Noirvember 2023 - Rate the last noir you watched

I need to rewatch Lost Weekend at some point. I had the total opposite reaction as you my first time. It felt very inauthentic to me. I know I am well in the minority in that opinion though, so I will definitely give it another go at some point.

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Letterboxd

I could see people having both reactions to it's authenticity. I think it depends on what aspect of the portrayal of alcoholism we focus on. There were things & scenes that seemed like Hollywood's version of a drunk. But then again alot of the behavior patterns I seen really reminded me of someone I knew who was a lifelong alcoholic. But then again I knew someone else who also was an alcoholic and he was nothing like Ray Milland's character. By far my favorite performance was the sadonic male nurse in the hospital's DT ward, played by Frank Faylen.

Good film. I think it's interesting that Wilder wrote this picture after previously working with Raymond Chandler on Double Indemnity. Chandler had been on the wagon, but started drinking again while working with Wilder. Wilder claimed that part of the reason he wrote The Lost Weekend was in order to explain Chandler to himself. I don't think it worked...

I had read about Chandler driving Wilder crazy during the script writing of Double Indemnity back when I watched that movie for the HoF. In a way The Lost Weekend is Wilder showing his frustrations over someone who can't be helped....but lies and manipulates at every step. In the movie, IMO, Milland's character couldn't be helped, he would've died like so many movie stars did of acute alcoholism. Seems like every other old noir I watch I read about the stars and they destroyed themselves with alcohol. Of course alcoholics come in all different types. I am interested in hearing why you didn't think it worked? I'm no expert on alcoholics btw!

What I meant was that Chandler went right back to drinking, then he moved to England.

Ah, I see, thanks Doc. I got another noir to write up, stay tuned

Just watch this thanks to @dadgumblah recommendation. How can you go wrong with pairing Burt Lancaster with Kirk Douglas and Lizabeth Scott. I liked how the story focused on the feeling of a friendship betrayal with Kirk Douglas as the owner of a posh nightclub who has 'forgotten' his 50/50 split promise with his partner Burt Lancaster who has spent the last 14 years in jail on a murder rap.

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The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)




This is my first time seeing "Martha Ivers," a film I've heard about since childhood from my Dad, who was apparently hugely enamored of it as much as he mentioned it to me throughout my life. And the fact that I thought my Mom looked quite a bit like star Barbara Stanwyck might be a clue. Hmm. But he never said. Anyway, personal thoughts aside, I wish I'd gotten to this one sooner as it's a total winner in the Noir department. We start with three young pre-teens, two of them, Martha and Sam, trying to run away from Iverstown. Martha is caught and sent back to her Aunt (the great Judith Anderson, in a small role). A young boy, Walter, and his father, who works for the Aunt are there, and before the night is over, tragedy will strike. Sam awaits Martha at the trainyards to run away again, but she never shows.

We then see a grown Sam (now played by Van Heflin) driving along, not realizing that he is near to Iverstown, the home of his youth. Distracted by the town sign, he plows into a pole, damaging the front of his car. He takes it into town for repairs and goes for a walk around the old haunts. He meets an alluring young woman coming out of a bed-and-breakfast that used to be his home. The woman, Toni (the beautiful Lizabeth Scott), is vague about where she's heading, as is Sam, but they meet nicely, share a cigarette and soon part ways, each impressed by the other. It takes some time before we get to Martha (Stanwyck) and her now-husband, Walter (Kirk Douglas in his first film and doing a fine job). Martha now owns most of the town, and Walter is the local DA, although weak-willed and a man who loves his drink. When Sam meets them again, things appear chummy on the surface but we know it's not so. Walter starts using his DA job to snoop and interfere in Sam's life and Martha throws her power around to manipulate everyone to her advantage. It will take a strong-willed Sam to stand up to them. But how will this affect their one-time friendship, or was it ever a real friendship? And how will Toni fare, caught in the middle of this trio?

