Film Noir

Article: EVOLVING VERSIONS OF FILM NOIR EXPLORE TODAY’S UNEASY FEELINGS by Roger Ebert

bryancyr article, film-noir, Movie, Neo-Noir , ,

I came across this article written by Roger Ebert in the mid 1990’s. It’s about how popular, noir films are today and how they have changed from the classic era. It looks at many of the great neo-noir films of the mid 1990’s and breaks them down into three different categories: Classic Noir, Deadpan Noir and Neo Noir. This is a great article and talks about some films I have not revisited in a long time, but really want to take another look at them now. What do you think of the three types of noir and do they still hold up today, 20 years later?

http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/evolving-versions-of-film-noir-explore-todays-uneasy-feelings

Re-Watching the Classics: Cat People

bryancyr film-noir, Horror, Movie , , , , , , , ,

Cat People from 1942 is a cult classic for many reasons. It has a following from film noir fans, horror fans and fans of well done B-movies.  Credit for this can be given to Val Lewton and this production of his very first film. Val Lewton used a bunch of techniques in filming and storytelling that gave him a signature style. R.K.O. gave him a small budget to make some horror films to try to compete with the Universal Monster films. Lewton took the opportunity, but ran with it in a slightly different direction. Lewton had this picture directed by Jacques Tourneur, who he used on his next few projects as well. Tourneur went on to direct his fair share of classic film noir films with his high point being Out of the Past.

This film revolves around Irena Dubrovna played by Simone Simon. She believes she is cursed and will harm any man who falls in love with her. She believes she will turn into a large cat and kill! When she catches the eye of Oliver Reed, played by Kent Smith, she has feelings for him as well. They eventually get married, but things soon start to change as Oliver is not happy in his marriage. Irena goes to a psychiatrist, played by Tom Conway, to help her overcome her fears and save her marriage. To make things worse Oliver and co-worker Alice Moore, played by Jane Randolph, start a relationship. This angers Irena and she starts to stock both of them. Does Irena really turn into a large cat or is she just going crazy? Will Alice and Oliver survive either way?

The film noir techniques used in this film are both beautiful and suspenseful. I particularly liked the swimming pool scene and the scene in the drawing-room also works well. This film would be the first time for the use of the “Lewton bus,” I will not explain that here as it may give away to much of the film, if not in story but feel. This film became a huge hit for R.K.O. and ran in theaters for a long time. In fact some critics wrote bad reviews for this, but because it was in theaters so long, some critics re-watched it and retracted some of those bad reviews. It also caused the next two Lewton films to be put on the shelf until Cat People’s theatrical run was over. Lewton’s filming style and way of making film was a big influence on film noir to come and film in general.

Well worth checking out to see how great a cheap B-movie can be done. This is a fun little film with some great performances and a twist at the end which still works today.

Review: No Questions Asked

bryancyr film-noir, Movie , , , , , , , , ,

No Questions Asked is a classic film noir from 1951 directed by Harold F. Kress. Kress never really made it as a director, but went on to edit some classic Hollywood films. This has a story from Berne Giler and a screenplay from Sidney Sheldon, both had long careers as writers in Hollywood.

Our story starts out with Barry Sullivan playing Steve Keiver, an insurance investigator. He is in love with Ellen, played by Arlene Dahl. Ellen is a bit of a gold digger and wants to marry somebody with money. She soon disappears to go marry a rich man with no warning to our hero. Keiver buries himself in his work and becomes very successful. He works connections in the underworld to recover stolen property for his company. He soon finds the eye of Joan, played by Jean Hagen. She is madly in love with Keiver, but Keiver still has feelings for his old flame Ellen. When Keiver and Joan are at a fancy party it is robbed. This part is pretty interesting as the theft was performed by men in drag. They fool all of those they rob by gun point, and puts the police on the trail of “two attractive females,” instead of two males. This brings in Police Inspector Matt Duggan, played by George Murphy and Detective Walter O’Bannion played by Richard Anderson into the investigation. Our hero works both sides of the law to recover the million dollars worth of jewelry stolen at the party. Will he be able to work his usual magic to get the job done? Will he be double crossed or even framed? What girl will eventually win his heart? Who can he trust?

This film noir is a bit of a hidden gem! It has a great plot with some good acting. I thought this was a sold film worth your time. The gangsters are unique and the heist men who are cross dressers had to be a bit risqué for 1951. Especially since these cross dressers are not comic relief, but actually fool the characters in the film and I think they would have fooled most of the movie going public.

