Patrick Cooper from the horror site Bloody Disgusting has an interesting look at some classic film noir from the prospective of a horror fan. He admits he purposely left out Cat People, but what other classics did he leave off the list that you think horror fans would enjoy? Check out the full article here:
Gang War is a little known film from 1958 starring a soon to be big star, Charles Bronson. This film is one of 4 films Bronson would star in, in 1958. The one that has grew to cult status is Roger Corman’s Machine-Gun Kelly. The other 3 have not had as much success over the years.
This film is directed by Gene Fowler Jr. and is based on a book by Ovid Demaris. This is a short B-movie of only 75 minutes. I am kind of surprised this hasn’t found a cult following itself. Not only for having an early performance from a major star like Bronson, but for it’s fun performances from the rest of the cast.
Bronson plays a school teacher that is out late one night, getting medicine for his pregnant wife, when he witnesses a man murdered by two thugs. He soon is recruited by the police as a star witness against the two thugs. The thugs work for a major mafia boss, and the police figure they can get the two thugs to snitch on their boss, rather then go to prison for murder. The police promise to keep our hero’s identity secret, but a cop on the mob boss’s payroll tells the papers and the mob our hero’s identity.
The boss sends his ex-pro boxer, bodyguard to scare Bronson’s wife, but he scares her a little to much and kills her. Bronson is out for revenge, but will the mob boss’s other enemies beat him to it?
Bronson has a good performance in this film, playing it straight and a little subdued. The rest of the cast seemed to know they are in a cheap B-movie film noir and camp it up and go just enough over the top to not be annoying and still be entertaining.
John Doucette plays our mob boss and he steals the show. With an odd fetish or two and a cadence with his dialog that is fun to listen to. Telling his girlfriend to read a book while he talks about how the Chicago mafia screwed up at the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre is priceless.
Jennifer Holden a year after appearing with Elvis Presley in Jail House Rock, plays our mob boss’s girlfriend. She is the classic all looks and no brains bimbo, or is she? With lines like “Minks don’t look good with bullet holes!” and “Dead men got no dough!” shows she may have more brains then one would think in the end. Holden only appeared in three films, Jail House Rock, then this one and a small role in the western Buchanan Rides Alone(never seen it). I’m not sure what happened after 1958 and her film career, but I enjoyed her campy fun performance in this film.
Larry Gelbman plays the punch drunk ex-boxer Chester. He does a great job of playing the man that lives a breaths for his boss. He’s portrayal of a brain damaged thug is great fun!
Are you a die hard Charles Bronson fan? Are you looking for an entertaining and short B-movie film noir with a decent story and fun performances? This is the movie for you.
All Due Respect and Greg Barth are at it again! Diesel Therapy is book two in the Selena series and does not disappoint.
We find Selena paying for her crimes from the first book. She finds herself in a Federal Prison at the beginning of the book and that is paradise compared to what is to come. She soon finds herself in Diesel Therapy, a method of torturing prisoners…legally. They shackle and handcuff the prisoner, who is then transported from one institution to the next. As we learned in book 1, Selena is a tough cookie, but Diesel Therapy breaks her down. One night Selena meets a girl from back in her home town in a small town jail. She soon learns, the cause of Selena’s troubled youth is still going on. Revenge on those causing young women their pain drives Selena. This includes her Father and Uncle, as well as a handful of the evilest men you will ever come across outside a horror book.
Will Selena escape or get out of her tortured prison to seek revenge? Will she find help along the way?
The look at a violent and evil backwoods Southern breed of men is pretty dark on its own, double that with the torture Selena is going through makes for another gritty and dark pulpy noir story. If this sounds like a brutal story, I actually think book 1(simply titled Selena) is even darker and more violent. If you want to journey into the depths of the darkness, start with Selena and continue with this book. Selena is a character I look forward to reading more of, and we will not have to wait long, as book three is scheduled for release later this year.
The Hap And Leonard series debuts March 2nd on Sundance and Dominic Patten over at Deadline has a rave review for the new series. The same team brought us Cold Day in July, which I loved, also based on a Joe R. Lansdale’s novel. Here is my look at the book and film for Cold in July:
https://everythingnoir.com/2015/03/04/review-book-vs-film-cold-in-july-2/
Here is the link to Patten’s video review at Deadline:
‘Hap And Leonard’ Review: SundanceTV’s Texas Noir Series Shines
Who else is excited for this new series?
