Book to Movie: In a Lonely Place

<div class="MsoNormal"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDJrymFIQxctjdVRb8Run2v1LNZZN3LOTB3Yop1qvR8xAioLu1PNCNkmZvKbmSUDwv5NNLZUw13CNuwsSsqL1VRH5Z9jXN_3VqqD4_4OgEyK7sPJM-XLyqhPNRbbVUzZQh0OJrljggRSp/s1600/in+a+lonely+place+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrDJrymFIQxctjdVRb8Run2v1LNZZN3LOTB3Yop1qvR8xAioLu1PNCNkmZvKbmSUDwv5NNLZUw13CNuwsSsqL1VRH5Z9jXN_3VqqD4_4OgEyK7sPJM-XLyqhPNRbbVUzZQh0OJrljggRSp/s1600/in+a+lonely+place+3.jpg" /></a></div><br /><br /><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A few weeks ago I took another look at Nicholas Ray’s haunting film noir, <i>In a Lonely Place</i> (1950). As I watched, it slowly began to rankle that the central character, Dix Steele (Humphrey Bogart), a Hollywood screenwriter with an explosive temper, is consistently touted as a great guy by most who know him. Even the ex-girlfriend whose nose he once broke remains a friend (she never pressed charges), and it's well known that he's had scrapes with the law more than once for his loutish dust-ups. His friends remain staunch even after he is named prime suspect in the killing of a young hat-check girl who was last seen with him.</span><br /><a name='more'></a></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dix's harsh treatment of his new girlfriend, Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), is mostly excused because, as a murder suspect, he's under great stress. For example, there's the night...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2XsAXY_-CmiwDxhRYtmIOOL1rvtjfN9aR6A2-CW8DgvTL68qu1vF8hsI-rei4E6FEyJIzCrfascTAB2twqjnWwyxeOVKD-wEB2vIQPvVCfig51gdmkgicACeu2UvFHkUIzU9No3BTjcV/s1600/in+a+lonely+place+beach+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="301" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic2XsAXY_-CmiwDxhRYtmIOOL1rvtjfN9aR6A2-CW8DgvTL68qu1vF8hsI-rei4E6FEyJIzCrfascTAB2twqjnWwyxeOVKD-wEB2vIQPvVCfig51gdmkgicACeu2UvFHkUIzU9No3BTjcV/s400/in+a+lonely+place+beach+2.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lovejoy, Donnell, Bogart, Grahame - this party is about to break up... </td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Steele becomes pointlessly enraged with Laurel at a cookout and gets behind the wheel of his car, taking her on a hair-raising ride. His recklessness causes an accident and when the other driver confronts him, Dix’s temper blows and he begins viciously beating the man. Even after Laurel intercedes (saving the other man’s life?), Dix seems to feel justified in his violent attack because the other driver called him names.</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dix refers to his own “artistic” temperament and, according to one supporting character, “…he’s a writer, people like that have a right to be temperamental.” A long-time associate comments, “…he has a right to explode sometimes, it’s as much a part of him as his eyes…” His former Army buddy (Frank Lovejoy) observes, “he’s an exciting guy” with “a superior mind.”  This is a man who challenges a stranger to a fist fight within the first five minutes of the film and punches out another man minutes later. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Because I had questions about a plot point that seemed incongruous, I became curious about the changes that may have occurred as the story made its way from page to screen and decided to read the novel on which <i>In a Lonely Place</i> was based.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I was in for a few surprises.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRAF1BdPWvBwuSXu4VJ-qGUaPZYCn2xWN_RboW0359ZcdUVEK75ja0Di2CxMc9C22-Y7MS1FwMUe_hECHDOtStDS0EUWLBiI3jgBHw44ZPTiRX6tKgPokJFpng4wBpZnlhrzJ9PevF6Gn/s1600/in+a+lonely+place+book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBRAF1BdPWvBwuSXu4VJ-qGUaPZYCn2xWN_RboW0359ZcdUVEK75ja0Di2CxMc9C22-Y7MS1FwMUe_hECHDOtStDS0EUWLBiI3jgBHw44ZPTiRX6tKgPokJFpng4wBpZnlhrzJ9PevF6Gn/s320/in+a+lonely+place+book.jpg" width="222" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>In a Lonely Place </i></span><span style="font-size: small;">was first published in 1947, penned by prominent mystery/crime writer Dorothy B. Hughes. It was her eleventh novel and two of her previous books had already been made into films – <i>The Fallen Sparrow</i> and <i>Ride the Pink Horse</i>. Interestingly, the author’s first published work was a book of poetry; she was also a literary critic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">While many of the book's elements were retained, both  its plot and themes are significantly different from the film. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The book:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dix Steele, not long back from WWII, is staying in Los Angeles in the swank but borrowed garden court apartment of an old Princeton chum. He contacts war buddy, Brub Nicolai, of the locally prominent Nicolai family, now married and a detective with the LAPD. Both men had dropped out of elite colleges to enlist in the war and flew together in Europe where they became close pals.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dix has no profession, he’s been drifting since the war, but says he’s writing a mystery novel. He originally devised this story so the very wealthy uncle who raised him would subsidize him for a year or so while he wrote. Dix, unlike his uncle, has no interest in hard work but developed a taste for the good life at Princeton and as a high-living ace flyer during the war.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Brub, along with most of the LAPD, is focused on a sensational case involving the rape/strangulations of young women in West L.A. Brub is afraid for his own lovely blonde wife, Sylvia; the couple lives in Santa Monica near the beach.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dix, who is handsome, charming and polished, is attractive to women and knows it. When he catches sight of one of his garden court neighbors, a knockout named Laurel Gray, he is dazzled and pursues her on the spot. Young but savvy, Laurel is a fledgling actress just out of a miserable marriage to a wealthy man. She and Dix soon become involved.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkToeFERw28kwZbluR_AgKbv1Z4THi3Dc-4gB9xyjCGmgJhyphenhyphenPT-Civ-mgbSNT_mH8O-NIMxe2D_3C_fsFVudNbEshVCqXxbyrbxGHLSnlX5RgF0ct0VTqcEi7wcUnVwEOUr2VaCXCjoZ4/s1600/In+a+Lonely+Place+set.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDkToeFERw28kwZbluR_AgKbv1Z4THi3Dc-4gB9xyjCGmgJhyphenhyphenPT-Civ-mgbSNT_mH8O-NIMxe2D_3C_fsFVudNbEshVCqXxbyrbxGHLSnlX5RgF0ct0VTqcEi7wcUnVwEOUr2VaCXCjoZ4/s320/In+a+Lonely+Place+set.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grahame (then Mrs. Ray), Bogart and Ray on the set</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The movie:</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dix Steele, a screenwriter who “hasn’t had a hit in ten years,” is known for his intransigence about the writing assignments he will accept - as well as his violent temper. He comes under police scrutiny when a young hat-check girl is murdered after a visit to his apartment. Dix’s old Army buddy, strictly middle-class Brub Nicolai (Frank Lovejoy), an LAPD detective, takes Dix in to the station for questioning the morning after the girl’s murder. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Laurel Gray (Gloria Grahame), Dix’s new neighbor, steps in as a witness on his behalf, but Dix remains the #1 suspect. Laurel and Dix become romantically involved. Meanwhile, Dix’s peculiar behavior one evening at the Nicolai home disturbs Brub’s wife Sylvia (Jeff Donnell). Brub scoffs.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dix has other friends, all Hollywood types, who attest that he’s a stand-up guy, albeit one with an erratic temper. Dix explodes several times in the course of the film and even those close to him (Brub, Sylvia, Laurel) become suspicious of his connection to the murder.  But Dix is innocent; the slain young woman’s boyfriend eventually confesses.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The novel takes a less circuitous route in identifying the murderer, in this case a serial killer:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Written as a third person narrative, the book presents the story entirely from the viewpoint of Dix Steele. And from its early pages, there is no doubt that Dix is a killer. By the end of the book, it develops that he has not only raped and strangled women in Los Angeles but also on the East Coast and in Europe...and that he has also killed a wealthy college pal and appropriated his home, his belongings and his charge accounts.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">These facts emerge slowly as the story unfolds and Dix, a stealthy character (though not nearly as clever as he thinks) but lacking an overtly nasty temperament, does not become a suspect until toward the end of the book. It is Brub’s wife, Sylvia, quiet and perceptive, who notices that something is awry in the man. Later, Laurel, who observes Dix’s inconsistencies and mood swings, comes to believe that Dix is the killer and confides her suspicions to Brub and Sylvia. Dix finally begins to unravel, certain from one moment to the next that either the police are closing in on him or that he’s outsmarted everyone again.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As with the movie, the book does not depict murder, though Dix’s stalking of his victims is detailed. <i>In a Lonely Place</i> is a well-written and well-plotted page-turner. Hughes’ description of Dix through his internal dialogue is thoroughly absorbing. The writer provides no explanation for Dix’s deeper motives though, through his agitated thoughts, it comes out that he profoundly resented being raised by a wealthy but stingy uncle who insisted his nephew adopt his own intense work ethic. We know from his behavior that Dix has no desire to work but has a sense of entitlement. We discover that, at Princeton, Dix attached himself, as a toady, to a rich crowd so that he could pass as one of them. From Dix’s reactions to certain intrusive sounds it seems that though he enjoyed the excitement of flying in combat, something of the experience rattled him.  And finally, it develops that he continues to be a fixated on “Brucie,” the woman he loved during the war. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It’s fair to say that the story of a rapist/murderer told from the killer's point of view might not have appealed to filmmakers (not to mention censors) in 1950. And, though he was not an actor afraid of playing flawed characters, it’s doubtful Bogart, whose own company produced, was inclined to portray a serial killer/rapist at age 51. So, it's understandable that changes were made. But what of Dix’s onscreen character</span><span style="font-size: small;">? Though he does offer jaded charm and dry wit, he is just barely sympathetic. Perhaps emphasis on the devotion of his friends was meant to cue audience acceptance. And perhaps the mores of mid-century America allowed the brutish acts of a man otherwise labeled 'good' to be tolerated.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSJ29nUiE4ubgZQwIMgkuoVFlMkfvzAtV8gioEutyKsqcIqpYMTOefX7MoFwQpRJX412XgOv0ElLfFLECD88_Ciway9Khrnk9sdqmOkgzEDfQkTq175Y6HwkyYzIQhQahjpKfz68WekwR/s1600/in+a+lonely+place+madman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKSJ29nUiE4ubgZQwIMgkuoVFlMkfvzAtV8gioEutyKsqcIqpYMTOefX7MoFwQpRJX412XgOv0ElLfFLECD88_Ciway9Khrnk9sdqmOkgzEDfQkTq175Y6HwkyYzIQhQahjpKfz68WekwR/s320/in+a+lonely+place+madman.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was born when she kissed me, I died when she left me...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By the last act of Nick Ray’s film, Laurel has become convinced of Dix’s guilt and is terrified of him. As the murder investigation wears on, Dix has grown more unpredictable and paranoid; when he discovers that Laurel has plans to slip away, he snaps. He very nearly does kill her - she is virtually saved by the bell, a ringing telephone that brings news of Dix's exoneration. The relationship has, of course, just been demolished. It's worth noting that Laurel's lament that had the call come a day earlier it would've "meant the world" to the two of them, implies that their romance would've survived had Dix kept his abusive antics just short of attempted murder...</span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The back story on <i>In a Lonely Place</i> is that the film was originally going to end with Dix, not yet a killer, actually murdering Laurel in that scene. However, Ray, who was involved with the script (along with Andrew Solt), wasn't satisfied with this ending and changed it.</span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today Nicholas Ray's rendering of <i>In a Lonely Place</i> stands as classic noir, noteworthy for its intimations on Hollywood during the blacklist era. The performances of Bogart and Grahame are regarded as among their finest. Meanwhile, the reputation of Dorothy B. Hughes was revived early in the 21st century with the reissue of some of her best work. She has been compared to the icons of mystery/crime fiction and one contemporary writer of the genre has claimed that Hughes "puts Chandler to shame."     </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: "Trebuchet MS","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">  </span></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/gWi9bvGX49g" width="420"></iframe></div>