Review: The Tattooed Stranger

bryancyr film-noir, Movie , , , , ,

The Tattooed Stranger is a film noir from RKO, released in 1950. This has a lot of things that make it sound interesting, especially the title! Remember this is 1950, so the whole tattoo thing was not as mainstream as it is today. This movie stars John Miles and Walter Kinsella as new partners on a case. Patricia Barry also stars as a Lab Tech to help solve the case. This film is directed by Edward Montagne, who looks to have started out doing documentary shorts, moved on to a couple of B-noir films, then moved onto television and comedies.

This story starts out with a man walking his dog and comes across a dead girl, in a car, in the middle of Central Park. Soon our hardboiled, experienced detective is on the scene, where he learns he will be teaming up on this case with the rookie detective with the college degree. We get a pretty cookie cutter procedural from here. With the vet and rookie clashing on different issues and techniques as our rookie feels he needs to prove himself and our veteran is secretly intimidated by the smarter rookie.

The acting is nothing to write home about. The story may have been fairly fresh in 1950, but today plays like an average episode of C.S.I.. If you like straight forward police procedural, you may find this interesting. Especially if you would like to compare techniques the police where using in 1950 to what they can do today. Has things changed much? This movie is short and not a horrible, un-watchable mess, but it is not a hidden gem that time has forgotten. I would not recommend it to the casual fan. For those that need to see everything film noir, go for it!

I think this film still sums it up, looks interesting and I want to watch it, but after I have seen it and I don’t plan on revisiting it.

Favorite Tidbit: This is John Miles last film. He seemed to have a bit of charm and charisma and could have had a decent career I would think. Not sure why he quite showbiz after this film, does anybody out there know his history and reason?

Review: They Made Me a Criminal

bryancyr film-noir, Movie , , , , , , ,

They Made Me a Criminal may not be considered a film noir by some because of its production date. This film was made in 1939, a year or two before some consider the film noir movement started. This film is based on a book from Bertram Millhauser who maybe more famous for his Sherlock Holmes movies then his noir stories. The film is directed by Busby Berkeley, a director better known for his musicals and comedies then crime films.

I was most interested in watching this because it stared Ann Sheridan, unfortunately even though she is third on the billing she isn’t in the film very long. Claude Rains plays a pivotal role, but isn’t in the film much either. The ‘Dead End’ Kids provide some comedy relief and some fast paced dialog, but this is most definitely a John Garfield film.

What this film lacks in film noir style it more than makes up for in noir story. Garfield plays a champion boxer who has just won a big fight. He tells the press what the public wants to hear. He thanks his Mom, says he doesn’t drink, isn’t a womanizer and comes across as a class act. We soon find Garfield back in his room, drunk with his manager and his best girl played by Sheridan. We find he is nothing like his public persona and is actually the opposite of the way he acts in public. I found this aspect of the film very interesting as we see this with pro athletes to this day. It seems the smart athletes know how to come across as a humble, good person, but we soon learn in their private life they have drug problems, cheat on their beautiful wife, have gambling problems or have even thought they could get away with bigger crimes.

When Sheridan invites her friend up to the room to continue the party, things are said and tempers flair. Sheridan’s friend brings up her date who unknown to our party goers is a reporter. When he says he is taking the information he learned to his paper, Garfield tries to stop him, but is too drunk. His manager hits the reporter over the head with a bottle of liquor before he can leave. This kills the reporter and with Garfield being passed out and the only person in the room when it happens the manager frames him for the murder. The manager and Sheridan escape and soon are chased by the cops and it ends in a fiery wreck killing both of them. Garfield wakes up with a headache and no knowledge of the murder. The police mistakenly think Garfield was in the wreck and the murderer of the reporter. Garfield travels across the country as everybody thinks he is dead. Will it ever be discovered he is really alive? Will he ever be able to return to the ring and his former glory?

.

This film is a pretty good film with a very noir ending. If you are a Garfield fan you have to see this one. I wish Sheridan was in this a little longer, but she does leave a lasting impression on you in the little time she is in the film. Like I said, some may not consider this a true film noir because of the date of its release. I say we have boxing, a falsely accused man brought down from being on the top of the world to a penniless man who must start over. To watch this man risk it all for people he recently meet, knowing it will be his undoing. Lets not forget the hardboiled cop that nobody likes and you have all the elements of a noir story. I recommend all film noir fans watch this and see for yourself if you would classify this a film noir or not, plus you will get to see a pretty good film no matter what genre you put it in.

