Author: pparcellin@gmail.com
-
Career Criminal Plans ‘Big Caper’ to Score a Cool Million
Heist films must always be centered around a carefully thought-out plan — and no matter how artfully arranged, the scheme will sooner or later go horribly wrong. Lots of stuff can cause a heist to crash and burn: a flaw in the plan; unforeseen circumstances; somebody accidentally trips an alarm — you’ve probably seen them…
-
True Crime Docu-Dramas Capture Post-War Unease
Director Henry Hathaway is probably best known for the westerns he made with legendary stars, including John Wayne, Gary Cooper, Randolph Scott, Richard Widmark and Henry Fonda, among others. But his semi-documentary, noir-tinged crime films of the 1940s-‘50s should have earned him a more prominent place among noir’s noted directors. In addition to westerns, his…
-
Express Train to Hell: When Noir Goes Off the Rails
It’s safe to say that if you’re watching a black and white film with a handcuffed criminal being shuffled aboard a Pullman car, you just might be watching noir. Trains are not only the popular mode of transportation in noir, they’re often a stage where dramatic scenes play out. They’re a location where solo travelers…
-
Post-War Noir: Damaged Vets Strain to Re-enter Civilian Life
American films noir changed a lot after the end of World War II. The standard setups — a guy, a girl, a gun, a pile of cash, gave way to new storylines and different kinds of characters. We began to see G.I.s returning home from the war with debilitating physical and psychological wounds that made…
-
Knockout Punch Noir: The Raw-Boned Fight Game
You’d be hard pressed to find a sport more noir-like than professional boxing. It’s got all of the elements of noir rolled into a savage athletic competition whose object is to knock an opponent unconscious and perhaps spill his blood. Boxing brings with it the stench of mobsters, illegal gambling, fixed fights, disabling violence and…
-
Acting Through Clenched Teeth: Quirky Timothy Carey
Timothy Carey was the kind of actor who refused to fade into the background — even as a movie extra. That cost him a job or two, including one of his earliest acting gigs, an occurrence that would prove all too typical in his professional life. He’d hitchhiked to the New Mexico location where Billy…
-
The Author Whose Work Launched Multiple Films Noir
An American author of crime fiction, suspense, horror novels and short stories, Woolrich is best known for his work in the noir genre, and his stories have been adapted into films such as “Rear Window,” “The Leopard Man,” and “Black Angel.” It’s a quirk of fate that such a prolific, influential writer should dwell in…
-
Femmes Fatale Are Deceptively Charming, and Dangerous
Sure, Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), the husband liquidating murderess of “Double Indemnity” (1944) might be your go-to gal whenever the term “femme fatale” is mentioned. She’s as coolly detached and methodical as a hangman, and wily enough to nudge her fall-guy, insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray), into killing her husband, and she even makes…
-
Wild Man Lawrence Tierney: A Raucous Career In Hollywood
In a career that spanned over 50 years, Lawrence Tierney played mobsters, tough guys and cold blooded killers, among an assortment of other roles. His on-screen persona communicated a sense of unrestrained intimidation behind a dead-eyed stare. The characters he portrayed were capable of stunning, sadistic violence, and his performances were often jagged and crude…
-
Ripped From the Headlines III: True Crime that Inspired Noir
It only takes a couple of desperate, determined outsiders with a gun to start a crime wave. At times, a single perpetrator can do the work of two — or more. That’s what happens in several of the films based on true stories that make up this, the third and final part of the True…