Dorothy B. Hughes Film Noir Gloria Grahame Humphrey Bogart In a Lonely Place Nicholas Ray Noir Fiction The Lady Eve (author) Book to Movie: In a Lonely Place

A few weeks ago I took another look at Nicholas Ray’s haunting film noir, In a Lonely Place (1950). As I watched, it slowly began to rankle...

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For the Love of Film (Noir): About Ida Lupino

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBojafVehwFYfGARreLyK0uAxJ06VELNg61wZ2haf26Sg-AsMnmOoM5kfmIYKQNEK9-TSCdsmA6Z3rrinJwf1hNrH7ukckqgAajSxZ3kt_Zv_l6x8Xk5WvkHQer4Qv8945ljhgmO21KLd9/s1600/Ida+expressed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBojafVehwFYfGARreLyK0uAxJ06VELNg61wZ2haf26Sg-AsMnmOoM5kfmIYKQNEK9-TSCdsmA6Z3rrinJwf1hNrH7ukckqgAajSxZ3kt_Zv_l6x8Xk5WvkHQer4Qv8945ljhgmO21KLd9/s320/Ida+expressed.jpg" width="237" /></a></div><br /><i>This review was part of the For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation.</i><br /><br />One of the great dames of film noir, and quite a bit more, Ida Lupino was born in London in 1918. Her father was Stanley Lupino, a star of the West End stage who wrote many of the productions in which he appeared. Lupino Lane, an important British music hall star, was a cousin. And Ida's mother, Connie, was an actress. Of her father Ida Lupino once said, "I knew it would break his heart if I didn't go into the business," and so she did, even though her first love was writing.<br /><a name='more'></a><br />Her first credited film was Allan Dwan's <b>Her First Affaire </b>(1933). It was an ingenue part and an inaccurate industry myth had it that her mother read for the part but lost it to young Ida [thanks to Jean Howard for clarifying this]. In any case, the role led to several screen appearances in quick succession. By year's end she was signed by Paramount Pictures and headed from London to Hollywood.<br />  <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjae7YYFsLimv2stwGaFdixFovTgbUrHqFTuEsxYFSJlYS089Hj38K6maqxVzXh8VTFq-Xr6F_Y3moxE5ZRemFxGC7_wx2A0jPE0GvFJCmOn-hHJ8dmNwz58w7pw5KxthYSSYI7a0BjyU6m/s1600/sherlock+holmes+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="168" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjae7YYFsLimv2stwGaFdixFovTgbUrHqFTuEsxYFSJlYS089Hj38K6maqxVzXh8VTFq-Xr6F_Y3moxE5ZRemFxGC7_wx2A0jPE0GvFJCmOn-hHJ8dmNwz58w7pw5KxthYSSYI7a0BjyU6m/s200/sherlock+holmes+3.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</b></td></tr></tbody></table>She was to star in <b>Alice in Wonderland, </b>but that didn't pan out. Only 15, Ida seemed mature beyond her years and lost the part. She made several mostly forgotten films, endured a battle with polio and resumed her career. With <b>The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes</b> (1939) she was noticed in a role that provided an opportunity to demonstrate her range. William Wellman's <b>The Light That Failed</b> (1940) was her first real break. Though no one had wanted her in a part considered unsympathetic, Lupino pursued the role and in the end it brought her fame.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3Qu0fPsWAhBYSKEoIs4FSsi-VsJA_d8GCAFAy-pmMg_wqCQivv7CkjAytopBhoLWK_8QcdSp4VXWMJO6iTWpERUz8IfDfqk9HlK2lCPhKhnzx-RtdC3XtlzlJSTffmwwL3ZBsfSKmOtK/s1600/hard+way.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx3Qu0fPsWAhBYSKEoIs4FSsi-VsJA_d8GCAFAy-pmMg_wqCQivv7CkjAytopBhoLWK_8QcdSp4VXWMJO6iTWpERUz8IfDfqk9HlK2lCPhKhnzx-RtdC3XtlzlJSTffmwwL3ZBsfSKmOtK/s1600/hard+way.jpg" /></a></div>She soon moved on to Warner Bros. and it was here her reputation as a dame-of-noir began with her fiery performance as Lana Carlsen in <b>They Drive by Night </b>(1940). <b>High Sierra</b> (1941)<b> </b>and <b>The Sea Wolf</b> (1941)<b> </b>quickly followed and her value to Warners was established. However, with Bette Davis the reigning queen of the lot, Ida Lupino was frequently assigned films the great star had passed on. Referring to herself as "the poor man's Bette Davis," she spent a good amount of time on suspension from the studio for refusing roles she considered unworthy. Fortunately, she accepted the part of driven, manipulative Helen Chernen in <b>The Hard Way</b> (1943); for her performance she received the New York Drama Critics' Best Actress Award.<br /><br />During this time, Lupino was married to actor Louis Hayward (<b>Anthony Adverse</b>, <b>The Man in the Iron Mask</b>). Hayward enlisted in the Marines at the onset of World War II and commanded the photographic unit that filmed the battle of Tarawa (November 1943). The film won a Best Documentary Short Subject Oscar but the experience of the bloody four-day battle left Hayward badly shell-shocked and the couple split up.<br /><br />Although Lupino's acting career continued, it was during a lengthy studio suspension in the mid-'40s that she started thinking seriously about directing. She married producer Collier Young in 1948 and in 1949 they put together an independent production company called Emerald Productions, later rechristened The Filmakers.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5M6j77ZJUvm7bnrsh-NK8_fIkuV0Tb-HwB_aUfwvJj8LRDUatCmJzt1PdPTmv4GNznIkk9JgqgGIHWQyqcrq4P_Id_oHd3tF8WLBlIDhtSHLI7CbRw3NxfpWzUwU48rYnjOhT1LdjfGe7/s1600/idalupino%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="156" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5M6j77ZJUvm7bnrsh-NK8_fIkuV0Tb-HwB_aUfwvJj8LRDUatCmJzt1PdPTmv4GNznIkk9JgqgGIHWQyqcrq4P_Id_oHd3tF8WLBlIDhtSHLI7CbRw3NxfpWzUwU48rYnjOhT1LdjfGe7/s200/idalupino%255B1%255D.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ida Lupino, director</td></tr></tbody></table> The company's first effort, <b>Not Wanted </b>(1949), featured a screenplay by Ida Lupino and was to be directed by Elmer Clifton. A few days into shooting Clifton suffered a heart attack and the actress stepped in to finish the film (but gave the credit to Clifton). Co-starring with Sally Forrest, a young actress Lupino would tap again, was Leo Penn an actor/director now best known as the father of Sean Penn. The film, like most Lupino directed, broached a ticklish subject for the time - unwanted pregnancy.<br /><br />Three low-budget, Lupino-directed classics came out of The Filmakers: <b>Hard, Fast and Beautiful</b> (1951) with Claire Trevor and Sally Forrest, <b>The Hitch-Hiker</b> (1953) with Edmond O'Brien and William Talman and <b>The Bigamist </b>(1953) with Edmond O'Brien, Joan Fontaine and Lupino herself. In the meantime, Lupino also co-starred with Robert Ryan in Nicholas Ray's powerful <b>On Dangerous Ground</b> (1952) and reportedly directed some of the film while Ray was ill.<br /><br />By the time the last three Filmaker efforts were produced, Ida Lupino and Collier Young had divorced. Lupino married actor Howard Duff not long after. In 1954, The Filmakers dissolved but Lupino later found herself in demand to direct for TV. Over the next few decades she directed dozens of episodes for series television, including "Alfred Hitchcock Presents, "The Twilight Zone" and "The Untouchables." At the same time she continued to act in film and on television; she and Howard Duff starred in a very popular TV series, "Mr. Adams and Eve" from 1957 - 1958, and Lupino was nominated for Best Actress Emmys for both seasons of the show.<br /> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XBUsw1kyDfvctbwv5v8E51ApAJl9utS8TsYhqy4FeSEhEVlIa5VpnKY-ms2WPk9fjJMqjxfC4s2rg69ndZ2HIP4B92XVkyd4SNBmoIt7XvZqvMZa9XR6AzUEGKCKV-6SfmHHw08oywYb/s1600/ida+and+steve+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="185" j6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5XBUsw1kyDfvctbwv5v8E51ApAJl9utS8TsYhqy4FeSEhEVlIa5VpnKY-ms2WPk9fjJMqjxfC4s2rg69ndZ2HIP4B92XVkyd4SNBmoIt7XvZqvMZa9XR6AzUEGKCKV-6SfmHHw08oywYb/s200/ida+and+steve+2.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ida and Steve in <b>Junior Bonner</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> Busy with television, Lupino directed only one more theatrical film, <b>The Trouble with Angels </b>(1966), a comedy starring Rosalind Russell and Hayley Mills. She didn't appear in many films at this point, but her later film career included an exceptional turn as Steve McQueen's mother in <b>Junior Bonner</b> (1972).<br /><br />Onscreen, Ida Lupino was an edgy combination of tough and tender and is remembered as one of the legendary actresses of film noir.<br /><br />Behind the camera, she developed a hard-boiled, suspenseful style while working on tight schedules with small budgets. Today she is not only honored as a pioneering "woman director," but is also an acknowledged auteur of the early 1950s. <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </div><br />My own introduction to Ida Lupino came long ago by way of the flickering box in our family living room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><b>High Sierra</b>,<b> The Sea Wolf</b> and <b>Road House</b> (1948) aired regularly on TV in those days and the bruised but determined characters that were her stock in trade got my attention. Of those three films, it was in <b>Road House</b> that she most stirred my imagination. Her character, Lily, is a been-around-the-block torch singer who attracts more than a crowd at the out-of-the-way road house where she performs. Though Lily has a hard luck past and more pain to come, this time Lupino’s character is the locus of a romantic triangle and she commands much of the film - which is saying something with a co-star like Richard Widmark. And there is the added attraction of her singing - in her own dusky voice - two torch classics, “Again” and “One for My Baby.”<br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="300" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/h1Q71t5D8ko" title="YouTube video player" width="480"></iframe></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div>

