Monthly Archives: July 2014

Crime Wave (1954)

Posted on July 5, 2014 | Leave a comment

Crime Wave (AKA “The City Is Dark”)
Directed by André de Toth
Written by Crane Wilber, Bernard Gordon, and Richard Wormser based on the story “Criminal’s Mark” by John and Ward Hawkins
1954/USA
Warner Bros.
First viewing/Warner Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 4

[box] Steve Lacey: Once you do a stretch, you’re never clean again! You’re never free! They’ve always got a string on you, and they tug, tug, tug! Before you know it, you’re back again![/box]

This is a good-looking police procedural featuring Sterling Hayden on the side of righteousness for a change and an early performance by Charles Buchinsky, soon to be known as Charles Bronson.

Ex-convict Steve Lacey (Gene Nelson) has gone straight and now lives a quiet life with his wife Ellen (Phyllis Kirk) and works as an airplane mechanic.  Their domestic bliss is shattered when a hood turns up wounded in a gas station robbery and looking for Steve’s assistance. He dies before Steve can help or get rid of him and the couple has no choice but to call Steve’s parole officer.  Lt. Det. Sims (Hayden) of homicide, called in because a police officer was killed in the robbery, had figured out that the robbery was done by a trio who had served time with Steve and was already on the way over.

Sims hauls Steve into jail and pumps him for information.  He gets none but releases him anyway. The couple’s luck turns from bad to worse when the remaining two thugs (Ted De Corsa and Bronson) move in on them and force Steve to participate in a bank robbery. With the very weird Timothy Carey chewing the scenery as a psycho thug.

What was it about Sterling Hayden?  He is as stiff and monotone as can be and yet is so oddly compelling as an actor.  He certainly dominates this film with his strong-arm tactics and the toothpick constantly protruding from his mouth.  Song-and-dance man Gene Nelson (Oklahoma) gives a nice performance as the trapped Steve.  De Toth reportedly was given the opportunity to have Bogart in the lead and a 35-day shooting schedule.  He agreed to make the movie in 15 days if he could have Hayden and made the movie in 13 days.  It worked out to be a superior “B” noir with some beautiful nighttime cinematography by Ford-favorite Bert Glennon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H3BTKD5t6ZY

Trailer – cinematography by Bert Glennon

 

 

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The Big Heat (1953)

Posted on July 5, 2014 | Leave a comment

The Big Heat
Directed by Fritz Lang
Written by Sydney Boehm based on a Saturday Evening Post serial by William P. McGivern
1953/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/Columbia Film Noir Classics I
#279 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Debby Marsh: [to Bannion] Well, you’re about as romantic as a pair of handcuffs.[/box]

The Big Heat is the pinnacle of Fritz Lang’s films noir.

Det. Sgt. Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) is an honest homicide detective on a corrupt force.  He is in love with his sassy wife Katie (Jocelyn Brando) and little daughter and enjoys a comfortable middle-class existence thanks to Katie’s economizing.

One day, he is called into investigate the suicide of a fellow officer.  His widow is properly grief-stricken with Bannion but the audience has already learned that she pocketed a letter her husband left that was written to the D.A.  Soon Bannion gets a call from the girlfriend of the officer.  She is convinced it could not have been suicide. When she is promptly tortured and strangled, Bannion starts digging deeper despite being warned off by his superiors. His investigation takes him into the world of city boss Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby) and his thug in chief, the vicious Vince Stone (Lee Marvin).

When all verbal threats and warnings fail, Bannion’s wife is killed by a car bomb meant for him.  Bannion is converted into a fearless angel of vengence.  He receives help from an unexpected quarter.  With Gloria Grahame in a superb performance as Vince’s bitter, wise-cracking moll.

Lang pulled out a taut, fast-paced masterpiece from the story of an honest man who is unable to settle for  a safe suburban life in a corrupt world.  The performances are all career highlights for the actors involved.  Grahame in particular provides great wit and intelligence to the sort of seductive yet vulnerable role that Marilyn Monroe would later fill. There are few frills in the visuals.  Every frame is dedicated to moving the story inexorably to its tragic finish.  One of those films that really should be seen before one dies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNyD7EncPR4

Trailer – cinematography by Charles Lang

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Movie Reviews, Noir Month

The Sniper (1952)

Posted on July 4, 2014 | Leave a comment

The Sniper
Directed by Edward Dmytryk
Written by Harry Brown, Edna Anhalt and Edward Anhalt
1952/USA
Stanley Kramer Productions/Columbia Pictures Corporation
First viewing/Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics DVD

 

[box]Tagline:Hungrily, he watched her walk down the street…and then he squeezed the trigger![/box]

Returned war vet Eddie Miller (Arthur Franz) is one sick puppy.  By day he is a mild-mannered delivery driver for a San Francisco dry-cleaning company.  By night, he obsesses over the wrongs done to him by women and the high-powered rifle he keeps locked in his bureau drawer. He knows he is twisted, even holding his right hand over a hot plate to prevent himself from using the rifle.  His efforts to get caught and get help come to nothing however.

