Film Noir HoF IV

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.

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.

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 (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.

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.

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Letterboxd

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:

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.

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.

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!!

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

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.

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.

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

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 @rauldc14 @Siddon ..No need to watch it now.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.