Film Noir Hard Fast and Beautiful High Sierra Ida Lupino Junior Bonner Not Wanted On Dangerous Ground Road House The Bigamist The Hard Way The Hitch-Hiker The Lady Eve (author) They Drive By Night For the Love of Film (Noir): About Ida Lupino

This review was part of the For the Love of Film: The Film Preservation Blogathon to benefit the Film Noir Foundation. One of the great dame...

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"Who's Crazy Now?" - Noir City 9, Opening Night

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JyO4o0Un7rnr0sZ98fRzfqZgm7T1_5crq_G3BROeKC5cLGeW8yMVymdbjpXYATgfsPgLY6qiMPA0K_NYM-QPUPwssh0AiFRWIhvRJBfK7r4toWgV2PWBtuKbhZorGO20FHtlhlJ8wE0E/s1600/strangerfloor%255B2%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="209" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JyO4o0Un7rnr0sZ98fRzfqZgm7T1_5crq_G3BROeKC5cLGeW8yMVymdbjpXYATgfsPgLY6qiMPA0K_NYM-QPUPwssh0AiFRWIhvRJBfK7r4toWgV2PWBtuKbhZorGO20FHtlhlJ8wE0E/s320/strangerfloor%255B2%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stranger on the Third Floor</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">So…I paid my 10 bucks to park in the lot adjacent to Sullivan’s Funeral Home on Market Street in San Francisco and was heading for the Wells Fargo ATM near 16^th...I checked my phone and noticed a text message…my friend Dick, who I was to meet for dinner before attending opening night of San Francisco’s 9^th annual film noir festival.</span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">I called him to find out where he was…on Castro St. between 18^th and 19^th - also on his way to an ATM. After we got our cash we met at Market and Castro and walked over to Café La Taza on 18^th to get a bite. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">By the time I finished my meal, glass of wine and coconut ice cream-over-a-warm-cookie dessert, it was quarter to seven and time to get to the theater…the line, we knew, would be long…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">It was, and with our print-your-own-tickets in hand we got on line and waited for the doors to open. An eclectic crowd, we agreed...a sprinkling of ladies dressed in ‘40’s finery but most in street wear staring into space or talking with friends. Dick and I talked about my godson Nicky who’s thinking of going to his first big music concert, Coachella in April. </span> </div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PpW5ujVWJBHy6MK2okRzdRu4MWpIc_vEQ1SF6ONwb08qEzq5TAFOJPCsKPKqAcqICR-zDyJowWmg_alJ0BsOpZhyphenhyphenlI1Og8HMFm1ARGeGWIXG8r6KCub0fg6cGf5bKy3rG4HHgiwGXQZQ/s1600/castro2%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="136" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7PpW5ujVWJBHy6MK2okRzdRu4MWpIc_vEQ1SF6ONwb08qEzq5TAFOJPCsKPKqAcqICR-zDyJowWmg_alJ0BsOpZhyphenhyphenlI1Og8HMFm1ARGeGWIXG8r6KCub0fg6cGf5bKy3rG4HHgiwGXQZQ/s320/castro2%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Noir City at San Francisco's Castro Theatre</td></tr></tbody></table> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Once inside we checked seating on the main floor and quickly headed up the steps to the balcony. The Castro has 1,400 seats, so if you get there reasonably on time it’s not hard to find decent seats.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The evening was obviously sold out - the theater filled quickly. Then the lights dimmed, music swelled and we were treated to an intoxicating 6-minute montage created by Serena Bramble featuring clips from the countless noir and neo-noir and crime-themed films set or shot in San Francisco…from <b>The Maltese Falcon </b>to <b>Dark Passage</b> to <b>Vertigo</b> to <b>Basic Instinct </b>and many others in between and beyond…the montage culminated with the greeting, “Welcome to Noir City” and the crowd erupted with cheers and applause…(<i><span style="color: #990000;">watch the montage below!</span></i>)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfwVidTYFp0n2UmdaUaspWUqrnKVorFRz6tG9z_vzn3WoLdjBDQocy9IclS-7y_3WijM87COgq1iS3oCv4DWK5mIhRa_WKD5BAb1y9aKPu-DfVw7vPYcoaYhrXZ0LwwFqB7lWskXYl40o/s1600/Castro+exterior+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQfwVidTYFp0n2UmdaUaspWUqrnKVorFRz6tG9z_vzn3WoLdjBDQocy9IclS-7y_3WijM87COgq1iS3oCv4DWK5mIhRa_WKD5BAb1y9aKPu-DfVw7vPYcoaYhrXZ0LwwFqB7lWskXYl40o/s200/Castro+exterior+2.jpg" width="135" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Castro Theatre</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial;">Next, Eddie Muller, founder of the Film Noir Foundation, took the stage. After introducing this year’s young and slinky Ms. Noir City, he talked about film noir and about the work of preservation and his passion for it. The first screening of the night, <b>High Wall</b> (1947) is one of three newly restored films to premiere at the festival. The UCLA Film & Television Archive supervised the creation of preservation prints with funding provided by the FNF. Muller thanked everyone for coming - the evening’s proceeds, he said, paid for the restoration of the film we were about to see. Finally, he dedicated the event to his friend, mystery writer Joe Gores, who very recently passed away.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">The theme of Noir City 9 is <i>Who’s Crazy Now? </i>and both opening night films reflected that premise in spades…<b>High Wall</b> is primarily set in a psychiatric institution, and <b>Stranger on the Third Floor</b> (1940) is about a reporter who suffers a paranoid episode (and fanastic dream) and features an out-and-out madman.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzWkJ7AsP7bwFoDVq0c6M1EnFWDVib_LDZw8vaajsrhiJup1hSn7rZYV4le17KZ8ZPiq0M_jeBEfycUJ7TeNaoX63N4QAN6Rj6QH-4-1zmn1J7rCAwqoaZgM-4Hy63JtESrH2CC-7Tr6K/s1600/taylor+high+wall.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlzWkJ7AsP7bwFoDVq0c6M1EnFWDVib_LDZw8vaajsrhiJup1hSn7rZYV4le17KZ8ZPiq0M_jeBEfycUJ7TeNaoX63N4QAN6Rj6QH-4-1zmn1J7rCAwqoaZgM-4Hy63JtESrH2CC-7Tr6K/s200/taylor+high+wall.jpg" width="185" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Robert Taylor, High Wall</td></tr></tbody></table><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: small;">High Wall <span style="font-weight: normal;">stars Robert Taylor, still a major Hollywood star but slightly past his prime at the time this film was made. He and Herbert Marshall do the heavy lifting in this dark confection. Leading lady Audrey Totter was having a big year in 1947 with starring roles in this film as well as </span>The Lady in the Lake,<span style="font-weight: normal;"> and a co-starring role in </span>The Unsuspected<span style="font-weight: normal;">. She’s a little stiff as Taylor’s psychiatrist, but the script doesn't give her much help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>Thankfully, Totter’s natural sex appeal manages to peek through from time to time. Herbert Marshall, who often played weak upstanding men, is the villain here. In a part that vaguely echoes his role in Hitchcock’s </span>Foreign Correspondent<span style="font-weight: normal;">, he is one of the strengths in this flawed thriller. To enjoy </span>High Wall<span style="font-weight: normal;">, suspension of disbelief is mandatory…the film is an entertaining snapshot rather than a stark reflection of the dark subtext of the post-war late ‘40s. </span></span></span></h1> <br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6rxRsDJR_PwoQ1duLml6K4KamMi3uTkxdHMZf3CQt8PCQApp-00qoPSZWBM-R6aWL9e1MfZ7bmBkdk-Y1MgRvlRfcl7uPtQV3pfzLsr34noxsWQi5owKu8U1XVNyjgp3B5-rD6hWNLE1/s1600/160x400%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR6rxRsDJR_PwoQ1duLml6K4KamMi3uTkxdHMZf3CQt8PCQApp-00qoPSZWBM-R6aWL9e1MfZ7bmBkdk-Y1MgRvlRfcl7uPtQV3pfzLsr34noxsWQi5owKu8U1XVNyjgp3B5-rD6hWNLE1/s200/160x400%255B1%255D.jpg" width="80" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Laura Ellis</td></tr></tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Intermission. The evening continued with a performance by chanteuse <a href="http://www.lauraellisjazz.com/home.html"><span style="color: #990000;">Laura Ellis</span></a> who, clad in a gorgeous emerald green figure-hugging gown (think <b>Gilda</b>)<b> </b>crooned a luscious ballad that swept me back several decades to a time before my time. A protégé of <i>The Manhattan Transfer’s</i> Alan Paul, Ellis was a wonderful surprise. Would love to hear her version of “Green Eyes” or “Tangerine” and will be keeping an eye on her tour schedule.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">The evening just kept getting better. Muller returned with the special guest of the night, Judy Wyler Sheldon, daughter of director William Wyler and actress Margaret Tallichet. Tallichet was leading lady of the night's second feature, <b>Stranger on the Third Floor</b>. Sheldon, who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is on the board of the San Francisco Silent Film Society, recounted an anecdote about the first time she saw this film.</span> <br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15iRTpiUZhc82bZbhY1myKQt6DwAS1xCUnAwYyva67wBno21rQ03GH8Pv-NIddfeaEzF2h-gtpwyw6HTe_V3-vUTzCj4w1LAPeeGPSuqLoHtf8Q7tTNkZgY3iqVmdJ3vzKgzILhTSVf8p/s1600/Wyler+Tallichet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj15iRTpiUZhc82bZbhY1myKQt6DwAS1xCUnAwYyva67wBno21rQ03GH8Pv-NIddfeaEzF2h-gtpwyw6HTe_V3-vUTzCj4w1LAPeeGPSuqLoHtf8Q7tTNkZgY3iqVmdJ3vzKgzILhTSVf8p/s1600/Wyler+Tallichet.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Wyler and Margaret Tallichet</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">In the 1970s a small local film club advertised a screening of <b>Stranger on the Third Floor</b> and Sheldon decided to attend; she hadn't seen any of her mother's films up to that point. She decided to invite her dad and mom to come along - which they did. As it turned out, the screening was in the home of the club's president and when Judy showed up with not only her husband but her illustrious father and her mother, one of the film's stars, all jaws dropped. She mentioned to the rapt Noir City 9 audience that she hadn't been sure how her father would take <i>not</i> being the center of attention for once, but he turned out to be game and the evening was a big hit. Sometime later Judy Sheldon attended another of the film club's screenings and noticed that the check her father had written to cover admittance had never been cashed but was in a frame on the wall.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipM_djRDIPqggmhrXVTyZevruFkibEHzcVnkWoVekqyXWQs1csd2E7lYUW9bvKrNNyW1ZYbU0PuJ48W_CNeHp9IZbOUrgpIQnoXYyZ2Xqp9n8rCX9eDX-UbKv_IE73Rsoibz7_zOZnmr2r/s1600/stranger%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" s5="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipM_djRDIPqggmhrXVTyZevruFkibEHzcVnkWoVekqyXWQs1csd2E7lYUW9bvKrNNyW1ZYbU0PuJ48W_CNeHp9IZbOUrgpIQnoXYyZ2Xqp9n8rCX9eDX-UbKv_IE73Rsoibz7_zOZnmr2r/s320/stranger%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Scenes from Stranger on the Third Floor</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;"><b>Stranger on the Third Floor </b>is a 64 minute "B" effort from RKO. BUT. It has been called America's first film noir for its stylistic elements - highlighted by one fabulous and surreal dream sequence. Art Director Van Nest Polglase was involved in just about every RKO film made from 1931 to 1942...including <b>Citizen Kane</b> (1941). Watch <b>Stranger</b> and <b>Kane</b> - a visual connection is unmistakable. The film also boasts cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca (<b>Out of the Past</b>). While there are recognizable faces in the film (Peter Lorre as "the stranger," Elisha Cook, Jr. as Briggs), the two leads are relatively unknown. Margaret Tallichet made few films and was more occupied with her marriage to William Wyler and their family. John McGuire, who plays the reporter, had bit parts in <b>Shadow of a Doubt</b>, <b>White Heat</b> and<b> Sands of Iwo Jima </b>but was off the big screen by 1952. Lorre doesn't have that much screen time, but his scenes are mesmerizing and chilling. Though essentially a "B" morality tale, <b>Stranger on the Third Floor</b> is a must-see for those interested in the evolution of film noir...and American cinema...</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Noir City 9 runs through January 30...if there's any chance you can attend - do! This is one of the premiere noir fests in the world and worth every penny of the $10 ticket price ($100 for a festival pass). I'll be back on Wednesday for Jean Renoir's legendary <b>The Woman on the Beach </b>(1947).</span><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/U_XCfk5fWWs" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="480"></iframe>