List: The 10 Best Movies Written by, Adapted from, or Inspired by Raymond Chandler

bryancyr article, Best of Lists, film-noir, Movie, Neo-Noir , , ,

Taste of Cinema is at it again! This time with the 10 best films involving the great noir author Raymond Chandler. Agree or Disagree with the choices or the placing if you like, but read the full article for some great knowledge about the author and these movies you may not have known. Well worth your time to check it out if you are a fan of noir or Chandler. Here is the link to the full article:

http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/the-10-best-movies-written-by-adapted-from-or-inspired-by-raymond-chandler/

Review: Film Noir: Bringing Darkness to Light

bryancyr film-noir, Movie ,

This is a documentary from 2006 about classic film noir. This is very interesting with modern noir legends like Frank Miller, Christopher Nolan, and James Ellroy giving you their take on film noir. We also get some insight from the Czar of Noir, Eddie Muller and other experts of film noir.  It is a short film and in my opinion lacking a little. Sure it is entertaining and informative, but it over looks a lot! The stuff they cover, like a look at Robert Mitchum and Elisha Cook Jr. as some of the great actors of film noir is very good. They also cover Raymond Chandler slightly and discuss Philip Marlowe and how he fit into noir and film noir, which is great, but they only really cover Murder, My Sweet in this part of the film. Just to show how lacking this documentary is, neither The Big Sleep or Humphrey Bogart is mentioned in either of these sections of the film! Even after they show some footage of Cook Jr, in The Maltese Falcon with Bogart they don’t really cover Bogie. They of course have a section of the film about the femme fatale’s role in film noir, and talks about a few great actresses but doesn’t even mention Rita Hayward, Ava Gardner, or Lauren Bacall! I think this film must have run into movie rights issues. I say this because they cover a lot of RKO stuff and even though this film was distributed by Warner Home Video, it doesn’t even cover most of the Warner Bros. classics. Though Maltese Falcon, The Letter and White Heat clips show up, none are covered in-depth. I also noticed Fox and Paramount films are not covered at all.

I would say this film is still worth checking out for what it does cover and is nice to see what some of today’s noir greats think about the era. It is also a good primer for people just starting to learn about the classic film noir era. I watched this film on DVD which came with a few extras, but you can watch the film here for free.

Article: TO LOVE HER ISN’T TO KNOW HER: THE GREAT, MYSTERIOUS GLORIA GRAHAME TAKES LINCOLN CENTER

bryancyr article, film-noir ,

nyv_film_20150902_humandesire_courtesy_filmlinc.com_002

Here is an article about the film noir career of Gloria Grahame and bit of history of her personal life, which sounds like a noir tale itself! This is written by Graham Fuller over at The Village Voice and is well worth reading. Here is the link:

http://www.villagevoice.com/film/to-love-her-isn-t-to-know-her-the-great-mysterious-gloria-grahame-takes-lincoln-center-7585740

Review: They Live by Night

bryancyr film-noir, Movie , , , , , , , ,

They Live by Night is a classic film noir based on Edward Anderson book Thieves Like Us.

This is also director Nicholas Ray’s first film, a pretty good start to an amazing career. This film stars Cathy O’Donnell and Farley Granger as a young couple in love. They would go on to team up again in Anthony Mann’s Side Street a few years later. I reviewed that film here:

https://everythingnoir.com/2015/06/10/review-side-street/

This film starts out with a quick scene before the credits role of our happy couple. We than flashback to three men in the process of a prison escape. We see Granger and his two cohorts played by Howard Da Silva and Jay C. Flippen. There is an interesting scene here, where Ray shot from a helicopter for a bird’s eye view of our trio fleeing. This is one of the first action scenes ever shot from a helicopter(pretty amazing idea for a first time director). As our hero has a bum foot or ankle, he hangs by a billboard as his fellow escapees move on to their destination and will send help back for him. When a truck pulls up we meet Cathy O’Donnell as the farmer’s daughter there to take him to meet his friends. We can see the attraction right away between our two leads as she drives him to her father’s farm. As the trio regroup they decide the best move is to rob a bank to raise some money to make their getaway. Will they succeeded? Will our happy couple live happily ever after?

I’m not sure if Edward Anderson wrote this story as a fictional tale of Bonnie and Clyde or not, but it at least had to be a huge influence. This is a twisted love story in more than a few ways. This film is a must see for film noir fans, though I would not rank it among my favorites and maybe my expectations were to high going in. This is a good film and when you know it is Ray’s first film, I do appreciate it. I hope to read the book on which this film is based someday and revisit this film again.

Favorite Tidbit: Another film was made in 1974 based on this novel as well. It goes by the novel’s title Thieves Like Us and stars Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall. I have not seen this film but may have to watch both of these films back to back for an interesting double feature.