Directed by Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front), this is a fine mystery-thriller, with things always just bubbling under the surface, with actions from one character or another causing those things to boil over, even if only for a bit, till they go back under and wait for the next eruption. Such as the build-up to Sam being set upon by a group of thugs, set up by someone he didn't expect. And then his waiting until he pays back a few of them or those responsible. Just an example of some of the great tension and goings-on that are a result of a man simply entering back into his old home-town. The resolution is one I wasn't sure was coming. I thought one end, sure, but this had several twists that left me more than satisfied that what I was seeing was film greatness. Douglas is fine in his first role. It's hard to believe he hadn't been on film before this, so good is he. Stanwyck is her usual lovely, but strong-willed self, a role she would play a variation on throughout her career, to great effect. But the surprise for me here is Helflin. I have only seen him in a handful of films, the main one being Shane (1953), where he played a kind but strong homesteader. But still, I thought of him, partly based on that performance, as a man who would play good-natured guys all the time. Not so, if this film is any indication. When he first appeared onscreen, I thought I was seeing Arthur Kennedy, from his mannerisms and personality. But no, it's our man Heflin and he was badass all the way through. I need to see more of this type of acting from him. And lest I forget, Lizabeth Scott...what can I say? I fall for her everytime I see her in a film. And I've seen four or five of her films in the last couple of weeks and she's awesome everytime. With those lovely eyes and that low, husky voice, it's impossible not to love her. This is top-tier Film Noir and much recommended.

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

@dadgumblah Glad to hear you thought so highly of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. It's one of my all time favorite noirs. I wrote this about it The Strange Love of Martha Ivers(1946)

The Hitch-Hiker (1953)



Finally catching up with this one after having it on my list for a good while. Ida Lupino directed this taut noir and did a great job, filling it with tension from frame one till the very end. It concerns two friends, Roy Collins (Edmond O'Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Frank Lovejoy), who are driving in Arizona on a fishing trip and decide to take a detour to Mexico to visit some old "haunts" ala nightclubs. But that detour is a mistake as they find out when they pick up the titular hiker, Emmett Myers (William Talman), whom we've seen in the first few minutes of the film is a killer, bumming rides from friendly drivers and then when he's through with them, shoots them in cold blood and takes what he wants. The tension at the beginning is built as Lupino smartly chooses not to show Myers' face, only his feet and legs, then his back as he climbs in the car. Only when he gets in with our two leading men do we see the killer with the lazy right eye. From that moment on, he's in charge of the car, and the movie.

Talman, for me, rules the movie as the killer with no remorse who guns down anybody that doesn't comply with him, be it man, woman, or innocent dog. O'Brien is his usual great self as he plays the friend who is slowly losing his cool and temper. Lovejoy is fine as his buddy who is more of a voice of reason and who has more to lose, with a wife and kid waiting for him back home. Most of the film takes place in the interior of the car, making the viewer feel trapped and hemmed in with the hostages. But there are plenty of fine scenes of the desert that the men drive through, with towering rocks and hills looming above them. A few scenes find them outside the car, camping for instance, but with the evil hitch-hiker near to them just as he is in the car. There are breaks away from the men as we see an American detective advising the Mexican police on which paths the killer is likely to take the men, with the police south of the border keeping tabs without tipping off the killer. So there's some relief in knowing that the Mexican police are not far behind.

At just about an hour long, the film seems a bit longer, with the tension helping in spades. The black-and-white cinematography is great, giving the film a truly noir feel, even in the daytime scenes. This is a winning film and compelling all the way.

I'd been meaning to watch this for years but ended up never see it until it made the noir countdown. I've seen other Fritz noirs and really liked them and I liked Ministry Of Fear too, but for a different reason...To me this was a fun, lighter noir where I never felt much was at stake but still enjoyed watching it.

The threat of a secret Nazi organization working secretly in England under everyone's noses and posing as law abiding British citizens, seemed a bit too much....and that's what the movie is about. I do understand that during WWII in England their might have been a real suspicion that the old lady with a smile is actually working for the Nazi's and stealing state secrets. Anyway Ray Milland is perfect for this film and he gives just enough of his own style to keep this film lighter. Indeed the ending is about as light as you can get, but I didn't mind it.

