Category: Edmond O’Brien

  • ‘The Killers’: A much loved noir that’s the spitting image of another American classic

    ‘The Killers’: A much loved noir that’s the spitting image of another American classic

    Ava Gardner, Burt Lancaster, ‘The Killers’ (1946).  By Paul Parcellin “The Killers” (1946) Some say “The Killers” is the “Citizen Kane” of noir, but how can that be? One is a beloved noir, the story behind a brutal murder of a washed up prizefighter. The other, a fictional biography of a media tycoon, loosely based…

  • D.O.A.: Small Town Man Visits Big City, Murder Follows

    D.O.A.: Small Town Man Visits Big City, Murder Follows

    Frank Gerstle, Edmond O’Brien, “D.O.A.” (1949). The doctor delivers some astonishingly bad news. Frank Bigelow needs to find the truth,but he’s driven by a deeper motivation By Paul Parcellin When you think of noir, it’s probably not 18th century British author Samuel Johnson who first springs to mind. But his most famous quote really nails the…

  • New Year’s Noir: 8 Crime Films Bring You Dark Tidings

    New Year’s Noir: 8 Crime Films Bring You Dark Tidings

    Allen Baron, “Blast of Silence” (1961). Noir for the year’s last day. Was that a popping cork or the report of a firearm? By Paul Parcellin Why is it that a lot of noirs take place around Christmas, but not so many focus on New Year’s Eve? Granted, New Year’s doesn’t carry the same weight…