Audrey Totter Eddie Muller Elisha Cook Jr. Film Noir High Wall Margaret Tallichet Noir City 9 Peter Lorre Robert Taylor Stranger on the Third Floor The Lady Eve (author) William Wyler "Who's Crazy Now?" - Noir City 9, Opening Night

Stranger on the Third Floor So…I paid my 10 bucks to park in the lot adjacent to Sullivan’s Funeral Home on Market Street in San Francisco a...

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Focus on Film Noir: Barbara Stanwyck

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxTE1-w4a3YlAfZtqP4-bnSHnNccdXxq4o7UHLWF4QX5SRn3FgbwZ_QHkbUNniIGnADZaKJnqD1aE1Y2l-0gcypmHa09lPWR5kbId8stS-pCdCeXj9bhyphenhyphenrTcv5uohsx7VRWg0DQ-ZQdya/s1600/BS+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWxTE1-w4a3YlAfZtqP4-bnSHnNccdXxq4o7UHLWF4QX5SRn3FgbwZ_QHkbUNniIGnADZaKJnqD1aE1Y2l-0gcypmHa09lPWR5kbId8stS-pCdCeXj9bhyphenhyphenrTcv5uohsx7VRWg0DQ-ZQdya/s320/BS+1.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma; font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">Three films of legendary star to be screened at Noir City 9</span></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Her childhood has been called Dickensian and the rags-to-riches trajectory of her life could easily have provided material for one of her films… </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc"><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">She was the youngest of a hard-drinking Irish American bricklayer’s five children </span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">She lost her mother at age three when the woman was pushed, while pregnant, from a streetcar</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Her father abandoned his children (for the second time) and went to sea</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">She lived in a series of foster homes</span></li><li class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">She began working at age 13<a name='more'></a></span></li></ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Ruby Catherine Stevens, born in 1907 in Brooklyn, New York, grew up fast – and tough. There was one bright spot in an otherwise dreary life - her older sister Mildred was a dancer and, during the summer months, Mildred took Ruby on the road with her. Ruby loved to dance and began learning steps, determined to be a dancer herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>While still in her early teens she got a job as a chorus girl at the Strand Theater on New York’s Times Square, moved on to the “Keep Kool” Revue and before long was in the Ziegfeld chorus.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Ruby’s big break came in 1926 when a friend introduced her to Willard Mack who was casting “The Noose,” a play headed for Broadway. Mack was impressed with her but felt that she needed a name that implied class and distinction. He found the right name on a playbill: “Barbara Frietchie” with Joan Stanwyck.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Barbara Stanwyck made her first film in 1927 with <b>Broadway Nights</b>. And though she became one of the legends of Hollywood, film success did not come overnight. It wasn’t until the early ‘30s, when she moved west with then-husband Frank Fay that she began to make her mark. Frank Capra saw a screen test and cast her in <b>Ladies of Leisure</b> (1930). A contract with Columbia Pictures followed and her career began to take off. It was during this period that some of her early classics were made and her image as a determined working girl evolved: <b>Night Nurse </b>(1931),<b> Baby Face</b> (1933) and <b>Ladies They Talk About</b>, (1933).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Stanwyck’s personal life remained rocky. Her romance with Broadway actor Rex Cherryman had been cut short when he died suddenly in 1928 at age 30. Her marriage to Fay collapsed in the mid-‘30s as her star rose and his fell. The pair had adopted a baby boy, but Stanwyck and the child developed a strained and then estranged relationship that never healed. She began living with Hollywood heartthrob Robert Taylor in the late ‘30s and her studio, wary of potential scandal, insisted that they marry in 1939.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbfBN1kqJnwLGk3XmXnjumIx-O4oEKfVAmVyZ3k4IpKQs_zT7sHkD-oQaRW1J6IV0uRXT62TFrDeZkyp51tcuFoaCG7BndirvLY4ka73eJ2bXQvDmTZ_buETe_6vbs1FS3PTDk7kWpn9o/s1600/BS+3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNbfBN1kqJnwLGk3XmXnjumIx-O4oEKfVAmVyZ3k4IpKQs_zT7sHkD-oQaRW1J6IV0uRXT62TFrDeZkyp51tcuFoaCG7BndirvLY4ka73eJ2bXQvDmTZ_buETe_6vbs1FS3PTDk7kWpn9o/s320/BS+3.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">In 1937 Stanwyck starred in <b>Stella Dallas</b>, a memorable melodrama for which she was nominated for a Best Actress Oscar. In 1938 she starred in <b>Golden Boy</b> with young William Holden, who years later declared he owed his career to her.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Stanwyck proved that she was a capable comedienne with two hit 1941 comedies, Preston Sturges’s <b>The Lady Eve</b> and Howard Hawks’s <b>Ball of Fire</b>. That same year she co-starred in the Capra classic <b>Meet John Doe</b> with Gary Cooper and earned her second Best Actress Oscar nomination.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The 1940s would be the apex of Barbara Stanwyck’s movie career and included her crowning performance, femme fatale Phyllis Dietrichson in Billy Wilder’s film noir supreme, <b>Double Indemnity </b>(1944). Stanwyck garnered her third Best Actress nod for the role.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The decade contained several more popular Stanwyck films: <b>Christmas in Connecticut </b>(1945), <b>The Strange Love of Martha Ivers </b>(1946), <b>The Two Mrs. Carrolls </b>(1947), <b>B.F.’s Daughter</b> (1948) and <b>Sorry, Wrong Number </b>(1948), for which she received her final Best Actress nomination.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">It was at around this time that Stanwyck's marriage to Robert Taylor began to fall apart. Taylor had been dallying with some of the celebrated beauties of the time, Lana Turner and Ava Gardner, along with others of less stature, such as the bit actress on <b>Quo Vadis</b> (1951) who created a scandal when she went public with their affair. When Stanwyck gave Taylor an ultimatum he resisted and the pair soon divorced.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Stanwyck never remarried but continued, as she always had, to work hard. She went on to make several more popular films and starred on television in series and mini-series into the mid-1980s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>She was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 1982 for her career achievements.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Barbara Stanwyck died in 1990.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMH9ypslO8Uj9LN7u_Rv4OwsmWxBrivz_Zyl9fAGnMnGty6WpEerpEMEOc0Ge-aOpTOX4bjsgEBnR_Qa49ptvo0e1qmvpeRNJuKTgwZ4XCMYFYcAyoBQcqm3uhmkzyHS2eg9nWw0PQPqb/s1600/BS+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzMH9ypslO8Uj9LN7u_Rv4OwsmWxBrivz_Zyl9fAGnMnGty6WpEerpEMEOc0Ge-aOpTOX4bjsgEBnR_Qa49ptvo0e1qmvpeRNJuKTgwZ4XCMYFYcAyoBQcqm3uhmkzyHS2eg9nWw0PQPqb/s320/BS+4.jpg" width="232" /></a></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">San Francisco’s Noir City 9 will screen three Stanwyck films at this year’s festival:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Sorry, Wrong Number</span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;"> (1948) and <b>The Lady Gambles</b> (1949) on Mon. Jan. 24</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">The Two Mrs. Carrolls </span></b><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">(1947) on Thurs. Jan. 27</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Tahoma;">Also of note, <b>The High Wall </b><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(1947) starring <b>Robert Taylor</b> (with Audrey Totter) will be shown on opening night, Fri. Jan. 21</span></div>

Barbara Stanwyck Billy Wilder Double Indemnity Film Noir Noir City 9 Robert Taylor Sorry Wrong Number The High Wall The Lady Eve (author) The Lady Gambles The Two Mrs. Carrolls Focus on Film Noir: Barbara Stanwyck

Three films of legendary star to be screened at Noir City 9 Her childhood has been called Dickensian and the rags-to-riches trajectory of he...

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Focus on Film Noir: Warner Home Video's Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 5

