Monthly Archives: July 2013

99 River Street (1953)

Posted on July 3, 2013 | Leave a comment

99 River Street
Directed by Phil Karlson
1953/USA
Edward Small Productions
First viewing

[box] Ernie Driscoll: There are worse things than murder. You can kill someone an inch at a time.[/box]

I could not get behind this odd and violent noir effort from B-picture specialist Phil Karlson.

Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) is an ex-boxer who was barred from the ring after suffering repeated blows to his eye during a championship bout.  His wife has lost all use for him now that he his driving a cab and is having an affair with thug Victor Rawlins (Brad Dexter) who recently pulled off a diamond heist.  Unfortunately for her, his fence doesn’t like dealing with women and is not happy that Victor murdered a man in the process.

During Ernie’s very bad day, he discovers the affair.  Then his friend Linda James (Evelyn Keyes) deceives him into helping her with a murder cover up.  Finally, Victor offs his wife and dumps her body in Ernie’s cab.  Ernie proves his continued ability with his fists by pummeling his many antagonists.  Linda gets off easy when she uses her seductive ways to help Ernie beat the murder rap.

This two-fisted thriller just wasn’t for me.  It’s pretty brutal with sound effects heightening all the many punches and the plot is all over the place.  For example, Ernie has an arrest warrant out against him for assault during the “murder cover-up” episode and this is never referred to again during the second half of the movie.  The film also features some of the most totally unnecessary voice-over coverage of a fist fight in cinema history.  Everything is pumped up to the max and made as lurid as possible.  It is, however, a relatively highly rated film and could be a fun watch for those in the mood for it.  The trailer gives a very good feeling of what is in store.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MNrKueIJbko

Trailer

 

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I Want to Live! (1958)

Posted on July 2, 2013 | 2 comments

I Want to Live! 
Directed by Robert Wise
1958/USA
Figaro
First viewing

 

 

[box] Carl G.G. Palmberg: Life’s a funny thing.

Barbara Graham: Compared to what?[/box]

This noir biofilm won Susan Hayward an Academy Award.

Hayward portrays Barbara Graham as a jazz-loving wise-cracking good-time girl.  The film covers Graham’s life as she starts out a good-hearted call girl, then suffers hard times as the wife of a junkie, and finally gets involved with some hardcore criminals.  A robbery goes wrong and a 63-year-old woman is murdered.  The criminals claim that Graham was along for the crime and actually committed the murder.  Graham denies that she was even present but her belligerent demeanor, shady past, and lack of proof of her alibi convict her. She becomes the third woman to be executed in the gas chamber in California.

Director Robert Wise mounted a very stylish production of the story, with superb framing and brilliant use of black and white cinematography. The final minutes of the film depict in minute detail the preparation for Graham’s execution down to the stethoscope strapped to her body before her walk to the chamber.  Hayward is heartbreaking as she faces her death through a series of last-minute stays.  The jazz score by Johnny Mandel is fantastic.

Although the film strongly suggests Graham was innocent, as she never ceased asserting, the audience does not witness the crime.  Other accounts have concluded that overwhelming evidence pointed to her guilt.

Trailer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Angel Face (1952)

Posted on July 2, 2013 | 6 comments

Angel Face
Directed by Otto Preminger
1952/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing
#244 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

 

[box]Frank Jessup:  I’d say your story was as phony as a three dollar bill.[/box]

This is another great noir I’m catching up on late.  Not only does the female lead put the “fatal” in femme fatale, but it has a fascinating production history.

Diane Tremayne (Jean Simmons) is a confused rich girl.  She idealizes her father (Herbert Marshall) and hates her wealthy stepmother (Barbara O’Neill).  Frank Jessup (Robert Mitchum) is a working stiff who can’t win.  His troubles begin when the ambulance he drives is called to the Tremayne house because of a gas leak in Mrs. Tremayne’s bedroom.  Frank consoles the weeping Diane and when she follows him to a coffee shop he steps out on his girlfriend Mary with her.  So begins the cycle that lands Frank on trial for a murder rap and married to pathologically lovelorn Diane.

I enjoyed this very much.  It features uniformly good acting, wonderful cinematography by Harry Stradling Jr., a nice pace, lush Dimitri Tiomkin score, and an awesome ending.

I love my DVD commentaries and this one contained the very juicy back story to the film.  Jean Simmons left England to be with beau Stewart Granger.  Howard Hughes was smitten with her, so RKO bought up her seven-year contract with the Rank organization.  Hughes was interested in more than a professional relationship and creeped Simmons out so much that she sued RKO to get out of the deal.  The case settled with Simmons agreeing to make three movies for the studio.  Since Hughes was famous for dragging out productions indefinitely, the settlement specified that the three movies had to be made within three years.  Eighteen days were left on the settlement when production on Angel Face began.

Hughes borrowed Preminger from Fox because he was known for being able to work fast. Preminger brought the equally speedy Stradling with him.  Before shooting started, Hughes attempted to change Simmons hair style so many times that she cut her hair short and wore wigs throughout the filming.  There is a scene where Mitchum slaps Simmons to snap her out of hysterics.  Preminger made the actors do the scene over and over until Mitchum hauled off and slapped Preminger.  Preminger rode Simmons so hard that Mitchum finally had to threaten to walk off the project.  The commentator opined that this conflict probably got a more engaged performance out of Mitchum.  Simmons, who was only 23, gave a wonderful performance despite her travails.

Every commentary I hear about Hughes’ years at RKO makes me like him less.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBo5WvyBBl4

Trailer

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Kansas City Confidential (1952)

Posted on July 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

Kansas City Confidential 
Directed by Phil Karlson
1952/USA
Associated Players and Producers
First viewing

 

[box] Tim Foster: What makes a two-bit heel like you think a heater would give him an edge over me?[/box]

Tough-as-nails heist noir about a “perfect” armored-car robbery.  A man meticulously plans the robbery and ensures that his team is always masked and do not know each other’s identity.  The heist involves a mock florist’s van and the innocent driver of the real van, a small-time ex-con, is hauled in and given the third degree.  The driver (John Payne) makes it his mission to round up the true criminals.  His quest takes him to a resort in Mexico.  With Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef, and Neville Brand as robbers, Preston Foster as an ex-Police Chief, and Coleen Gray as the chief’s law-student daughter.

Although this is far from the “perfect” noir, I enjoyed it very much.  If some of the dialogue and acting is a bit over-earnest, the story is clever.  Karlson has a distinctive style reminiscent of Sam Fuller’s but a little bit more orthodox.  Very nice to meet up with a woman studying for the Bar Examination in a 1952 movie!

Clip – job interview sequence

 

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