they are on display here. It really shows how dirty the apple transportation business can really be.

[John W Constantine]

Murder, My Sweet (1944 Edward Dmytryk)

Philip Marlowe is a private eye that seems to be low on cash. When an oversized giant shows up in his office searching for a girl he hasn't seen in 8years, Marlowe seems to be turning around his empty pockets. Soon, his search for the missing woman becomes quite the twisting and confusing search for more than just.

In my experience it's quite difficult to adapt a Raymond Chandler novel that doesn't translate nicely to the big screen. I don't know if William Powell is the best choice for Marlowe but he gets the job done in this one. It borders on a bit confusing in spots but Powell keeps it entertaining and moving along. Maybe the point is we as the audience are supposed to be of the mind of Marlowe in the film with all that's happening?? I dunno. Looks great like most noir and plenty of the good noir ingredients.

[Citizen Rules]

Act of Violence

This was only my second Noir (I watched the Big Sleep first). As i watch I hope to pick up enough about Noir style to be able to recognize noir elements when I see them. This will not only help identify film noir, but also Neo Noir films.By the time you finish with this HoF you should be well on the way to being a noir aficionado. Cool that you joined so that you could learn more about the film noir movement.

Murder, My Sweet (1944 Edward Dmytryk)
Maybe the point is we as the audience is supposed to be of the mind of Marlowe in the film with all that's happening??...Interesting I hadn't thought of that. I seen the movie before and it does seem like we are very much in Marlowe's shoes more so than a lot of noirs. I think about what you said when I rewatch it.

[John W Constantine]

Touch of Evil (1958 Orson Welles)

When a couple are killed in a car bomb explosion, Miguel Vargas and his new wife are witness to the incident. But Vargas won't be the only officer on the case as the incident involves components on both sides of the US - Mexico border. In this case the investigation brings in the long time veteran Hank Quinlan. Working alongside Vargas, Quinlan is able to find the apparent suspect and solve the case but Vargas has questions about the validity of his methods.

Being a Welles piece of filmmaking, obviously the movie looks the part. Charlton Heston brings his normal intensity and Welles brings his whatever he was going for here. Like any of his screenplays there is undoubtedly something interesting he has to say with this one. Not much more I can add.

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse2.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.P-GzV92MbCmGEWaJsLQgtAHaFj%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=015f986c5aecb37c729e30a66874d87aa2f65c0d47f7dd314113e1d9dd4f13e5&ipo=images
Thieves' Highway (1949)


Thieves' Highway will be one of the highlights for me in this HoF...an HoF which is packed full of great noirs. I really liked this movie, here's why: The story and settings are interesting. I image some might not care for this as there's no dark rainy alleys, no detectives in trench coats and no long ominous shadows. I found the story of the competitive, cut-throat world of long haul 'wild cat' truckers a fascinating story.


https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse1.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.j2DTfjHDMovWU6KsYM9ZTQAAAA%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=7bedd0920e613930888f509e2bba031db0bdfc8f06c862323984e6d634f3e4dc&ipo=images

Visually I liked the different shooting locations, the apple orchids, the open road, the wholesale produce market. For me that was a world I wanted to learn about and spend time with. I did see a similar story in The Drive By Night (Raoul Walsh 1940), I liked that film noir too.


The other main thing I liked was that that the secondary characters were well written and had more to them than just being place holders so that the next scene could take place. I especially liked the writing of the two truck haulers who at the start of the movie get cut out of an apple hauling deal and scheme to get some of the money back. Later the story propels both of those men to a place where they need to make a decision which then changes their character's actions. I thought Valentina Cortesa was a very believable choice for a woman who slummed around the fruit market. I liked her role and the little things she did when on screen, she was an interesting actress. I liked Richard Conte and of course the great Lee J. Cobb.

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Ftse3.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOIP.Q9PbL3Ya7Ua8xWabRzFhagAAAA%26pid%3DApi&f=1&ipt=3f009950d2187c4d5b75513b75b04f2e29d7be1b4806c92827eed9daa1bb469a&ipo=images
Gun Crazy (1950)
Gun Crazy rules!
Gun Crazy...One of my personal favorites, a wild ride and one bad femme fatale!

Huh? What happened, cause last night after 10 years, I re-watched Gun Crazy and I didn't care for it. The story felt lazy not earned and the actors seemed like 'Hollywood actors'. I never believed they were anyone other than actors. If I hadn't rewatched this it would've made my noir ballot, now I doubt it will.

Maybe I was just tired so wasn't 'in the story' but just watching it with one eye closed. I don't know, I was tired at the end of the movie and I had just finished watching Thieves' Highway going back to back with Gun Crazy. So maybe I was overly noired:cool: But nah that's not it, because the other night I did a noir double header watching Gilda first then Detour. That night I didn't care for the first film, Gilda, but liked the second half of the double feature, Detour. So I don't know why I would go 180 on my opinion of Gun Crazy. Maybe because I don't care for long segments of action...I need world building, character development...which is why I did really like the first act set in the carnival with the love triangle between our Bonnie and Clyde and the carnival barker. Glad to have rewatched this, but plumb dumbfounded that one of my favorite noirs has become just a noir for me.

[Thief]

CRISS CROSS
(1949, Siodmak)

https://i.imgur.com/miWgSe6.png


"From the start, it all went one way. It was in the cards or it was fate... or a jinx or whatever you wanna call it."



Film noir is often defined as "pessimistic, fatalistic, and cynical" with characters that are "trapped in unwanted situations" they just can't control; whether it was in the cards, or fate, or a jinx. Even if they can't control them, they often end up making things worse with their actions, like a snowball effect, which is the case in this dark and twisted noir.

Criss Cross follows Steve Thompson (Burt Lancaster), who can't help but rekindle his relationship with his ex-wife, Anna (Yvonne de Carlo) even though she is now married to Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea), a mobster with no scruples. By the twists of fate, Thompson ends up leading Dundee into planning a heist to the armored truck company he works for.

This film is one of those perfect encapsulations of what film noir is. From the flashback narrative to the dim-lit cinematography, from the romance to the heist, from the lead man thrust into a situation he feels he can't control to the femme fatale you're never really sure where she stands on. It's all in there, in prime form.

In the last 5 years or so, I've seen more films from Burt Lancaster and Dan Duryea than I had before, and they both have become favorites. Lancaster has a unique mixture of tough-guy persona and charm that goes perfectly with the character of Steve, while Duryea can't help but be so good at being "slimy". The main cast is rounded by de Carlo, who I hadn't seen in anything other than The Munsters, but she's so good as the stone cold Anna.

Aside from the performances, I really loved how the story always keeps you guessing where things are at. As the title suggests, there's a cross waiting at every turn and every corner from every character. There's never a sense of certainty in it, and it's great to share that with the main characters, specifically Steve. We never know where the cards or fate would lead us, but we're going there anyway.

Grade: 4

[rauldc14]

Right side is up 18-13 :)

[seanc]

Criss Cross

96016

Thought maybe this would go up on a rewatch, but I stayed the same. This is undoubtedly a Noir all star production, and everyone is doing what they do well. Great acting and the movie looks fantastic. It doesn’t quite have the bite I like. Something is missing to elevate this. Definitely could have used more Duryea to start. Villain is certainly underutilised. Good movie, don’t get me wrong. Just not up there with my faves of the genre.

[Diehl40]

https://s3.amazonaws.com/criterion-production/films/5915895741543b0081c1afe507308335/WLD2n1FIo9i7BTFQRoTryfcBlF1rse_large.jpg


The Asphalt Jungle

This movie was excellent to identify several trope of the Film Noir style. This film was the first of a series of films that could be identified as the heist/crime caper. Later films of this type included: Stanley Kubrik's The Killing, Jean-Pierre Melvills's Bob LeFlaubear's and Jules Dassin's Rififi, among others. Asphalt Jungle is considered to be one of the most influential Film Noir's to be made.

The two main characters are Doc and Dix. They are both seeking to make a break from their lives as criminals They are crooks who possess some virtue. They want this caper to be their last where they can retire. Doc to Mexico where he can watch the girls dance; and Dix wants to buy back the family farm in Kentucky.

Barry Kelly is an example of the cop who wants to be on and off the take, according to his convenience. He enjoys being in the middle and having the power of the streets. This type of flawed cop is classic noir.
The caper "crew" in the Asphalt Jungle is typical of the crime/heist film. The mastermind (Doc), the financial backer (Emmerich), the box man or safe-cracker (Louis), The muscle (Dix) and the Get-away driver (Gus).

Another trope is the con-man hates gun trope. Doc says that, "you carry a gun, you shoot a policeman, Bad rap, hard to beat"
The last trope I'll mention is the old man likes the young girls trope. This proves to be the downfall of two characters in the film. The first is Emmerich who is keeping Marilyn Monroe in his shag pad. She contributes to his downfall. The other example is Doc. Doc stays in a club about five minutes to long to watch a young girl dance which give the police time to catch up with him.

These are some tropes I hope to use to identify other film Noir films and Neo Noir films as well.

[John W Constantine]

Act of Violence (1948 Fred Zennemann)

People have themselves some secrets. Sometimes others aren't cool with these secrets that people keep, and then they show up to get even.

Lots of familiar faces in this one, Van Heflin stands out as a man caught and tortured by the tough decisions that are made in the acts of war. A movie that poses a few important questions.

[John W Constantine]

The Asphalt Jungle (1950 John Huston)

A prisoner just released from the big house has a plan to make some dough. He needs money and a select few individuals to help pull off his well orchestrated heist first, but it seems someone else has plans of their own for the said riches.

I don't think I watched this too long ago so I was familiar with the events that take place. This watch definitely kicked up a notch and seems to be a prototype for the heist film itself. Just the right mix of pictures, shady characters, and cheese. Contender for top spot on my ballot.

[John W Constantine]

The Maltese Falcon (1941 John Huston)

Sam Spade is your typical wise cracking cool as a cucumber private eye. When he's ask to track down the sister of a young woman, tragedy strikes as his partner is killed while on the job. Fingered as a possible suspect Sam is drawn farther into a web of deceit with a possible golden goose on the other side of the proceedings.

I'm a Casablanca guy myself, but it can't be denied that this is maybe the quintessential Bogart film. And to say that might sell the movie short in all the ways it probably enfluenced not just an entire genre but a certain type of film character. Bogie is as laconic and sharp as a tack as the private eye and is surrounded by other classic players of the genre. One of the infinitely rewatchable films with all the right ingredients.

[Thief]

I rewatched Detour last night and just finished Murder, My Sweet, so I'm well on my way. Only 5 to go.

[Citizen Rules]

John W Constantine has already finished! That's freakin fast and sets a HoF record of finishing in just 7 days!

[John W Constantine]

Hooray! Now I need a nap until the next ones begin.

[seanc]

Asphalt Jungle

96028

This is my third watch of Asphalt Jungle, and I have gone up in my rating each time. I wrote in my last review that I had a hard time getting used to Hayden. Now I am having a hard time figuring out why in the world that would be. I really enjoyed him this time, and especially his relationships. How him and the doctor develop is probably one if the better things in the movie. I really like how sprawling this is as far as characters though. Most Noirs concentrate on a couple people, this one has a lot going on and, to me, that makes it really fun. The heist scene is pretty fantastic and I love that ending. Movie looks great as well. There is a ton to love here, so I am glad, yet again, to be made to rewatch. This may just make my list and definitely wouldn't have without the rewatch.

[Citizen Rules]

Asphalt Jungle



This is my third watch of Asphalt Jungle, and I have gone up in my rating each time. I wrote in my last review that I had a hard time getting used to Hayden. Now I am having a hard time figuring out why in the world that would be. I really enjoyed him this time, and especially his relationships. How him and the doctor develop is probably one if the better things in the movie. I really like how sprawling this is as far as characters though. Most Noirs concentrate on a couple people, this one has a lot going on and, to me, that makes it really fun. The heist scene is pretty fantastic and I love that ending. Movie looks great as well. There is a ton to love here, so I am glad, yet again, to be made to rewatch. This may just make my list and definitely wouldn't have without the rewatch.When I said to my wife I was hosting the Noir HoF and what noir did she like the best, she said The Asphalt Jungle. I'm glad to see it get some love here....One FYI for the Noir Countdown, if you include it on your ballot remember it's The Asphalt Jungle, I myself keep typing it as Asphalt Jungle, I don't why? Anyway I'm looking forward to my third rewatch of it. I'm a big fan of Sterling Hayden and the entire cast just blows me away with their humanity.

[seanc]

and the entire cast just blows me away with their humanity.

Absolutely agree. The three women in this movie all have small roles and they each have moments where I could absolutely cry if I thought about it enough. These men are just breaking these poor souls, and all they want is some love and attention. I can’t believe I gave this a subpar rating first watch. I must not have been in the mood, because it’s pretty great.

[Citizen Rules]

Absolutely agree. The three women in this movie all have small roles and they each have moments where I could absolutely cry if I thought about it enough. These men are just breaking these poor souls, and all they want is some love and attention. I can’t believe I gave this a subpar rating first watch. I must not have been in the mood, because it’s pretty great.That bringing to life of secondary characters is what I look for the most in the movie. Even better if the actors are superb. I'm saving The Asphalt Jungle for a special viewing treat.

[rauldc14]

I've only seen Asphalt Jungle once. I blind bought the criterion so I'll be looking forward to seeing it again.

[seanc]

Maltese Falcon

96040

So I officially have Noir fever, but also this movie is just so damn good. How many Bogart flicks are going to make the list because he just simply kills playing this type of character. Smart, capable, quick witted, but also just stone cold. When his partner dies and in the next scene he is asking for all the signage yo be changed to just his name. Absolutely diabolical, I love details like that.

All the acting is good here. One, they got great actors, but also the dialogue is crackling. This has gotta be one of the better scripts out there.

These rewatches are doing me good, but they are also making my ballot a lot harder to nail down. Good problem to have.

[seanc]

Act Of Violence

96041

Thought my Noir fever was going to continue through the first third of this. Cool story and really good, subtle character development going on. The next two thirds didn’t break my fever, but definitely brought it down to a more manageable temperature.

It’s weird, but I think even at 80 minutes this one goes on a little long. Once it switches to LA it feels like a whole story line could just be lifted. The plot point should add more tension, but somehow it feels like it brings everything to a halt.

Starts to pick up again at the very end, but the ending is weird morally for me. Maybe more mofos will have an opinion in it as you guys watch it.

Really glad this got nominated. It was high up on my fresh Noir watches I wanted to get to.

[Citizen Rules]

Sean's flying, 8 noir noms watched and reviewed so far. Way to go!

[Thief]

DETOUR
(1945, Ulmer)

https://i.imgur.com/ZRwkqfi.jpg


"That's life. Whichever way you turn, Fate sticks out a foot to trip you."



Detour follows Al Roberts (Tom Neal), a night club piano player that is determined to follow his girlfriend into Los Angeles. However, fate sticks out a foot to trip him on his way, as he stumbles upon deceit and murder in the form of Vera (Ann Savage), who decides to blackmail the poor man.

I saw Detour a couple of years ago when I took an online course on film noir. In it, Professor Richard Edwards used it to highlight most of the more iconic and emblematic motifs in film noir: flashbacks, foggy lighting, canted angles, our lead narrator beaten down and trapped by fate, and a wicked femme fatale. It's all here.

Both Neal and Savage were very good portraying the desperation from their characters. Her performance might've been a bit more forced, but the character called for it. Still, they worked pretty well off each other. Director Ulmer makes the most of what he got with some great use of shadows, lights, and music, which serves to create a unique and effective atmosphere.

Detour is a fairly simple film in terms of how it was made and what it was aiming for. Filmed by one of the Poverty Row studios, in 6 days and with about $100K, it ended up becoming one of the most popular film noirs ever made. A twisted and dark little story about life, death, and fate sticking out a foot to trip you.

Grade: 4

[Thief]

Citizen, you still haven't linked my Criss Cross review from the previous page.

[seanc]

Out Of The Past

96047

This one is already a favorite, but always happy to rewatch. It had been a few years. This is basically everything I like in a Noir. Great lead, the proper amount of mystery and twists. A gorgeous femme, and a awesome villain played by a great actor. If there is something missing here, it might be that I could of used a scene of violence from Douglas just to give his scenes a bit more tension. Douglas sells the baddy really well though. Despite the small amount of screen time, it might be my favorite performance from him.

Awesome flick. Not just a favorite Noir, one of my favorites period.

[seanc]

Murder, My Sweet

96049

Watching all the Marlowe adaptations is on my to do list during the Noir countdown. So this is the movie I was probably most excited to see among the noms. It didn't disappoint. This is my third or fourth adaptation, but there already seems to be a common thread. These are all well written films, and that may be what I value in cinema above all. Marlowe is such a fun character, maybe doesn't seem as original as he was 75 years ago, but imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

This Marlowe is really good, and I can't enjoy more watching him fumble his way through the mystery, all the while knowing he will probably end up with the upper hand. Lots of fun characters in this, in fact I would say there isn't a bad or worthless one in the bunch.

These Noir viewings are going so well. I may just watch this genre for the rest of my life and leave the rest behind.

[KeyserCorleone]

The Asphalt Jungle

If there's one thing I hate in otherwise great movies, it's weak-ass characterization and tropiness, like in The maltese Falcon where everyone was a well-acted trope. It's a bit different here in The Asphalt Jungle, where everyone's character comes from their standards, desires and struggles. Even if the characters are delivered as one or two-sided, there are REASONS. Becuase of this, the attention to character is about as fleshed out as the actual plot progression, allowing both to go effortlessly hand-in-hand. In other words, The Asphalt Jungle is my type of movie. With just a slight bit more characterization and more music throughout, this would be a 10 instead of a 9.5

rating_5

Since I won't be writing a full review for this, but I want to mention it anyway, I'll take a tradition from my own reviews thread.

The Asphalt Jungle raises John Hunston's position on my best directors chart from #128 to #85 between Mel Brooks and Richard Linklater.

[Citizen Rules]

Detour is a fairly simple film in terms of how it was made and what it was aiming for. Filmed by one of the Poverty Row studios, in 6 days and with about $100K, it ended up becoming one of the most popular film noirs ever made. Grade: rating_4
I wonder what other quickie, b-noirs made on a shoe string budget are as popular as Detour? Maybe D.O.A.?
This is a good article about Detour (https://www.openculture.com/2012/03/idetouri_the_cheap_rushed_piece_of_1940s_film_noir_nobody_ever_forgets.html)


Out Of The Past

This one is already a favorite, but always happy to rewatch. It had been a few years. This is basically everything I like in a Noir. Great lead, the proper amount of mystery and twists. A gorgeous femme, and a awesome villain played by a great actor. Very twisty noir, I watched that for the first time in an HoF. It's been awhile since I seen Out of the Past but I haven't forget her:
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The Asphalt Jungle
rating_5

The Asphalt Jungle raises John Hunston's position on my best directors chart from #128 to #85 between Mel Brooks and Richard Linklater.Count me as a favorite of John Huston's films. He might not always be technically correct in his film making, i.e. a perfectionist, like someone like Kubrick would be...but Huston excels at capturing the human experience which makes me favor his movies over more acclaimed directors like Kubrick. Last night I just watched Huston's The Man Who Would be King and a few nights ago I watched his The African Queen. One of these days I'm going to check out all of his films, but first I'm watching a gut full of noirs!

[edarsenal]

A wee bit of ketchup. I will be back to read all the excellent reviews.

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Act of Violence (1948)

Frank (Van Heflin) has got a perfect life. A really wonderful wife, Edith (Janet Leigh), and a baby boy. He's a war hero and a successful businessman that everyone likes.
But, ya see, during the war, in a POW camp, Frank made a mistake. We all make mistakes, right? Well, it was a pretty hefty one, and Joe (Robert Ryan) is coming to kill him for it.

This was utterly unknown to me prior to 2021 and would have been my nom, so I'll be pleasantly biased in my review. This was such an enjoyable second watch and easily one to return to. With a cast that, along with those mentioned, includes Mary Astor playing a drifter who finds Frank at his worst and tries, in vain, to help. Phyllis Thaxter plays Joe's girlfriend, Ann, who tries and tries to dissuade Joe from this hellbent vengeance.
Along with all the cinematic shadowing and twisting roads of excellent noir, we are also treated with not only the tormented "prey" (Heflin) but also the tortured "hunter" (Ryan) as the chase draws to a close. Both men are haunted by what happened and how this will have to end.

Just a wonderful noir film all around.

