Film Noir HoF - Part 2

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

Originally Posted by SilentVamp

I can't really comment on "Kansas City Confidential" just yet (and it is my nomination

). I haven't seen it in years. I remember liking it, but I actually had another film in my mind that starred John Payne, and was directed by Phil Karlson, to nominate called "99 River Street", but that isn't available anywhere (at least from doing my "research" to make sure it was available - except for Amazon, but that isn't a guarantee that everyone will be able to watch it, of course - I wouldn't have been able to!). I just happened to watch that one not that long ago, but I had to go with this one instead.

I also nominated this film because it is a typical film noir. It may not be a so-called classic, and it may not be a well-known film, but that made me want to nominate it even more.

Anyway, I will finally start this one this weekend. I will be watching "The Killers" and "Kiss Me Deadly". Along with KCC, these are two more that I have not seen in years. So I am looking forward to watching them again.

I'm glad that you nominated Kansas City Confidential because I've heard that it's a good noir, so it's been on my watchlist for a while, so your nom made me bump it to the top of my list.

I actually prefer when people nominate lesser known movies because while it's nice to go back and rewatch old favorites, it's more fun to watch a bunch of movies that I've never seen before. Even if the movies aren't as good as the classics, like The Maltese Falcon, Spellbound, etc., IMO, it makes for a better HoF to watch movies that are new watches for me.

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gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

I watched I Confess, (a rewatch for me), and while I think it's a good movie, I don't think it's one of Hitchcock's best movies. It doesn't have the same feeling of suspense that most of his other movies have. Even though the priest was under suspicion for the murder, I never really got the feeling that he would be convicted of it, so it didn't have a very tense feeling of danger that I'm used to feeling in a Hitchcock movie.

Having said that, I was a bit surprised at the ending. Even though I'd seen the movie before, I still half expected it to end differently.

View Spoilers

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.

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

For those of you who get Turner Classic Movies, two of these movies will air on TCM early next week:

Touch of Evil (1958) Monday July 18th @ 9:45 PM EASTERN TIME

The Night of the Hunter (1955) Tuesday July 19th @ 1:30 AM EASTERN TIME

As always, CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

Also, Scarlet Street (1945) will air on TCM on August 1st @ 8:00 PM EASTERN TIME.

As always, CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

Also, I Confess (1953) is scheduled to air on TCM on August 16th @ 1:00 PM EASTERN TIME.

As always, CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

Also, The Maltese Falcon (1941) is scheduled to air on TCM on August 21st @ 2:00 AM EASTERN TIME.

As always, CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

Also, The Big Sleep (1946) is scheduled to air on TCM on September 16th @ 2:00 PM EASTERN TIME.

As always, CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!

gbgoodies

You can't make a rainbow without a little rain.

07-16-16

Also, A Face in the Crowd (1957) is scheduled to air on TCM on September 24th @ 4:00 PM EASTERN TIME.

As always, CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS FOR THE CORRECT TIME IN YOUR TIME ZONE!

rauldc14

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

07-16-16

The Killers

I would like to welcome a new film to my top 100, The Killers. One of the best noir films I have seen easily. What makes it so good for me is the intensity of some of these scenes. The characters in this film are all acted out as good as they can possibly be. In particular, Lancaster and Gardner were perfect for the roles that they played. The flashback scenes worked perfectly for this film. It was great to see all the pieces fall into place as to why certain things went down a certain way. The film was shot splendidly and the musical score was fitting for each scene that it was paired with. A movie is as good as it's ending, and this one was terrific. I can't really think of anything negative to say because I honestly thought it was pretty close to perfect.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-16-16

Cool, I'm glad you like The Killers, that's always been a favorite of mine. I especially like the way they show the hit-man firing their guns by flashing bright lights. It's efficient.

Pelicula Pelican

The Good The Bad and the Interesting

07-16-16

I've decided to watch the nominated films in reverse order, seeing that the top one is the film I nominated and the only one I have actually seen, so tonight I will be starting with the 1958 film, Touch of Evil

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-16-16

Originally Posted by Pelicula Pelican

I've decided to watch the nominated films in reverse order...

Totally cool

I won't be able to watch all of them in order, as I'm waiting to get a few films into the library. So whatever order anybody wants is peachy

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-17-16

I love that look she gives him!

