I’ve watched “The Long Wait” recently, a good little noir with Anthony Quinn as the incredibly misogynous and violent main character. Some occasionally striking cinematography, an interesting story and good acting all-around, but of course the main selling point is the beautiful Mary Ellen Kay as one of the femme fatale (the one with the most screen time, I believe). What a woman!
Frank Borzage’s Moonrise has been viewed.
Too bad this one has been generally overlooked, for it’s a fine film, albeit differing in key respects from traditional noir: not only does it eschew an urban setting, taking place in the swampy American south, but it is essentially warm-hearted, testament to its director’s reputation as a romanticist.
It has the requisite ‘doomed’ protagonist, played by Dale Clark, an everyman type, whose sense of paranoia, persecution and desperation – both as the son of a man who was hanged for murder, and as an accidental murderer - is masterfully evoked by Borzage’s use of first-person perspective and tight close-ups, and the cloying shadows of John L. Russell’s photography. (The screen shots posted earlier by Korano are taken from the nightmarish opening montage.)
There’s a rich cast of supporting players and some memorable dialogue, but perhaps the outcome is a little jarring if you view it from a strictly noir perspective. Ignorant as I am of Borzage’s filmography, however, it is regarded as being consistent with his worldview.
Hows about Asphalt Jungle (1950)? Any you guys seen it or like it?
Great film. For many people it’s the definitive heist movie, though I prefer the (even more) acerbic The Killing.
Nice movie too, hearing the killing reminds me of another great flick. The Killers 1945 or 46. What do you think of that one?
I usually get the 2 mixed up as well. Both great noirs.
The Killers is in my top ten noirs. I love the structure (it’s like another chronicle of a death foretold), and the mood and performances are all spot-on. Director Robert Siodmark deserves a lot more attention than he generally gets.
I agree, top ten for sure
Throw out some titles, I need to see a good noir. Please dont talk about the movie, I would prefer to see them not knowing anything
give me your favorite, I will let you know if ive seen it, if not I will watch it
Any of you ever picked up any 16mm off ebay, often thought of buying an actual film but afraid of storing it
I watched Pickup on South Street today. A really good film noir full of brilliant direction, photograhy and acting (especially Richard Widmark), help offset a weak script that is marred by too much Commi-bashing.
It’s certainley a product of it’s time. The energetic atmosphere is something that a Fuller film always seems to have. Very cinematic.
I recently watched O. Preminger’s “Whirlpool”-1949 with Jose Ferrer and the beautiful Gene Tierney. About a young wife who is caught in a spiral of deceit, blackmail and murder. Jose Ferrer is good as the manipulated creep. Also watched Arthur Lubin’s "IMPACT"1949-with Brian Donlevy and Ella Raines. About a millionaire-industrialist who is marked for murder by is sexy young wife and her seedy lover. Two very good film noir’s
Yes, his use of long takes is always very well done. Have you seen his Western Forty Guns? There are shots in there that are just superlative.
I watched Josef Von Sternberg’s The Shanghai Gesture (1941) today. An enjoyable, if overblown noir that has a host of familiar faces and performances.
I viewed Private Hell 36 today. Good potograhy, acting and direction make this, while not Don Siegel’s best film, an enjoyable one.
“Private Hell 36” (1954), directed by Don Siegel, is tough little film noir starring a reliable cast of familiar faces for film buffs: Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Dean Jagger, Dorothy Malone and Howard Duff.
The plot isn’t anything particularly special: two cops (Cochran and Duff) decide to take thousands of dollars from the suitcase of a dead counterfeiter and hid it in a trailer park. But then Cochran starts suffering with his conscience…
The opening scene is the best when Steve Cochran stumbles onto a drug store robbery late night. Burnett Guffey’s agile camera surveys the action with a cool calm and helps put everything into perspective. The jazz soundtrack composed by Leith Stevens purrs along nicely, as does Don Siegel’s direction, which is far from his finest hour but still holds the viewer interested in the events portrayed. The acting, on the main, is good, especially Ida Lupino as a singer cop Howard Duff falls fall. This isn’t a shining example of the film noir genre but it passes the time pleasantly enough.
The Human Jungle (1954), directed by Joseph M. Newman, who would go on to make the classic science fiction film “This Island Earth” (1955) is film noir starring Gary Merrill, Jan Sterling and Regis Toomey.
The screenplay is nothing out of the ordinary: a cop turned lawyer (Gary Merrill) is offered to become chief of police in a hard inner city neighbourhood and he attempts to crack down on a large mobster (Florenz Ames).
After achieving stardom in films like “All About Eve” (1950), Gary Merrill’s film career seemed to slowly die during the middle of the fifties in movies like this. Having seen him quality productions, one blames the script rather than he for the arrogant, bull-headed and plain unlikable persona he has here. In fact, by the end of it, you want him to die. The limp direction does the motion picture no favours and only Jan Sterling, Florenz Ames and Paula Raymond come out of the acting department with much dignity. It’s a shame really that Ellis W. Carter, the cinematographer, and Hans J. Salter’s music are found too far below what there talents deserve and manage to make this banal and film noir just about watchable.
To give John a break from having conversations by himself ;)…
I’ll be watching Michael Curtiz’s The Breaking Point soon. I velieve it was John Garfields penultimate film. Also based on Hemingway’s to hate and have not
[quote=“korano, post:519, topic:1786”]To give John a break from having conversations by himself ;)…
I’ll be watching Michael Curtiz’s The Breaking Point soon. I velieve it was John Garfields penultimate film. Also based on Hemingway’s to hate and have not[/quote]
Thanks.
The novel isn’t one of Hemingway’s best (the last two chapters or so are all wrong for that kind of novel), but I’m pretty sure it’d work quite well on film.