[edarsenal]

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The Asphalt Jungle (1950)


This is my nom; it became an instant favorite the first time I saw this, making this around the fifth or so time I watched it. And let me tell ya, it gets -- wait, hold on, FECKEN better each and every time.
I genuinely love the pulp-style cinematography! It's dead-on for the great angles and compositions that bring this professionally done jewelry heist going south fast. First, by bad luck and then by a double-cross. Both end in gunplay and somebody slumping over. From there on, it's a mad dash to escape the Police hot on their @sses.

My favorite of the thieves was Sam Jaffe's Doc Erwin Riedenschneider, the Fresh Out of Jail, Mastermind ready to commit a heist he had staged before his time in jail. The pairing of him and Hayden's Dix had a great counter-balance and a solid, cohesive team. I've seen Jaffe previously, and this is an exceptional performance of the calm strategist with nostalgia for life. "One way or another, we all work for our vices.".
The hunchbacked, cat-loving Driver, Gus (James Whitmore), is close on his heels of favorite characters. They're all great, all the way through. Even the cops were great. Barry Kelly's dirty cop with smarts, Lt. Ditrich, had the same authentic looks that Hayden brought to Dix. Some great scenes with him and the weasel-esque Booky Cobby (Marc Lawrence). Their inside/deeper meaning conversation of "looks" was fecken brilliant.

I also love the "grays" of everyone. No one is entirely one thing, but a mix of strengths and weaknesses. Even the Lawyer, Alonzo D. Emmerich, played by Louis Calhern, that was supposed to finance everything only to try to rob them once the job is done, isn't a complete slimeball. Just very broke and in need of a substantial amount of cash right now.
And I mustn't forget les Femmes. Stepping away from the usual Femme Fatales, they are, instead, pretty decent ladies. From the bed-ridden May Emmerich (Dorothy Tree) to the Young Bit O' Candy, Angela Phinlay. Played by the upcoming Bombshell, the iconic Marilyn Monroe. Showing serious potential as an actress.

Ending the list with a scared but devoted Doll (Jean Hagen), I love the dynamics between Jean Hagen's Doll and Dix. There's a lot of layers going on, as well as a lot of low self-esteem on both sides. Even Dix thinks he's unworthy/too dangerous for someone to care about him. Add on his past loss of home puts a massive wall up to everyone else. I'm guessing Doll had known him for a bit and knew that, while a violent man by trade, it might not necessarily be what kind of man he may be. And she probably gets that some of that sh#tty treatment comes out of inner pain. A wounded dog that bites the hand trying to help, sort of thing. And not because he's just an insensitive A-hole. And she is in desperate times, reaching out for any bit of kindness as sh#t continues to happen in her own life. We meet her being booted out of her apartment, in dire need of indoor shelter. It says a lot that she chooses Dix's place as a feasible haven in the storm. They're two people with challenging/hard-luck times and far too familiar with such times to trust or take a chance with someone else, but not jaded enough to be unnecessarily callous and/or cruel.
While I'm not caught up in their star-crossed romance, it is a great addition to an already excellent noir in my eyes and heart.

This brings me to a primary key to all of these "interactions," dynamics, and overall presentation of this exceptional Heist Noir: the director, John Huston. He f@ckin nails it on every level and every nuance. But, then, it's John Huston, for feck's sake. Nuff said.

[edarsenal]

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Murder My Sweet (1944)

Philip Marlowe: She was a charming middle-aged lady with a face like a bucket of mud. I gave her a drink. She was a gal who'd take a drink if she had to knock you down to get the bottle.

I've seen this film a couple of times and have always enjoyed it. Besides the fact that I do enjoy a good crime/noir film - following its author's prose, there is sarcasm galore here as well. Along with some great use of camera trickery to delve into the narration and "feel" of this gumshoe tale of playing the sitting duck for the blind with unlimited ammo.

There have been several actors who have played Chandler's iconic Philip Marlowe. Powell is my go-to guy for playing the sarcastic, nonviolent detective who loves to drink and talk sh#t with. . . hell, pretty much everyone. For me, this film seems to epitomize a Chandler story while delving into the prose that would become the staple of the genre as well as some of the mannerisms (the smart-ass in particular) to so many private dicks and cops to come.

An entertaining detective romp with some great visuals and all the noir tropes that made it such a great genre to behold and be entertained by.

[Diehl40]

Criss Cross

In Criss Cross Siodmark gives us an example of a restless Film Noir He writes the story with an exiting structure which increases the drama beyond what it would have been otherwise. "The art here is to complicate something that would have been quite straight-forward".

He does this by using some familiar Film Noir tropes moves, and signals. The first of these is the idea of returning. Other styles and genres make use of this idea, but Film Noir is full of examples of this idea. In Criss Cross early flashback we see Burt Lancaster's character returning to Bunker Hill. He is full of melancholy, wisdom, questions, memories, weighed down with experience, and looking for a lost love. He explains all this through his characters voice over.
Burt Lancaster's character is a type. He is the Film Noir "sap". He is the fall guy who can't help himself He is unsure why he has elected to commit crimes, irresistibly drawn to the one woman who will betray him or destroy him.
i read that this structure which the simple plot is complicated allows the film maker to make some errors that the audience might overlook. It's easy to forgive the screenwriter for allowing Burt Lancaster's character to give such flimsy excuses not to call in when one of the guards is called away due to a phone call. Why doesn't Lancaster do something when his sidekick notices they are being followed.

[Thief]

I wonder what other quickie, b-noirs made on a shoe string budget are as popular as Detour? Maybe D.O.A.?
This is a good article about Detour (https://www.openculture.com/2012/03/idetouri_the_cheap_rushed_piece_of_1940s_film_noir_nobody_ever_forgets.html)


I don't think it's *that* popular, but one that I saw a couple of years ago it's Quicksand (1950). Stars Mickey Rooney and Peter Lorre. Scrappy good film.

[Citizen Rules]

I don't think it's *that* popular, but one that I saw a couple of years ago it's Quicksand (1950). Stars Mickey Rooney and Peter Lorre. Scrappy good film.Yeah that's a good one, I remember we talked about that last Noirvember...I still need a rewatch of that one.

[Diehl40]

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Detour

This film was shot in six days. Ulmer, the director, claimed they had "eighty setups a day". They used to call this type of film a "poverty row quicky" for the high speed and the low budget of the project. Some think the low budget helped films like this.

Let's look at some of the elements of Noir present in this film. First is the (anti) hero. He is something of a nervous wreck in the early scenes (even before he meets his female lead). The female lead is attractive, cold, and more ruthless than you could imagine.Together you end up with a sort of anti-marriage. They can't stand each other, but there fates are tied together.

According to the Film Noir site," central to every Noir is a crime, whether it be one of passion, or even an almost accidental or subconsciously committed crime, which occurs in this film (twice).
The main character is plunged into a type of anti-social hell from which there is no easy escape, because of his weakness and indecision. It is this separation from the world that gives the general public their lethal quality in film noir.
One of Noir's other great capabilities is the "fatefully unlucky coincidences which occur twice in Detour. One occurs when the driver dies and the other is when he accidentally kills Ann Savages character.Very unlucky indeed.

[Citizen Rules]

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The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

"That 'Asphalt Pavement' thing is full of nasty, ugly people doing nasty things. I wouldn't walk across the room to see a thing like that." Louis B. Mayer.


Clearly Mr. Mayer didn't watch, The Asphalt Jungle. Because if he had he would've known that those people doing 'nasty things' weren't all 'ugly' inside. What touched me most was the humanity that these hardened criminals showed each other. I forget which director once said 'every hero should have a flaw and every bad character should have a soft spot.' But apparently John Huston agreed with that idea.

The characters in The Asphalt Jungle seemed more like real people than tropes in a movie. Take Louis Calhern who played a corrupt lawyer who was two timing on his bedridden wife. Most other movies would've made him a nasty piece of business, so that when he got his comeuppance we'd cheer. That's how it's often done. But Calhern's lawyer, despite his numerous flaws, still clearly loves his wife. We see him taking time to play cards with her, we hear him laminate how things were between them before she became bed ridden. Clearly he loves her. Yes he's cheating on her but Huston's script and direction makes us understand how Calhern could've came to where he was. I especially liked the end scene when the cops arrive and Calhern thinks not of himself, but of his girlfriend (Marilyn Monroe) when he says, 'just tell the cops the truth'. Another character in another movie might have disowned the girl right there in front of the cops calling her a liar trying to save his own skin. But Calhern has a tenderness and spares his girlfriend the pain of being grilled and arrested by the cops. Gotta say Marilyn was very good in this especially in that last scene. After the movie I read she considered that scene to be one of her best performances.

Those acts of kindness from Calhern are repeated by Dix, to a smaller degree. Yes, something is wrong with Dix and the movie tells us all hoodlums have a screw loose. We can see Dix can't really cope with other people's emotions, he becomes unhinged saying he won't be 'boned' by the bookie who asked to be paid for a previous gambling debt. When Doll (Jean Hagen) says she will drive him to Kentucky, he shakes his head and says 'I just don't get it'. Dix can't understand love and yet in his own way he shows little acts of kindness towards Doll...not much but he never really does her wrong, by his book.

My third viewing and my opinion has only went up each time I watched this.

[Citizen Rules]

This is my review from the Noir III HoF, it reads alot better than the one I just wrote.

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The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston 1950)


A private journey into the shadowy world of criminals who dream of much more than their bleak lives offer...and the effects of their chosen lifestyle on the women who love them.

The earliest noirs were quite stylized with their flamboyant characters and noir-ish lighting & canted camera angles, like Murder, My Sweet or The Maltese Falcon...Then there's the 1950s noir films, where a shift occurred to the, you-are-there docudrama style of movie making. John Huston's The Asphalt Jungle is a prime example of that later style of noirs that permeated the 1950s...these then gave rise to the popular 50s & 60s TV cops shows.

In The Asphalt Jungle, the traditional style of story telling was done away with and replaced with an insiders fly-on-the-wall look at three key criminal figures. The traditional hero/badguy & leading man/leading lady is absent...leaving us with a dichotomy of the perfectly planned criminal endeavor, turned sour by random circumstances in true noir tradition.

What makes The Asphalt Jungle different than most noirs is the humanistic study of the relationships. Director John Huston has various players paired up and forming believable & complex relationships:

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My favorite scene is when Doll (Jean Hagen) first comes to Dix's (Sterling Haden) room. It's very telling how she comes up the stairs to greet him with a nervous yet hopeful smile...Then inside the room Dix pours himself a drink and gets a cigarette, but doesn't offer Doll any. You can see the longing hope in her eyes disappear as she realizes that Dix isn't going to offer her a cigarette, so she fumbles in her purse and takes out a bent cigarette but has no matches. Moments later she starts crying and her make up runs and her false eyelash falls off...she's literally falling apart inside and out. That's very telling of their relationship or more importantly the lack of relationship. She's an enabler, someone with low self esteem who never feels worthy of being treated any better than Dix offers. I've known people like this and if Doll ever meant a man who would unconditional love her, it would throw her own self doubts over the deep end. She deserves better but she doesn't believe it so Dix is who she latches onto.

Dix is said to be a typical hooligan with a brain, but with a screw lose. I kept expecting Dix to haul off and hit poor Doll but he never does. Dix seems to be anti-social, he doesn't or can't interact well with other people and yet in his own way he seems to care about Doll. He does offer to let her stay in his room and sex doesn't seem to be the reason for that. When she leaves he wants her new address so he contact her... is it only in case he needs a place to say while on the run or does he have some feelings for her? They're a curious couple and for me, a big reason why I love this film.

I'm a big fan of Sterling Hayden and I've seen him in a docudrama interview from the 1970s and yes he does talk and act a whole lot like Dix, that's just the way he is. I think he's a strong point in the film as is Jean Hagen who brings so much depth to her hopeful, yet sad character.

Another pairing was Doc (Sam Jaffe) the elderly gentlemen career criminal and Dix. In an early scene Dix flew off the handle when the nervous booky asked for his money...and yet the elderly criminal is like a father figure to the wound up tight Dix. The two seem to care for each other, so much so that Doc takes Dix into his confidence, trusting him with his life and even ask Dix to go with him to live high on the hog in Mexico. There's something touching with the way these two criminals respect each other.

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Another director might have made the lawyer (Louis Calhern) a conniving evil man. And indeed he is conniving and tries to double cross his partners in crime. And yet Calhern plays his lawyer with so much pathos that even though he's a scoundrel cheating on his wife with a young Marilyn Monroe, Huston makes it clear that he's still got a heart inside him. He clearly loves his wife and plays cards with her, but as she's bed ridden he's entered into a relationship with Angela (Miss Monroe). I love the scene where the cop says he's kicking in the door and she angrily opens it and calls him a 'big banana head!' Too funny!

Every moment of the movie seems to reveal another layer of the onion of human endeavor. I think I'll end here.

[seanc]

Mildred Pierce

96059

My second watch, but it felt like a first because I did not remember the plot at all. I’m coming down about the same on it though. I think it’s decent, but far from a favorite. First issues is on me, because I am just not the biggest Crawford fan for some reason. Baby Jane and Johnny Guitar both fall short of expectations for me as well.

I will duck under my desk while typing my second gripe because Citizen will probably throw things at me. I can see why they remade this into a miniseries, because the relationships are all under developed. The whole plot runs on five different relationships, and none of them carried very much weight for me. Maybe Mildred’s relationship with the daughter. That’s the one that felt the most fleshed out.

Overall, this is far from a bad film. In fact it’s pretty good. I think the plot is a good one with an unexpected femme fatale. There’s a lot of good dialogue. It just falls short of my expectations because it is so well loved.

[rauldc14]

Touch of Evil

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This is one of those movies that is really high up on the respect level even if it seems like it will never be a true personal favorite. On a technical scale, it's very good. Love the use of shadows throughout the film. The film itself looks really crisp especially for a black and white 50s movies. The performances are all quite good, this Welles performance really stands out in particular though. The story isn't completely engaging for me, but overall it's still a fun one to watch.

4-

[Citizen Rules]

Mildred Pierce


My second watch, but it felt like a first because I did not remember the plot at all. I’m coming down about the same on it though. I think it’s decent, but far from a favorite. First issues is on me, because I am just not the biggest Crawford fan for some reason. Baby Jane and Johnny Guitar both fall short of expectations for me as well.

I will duck under my desk while typing my second gripe because Citizen will probably throw things at me. I can see why they remade this into a miniseries, because the relationships are all under developed. The whole plot runs on five different relationships, and none of them carried very much weight for me. Maybe Mildred’s relationship with the daughter. That’s the one that felt the most fleshed out.

Overall, this is far from a bad film. In fact it’s pretty good. I think the plot is a good one with an unexpected femme fatale. There’s a lot of good dialogue. It just falls short of my expectations because it is so well loved.:eek:
Have you seen other Joan Crawford noirs? She made three other ones that I can think of and one of those I considered for this HoF.

[Citizen Rules]

Touch of Evil
This is one of those movies that is really high up on the respect level even if it seems like it will never be a true personal favorite. On a technical scale, it's very good. Love the use of shadows throughout the film. The film itself looks really crisp especially for a black and white 50s movies. The performances are all quite good, this Welles performance really stands out in particular though. The story isn't completely engaging for me, but overall it's still a fun one to watch.

rating_4-I might just copy and paste your review when the time comes for me to review Touch of Evil. From what I can remember of it, it's amazing but like you said I'm not sure it's a story that I love spending time with. We'll see after a second or is it a third rewatch?

[rauldc14]

Short simple and sweet. 97% of my reviews.

[Citizen Rules]

Short simple and sweet. 97% of my reviews.Sometimes I ramble, others' I just misspell alot:D Think I'll go for a quickie review next.

[rauldc14]

Sometimes I ramble, others' I just misspell alot:D Think I'll go for a quickie review next.

Usually I can only seem to ramble if I really really love the movie. But I basically say the same stuff all the time unfortunately sorry everyone.

[Citizen Rules]

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The Maltese Falcon (1941)


I remember hearing about this movie all my life but I'd never seen it until I got into 'old movies', like 20 years ago. They say you get out of a movie, what you take into it. I took high expectations into my first viewing 20 years ago and came out scratching my head at how this film could be considered so great.

Then I joined MoFo and got into HoFs and hosted the first Noir HoF...The Maltese Falcon was nominated and the second time around I liked it a whole lot more! I was impressed with Bogart's performance and Sydney Greenstreet...Peter Lorre as well.

So last night I watched this for the third time and as you might guess my opinion went up, way up...The Maltese Falcon is the kinda movie I like to spend time with, it's rewarding that way. Funny thing is I still think Bogart and Greenstreet were solid but for my money it was Mary Astor who had the acting chops. She pulled off a character who's suppose to be lying and yet seem like she might be telling the truth. She never overplayed it. I watched her performance closely and I'd say she as talented as an actress as any of the greats ever were.

So third watch, loved it.

[Citizen Rules]

Usually I can only seem to ramble if I really really love the movie. But I basically say the same stuff all the time unfortunately sorry everyone.I say the same stuff too, I just change the word order around:D

[Thief]

MURDER, MY SWEET
(1944, Dmytryk)

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"I don't think you even know which side you're on."
"I don't know which side anybody's on. I don't even know who's playing today."



Murder, My Sweet follows private eye Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) as he finds himself ensnared in a complicated conspiracy of theft, kidnapping, deceit, and murder where he's never clear of where he's standing. Hired by multiple sides to perform different jobs, Marlowe realizes they're all playing a dangerous game that might leave him blindsided.

Marlowe is a character that was popularized by Humphrey Bogart's performance in 1946's The Big Sleep. But although Bogey's performance is probably the best one, Powell doesn't have a lot to envy him. He really does a great job in the role, exuding confidence, wit, toughness, and charisma as he delivers Chandler's trademark verbal jabs at anyone.

Powell is surrounded by a solid cast, specifically Anne Shirley and Claire Trevor as Ann and Helen Grayle; both potential love interests, both potential femme fatales. Like Marlowe, we're never sure which side anybody's on. Otto Kruger is also very good as one of the potential masterminds in this twisty scheme.

The plot is indeed full of numerous twists and turns, right from the get go. In the first 30 minutes, Marlowe is hired by an ex-con to find her girlfriend, by a grifter to serve as bodyguard/muscle, and by a wealthy woman to find a lost jewel, all while he tries to figure out what side anybody's on.

In the same spirit, Murder, My Sweet manages to play many sides, being both witty and fun, but also somewhat dark and twisted. I might've found myself shaking my head at some of the twists, but much like Marlowe, I shook it off and pushed through. Even if we didn't know which side anybody's on, it was sure fun to see it all play out.

Grade: 4

[KeyserCorleone]

Gilda

Knowing absolutely nothing about this movie, I was kept in the slow-moving but always tense intrigue of this screwy relationship throughout the whole of it. It helps that our two leads had serious sparks of love and hat flying all over the place. With some predictability attached, the story relies on the charisma to overcome this flaw and keep things interesting. On the side of the crime plot, I found it to be a bit underdeveloped, but it managed to be interesting at times thanks to some good twists. I have to say I loved the way the ending turned out, as it was a bit of a twist from what I expect from film noir. I like this movie quite a bit, although I wouldn't put it in my top 300.


rating_4_5 = 87

[seanc]

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The Maltese Falcon (1941)


I remember hearing about this movie all my life but I'd never seen it until I got into 'old movies', like 20 years ago. They say you get out of a movie, what you take into it. I took high expectations into my first viewing 20 years ago and came out scratching my head at how this film could be considered so great.

Then I joined MoFo and got into HoFs and hosted the first Noir HoF...The Maltese Falcon was nominated and the second time around I liked it a whole lot more! I was impressed with Bogart's performance and Sydney Greenstreet...Peter Lorre as well.

So last night I watched this for the third time and as you might guess my opinion went up, way up...The Maltese Falcon is the kinda movie I like to spend time with, it's rewarding that way. Funny thing is I still think Bogart and Greenstreet were solid but for my money it was Mary Astor who had the acting chops. She pulled off a character who's suppose to be lying and yet seem like she might be telling the truth. She never overplayed it. I watched her performance closely and I'd say she as talented as an actress as any of the greats ever were.

So third watch, loved it.



We pretty much had the same exact journey on this one. Genuinely surprised how much I loved it this time. I wish I could go into movies with absolutely no expectations, but it is virtually impossible. Even cover art can leave you with preconceptions.