Then Eddie begins shooting brunettes.  The ironically named Police Lt. Frank Kafka (Adolphe Menjou) is on the case but the killings continue despite the best efforts of the police department.  Can Eddie be stopped? With Frank Faylen as a police inspector, Richard Kiley as a police psychiatrist/profiler, and Marie Windsor as one of the victims.

The film begins with a title card explaining the research done into the social problem of the sex criminal and urging understanding to combat its growth.  It is a mixture of a psychological thriller with a police procedural.  Unfortunately, the story grinds to a halt during many of the police segments.  There is one particularly ludicrous lineup parading offenders from peeping toms to poison pen writers before the eager press.  The officer resembles no one more than Howard Cosell!  All the writers can come up with to “solve” the problem is to lock up any one exhibiting signs of perversion in an asylum for life.

That said, the negatives are overcome by the very strong and suspenseful scenes with the sniper. The location photography in San Francisco is also quite evocative and beautiful. On balance, I would recommend the film.

Menjou appears clean-shaven and in a rumpled suit.  If not for his voice, he would be unrecognizable.  One of the little ironies in the back story of the production is the pairing of director Dmytryk, one of the Hollywood Ten, with Menjou, one of the foremost red-baiters in Hollywood during the McCarthy era.

Edna and Edward Arnhalt were nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Story.

Trailer – cinematographer Burnett Guffey

 

 

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Detective Story (1951)

Posted on July 4, 2014 | Leave a comment

Detective Story
Directed by William Wyler
Written by Philip Yordan and Robert Wyler based on the play by Sidney Kingsley
1951/USA
Paramount Pictures
First viewing/Amazon Instant Video

 

[box] Detective James McLeod: I built my whole life on hating my father. All the time he was inside me, laughing.[/box]

The movie portrays one day in the life of a city precinct, a little like a very dramatic “Barney Miller”.  Several suspects are brought in including: a shoplifter (Lee Grant), a war hero who embezzled from his employer and the girl who tries to help him (Cathy O’Donnell), and two burglars, one of whom is about to become a four time loser.

James McLeod (Kirk Douglas) is a by-the-book detective who hates crime and criminals.  He is actually intolerant of all human weakness or softness.  He has been pursuing Dr. Karl Schneider (George Macready) for months for performing some sort of unnamed surgery that has killed mothers and their babies.  The wily doctor and his lawyer are always one step ahead of him.  As he is closing in, the lawyer accuses McLeod of persecuting Schneider due to a personal vendetta associated with his wife Mary (Eleanor Parker). McLeod’s reaction to this news threatens to destroy his marriage and life.  With William Bendix and Frank Faylen as detectives.

I generally love Wyler movies but, for me, most of the acting comes off as if the performers were playing to the cheap seats on Broadway and spoils the experience. Joseph Wiseman as Charlie the three-time loser is especially egregious but even Douglas and Parker stray over the top at points.  I did appreciate the struggle of Lt. McLeod and his wife.  I only wish it had been more nuanced.  I realize I am in a distinct minority here with regard to this highly rated film.

I was surprised at the amount of strong-arm tactics used by the police almost as a matter of course.  Things certainly have changed – or at least this behavior is no longer accepted or condoned.   I didn’t see the ending coming.  It would be good to go into this one spoiler free.

Detective Story was nominated for Academy Awards in the categories of Best Actress (Parker), Best Supporting Actress (Lee Grant), Best Director, and Best Writing, Screenplay.  Parker has the distinction of having the least screen time of any Best Actress nominee.

Trailer – cinematography by D.P. Lee Grimes (John F. Seitz uncredited)

 

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Posted in Noir Month

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

Posted on July 4, 2014 | 4 comments

The Lady from Shanghai
Directed by Orson Welles
Written by Orson Welles from the novel If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King
1947/USA
Columbia Pictures Corporation
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#220 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

[box] Michael O’Hara: Everybody is somebody’s fool.[/box]

The Lady from Shanghai leaves me as at sea as the characters.  If not for the sometimes awesome visuals, it would entirely escape me.

It is love at first sight for seaman Michael O’Hara (Orson Welles) when he rescues beautiful Elsa Bannister(Rita Hayworth)  from some muggers in Central Park.  Elsa apparently likes Michael too because she begs him to join her and her husband Arthur (Everett Sloane) on their yacht.  Michael demurs but a ruse by Arthur gets him aboard and he is soon way over his head.