Scarlet Street (Fritz Lang, 1945)

At the heart of this film is this idea: 'everyone screws someone else over, and pays for it in the end.'

What a great cast: Edward G. Robinson (Chris Cross), plays a vastly different role than the one that made him a famous tough guy in Little Caesar (1931). He fits perfectly as the meek, hen pecked little man, who's brow beat by his wife and dreams of being a painter. I really felt bad for him, especially when his wife threatened to throw away his paintings. Those paintings play a much bigger part than might first meet the eye.

Dan Duryea (Johnny) made a successful career out of playing slimy, tauntingly snotty, bad guys. He became the guy everyone loved to hate. He's great here as a sociopathic hustler and two-bit con man, who likes to slap his girlfriend around.

Joan Bennett (Kitty, 'lazy legs') likes to get slapped around. It's bizarre how her and Johnny go together like a black & blue bruise. I thought Joan Bennett was a stand out in this. She's a knock out for sure but she has a certain careless, self-destructive attitude that just works for the film.

I loved the way Fritz Lang defines the characters by their actions. Lazy legs, is too lazy to work so she has to engage in questionable actives by using men. We see her laziness in the record that plays over and over, and in the way she throws her cigarette into a pile of dishes, and when she gets a stick of gum she careless dumps the wrapper on the floor.

Mostly I love the story itself, it's genius. Everyone screws everyone else over....and in the end they all pay for it. Many Noirs have one main theme but Scarlet Street has multiple themes:

The missing husband detective and Chris... and the way each tried to con the other. Johnny's ultimate fate, which I found actually sad, despite all of his negative qualities. The way Chris finally ends up is fitting as it fits the way he lived his life. And the whole commentary on art and hype and value and how the truth of it was skewed, that was clever. It had been 10 years since I seen this one and I still loved it.

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Last edited by Citizen Rules; 07-17-16 at 03:09 PM.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-17-16

I updated the 1st post of members review links and added 3 links from GBgoodies.

She's not an official member so no nomination from her, she won't be voting.

But she's watching some of the films and posting her write-ups/reviews, so if you want to read them just use the links on the 1st page.

Which saves you from scanning through all the pages if you want to see what others have said about a movie you just watched.

cricket

Msg

Registered User

07-17-16

What I'm reading makes me very interested in seeing Scarlet Street.

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-17-16

If you guys like Scarlet Street at all, then you might watch Woman In the Window also by Fritz Lang with the same three cast members (Edward G. Robinson Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea). It was made a year earlier and has a very similar story and yet quite different too. It works more as a thriller-mystery in a Hitchcockian style (is that even a word?)

SilentVamp

Msg

Save the Texas Prairie Chicken

07-17-16

Speaking of "Scarlet Street".....

When I went to the library the other day to look for a couple of these I thought I would have another one to watch this weekend. For whatever reason, at this library, they have their older movies separated from other films. It makes no sense to me, and it just makes it even harder to look for something that you want. Anyway, I was flipping through all of them when I came across a case that said "5 Film Noirs in One Set". And one of the movies was "Scarlet Street". I was very happy about that because then that would've been another one off the list. So, I opened the case up and you know what? There was NO "Scarlet Street". It was Disc 3 (I don't even remember the name of the movie) and that was it in that case! Why even use that cover if it isn't going to include all of the movies???

Someday that library is going to make me lose my mind with the nonsensical things that they do.

__________________
I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity - Edgar Allan Poe

Citizen Rules

Noir Time

07-17-16

I was flipping through all of them when I came across a case that said "5 Film Noirs in One Set". And one of the movies was "Scarlet Street". I was very happy about that because then that would've been another one off the list. So, I opened the case up and you know what? There was NO "Scarlet Street". It was Disc 3

That's a bummer.... My library has the same 5 Film Noirs in One Set, I was on the waiting list but gave up and got it off the internet, as it's even on Youtube.

SilentVamp

Msg

Save the Texas Prairie Chicken

07-17-16

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

That's a bummer.... My library has the same 5 Film Noirs in One Set, I was on the waiting list but gave up and got it off the internet, as it's even on Youtube.

Then you know exactly which one I am talking about!

Isn't that crazy that they did that, though? It makes me wonder where the other 4 movies are!

Citizen Rules