[KeyserCorleone]

Gun Crazy

I have to say it: after the plot actually kicked in, I guessed the ending right then and there, so big points off for that one. But to be fair, the progression into that climax and the journey therein had some incredible direction, especially concerning the foggy scenes at the climax and the driving scenes. Those bits were exceptional scenes among the crowd of movies I've seen through this game. And it amazes me that these two leads aren't more well known, since their acting was perfect for the two leads. I'm also kind of amazed that after some incredible scenes like these, that director Joseph Lewis wasn't more well known and didn't have more hit movies. I'd have hired him for an adaptation of one of my own stories. So this movie has a huge problem, but makes up for it with some obvious perfect pros.


rating_4_5

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.criminalelement.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2014%2F08%2Fmurder-my-sweet-dick-powell.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=3911d33e3af6fe5f4528c8bd5184e2cfdeb4af0617294781889e1a18c1ba24ad&ipo=images
Murder, My Sweet (1944)


If I was Phillip Marlowe, I'd be like Dick Powell's Marlowe in Murder, My Sweet. I could see myself in those muddy shoes and wrinkled suit, needing a shave as I hap-haphazardly tried to solve a case. I'd get one step forward thinking I was on top of things...and then I'd get knocked on my ass, but I'd get back up and come up with another hair-brained idea to ferret out the truth...And if I kept plugging away maybe I'd end up with the rich guys' daughter. Don't think I'd be like Bogart or Mitchum's Philip Marlowe, but I do see myself when I watch this movie, well sort of:cool:

My second watch and my opinion went way up! This was fun! I never took any of it too seriously and that added to my enjoyment. Sean will find this interesting: As I was watching Murder, My Sweet last night I was thinking how much I was liking it for it's light flippant rope of a movie. Then this morning I read at IMDB's trivia section that Raymond Chandler approved of Dick Powell's interpretation of the fictional gum shoe... Then I started thinking about other movies with Philip Marlowe and I remembered not really liking The Long Goodbye (1973) because it didn't feel 'realistic'.

But wait a minute, I just said I loved Murder, My Sweet because it wasn't realistically serious. So now I need to reaccess my opinion of The Long Goodbye...now I think Eliot Gould and Robert Altman caught the flavor of Philip Marlowe and that movie will be making my ballot for the Neo Noir countdown. I suspect Murder, My Sweet will probably make my ballot for the Noir countdown. See just like Dick Powell's Marlowe I get things wrong all the time!:D

[seanc]

Fun review Citizen. I know you will truly come into the light on Long Goodbye someday. Look forward to mofo 2040 when I see it on your top ten list. ;) What a great character though, just super fun.

[Diehl40]

Gilda

Gilda was an interesting watch. From what I read this film did not check all of the Film Noir boxes, such as there is no true Femme Fatalle in this film. Gilda does want to make Glen Ford's character jealous, but she does not ask him to murder, rob, or do other harmful things because of her. She is an adventurer, who does not let her marriage get in the way of her having her fun. Otherwise Gilda is a good example of Film Noir.

[Diehl40]

Gun Crazy

I have heard Gun Crazy described as an outlaw couple thriller, much like Bonnie and Clyde. One of the articles I read about this film suggestthat Girl Crazy might have been a more suitable title. They implied that the protagonist had already placed guns in the proper perspective once he left reform school and the army. His use of guns to commit crimes was only done reluctantly to win the love of his girlfriend. His participation in these crimes was due more for the sexual excitement he felt when he was with his girl. The film Noir site says that the broads, not the Rods were the chief fatal source in this film.By the time Gun Crazy came along the theories of Freud were beginning to have its influence on dramatic film. The confusion of guns and sex that takes place in the story is the result of this Freudian influence.

[Citizen Rules]

Gilda

Gilda was an interesting watch. From what I read this film did not check all of the Film Noir boxes, such as there is no true Femme Fatalle in this film. Gilda does want to make Glen Ford's character jealous, but she does not ask him to murder, rob, or do other harmful things because of her. She is an adventurer, who does not let her marriage get in the way of her having her fun. Otherwise Gilda is a good example of Film Noir.I'd say Gilda worked for me as a femme fatale, as she put Glen Ford into harm's way by manipulating him to pick her up and drive her home from her 'dates'...Which caused her powerful husband to be jealous of Ford and ending with him wanting to murder him at one point.

[Diehl40]

Ok, I can see that


I'd say Gilda worked for me as a femme fatale, as she put Glen Ford into harm's way by manipulating him to pick her up and drive her home from her 'dates'...Which caused her powerful husband to be jealous of Ford and ending with him wanting to murder him at one point.

[Diehl40]

The Maltese Falcon
https://cdn.britannica.com/59/102859-050-599C5142/Humphrey-Bogart-Sam-Spade-Peter-Lorre-film-1941.jpg
One of the earliest films to make use of several Film Noir themes: disillusionment, lurking danger, and moral and official corruption. It was also a very early example of the Femme-Fatale character. it was John Huston's first attempt to direct, and he was nominated for best screenplay for this film.

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fm.media-amazon.com%2Fimages%2FM%2FMV5BMmI4OWRmOGQtNGIxNS00ZmRmLWIyZTYtMWUyYWI2Mjk5MTExXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMzk4OT I2MjM%40._V1_.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=c95fa5d145401447c587bacea59d54e8831fa2116a95953e988b9eef62b4b311&ipo=images
Act of Violence (1948)
*Spoilers*


There's a saying on Broadway, 'If it isn't on the page, it's not on the stage.' Same is true for movies and luckily Act of Violence has one well crafted screenplay. Another noir could've just simply focused on the war vet with the dark secret and built tension from the mystery man with the limp who stalks him.

That would've worked too, but what I really appreciated was just how fleshed out the characters' back stories were. Van Heflin isn't just a man being chased by some psycho, who believes he's guilty...He is guilty and by degrees we learn just how guilty he really is and in that way we understand his reluctance to fight back. Those background details added much depth to the story.

Van Heflin is great here, he's a favorite actor and this is one of his best performances. But for my money Mary Astor steals every scene she is in. She was totally believable as a b-girl who looked as cheap as her character was, she made this movie much more than just a chase movie. Janet Leigh was also very good in a role that might have been handled by another director as two dimensional. But Janet Leigh gets a lot of mileage out of her screen time, thanks to her and the director.

Gotta say I loved the score and normally I don't notice that. What blew me away was the way the last scene was filmed...With the sound of wind howling in the night and two men approaching each other down a wide empty street...all filmed from above, on a crane. It reminded me of a shootout in a western. Very satisfying film.

[Citizen Rules]

We're at the two week mark and only have four more weeks to go until the deadline. Some of you are kicking ass and some of you must be sitting in a dingy bar drinking rotgut gin:D Let me know if the numbers below are right?

John W Constantine finished! 12 of 12
@Diehl40 (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=88140) 7 of 12
@rauldc14 (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=60169) 5 of 12
@KeyserCorleone (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=94296) 9 of 12
@Thief (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353) 6 of 12
@edarsenal (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=50536) 3 of 12
Citizen 8 of 12

Are you guys still in?
@GulfportDoc (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=96919) 0 of 12
@beelzebubble (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109178) 0 of 12
@Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) 0 of 12
@PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) 0 of 12

[PHOENIX74]

Are you guys still in?
@GulfportDoc (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=96919) 0 of 12
@beelzebubble (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109178) 0 of 12
@Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) 0 of 12
@PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) 0 of 12


Yep! I'll be starting soon. Even if I have to write shorter reviews (a blessing to some) I'll be getting through this Hall of Fame.

[Thief]

We're at the two week mark and only have four more weeks to go until the deadline. Some of you are kicking ass and some of you must be sitting in a dingy bar drinking rotgut gin:D Let me know if the numbers below are right?

@Thief (https://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353) 6 of 12


Yep. I will probably take it a bit slow now cause I need to watch a bunch of films for podcast stuff before November ends, but I will still try to sneak one. Then once December starts, I'll probably roll over the remaining ones.

[Citizen Rules]

Yep! I'll be starting soon. Even if I have to write shorter reviews (a blessing to some) I'll be getting through this Hall of Fame.Cool. How long does it usually take to write one of your reviews? Just curious.

Yep. I will probably take it a bit slow now cause I need to watch a bunch of films for podcast stuff before November ends, but I will still try to sneak one. Then once December starts, I'll probably roll over the remaining ones.Idea: You could do your podcast about, noir vs neo noir:yup: Or are your podcast not movie related?

[Thief]

Idea: You could do your podcast about, noir vs neo noir:yup: Or are your podcast not movie related?

Ehh, well. I already did an episode on classic noir, so I don't want to jump into a neo-noir episode right away. Maybe next year.

[KeyserCorleone]

Out of the Past

I didn't think much of it when I checked it out. In fact, I don't even remember why I first watched it in the first place. But it ended up being one of the finest movies I had ever seen. The movie focuses on character dynamics, even through minor characters, and each twist and turn feels much more natural as a result. This movie has a lot to say about people and their past lives, as well as what happens when the past and the present collide and what it can do to people. Out of the past takes the tropes of the time and uses them in the best ways.


rating_5

[Diehl40]

Mildred Pierce
I did not anticipate caring for this film when I sat down to watch it (not a big Joan Crawford fan), but by the end I really liked it. The point at which I changed my mind was in the last thirty minutes of the film (after the twist). The femme-Fatalle was not who I expected her to be. One of the things I like the best about films is character development, and I have to say that this film did not have enough of that in my opinion. Why was the daughter so spoiled, There were too many men around Crawford's character to develop any one of them.

[KeyserCorleone]

Thieves' Highway


I've been extremely satisfied with the countdown so far. many of these movies have been quite a bit of fun, and I'm glad I watched a few of these before this started. That tells me I have an inkling of what I'm doing when exploring noir. But I gotta say... I'm not really impressed with this one. The plot feels very simple to me, like the kind of thing that could largely be told in a twenty-minute episode on TV. I feel like most of the meat of the movie, while well detailed, is mostly there to fill up the little bits. Since the plot feels kinda thin, this "noir" movie doesn't really feel that dark, and the crime itself has minimal stakes so it feels kind of empty in comparison to so many other dramas of the time. Although, I was quite stricken with the "Aren't women wonderful" moment.


rating_3

[PHOENIX74]

Cool. How long does it usually take to write one of your reviews? Just curious.


They're usually done pretty quickly once started - an hour or two maybe - but it takes me ages to start after watching a movie. Basically a day or two or three trying to think from time to time how I'll start. Whenever I decide to write one, and I sit there with nothing, I usually search around for info on the movie to try and figure out what I want to say about it. Once I get that start I'm fine.

[rauldc14]

Damn an hour or two for a review. Crazy. My one paragraph takes about 3 minutes.

I wish I had reviewing skills, but I just don't.

[Citizen Rules]

They're usually done pretty quickly once started - an hour or two maybe - but it takes me ages to start after watching a movie. Basically a day or two or three trying to think from time to time how I'll start. Whenever I decide to write one, and I sit there with nothing, I usually search around for info on the movie to try and figure out what I want to say about it. Once I get that start I'm fine. Wow, that's fast. With the amount of work you do, I would've thought that it might have taken you longer. When I use to do reviews for my review thread, it would take me start to finish, including photos, about an hour.


Basically a day or two or three trying to think from time to time how I'll start.That's interesting as I'm the opposite. I need to write the review within a day or less, or it becomes hard for me to say anything. And this will sound weird, but I swear my reviews write themselves...I often end up with a review that was nothing about what I was going to say. It's funny but it happens that way now and then.

[PHOENIX74]

That's interesting as I'm the opposite. I need to write the review within a day or less, or it becomes hard for me to say anything. And this will sound weird, but I swear my reviews write themselves...I often end up with a review that was nothing about what I was going to say. It's funny but it happens that way now and then.

Yeah - once I've really got going I also get that very same sense of the review writing itself, and yeah, I've got a grin on my face because just like with you, it can have nothing I was originally going to say in it. But boy - I don't know what it is exactly, but it doesn't start coming for at least a day, usually more. If I had to write one the same day I watched the film, I think I'd be in a bit of trouble! My mind would be completely blank - even if I knew roundabouts what I wanted to say, I'd sit there trying to think of how to start, and it wouldn't come.

[Diehl40]

https://dyn1.heritagestatic.com/lf?set=path%5B1%2F1%2F4%2F7%2F7%2F11477588%5D%2Csizedata%5B850x600%5D&call=url%5Bfile%3Aproduct.chain%5D


Murder My Sweet
Raymond Chandler's favorite actor to play Marlowe is not Humphrey Bogart, but rather Dick Powell. After missing out on the lead role in Double Indemnity he landed the role of Marlowe in murder my Sweet. Casting Powell was a promotional nightmare because he was known at the time for musical productions. Dmytryk, the director, was responsible for re-enforcing the film Noir love of dark, disoriented, surreal drug-induced effects, which come in abundance in this film. Good film.

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F474x%2F51%2F31%2F46%2F5131462e8a8206df167b4957cd7e393e--jane-greer-two-men.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=aed1e8424e9711d5c267d87b8fd8eff3cac4ed7d40bb0f44580faf8c6fb0eec4&ipo=images
Out of the Past (1947)
*spoilers*


It's all about Jane Greer!...I swear once I started looking for an image for this review I got fixated on finding the perfect screenshot of Miss Greer. She was indeed lovely, angelic like...so no wonder Robert Mitchum's character fell like a sack of potatoes for her.

I know some noir fans don't like female leads in their noirs. But me, I prefer a noir that has a strong female lead that causes the events to unfold. Relationships good and bad, that's life...and I'm not sure why so many movie fans don't like romance in a movie. Now I could see why Mitchum's character might've wised he'd never meet the devil in a white dress.

Robert Mitchum is the coolest and you've to pair him up with somebody that can stand up to his strong screen presence and I think Jane Greer did just that. Her character is written well, I actually cheered when she was shot and killed in a car crash. Now usually I've a soft spot for the femme fatale no matter what they might've done. But Kathie (Jane Greer) turned so manipulative that she deserved her fate...I'm voting Jane Greer prettiest and nastiest femme fatale in this HoF!

[seanc]

I'm voting Jane Greer prettiest and nastiest femme fatale in this HoF!

I will go with you for nastiest. She was ruthless. She’s gorgeous, but I still go with Rita for the top prize there.

[Thief]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F474x%2F51%2F31%2F46%2F5131462e8a8206df167b4957cd7e393e--jane-greer-two-men.jpg&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=aed1e8424e9711d5c267d87b8fd8eff3cac4ed7d40bb0f44580faf8c6fb0eec4&ipo=images
Out of the Past (1947)
*spoilers*


It's all about Jane Greer!...I swear once I started looking for an image for this review I got fixated on finding the perfect screenshot of Miss Greer. She was indeed lovely, angelic like...so no wonder Robert Mitchum's character fell like a sack of potatoes for her.

I know some noir fans don't like female leads in their noirs. But me, I prefer a noir that has a strong female lead that causes the events to unfold. Relationships good and bad, that's life...and I'm not sure why so many movie fans don't like romance in a movie. Now I could see why Mitchum's character might've wised he'd never meet the devil in a white dress.

Robert Mitchum is the coolest and you've to pair him up with somebody that can stand up to his strong screen presence and I think Jane Greer did just that. Her character is written well, I actually cheered when she was shot and killed in a car crash. Now usually I've a soft spot for the femme fatale no matter what they might've done. But Kathie (Jane Greer) turned so manipulative that she deserved her fate...I'm voting Jane Greer prettiest and nastiest femme fatale in this HoF!


More spoilers, but...

[spoilers]
the scene when she shoots Whatshisname is great. The look on her face as Mitchum and him are fighting, and then the look on Mitchum's face after she shoots. That's golden.

[rauldc14]

The Asphalt Jungle

https://s26162.pcdn.co/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2019/04/Asphalt-Jungle-1479-59.jpg

I had seen this once before when I blind bought the criterion and I was severely underwhelmed with it. Now to today's watch, I feel like I liked it even a little less. There's really nothing that trips my trigger with this one, I'm actually kind of baffled that most seem to enjoy it. there isn't a lot to connect with for me, I feel like there's pacing issues and the story is kind of bland. I also feel like the film is too quiet and there isn't a whole lot of noise as weird as that sounds. As for the performances, nothing really stands out either, maybe the presence of Monroe and that's really about it. I'll just blame me not liking this on my lack of concentration for plot detail but I didn't feel like hitting rewind because I already felt bored enough.

2

[KeyserCorleone]

Murder My Sweet

This is the second adaptation of Farewell My Lovely. This first replaced Marlowe with The Falcon, and seems to have cut out a lot of meat considering how empty and rushed the plot got sometimes. Murder My Sweet is different. It's all about development, rocking the tropes it invented with some good, albeit more cinematic than realistic, acting and a love of interesting twists. Powell is one of the more realistic actors and brings an extraordinary power to the movie. He's so convincing that I'm under the impression that Bogart had a challenge on his hands when he took the role in the next Marlowe movie. This movie is extremely well-detailed and puts a good deal of charm and sophistication into both the story and the direction.


rating_4_5 = 92


And, I'm done!

[Citizen Rules]

Murder My Sweet

This is the second adaptation of Farewell My Lovely. This first replaced Marlowe with The Falcon, and seems to have cut out a lot of meat considering how empty and rushed the plot got sometimes. Murder My Sweet is different. It's all about development, rocking the tropes it invented with some good, albeit more cinematic than realistic, acting and a love of interesting twists. Powell is one of the more realistic actors and brings an extraordinary power to the movie. He's so convincing that I'm under the impression that Bogart had a challenge on his hands when he took the role in the next Marlowe movie. This movie is extremely well-detailed and puts a good deal of charm and sophistication into both the story and the direction.


rating_4_5 = 92


And, I'm done!Congrats Keyser! and thanks for joining! Hope you had fun:)

[Citizen Rules]

https://external-content.duckduckgo.com/iu/?u=https%3A%2F%2Fassets.mubi.com%2Fimages%2Ffilm%2F24997%2Fimage-w448.jpg%3F1564174821&f=1&nofb=1&ipt=fe8bd8773e5e5a9531f558454c1a9fd4602c629b409678b1863e477fdb49b8f8&ipo=images
Criss Cross (1949)


I've seen 11 of the 12 noirs in this HoF before, most of them twice. Mostly my reaction to seeing these noirs, now for the third time is, I loved it on the 1st and 2nd watch and even more so on the 3rd. Though one film Gun Crazy I use to love and on the second watch my opinion went down. With Gilda my opinion staid the same on both viewings, I liked it well enough but that's about it...

Now with Criss Cross I'm all over the map. Way back before I joined MoFo I watched Criss Cross and was disappointed as I had heard such good things about it. Though on my second watch I really felt the power of the destructive relationship between Yvonne DeCarlo's character and Burt Lancaster's. I liked it so much that it's currently in my Top 10 profile, and I used the bar image for the Noirvember 2023 - Rate the last noir you watched (https://www.movieforums.com/community/showthread.php?t=69073) thread and I chose it for my nom here.


But after watching it last night I wish I could say I loved it but in actuality I found it feeling rushed. The armor car caper needed more and so did Dan Duryea's character, who should've loomed large in the third act but even good ole Dan felt like his scenes weren't long enough to build any emotional connection of worth for me. I have to say it's middle of the road for me.

I guess I'll have to remove it from my Top 10 profile. I still think it's a good film just not fully satisfying.

[Siddon]

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQgXut6jGCg9lZBfGAh4BkzlbhKGEMqQZ9B1Q&usqp=CAU
Detour(1945)

Detour is a micro-budget four player noir film released during the war years. It covers the story of a down on his luck piano player who ends up in a twisty tale of murder and crime. I think the film gets most of its accalaim from the performance of Ann Savage the femme fatale in the film. Her character of Vera is such a broken down and cycnical character you almost feel like the film should be told from her perspective.

Detour isn't a great film though...the deaths in this film are just silly, They aren't shot well especially the first one which could have been done well but I suspect the film had a very short shoot time. Still for what the film was it's solid even if it's really just a movie with three conversations.

C

[edarsenal]

https://i.imgur.com/GfUkWvD.gif
https://static.wixstatic.com/media/13b669_0cec1c8b04b5485d80d8510019599214~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_582,h_451,al_c,lg_1,q_80,enc_auto/13b669_0cec1c8b04b5485d80d8510019599214~mv2.jpg
https://onceuponascreen.files.wordpress.com/2014/10/110.png?w=512&h=320

Gilda (1946)


Gilda: I hate you so much, I think I’m going to die from it.

Red hot passion raging in noir shadows. The conflicts, clashing, and reckless ruthlessness of Rita Hayworth’s unabashed lover of life and singing/entertainer Gilda (the inspiration for Jessica Rabbit) and Glenn Ford’s domineering, volatile conman Johnny Farrell is backdropped by high society illegal casino in festive Buenos Aires. Both of them owe their positions of posh life to Gilda’s new husband and owner of the Casino, corrupt puppeteer Ballin Mundson, played with layered subtle by George Macready.
The first of two standout secondary characters is Steven Geray’s glib fountain of wisdom, Uncle Pio. Doggedly pointing out the newly retained Number Two Man, Johnny Farrell’s failings, and his begrudging hopes of Johnny rising above them. The second is Joseph Calleia—his sauve Det. Maurice Obregon is calculating and patient for the inevitable screw-up the guilty always provides. Forever in the background, swooping in to assess and goad.

