Noirvember 2021

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Here is an interview with Guillermo del Toro about the Noir inspirations and touchpoints for his remake of Nightmare Alley.



His choices:
Fallen Angel (1945)
Niagra (1953)
Underworld, U.S.A. (1961)
The Killing (1956)
Detour (1945)
Too Late for Tears (1949)
Born to Kill (1947)
The Lineup (1958)
The Breaking Point (1950)
Nightfall (1956)
__________________
"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra







Party Girl (1958)

For the last day of Noirvember I watched Party Girl directed by Gloria Grahame's ex evil husband, but a fine director, Nicholas Ray. I read that Ray was so screwed up on booze and drugs that he had to sign a secret contract that he'd stay off the stuff during filming of this movie. Apparently he kept his nose clean because the movie turned out fine.

Party Girl is a period piece set in prohibition era early 1930s. Cyd Charisse is a showgirl working at a mob run club. Robert Taylor is the mouthpiece lawyer for the mob..and the local mob boss is Lee J. Cobb.

It's nicely shot by Nicholas Ray who has an eye for camera work. The story is the clash between the lawyer who's starting to regret being the mouthpiece for the mob and wants to break free. There's both drama, gangland shootings, a rather shocking suicide and two spectacular dance numbers in the club.

I enjoyed it.
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Goodbye, Noirvember! Hope everyone that partook enjoyed their time in the shadows and cigarette smoke. If you need to ween yourself off, here are a few Christmas themed noir/noir adjacent flicks to check out:

LA Confidential
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
The Nice Guys
The Long Kiss Goodnight
Batman Returns
The Thin Man