With two appearances so far on the countdown: Lizabeth Scott, Elisha Cook Jr. and John Garfield. Read a few articles about Garfield's personal life story, which is quite a Noir story of its own, interesting read.
@John-Connor, did you know that woman flagging down the car in the road is none other than Cloris Leachman? This was her first full-fledged movie role in Kiss Me, Deadly. She had been in only one film in an uncredited role, according to IMDB. I'd looked up her credits and after that first bit part, it was nothing but television until the above-mentioned movie. When I first saw that film years and years ago, I was told it was her first film back then and I couldn't believe it was her, she looked so different, even from her The Last Picture Show looks, and that was just 16-years-later. Anyway, just rambling on about trivia in these film but I just get jazzed more and more about all the details in addition to the films.
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Back to the regulation "never heard of those two" daily post.
Seen three out of twenty so far, but I wasn't expecting any at all (I think each time I was surprised that the film revealed was considered film noir) so that's okay.
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I am crazy for Lizabeth Scott and Too Late for Tears is my favorite among favorites. For most of the Noirs she was in she was a conflicted character or an innocent mixed up with the wrong crowd. Here she is a full on Femme Fatale. As the story begins she is a seemingly normal housewife who has plenty but longs for much more in the way of material goods and status, though the straight arrow she is married to (Arthur Kennedy) can never do enough to please her needs. Driving home together from a party one night a giant bag of money almost literally lands in their laps. This is everything she has dreamed of, and though he wants to go immediately to the police, she convinces him to hold onto it, checking the suitcase at Union Station util they can figure out what is going on.
Of course a bag full of cash always comes with bad people looking for it. The first to show up is good ol’ Dan Duryea, at first claiming to be an insurance investigator (not a profession that turns up a lot…except in Film Noir!). She doesn’t buy his story but understands whoever he is, the money belongs to him. Instead of recoiling in fear or threatening to go to the police, she offers to split the loot. But her husband still wants to turn it in and that means his days are numbered.
This all unleashes something in Scott’s character, but not desperation it is a steely cold resolution to get exactly what she wants. She is the smartest criminal of the bunch, always at least half a step ahead of everybody else…you know, until the end. This role was against type for her and she nailed it. Apparently she didn’t like playing it that much and never did another full on Femme Fatale, but we’ll always have Too Late for Tears, Dollface! It was my third pick, twenty-three points, the bulk of its thirty-seven points. I am a little surprised but not shocked to find only two other MoFos voted for it. Hopefully its placement on the list raises its profile at least here on the Forums and the next time the topic comes up it ascends to where it should be.
HOLDEN'S BALLOT 3. Too Late for Tears (#81) 14. Born to Kill (#84) 18. He Walked By Night (#88) 22. Panic in the Streets (#98) 25. The Crimson Kimono (DNP)
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#3 on Holden's list eh? All right I'm convinced. Added to the watch list.
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With two appearances so far on the countdown: Lizabeth Scott, Elisha Cook Jr. and John Garfield. Read a few articles about Garfield's personal life story, which is quite a Noir story of its own, interesting read.
Three more for ya. The stars will be evident, but the same rogues' gallery of character actors show up in Noir again and again. William Conrad (Sorry, Wrong Number and Body & Soul), Walter Burke (Mystery Street and All the King's Men), and Raymond Greenleaf (All the King's Men and Angel Face) all also have a pair of films in the first twenty reveals.
I watched The Amazing Mr. X today. I thought it was just okay. Performances are fine. I didn't think it was as entertaining or as engaging as it could have been though. So I'm now at 20/20 seen.
I think Fallen Angel was the first Noir I watched for the list compilation. I really liked it and thought it might get on there towards the tail end of my list, but I ended up watching a handful of great ones and it missed out. My kind of Noir though.
I watched Mr. Aradkin /Confidential Report a few years ago now. I enjoyed it but don’t remember a whole lot. I definitely don’t remember thinking Noir though, and never considered it.
Otto Preminger made some great classic film noirs and this is one of them. It didn't make my lists - that was another ottonoir - but it could have. As for Mr Arkadin I recall not caring too much for it but I can't remember why. I'm a fan of everything else Orson Welles so it doesn't really make sense - maybe a prime candidate for a rewatch
With Fallen Angel at #80, Otto Preminger joins Robert Wise and Robert Rossen as the only three directors so far to have multiple entries on the list. He also had Angel Face (cute name connection also), Wise had I Want to Live (#90) and Born to Kill (#84), while Rossen had Body and Soul (#94) and All the King's Men (#83) (...and The Hustler in the Neo-noir countdown) so far.
Fallen Angel is another from my ballot. No, it isn’t as perfect nor nearly as influential as Otto Preminger and Dana Andrews’ initial Noir pairing Laura (1944), but this piece deserves plenty of love, too. It opens with Andrews’ drifter getting kicked off the Greyhound in the middle of the night because he doesn’t have enough money to reach San Francisco. Instead he’s trapped in Walton, a small seaside town too far from Frisco or L.A. to be much of anywhere. Mostly to have a bed to sleep in he bluffs his way into the company of a traveling fortune teller (John Carradine) who is arranging a séance for the recently deceased town mayor. From there we meet the two fetching women in town (there are at least always two), Alice Faye and Linda Darnell, plus a former big city cop (Charles Bickford).
The good girl is attracted enough to our charming drifter to marry him, but he doesn’t seem to want to give up on the other girl on the side. He’s only interested in the money, and you know down that path darkness lies. Andrews is perfect as the wandering cad, even through he reportedly balked at the part. Back in the Studio days not many stars had the power to decline assignments, and Dana Andrews was in no position to say no. Whether he fully believed in it or not, he plays the unscrupulous conman to the hilt. The web of lies and deceit is spun well, building to a suspenseful showdown between Andrews and Bickford and finally a bit of peace for the drifter.
It was nineteenth on my ballot, seven points.
HOLDEN'S BALLOT 3. Too Late for Tears (#81) 14. Born to Kill (#84) 18. He Walked By Night (#88) 19. Fallen Angel (#80) 22. Panic in the Streets (#98) 25. The Crimson Kimono (DNP)
I watchedConfidential Report aka Mr. Aradkin, last night. I read that that once again Orson Welles had lost editing control of his film and that there's up to 9 different cuts/version of that film. The Criterion release is considered to be closest to what Orson originally wanted but still is only based on some old notes by Welles.
What I watched wasn't the Criterion collection and many of the scenes seemed abbreviated with jarring edits. I can't believe the great Orson Welles who once said a film is made in the editing room actually intended his film to be edited that way...but who knows? As it was I didn't care for the movie, it seemed unfinished like it was composed of 3 hours of film stock edited down to 90 minutes. Of all the many noirs I've watched it was my least favorite.
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