Befitting noir, this explosive love triangle is wrought with every emotionally irrational pitfall and callous manipulation by everyone involved. There is no victim, no hero, no one person is without sin, without fault or machination. However, the path is paved for the two leading roles of past lovers of mutual betrayal. Fueling their hatred and igniting their never-ending desire to eventual fruition. It is the fireworks and spiteful sparks preceding it that keep us glued. Hayworth and Ford’s chemistry is believable; their Hate-Love-Hate-Love is a captivating, careening ride as the wheels go flying off the tracks.

It's been so, very long since seeing this, making it, at many times, a new watch for me, and I loved it.

[Citizen Rules]

@Diehl40 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=88140) @rauldc14 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=60169) @Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) @Thief (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353) @PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) @edarsenal (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=50536) @GulfportDoc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=96919) @beelzebubble (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109178) @seanc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=75240)

We're at the halfway mark. Three weeks have passed...and we have three more weeks to go until the deadline, which will be December 16th. I know this is a shorter time than most Hofs, BUT the noms are much shorter than the average HoF movie, so you might as well say our 12 noms equal 6-8 noms in a main HoF....How's everyone doing?


https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3L0JQz-0ODU/T0wQl6XZ5hI/AAAAAAAAEz8/pAJlYGtdjME/s1600/Film+Noir.bmp

[seanc]

I finally bought Touch Of Evil, so I will watch it sometime this week and finish up.

[Citizen Rules]

I finally bought Touch Of Evil, so I will watch it sometime this week and finish up.That opening tracking shot!

[seanc]

That opening tracking shot!

So good. I wanted to get the 4K but it is $40. Got it digitally for $5.Should look fantastic.

[Citizen Rules]

So good. I wanted to get the 4K but it is $40. Got it digitally for $5.Should look fantastic.Hopefully it looks great. I started watching Touch of Evil the other night but the copy had been stretched which makes the top and bottom slightly cut off...I'm sure Orson would've been outraged over that:eek: So hopefully I have a proper format copy now.

[seanc]

Hopefully it looks great. I started watching Touch of Evil the other night but the copy had been stretched which makes the top and bottom slightly cut off...I'm sure Orson would've been outraged over that:eek: So hopefully I have a proper format copy now.

Nothing more frustrating than bad transfers. This will be my third watch though. Already pretty well a lock for me, not expecting much to change but any chance to watch Welles chew up the scenery.

[edarsenal]

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Thieves' Highway (1946)

There were a couple of points of interest that piqued my curiosity regarding this film. The first was seeing more of my minimal views of Director Jules Dassin’s films. The high point is, of course, Rififi. The second two regarded Ty Cobb beyond his appearance as the Racketeering boss from On the Waterfront. And having seen him here playing the double-dealing slimeball, Fresh Food Market Distribution Owner, Mike Figlia, short-changing delivery truckers, and worse, I can easily imagine those who were considering him for On the Waterfront due, possibly, for his role here.
The final one is the lead, Richard Conti, playing out of his norm as a bad guy, as Nick Garcos, a revenging son, and the closest thing to a good guy sans fall guy that appears in a noir film. He cinches the lead role and holds our endearment, sympathy, and support in this expose of the graft and corruption of the fresh produce business in California.

Like in any film, secondary characters are an integral part of keeping us involved in the storyline. Here, there are several that serve as solid performances. Beginning with comedian Jack Oakie playing Slob, a competing truck driver looking to steal or, in some form or another, profit from Conti’s Nick Garco’s truckload of freshly picked apples. Another is Nick’s new partner, cynical veteran trucker Ed Kinney, played by Millard Mitchell. A true player to the scheming, cut-throat protocol of underbuying produce from farmers, beating other drivers, or flat-out stealing their loads only to get short-changed by the distributors at the depot who jack up the price to the shopkeepers who buy from them.
The standout, for me, is Valentina Cortese playing the jaded Rica. A pawn of Figlia’s as a diversion to Nick while he attempts to sell Nick’s produce with zero interest in paying him for it. Dassin, as is his wont and necessity for any truly worthwhile noir, her character’s range extends well beyond the two-dimensional into a far more morally complex and, we discover, with far more caliber of character than Nick Garcos’ fiancée (Barbara Lawerence).

Having chosen to go basically blind into this film with the title and basic premise of revenging his father who lost his legs and payment for his load of produce to Figlia, I was expecting the usual presence of gangsters and criminals only to find that there were none. Just the sheer overwhelming presence of corruption in a supposedly legitimate business adds a more profound, wider spread of “gray” to the morality of everyone involved and, for me, more compelling filmmaking. I can easily see myself enjoying this even more on further watches.

[edarsenal]

My next review pending will be The Maltese Falcon.

[Citizen Rules]

Nothing more frustrating than bad transfers. This will be my third watch though. Already pretty well a lock for me, not expecting much to change but any chance to watch Welles chew up the scenery.Ha, yup Welles chews it up alright. Love him in Jane Eyre, you ever see that one?

[edarsenal]

That version of Jane Eyre was on my watchlist for last year's Film Challenge that Jabs hosts. I never made it around to it, but it's definitely on my watchlist for some point to check out. Looks awesome.

[seanc]

Ha, yup Welles chews it up alright. Love him in Jane Eyre, you ever see that one?

No, I actually just heard he was in that a couple weeks ago. I need to check it out. I get hung up on watching through directors. Eventually I need to do the same with actors the way you are doing.

[Citizen Rules]

That version of Jane Eyre was on my watchlist for last year's Film Challenge that Jabs hosts. I never made it around to it, but it's definitely on my watchlist for some point to check out. Looks awesome.I've came very close to nominating Jane Eyre (1943) in the last few general HoFs. I really need a rewatch it's been over a decade.

No, I actually just heard he was in that a couple weeks ago. I need to check it out. I get hung up on watching through directors. Eventually I need to do the same with actors the way you are doing.Director's filmography watching is a great way to go too, I like to watch the Billy Wider and Douglas Sirk films that I haven't seen. Just too many damn movies!:D

[seanc]

Touch Of Evil

96353

There are certain words thrown around by movie lovers that I don’t like to use a lot because they lose their flavor. One of those words that I would use for this movie is crackling. Touch Of Evil is definitely crackling to me. I love the forward momentum. I love how characters come and go so quickly. I love how wonderfully weird some of the side characters are. This movie just jumps and has so much life.

All that is great, but the piece that really makes this movie so engaging is Welles as the grumpy, sloppy, racist detective. He makes every scene he is in sing. Every other character is much better for playing off of Welles. Hard to imagine a better Noir performance for me. Really this is probably one of my favorite performances period.

All that and I haven’t even mentioned the technical aspects, which are just par for the course with Welles. His movies look so good that someone like me who doesn’t really understand lighting and cameras can’t describe the difference between his movies and others. He is one of those directors that is just a notch above.

[Citizen Rules]

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Touch of Evil (1958)

That's a Welles shot if I've ever seen one. No, I don't mean the booze, I mean the composition, framing and camera angle. Subject in the foreground corner, the second subject diagonal in the opposite back corner...a low camera angle and a small f-stop on the camera lens for maximum depth of field yielding frame sharpness front to back. That screenshot I found is blurry, but the movie itself is magnificently filmed. Film fans love the long, long, long tracking shot that opens the movie without an edit. The camera goes from ground level to high above the buildings as we follow a car loaded with dynamite and then switch to our hero Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) and his lovely wife (Janet Leigh) as the couple walk down the streets of a border town on the U.S. side...Then boom.....and the car blows up so hard that the body of the car is air born. Does Orson know how to impress our what!


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I could leave the review here and I would give the impression that my third watch of Touch of Evil is a 5/5. But as impressed as I was with the on-location shooting and the mastery of Welles' camera, I was taken out of the story by Orson himself. I found his Police Captain Hank Quinlan's character to be jarring. I could not take him seriously as it was like watching a caricature performed on stage, versus a realistic character in a realistic movie. Probably not surprising as Orson was first and foremost a theater stage actor well versed in doing Shakespearean type heavy roles, he played these in a lot of this movies too. I didn't like his performance and found myself wishing he had staid behind the camera and hired Rod Steiger to play the corrupt police captain instead.


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Though even Orson was palatable compared to the foolish choice of using Dennis Weaver in the movie. Either Weaver needed to be directed to tone done his character or replaced with someone who could act. If I didn't know better I'd say Touch of Evil was a black comedy based on Weaver's performance.

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While I'm covering actors, Janet Leigh while pretty and effective, has to be involved in the most harebrained actions. Unbelievable that the wife of a prosecuting official whose been battling a drug dealing Mexican family/cartel would willingly follow a strange man who claims to have a message for her husband, across the U.S. Mexican border. Also unbelievable that a police officer who's driving Mrs Vargas to a remote motel and discovers he's being tailed by the head of the Grandi drug family, goes ahead and drops off Mrs Vargas leaving her alone in the middle of nowhere...Come on Orson you can rewrite those two scenes better than that.


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Marlene Dietrich was great but underused, I would've loved to have her backstory told a little more. For me Charlton Heston, brown face and all, was the stand out. Heston owns the role and the movie...He's one of my favorite actors and sadly doesn't get the respect as an actor that he deserves, not hard to guess why.

I kinda hate rating movies but: for cinematography 5/5, for script 3.5/5, for acting/casting 3/5. Overall I'll give this a rating_3_5-- I think it could've been a lot better. I think it gets more respect than it deserves because Welles directed it and I didn't have fun watching it but found myself checking the time far to often.

[GulfportDoc]

I think TOE is a brilliant film, but one problem is that it makes a little difference in which version one sees. The picture was edited and re-edited a number of times by several people with Welles excluded. There were even additional scenes shot later, and other major changes.

One interesting thing is that Welles didn't want any of Mancini's music or and credits shown during the opening long shot. One version I saw had music in it, which I think was a detraction. I think Welles' wishes was for a 111 minute film. I read that in 1998 Walter Murch did an extensive re-edit for Universal, attempting to follow Welles' edits and wishes. I'm not sure I've seen that version.

There are other interesting thoughts about the movie. Eddie Muller believes that Heston's part would have been better with Ricardo Montalban starring. I don't know if RM had the chops for the part, although he may have; but it was Heson's picture from the beginning.

What a supporting and cameo cast! Evidently Marlene Dietrich, Joseph Cotton, Ray Collins, Keenan Wynne, and Zsa Zsa Gabor all agreed to work for union scale, and no screen credit, although I think that changed later.

[GulfportDoc]

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

I've always been a big fan of most of John Huston's work, from The Maltese Falcon (1941) through to Prizzi's Honor (1985). As far as noir films, the former may have been the first mainstream instance of the form in its classic presentation.

Huston's The Asphalt Jungle is one of his better films, especially so as a noir example. Cinematographer Harold Rosson was fresh from filming On The Town (NYC) and Key to the City (San Fran), so he had experience representing the feel and power of big cityscapes, which was on display right from the git-go in Jungle's opening scenes: the post war stylized fedora-wearing mug framed by the enormity of building arches; the shadowy doorways and litter shown in urban alleyways-- mostly filmed in Cincinnati.

As a heist film it was notable for showcasing early variations of the now familiar story mechanics: the gang is formed; the plan is made; the characters are developed; and the complicated burglary is pulled off-- although not without some bad luck. It's also the first time in memory that the thieves must slide on their backs underneath an electronic eye.

In my view the standout performance was by Marc Lawrence, playing the underworld bookie wannabe big shot gangster. His performance never varied or weakened, and was completely believable. Sam Jaffe also gets plaudits as the mastermind ex con, Doc Riedenschneider. And Jean Hagen had a tough part to play as the weak gal named Doll who was head over heels for ex con Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden), and she came through in spades. Hayden himself was convincing as the tough guy who was looking to make a big score so he could return home to buy his family's previous horse farm. Much of Hayden's performance, as well as most of the other cast's, was over-acted by today's standards; but yet they didn't want anyone missing the point in those days.


Louis Calhern did a journeyman's job as the regal but untrustworthy financier of the operation. Calhern's approach was pretty similar most in any role that he played. Anthony Caruso was starting to get notice here as Louis Ciavelli, the expert safe cracker. Much notice has been made of Marilyn Monroe as Calhern's mistress. She certainly exuded allure and raw sexiness as a dimwitted plaything, who eventually causes Calhern's end.

The picture was fairly long for its era, but filled all of its 1' 52" effortlessly. It was nominated for 4 Oscars that year, and remains today as one of our finer noirs.

[Citizen Rules]

I think TOE is a brilliant film, but one problem is that it makes a little difference in which version one sees. The picture was edited and re-edited a number of times by several people with Welles excluded. There were even additional scenes shot later, and other major changes.

One interesting thing is that Welles didn't want any of Mancini's music or and credits shown during the opening long shot. One version I saw had music in it, which I think was a detraction. I think Welles' wishes was for a 111 minute film. I read that in 1998 Walter Murch did an extensive re-edit for Universal, attempting to follow Welles' edits and wishes. I'm not sure I've seen that version.

There are other interesting thoughts about the movie. Eddie Muller believes that Heston's part would have been better with Ricardo Montalban starring. I don't know if RM had the chops for the part, although he may have; but it was Heson's picture from the beginning.

What a supporting and cameo cast! Evidently Marlene Dietrich, Joseph Cotton, Ray Collins, Keenan Wynne, and Zsa Zsa Gabor all agreed to work for union scale, and no screen credit, although I think that changed later.I watched the 111 minute version, it starts off with a screen roll which talks about the 58 page memo Welles sent to the studio asking for changes. The 111 minute film follows that memo, so that the film is close to what Welles had wanted.


I think Ricardo Montalban did have the acting chops, he was amazing as a lead in the noir film Mystery Street (https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042771/?ref_=nm_flmg_t_153_act) (1950). BUT he wasn't an A list star and of course studios wanted a 'brand name' star to be attached to their movie to draw in audiences for more profit. Though I'm glad Heston starred. It would be interesting to see the shorter studio edited version back to back with the 1998 re-edited version.

[seanc]

Serious question Citizen, and maybe we have discussed this before so just ignore me if we have. Do you normally find the characterizations in Noirs grounded? I think the genre as a whole is extremely stylized. Especially the characters and dialogue.

[Citizen Rules]

Serious question Citizen, and maybe we have discussed this before so just ignore me if we have. Do you normally find the characterizations in Noirs grounded? I think the genre as a whole is extremely stylized. Especially the characters and dialogue.That's a good question and I don't think we've ever talked about this before. I welcome discussion in HoFs as I get bored with just doing reviews...Happy to try and explain:

No, I don't usually look for grounded characterizations in noirs...it just depends I guess. Either a character seems real enough to me or not but they don't have to be real per se. I mean I really liked and connected to the characters in Detour but they are played pretty darn broad. So is Dan Duryea's character in Scarlett Street. He's quite the characterization there, but still I loved his performance in the movie.

I do agree that in whole noir is very stylized and I'm use to old movies were characters are not played 'real' as many of today's movies but are often played broader and bigger. Orson Welles performance just rubbed me wrong in how he played it. I am really attuned to acting, more so than any other element in a movie.

Touch of Evil was nominated in the 2nd Noir HoF but DQed because the person didn't finish. However I did a full review which reads much different than the one I posted today, this might be interesting:

http://www.movieforums.com/community/attachment.php?attachmentid=26579&stc=1&d=1471023072

Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

Marlene Dietrich once said of her time working with the great Orson Welles, ''People should cross themselves when they speak of him''. Indeed, Orson was a genius and he shows his mastery of visual arts in his 1958 film noir, Touch of Evil.

The films opening sequences goes down in the annuals of cinematography as one of the great camera shots of all time. We, the audience, sees one long and uninterrupted tracking shot. Orson set the bar with this shot which latter would be duplicated by other film makers.

Originally Universal Pictures, the studio bank rolling the movie, wanted the film to be shot on a studio lot on constructed sets. But Orson would have none of that preferring to shoot in a real city. He decided to film almost exclusively at night, which gave him control over the production. Sadly, during post production editing, Orson was out of the country and so despite his objections, the film was cut up by the studio. A situation that ironically Orson complains about in the movie Ed Wood.

With the sole exception of Citizen Kane, Orson's feature films would all suffer the same indignation of being hacked up by the studios, thus destroying much of Welles' film vision. And ultimately causing him to retreat from Hollywood, which robed us of what might have been a large canon of masterpieces by Welles.

Touch of Evil is a triumph for Orson Welles, thanks to a turn of events his film was restored to his vision in the 1998 cut. When Orson Welles initially discovered the studio had cut his film in his absences, he fired off a detailed 58 page memo on how he wanted the film to be edited. The memo was presumed lost until found to be in the position of Charleston Heston, years latter. Universal Studios in 1998 gave it's OK and the once cut up film was restored to Welles ideas, giving the boy genius his film back.

One of the hallmarks of Touch of Evil is the cinematic idea Welles adopted after watching (and being confused by) another great film noir, The Big Sleep. Welles once stated his goal was to infuriate the audience with a closed-lip plot. He does that by keeping the audience in the dark as he shows us the events as they happen and at almost real time. We go along for the investigation and are told nothing of the back stories of the characters we encounter. Mike Vargas (Charlton Heston) is our proxy and we are kept as clueless as he is at the start of the film. Only as he begins to discover the truth, do we. Welles extenuates that feeling by use of many closeups and low dutch angle camera shots, which makes us feel like we're a fly on the wall, listening in.

Welles chews the scenery in most films he appears in. Sometimes that doesn't work well, but like Kane his characterization here helps give the film impact. I liked Charleston Heston in this, I think he makes a fine proxy for the audience as we go along for the ride at his side. Janet Leigh made a good victim! And woo hoo! we even get Zsa Zsa Gabor and the great Marlene Dietrich. I love Marlene's character in this film and she loved being in it and working with the master, Orson Welles.

[seanc]

Makes sense Citizen. Thanks for responding. I love Welles in TOE but his performance is certainly big and stylized. Was just curious if this bothers you in general. I am finding myself more and more drawn to these kinds of performances.

Interesting you say acting is what you pay attention to most in movies. I think it’s the script for me. Bad writing really can ruin a movie for me.

[Citizen Rules]

Makes sense Citizen. Thanks for responding. I love Welles in TOE but his performance is certainly big and stylized. Was just curious if this bothers you in general. I am finding myself more and more drawn to these kinds of performances.

Interesting you say acting is what you pay attention to most in movies. I think it’s the script for me. Bad writing really can ruin a movie for me.Yup a great script is very important to me too.


I just wanted to add, I do not have a problem with Charlton Heston as a Mexican. Mexico is a country and a Mexican is a nationality. A red haired Scotchman could be a Mexican. Plus his character is progressive...he's married to a blond white American woman and the movie does not condemn or ridicule that. In fact it seems to be promoting the idea of mixed marriage as happy and normal and Vargas treats his wife very well. So in my book Touch of Evil was ahead of it's time and should be complemented for how it handed all of that. I mean our hero and morally correct man is Vargas a Mexican national. Back to work for me.

[seanc]

Yup a great script is very important to me too.


I just wanted to add, I do not have a problem with Charlton Heston as a Mexican. Mexico is a country and a Mexican is a nationality. A red haired Scotchman could be a Mexican. Plus his character is progressive...he's married to a blond white American woman and the movie does not condemn or ridicule that. In fact it seems to be promoting the idea of mixed marriage as happy and normal and Vargas treats his wife very well. So in my book Touch of Evil was ahead of it's time and should be complemented for how it handed all of that. I mean our hero and morally correct man is Vargas a Mexican national. Back to work for me.

I agree with most all of that. However, they obviously darkened Heston. So by today’s standards it’s problematic. It’s not a problem for me, only is if a movie is obviously racist. As you pointed out, this one is not.

[GulfportDoc]

Makes sense Citizen. Thanks for responding. I love Welles in TOE but his performance is certainly big and stylized. Was just curious if this bothers you in general. I am finding myself more and more drawn to these kinds of performances.

Interesting you say acting is what you pay attention to most in movies. I think it’s the script for me. Bad writing really can ruin a movie for me.
If I can jump in here... Noir is definitely stylized. That's a characterization of the entire noir movement-- along with the chiaruscuro lighting and design, the shadows, the big city back alleys, the tawdriness, often the femme fatale and/or a narrator. But most often in the classic noir someone is faced with making a decision, usually illegal or immoral, after which they make the wrong choice and suffer for it in the end. What a 20 year run!!

