Good day ladies and gents. Thought we could use a break from film genre and go right into some good old fashioned Science Fiction. Oh don't worry we will not be seeing the likes of Lloyd Bridges nor Burt I Gordon or heaven forfend Roger Corman. No I thought we would look at the humble beginnings of the UK's greatest sci-fi triumph, The Doctor. So this week I will be filling some of the younger readers in on this phenomenal character and his many lives and our mature readers can reminisce over days of yesteryear. So grab some decent running shoes, beware of rock quarries and for God's sake get the time spacial coordinates set. It is time for Doctor Who!
Oh dear, I seem to forgotten my next line.
Yes Brigadier that is very common for a man your age.
Well hello there boys and girls and welcome to Day 5 of Film
Noir Week and of course we go out with a bang.
Very few are aware of the predecessor in 1931 starring Bebe Daniels and Ricardo Cortez but I am certain several know the 1941 classic
starring Humphrey Bogart, Sydney
Greenstreet, Mary Astor and Peter
Lorre. So roll me a snipe, keep
watch out dat window and have the rod at the ready. This is The Maltese Falcon.
By gads sir, you are a spade and I am calling it such.
Spoilers take slaps and
like it!
Private Eyes Spade and Archer have a corner office in an
otherwise respectable neighborhood in an unrespectable business. Sam Spade (Humphrey
Bogart of A Devil with Women, Big City Blues, The Petrifed Forest, To Have and
Have Not and The Big Sleep) takes a meeting with a babe in the woods, Miss
Wanderly (Mary Astor of No Time to Marry, Midnight, Listen Darling, Meet Me in
St. Louis and Desert Fury) worried over her missing sister with a bum
name of Thrusby, pointing out that he is a dangerous man and not to be trifled
with but our boys assure her all the way they can handle it.
*looks at Archer* NOT IT!
Spade gets a call at night to come to a crime scene. He patters down only to find his partner at
the bottom of a hill with one slug in him.
Next thing he knows is the cops are grilling him for info. What was his partner after; who did he work
for and so on. Detective Tom Polhaus (Ward
Bond of Night Key, Topper, Dead End, 3 Godfathers, It’s a Wonderful Life, The
Searchers and Wagon Train) takes a softball approach with Spade and
offer an olive branch rather than his hardnosed and hard headed Lieutenant’s
approach of hoist him in for questioning and sweat him under a lamp, possibly
plant a weapon on him with a bottle of rye.
Spade is back
trailing Miss Wanderly who shock and gasp turns out to be Miss O’ Shaughnessy
and she fields more than a few questions on what she is chasing and what has
scared he like a rabbit in a hole.
Three other such criminals are also after said item, a black bird
statue. Thrusby once worked with
Shaughnessy but he decided to cut her out of the action and strike out on her
own. While Sam is back in the office a
gentleman name of Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre of M, The Man Who Knew Too Much,
Casablanca, My Favorite Brunette and Quicksand) first holds him at
gunpoint and attempts to search his office, Sam chuckles and makes short work
of the little triggerman.
Colt .45 gets 'em every time.
All this cloak and dagger leads back to a larger gentleman
name of Gutman (Sydney Greentstreet of They Died with Their Boots On, In This Our Life,
Casablanca, Background to Danger and Passage to Marseille) who has
spent 17 years tracking the black bird from royalty to privateer to private
collector. The bird is said to be a gift
to King Charles the 5th of Spain, and the bird has enamel over it to
conceal riches that is embedded within.
The chase is on and who will get the bird and who will be holding the
bag?
Heya kiddies! Welcome to Day 4 of Film Noir Week. After the RKO Pictures Out of the Past movie
yesterday I thought we would go a bit more B-Movie this time around. This is a simplistic yet dark storyline about
two misunderstood enthusiasts and how the world does not get them. So clean your cylinder, make your loads and
get ready to bear arms. This is Gun
Crazy.
Pardon my erection, ma'am.
You were going to kill
that spoiler!