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cC8d544zbvgk3C5EChDBjeuqaqE2bn9oaS-n6UuHeBCOXKtaSSKhJl8jYJpyLn0XBgesGpAmmn3o61vQ9UPeOE6l4ekqb5LyVZYOBI7rSJucV7qa0z6ffH8ybmMLPdOXG9qlgY5fxBoN/s1600/film+noir+vol+5+box+art%255B1%255D%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2cC8d544zbvgk3C5EChDBjeuqaqE2bn9oaS-n6UuHeBCOXKtaSSKhJl8jYJpyLn0XBgesGpAmmn3o61vQ9UPeOE6l4ekqb5LyVZYOBI7rSJucV7qa0z6ffH8ybmMLPdOXG9qlgY5fxBoN/s1600/film+noir+vol+5+box+art%255B1%255D%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Released by Warner Home Video in 2010, <i>Film Noir Classic Collection, Volume 5</i>  is a four-disc showcase of eight double-featured films, a sampling of thrillers ranging from the acclaimed to the all-but-forgotten.</span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Disc one is a strong pairing of Edward Dmytryk's <b>Cornered </b>(1945) with Anthony Mann's <b>Desperate</b> (1947). <b>Cornered </b>was the second hit teaming of star Dick Powell with director Dmytryk, and it followed their private-eye noir masterpiece, <b>Murder, My Sweet</b>, by a year. In this outing, Powell is a Royal Canadian Air Force vet doggedly tracking his wife's killer across the globe.</span><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RqBC_QarrhLp7aGGMcayoG43xHevM-oRuUii_YaujwhuVU-wgmPE0YdIF7nHbpoe54rec4XXnFCc2uk4pgAQieTLePx12Kmqq09pFuQjKcVe1GMsX41GY6BYUiMU0UVhSC0xcl-olT4f/s1600/desperate%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6RqBC_QarrhLp7aGGMcayoG43xHevM-oRuUii_YaujwhuVU-wgmPE0YdIF7nHbpoe54rec4XXnFCc2uk4pgAQieTLePx12Kmqq09pFuQjKcVe1GMsX41GY6BYUiMU0UVhSC0xcl-olT4f/s1600/desperate%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steve Brodie in Desperate</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><b>Desperate</b> was a breakout film for director Anthony Mann, the first in the series of late-'40s noirs that launched his career. Mann's signature is his strong visual style, and this fast-paced story of an innocent man on the run is boosted by stylish set-pieces (including the classic of a fierce back room beating that sets an overhead light swaying, see clip below), a smart script and George Diskant's cinematography. Steve Brodie, a powerhouse as the honest truck driver turned fall guy, delivers a stand-out performance. With creamy Audrey Long as his bride, menacing Raymond Burr as his nemesis and Jason Robards, Sr., as the cynical/genial police lieutenant. <b>Desperate</b>, a staple at noir festivals and Mann retrospectives, is one of the gems of this collection.</span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Disc two is more eclectic and opens with a fact-based crime expose, <b>The Phenix City Story</b> (1955), directed by Phil Karlson. Veteran LA newsman Clete Roberts kicks it off with a 13+ minute segment of news report/interviews. Then the dramatized story of the 1954 assassination of an Alabama politician begins. It's a brutal (with a capital 'B') piece of history. With John McIntyre, Richard Kiley and the future Mrs. Bing Crosby, Kathryn Grant. Next up, <b>Dial 1119</b> (1950), a mad-killer-on-the-loose tale directed by Gerald (Louis B's nephew) Mayer. The crazed killer (Marshall Thompson) holes up in a neighborhood bar and holds staff and patrons hostage during a police stand-off. Virginia Field takes a nifty turn as a barfly/seductress and William Conrad appears briefly as "Chuckles," the bartender. Otherwise, this one's mostly interesting for its depiction of the era's bar culture and attitudes toward the "insanity defense."</span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSvaUkLyHbEv6vkzIxMEZ0geevFIaAPbR90ERk1h34sN7joV4KmjV_eB0XVFpe1_MK1-Jam4H8IMLPJc3Imx-uZZNjkZ4pbs3J1nvLb3bDn4a4JJoNkT5oQyZR_aetHVojauwSswFYqXsI/s1600/Armored_Car_Robbery_50_b%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSvaUkLyHbEv6vkzIxMEZ0geevFIaAPbR90ERk1h34sN7joV4KmjV_eB0XVFpe1_MK1-Jam4H8IMLPJc3Imx-uZZNjkZ4pbs3J1nvLb3bDn4a4JJoNkT5oQyZR_aetHVojauwSswFYqXsI/s320/Armored_Car_Robbery_50_b%255B1%255D.jpg" width="280" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">William Talman and Adele Jergans in Armored Car Robbery</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Disc three features the formidable down-and-dirty <b>Armored Car Robbery</b> (1950). It runs a very fast and intense 68 minutes - that's no surpise with action/suspense master Richard Fleischer directing. Gravel-voiced noir stalwart Charles McGraw stars as a grimly determined LAPD lieutenant bent on avenging the murder of his partner during an armored car robbery. William Talman, a few years before he became D.A. Hamilton Burger on TV's "Perry Mason," is chillingly reptilian as the heist mastermind; hard-boiled, slightly worn femme fatale Adele Jergens isn't <i>quite </i>Virginia Mayo, but she's not bad at all. With solid Steve Brodie, this time as the getaway car driver. <b>Armored Car Robbery</b> is ferocious and works from start to finish; the film ends with buddy moment as the jaded lieutenant shares a cynical laugh with his new (and newly manned-up) partner. I imagine Jean-Pierre Melville must've watched this a couple of times before he made <b>Bob le flambeur</b> (1955).</span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Also included on disc three is <b>Crime in the Streets </b>(1956), a juvenile delinquent drama directed by Don Siegel, starring John Cassavetes. The story originally aired as a teleplay and the film looks, sounds and feels like Golden Age TV. Cassavetes' performance as an overheated teenage gang leader on the verge of mayhem is the main reason to watch this one. He's spellbinding. With Sal Mineo and James Whitmore. <i><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Crime in the Streets</b> airs today, Jan. 10, on TCM at 4:15pm Eastern/1:15 Pacific.</span></i></span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">Disc four offers the final double feature, <b>Deadline at Dawn</b> (1946) and <b>Backfire </b>(1950).</span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xPzynHSjzkyuiXDTbpZwNdgkxT_t9Mlsjzz4UkwrNADjD5X301ony6dyxCF2JzN41nX4clArCDiQ72IrvbNZ-uqcO02BFHeFt6HW5Ak2uiSeaNEpn9ewSSauY1O96p1vBWe9jOIK0nMc/s1600/deadline-at-dawn-poster%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4xPzynHSjzkyuiXDTbpZwNdgkxT_t9Mlsjzz4UkwrNADjD5X301ony6dyxCF2JzN41nX4clArCDiQ72IrvbNZ-uqcO02BFHeFt6HW5Ak2uiSeaNEpn9ewSSauY1O96p1vBWe9jOIK0nMc/s1600/deadline-at-dawn-poster%255B1%255D.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><b>Deadline at Dawn</b>, adapted from a novel by Cornell Woolrich/aka/William Irish (<b>Rear Window</b>), boasts a screenplay by Clifford Odets and is the only film New York theater legend Harold Clurman ever directed. It got my attention with an opening shot of a sleeping woman's face...and the fly crawling over it...Bill Williams stars as a sailor on shore leave who may be guilty of murder and has only till dawn to clear himself. Susan Hayward plays the taxi dancer who helps him out and Paul Lukas is their cabbie sidekick. While quirky dialogue and various red herrings pique interest, it's primarily the evocative cinematography (Nicholas Musuraca) and Susan Hayward's vibrant performance that keep things moving.</span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OAUztaqjb7GotgrYCIs6jOAeHbm_Ax4Djo60fYJPJaVGhQebwTPiDsI0bsnwENtQtKxIKsjyAXLGXhE-5uROSfFepvEBoezmkiP_m2Sohwy0Wi2V5gWoHsGw7aCt_QsQR5ZMvpVHhRt7/s1600/0+virginia-mayo-1948%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OAUztaqjb7GotgrYCIs6jOAeHbm_Ax4Djo60fYJPJaVGhQebwTPiDsI0bsnwENtQtKxIKsjyAXLGXhE-5uROSfFepvEBoezmkiP_m2Sohwy0Wi2V5gWoHsGw7aCt_QsQR5ZMvpVHhRt7/s200/0+virginia-mayo-1948%255B1%255D.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virginia Mayo</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;"><b>Backfire </b>stars Gordon MacRae before he rose to film stardom in a pair of Rogers and Hammerstein musicals. It features two future Oscar winners, Edmond O'Brien and Ed Begley, <i>plus</i> Virginia Mayo - this time as a good girl, MacRae's nurse. Vincent Sherman directed and, though the film is erratic, it's enjoyable...like a fun-house ride. MacRae is well-cast as a recovering war veteran who dreams of a farm of his own. When his Army buddy (O'Brien) disappears and is implicated in a murder, he sets out to clear his pal's name. The flashback-driven story twists and turns and, oddly, the final plot twist may be given away by images on the product package and DVD disc. Also starring Viveca Lindfors and Dane Clark. Noteworthy original music by Daniele Amfitheatrof who scored Max Ophuls' <b>Letter From an Unknown Woman </b>(1948). <i><span style="color: #f1c232;"><b>Backfire </b>will air Monday, Jan. 24, on TCM at 4:00pm Eastern/1:00pm Pacific.</span></i></span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">From 2004 - 2007, Warner Home Video released a film noir collection every July, like clockwork. Then nothing...for three years. It's not surprising, then, that <i>Film Noir Classic Collection, Volume 5</i> was greeted with much fanfare.</span></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><span style="font-family: Arial Unicode MS;">The must-see films in this collection are Anthony Mann's <b>Desperate</b> and Richard Fleischer's <b>Armored Car Robbery</b>. Also worthwhile are Edward Dmytryk's <b>Cornered</b> and Harold Clurman's <b>Deadline at Dawn</b>. Vincent Sherman's <b>Backfire</b> goes off the rails but has enough B-star power and plot packed into it to keep it entertaining. Once the news story and interviews end, Phil Karlson's <b>The Phenix City Story</b> begins to build. It's violent, but fascinating. A historical footnote adds interest: After the candidate (John McIntyre) was murdered, his son (Richard Kiley) ran for Attorney General of Alabama in his place. The son, John Patterson, won and went on to become Alabama's youngest governor.</span><br /><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"></div><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/s3wfy8ociHU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/s3wfy8ociHU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> <br /><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"> (<i><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">available on DVD and Blu-ray)</span></i></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly;"><br /></div><div style="line-height: 15pt; mso-line-height-rule: exactly; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: Arial;">When <b>Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol 5 </b>was released,</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Arial;"> Warner Home Video provided me with a review copy of the DVD set</span></i></span></div>