These two films are based on the classic noir novel by Raymond Chandler, Farewell, My Lovely published in 1940. Murder, My Sweet was released in 1944. The name was changed because Dick Powell was known more for his musical roles and Farewell, My Lovely sounded like another Powell musical. Powell wanted to have more hardboiled roles and signed with R.K.O. as long as he got to play Marlowe. Thirty one years later, film noir great, Robert Mitchum finally got his chance to play the iconic private eye. After a noir resurgence in the 1970’s and Marlowe having success in a modern retelling of The Long Goodbye, timing was good for another Marlowe adaption. Here is a round by round bout of two classics from two different eras.
Round 1: Screenplay
Since both of these films are based on one of the most iconic books in all of noir, as well as all of American literature, one has to be careful not to change this story too much for the screen. I have not read this book in a few years, but have read it more than once.
John Paxton adapted the book to the screen for Murder, My Sweet and stuck pretty close to the book. When you have Raymond Chandler writing dialog, why change it? This was Paxton’s first film noir screenplay and it was a good one. He went on to write many more classic film noir screenplays.
David Zelag Goodman started out in television and went on to write a few good neo noir and gritty films in the 1970’s. Goodman left the setting in the 1940’s, but added a bit more grit to the story. He also added a few , dropped a few and changed a few characters. He added a bit of historic background to plant the viewer back in the 1940’s. He also added some diversity to the story. The original film has an all white cast and not only did Goodman add some African Americans, Asians, and Gays but he also threw in a bi-racial couple with a child. He also threw in some noir tropes not found in the original film, like a whore house, dirty cops, and corrupt businessmen. He also made the McGuffin of the jade necklace, that drives the original movie, a none factor in his screenplay. Goodman also adds his own Chandler like dialogue and only uses Chandler’s dialogue sparingly.
Though I like Goodman’s added diversity, I felt he added a bunch of tropes just to add them. Chandler’s wit fits in the 1940’s time frame and I can see changing or updating the dialogue if it was to take place in a different decade, but if you are going to set it in the 1940’s, I would stick more to the original lines. I’m going with Chandler here and since Paxton stuck with the original material better, Murder, My Sweet wins this round.
Murder, My Sweet-1 Forever, My Lovely-0
Round 2: Direction and Cinematography
Edward Dmytryk directs Murder, My Sweet and uses a number of awesome techniques, from placing unseen glass panes to get the right effect and some of the best noir lighting ever. This is as good as it gets for looks in the classic film noir era. The scene where Marlowe is drugged and has a nightmare is a sequence you have to see.
Dick Richards does a good job taking us back 30 years. He may use a lot of memorabilia laying around to take the audience back in time. The cars and buildings look great and the lighting is well done. Richards even does a smaller nightmare scene, not as long, but still gives a nod to the original.
Though Richards makes Farewell, My Lovely look like a great throw back to the 1940’s, it’s hard to beat a black and white film actually filmed in the 1940’s for that authentic look. Dmytryk wins this round for Murder, My Sweet.
Murder, My Sweet-2 Farewell, My Lovely-0
Round 3: The Male Lead
Dick Powell went from big studio musical star to hardboiled film noir star in this film. Some, including the director, didn’t think Powell could play Marlowe, but he pulled it off. It was probably good that this film came out two years before The Big Sleep or his turn as Marlowe, no matter how good, would not have been a success. Powell isn’t Bogart, but he is pretty damn good in this film.
Robert Mitchum is dream casting as Marlowe, but was a 58 year old Mitchum too old to pull off Marlowe? I don’t think so, he plays Marlowe as well as you would ever expect. He plays Marlowe understated and tough without overly trying to be. Like the trailer for this movie says, “last of the tough guys.” Sure, I would love to have seen Mitchum play Marlowe in the late 1940’s or early 1950’s, but an older Mitchum as Marlowe is better then not having one at all.
This is a tough round, but the round has to go to Mitchum.
Murder, My Sweet-2 Farewell, My Lovely-1
Round 4: Female Lead
Claire Trevor is one of the best femme fatales of all time. She was born to play the evil woman and she does it well here. She seems to be able to lie to a man and he knows it, but he doesn’t care.
Charlotte Rampling can say more with her eyes and a slight smile then most can do with a 10 minute monologue. In Murder, My Sweet you felt Marlowe was always one step ahead of Helen, but in Forever, My Lovely, Helen seems to be one step ahead of Marlowe all the way to the climax.
This was also a tough call, one of the best femme fatale actresses from the classic era or one of the best actresses in the world playing a femme fatale. This one is a draw.
Murder, My Sweet-3 Farewell, My Lovely-2
Round 5: Supporting Cast
Mike Mazurki as Moose is the role that made him a star. It also may have type cast him as the big, not so smart, thug. He is brilliant in this role and is a highlight of this film.
Anne Shirley plays Helen’s stepdaughter Ann in her last film. She was great in this role as Helen’s rival for Marlowe’s affection. The character Ann is not in Farewell, My Lovely.