1950 film noir thrillerGun Crazy a.k.a. Deadly Is the Female.Directed by B-movie mogul Joseph H Lewis (Invisible Ghost, The Undercover
Man, Cry of the Hunted, The Rifleman and The Big Valley). This
adventure stars a crime spree commited by a husband and wife, daring to buck
the ends and devil may care attitude about the consequences. Bart Tare (John
Dall of Rope, The Man That Cheated Himself, Spartacus, Atlantis, the Lost
Continent and Perry Mason) is a man with a long association and
fixation of guns. At age 14 he is sentenced to reform school for breaking and
entering as well as stealing a gun. At age 20 he musters out of the military
and returns to his hometown to settle down.
Dear, your ear's on fire.
While attending a carnival act with his childhood friends, the
sharpshooter Annie Laurie Starr (Peggie Cummins of Green Grass of Wyoming,
Hell Drivers, Curse of the Demon and In The Doghouse) finds an
attraction to Bart and the two become close instantly. Annie feels a natural kinship of a like
minded Bart and asks on his behalf to get him a job with the carnival. Carnival owner Packett (Berry Kroeger of Guilty of
Treason, Battles of Chief Pontiac, Hitler, The Story of Ruth, The Time
Travelers and Demon Seed) offers a challenge to outshoot the champion
markswoman and Bart equaled out.
More than a few weeks go by and Packett hates Bart and it
tries to get him fired and Annie goes with Bart. Annie has a dirty secret of an accidental
shooting in St. Louis taking a man’s life.
The two are married and have the idyllic honeymoon until the money runs
out. Bart comes to the conclusion he
could simply sells his guns and put a little coin in his pocket. Annie wants the fat cash and easy life and
this shouldn’t be too difficult to do.
Annie proceeds to twist Bart around her finger and they proceed to pull
heists from armored cars.
While they
never had to kill anyone Bart grew tired of a life of crime as it was something
he was not comfortable with. Can’t
imagine why that is. Annie sets up work
for Armour Meat Company (festive name), prep work there and plan the payroll
heist. The plan goes sideways as the
burglar alarm gets pulled as Annie throws lead at her supervisor.
Females be wily, Officer Bumbles.
I have just some minor thoughts and conclusions on the film
itself. 35mm Spherical naturally
capturing every single nuance of the film and it is very clear that Bart and
Laurie is modeled after Bonnie and Clyde.
While this is an extreme example of how weak men of decent heart can be
corrupted but I think it really sets a tone of realism. Rear projection car chases aside, the heist
scene of 3 and a half minutes was all shot in one take was pretty impressive.
Howdy folks
and welcome back to Day 3 of Film Noir Week and we have us a gritty dark
detective novel turned film by director Robert Aldrich (What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?,
Hush…Hush, Sweet Charlotte, The Flight of the Phoenix, The Dirty Dozen and The
Longest Yard). So keep your head
down, lay low or face the music. This isKiss Me Deadly.
Stop farting or I am pulling over and letting you out.
Kiss Me, Spoiler. I want you to
kiss me. Kiss me. The liar’s kiss that says I love you, and means something
else.
The 1955 film
noir drama produced and directed starring Ralph Meeker. The screenplay was
written by A.I. Bezzerides (On
Dangerous Grounds, Thieves’ Highway, The Big Valley, The Greatest Mother of
Them All and The Big Valley) based on the Mickey Spillane Mike Hammer
mystery novel Kiss Me, Deadly. Kiss Me
Deadly is often considered a classic of the noir genre. Ralph Meeker (Wanted:
Dead or Alive, Dillinger, Not for Hire, Something Wild, Wall of Noise and The
Dirty Dozen)plays Mike Hammer, a tough Los Angeles private eye who is
almost as brutal and corrupt as the crooks he chases. Mike, and his
assistant/secretary/lover, Velda (Maxine Cooper of Zero Hour!, Perry Mason,
Philip Marlowe, Stagecoach West and What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?)
usually work on "penny-ante divorce cases", lock into a realm a juicy
murder and the clock is ticking.
Girl in a trench coat? Is it my birthday?