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The Racket (1951)



I've heard that this was a very good film noir and upon seeing it I'd say it's a terrific film noir! In a city full of corruption, Police Captain Thomas McQuigg (Robert Mitchum) has been transferred from precinct to precinct, due to gangster Nick Scanlon (Robert Ryan) pulling strings to have him moved around everytime Scanlon wants to set up an operation. He knows that McQuigg is a straight-arrow, honest cop and wants him out of the way. McQuigg is moved to his newest precinct and swears he's going to clean things up and will not be moved again, at least until he gets to do his job. Honest patrol cop Bob Johnson (William Talman) makes a connection with a man in a car he stops to a thug in the police files who is wanted for murder, and is commended by McQuigg. In fact, McQuigg trusts Johnson as one of the few honest cops he can count on and pulls him off patrol to detective duty to help him with Scanlon and his cronies.

The movie is filled with people McQuigg has to deal with that he knows are crooked but are useful tools in helping him. Among them are D.A. Welsh (Ray Collins) and Detective Sgt. Turk (William Conrad), who do what McQuigg asks but are seen with not-so-reputable types who work for "The Old Man," a mysterious figure who runs the criminal element but whom we never see. The Old Man has a second-in-command, Connolly (Don Porter) who tries to impress upon Scanlon that his violent ways are old-hat and the Old Man wants to handle things with more subtlety. Scanlon rages against this and if anything gets more violent. It boils down basically to McQuigg against Scanlon, with McQuigg's intelligence proving to be the downfall of Scanlon. Mitchum is super as McQuigg, super-cool and stylish, not taking any bait or graft, just doing his job. Ryan is also great, playing the bad guy the way that only Ryan can, his seemingly normal face crumbling into twisted anger within seconds. This is my second William Talman film in as many days. I didn't even know he was in this film until I started watching and saw his name in the credits. He is straight-laced but eager to do good and even sets himself up in the paper so the bad the bad guys will know how he was responsible for bringing down one of their own. It was nice to compare his performances, going from psycho in the first film to a truly good guy unafraid of the bad guys in the second.

LIzabeth Scott is also in this as a lounge singer who is engaged to Ryan's brother, which Ryan opposes. She's not afraid of Ryan either and puts herself in danger also. This is not her best performance for me, but her mere presence is nice.

This is one of my favorite film noirs so far and I highly recommend it to any fan that hasn't seen it. With this powerhouse cast and hard-hitting action, you can't go wrong.

The Set-Up (!949)



The Set-Up is directed by Robert Wise, one of my favorite directors who could handle a movie in just about any genre. Here, he handles film-noir with ease as he enters the life of Bill 'Stoker' Thompson (Robert Ryan), a down-on-his-luck boxer who loses more than he wins. On this particular night, his manager, Tiny, (Geoge Tobias) takes money from a man connected to a low-level mobster, Little Boy (Alan Baxter), who is promised that Stoker will take a fall after the second round. Except nobody has told Stoker, who is confident that he can take Tiger Nelson (Hal Baylor), a young up-and-comer who is popular with the crowd. Stoker's wife, Julie (Audrey Totter), is tired of seeing Stoker get beat up and refuses to go to the fight, instead insisting on waiting in their hotel room that overlooks the indoor arena where the fights take place. She later takes a walk around the town as the fight occurs, things in the town reminding her of what her husband is doing.

The movie, even at just over an hour-and-twelve minutes long, takes its time setting things up, with the first half hour showing the locker room where all the fighters get ready for their bouts, taking time to talk to each other about their expectations with their upcoming fights and how they'll do. Stoker will be the last fighter after the main attraction fights, that's how low he is in the eyes of everyone. We see somewhat of an omen when someone strikes a match across the fight bill outside and leaves a scratch line across Stoker's name. Then we see Tiny and Stoker's corner man Red (Percy Helton) talking about and then taking money from Danny (Edwin Max), Little Boy's right-hand man. They are greedy and keep enouraging Stoker to not get too close at first. They're trying to steer hm away from hitting Nelson because Stoker keeps saying he can take him. Maybe they fear he can.

