Category: crime film
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Poverty Row Noir II: Scheming Communists Walk Among Us … and So Does a Future Sitcom Dad
Hugh Beaumont, Frances Rafferty, “Money Madness” (1948). Ward Cleaver as a psychotic killer? Say it ain’t so! Like many up and coming Hollywood actors, Hugh Beaumont appeared in noir B-pictures before he became better known as an all-American TV dad, and he played some pretty despicable characters, too. But more about that later. From the…
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More Than a Gunsel: Elisha Cook Jr. Played Wobbly Tough Guys, Inept Would-Be Heroes and Dyed in the Wool Victims Often Displaying Raw Emotion and Unexpected Vulnerabilities
Humphrey Bogart, Elisha Cook Jr., “The Maltese Falcon” (1941).Just a cheap gunman hanging around hotel lobbies. When he died in 1995 at the age of 91, Elisha Cook Jr. was the last surviving cast member of John Huston’s 1941 film noir classic “The Maltese Falcon,” whose players included Humphrey Bogart, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre and…
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How a Real-Life Prison Sentence Added Another Dimension to Mitchum’s Performance as a Woozy Doctor on the Run in a Nightmarish Flight From Justice
Robert Mitchum, “Where Danger Lives” (1950). By Paul Parcellin This article contains spoilers A lot of red flags should go up when Dr. Jeff Cameron (Robert Mitchum) meets Margo Lannington (Faith Domergue). But she’s a real dish and this is noir, so naturally he ignores the many warning signposts screaming at him that he’s about…
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Riding an Express Train to Hell: In Noir and Thrillers, Passengers Embark on Dark Journeys Aboard Shadowy Railroad Cars Hurtling Toward Uncertain Destinations
Charles McGraw, Don Haggerty, Marie Windsor, Don Beddoe, “The Narrow Margin” (1952). This article contains spoilers By Paul Parcellin Rail travel is a throwback to the days of neckties, breast pocket handkerchiefs and fedoras, so naturally it pops up often in films noir. It’s safe to say that if you’re watching a black and white…
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Noir After World War II: Damaged Vets Strain to Re-enter Civilian Life as America Stares Down Fascist Conspiracies and a Seething Nuclear Nightmare
Gaby Rodgers, “Kiss Me Deadly” (1955). This Post Contains Spoilers By Paul Parcellin 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…
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Knockout Punch Noir: The Runyonesque, Raw-Boned World of Prizefighting Inspires Tales of Corruption, Violence and Redemption
Humphrey Bogart, “The Harder They Fall” (1956). By Paul Parcellin This post contains spoilers, so you may want to see the films before reading the article. 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…
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Femmes Fatale Are Deceptively Charming, Dangerous and Often Lethal; But One Among Them Tips the Scales When It Comes to Evil Doings — And She’s Probably Not The One You’re Thinking Of
Elisha Cook Jr., Marie Windsor, “The Killing” (1956). By Paul Parcellin Be forewarned: Many spoilers are included throughout the text below. 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,…
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Ripped From the Headlines, Part III: True Stories About Dangerous Characters, Corrupt Officials and Gangs of Criminals Who Hold the Public at Bay
John Dall, Peggy Cummins, “Gun Crazy” (1950). By Paul Parcellin 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…
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Ripped From the Headlines, Part II: A Feast of Murder, Robbery and Exploitation
Cecil Kellaway, John Garfield, Lana Turner, “The Postman Always Rings Twice” (1946). By Paul Parcellin As you’ve probably gathered by now, the 1940s and ’50s saw a bumper crop of sensational tales ready-made for the screen. It was an era when Hollywood greedily harvested stories from news tabloids’ front pages. In the last post, we…
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Ripped From the Headlines: True Crimes Explode onto the Screen in Noir Movies
Barbara Stanwyck, Fred MacMurray, “Double Indemnity” (1944) By Paul Parcellin It’s no wonder that Hollywood in the 1940s and ’50s scooped up lurid true crime stories and made hard-hitting, gritty dramas out of them. Following the war, the public’s appetite for rough textured tales could not be surpassed. Cold, savage murders that bled off the…