One evening on a lonely country road, Hammer gives
a ride to Christina (Cloris Leachman of the Man on the Moon,
Gunsmoke, Target: The Corruptors, Wagon Train, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance
Kid, The Last Picture Show, Rod Serling’s Night Gallery, Dillinger, Young Frankenstein,
Crazy Mama and Lake Placid 2), an attractive hitchhiker wearing nothing
but a trench coat. She has escaped from a nearby mental institution. Thugs
waylay them and Hammer awakens in some unknown location where he hears
Christina screaming and being tortured to death. The thugs then push Hammer's
car off a cliff with Christina's body and an unconscious Hammer inside. Hammer
next awakens in a hospital with Velda by his bedside. He decides to pursue the
case, both for vengeance and because, "She (Being Christina previously mentioned) must be connected
with something big" behind it all.
I washed your damn window now gimme some change!
The twisting plot takes Hammer to the apartment of
Lily Carver (Gaby Rodgers of Suspense, Tales of Tomorrow, The Big Break and The
United States Steel Hour), a sexy, waifish blond who is posing as
Christina's ex-room mate. Lily tells Hammer she has gone into hiding and asks
Hammer to protect her. It turns out that she is after a mysterious box that,
she believes, has contents worth a fortune.
A quick few
notions and observations about the film now and yes you have come to expect
that. Operating a standard 35 mm
Spherical, some wonderful night time shots that does NOT incorporate day for
night shots and thank God for that. The lighting
gives off tons of shadows for the unknown to lurk and the composure by Frank De
Vol (Attack,
The Dirty Dozen, Family Affair, My Three Sons and The Brady Brunch)
gives such presence to the film’s overall feel.
Back again boys and girls and welcome to Day 2 of Film Noir
Week. As it is known to be a grim, bleak
and disturbing setting with these films, the stories have a tendency to go that
extra mile and impress us all with dastardly villains, femme fatales and stout
heroes…but let’s be honest; a lot of you are there for the fights, gunfights
and twist endings. I can relate. So how about we take a peek at this fine
Jacques Torneur film. This is Out of
the Past.
Stop falling in love with me, baby.
How big a spoiler can
you get to be? I was finding out.
What is a man made up of? Is it his humble beginnings or is
it possibly the chance to start all over again? This is the story of Jeff Bailey a.k.a. Jeff
Markham (Robert Mitchum of Crossfire, Blood on the Moon, El Dorado, Man with the
Gun, The Yakuza and The Big Sleep) operating out of a shabby little
garage in Bridgeport California and dating a swell gal named Ann (Virginia
Huston of Nocturne, Sudden Fear, Tarzan’s Peril and Knock on Wood) when
a big muscled goon name of Joe Stephanos tells Jeff him a fella name of Whit
Sterling demands to see him. Jeff agrees
reluctantly. That night Jeff picks up
Ann and the two just drive off to Jeff’s meeting and the story gets narrated by
Mitchum as we are treated to the rest of the movie in the form of a
flashback. Relax Highlander fans,
flashbacks can be your friend too.
Mustn't fart in front of Douglas..Hold it.
Jeff pins our ears back a spell and gives us the low down
about him being a gumshoe with a partner named Fisher (Steve Brodie of The Wild World of
Batwoman, Bonanaza, Lassie, Gunsmoke and The Giant Spider Invasion)
working for a man named Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas of A Letter to Three Wives, Gunfight
at the O.K. Corral, Spartacus, 2000 Leagues Under the Sea and the Vikings). What’s the problem you might ask? A dame with enough beauty to make a preacher kick
in a stained glass window, a woman with more slink than a cat; in short his
mistress Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer of Dick Tracy, Sunset Pass,
Station West, You for Me and The Prisoner of Zenda). Sterling spins us a yarn about the tomato
pulled a roscoe, pumped two bits of lead in him and off with more than 40
large. This fella says bygones is
bygones and just wants her back in his life.
Not Jacks’ cross to bear but a gig is a gig they say.
I have just a few comments and observations about the film
at this time. This story is very tongue
in cheek, snappy patter and Mitchum just revels in being a tough guy and yet
you can believe what happens to him was inevitable. Jane Greer’s performance just gets under your
skin to one point you could see her talking you into a mass murder spree,
convincing you it was your idea in the first place.
Mmm, the Surgeon General never warned me about her.
Back with 35mm Spherical giving a wide scope on the film’s
view at a nice, steady pace of 97 minutes this film will keep surprising
you. Based on the novel Build My
Gallows High by San Fransico newspaper man Daniel Mainwaring a.k.a. Geoffrey Holmes, this book was adapted
by a few name alterations and punching up the third act to follow the spice and
danger the book laid out. Thrills,
chills and spills with this one and Mitchum has some damn good lines that will
sizzle the ladies’ socks.
