Film Noir HoF - Part 2

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SilentVamp's Avatar
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Save the Texas Prairie Chicken
07-17-16
That really is a good set, isn't it?

That isn't what this was. This was like one movie per disc. And when I look at that list, it may be "Detour" that was the film that they had.
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Trouble with a capitial 'T'
07-18-16
Kansas City Confidential (1952)

Did you guys see the same movie I did? I thought this was a cool story that instantly drew me in and kept me involved. I really liked all five of the main actors and they did an excellent job. All the three bad guys were really bad and each had his own quirk. I thought John Payne made a good regular Joe, who's forced to take on some tough thugs to clear his name. I liked Preston Foster, he seemed genuine as both the big man and as a father. And of course I liked Colleen Grey!

I liked how the film took us to four different 'worlds'. Each was interesting to see: I liked the crime set up and the actual job part. I liked even more the time in the police station when they rough up poor John Payne. But I really liked the time in Mexico, both when he's on the tail of Jack Elam (who was great in this) and finally when they all meet up in a sleepy Mexican fishing village. I like the ending too and how the story wrapped up. I though Kansas City Confidential was gritty and gripping with a lot of interesting scenes and characters.


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Trying Real Hard To Be The Shepherd
07-18-16
Kiss Me Deadly: Wasn't too fond of this one. I honestly didn't find it that well made and kept me from caring about the mystery. The dialogue was pretty bad and the ADR didn't help that. The humor that was injected felt very dated. On the plus side, the protagonist was by far the best character and he is who we spend the most time with. Plus there has never been a McGuffin payoff like this one.
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Trouble with a capitial 'T'
07-18-16
I've seen Kiss Me Deadly a couple of times. I love that one just for it's fun take on the cold war. Nothing is better than when the blonde opens up the mysterious box.



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07-20-16

I Confess (Hitchcock, 1953)

I was happy to see this one nominated as it's the only nomination I hadn't seen before* Which brings my total Hitchcock film's watched to 26....I enjoyed I Confess, I wouldn't rate it as one of Hitch's best films, nor did it seem like a noir. I wasn't that engaged in the story, it never felt tense and it never felt like the priest was in any real danger. It still could have worked if we got some deep insight into the inner workings of a priest's life or a detailed police investigation. Both were only lightly touched upon.

I would have liked to seen the identity of the murderer kept a secret until the end. That way we could have had some twist and turns. Montgomery Clift was amazing in: Judgment at Nuremberg, The Misfits and A Place in the Sun...but here he's miscast and seemed to be off in his own world and not 'in the movie'. He lacked emotions and I didn't buy that he was a priest being invested for murder, while burdened with the knowledge that he knows who the murderer is, but can't tell the police as it would violate the Catholic confessional.

I liked the actor who played the murderer, I thought he was perfectly cast and creepy in a real way. I didn't care for how it ended.


*1)...I had said Kansas City Confidential was another nomination that I hadn't seen, but I remembered it when I started actually watching it.



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07-20-16
Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

I Confess (Hitchcock, 1953)

I was happy to see this one nominated as it's the only nomination I hadn't seen before* Which brings my total Hitchcock film's watched to 26....I enjoyed I Confess, I wouldn't rate it as one of Hitch's best films, nor did it seem like a noir. I wasn't that engaged in the story, it never felt tense and it never felt like the priest was in any real danger. It still could have worked if we got some deep insight into the inner workings of a priest's life or a detailed police investigation. Both were only lightly touched upon.

I would have liked to seen the identity of the murderer kept a secret until the end. That way we could have had some twist and turns. Montgomery Clift was amazing in: Judgment at Nuremberg, The Misfits and A Place in the Sun...but here he's miscast and seemed to be off in his own world and not 'in the movie'. He lacked emotions and I didn't buy that he was a priest being invested for murder, while burdened with the knowledge that he knows who the murderer is, but can't tell the police as it would violate the Catholic confessional.

I liked the actor who played the murderer, I thought he was perfectly cast and creepy in a real way. I didn't care for how it ended.


*1)...I had said Kansas City Confidential was another nomination that I hadn't seen, but I remembered it when I started actually watching it.

I had the same issue with I Confess. I never felt that the priest was in any danger of being convicted. The movie should have had much more tension, but it just didn't seem to work for me.
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Trouble with a capitial 'T'
07-20-16
Originally Posted by gbgoodies
I had the same issue with I Confess. I never felt that the priest was in any danger of being convicted. The movie should have had much more tension, but it just didn't seem to work for me.
*Spoilers... I Confess*....sometimes I try to guess the outcome of the movie at it's start. So I did that with I Confess. Within about 5 minutes or so I thought the murderer Otto, would end up fearing that the priest would talk to the police, so would then hunt the priest trying to kill him for the rest of the film. Which would have made tension as the priest had to evade the killer, but couldn't go to the cops for help. In the end I thought the murder's wife would end up killing her own husband to save the priest. (That would have been a pretty cool take on the story.)



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I'd give her a HA! and a HI-YA! Then I'd kick her.
07-20-16
Originally Posted by Citizen Rules
*Spoilers... I Confess*....sometimes I try to guess the outcome of the movie at it's start. So I did that with I Confess. Within about 5 minutes or so I thought the murderer Otto, would end up fearing that the priest would talk to the police, so would then hunt the priest trying to kill him for the rest of the film. Which would have made tension as the priest had to evade the killer, but couldn't go to the cops for help. In the end I thought the murder's wife would end up killing her own husband to save the priest. (That would have been a pretty cool take on the story.)