Arthur’s law partner George Grigsby soon makes the party complete.  The “friends” are all at each other’s throats like sharks in a feeding frenzy that begin to devour themselves. The bewildered Michael is the only person left with a shred of humanity.  His love for Elsa makes him greedy, however, and he gives in to temptation when Grigsby offers him $5,000 to help him fake his death.  After this the only thing certain is that Michael will be the fall guy, no matter who is double-crossing whom.

Welles’s noir classic has me completely disoriented from the word go.  In the end, I could write a plot summary but still feel like I missed a lot.  Between that and Welles’ on-again-off-again Irish brogue, I can’t give this noir classic a lot of love. On the positive side, Rita Hayworth looks fabulous (I think the short blonde hairdo really suits her) and gives the strongest performance I have seen her in.  I love the trial scenes and their wicked skewering of the justice system.  And the justly famous scenes in the fun house are mind-blowing.  It’s hard to imagine how they got those shots.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SBsF4TimNF8

Trailer – cinematography by Charles Lawton Jr.

 

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Posted in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die, Noir Month

Run Lola Run (1998)

Posted on July 3, 2014 | Leave a comment

Run Lola Run (“Lola rennt”)
Directed by Tom Twyker
Written by Tom Twyker
1998/Germany
X-Filme Creative Pool/Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR)/Arte
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
#972 of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die
IMDb users say 7.8/10; I say 6/10

[box] Manni: What happened to you? Did you run here?[/box]

I really don’t  like this feature-length music video.

A gangster entrusted Manni (Moritz Bleibtreu) to courier 100,000 marks for him as a “test”. Manni accidentally leaves the bag with the cash on a train.  He will be killed if he cannot produce the money in 20 minutes.  He calls to his girlfriend Lola (Frankie Parent) for help and tells her that if she isn’t there in 20 minutes he is going to rob a supermarket. She races to his side.

The scenario of Lola’s run and efforts to get the money is repeated three times, each time with a slightly different beginning and very different results. The segments illustrate the earth-shaking concept of cause and effect.  The film plays out in animation, black-and-white (flashbacks), color video (actions taking place out of Lola’s direct knowledge) and color 35 mm (Lola’s viewpoint) at an absolutely frenetic pace.

I tried giving this movie another chance and it didn’t improve for me.  I find its “point” painfully obvious and simplistic and its components juvenile. I listened to the director’s commentary and one of the things he’s proudest of is that the soundtrack produced a hit single.  I’ve seen the montage made as a music video for the single and it works perfectly.

Trailer

 

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D.O.A. (1950)

Posted on July 3, 2014 | Leave a comment

D.O.A.
Directed by Rudolph Maté
1950/USA
Written by Russell Rouse and Clarence Green
Cardinal Pictures
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime Instant Video

 

[box] Dr. MacDonald: Of course, I’ll have to notify the police. This is a case for Homicide.

Frank Bigelow: Homicide?

Dr. MacDonald: I don’t think you fully understand, Bigelow. You’ve been murdered.[/box]

If they could only have left the girlfriend out of this movie …

The story takes place in flashback as accountant Frank Bigelow tells the police about his last three days.  He runs a business in Banning and decides to take week-long vacation in San Francisco without office manager and girlfriend Paula.  She personifies the needy, suffocating woman, calling him constantly and asking over and over for reassurance. But Frank forges on.  The first night there he hits a jazz club and has a few drinks.  The next morning he wakes up feeling rotten.

He visits a doctor who tells him he has been fatally poisoned with a “luminous toxin” and has at most a week or two to live.  Frank goes on a mission to find out who murdered him. His first lead is a man from Los Angeles named Phillips who was trying to reach him. He discovers that he notarized a bill of sale for Phillips several months previously. From here, Frank gets entangled with an iridium smuggling operation and thence with some very nasty thugs.  With Neville Brand as a psycho.

If I had been Frank and been saddled with Paula, poisoning may have seemed like a relief! But, 1950’s style, Frank’s ordeal only makes him appreciate the domesticity Paula offers.  I can’t help it, she wrecks every scene she is in for me.  All the parts with Frank running around solving the mystery are very suspenseful.  I like Edmund O’Brien as an ordinary guy whose immanent demise has made extraordinarily fearless.

Clip – inside the jive bar – cinematography by Ernest Lazlo

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Posted in 1950, Movie Reviews, Noir Month

The Window (1949)

Posted on July 3, 2014 | Leave a comment

The Window
Directed by Ted Tetzlaff
Written by Mel Dinelli based on a story by Cornell Woolrich
1949/USA
RKO Radio Pictures
First viewing/Warner Archive DVD

[box] Police Officer: A good lickin’ never hurt anybody, boy. My old man used to give me enough of ’em when I was a kid. Hey, still in all, I never thought of callin’ the cops when he did.[/box]

This is a gritty urban version of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf”.

