Category: film noir
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In ‘Double Indemnity,’ A Stalled Car is a Flash of Genius
Barbara Stanwyck and Fred MacMurray, in ‘Double Indemnity.’ As many times as we pore over “Double Indemnity,” there are still important bits that may be missed. Sometimes that leads to revelations that change our understanding of the film. I’m not talking about the Raymond Chandler cameo that went unnoticed for decades — that was a…
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Danger Lurks in the Seedy World of Film Noir Carnivals
Tyrone Power, ‘Nightmare Alley’ (1947) T raveling carnivals are supposed to roll into town and deliver family entertainment — tacky, corny stuff that kids adore: amusements, games of skill, sideshow acts and cotton candy. They bring with them a whiff of nostalgia and remind oldsters of more innocent times. But in film noir, carnivals are…
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Red Scare Noir: Communists on the Waterfront
Janis Carter, John Agar and Thomas Gomez in ‘The Woman on Pier 13’ (1949). ‘The Woman on Pier 13’ (1949) When the Berlin Wall went up in 1961, my first-grade teacher, Miss Berzetz, marched into the classroom and scared the bejesus out of us. To hear her tell it, this was the end of life…
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‘Nightmare Alley’ 2021: Guillermo Del Toro’s Noir Carnival of Horror
I should have known better than to smuggle a chicken burrito into the theater from the taqueria next door to it. Why, you ask? Let’s just say I bit into it at an unappetizing moment in the film. If you saw the original “Nightmare Alley” (1947) with Tyrone Power, or if you know what…
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‘The Silent Partner’ : A Noir Bank Job, 1970s Style
Elliot Gould in ‘The Silent Partner.’ Elliot Gould is Miles Cullen, a Toronto bank teller whose chief companions are tropical fish that flutter about in an aquarium in his cramped apartment. To his female co-workers, Miles is a teddy bear nerd with as much sex appeal as one of his guppies. One day, he realizes…
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When Works of Art Bewitch, Haunt … and Judge
Detective Mark MacPherson is mesmerized by the portrait of Laura Hunt. Noir anti-heroes often come from the wrong side of the tracks, and then struggle to brush off the dust from the old neighborhood. Lured by the trappings of the filthy rich — jewels, swell apartments, gorgeous babes — they cross the line into a…
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FEARSOME 15: Movie Gangsters to Watch Out For
In the movies, henchmen climb to the top of the crime heap by using bombs, bullets and intimidation. Of course, being a terrifying SOB isn’t just a job security tactic – any mobster who’s not feared will often end up as landfill. The range of badass criminal types runs the gamut: There are those who…
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You Only Live Once: Outlaws on the Road
Sylvia Sidney and Henry Fonda in ‘You Only Live Once.’ D irector Fritz Lang’s masterpiece of German cinema, “M” (1931), delves into the murky waters of criminality with an assuredness that few films of that era can match. A frantic search is on for a serial killer who murders children, resulting in an uptick in…
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A SIMMERING ‘RAW DEAL’ IS COOKED TO PERFECTION
From left, Pat Cameron (Claire Trevor), Ann Martin (Marsha Hunt) and Joe Sullivan (Dennis O’Keefe) in ‘Raw Deal’ (1948).Be forewarned, there are many SPOILERS contained below. In film noir, it’s unusual for the femme fatale to act as narrator. But in “Raw Deal,” the dilemmas of conscience are seen through the eyes of the morally challenged…
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A Touch of Orson: Venice Beach as Border Town
Orson Welles prepares a crucial scene in “Touch of Evil” Downtown L.A.’s refurbished Million Dollar Theater recently screened the Orson Welles classic dark tale of corruption and murder, “Touch of Evil.” The film was originally released in 1958 after the studio took control of it from Welles. There’s a recut and redubbed version in circulation…