crimeonfilm.com
-
Grifter Aims to Separate a Widow from her Fortune
John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald and Walter Brennan in ‘Nobody Lives Forever’ (1946). By Paul Parcellin As conmen go, Nick Blake (John Garfield) is more likeable than your average grifter. A bit out of practice, he’s ready to get back into the flim-flam game. But first, he’s got a score to settle. In “Nobody Lives Forever” (1946),…
-
Hazy Memories of Hollywood
Brad Pitt and Mike Moh, ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.’ Ever since it hit the screen in 2019 there’s been a lot of talk about Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon a Time … In Hollywood,” especially the fight scene between stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) and martial arts master and actor Bruce Lee (Mike Moh).…
-
‘L.A. Confidential’: Wounded Cops Take On the System
From left, Det. Ed Exly (Guy Pearce), Det. Bud White (Russell Crowe) and Det. Jack Vincennes (Kevin Spacey). “L.A. Confidential” just had its 25th anniversary and that makes us look anew at the astounding saga of police corruption in the City of Angels, circa 1953. A quarter of a century later the film’s authentic retro look,…
-
Noir Directors and their Eyepatches
An eyepatch can make a director look like a badass and that’s a good thing in the famously brutal movie biz. Sure, a lot of them are scary enough without a patch, but put a piece of black fabric over an eye and your game is automatically upped exponentially. Cranky, spoiled actors, pushy studio execs…
-
Driving a Stake through Swinging London’s Heart
Turner (Mick Jagger), left, keeps watch over Chas (James Fox) in ‘Performance’ (1970). Just another a drug-induced,decadent, rock ’n’ roll-tinged noir “Performance” isn’t on many “best neo-noirs” lists — absolutely zero that I could find, honestly. Some might say it shouldn’t be mentioned in the same breath as the 1960s crime films that pay homage…
-
What, Another Insurance Man is Out to Beat the System?
Charles McGraw holds a gun onworrying Peter Brocco in ‘Roadblock.’ On the face of it, “Roadblock” (1951) is a tall tale filled with absurdities. An insurance investigator who can’t conceive of how easily he might get caught if he robs one of his employer’s clients. He’s the same guy who catches perps who rip off…
-
A Cache of Hot Money Fires Up ‘Private Hell 36’
Det. Jack Farnham (Howard Duff) and wife Francey (Dorothy Malone)in ‘Private Hell 36’ (1955). We’re in a New York City office building. A pair of elevator doors open and a dead man is sprawled on the floor inside. Another, wearing an elevator operator’s uniform, exits and disappears into the night with a satchel of loot…
-
Out of the Shadows (and onto the Cathode Ray Tube)
Raymond Burr in ‘Pitfall’ (1948). Film noir heavies and second bananas of the 1940s got respectable in the late ‘50s and ‘60s when they morphed into TV doctors, lawyers and sitcom moms and pops. But could they ever wash the stage blood off their hands? You mean Mom and Pop were once arch criminals? Jeepers!…
-
‘The Big Clock’: Time Runs Short for Crime Mag Editor
Charles Laughton and Ray Milland in ‘The Big Clock.’ At first glance, “The Big Clock” is merely a workplace crime drama set in a New York magazine publishing firm, a cold-blooded enterprise that gives new meaning to the phrase, “This job is killing me.” But beneath its surface, the film is satire, lampooning corporate…
-
Dressed to Kill: ‘The Outfit’
Mark Rylance as Leonard Burling in ‘The Outfit.’ Set in 1956, “The Outfit” (2022) is a smart-looking Chicago-based drama starring Mark Rylance as meek British cutter Leonard Burling, who has dedicated his life to crafting bespoke men’s suits. After a long tenure on London’s Savile Row, he’s set up shop in the midwestern city famous…