[GulfportDoc]

Detour (1945)

Early on I wasn't such a fan of this one. It looks shoddily made and the plot is fairly preposterous. The main character is either an idiot... or he really is lying. That's a more interesting angle to the whole thing that's never quite explored but then again it's barely more than an hour long. But I've changed my opinion upon repeated watching. It's one of the best of the "B" noirs.


Detour was actually meant to be a much longer film, but much of the script was not used. That's maybe why it felt so collapsed. OTOH it enhances the claustrophobia.

I think Al Roberts could have been better cast by using someone else than Tom Neal, but he kinda grows on the viewer. A small thing that bugged me was his hat, especially at the beginning. It made Neal look like a caricature.

Ann Savage's Vera is definitely one of the nastiest, shrill, low down femme fatales in all of noir. Between Roberts' defeatist and very noir decisions and Vera's rottenness, the story keeps up on the paranoia and depression.

One thing that I think is interesting is that

in the end Roberts doesn't actually get caught for his crimes, he just imagines that scenario in his mind! Another obvious hard to believe thing about Vera's murder is that Roberts could have simply ripped the phone cord out from the wall rather than tugging on it through the closed door in order to keep Vera from calling the police. But that of course would have prolonged the story.

[GulfportDoc]

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon is one of the great films and also one of the very first noirs. This is the second transition film following High Sierra earlier in 1941 for Bogart from tough guy roles to more varied portrayals, of which he knocked out of the park in Casablanca, and later in The Big Sleep.

Sydney Greenstreet's film debut was brilliant. At aged 61 he had been a highly accomplished stage actor, which shows. Peter Lorre was getting on a roll then, and played the perfect weasel. Mary Astor was gutsy taking the role of Brigid O'Shaughnessy: a scheming, immoral woman. Astor had a ton of experience since her beginnings in silent films, and she pulled out all the stops here. And one of my favorites, Elisha Cook, Jr., shone as Greenstreet's hapless gun totin' henchman.

In John Huston's premiere feature film, he followed the book closely, and finished shooting under budget. It was one of the best received films of 1941, and remains today as one of our great classic noirs.

[GulfportDoc]

Murder, My Sweet(1944)

With this picture noir was really starting on a roll (preceded by Double Indemnity and The Maltese Falcon), but it is one of the all time very best, virtually defining the cinematic style.

Most viewers are aware that the film’s title was changed from Raymond Chandler’s original Farewell, My Lovely because preview audiences thought that the title suggested a musical comedy, and also because the star Dick Powell was solidly known as a musical comedy lead. But what I newly learned was that RKO had purchased the rights from Chandler in 1942, and had used a similar story with most of the same characters in the film The Falcon Takes Over (1942), starring George Sanders as “The Falcon”, but with no Philip Marlowe character in the adaption.

Dick Powell etched a superb performance playing Marlowe as a hard-boiled, but human shamus with a sense of humor. The performance highly impressed RKO’s studio head, and forever changed the types of roles that Powell would play. The cast itself has no weak portrayals, and the ensemble worked together and separately like a fine Swiss watch. IMO Powell's Marlowe was the most faithful representation of the Marlowe from Chandler's novels.

The plot is convoluted and tricky, as are most of Chandler’s stories. As in his other novels various taboo subjects such as homosexuality and drug addiction had to be soft pedaled and de-emphasized due to the Hays Code. But Marlowe is in on solving the mystery, and there is a very gratifying ending with Powell and Anne Shirley.

Mention must be made of Edward Dmytryk’s superb direction of a faithful screenplay by John Paxton. Dmytryk had done a number of good WWII films, but it was “My Sweet” that really cemented his stock. He went on to direct Crossfire, The Caine Mutiny, The Carpetbaggers, and many other wonderful films. We can thank his deft spinning of a dark and mysterious mood into Chandler’s work, which literally defined film noir.

There have been a number of Philip Marlowes portrayed in American feature film adaptions of Chandler novels. My personal ranking of the actors in order are: Humphrey Bogart, Dick Powell, Robert Mitchum, Robert Montgomery, James Garner, Elliot Gould, James Caan, and George Montgomery.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/ryBT162d/act-of-violence.jpg

Act of Violence - 1948

Directed by Fred Zinnemann

Written by Robert L. Richards

Starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor, Phyllis Thaxter & Berry Kroeger


There was little reckoning to be done in late 1940s America - the war that had just been fought was done on just terms, fought fairly and brought total victory. What we don't hear about as much from this period were those unalterably damaged veterans though. Films like 1946 documentary Let There Be Light dealt with them directly, but it never became a national obsession - that I've heard of. 1949 American film noir motion picture Act of Violence has a very direct and probing bearing on this post-war echo of death and killing however. Both the anger and resentment mixed with the guilt and terrible shame many men were having to live with, and sweep under the carpet to function in polite society, is evident in this film. I rather admire it for that, even if it's somewhat in pulp form here during this 82-minute tense thriller - cutting right to the chase. One aspect which really pleased me was the inclusion of the wife and girlfriend of our two main characters, Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) and Frank R. Enley (Van Heflin), in the plot - at least in a supporting kind of way.

Seeing as a film like this functions on it's slow reveal of the facts, I won't go into plot details other than to say it all starts with a gun-toting Joe trying to track down Frank. Once Frank hears Joe is looking for him, he loses his cool - so it's obvious the two know each other, and something's up. I kind of thought that the story these two men share, and the reason for what's happening, gets revealed a little too quickly - once we're half-way through the film we already know what went down between them, and the rest of the film only has the hunt to keep us interested. Still, the painful details made quite a picture in my mind, and Robert L. Richards (he'd go on to write the screenplay for Winchester '73) deserves praise for penning the scintillating dialogue. When we hear what it was like from Joe's own lips it paints a vivid picture - better than actually seeing a flashback play out, so I'm glad the filmmakers went that route. Once we knew though, part of the excitement I had (that of wondering what the hell was going on) departed, having been already satisfied.

Like I said earlier, this was a good film for having several strong parts for women. Janet Leigh is Frank's wife Edith Enley, who has her world turned upside down overnight when she hears her husband has a secret, and sees the results of what he's done. All the same, she loves Frank and wants him to resolve all of this - and most importantly not fall apart. It's an emotional rollercoaster for her. Phyllis Thaxter plays Joe's girlfriend Ann Sturges - she wants Joe to forget about his need for vengeance, which she's sure will lead to him having regrets and taking on the weighty guilt that Frank is already suffering from. Hers is a role of constantly trying to persuade and get through Joe's iron outer defenses. Mary Astor plays Pat - a shady kind of character, possibly a working girl who tries to exploit Frank as much as she can while seeming kind and caring. It's an interesting kind of role, and she's also memorable in Act of Violence. All three are more than mere decoration, and have decent parts.

The movie itself is bathed in film-noir shadow, darkness and complete blackness. A lot of attention cinematography-wise has been payed to completely shadowing out parts and keeping us tangled in shade and impenetrable silhouettes. Apart from a foray to Big Bear Lake and the San Bernardino National Forest during the day, most of this film plays out at night. Much of it's tension comes directly from Ven Heflin's Frank and Robert Ryan's Joe, the former of whom slowly deteriorates through the film and becomes a guilt-infused mess. Tension and anger. These two men seem to have brought the war home with them, and aren't content to make the most of the rest of their lives - especially in Joe's case. Joe has been disabled and incapacitated in some regards, the most visible of which is the awkward limp he carries with him. I think it's implied (never really outright) that he might also be impotent or else have other impairments. It's obvious that the war has left them with traumas they'll never fully recover from.

I thought this had a faultless first half and a very good second half, the latter part being a little less interesting for having already revealed the secret Frank was carrying around with him. A very enjoyable film to watch though, with twists and turns, including Berry Kroeger as fixer Johnny - a wild card thrown into the mix. I was quite satisfied with it without thinking it an outright masterpiece.

3.5

[rauldc14]

beelzebubble I'm assuming you're out on this too then correct?

[Citizen Rules]

I just heard from beelzebubble and she said she has to drop out. So Murder, My Sweet is DQed and no longer required to watch. It's a damn good noir though so still worth a watch. @PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) @rauldc14 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=60169) @Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) ..No need to watch it now.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/Cx10hfjf/jungle.jpg

The Asphalt Jungle - 1950

Directed by John Huston

Written by Ben Maddow & John Huston
Based on a novel by W. R. Burnett

Starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe & Marilyn Monroe

Just straight up, no-nonsense, hard-boiled crime fiction. The Asphalt Jungle has a pounding pulse that beats steadily from start to finish, and never takes any detours. It's gritty and tough - as you might discern from the film's title, which makes you think of deadly prey and desperate survival. Doc Riedenschneider (Sam Jaffe) has just gotten out of prison, and is wasting absolutely no time - basically heading straight from the cooler's exit doors to Cobby's (Marc Lawrence) joint so he can start setting up a jewel robbery that will net a fortune. He hires muscle Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden), getaway driver Gus Minissi (James Whitmore) and safecracker Louie Ciavelli (Anthony Caruso). Sponsoring the effort is Alonzo Emmerich (Louis Calhern) - who unbeknowenst to them is dead broke and planning a little backstabbing robbery of his own once the guys bring him the jewels to be fenced. In the end, absolutely nothing goes strictly to plan.

This film doesn't feel nearly two hours long - it has a brisk pace to it, and we always feel like we're moving along in a raft on the rapids, avoiding cops, setting off alarms, getting shot and throwing desperate punches. The professionals do their job, but often find themselves in tough situations. Along the way these guys leave a trail of heartbroken wives, girlfriends and mistresses which includes, as Emmerich's young snazzy bit on the side Angela Phinlay, a young Marilyn Monroe. She doesn't really reach any Oscar-winning heights of thespianism, but it's an interesting footnote to this film. Miklós Rózsa's score works in step with the blood-pumping pace of the action and cinematographer Harold Rosson's (The Wizard of Oz's director of photography) hand is steady. Director Huston took inspiration from the neorealist films springing up in Europe, giving everything as much naturalism as possible - and it really works well.

For me nothing beat watching the massive Sterling Hayden strut his stuff here - he'd be giving another memorable turn in a high profile crime role for Stanley Kubrick 6 years later in The Killing. In this, he keeps flashing us a down to earth side of himself who yearns to return to his beloved horses and get the hell away from the city. It's a vulnerability which really gives his character the most depth here, although I must also admit that Louis Calhern also has a lot to work with and performs marvelously well also. His crooked lawyer, obviously used to the finer things in life but foundering and in above his head earns our sympathy towards the end, despite his two-faced turncoat actions. He's not as hard as the weathered crooks, and as such has a much softer side - I felt so sorry for his bed-bound wife May (Dorothy Tree), who only ever yearns for his company, but is spurned and neglected. Yeah - Hayden and Calhern were great, although the former is really the take-away from The Asphalt Jungle for me personally, and Sam Jaffe's turn it the most celebrated. That far-away look Hayden gets when he talks of his horses is brilliant - he's really living his character.

So, this is a very memorable and exciting film noir heist classic - there are no slow spots, and it has an absolutely flawless rhythm to it that just carries you along. It's always interesting to see everything from the planning stage to it's execution, and finally the fallout - and here we don't miss a beat. The screenplay is economical, but at the same time comprehensively tells us where we're going and what's happening in detail. Sam Jaffe was nominated for an Oscar - his kindly Germanic mastermind Doc Riedenschneider a real original. Director Huston would also be nominated, along with Ben Maddow and John Huston for the screenplay and Harold Rosson for the cinematography. I think if it were to have won one of those, I'd have given it the screenplay award - such a tight, exacting, flowing and comprehensively complete job done on that. It thrums, pulses, hits hard and is unapologetically always in motion - The Asphalt Jungle makes crime feel like a high-stakes fight against time and inevitability. It whizzes by, and is very entertaining. A very fine film indeed.

4

[rauldc14]

The Maltese Falcon

https://www.moma.org/d/assets/W1siZiIsIjIwMTYvMDgvMDQvMTFjd2VlbnF3bF9NYWx0ZXNlX0ZhbGNvbl9UaGUuanBnIl0sWyJwIiwiY29udmVydCIsIi1xdWFs aXR5IDkwIC1yZXNpemUgMjAwMHgyMDAwXHUwMDNlIl1d/Maltese Falcon, The.jpg?sha=f8ab4fcf3f90fc9a

I had seen this two times prior, but it's safe to say the third time was the charm. Seemingly the story didn't do a whole lot for me prior but this time I was really able to get into it. It's a very effective dialogue driven film. Each and every character feels carefully crafted and they all seem an integral part to the story. Bogart is one of the best of the best, and his great performance is really to be highlighted here. But I was really impressed with Lorres character, he just seemed to play the part so well. And that ending is just so badass for me. Kind of baffling I didn't see the magic the first two watches.

4

[GulfportDoc]

Out of the Past (1947)

This is a noir’s noir-- one of the greatest examples in the entire movement. Director Jacques Tourneur guides this dark tale of revenge, double cross, and sexual attraction; along with impressive photography by one of the top 3 noir cinematographers, the great Nicholas Musaraca. It’s perfectly cast with Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, and Rhonda Fleming, expressing a brilliant script by author/screen writer Daniel Mainwaring.

An ex investigator living a new life is dragged back into the past where we learn that he had been hired by a gambling boss to track down the boss’s girlfriend who ran off with $40K of his money. The investigator finds her, at which point the story becomes complicated with murders, double crosses, and twists which is kept on track by Mitchum as narrator. In the end everyone gets what’s coming to them.

The dialogue and staging are perfect. Jane Greer’s Kathie Moffat is one of the most cold blooded femme fatales in all of noir, rivaling anything by Bette Davis or Anne Savage. She’s drop dead gorgeous, with alluring limpid eyes, and has a predilection for the use of a gat.

The film is one of the greatest classical noirs.

[GulfportDoc]

The Maltese Falcon

I had seen this two times prior, but it's safe to say the third time was the charm. Seemingly the story didn't do a whole lot for me prior but this time I was really able to get into it. It's a very effective dialogue driven film. Each and every character feels carefully crafted and they all seem an integral part to the story. Bogart is one of the best of the best, and his great performance is really to be highlighted here. But I was really impressed with Lorres character, he just seemed to play the part so well. And that ending is just so badass for me. Kind of baffling I didn't see the magic the first two watches.

rating_4
I sure agree with your comments. "Falcon" is a great example of casting perfection. Everyone was ideal for their parts.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/7hbzhfZZ/criss-cross.jpg

Criss Cross - 1949

Directed by Robert Siodmak

Written by Daniel Fuchs
Based on a novel by Don Tracy

Starring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo & Dan Duryea

This 1949 film noir crime film is all about the dame - or perhaps obsession would be a better way to put it. Steve Thompson (Burt Lancaster) comes home to Los Angeles after travelling the country working here and there. He spent that time away nursing his broken hopes and dreams after being married to Anna (Yvonne De Carlo) and then divorced - but he hasn't come back looking for her. No way. I mean, sure, he ends up heading pretty much straight away to their old hangout - but where else is he to go? He's catching up with friends and good times, and if he happens to see Anna he's at least going to say hello. No harm in being civil. No harm in paying your respects to your past. He doesn't want to get involved again. Does he? Especially since Anna now all but belongs to crime boss Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea). No way is he going to make a crazy play, and put his future and life on the line trying to rescue this old flame from a crazy gangster.

Sometimes it pays to never look back. Steve does it once in Criss Cross and before you know it he's trying to pull off an impossible heist, and hoodwink deadly crime figures. This movie takes time to really pay attention to the slow, inexorable slide to a kind of inevitability that Steve, narrating, keeps on telling us was some kind of fate via chance. He'll hang out places he's always destined to come across Anna, and when he sees her he treats it like a million-to-one shot. You can tell that he's never really gotten over her, even when he first arrives back in Los Angeles. He's too ready and eager to push his "I didn't come looking for her" narrative - it's always the first thing he says, but it just adds weight to the theory that she's all he ever thinks of. His mother tries to save him, and his detective friend, Pete Ramirez (Stephen McNally) also gives it his best shot. No force on earth can stop his ceaseless quest.

When the movie starts we're on the verge of an armored-truck heist, and I thought that's what this film would be - but it turns into more of a dramatic tussle involving not a love triangle, but a triangle of obsession, steamy angst, broken promises and painful double-crosses. Director of photography Franz Planer shows us his dark noir credentials - Planer had considerable experience, and had worked prolifically since 1919. Daniel Fuchs' screenplay is stuffed full of the mannerisms and dialogue that's instantly definable, and Miklós Rózsa, a name I'm getting used to, keeps the steamy heat up music-wise. Criss Cross got mixed reviews upon release, but has risen in stature and can be seen more clearly in context with the early film noir genre as a whole. The performances can't really be criticised, with Lancaster, De Carlo and Duryea sharp as knives and bristling with nervous energy - there's a lot of love and hate in the room when any of this film's three main characters are together.

So, I liked it fine - one I had to pay keen attention to, but rewarding. Before finishing I have to mention that lady on that bar stool - she seems extraneous, but it was nice having her there (most of the time drunk). She's in the credits as "The Lush" and was played by Joan Miller, who didn't really have a big career. Now and then one of those characters giving out drunken comments and rarely seen away from their seat at a bar comes along - I like 'em (though not in real life.) I like Burt Lancaster, and movies that deal with romanticized obsession. I haven't seen that Steven Soderbergh remake called The Underneath - but I imagine this story really suits it's era, and thus I'm not sure if I really want to. This is a film that improves with a second watch - knowing everything actually enhances the film's opening scenes, which work fine on a first watch, but take on an added gravitas when you know the weight Steve and Anna are carrying - knowing not only that a heist is on, but also a very dangerous double-cross. Noir often improves on rewatches - the sense of doom and fate only thickens when you become familiar with it's inevitable siren song.

3.5

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/vHKBYB8Y/detour.jpg

Detour - 1945

Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer

Written by Martin Goldsmith
Based on his novel "Detour: An Extraordinary Tale"

Starring Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake & Edmund MacDonald

Bam! Short and sweet. Just like many film noir films, Detour has a flashback narrative, sizzling femme fatale, sad-sack narration, slick dialogue, down-on-his-luck protagonist and unexpected death. At 68-minutes in length, it's an attractive prospect to watch and in the end doesn't at all feel truncated or rushed - the pace isn't all that fast, but takes it's time in establishing Al Roberts (Tom Neal) and the relationship he has with singer Sue Harvey (Claudia Drake) - the two are part of a New York nightclub act, Roberts playing the piano and Sue singing. When Sue decides she has to try her luck in Hollywood, it isn't long before poor old Al finds himself hitchhiking across the U.S. - and it isn't long before Al finds himself getting deeper and deeper into a terrible, frightening situation that started with a simple, innocuous accident.

There are a lot of little attractive features in this noir - take the 1941 Lincoln Continental which becomes a pivotal part of the story, a car that the characters talk about selling for two thousand dollars. In 1940s money that's quite a bit of dough for the hurried selling of an automobile, and it almost figures as one of the characters in Detour - a fine looking automobile. Then there's Tom Neal - compact champion amateur boxer who at one stage had a 31 win to 1 loss record with many of those wins a knockout. He plays his part well here - because in a challenging way, Detour requires him to play Al as the more passive and innocent character. The film as a whole doesn't betray the fact that it was made on a shoestring budget, and is still very well regarded today. The snappy story and all-in performances from Neal and Ann Savage had me hooked, and I didn't check too closely under the bonnet.

So, the story as a whole is meant to be taken at face value I believe, but I was often wondering if this was just the version Al was telling us. That's because every time a freak accident occurred, I didn't believe it even though I was watching it play out. I kept on figuring that this is Al's story at a police station or to some confidante - making up implausible excuses for why everything ended up the way it did. But after all that - I did come around to the conclusion that a series of remarkable events led what seems to be an Al with fated ill-luck to the point we see him in at the start of the film. A gruff, nervous, on-edge grouch ready to fight and unwilling to engage in friendly dialogue. He's one of those unfortunates who have the unenviable burden of owning a real life series of events that nobody would ever believe if told. Poor old Al. Sucks to be Al. Good for us though - any film that makes you go "I can't believe that just happened!" numerous times is no doubt fun.