Anthony Mann Armored Car Robbery Charles McGraw Desperate Film Noir Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 5 Richard Fleischer Steve Brodie The Lady Eve (author) The Phenix City Story Virginia Mayo Focus on Film Noir: Warner Home Video's Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 5

Released by Warner Home Video in 2010, Film Noir Classic Collection, Volume 5   is a four-disc showcase of eight double-featured films, a sa...

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NOIR CITY 9 - Schedule announced for 9th annual San Francisco festival

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6UIlyfzCiA632zG_vUAXoNoN_3t0_-POqJqR272_OWXP4oEHryKS0X1XPu4sdD4NbpwonkLxHIrtUwn1lvL754lYWyJJMG259aInmG17KgsVtQQi95e9-cl9puP1mfDZnkMUQv2VCsG8/s1600/9+noir+city+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf6UIlyfzCiA632zG_vUAXoNoN_3t0_-POqJqR272_OWXP4oEHryKS0X1XPu4sdD4NbpwonkLxHIrtUwn1lvL754lYWyJJMG259aInmG17KgsVtQQi95e9-cl9puP1mfDZnkMUQv2VCsG8/s320/9+noir+city+2.jpg" width="236" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The ninth annual San Francisco film noir festival, Noir City 9, will run from Friday, January 21, through Sunday, January 30, at the historic Castro Theatre; 24 films noir, both celebrated and obscure, will screen.</span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">A presentation of the Film Noir Foundation, this festival is the centerpiece of the organization's effort to find and preserve films in danger of irreparable damage. The foundation's advisory council includes best selling novelists James Ellroy and Dennis Lehane, actress Marsha Hunt and film historian/critic Leonard Maltin. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">Film Noir Foundation founder and president Eddie Muller, known as "the czar of noir," is a writer and filmmaker who frequently speaks at noir screenings. Earlier this year he was a special guest at Robert Osborne's 2010 classic film festival in Athens, GA, where he introduced the screening of <b>Double Indmenity.</b> Muller has also provided commentary on noir DVDs (<b>Fallen Angel</b>, <b>The Lineup</b>, <b>They Live by Night</b> and many others).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">The Film Noir Foundation also produces festivals in Chicago and Washington, DC.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><a href="http://noircity.com/noircity.html"><span style="color: #cc0000;">Click here</span></a> for screening times and pricing.</span><br /><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVkA3-QEKr5gw9p7r3WlcHE33rL8jVxSu0AlMuVwPhLiiN6zbRiSkZK-jzlUHKoHvYR2IhuEtrwkNpp2HZBOwA6g1bmvV_WS3tkQgjr7GAjKDhCl7VOa2lDpBaiAfDnygJmQ9fAWUPTKk/s1600/2+stranger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="245" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGVkA3-QEKr5gw9p7r3WlcHE33rL8jVxSu0AlMuVwPhLiiN6zbRiSkZK-jzlUHKoHvYR2IhuEtrwkNpp2HZBOwA6g1bmvV_WS3tkQgjr7GAjKDhCl7VOa2lDpBaiAfDnygJmQ9fAWUPTKk/s320/2+stranger.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)</td></tr></tbody></table><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Friday Jan. 21</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>High Wall</b> (1947), with Robert Taylor and Audrey Totter</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Stranger on the Third Floor</b> (1940), starring Peter Lorre, considered "the first American film noir"</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Saturday Jan. 22</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Strangers in the Night</b> (1944), directed by Anthony Mann</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Gaslight </b>(1944), with Ingrid Bergman, Charles Boyer and Joseph Cotten </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>They Won’t Believe Me</b> (1947), with Robert Young, Susan Hayward and Jane Greer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Don’t Bother to Knock</b> (1952), with Richard Widmark and Marilyn Monroe</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sunday Jan. 23</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A Double Life</b> (1947), directed by George Cukor, with Ronald Colman (<i>watch a clip featuring Colman's Oscar-winning performance below</i>)</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Among the Living</b> (1941), with Albert Dekker, Susan Hayward and Frances Farmer</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Monday Jan. 24</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Lady Gambles</b> (1949), with Barbara Stanwyck</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Sorry, Wrong Number</b> (1948) directed by Anatole Litvak, with Barbara Stanwyck and Burt Lancaster</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Tuesday Jan. 25</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Dark Mirror </b>(1948) directed by Robert Siodmak , with Olivia de Havilland and Lew Ayres</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Crack-Up </b>(1947), with Pat O’Brien, Herbert Marshall and Claire Trevor</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Wednesday Jan. 26</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTM1szJGJ3lBp31y4bO_QA2LiMEco1qQiMdXidGNA1QihVn84hQ0N9DG8H82KFnJYt8jbsynOA2l96vnjlEvaYw3nXQGzYUMP7jVQITaLtUYoU9_1uQjCmx9TGYHa9DNAdmOB1igi60ygO/s1600/1+woman+in+sand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="256" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTM1szJGJ3lBp31y4bO_QA2LiMEco1qQiMdXidGNA1QihVn84hQ0N9DG8H82KFnJYt8jbsynOA2l96vnjlEvaYw3nXQGzYUMP7jVQITaLtUYoU9_1uQjCmx9TGYHa9DNAdmOB1igi60ygO/s320/1+woman+in+sand.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Woman on the Beach (1947)</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Woman on the Beach </b>(1947), directed by Jean Renoir, with Robert Ryan and Joan Bennett</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Beware My Lovely </b>(1952), with Ida Lupino and Robert Ryan</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Thursday Jan. 27</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Two Mrs. Carrolls</b> (1947), with Humphrey Bogart and Barbara Stanwyck</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>My Name is Julia Ross </b>(1945), with Nina Foch and George Macready</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Friday Jan. 28</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Crashout </b>(1955), with William Bendix, Arthur Kennedy and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>William Talman</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Loophole </b>(1953), with Barry Sullivan and Charles McGraw</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /></div><h1 style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Saturday Jan. 29</span></u></h1><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Blind Alley </b>(1939) directed by Charles Vidor, with Chester Morris, Ann Dvorak and Ralph Bellamy</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Secret Beyond the Door </b>(1948) directed by Fritz Lang,  with Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave (this year’s “incomprehensible” film)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry</b> (1945) directed by Robert Siodmak, with George Sanders, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Ella Raines</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">So Evil My Love </span></b><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">(1948), with Ann Todd, Ray Milland and Geraldine Fitzgerald</span></span><br /><br /><b><u><span style="font-family: Arial;">Sunday Jan. 30</span></u></b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Angel Face </b>(1952), directed by Otto Preminger, with Jean Simmons and Robert Mitchum</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>The Hunted </b>(1948), with Preston Foster and Belita</span><br /><br /><object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/qhhWLHVBezc?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/qhhWLHVBezc?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>