Yeah, I thought of different scenarios for the ending too, and none were the one that was in the movie. As I said in my write up, I was a bit surprised at the ending. Even though I'd seen the movie before, I still half expected it to end differently.
WARNING: "SPOILERS ABOUT THE ENDING!!!" spoilers below
I still kind of expected Father Logan to be the one shot after the verdict, even though I knew from previous viewings that that wasn't going to happen.



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I'd give her a HA! and a HI-YA! Then I'd kick her.
07-20-16
Originally Posted by Citizen Rules
What did you think of Montgomery Clift as Father Logan? Did you like Anne Baxter?

I liked Anne Baxter, but I thought Montgomery Clift was kind of wooden as Father Logan. I expected better from him.



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Trouble with a capitial 'T'
07-20-16
I was kinda of neutral on Anne Baxter, thought I didn't like her as a blonde. I think Montgomery Clift is good at playing the brooding, troubled yet quiet loner type like in The Misfits, A Place in the Sun, or Judgement at Nuremberg. I even liked him when I watched Red River for the Western Hof, he seemed more relaxed in that movie. But here, like you say he's a bit wooden.



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I'd give her a HA! and a HI-YA! Then I'd kick her.
07-20-16
Originally Posted by Citizen Rules
I was kinda of neutral on Anne Baxter, thought I didn't like her as a blonde. I think Montgomery Clift is good at playing the brooding, troubled yet quiet loner type like in The Misfits, A Place in the Sun, or Judgement at Nuremberg. I even liked him when I watched Red River for the Western Hof, he seemed more relaxed in that movie. But here, like you say he's a bit wooden.

I liked Montgomery Clift in A Place in the Sun and Judgement at Nuremberg, but I haven't seen The Misfits or Red River.



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Trouble with a capitial 'T'
07-20-16
Me too, except not thrilled with him in I Confess. I was just going to type 'I'll be interested in hearing your thoughts on I Confess.'....Then I remembered you didn't join. Well maybe you'll watch it for the 50s countdown.

I need to watch From Here to Eternity again too. I can verily remember it.



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I have to return some videotapes...
07-21-16
Spellbound (1945)
Dir. by Alfred Hitchcock



Spellbound stars Ingrid Bergman a psycho analyst who after being met with her new boss an esteemed writer of the human psyche, played by Gregory Peck, she realizes he is not exactly what he seems. To start off with performances, everybody in the film does a solid job at bringing to life these characters. I wasn't completely in love with Peck's character as I feel that he handled some of the "breakdowns" in an unrealistic fashion, but he still brings an enjoyable presence on screen. Bergman is good at playing anything but the writing of her character doesn't really match the persona very well, but I will go into that later.

This film is directed by Alfred Hitchcock who once again leaves an impression on viewers with his distinct vision of masterful suspense. I think he handles the dream sequences very well in the film and he capitalizes on the tension in the script. The problem is the script has a multitude of problems, at least story wise, as the dialogue flows very well. Once again in this film their is a love story that is rushed and is not really believable due to her falling for

WARNING: "minor" spoilers below
a man who is trapped inside a different persona, even though she herself is a doctor who was probably taught in her school to not get attached to patients. She finds herself to be infatuated with him and it's just once again not really believable.

I also think some of the conclusions they come to in the film aren't really justified, especially the ones they figure out through the dream sequences. I hate to say it since the film's got so much going for it, but I just don't buy it.

The thing that does save this film for me is the suspense, there is no denying the atmosphere and tension that Hitchcock is so well known for. This film will keep you guessing until the end and it also doesn't hurt that this film is beautifully shot. Spellbound is a good thriller, but it's too bogged down in story devices that just don't flow for me to give it any higher of a score, but it's still a tension filled thriller that keeps the audience guessing.

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I have to return some videotapes...
07-21-16
The Killers (1946)
Dir. by Robert Siodmak


The Killers follows a insurance investigator played by Edmond O'Brien who is following a case about a mysterious death of a young man played by Burt Lancaster who may have been involved in a heist in his past. I'm just gonna start this by saying I really enjoyed this film, out of all of the ones I have seen thus far it's probably the stand out. The story is brilliantly interwoven with flashbacks of all of the stories that O'Brien uncovers following all of the odd people who have passed through Lancaster's life. The best part about the script is that some of these stories told about Lancaster aren't in order so you will have further knowledge that just adds to the tension to the scenes that are uncovered prior in the chronological order of this mans story. It has very great performances from all of the cast. It's hard to review a film when you really have nothing but good to say.

This film has a really fluid direction and it's shot and edited so well, from a technical side this film is nearly flawless. The director really captured the seedy life this man lived and the dingy areas in which this crooked group he associated himself with dwelled. It's such a memorable story from top to almost bottom. The beginning of the film starts out with something you wouldn't expect and puts a twist on everything thats going on. They also captured so well with the performance and the direction of how O'Brien is getting deeper and deeper into something he wasn't expecting when taking this small case. The humor between O'Brien and his boss as they go back and forth about whether he should stay on this case has on point delivery, the director really had to work in different and contrasting atmospheres in this film and all scenes fit for a reason, which is something you can't say about most films.

The few problems I have are that the ending wasn't really the wrap up I was hoping for, it kind of ended abruptly. I also didn't feel like the detective ever had a problem figuring out the case, even though it is extremely intricate, felt a little too laid out. These are very minor gripes for such a great film that falls into a lot of different genres. This whole crew really stepped up to the plate and everyone delivered, thus giving us a really remarkable film. The Killers is a must watch for any true film noir or frankly cinema fan out there, from the brilliant performances to the pitch perfect direction this film is an incredible ride.

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