Tag: classic film
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Feverish Dreams, Paranoia? It Must be a Cornell Woolrich Story
Kevin McCarthy, Gage Clarke, “Nightmare” (1956). When it comes to crafting stories of dread and entrapment, Cornell Woolrich stands out among his peers. His darkest work seethes with feverish, paranoid fantasies. Wrongly accused men, caged on death row or free and living under a stifling cloud of suspicion, are driven to prove their innocence. Visions…
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‘Sunset Blvd.’: A Stranger Original Opening Sequence Was Scrapped
Erich von Stroheim, William Holden, Gloria Swanson,“Sunset Boulevard” (1950). Preview audiences were left stunned, oddly amused and utterly confused At the start of “Sunset Boulevard,” hapless screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) floats face-down in a swimming pool with several bullet holes punched into his torso. He’d been the long-term houseguest of deranged former silent screen…
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In Noir, Shutter Bugs Fight and Sometimes Commit Crimes
Lighting and photographic style play an outsized role in crime dramas of all kinds, including film noir. But then there are the noirs and thrillers that put a camera in front of the camera — or to be more precise, they’re films in which a photographer and his or her pictures play a key role…
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Is It or Isn’t It? Does “Clash by Night” Make the Cut as Noir?
“Clash by Night” has the look and feel of noir, but not everyone thinks of it that way. It stars Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Ryan, two giants of the shadowy crime dramas of the 1940s and ‘50s that define those dark films. Some might say they make the perfect brooding noir couple. If that’s not…
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‘The Night of the Hunter’: Babes in the Woods Face Evil
I first saw “The Night of the Hunter” (1955) 20-plus years ago and walked away impressed but not particularly in love with the movie, and having said that I know what many of you are thinking: Heresy! I have no real excuse for my initial reaction. The Charles Laughton directed drama, the only film he…
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Man From Nowhere: Who is Larry Cravat?
“Somewhere in the Night” (1946) George Taylor (John Hodiak) awakens in a military hospital, and to his horror discovers that his memory has been wiped clean by a serious wound he received in the war. He can’t remember his name or anything of his past, but he hides his amnesia from the doctors to prevent…
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Gumshoe Noir: White Knights, Reluctant Heroes, Rotten Apples
Private eyes, those lone rangers who traverse bleak urban landscapes, are romanticized in books, radio dramas and movies as upholders of right and wrong. They do the dirty work that the cops can’t or won’t touch. Often hired by those who are monied, corrupt, or both, they’re the go-to guys when it comes to cleaning…
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When Hollywood’s B-Movie Factories Mined Noir Gold
So many westerns were filmed at the small, independently owned studios near the intersection of Sunset Blvd. and Gower St. in Hollywood that people began calling it Gower Gulch. From the 1930s to the ’50s it was the epicenter of low-rent film production and the gaggle of studios there was disparagingly known as Poverty Row.…
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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…
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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…