Eddie Muller Film Noir Film Noir Festival Noir City 9 San Francisco film noir festival The Lady Eve (author) NOIR CITY 9 - Schedule announced for 9th annual San Francisco festival

The ninth annual San Francisco film noir festival, Noir City 9, will run from Friday, January 21, through Sunday, January 30, at the histori...

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1st Film Noir Xmas coming to San Francisco…9th Noir Festival set for January

<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAGXx-UIgQFnfdZ0Yn3pA0rJ35KlkQ2wUHjhyqfTmzFlx-0b_GgqWoOlP8iggQuB1nSzljup-1Dgo9MvISmqaITQKmMQ01qp4e9ca5SOi_8dfhG18-oT1F4lvBu5_RDQjuZ0ZSmlxf3PR/s1600/noir+city+xmas%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="89" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAGXx-UIgQFnfdZ0Yn3pA0rJ35KlkQ2wUHjhyqfTmzFlx-0b_GgqWoOlP8iggQuB1nSzljup-1Dgo9MvISmqaITQKmMQ01qp4e9ca5SOi_8dfhG18-oT1F4lvBu5_RDQjuZ0ZSmlxf3PR/s400/noir+city+xmas%255B1%255D.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;">The San Francisco Film Noir Foundation has set its first-ever <i>Noir City Xmas</i> for Wed., December 15, at the Castro Theatre, and extends an invitation to </span><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>“enjoy a Cruel Yule...”</i></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSpbOpUrb7oDgtf6v4Zxcpyje16UZV7iRLui_qtJir0xNe87kqLnR9RzigR8SFk_FlAegrtdc0r7DCtURo7tPYR9zHegROisPDyV08ayM2nsIy8XW9QEwQUtkA291Obdx-QoQa3-FedS7/s1600/remember_the_night_poster%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSpbOpUrb7oDgtf6v4Zxcpyje16UZV7iRLui_qtJir0xNe87kqLnR9RzigR8SFk_FlAegrtdc0r7DCtURo7tPYR9zHegROisPDyV08ayM2nsIy8XW9QEwQUtkA291Obdx-QoQa3-FedS7/s200/remember_the_night_poster%255B1%255D.jpg" width="126" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial;">The double feature pairs <b>Remember the Night</b> (1940) and <b>Mr. Soft Touch</b> (1949).</span></div><br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">TCM has been airing <b>Remember the Night</b> regularly in recent years, and that's where I first saw it. The film stars Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck as an assistant DA and a thief who share a memorable and affecting holiday before she is set to serve her  jail sentence. Directed by Mitchell Leisen, written by Preston Sturges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">  </span>A classic.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzaO7Wqim59WLzQgZSjT14E3UQNHpwS6KsbK_a8z3YdATLATrJD4J-d5sE5FVLXLQxoaLandAmyLC2AxUPpeTletuih_Yg5VHwN84adsBXmWPN0pJqhL9qUbYjAUiVpD6yPsWu8s5dXYd/s1600/mrsoft%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; cssfloat: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRzaO7Wqim59WLzQgZSjT14E3UQNHpwS6KsbK_a8z3YdATLATrJD4J-d5sE5FVLXLQxoaLandAmyLC2AxUPpeTletuih_Yg5VHwN84adsBXmWPN0pJqhL9qUbYjAUiVpD6yPsWu8s5dXYd/s200/mrsoft%255B1%255D.jpg" width="133" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><br /><span style="font-family: Arial;"><b>Mr. Soft Touch</b> stars Glenn Ford and Evelyn Keyes. A combination of “tight-lipped noir and broad comedy," it was shot on location in San Francisco. The film tells the story of a WW II veteran (Ford) out for revenge when he falls in with a kindly social worker (Keyes). <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My first viewing of <b>Mr. Soft Touch</b> will be this “freshly struck 35mm print.” </span></div><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">San Francisco’s 9^th annual <i>Noir City Film Festival</i> will run from January 21 – 30, 2011, also at the Castro Theatre; I'll post the screening schedule and ticket information as soon as it's available. Film noir fans should try hard to attend this festival, it's a chance to see both classics and rare "B" gems on the big screen in an old-style movie palace. </span><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistXg9PlcZCpZbkwZBr0qczGD44rzg0IVUMZIbO7Wud6UfNAWuQtyOsSxKlUmPIdtIrnQTAMmgvjIYt2ha1PegjhAqbHX8ydHDsE00P-3-LdJJubeo4kOOScZ96Bo_55XgpsNkKAODkpI1/s1600/noir+city+9%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="92" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEistXg9PlcZCpZbkwZBr0qczGD44rzg0IVUMZIbO7Wud6UfNAWuQtyOsSxKlUmPIdtIrnQTAMmgvjIYt2ha1PegjhAqbHX8ydHDsE00P-3-LdJJubeo4kOOScZ96Bo_55XgpsNkKAODkpI1/s320/noir+city+9%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>

Barbara Stanwyck Evelyn Keyes Film Noir Fred MacMurray Glenn Ford Noir City 9 Noir City Xmas The Lady Eve (author) 1st Film Noir Xmas coming to San Francisco…9th Noir Festival set for January

The San Francisco Film Noir Foundation has set its first-ever Noir City Xmas  for Wed., December 15, at the Castro Theatre, and extends an i...

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Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect Of Cinematic Dreams, Part II