All-up a very short, well-regarded film noir classic that I really enjoyed watching, my attention never wavering. A blast from the past about the sudden way a person's life can lead them inexorably down paths they don't want to go down, and become glued to people they desperately want to get away from - all it takes is an accident, one moment where your concentration wavers, or one really bad decision. The great thing about the movies is that we can watch that happen to someone guilt-free, and actually enjoy the fact we're not them. I can see a return to this movie (on Criterion I reckon) some time in my future - great stuff. As Errol Morris would go on to say, "It has an unparalleled quality of despair, totally unrelieved by hope." Schadenfreude at it's 1940s finest.

4

[GulfportDoc]

Nice review, PHOENIX74. And I agree: that '41 Lincoln Continental was a beauty. It's interesting that I read that the car was actually director Edgar Ulmer's personal car. They used it to save production costs. Talk about a shoestring budget! Also I seem to recall that they really only used about 3 sets.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/3N5dYt7j/gilda.jpg

Gilda - 1946

Directed by Charles Vidor

Written by Jo Eisinger, Marion Parsonnet & Ben Hecht
Story by E.A. Ellington

Starring Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia, Steven Geray
Joe Sawyer & Gerald Mohr


Turn up the heat, the coolness, the sex-appeal and the mysterious power of Rita Hayworth - all wrapped up in Buenos Aires, a Casablanca-like den of corruption, blackmail, sex, gambling, hustling and crime. If that sounds pretty good, it is. Con-man, cheat and hustler Johnny Farrell (a young and handsome Glenn Ford) finds himself swimming with sharks when an outstretched hand saves him from being robbed and possibly murdered. Savior Ballin Mundson (George Macready), a scarred, soft-toned man of mystery, keeps a blade concealed in his cane and operates an illegal gambling den. Farrell gets a job managing the place and all is smooth sailing until Mundson brings Gilda into the equation. Gilda has been "bought", and Mundson has married her - but despite his infatuation, Gilda, being none too different from Farrell and himself, soon starts to shake her cage and provoke Johnny - her jailkeeper. Just as Mundson suspects, the two have a history - the steamy heat between them will go on to create resentful recriminations, anger and mutual obsession.

The "tungsten monopoly" Mundson presides over is mere scaffolding to hang the silky frame of Hayworth and powerful posing of Ford on - and it allows added drama and danger to be introduced to the story. We get deadly German agents, gun-toting desperados that are being blackmailed and Argentinian investigators constantly in the mix, while attendant Uncle Pio (Steven Geray) hears and sees all. What's important is Gilda - portrayed by husky voiced Rita as confidant, self-assured and strong - with a hint of sadness. Hayworth was lip-synching the songs she performs in the movie, but all the same - her "Put the Blame on Mame" and "Amado Mio" are unforgettable. Something else that can never be forgotten are the various costumes Hayworth wears in this - black and strapless or glittering, they light up every new appearance from the actress (and were designed by Jean Louis - 14 Oscar nominations, and one win in 1957 for The Solid Gold Cadillac.) She dominates every scene she's in, and is a towering presence in Gilda.

So, what I learned in the end was how to watch Gilda - never mind about the plot, and just sit back to admire how good-looking everything is, and how every scene is suffused with either danger or sex. That goes for the first part of the story with Farrell and Mundson forming the bond they do - I'm with all of the people who see bisexual overtones. In the meantime, Rudolph Maté's cinematography is so much fun to watch. He's often willing to frame characters in silhouette, and utilizes clever and inventive movement. Everything is often bathed in soft light. The visual artistry is noticeable right from the opening scene, where we glide up through impenetrable floorboards to a low angle of Farrell rolling his trusty crooked dice, maintaining that perspective then slowly lifting and pulling back to reveal the number of back alley marks he's bravely hustling money from as he scoops the cash up. This is one noir that has in it's favour a wonderful visual component.

My only complaints with Gilda are that it's a little lengthy for a film noir classic, and that it also has an ending that feels absolutely wrong considering what it is. Those are far from deal breakers for me and this film however - I think it's fantastic, a pleasure to watch, and has everything a film of this type needs to burn up the screen. It's a movie that just wants to put sexual tension mixed with danger up there, so it gets right to it and keeps us enthralled by those two subjects from start to finish - I love watching Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford do their stuff. I enjoyed seeing Ford's Farrell go from two-bit hustler to casino lieutenant, and the change in body language throughout conveys his increasing sense of power. I enjoyed Hayworth's way of sending what should be clear signals to men who are too dumb to pick up on them. (Jessica Rabbit in Who Framed Roger Rabbit was based on her character in this.) Her constant sexual innuendo is risqué for a film made in the era it was, and I love it.

So, is this one of the best film noirs I've ever seen? I'd have to say yes. Some come and go, and most are really enjoyable - but Gilda is going to stick with me. Rita Hayworth's low husky invitations to dance will ring in my ears. In the meantime Farrell really is one of the great hustlers in films - he has plenty of company, but none are quite as suave, boyishly good looking, solid and crisply well-spoken. Farrell and Gilda make for a great couple - even if Farrell is a little slow off the mark. As for Mundson - if you wear a scar like he does, and buy women when you fall for them, there's going to be no surprise to find out you're the villain in the end. Nothing in this film is really hard on the eyes - lending the steamy atmosphere a level of film-watching enjoyment that gives me the feeling that I should look out for this on the big screen. It falls short of being a Casablanca, but boy, it comes close. Turns out Humphrey Bogart was offered the role of Farrell - but he turned it down, saying "Everyone will be looking at Rita Hayworth!" Very astute, that man.

4.5

[Citizen Rules]

If you posted a noir review today, December 2nd, it might have vanished as Yoda had some issues with the site's data base. In that case I hope you saved a draft:D

[PHOENIX74]

If you posted a noir review today, December 2nd, it might have vanished as Yoda had some issues with the site's data base. In that case I hope you saved a draft:D

Always do. If I didn't, and I lost my review, my second attempt would certainly be brief.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/8PwstwCz/gun.jpg

Gun Crazy - 1950

Directed by Joseph H. Lewis

Written by Dalton Trumbo & MacKinlay Kantor
Based on a story by MacKinlay Kantor

Starring Peggy Cummins, John Dall, Berry Kroeger, Anabel Shaw, Harry Lewis & Nedrick Young

Don't touch that alarm lady, it's not worth it! When Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummins) is around, you'll be lucky if you don't catch a few slugs regardless. Gun Crazy takes timely inspiration (if that's the right word) from real life bank robbers Bonnie and Clyde - but grounds the story by following Annie's more morally adjusted husband, Bart Tare (John Dall) from childhood. From his fascination with guns as soon as he can walk, regret upon killing a chick when he was really little, penchant for robbery and burglary as he grows up to stint in the military as a man - Bart's life is suddenly complicated when he meets Annie as she performs sharpshooting gun tricks in a carnival. When it's revealed that Bart can shoot even better than the star attraction, the heat starts to build. Annie is a viper of a femme fatale though - nearly psychotic, and her need for ready cash then instant riches seems to stem from the need to take risks and hurt people. It's an awry pairing.

Annie's not set for a quiet life as a housewife, stretching her budget for a baby and going to an occasional picnic. Her carnival boss - also lusting after her - warns Bart there's trouble ahead. Annie enjoys being won over with dead-eye shooting, and a fight for her affections - but just as we're warming to incoming danger, our pair's chemistry is dependent on that flame keeping their passion red hot. When Annie demands money and guides Bart's hand, a cinematic fuse is lit and a timer sets off in our mind. Scenes featuring robberies start small and increase in scale until we eventually get to the first bank job these two do - it's a landmark moment in the film, because Joseph H. Lewis and co. have something special in store for us - and by the time it's over the movie is on fire and there's no putting it out.

I'm a sucker for the long take - while many cineastes chide movies for the showiness inherent in pulling off long complex shots, I'm still excited by them. Gun Crazy is famous for one of these. A bank robbery that unfolds from our vantage point in the back seat of a Cadillac - from the trip there, to Bart going in and Annie taking care of an unfortunate cop who happens to be wandering by, we stick with it right through the speedy getaway until the entire scene is over. One shot. I applaud. (Cinematographer Russell Harlan would go on to be nominated for an Oscar 6 times in his career.) I also enjoyed taking a literal ride on a rollercoaster - there was nowhere this movie wouldn't go. The excitement is palpable when the pair pull off a meat packing joint heist, running from room to warehouse room. If you ask me, their plan was crazy - they had to run through the whole place, get to their car, turn the car all the way around and then split. It seems to take forever - and I'm sure that's what it would have felt like for a real pair of robbers.

So - indeed. We know exactly how all of this is going to end, but the trip itself is full of tension and excitement. Our sympathies are directed squarely at Bart - who refuses to shoot anyone, and does his absolute best to try and make sure Annie doesn't. He even tortures himself over shooting the tire out from a cop car. What it does is put a very bright spotlight on sexual attraction, lust, love, desire and our need to do whatever it takes to satisfy it - once Bart is captivated by Annie there's no going back for him. It's easy for us, watching on, to say "Leave her Bart - get the hell out of there and never look back." Although he's shown he has a propensity to steal, that's not the path he's on when he comes across his sweetheart and future bride. Irish actress Peggy Cummins imbues her steamy shootist with pure noir sexuality - enough for us to believe Bart would do anything for her.

I really enjoyed Gun Crazy - it's another of those film noir titles that wasn't a really big production, but nevertheless went on to merit inclusion in film books and movie collections as a must have. It's screenplay written by a blacklisted screenwriter (Trumbo was credited onscreen as "Millard Kaufman"), featuring actors who would be famous primarily for starring in it, and directed by a B-movie film director. Some of the very best films come far from the mainstream - and that especially goes for film noir (again, I write like I'm some expert, where in all actuality it's a particular blind spot for me.) Importantly, it sets everything up and from that point on just keeps punching, never letting up. Bart and Annie spend a lot of Gun Crazy running - either on foot, or in a stolen car that's occasionally trying to sneak over state borders or by roadblocks. They're not as publicity-hungry as Bonnie and Clyde - but have our attention, and keep it until the film's agonizing closing moments.

4

[Citizen Rules]

Only two weeks left until the deadline of Dec 16...Most of you are going strong, so keep watching those noirs!

@Diehl40 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=88140) @edarsenal (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=50536) @GulfportDoc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=96919) @PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) @rauldc14 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=60169) @Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) @Thief (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353)

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/Qx1KqB6d/malt.jpg

The Maltese Falcon - 1941

Directed by John Huston

Written by John Huston
Based on a novel by Dashiell Hammett

Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane
Lee Patrick & Sydney Greenstreet

This is the big one. The essence, as far as I can tell. How we were finally able to define "cool" in the 20th Century. This is the movie that really does get better each time you see it - one with a sensational array of uncommon characters twisted into it's mysterious story. The one that introduces us to Private Detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) - the ultimate for his keen eye, quick mind, sharp tongue and indomitable spirit. Much like Marlon Brando did with Vito Corleone, Bogart became an insoluble part of popular culture and cinematic mythology by embodying this character. Spade is instantly recognizable to someone who has never even seen the film before, because he became the very definition of the iconic gumshoe - and in portraying him, Bogart doesn't even seem to be acting. He's only too happy to be Spade, and I imagine it felt glorious to play the role. So confident he feels a little irritated and bored when someone is pointing a gun at him - a situation I freely admit might have me messing myself.

Author Dashiell Hammett, who wrote the novel, had been a detective at the Pinkerton Detective Agency in San Francisco and made Sam Spade one who many saw themselves as, but none really were - a perfect amalgam of assured charm, masterly skill and handsome features. Miles Archer, Spade's partner, might be one of these wannabes - but he doesn't last long. When eye-catching Ruth Wonderly (Mary Astor) sashays into Miles and Sam's office, and asks them to try and find her missing sister by trailing a Floyd Thursby, Miles is happy to have a crack at it. By morning he's dead, as is Floyd Thursby, and the plot thickens - the cops suspect Sam has had something to do with the death of Miles, and Sam suspects that Ruth has been feeding him lies. Soon a comical conspirator named Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre) announces himself, Sam is being tailed by a Wilmer Cook (Elisha Cook Jr.) and waiting in the shadows is Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet) - miscreants, and all chasing one thing - The Maltese Falcon.

What I notice most about it visually are the camera angles. Fancy taking on the very rotund Kaspar Gutman, who is sitting down, from around floor-level - right up close, like we have our face in his groin. In fact, many of the times we're in the company of nefarious goons we're looking up at them as if they're imposing giants. When we first get a good look at Wilmer Cook he's sitting down, but as the camera draws in closer and closer, we're no higher than knee-level, the low camera angle more betrayed by proximity. The movie is also famous for it's low-key lighting - eventually film noir techniques would experiment more and more with shadow and darkness. It always feels like it's night, and sunlight is never apparent. Cinematographer Arthur Edeson was well experienced, and had shot 1930 classic All Quiet on the Western Front - one of his three Oscar nominations included that, and what is possibly his greatest film, Casablanca. He was one of the founders of the American Society of Cinematographers.

Important to the movie though, is the feel we get of the mania surrounding the search for and possession of the Maltese Falcon itself - you even see Sam Spade fall under it's spell, with uncharacteristic excitement getting to him when he thinks he may just have it. John Huston was making his directorial debut here, and was Oscar-nominated for adapting Hammett's novel - he delves deeper and deeper into desperation itself. There's also a lot of unexpected humour - one of the running jokes in the film involves the way Spade continually disarms various thugs with a variety of tricks and fast moves. During one scene a pistol is passed back and forth between Spade and Cairo (seeing it once in a cinema, I noticed this part gets a big laugh.) Perhaps it's best feature is it's snappy dialogue - something that also became a feature of film noir. Performance-wise, Sydney Greenstreet (who had never been in a film before) was singled out for an Oscar nomination - but this really is a great ensemble effort. Bogart, Astor and Lorre are also so much fun to watch.

To encapsulate everything - The Maltese Falcon has grown on me over the years - big time. The first time I saw it, I was typically confused a little by it's quick-fire dialogue - you need to follow who's who and what they're saying, then you have to cross out the parts that end up being lies, which is a lot. There's one crucial exchange near the end that Spade forces our femme fatale to spit out in a hurry. I'm at the stage now where I have everything sorted out straight in my mind - so I just enjoy the performances, cinematography and even 3-time Oscar winner Adolph Deutsch's exciting score - the way he emphasises moments. It's a great story. Bogart is beyond cool - his unflappable manner is something I wish I had, and his quick-thinking detective mind has him ready with a quip, question or perfect response in an instant. Watching him simply makes me feel really, really good. Watching everyone in The Maltese Falcon does. Simply watching The Maltese Falcon does. It's a great film. The first time I saw it I didn't sit well with it's classic status. Now I'm ready to put it there myself.

I'm turning into something of a Humphrey Bogart fan. I already love him in The African Queen and Casablanca, but seeing The Big Sleep and considering how I feel about The Maltese Falcon I get the adoration through the ages. It wasn't all his own doing - though he's a fine actor. He was born with that voice and those looks, and the words he speaks are put there by writers. He's perfect for Sam Spade though - would first choice George Raft have been as good? Probably not. Call it fate then. John Huston would go on to have an incredible career as well - and what an amazing debut. He made what's just about the perfect movie - and seems to have just about kicked off an entire film movement, although that's up for debate. I haven't mentioned it yet here, but of course the mixture of death, sex, money, love, evil, hate, greed and violence are a potent mix, and along with that, if you have interesting characters, great dialogue and a fetching McGuffin, you nearly have it all. The Maltese Falcon has it all, and this is my first love letter directed at it. A truly great film - historically great. The stuff that dreams are made of.

5

[Citizen Rules]

https://fwcdn.pl/fph/77/32/7732/368756.1.jpg
Mildred Pierce (1945)


Joan Crawford made a huge comeback in 1945's Mildred Pierce. Director Michael Curtiz was reluctant to hire the former MGM movie star, who had a reputation for being difficult to work with...and in the last few years hadn't been been as popular as she once was. But if there's someone who gave 100% to any movie that she was in, it was Joan. I've seen a number of her films including her last ones like Trog and Berserk which were low budget, drive-in movies and yet Joan Crawford handled herself on screen like she was in an Oscar winning picture. I've never seen her give a bad performance.

Mildred Pierce was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning one, Best Actress for Joan Crawford. The one and only time she would win an Oscar. Joan pours herself into her role of a working class single woman who pulls herself up and becomes a successful business woman....A role that was not unlike her own life. Ann Blyth plays her spoiled rotten daughter to perfection, ohh! she was evil. She was nominated for best supporting actress at the ripe old age of 16.

Mildred Pierce might sound like a soap opera, but thanks to the flashback opening scenes with Joan being taken to police headquarters for a murder...the film lands in pure noir territory. Mildred Pierce has several sub stories running along with the main theme that makes this movie a master piece. The script is as fresh as a just baked peach pie.

[GulfportDoc]

CR reminded me that I’m a little short on my commentaries, so here’s a few mentions in attempts to catch me up:

Gilda is a wonderful movie, and I'm a complete Rita Hayworth kind of guy (she's just ahead of Ava Gardner). But IMO it wasn't strong enough of a film to be in my top 25.

I've always liked Glenn Ford in just about all of his films. However some of his earlier roles, like this one, suffer from his collegiate looks. Another one would be The Loves of Carmen, done just 2 years later. Best at more "common man" roles, he often doesn't seem convincing as a heavy, at least early in his career.

In Gun Crazy the cinematography was unusual and innovative for the time (1949). There was lots of location footage, but what was interesting was how many scenes were shot with the camera in the back seat of a car (they used a stretch limousine), showing the action of the people in the front seat, and observing integral action occurring where they were driving-- a great long take. I wondered who the cinematographer was, so I looked him up. Sure enough, it was Russell Harlan, who photographed Witness for the Prosecution, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Hatari. The picture is worth watching just for Harlan's work.

John Dall co-starred with Peggy Cummings. He seemed too refined for the role, but yet he seemed very familiar. I couldn't place what else he'd been in. Then it came to me that he'd co-starred with Farley Granger in Rope. He was best at portraying sophisticated characters.


A great film, and one of the greatest noirs. I love that long take sequence while the couple were driving to the bank heist. Very innovative for its day.

Peggy Cummins was such a sweet Irish lassie to play such a psychopathic femme fatale killer. And the kinky sexual turn-on from guns and murder was pretty suggestive for 1950.

I'm sure that the screen writers for Bonnie and Clyde (1967) were strongly influenced by this landmark film.


Both thumbs way up for Criss Cross. One of the great classic noirs. Yvonne De Carlo was just about full on nasty. It also features Burt Lancaster, and Dan Duryea, and has a great story directed by IMO the premiere noir director, Robert Siodmak.

A lot of people have the opinion that San Francisco is the best city for noir. But I've always preferred L.A.-- like in this picture.


Touch of Evil is one of Welles' masterpieces. It was pretty much to 1958 what Citizen Kane was to 1941. In my view the film is practically flawless.

Eddie Muller (the “Czar of Noir”) believes that Ricardo Montalban would have been ideal for the role of Ramon Vargas, which is true. However Charlton Heston did a wonderful job. In fact it was Heston who suggested that Welles direct. The film was littered with great performances.

Top 50 of all time, top 10 of the 1950s.

[rauldc14]

Criss Cross

https://filmforum.org/do-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase/client-uploads/_1000w/criss-cross-slide3.jpg

After really enjoying Siodmak's two films I've seen, this one actually kind of disappointed me. I felt the movie didn't have a lot of excitement to it, it just kind of slogged along. It was a nice looking film and the acting was pretty decent though. By the time that we get to the interesting ending a lot of the interest was already gone. I wouldnt consider it bad but I find that it doesn't belong in that upper echelon of noir goodness.

3

[KeyserCorleone]

Only two weeks left until the deadline of Dec 16...Most of you are going strong, so keep watching those noirs!

@Diehl40 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=88140) @edarsenal (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=50536) @GulfportDoc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=96919) @PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) @rauldc14 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=60169) @Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) @Thief (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353)


On the 12 days of Noir Hall my homies gave to me...

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/C1sMj23N/mildred-pierce.jpg

Mildred Pierce - 1945

Directed by Michael Curtiz

Written by Ranald MacDougall
Based on a novel by James M. Cain

Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott, Eve Arden
Ann Blyth & Bruce Bennett


Usually when people find success and money, they're doing it for gratification and happiness. The more money Mildred Pierce (Joan Crawford) makes, and the more success she has, the less it seems to matter to her personally. In this 1945 melodrama, Mildred gets knocked down in the first reel, and gets kicked while she's down. She continues to get kicked throughout the whole film, even after getting back up - and you're not quite sure who's to blame. Everyone, I guess. There aren't many characters who don't have a smudge on their soul in this, although that particular seed of thought is planted at the very outset - when Mildred invites a man over on false pretenses, planning for him to take the fall for a murder he didn't commit. When the cops finger someone completely separate to her scheme - her ex-husband - Mildred is forced to talk, and thereby she narrates the story through flashbacks, and we rewind to a time when everything was seemingly happy and normal.