The fight takes up the second half of the movie and it's filmed in a number of ways: low level, where we see mostly the legs of the fighters, then wide-angle with the whole ring in view, but mostly with the two fighters up close, duking it out in close-quarters. We get a lot from the audience too, as various characters root for Nelson for most of the fight, then start turning their attention to Stoker. The most interesting pair for me is a blind man with his friend, as the friend describes the action and the blind man calls out for his favored fighter. It's funny to see a mild-mannered-looking housewife calling out for one boxer to "kill!' the other. To say how things turn out would be unfair but there is a bittersweet/happy mood going on, which is fair enough for film noir. This is an excellent film and Ryan is great as usual with the supporting cast doing great as well.

The Racket (1951)

Interesting noir in that it had a lot of side characters and their stories, that's something I enjoy. It also has lots of little side details and extras that made the people seem realer, I should've took notes because I can't seem to recall then right now but one was just the simple act that when honest cop (Robert Mitchum) barges into the rich & tough gangsters house (Robert Ryan), Ryan confronts him while eating an apple. I don't know why but I liked that little human touch to the bad guy. I also liked the scene where Ryan's hired muscle is afraid to tell him some bad news, so they talk the barber who's come to give Ryan his daily shave to break the news to him. That scene said alot about Ryan's character. Even though there were lots of characters, the story itself wasn't one of those too hard to follow type stories. Good noir with lots of familiar faces, my favorite was the aforementioned Robert Ryan.

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Call Northside 777



Did a re-watch Thursday night of this very good Jimmy Stewart film. I never knew it was considered a film-noir until we started our Film-Noir Countdown and stumbled onto that fact. After watching I can see some elements of noir but I think it more of a drama/procedural. Either way I love it. P.J. McNeal (Stewart) is tasked by his boss, Brian Kelly (Lee J. Cobb) to investigate the case of Frank Wiecek (the great Richard Conte), a man who was accused of being one of two men who shot and killed a policeman in Chicago. Wiecek's mother, Tillie (Kasia Orzazewski) has taken out an ad in the paper, offering $5000 to anyone who can provide proof that her son is innocent. She's been scrubbing floors since her son went in and has saved everything she could till it reached the $5000 reward.

It's been 11 years and Kelly is bothered by the ad and the case and thinks that McNeal should dig up what he can. McNeal is not happy but goes ahead with it and starts to uncover things like corruption, coverups, and definitely some shady characters. The beautiful Helen Walker has a smallish but nice part as Stewart's caring wife who is very supportive even when McNeal doubts himself. I like when Stewart, showing his appreciate for her, says to her twice, "Will you marry me?" Nice little look into their relationship. Speaking of which, McNeal finds out that Wiecek asked his wife to divorce him when he went into prison. He doesn't want his son being raised with a "jailbird" for a father. His wife Helen (Joanne De Bergh) objects but he convinces her. She is now remarried to a good man (the great character actor, E.G. Marshall, in a small role).

It seems that everywhere McNeal goes he hits a wall, and everyone he interviews doesn't know anything. Especially the police---they're sensitive to the fact that McNeal is investigating a case about a fellow cop who was murdered. McNeal is now writing stories in the paper that have gained enormous interest and the police have received orders to not cooperate with the paper if they come around asking question. So McNeal has to use tricks to get around that. Then there's the woman who pointed out Wiecek and another man as the gunmen when it seems that someone might have pressured her into naming them. And she's a very unpleasant character to talk to. And the story even has the Governor of Illinois concerned that the articles are making the justice system look bad. A meeting of lawyers and the Governor, along with McNeal and Kelly, finally settle on a compromise. They give McNeal so much time to finally get proof that Wiecek is innocent and they'll convince the parole board to agree to a Governor's pardon. So it gets down to the wire.