<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ5hzKKenNU9Q8zv2ix7KD0GcPgm89rNNzwmT3HZZ8TdZZ86uTK6g-xqsX-s3SqTVDIOclOneQniL-d8CnYfMKnbehGRNPRL4mkSZ-aGeFrUKn-2fk8OTxPjMV6Xr0288uYZar2JsJ_Jz/s1600/artdirectionTheInformer1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" height="320" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536896414924983106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfQ5hzKKenNU9Q8zv2ix7KD0GcPgm89rNNzwmT3HZZ8TdZZ86uTK6g-xqsX-s3SqTVDIOclOneQniL-d8CnYfMKnbehGRNPRL4mkSZ-aGeFrUKn-2fk8OTxPjMV6Xr0288uYZar2JsJ_Jz/s320/artdirectionTheInformer1.jpg" style="float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 257px;" width="257" /></a><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>by guest contributor Whistlingypsy</i></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The emergence of those stylistic elements in American films later termed <i>noir </i>by critics is often debated and open to interpretation.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Five years before the films that captivated French critics for their “dark” plots and visual style, John Ford directed an equally dark film for RKO Studios. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Informer</span> (1935) was based on the novel by Liam O’Flaherty and tells the story of an increasingly desperate man. <span lang="EN">Whether John Ford had the stylistic treatment of German expressionism in mind when</span><span lang="EN"> making the film seems unlikely, but </span>Gypo Nolan’s (Victor McLaglen) flight through Dublin’s fog wreathed streets suggests these atmospheric elements as an archetype of <i>noir</i> essentials. Through the effective use of black velvet drapery and fog, to disguise the minimal budget for art direction, Polglase and assistant art director Charles Kirk created an atmosphere that is alternately brooding and menacing, dark, claustrophobic and bleak. Setting the story over the course of one night gives immediacy to Nolan’s frantic race to outrun his conscience and his pursuers. <span lang="EN">This small film would proved an artistic triumph, surprising studio executives, and won four Academ</span></span><span lang="EN"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">y Awards, one for John Ford’s direction and Victor McLaglen’s portrayal of the lead character.</span></span><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;">Alfred Hitchcock, before he began directing films in 1925, was active as an art director. He entered the industry in 1919 when he was employed by the Islington studio location of Famous Players-Lasky and he worked as an art director on at least six films before moving on to directing. Hitchcock’s lifelong interest in production design has often been understood in light of his experi<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegK03W6KHP0AIIXY8PICgLOKNTygJImp0HUdDjESJKHZB1T2jte_qMHUXL9TOj3H1sKXG74ghqj10UBx0HKDDOed3bpsQNp9GlI2-y9nFV4GWxAG6Z1_-6NSzZEka53fSjT1L9zo9Xz1k/s1600/artdirectionSuspicion1.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536893241127740146" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiegK03W6KHP0AIIXY8PICgLOKNTygJImp0HUdDjESJKHZB1T2jte_qMHUXL9TOj3H1sKXG74ghqj10UBx0HKDDOed3bpsQNp9GlI2-y9nFV4GWxAG6Z1_-6NSzZEka53fSjT1L9zo9Xz1k/s200/artdirectionSuspicion1.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 150px;" /></a>ences at German studios both in Berlin and Munich and his exposure to German expressionism.</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;">Hitchcock’s first project for RKO Studios had been a comedy and with his next assignment he was given the opportunity to pursue a subject in keeping with his earlier darker films. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Suspicion</span> (1941) was notable for first introducing actor Cary Grant and director Hitchcock, and for using art d<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95S5fE57dHpHjWjcMNzBPmfN1Dkn65z07j_YP1wB65ymq-OfB6eK8KeOlohodtGX2DC00NKNjV9ewDK4hWbP2uc9ALDezkUNZr6h1lOCRI4Opcg_otgQsD3DTOzImVtnxZu1rF2aQ8dS4/s1600/artdirectionSuspicion2.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536893545410650658" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg95S5fE57dHpHjWjcMNzBPmfN1Dkn65z07j_YP1wB65ymq-OfB6eK8KeOlohodtGX2DC00NKNjV9ewDK4hWbP2uc9ALDezkUNZr6h1lOCRI4Opcg_otgQsD3DTOzImVtnxZu1rF2aQ8dS4/s320/artdirectionSuspicion2.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 257px;" /></a>irection as a psychological element in storytelling. The contrast between Lina’s (Joan Fontaine) reassuringly stuffy family home and the coldly menacing home she shares with husband Johnny (Grant) personifies the tension of her state of mind.</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;">The film’s art direction, supervised primarily by Carroll Clark, is also noteworthy for using the human form as an architectural element. The tall and solid form of Cary Grant balanced on the stairs is echoed in the equally tall and solid column at the foot of the stairs. The graceful line of the pinstripe in Grant’s suit is echoed, but altered, in the equally graceful lines of the treads and risers of the stairs. These lines are further mimicked in the lines falling across the wall and surrounding Grant’s head. The elements confirm and confuse by communicating both Grant’s guise of reliability and the shadow of suspicion regarding his motives, all combining to create one of the most emotionally menacing sequences in the film.</div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"><br /></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: arial;"></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Van Nest Polglase is credited with supervising art direction on what is considered the finest film ever made in America. However, the credit for most of the innovative art direction rightly belongs to Perry Ferguson. Many film scholars have written in depth on the making of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Citizen Kane</span> (1941), with a focus on cinematography and the use of lighting, but few focus on the contribution of art direction.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5GOH44SCXhWHTRlXsiIpWtedR2CJS1UW03i6sSieH8YP0LKGzuYWpNjpC8gky1E2vE787aTui_dy2KXCwo14wdLZ4yTldsRdTPeviAZ-GrfEXKvX583vcGG7gyHS7zbGtBO0KSL2dAdT/s1600/artdirectionCitizenKane.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536894085944090018" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE5GOH44SCXhWHTRlXsiIpWtedR2CJS1UW03i6sSieH8YP0LKGzuYWpNjpC8gky1E2vE787aTui_dy2KXCwo14wdLZ4yTldsRdTPeviAZ-GrfEXKvX583vcGG7gyHS7zbGtBO0KSL2dAdT/s320/artdirectionCitizenKane.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a>Pauline Kael, film critic and author of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Citizen Kane Book</span>, mentions neither Polglase nor Ferguson. Orson Welles, in trade paper ads the day of the film’s Hollywood premiere, gave thanks “to everybody who gets screen credit for <span style="font-weight: bold;">Citizen Kane</span> and thanks to those who don’t.” Considering the risk involved in screening the film, this was a generous acknowledgment of the work of many creative individuals. Although Welles appears to have refused to acknowledge Polglase’s contributions, he praised Perry Ferguson’s historical details stopping short of giving Ferguson his due credit on the film.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Ferguson’s use of revers<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbVsxXHB8e6FMuT3tMYs3zJK5ko01VdFYDqbHjlwVb3QOPPQs5VaXx7BerOutSBrJYQw9lSG1oq3Pd77Ilf_6FBh_2yxmQN_tWyuArKx1U2C0OpHewZfbQY0D9kjhFGmnCEaDDccAkvvL/s1600/artdirectioncollage3.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536894483708036914" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifbVsxXHB8e6FMuT3tMYs3zJK5ko01VdFYDqbHjlwVb3QOPPQs5VaXx7BerOutSBrJYQw9lSG1oq3Pd77Ilf_6FBh_2yxmQN_tWyuArKx1U2C0OpHewZfbQY0D9kjhFGmnCEaDDccAkvvL/s320/artdirectioncollage3.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 211px;" /></a>al of scale as Kane’s ambitions move from larger than life to dwarfing the man who created the illusion is one of the film’s benchmarks and an example of RKO’s sophisticated art direction. A comparison of <span style="font-weight: bold;">Citizen Kane</span> with a lesser film in production the same year proves the level of RKO’s emerging visual style.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Stranger on the third Floor</span> (1940) was a minor B-film that caused no great stir at the time and could have easily disappeared to the dustbin. Some film historians claim the film contains the first examples of what would later be termed <span style="font-style: italic;">noirish</span> elements (but this is open to debate). Compare the two films for their remarkable similarities: the often dream-like quality, elaborate sets, oversized props and the exaggerated reversal of perspective found in both is significant. <span class="postbody1">The photos to the right show a scene from each film that again reveals a stylistic use of the human form in an architectural environment, and nearly duplicates the body language of the lead character poised at the top of the stairs. </span>Two different art directors created the design of these films, but the designs were produced under the guidance of Van Nest Polglase and RKO art direction.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="postbody1">Polglase left RKO Studios as head art director in 1942 and divided his time between freelance and studio projects before retiring fifteen years later. His film credits during this period include <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Fallen Sparrow</span> (1943); <span style="font-weight: bold;">A Song To Remember</span> (1945); <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gilda</span> (1946);<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Slightly Scarlet</span> (1956) and B-films directed by Allan Dwan.</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In February of 2005, the <span style="font-weight: bold;">The Art Directors Guild</span> unveiled its new Hall of Fame and inducted the following legendary production designers at the ninth annual <span style="font-weight: bold;">Art Directors Guild Awards</span>: Wilfred Buckland, Richard Day, John DeCuir Sr., Anton Grot, Boris Leven, William Cameron Menzies and Van Nest Polglase.</span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="postbody1">A trend in film criticism seems to have developed regarding Polglase’s contributions to RKO’s art direction, dismissing them as negligible at best. An unfair appraisal of Polglase may be due to the assumption that he ran his department based on his experiences at and observations of M-G-M and Cedric Gibbons. Richard B. Jewell, film historian and author of <span style="font-weight: bold;">The RKO Story</span> states, </span>"The supreme irony of RKO's existence is that the studio earned a position of lasting importance in cinema history largely because of its extraordinarily unstable history. Since it was the weakling of Hollywood's 'majors,' RKO welcomed a diverse group of individualistic creators and provided them...with an extraordinary degree of freedom to express their artistic idiosyncrasies.... [I]t never became predictable and it never became a factory." </span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Jewell’s assessment that RKO was a studio of artistic freedom did not preclude conflict over creative control. David O. Selznick, the man responsible for Polglase being made head of art direction, left the studio after a brief fifteen months. Polglase remained with the studio for ten years as an administrator and art director, successfully filling both roles with films that satisfied audience demand for inventive entertainment and studio executives’ demand for new revenue.<span class="postbody1"> A change of perspective from Polglase taking credit for work he did not do would result in his making possible the outstanding work of art directors Carroll Clark and Perry Ferguson.</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span class="postbody1">There are many elements that form a link between architecture and art direction. </span>The difference between the two disciplines is where architecture “encompasses” space from without art direction “evokes” space from within, and the architecture of film works within cuts and edits, frames and openings. The architect designs a space with an eye to permanence while the art director designs a space with an eye to the ephemeral. This leaves the art director a greater sense of flexibility when creating his projects unfortunately; the <span class="postbody1">architect and the art director both depend on the efforts of preservation to maintain a permanent record of the artist’s original vision.</span></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoBodyText" face="arial"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><i>Scroll down to read Part I of Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect of Cinematic Dreams</i></span></div>

Alfred Hitchcock Carroll Clark Cary Grant Charles Kirk Film Noir John Ford Orson Welles Perry Ferguson RKO Studios Van Nest Polglase Victor McLaglen Whistlingypsy (author) Van Nest Polglase ~ Architect Of Cinematic Dreams, Part II

by guest contributor Whistlingypsy The emergence of those stylistic elements in American films later termed noir by critics is often debated...

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