Mildred has a few men in her life. First her husband, Bert Pierce (Bruce Bennett) just ups and leaves her - but not before delivering a whole dump of exposition and foreshadowing. Then there's Wally Fay (Jack Carson), whose continual, never-ending attempt to light up some kind of romance between them seems to have prompted Mildred to frame him for murder. They seem like friends, but Wally is the kind of male friend who requires a lady keep pepper spray or mace at close hand. Monte Beragon (Zachary Scott) rounds out this trio of heels, and the only difference between him and Wally is the fact that Mildred gives in to his constant pressuring after a while and convinces herself that she must love him if she's willing to go that far just to ease the tension. Mildred spends much of the film either fending of this or that amorous advance, or needing to discuss business at the peril of being pressured into bed.

It was a man's world concerning business as well, and Mildred's entrepreneurial spirit means that her waitress friends aren't her equals for long. She has two daughters, and Mildred Pierce hinges on the spoiled older one, Veda (Ann Blyth) - who happens to be a monster. Veda is the reason Mildred is doing any of this, and the more she gives to her the more Veda complains that it simply isn't enough. One heartbreaking early scene has Mildred, unseen, listening on as Veda explains to her other daughter, Kay (Jo Ann Marlowe) that the gift of a dress she's been given is completely inadequate and how she'd be ashamed to be seen in it. This is what drives Mildred on to become what she does, without realising that it's a bottomless pit. Sad Mildred. Joan Crawford won an Oscar for this role - and she turned the win into a bizarre bed-side spectacle, apparently feigning illness on Oscar night. Her reasoning for doing what she did changed over the years, but in the end it made her win more memorable than many others.

Mildred Pierce was a bit of a tough watch for me. I didn't want to see Mildred have to fight such a tide of ill fortune, shady friends, poisoned children, bad business and murder. What did she do to deserve all of that aside from spoil her daughter? The movie itself is very well made though, and along with some good performances benefits from Ernest Haller's versatile cinematography, and Max Steiner's oft-present, very nice, dramatic score. It feels unusual (in a good way) to segue from normal dramatic scenes, lit like any old drama, and then find ourselves in a police station or deserted beach house, with the lighting quite dramatically toned down, and shadows dominating. It feels like a real combination of two genres, and took me by surprise. Noir probably dominates in that we have Joan Crawford's narration, and the story is told in flashback, but melodrama is the meat on it's film noir bones.

So - we're not so much about steamy sensual passion in Mildred Pierce, and that definitely means we're into money territory. I forget which is meant to make the world turn, but it definitely creates a swirl here and creates a passion all of it's own that'll lead to murder in the end. We see this in fiction - a family that seems a picture of happiness before money starts to put pressure on relationships much like fat does a person's body. But before I sign off making this film sound like a suffocating, stressful ordeal, I have to pay tribute to Eve Arden who plays Mildred's compatriot Ida - she's often ready with a quip and continues on always untouched by the madness and drama that surrounds Mildred Pierce. She sparkles so much she was nominated for a Best Supporting Actress Oscar. Yeah - there's an easy breezy air to much of this film to stop us from becoming too gloomy. I credit that to Ranald MacDougall and his canny instinct to balance everything out. Still - in the end, someone is going to have to pay for that dead body in the beach house. Will it be Mildred?

3.5

[GulfportDoc]

Mildred Pierce (1945) was a tremendous comeback for Joan Crawford. After starring in silent movies, and continuing on into the 1930s as a huge box office star, her popularity had gradually waned to where MGM dropped her in 1942. Later she successfully lobbied Warner Bros. for the part of Mildred, even agreeing to a screen test. The picture’s success and Crawford’s Best Actress Oscar put her back on the map big time.

It’s a tawdry story of a hard working mother trying to provide the good life for her spoiled brat daughter, who is embarrassed by her mother’s low financial standing. Later the daughter tries to steal her mother’s new sleazy husband and business partner. When he rejects her, the daughter shoots him dead. After several twists it leads to a satisfactory ending.

Great direction by Michael Curtiz (Casablanca), photography by Ernest Haller (Gone With the Wind), and first class supporting roles by Zachary Scott, Ann Blyth, Eve Arden, Jack Carson and Bruce Bennett.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/8z7qz1gp/thieves-highway.jpg

Thieves' Highway - 1949

Directed by Jules Dassin

Written by A. I. Bezzerides
Based on his novel "Thieves' Market"

Featuring Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb & Barbara Lawrence

You might think drug smuggling is tough, or those barnstorming moonshine days during prohibition hair-raising. You might think people-smuggling a cut-throat trade, or border crossing a testing manner in which to make good on debts. Well, Jules Dassin and A. I. Bezzerides find something in Thieves' Highway that sounds quite prosaic on paper - buying and selling produce (namely - apples), which in this film can be cutthroat, and indeed deadly. When Nick Garcos (Richard Conte) returns from overseas there's direct evidence of this - his pop Yanko (Morris Carnovsky) has lost both of his legs after crashing his truck during a run where he had somehow been robbed of his money. Yanko, no longer able to drive, sold his truck - and has yet to receive full payment on that deal as well. Nick, his temper rising, goes to confront the new truck owner Ed Kinney (Millard Mitchell) - and Ed strikes up a deal with him, giving Nick the scoop on a crop of Golden Delicious apples they can make a killing on.

Throughout the middle portion of the film Nick has to battle so many elements of this profession's varied challenges that he might be wishing he were back fighting the war. He risks his life battling fatigue, constantly drifting to sleep at the wheel of his truck. He nearly dies replacing a blown tire when the truck sinks and crushes him. He frets over the condition of Ed's truck, and whether to follow him, or trust him and lead the way. He's accosted by rival truck drivers, eager to beat him to the punch. When he gets to the San Francisco markets, he has to contend with unscrupulous buyers - and there's one among them, Mike Figlia (Lee J. Cobb) that screwed over his pop. In fact, Figlia's gang slash his truck's tire to keep it there, then hires sultry lady Rica (Valentina Cortese) to lead him away and distract him so they can steal the apples. I never thought the apple trade could be this dangerous and thuggish. That's not all - Ed's brakes fail - spelling disaster for him, and even though Nick forces a deal, he's soon robbed and beaten by Figlia's goons.

From time to time I have cause to yell at the screen - it's not often, but I do. When Nick has close to $4000 in his pocket what does he do? He tells a crowded diner to shush the hell up when on the phone, and loudly shouts to his lady-love back East that he has that much money on him, then tells her where he'll be and where he's going. Why not wear a large placard saying "ROB ME" in bright lettering? Nick's young and inexperienced - he's either crashing or full of exuberance. He's great with Figlia, sticking up for himself about getting paid - but while he's very forthright, energetic and pleasingly fair to everyone, he's also reckless, erratic and not nearly careful enough. That's the thrill of watching a film like Thieves' Highway though - we bite our lip, and every time Nick seems to make a mistake we want to have a quick word in his ear. It's a very suspenseful film, even without drawing tension out - the stakes are so high, and Nick's future seems to hinge on this hard-fought deal.

It's a dog eat dog world out there - and you never know whether the next stranger you're dealing with is a fair and honest, decent person or a cheat and scoundrel. Capitalism means competition, and competition mean there will be cheats - so when you're at the coalface of capitalism that means a battle on multiple fronts. First there are your rivals - hoping to be faster than you, do a better deal than you, have a better product or be more reliable. Then there are your customers, trying to give you as little money as they have to - and some using every means they have to cheat, swindle and take advantage of every little weakness you have. At least, that's how you have to look at it. Go out thinking everyone is as fair as you, and pretty soon the wolves will have you. Thieves' Highway shows what it often takes - the hard work, risks, dangers and smarts needed. Every type of endeavor has it's shortcuts, cheats, crooked dealing and pitfalls - all needing to be dealt with firmly, and hopefully lawfully.

I kind of got the feeling that Figlia's sneaky method came to him by accident one night. One night a truck genuinely broke down outside his produce warehouse, and the driver went off and got drunk - whereupon a fed up Figlia just up and stole whatever it was on it before having it towed and washing his hands of the whole deal. I think it dawned on him then - why not incapacitate the odd truck, and get a trusty gal to distract the driver for $50? I mean, once the truck is towed he can claim that the goods disappeared after it left his vicinity. Some business people will use every dirty underhanded trick they can to get ahead, and Lee J. Cobb really plays the type well. It was great casting, getting him for that role. I think the performances all-round are pretty good in Thieves' Highway, and the casting spot on. It's a very well-written story and directed film as well - it's almost like a blend of neorealism and film noir, with a very original premise and setting.

One vision I take away from the film, never to be forgotten, is the hill covered in spilled apples (almost like the truck's cargo was it's lifeblood) which leads to Ed's burning old rustbucket. Driven beyond it's limitations to try and save money, much in the way Ed and Nick drive themselves past their limitations, it's groaning and squealing (nice sound work all-round) feels like it's cries of agony. That ancient truck said all that needed to be said about the plight of the little guy threaded into the overall tsunami of money and trade these guys are riding. Like a surfer, they constantly fret wiping out - financially and physically. That constant danger, after the film works so well at getting us on Nick's side, is what drives our apprehensions throughout, and why it had me thrilled much of the time. There is a slightly underdeveloped love triangle there, which just manages to work as well - but most of all this is a tense film noir classic, well written, directed and performed by it's principles. I'll never look at an apple as a pretty much worthless commodity again, but as always, I cheer on the little guy with a truck and a dream.

4

[rauldc14]

Out of the Past

I believe I gave this a 4.5/5 on the first watch and a 3.5/5 on the second watch. But really everything is there that makes this a really good movie. The highlights here is the superb dialogue and the great acting particularly from Mitchell and Greer. The set up to the movie is great, the first half is left without any flaws. While there are lulls in that second half, the ending brings it all back together and it really is quite a powerful noir.

4

[Diehl40]

Out of the Past


This film was among my favorites so far. It made use of the strategy of taking a simple plot and complicating it by changing the point of view or emphasis. This strategy was used by those who were making noir films in the 40's.
The film noir website claims that Mitchum was to strong a character to be cast as the lead in a film noir. That he did not represent a a weak male lead. I don't know if I agree with this. Mitchum's character lets himself be sucked back into the kind of life he was trying to escape. This might be considered a flaw or weakness to his character.

[rauldc14]

I have two left I'll try to finish this week

[KeyserCorleone]

Siddon's really lagging, even worse than I did in the docs HoF..

[Thief]

I've had two of the most hectic weeks I've ever had in my life, but thankfully we're already moved. I'm gonna try and cram whatever I have left to see in the next few days, so brace yourselves!

[Citizen Rules]

I have two left I'll try to finish this weekYou can do it bro!

Siddon's really lagging, even worse than I did in the docs HoF..He'll finish I bet.

I've had two of the most hectic weeks I've ever had in my life, but thankfully we're already moved. I'm gonna try and cram whatever I have left to see in the next few days, so brace yourselves!I'm braced!

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/L5MHXFBN/out-of-the-past.jpg

Out of the Past - 1947

Directed by Jacques Tourneur

Written by Daniel Mainwaring
Based on his novel - "Build My Gallows High"

Featuring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas & Rhonda Fleming

You might think that life as a smart talking, quick-thinking private investigator in your average film noir picture would be swell - but it usually comes with one nasty side-effect, that being an obsession with a very dangerous girl. And I mean obsession. Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) in Out of the Past gets it bad - for Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), who kisses with poison lips. Their lives become tangled in Acapulco, where Jeff has hunted her down for the man he's working for - dangerous gangster Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas). Kathie shot him, and absconded with $40,000 - but she's such a rare gem that Whit is willing to let bygones be bygones, as long as she comes back. Jeff gets other ideas once he's fallen under her spell, and enters into a treacherous dance. Fool Whit into thinking he couldn't find her, and perhaps Kathie will steal away with him. Get discovered, and perhaps Jeff will wish he never found her.

All of this story so far is told in flashback as Jeff lays it all out for current girlfriend Ann Miller (Virginia Huston) after Joe Stefanos (Paul Valentine) catches up with him with a message - Whit wants to see him. The last time Jeff saw Whit, he was telling him he couldn't find Kathie. Well, Kathie ran after shooting another of Whit's hoodlums, an ex-partner of Jeff's, Jack Fisher (Steve Brodie), who was trying to blackmail them - leaving behind proof that she was lying to Jeff about not stealing Whit's $40,000. Jeff goes to see Whit, and is shocked to find Kathie back with him. Whit has another job for Jeff - and of course it's a set-up. Revenge for lying to him, and taking his precious trophy girl. It gets much more complex than that, but Out of the Past has the style and panache to pull it off. It's an amazingly well constructed film, with powerful performances from a laconic Mitchum, shimmering Jane Greer and forthright Douglas.

I loved the cinematography - Nicholas Musuraca does a few things I really appreciated, such as have his characters appear in nearly completely shaded silhouette, and he allows elongated shadows to pattern entire shots. He has a playfulness with shadow and darkness that exceeds most other film noir classic I've watched. Very dark tone to this film's visuals. Also much appreciated is the clever dialogue, at times witty, at others full of innuendo - many of these films are at their best when there's some kind of clever repartee in full swing, whether it's between protagonist and villain, or lovers. Sometimes the protagonist and villain are lovers, and Out of the Past is a good example of that. So well written by Daniel Mainwaring. 7-time Oscar nominee Roy Webb seals the deal with a moody, pensive score that sows romance amidst the darkness, but has a very pronounced unease to it.

So, all-up my thoughts watching this are many and varied. A very cool film, hip to everything that makes watching these films so enjoying. You'll notice that no matter how much fun the characters are having, or even if they're cracking jokes, they never smile or laugh - they're simply too hip and steeped in elegance to do that. Nobody stutters or shouts, and in fact most of the line delivery is slow and crisp - every smart alec observation, clever innuendo or laid back quip is so relaxed and easy. Everything sounds romantic, and when there's heat Mitchum's dulcet tone convinces me that this is a man who can be very seductive. "Baby, I don't care," he says when Kathie tries to convince him she didn't steal Whit's money, and they kiss on a windswept beach. At night of course, with darkness shrouding our lovers - seemingly doomed, and perhaps even somewhat aware of that yet too caught up in each other to consider it much.

Whether it's being romantic, tense or complex, Out of the Past is so well-written and visually outstanding that it's a supreme pleasure to watch. It's principles have a screen presence that electrify every scene, and therefore it's especially pleasing seeing such a young Kirk Douglas (only his third credited screen performance) or an equally fresh Mitchum. I'm surprised Jane Greer didn't have a bigger career, but if it's immortality a performer is after she has that just via starring in this film alone. This is a beautifully dark-toned, sultry, easy-going film noir classic and I love watching it - a movie I can tune myself into like a song, riding high on sheer admiration for it's intricate inventiveness and immeasurable style. One of those films that never seems to put a single foot wrong, and one that'll probably have absolutely endless rewatch appeal for me. One where watching it again only makes it better, and me more glad I've seen it.

Out of the Past's remake, 1984 film Against All Odds featuring Rachel Ward, James Woods and Jeff Bridges, is one I think I'll skip however. It's bad reputation trumps my innate curiosity.

4.5

[GulfportDoc]

...
Whether it's being romantic, tense or complex, Out of the Past is so well-written and visually outstanding that it's a supreme pleasure to watch. It's principles have a screen presence that electrify every scene, and therefore it's especially pleasing seeing such a young Kirk Douglas (only his third credited screen performance) or an equally fresh Mitchum. I'm surprised Jane Greer didn't have a bigger career, but if it's immortality a performer is after she has that just via starring in this film alone. This is a beautifully dark-toned, sultry, easy-going film noir classic and I love watching it - a movie I can tune myself into like a song, riding high on sheer admiration for it's intricate inventiveness and immeasurable style. One of those films that never seems to put a single foot wrong, and one that'll probably have absolutely endless rewatch appeal for me. One where watching it again only makes it better, and me more glad I've seen it.
...
rating_4_5
VERY nice review. I agree with you about Greer. I think her ex-boyfriend, Howard Hughes, did everything he could to keep her out of pictures. I think her marriages took up a good deal of her time as well.

Still she was great in The Big Steal (1949), where she stepped up to co-star with Robert Mitchum again after he was busted for pot, and some actresses (e.g. Lizabeth Scott) didn't want to work with him.

Yeah, the Against All Odds (1984) re-make was an interesting film, but no where near as good as Out of the Past.

[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/brpJKcL6/touch-of-evil.jpg

Touch of Evil - 1958

Directed by Orson Welles

Written by Orson Welles
Based on the novel "Badge of Evil" by Whit Masterson

Featuring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff
Marlene Dietrich & Zsa Zsa Gabor

Police Captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles) is like a champion who can probably beat anyone he's up against, but still feels the need to cheat. He's morbidly obese, about to fall off the wagon, a racist and a narcissist. Add murderer to that list. While investigating the explosive death of two people crossing the border between Mexico and the United States, he comes up against Ramon Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston) - a good Mexican special prosecutor on his honeymoon after marrying sweetheart Susan (Janet Leigh). An added factor to their confrontation is Mexican mobster Uncle Joe Grandi (Akim Tamiroff) - Vargas has been investigating him and his family, and he's all too happy to help if Quinlan needs it. The Grandi family kidnaps Susan at a deserted Grandi-owned hotel, and drugs her in the hopes she and Vargas can be framed and the noose loosened. Fatefully, for everyone, Grandi encourages Quinlan to have a drink.

Touch of Evil is like a great film that took over 40 years to complete. I've only ever seen the 1998 version, which significantly differs from what was released in 1958. Orson Welles was weaving a masterpiece that may very well have put him back on top after spending time in the wilderness - but part-way through editing he was locked out. Aaron Stell ignored many of the innovations Welles had worked on, and tried to put together a more conventional kind of film - going so far as to re-edit the parts Welles had already finished with the help of Ernest J. Nims. After watching the result, those in charge at Universal decided reshoots were needed to add scenes to make the plot easier to follow. Once Welles had seen the result of all this he was appalled, and wrote a detailed 58-page memo to the head of production at Universal, Edward Muhl, detailing changes that needed to be made, and the urgent reasons in each case why. Some were heeded, some not - but the existence of that memo would mean that later on down the road - some 40-odd years later - we'd get to see Touch of Evil as originally intended.

As originally intended, Touch of Evil is a great film. It begins with what is probably the most famous long take in cinematic history. It used to play with Henry Mancini's music and the opening credits both drowning out the central drama - that drama being a ticking time bomb placed into a car's trunk, and the car itself driven around as Miguel and Susan often come into close proximity with it. If the bomb were to go off at any of those moments, both Miguel and Susan would be killed. As we follow the car, we can hear different kinds of music coming from the various establishments along the way - there's a contrast between Latin American mambo and rock and roll types of sound, and with Mancini's music blaring we don't get to hear that. I don't even want to think about how this one shot was accomplished - we go up and over buildings, through streets and come up close to people. It had to have been carefully choreographed and needed many people working a crane and dolly. The effect is magnificent however. Especially without credits and non-diegetic music.

The performances are great, but of course Orson Welles himself steals the show as Quinlan. Welles is absolutely unrecognizable, and I doubt anyone watching who didn't know it was him would have guessed it was. Heavy make-up and padding (Orson wasn't quite as large yet - but he'd get there later in life) turn him into the slimy, unpleasant old police captain. We get a hint of what he once was - an intelligent spark that has been dimmed over the years, and crueled by the loss of a leg, giving him a pronounced limp via his cane (an important plot device) and prosthetic one. Charlton Heston plays Vargas as a person used to pandering to Americans to some extent through sheer force of their sense of superiority over Mexico, but also absolutely dedicated to justice no matter what. He's often apologetic (especially to his wife) but once he sniffs something wrong, like a bulldog he won't let go. Pretty weird that Heston is playing a Mexican in brownface - it's not something I'm especially fond of, and it sometimes distracts me from seeing the character clearly.

Russell Metty's cinematography is well steeped in traditional noir lighting, and as already mentioned there are long takes in this film which must have taken much rehearsing and setting up. Metty would win an Oscar only a few years later for his work on Kubrick epic Spartacus. Once again, shadow and silhouette dominate and most of the action either takes place at night or indoors. Characters rearrange themselves in scenes, but are all kept in the scene via use of a large depth of field (or deep focus) - much like what was pioneered in Welles classic Citizen Kane. This can turn into a complex but meticulously arranged dance, such as when Vargas, Quinlan and other police officers are investigating Manolo Sanchez (Victor Millan) for the double murder, all crowded into his apartment and either coming into the foreground or receding as the scene plays out - again, without frequent edits. If you rewatch the scene with the making of the film in mind, it's hard not to admire the skill needed to accomplish shots like that.