As this stars my favorite actor, Stewart, there was no way I was going to dislike it, even all those years ago when I first saw it. It's retained its watchability and is time well-spent.

Night and the City (1950)



This is my first time seeing this great Jules Dassin film, set in London, although not the pretty London so often portrayed in films, but the back streets and dark alleys and dim clubs we rarely see. Richard Widmark is Harry Fabian, whom we first see running, something we will see him do often in the film. He's a small-time "idea man." When he first runs to his girlfriend Mary's (the beyond-beautiful Gene Tierney) flat, he's all excited, telling her of this "Idea" he's got, which just exaspertes her. She knows what's coming. Harry always has ideas and he "only" always needs £300 or so. Mary is tired of this and tries to reason with him to no avail. She has a neighbor in the same block of flats, Adam (Hugh Marlowe), who is a comfort to her but is in love with her and tries to warn her about Harry. She knows but is loyal to Harry.

He goes back to his job, which is whipping up business for Philip Nosseross (Francis L. Sullivan), who owns a nightclub. He pays Harry to look out for out-of-towners who are looking for a good time, and trick them into coming to Philip's club. Which Harry is great at. He's good at running his mouth and talking a good game. As Adam tells Mary, "Harry is an artist without an art." When she inquires what he means, he replies, "Well, that is something that could make a man very unhappy, Mary, groping for the right lever, the means with which to express himself." When Mary says that it's a very nice thought, Adam say, "Yes, but it can be dangerous." And that it is, as we see as the film progresses. Harry gets another of his ideas when he goes to a wrestling match, trying to drum up business for Philip in his usual way, when he sees a man, Gregorius Kristo (Stanislaus Zbyszko) complaining about how the wrestling is garbage, unlike the Greco-Roman wrestling that he's used to. His son, Hermes Kristo (the great Herbert Lom) just so happens to own the wrestling venue and tries to calm his father down. His father will not be placated and he and his protégé Nikolas (Ken Richmond) leave. But Harry has already eagerly watched every second of this display and soon insinuates himself into Gregorius' life, promising him he'll set him up in a gym where he can train for Greco-Roman wrestling displays. But all the time he's planning on getting Kristo to wrestle The Strangler (the awesome noir regular Mike Mazurki). He's planning several steps ahead. But he needs money and has to go to Philip to back him.

Only Philip laughs him down, not taking him seriously. But Philip's wife, the unhappy and ambitious Helen (Googie Withers) believes Harry can get money from Philip by raising money that his boss promises to match. But Helen is planning to use the money to start her own club and leave Philip. Philip slyly observes Helen and Harry and thinks they're having an affair and plots Harry's downfall. And Hermes Kristo is plotting Harry's downfall also, only Harry doesn't know this...yet. As the movie progresses, Harry is forced to change plans several times, only to have someone steer him another way, till he's desperate to get things back on track. But the unforseen injury of someone and the death of another person put Harry's life in danger to where he's running for his life, with a price on his head.

I don't think I've ever seen Widmark as good as he is here. He's so ambitious but his only talent is the grift, and that only takes him so far and he's desperate to be "somebody." Widmark plays that desperation so well, with his eyes showing panic and fear, and greed also. He really runs the gamut of emotions here. Everyone is fine in support but man, is this ever one film that you can say belongs to Widmark. The cinematography by Mutz Greenbaum is fantastic, showing perfect noir dark and light contrasts, with only little glimpses of bright London in the background. I really loved this one and think Widmark should have been nominated for an Oscar for this. A total winner.

Widmark blew me away with his performance. I've never seen him play such a richly conflicted yet likable in a way character. Great movie.

I always thought that his Harry Fabian was rather a transitioning role from his bonkers Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death to his Skip McCoy in Pickup on South Street. He finally leveled out and got roles portraying more normal people... He had one helluva career!