Jack O’Halloran tries to step into very big shoes as Moose and does well in Farewell, My Lovely. Harry Dean Stanton and Burton Gilliam in smaller roles are highlights. Also one year before his big break in Rocky, Sylvester Stallone plays a thug in love with a hooker in a very small role.
Even though Farewell, My Lovely has a lot of great talent in small roles through out, the round has to go to Murder, My Sweet based on Mike Mazurki’s Moose alone.
Murder, My Sweet-4 Farewell, My Lovely-2
So there you have it, the original film wins again. Though the score was 4 to 2 this was a lot closer then it looked. Raymond Chandler’s Marlowe is one of the best, if not the best noir character of all time and I would rather see more remakes than less here. Go watch both of these films yourself and see what one you feel is the best.
This is a great primer for people interested in Nordic noir:
Layers of history and culture and a tradition of social criticism add depth and literary heft to Nordic noir, a genre that is a happy hunting ground for those looking for more in crime fiction than just a crime and a bunch of suspects. By VASANTHA K. KRISHNARAJ
Read the full article here: Source: Nordic thrills
Quarry’s Cut is the fourth book in the Quarry series by Max Allan Collins. This one is an interesting installment in the series, but we will get to this in a minute. This story starts with pure coincidence…or is it? Quarry is eating dinner at his favorite local restaurant, when he looks out the frosted window to see his ex-partner getting gas. When he finds his ex-partner, Turner, is renting a room that has a view of Quarry’s little A-frame home on the lake, Quarry thinks he is Turner’s next hit. Though this might be enough for a short, under 200 page novel, you would be wrong.
Quarry soon enters a porn shoot and things seem to degenerate into a classic 70’s or 80’s slasher movie plot. In fact this book was originally titled Slasher. On reading this I figured Collins was inspired by movies like Halloween and the slasher films that followed, but since this book was published in 1977, a year before the release of Halloween, I would be wrong. Maybe he was inspired by the Italian giallo films of the early 1970’s and threw his hitman Quarry in the middle of one of these film plots to stir things up?
Collins hits on a number of topics in this book, like a homosexual romantic triangle, a serial killer, the porn industry and let’s not forget hired hitmen. This is a bit weaker book then the first three Quarry books, but no less entertaining and worth reading. It is a fun pulp noir that probably was a lot fresher back in 1977. A must read for Quarry fans and I can not wait to start a new Quarry book soon and looking forward to the new television series!
Mike Fleming Jr over at Deadline.com talks to some of the talent behind The Silence Of The Lambs on its 25th anniversary. This article has a ton of great information on the making of one of the all time greats. A must read for fans of the film:
Tension is a classic film noir from 1949, directed by John Berry based on a story by John D. Klorer. Both had great movie careers, but neither did much in the noir genre outside this film.
The film starts with a great monologue by Barry Sullivan as a homicide detective explaining Tension. This starts the movie out with a bang and sets the tone for the film.
The plot is about married couple Warren and Claire Quimby, played by Richard Basehart and Audrey Totter. Claire treats Warren horribly and everybody around him sees it. She is cheating on him to boot and this is the last straw for Warren. Warren gets the idea of changing his look and starts a new life as a traveling salesperson. Complete with a new apartment in a different part of town. His plan is to kill Claire’s new lover as his new identity and disappear, going back to his real life with his wife.
The problem with this plan is Warren falls in love with his new neighbor, Mary, played by Cyd Charisse. Will he just continue happily ever after with his new girlfriend? Will he go through with the murder? Will he be able to leave his wife?
Audrey Totter plays a great femme fatale in this picture. She is evil to the core and will do anything she thinks will make her life better or happier. I don’t think she could ever find happiness no matter what happens. Cyd Charisse plays the exact opposite to Totter. Charisse will do anything in her power to protect Warren, even though she doesn’t understand what is going on and what Warren has gotten himself into. Even their hair sets them apart as total opposites.
Richard Basehart’s Warren is the bumbling weakling as the real struggle comes down to two strong women, and these two steal the show here. Barry Sullivan is also very good as the detective that maybe smarter then he appears.
Tension is a bit of a hidden classic film noir gem. It is a good film worth your time, even if the plot sometimes doesn’t seem to be very logical. Totter is a great example of a femme fatale from this time period and is worth watching the film for her performance along.
A look at where it all started.
by Eddie Muller
[John Huston’s film version of Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon celebrates its 75th anniversary this year. Turner Classic Movies presents screenings Feb. 21 and 24 at theaters around the country. For more, click here and for the line-up of TCM Big Screen Classics. And, as is our policy, look for extras after the article-ed.]
The first time I walked into Sam Spade’s apartment I thought my head would explode.
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