Ten-year-old Tommy (Bobby Driscoll) is an imaginative child whose tall tales are driving his father (Arthur Kennedy) and mother (Barbara Hale) to distraction.  One hot summer night while he is sleeping on the fire escape of the tenement building where they live, Tommy wakes to see the upstairs neighbors murdering a man.  He tries to tell his parents and the police but nobody will believe that those nice Kellersons (Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman) could be killers … except the Kellersons, of course.  When the terrified Tommy is left at home alone, he must use all his courage and cunning to evade them.

I didn’t find this film too visually striking but the premise certainly is intriguing.  It had me thinking of how tough it can be to be child and not believed or even taken seriously.  Paul Stewart (the butler in Citizen Kane) is an appropriately sinister murderer and the chase through the city streets and into a condemned building is harrowing.  I was surprised at the amount of threatened and actual violence to a child for a movie of this period.

The Window was nominated for an Oscar for Best Film Editing.

For clips from the film on TCM go here http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/579260/Window-The-Movie-Clip-You-Never-Mean-Any-Harm.html  – cinematography by Robert de Grasse and William O. Steiner

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Act of Violence (1948)

Posted on July 2, 2014 | Leave a comment

Act of Violenceact of violence poster
Directed by Fred Zinnemann
Written by Robert L. Richards and Collier Young
1948/USA
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
First viewing/Warner Noir Collection Vol. 4

 

[box]Frank R. Enley: You don’t know what made him the way he is – I do![/box]

This is a tense thriller with a social conscience that presages the many good things director Zinnemann (High Noon, From Here to Eternity, The Nun’s Story) was to give us in the future.   It benefits from two fantastic perfomances by its leading men.

Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) is an embittered war veteran with a limp.  His former buddy Frank Enley (Van Heflin) has graduated to be a man with a beautiful young wife (Janet Leigh) and toddler and a model citizen of Santa Lisa, California.  They are heading for a showdown.

act of violence 8

Over the opening title credit, we see Joe packing his pistol and heading from New York to Santa Lisa.  He arrives in town to find a Memorial Day celebration, with Frank as keynote speaker.  We learn that Joe bears Frank a grudge from some misdeed done while the two were in a German prison camp.  The extent of the wrongdoing is only gradually revealed. Frank’s whole story comes out during an emotional confession to his wife.

act of violence 4

The rest of the film’s 82-minute running time is devoted to Joe’s relentless pursuit and Frank’s increasingly frantic efforts to escape.  Finally, he ends up on the wrong side of the tracks in Los Angeles being aided by a kind barfly (Mary Astor) and her extremely shady associates.  But Joe and Fate are waiting for him back in Santa Lisa.

act of violence 10

This is one terrific movie.  Zinneman saves the credits until the end, highly unusual in 1948, in order to build suspense from the very first second.  It doesn’t stop until those credits roll at the end.  I love the way the palette goes from bright when we first meet Frank and his family to increasingly darker hues as the extent of Frank’s predicament is revealed.  Heflin and Ryan are two of the greatest actors of the 40’s and 50’s and these performances show why. Mary Astor is touching in what may have been her lifetime best performance.  The tension is heightened by Branislau Kaper’s edgy score.  Highly recommended.

Opening credits – credits roll over action (Robert Ryan) – Cinematography by Robert Surtees

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Posted in 1948, Noir Month

He Walked by Night (1948)

Posted on July 2, 2014 | Leave a comment

He Walked by Nighthe walked by night poster
Directed by Alfred L. Werker (with an uncredited Anthony Mann)
Written by Crane Wilbur, John C. Higgins and Harry Essex
1948/USA
Bryan Foy Productions
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime Instant Video

Narrator: [Referring to the composite sketch] They showed that picture to the inmates of jails and prisons, to men with a wide acquaintance among the cat burglars and the violence boys, informers, con men, and sharpshooters – those on the fringe of crime and those deep in the rackets. Many wanted to help – nobody could! No one in the Underworld recognized that mysterious face. He was as unknown as if he had lived in the 16th Century.

This police procedural gave Jack Webb the idea for “Dragnet” but transcends the genre with an unforgettable performance by Richard Basehart and dark L.A. streets lit by noir master cinematographer John Alton.

he walked bny night 3

The plot is based on an actual case  A narrator matter-of-factly recounts the methods employed by the police to apprehend cop-killer Roy Martin (Basehart).  The chase is complicated by the fact that sweet-faced Martin has no record and considerable skill with radios that keeps him one step ahead of the police.  With Whit Bissell as a policeman and Jack Webb in the forensics lab.

he walked by night 2

The story might be a 1950’s CSI episode but for the considerable artistry with which it is told.  There are several awesome set pieces as when Martin extracts a bullet from his own chest and a chase through the storm drains of Los Angeles reminiscent of The Third Man but filmed a year earlier.  This is a movie that improved with a re-watch.  Recommended.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcgLaG9uo58

Clip – making the composite

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Posted in 1948, Noir Month