How hard it must be, to make a masterpiece and have the studio you make it for completely mess it up - meaning the accolades take decades to arrive. Far too late for this master filmmaker to make the most of them. Perfect timing for me though! My good fortune had me appreciating the movie as intended, well after the two subsequent versions came out in 1976 (the preview version) and 1998 (the reconstruction). I love the photography - the abnormal darkness that surrounds the characters indoors, and long shadows cast. I love the performance from Orson Welles - the groany, gravelly, sweaty croaking that accompanies the large, corrupt police captain Quinlan - 'a great detective and a lousy cop'. I love the long takes, and I love the exacting screenplay from the mind of the talented Welles, coming after some time in Europe, away from Hollywood. The fight between 'hard, honest work' and 'results no matter how'. The final belch from the corrupted and disgraced, results notwithstanding.

A touch of genius. A touch of interference. A touchy memo. A discovery. A re-release. A re-edit. A reappraisal. Another deposit for United States National Film Registry. An everlasting place in movie history. Touch of Evil - it's been a long road, but appreciation for it will last longer.

4.5

[GulfportDoc]

Act of Violence (1949)

This is an interesting but uncomfortable and tawdry message tale of a man with a past who is tracked down by a fellow surviving soldier who seeks vengeance against that man who had been responsible for the death of his comrades in a Nazi prison camp.

It’s noir bona fides center on a typical theme displayed in classic noir films: a man makes an unfortunate choice which ultimately leads to his destruction.

It’s a sweaty, tense, and suspenseful film that features fine performances from the entire cast: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh, Mary Astor, and Phyllis Thaxter. Astor was a standout playing a world weary prostitute who tries to save the protagonist. Ryan’s star was on the rise since his electrifying portrayal of an unhinged soldier 2 years before in Crossfire (1947). He continued with that intensity in this picture.

It’s interesting that it was both director Fred Zimmerman’s (High Noon, The Day of the Jackal) and DP Robert Surtees’ (Ben-Hur, The Sting) only forays into noir. Still they were able to exquisitely portray the innocent safeness of suburbia on one hand, but the down and out grime of skid row on the other-- both contributing to one of the best noirs of 1949.

[Thief]

Trying to get back on the saddle after two really hectic weeks. I just finished Act of Violence and will try to nab another one tomorrow.

[Siddon]

https://crackedrearviewer.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/gun2.jpg

Gun Crazy (1950)

I would attest that no greater time for American cinema is the 1950's B movies. This is an epic noir told at break neck speed. We go from an characters youth, the story of a young man who steals a gun for protection and fun. We then get the entire life fit nicely into a saga. First we get the love story...when the lead man finds a girl who loves guns the same way he does. We then move on to the life of crime the two shooters engage in. Then you get the big score, incredible chase scenes that make up the entire third act.

Now the film has flaws the characters do things that are dumb and wouldn't really happen if you were trying to get away with these sorts of crimes. But man the set pieces and tones are just incredible, This film has an epic scope...even though it's obviously California the filmmaker does a great job of making you feel like you are on this road movie. The film while it doesn't nail the narrative it does pack a wallop during character scenes.

Peggy Cummins gives a standout performance as the cynic femme fatale. She's more dangerous than the man in the story but she's also lonely and soft. It's a nice little twist on the genre. When the film ended you almost wish she had been the one who's backstory was covered. But still this is a great film...happy to revisit it.

B+

[Siddon]

Siddon's really lagging, even worse than I did in the docs HoF..

Talk to me again in 48 hours....

https://prod-images.tcm.com/v5cache/TCM/Images/Dynamic/i459/actofviolence_irememberedsomething_FC_470x264_011920180651.jpg

Act of Vengeance (1948)

I had already seen this one and had forgotten the title. Sad that it was so on the nose because this is an enjoyable little morality tale. A WWII vet has become a somewhat successful businessman, he's got a pretty young wife, respect from his neighbors and everything is looking great for him...until a man with a limp wants him dead.

The film does a very smart thing by telling the noir story in the suburbs. It's a shift in location allows for a fresher feel for an simple story. The casting is pitch perfect, your sympathies are conflicted by VanHeflin and Ryan two actors that give off very different vibes. The standout for me is Janet Leigh who plays the young wife...we see the film basically through her eyes and she grounds the plot.

Mary Astor got top billing for playing basically a side character...she chews scenary as does a corupt lawyer played by Taylor Holmes. If I have one knock on the film it's that the third act could have been shot better. The story is a really strong and has great ideas but it's come what let down by the last act that feels like it should have been blocked and shot better. It's never a good thing when the worst part of the movie is the ending. But still strong film.

B

[rauldc14]

Having trouble finding Act of Violence if anyone has it.

[Siddon]

https://criterion-production.s3.amazonaws.com/carousel-files/4aBELk3AMcHK4H6cIhcxpnXjAzwHc3gNq41OyOyr.jpg


Mildred Pierce (1945)

Watching three low budget noirs and then flipping to a big budget prestige one kinda gave me a sense of whiplash. This is the third time I've watched this film and well...it has diminishing returns. The film is fine on a technical level it's an adaptation of a novel and it feels that way. You can tell everytime a chapter breaks in the story as it chugs along with the story of a woman who is down on her luck as she rises to glory only to be struck down again.

But this film has a bunch of problems. It's very difficult to watch Joan Crawford in this role...it's like a villain pretending to be a hero by portraying them with a sense of fake kindness/dignity/etc. What makes it worse is she won the Oscar while Ann Bythe gave a tourdeforce performance as her daughter only to never get another great role like this. It's a shame and it casts a pallor on the film.

And this is kinda what makes the film so rough is that watching it during the eyes of 2023...Mildred is a fundamentally terrible person.
the whole narrative of the film is look at all these people that are terrible but Mildred is just trying her best. Crawford never gives Pierce the darkness deserving of the character. I don't want to get into spoilers but the tone of the film just left me with a bad taste in my mouth.

C+

[Thief]

Halfway through Thieves' Highway! Then it's Mildred Pierce, The Asphalt Jungle, and Gilda in a week. It's gonna be close but I might just make it :laugh:

[Citizen Rules]

Halfway through Thieves' Highway! Then it's Mildred Pierce, The Asphalt Jungle, and Gilda in a week. It's gonna be close but I might just make it :laugh:


Yikes! That's alot...

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[PHOENIX74]

https://i.postimg.cc/QCD9Ctyv/murder.jpg

Murder, My Sweet - 1944

Directed by Edward Dmytryk

Written by John Paxton
Based on the novel - "Farewell, My Lovely" by Raymond Chandler

Featuring Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Otto Kruger, Mike Mazurki
Miles Mander & Douglas Walton

Philip Marlowe may not know it, living as he does in a long ago era, but he's going to get CTE at the rate he's going. I've never seen someone get knocked out so many times, and as a bonus he has his skull nearly crushed by giant brute "Moose" (Mike Mazurki) and is drugged nearly to the point of death in Murder, My Sweet. Pretty dark - and the plot itself in relation to all of this violence and injury is no less so. This is a typically twisty, complex web of a Chandler mystery - made by a group of filmmakers graduating from B-movies, and leaving a gritty feel straight from the streets to us. Crooks, blackmailers, murderers, gangsters, quack faith healers and the like - the kind of muck Marlowe has to wade through to make his money. Dick Powell plays the famous private detective with suave charm and humour - his fresh-faced looks contrasting with his readiness with a gun. He's no Humphrey Bogart, but he acquits himself well.

Moose hired Marlowe to try and find former girlfriend Velma Valento, but before he's had much success with that, he's hired by another man, Lindsay Marriott (Douglas Walton) to be his bodyguard when he goes to pay off a couple of thieves so they return some stolen jewelry. In doing so, Marlowe gets knocked out, finds Lindsay dead, and catches a glimpse of Ann Grayle (Anne Shirley). Anne returns to his office the next day, pretending to be a reporter, but when Marlowe finds her out she takes him back to her father's place. It's his jade necklace that was stolen, and his wife, Helen (Claire Trevor) hires the detective to try and find it. In the meantime, he meets Jules Amthor (Otto Kruger) - a known associate of Helen and Lindsay, and someone the police told him to steer clear of. When Moose accosts Marlowe while out with Helen, and leads him back to Amthor's place, the plot thickens. Amthor wants Marlowe to tell him where the necklace is, and has Moose hurt him in the process. Marlowe is at a disadvantage - and nothing is making sense.

It's a complex plot. A missing necklace, strange family, shady family friend and something going on that is worth murdering for - all the while absolutely everyone in this is behaving particularly suspiciously. It always takes me a while to log a character's name in my mind - and one aspect of these mystery/detective movies which trips me up is the fact that you have to go back and scrub things that certain characters have said that turn out to be lies. There's a whole heap of lies in Murder, My Sweet - and a whole heap of pain. Marlowe is the cool one, and everyone else is pretty shady. I have to imagine that Paxton lifted a lot of dialogue straight from Chandler's novel - but it's Powell that really sells it. Mike Mazurki is a hulking brute of a giant who was once a professional wrestler - and he adds a great threatening presence to the scenes he's in. Overall it's another really satisfying Chandler mystery brought to life by Edward Dmytryk, who would go on to make films like The Young Lions, The Caine Mutiny and Broken Lance.

4

[PHOENIX74]

I know I didn't have to do Murder, My Sweet, but I need all the noiring up I can get in the next few months. (Oh - and another reason is that most people in this HoF had already reviewed it, so I felt I should too.) I gave it the quick treatment.

This has been invaluable to me, because noir is my biggest blind spot genre-wise, and I've seen so few (comparatively speaking). It's really got me liking everything about them, and I'm really glad I joined this Hall of Fame. I've got a few more I want to get under my belt - but in the meantime, thanks Citizen Rules and thanks to everyone else for nominating some great movies! I'm glad to have been introduced to all of them.

[Citizen Rules]

We have just 5 days to go before the Deadline: December 16th I'm hoping to do the reveal for the noms on December 17th, Sunday.

So far I have voting ballots from:
Me, @KeyserCorleone (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=94296) @PHOENIX74 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=112080) @GulfportDoc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=96919) @seanc (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=75240) @John W Constantine (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109412)

Still need ballots from:
@Diehl40 @edarsenal (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=50536) @rauldc14 (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=60169) @Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448) @Thief (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353)

I know ya can do it!:)
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[rauldc14]

I'm literally almost done with Mildred. Then just Act of Violence remains.

[rauldc14]

Mildred Pierce

https://littlemoviereviews.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/mildred-pierce-3-1600x900-c-default-e1562471978669.jpg?w=1080

This is a really well directed movie by Michael Curtiz and the screenplay is really solid. I'm not a huge Joan Crawford fan but she is decent here. The real star of the film is the performance of Ann Blyth as Veda. I like the style of the film, using the majority of the film as a flashback to show the viewer what happened. Overall it's a pretty good film, doesn't quite reach that top noir echelon for me but it's right there in that second tier.

4-

[Siddon]

https://knightleyemma.files.wordpress.com/2014/02/intheclub_cc.jpg

Criss Cross (1949)

Much like with Mildred Pierce the biggest problem with the film is the lead. The good news is that Lancaster doesn't allow for the same level of vanity as Crawford. He's a movie star he stands out everywhere he goes so you need to put the work in to make him feel like a down on his luck schmuck and Criss Cross just doesn't do that.

Still the film is fine, it focuses more on the build up than the actual crime which I liked. The drama elements really worked with this couple falling deeper and deeper into trouble. The set up for the third act is excellently done...the visuals are solid this isn't a cheap film. It just doesn't stand out as a classic...it was good but not great.

B

[Siddon]

https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fjw6f-tFkek/WYcePyleesI/AAAAAAAAQck/_ijF-igFBBYj7DpGf2yakjjt7gDNnlXWwCK4BGAYYCw/s1600/outofthepast02.jpg

Out of the Past (1947)

You pick up on a lot of flaws when watching a bunch of films of the same genre...well those flaws really stand out when you come across a flawless film. Robert Mitchem plays a PI drawn into this tale of finding a woman from a shady mob guy. He's sarcastic, a little dirty and smart but he doesn't play the role of a star. The star is Kirk Douglas who I don't know if he was playing against type at this point but is excellent as the charming badguy.

This film gets everything right...it's visually solid, the script is dense and sucks you in and the movie is littered with great one liners that got me to actually laugh. This feels more like a thinking man's noir and the final set piece is perfect and leaves you on the right bittersweet note. I really enjoyed this film.

A

[rauldc14]

Act of Violence

This was quite entertaining from point A to point B. The pacing of the film I thought was point on, the film never lost my interest. Fred Zinneman did a good job of directing the film. There's no standout performances but they are all very good and I thought they all blended very well together. There were a lot of cool shots used to. Overall, I had never heard of the film before but I would definitely watch it again and recommend it to others.

4-

[Thief]

Complicated days for me. Hopefully I can tackle the three I need to within the remaining four days.

[Siddon]

https://cdn.britannica.com/21/175321-050-FB855865/Marilyn-Monroe-Sterling-Hayden-The-Asphalt-Jungle.jpg
The Asphalt Jungle covers the weakest subgenres of noir...the man on the run. When you do a chase film it's often very difficult to carry that storyline for an hour. The strength of the film is that it breaks up the chase into multiple storylines. The fence, break-in guys, and the cops all expand on the story so you get four endings rather than one.


Huston does a good job expanding on the use of women in the story. It's kinda funny how all of these toughs going running to different women once the heat gets put on them and you've got a futility in that chase. My favorite scene in the film is the diner scene where the german is just watching this girl dance and is confronted by how time has past him bye.

The film is also notable for Marilyn Monroe's screen debut and she looks and plays young, almost a Judy Garland but sexy aspect to her that is especially creepy when her sugar daddy is 40 years older than her and she calls him uncle.

At the end of the day the film was fine...I think I'm going to try and do one review a day to try and figure what my list is going to end up as. The biggest problem I had with the film is that the impetus for the story is the heist and the heist was just kinda dull to me. The film is also hurt by being a lesser Huston noir it's really not as good as The Killers, Key Largo, and Maltese Falcon that Huston adapted beforehand. I believe this was his last noir until his comeback decades later.


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Murder, My Sweet(1944)


Well I liked this one better than Crossfire but I still didn't love it. I actually ended up watching it twice because the mystery was just so muddled for me. It is interesting about both of Dmytryk films cover cuckolding as a plot point...don't know what that says about the film maker.

I enjoyed the early parts of the film the set pieces early on are very good though I didn't care for the "drugged" fx they used in the mental hospital. I don't think Dmytryk shoots films in a particularly engaging fashion. Also I feel like Dick Powell was a pretty good Marlowe he kind of made the character his own or his was more distinctive compared to Bogarts.


Both of these are retreads from the last Hall and I don't see really much of a point to revisit them...but these were my reviews.

[Siddon]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iz0QfGcYwW0
https://trailersfromhell.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/4936topHigh.jpg
Theives Highway (1949)

Yes I know that's from the Godfather but I couldn't shake The Godfather and other mafia films while watching this one. This is the story of a guy that gets swept into the world of trucking and the perils that come with it. And it's well...it's a silly noir. You've got all of these rough and tough heavies and the movie is about apples...and I'm sorry it's just to hard to take seriously.

What is good and that felt like the better aspect of the film was the love triangle. Contie is a second generation American who is trying to live the dream. He's chasing this blonde in the hope of achieving his goals but he gets sucked into an affair of sorts with an older immigrant woman. That's really where the focus of the film should have been with the chracters complex feelings towards the woman who needs him and is like him versus the woman that he desires to change himself and become more respectable. that's a great setup for a quality noir....but we only got a tease of that.

C

[Diehl40]

Thieves Highway

Thieves highway is a bleak portrait of post WWII despair, capitalism that has become corrupt, and the disillusionment of a generation. Nick returns home from a stint in the military with exotic gifts for his family and fiance. Nick is kinda upbeat with what turns out to be a naive optimism about his future.

When he returns he finds his father has lost his legs in an accident that was caused by a local thug. Nick recruits a trucker who has assumed his father's route to exact revenge on this thug and to deliver some apples for some much needed cash.

By the end of the film, Nick has devolved from an optimistic vet into a battle scarred nomad hardened by life's most negative consequences. Although the movie has a lot of negative things about capitalism, it is really about revenge and betrayal.

[Diehl40]

Touch of Evil

I watched the fully restored version of the film. It would be a shame if Touch of Evil was known only for its 3+ minute tracking shot. It was Welles last film within the Hollywood system, and he sought to make the most of it. It is the story of two policemen who were fighting for control of the same case. One was the corrupt Sheriff of the small town on the Mexican border, and the other a law enforcement official from Mexico. The sheriff is prejudiced against Mexicans and seeks to frame the Mexican official and his wife for murder.
The story is good and the production sought to meet Welles exacting standards. The most recent restored version made 50 changes and added three minutes to the studio version to align itself with Welles notes after the studio release.
My biggest complaint relates to the issue of white washing the cast. I assume this was done because the studio was unaware of a Mexican actor who could lead an all star cast. I do not know what an acceptable solution to this issue would have looked like, and I'm sure this resulted in many films having white washed cast, but it still is irksome all the same.

[GulfportDoc]

Thieves’ Highway(1949)


Director Jules Dassin had a run of five films from 1947 to 1955 --Brute Force, The Naked City, Thieves’ Highway, Night and the City, and Rififi-- which are often listed as films noir, but the only one that serves as a prime example of the style is Night and the City. By then Dassin had fled to Europe where he made dramas and romantic comedies, along with another heist film, Topkapi (1964), which was inspired by his own Rififi.

Thieves’ Highway is a revenge drama with a happy ending. A G.I. returns home to discover that his father has lost his legs from an accident in his produce truck, caused by a criminal produce dealer. The G.I. eventually settles the score, and ends up with the femme fatale to boot.

Fine performances are turned in by Richard Conte, Lee J. Cobb, and Valentina Cortese. Long veteran cinematographer Norbert Brodine had previously directed the noirs Somewhere in the Night and Kiss of Death, so he was no stranger to the style. The tale’s authenticity is enhanced by much filming at the actual San Francisco produce markets of the day.

The film was based upon A.I. Bezzerides novel Thieves’ Market (1949), but when the produce dealers’ association objected because it would cast an unfavorable light on the produce industry, the title was changed to Theives’ Highway. Bezzerides produced several books or screen plays that were turned into noir movies, such as The Long Haul, which was used for They Drive by Night (1940); and On Dangerous Ground (1952). He had a penchant for social consciousness subjects, so he was a good source for Director Dassin, an admitted communist who himself fled the U.S. to avoid testifying before the House Un-American Activities Committee. The film is often included in a list of film gris, which typically feature leftist criticism of society, mostly during the years 1947 to 1951.

[Citizen Rules]

edarsenal Thief Siddon

I'm feeling generous, tis the season:p....So I'm going to extend the deadline by one week. The new deadline is Dec 23....Because the alternative isn't really festive!

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[Siddon]

https://i.pinimg.com/originals/64/79/f4/6479f415b7ef80c1920b2f2d21db0faf.gif

Gilda (1946)

The funny thing about Rita Hayworth is I believe this was her first big departure from musicals into something darker. Gilda tells the story of Johnny a gambler who gets drawn into this twisted relationship with a singer (Rita) and her eurotrash casino owner played by George McGready. McGready actually is from Rhode Island...so damn fine accent work here.

Gilda gets right what Mildred Pierce and Theives Highway got wrong. This movie is focused heavily on the gender politics of deeply flawed people. Hayworth should have 100% won the Oscar for this performance most of the noms and performances from that year were forgettable this was a classic. Hayworth gives Gilda a sarcastic biting nature that falls away to fragility. Really your empathizes are always bouncing between Johnny and Gilda.

Also really love the costuming in this film. You can tell it's elegant and colorful even in black and white. The director came from the Korda films and while the film doesn't have the same epic scale of those films it's still a great looking film.

A

[GulfportDoc]

@edarsenal (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=50536) @Thief (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=109353) @Siddon (http://www.movieforums.com/community/member.php?u=95448)

I'm feeling generous, tis the season:p....So I'm going to extend the deadline by one week. The new deadline is Dec 23....Because the alternative isn't really festive!Hey, I don't know if Siddon even needs it. He's really crankin' them out!..👍

[Citizen Rules]

Hey, I don't know if Siddon even needs it. He's really crankin' them out!..👍Siddon is on track, no worries there.