Alrighty kids
welcome to the Film Noir Week and let’s kick this shindig off with some Fritz
Lang (Metropolis, The Testament of Dr. Mabuse, M and Fury) and we
will see the genius envelope you and the phenomenal standing that is this
movie. So wipe down those prints, ditch
the murder weapon and try to blot up that blood pool. This is The Woman in the Window.
An indecent proposal? Well...okay.
The streets were dark with something more than spoilers
This film tells the sad tale of a middle aged
professor of psychology Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson of Double Indemnity, The
Stranger, Key Largo and The Ten Commandments) and friends ogle a portrait of a lovely woman
in the window next to the fellas’ gentlemen’s club .By happenstance Wanley bumps into the lovely
Alice Reed and becomes enamored with the young model/femme fatale. After a get
together with Alice Reed (Joan Bennett of Scarlett Street, Man Hunt,
Girl Trouble, Nob Hill and Dark Shadows) to check out her etchings
(wink wink) but feels it is a bit off being a married man, nevertheless he
follows her up to said apartment. As he
and Alice relax, her boyfriend misconstrues Wanley’s intent and instigates a
donnybrook.Reed accidently stabs him
and the professor’s life goes topsy-turvy after killing Alice’s insanely
jealous sugar daddy, know as Frank Howard (Arthur Loft of Teddy the Rough Rider,
Charlie Chan in the Secret Service, Scarlet Street, Blondie Knows Best and Lone
Star Moonlight) slowly quickly
sinks into a quagmire of blackmail and murder Wanley is terrified for his
career and life, he is flailing around in a world he has
lectured against he feels there is no one to turn to that would believe him
anyway.
Alright! I will move from your chair!
Inspector Jackson (Thomas E. Jackson of Manhattan
Melodrama, Little Caesar, The Big Sleep, Meet Me at the Fair and Crime Wave)
attached to Homicide is hot on the case as Wanley is sweating bullets, trying
to stay on top of the case all the while attempting to remain calm and
collective. Alice tries to meet with
Wanley and tells him that blackmail is on the rise and he needs to help her
raise the money to keep the blackmailer at bay. Yeah that trick always works.
Just a few
points of the film I would like to observe.
The film is based on the novel One Off Guard by J.H. Wallis, screenplay
was adapted by accomplished screenwriter Nunnally
Johnson (The Grapes of the Wrath, How to Marry a Millionare, The Three Faces of
Eve and The Dirty Dozen) was able to form International Pictures, his
own independent production company into a radio play adaption reprising the
roles for all actors.
So Professor, how does one conceal a body well?
35mm Spherical
Panavision and the lighting and soundtrack speak such volumes for this movie. The tone is dark and bleak with no sign of a
safety net in sight. This is a roller coaster of a film. Robinson’s
performance is incredibly believable and Bennett is a desperate beauty whose portrayal
is so convincing you truly feel for both of them and you are just on pins and
needles as this story unfolds. This
mystery is absolutely spellbinding and I highly recommend this film for
everyone that enjoys this genre.
Alright you cat and kittens, perk yer ears to the sky or I am liberal to write youse a message with my Chicago typewriter, see?
Line please.
We will be taking in the sights of some of the most impressive pieces of Film Noir and so long no one's got a beef about it we'll have a ball. Film Noir is described as a dark and bleak look on American crimes and detective films. The gig is like so; a backdrop of mistrust, paranoia and loss of innocence. Primarily these film were created during WWII to show the exploits of underworld figures taking advantage of the cops being skeleton crews whilst they dabbled in their future enterprising endeavors. Bootlegging, racketeering and protection scams was not uncommon.
The hard boiled detective was a popular theme as was either a cop that bent the rules to win the day or a private dick that had no problem about handling things his own way. The Femme Fatale was popular in this genre as she was commonly a woman of striking beauty and a corrupt mind willing to put some hapless dope into harm's way to get her own end. Lazy or rotten politicians would find policemen of their same ilk and keep investigations quick and easy without ruffling feathers.
So let's clip this clam bake into high gear already.
