A Month of Noir Day 28 - Macao

Well, I've down the freak show and the love story this week, I might as well add some musical numbers.

Macao takes place it the titular city, "the Monte Carlo of the Orient," and despite being a good geography student back in the day, I must admit I know little of this interesting place.  Apparently it was a Portuguese colony, but was mostly Chinese.  There was gambling, smuggling, jewels, gold, and the international police had no authority.  Must have been a criminal's wet dream.

So it's a good start when the movie begins with a foot chase through it's city streets and dock area.  There is even some knife throwing.  Too bad it's a cop that got murdered.  Okay, so this isn't the stuff that's in the travel brochures.  Where is the glamor?

Cue the cruise ship, with music, dancing, and Jane Russell.  But don't get too fresh with her!  She throws a mean shoe.  Just ask Bad Boy Bobby Mitchum.  Despite being accidentally hit with her fabulous footware, he still comes to her rescue and manages to secure a kiss for his troubles.  Was the kiss worth his wallet?  Looks like we have a pretty little grifter.

But she's not all badgirl.  She strikes up a conversation with Lawrence C. Trumble, travelling salesman, and gets herself a nice pair of panty hose for her time.  The scene with her putting them on, revealing her garter belt, must have driven the men wild back then.  Certainly made an impression on Nick Cochran (Robert Mitchum).

Next we meet Vincent Halloran (Brad Dexter) an expatriot American running The Quick Reward, a gambling joint/fencing operation.  He runs this town with the help of Lt. Sebastian (Thomas Gomez) and his moll Margie (Gloria Grahame).  Thanks to Cochran's stolen wallet and passport, the police are aware of him, which means so is Halloran.  Not fooled by Cochran's cover story, Halloran believes he is a New York Cop looking into the earlier murder.  When he presents some stolen gems, he is sure of it.  But that's not all they both want.  Julie (Jane Russell) is a singer and soon lands a job at The Quick Reward.  She gets both men's attentions, and desires, and soon the battle is over more than jewelry.

Halloran thinks he's got Cochran under his heal, but is Cochran the man he should be worried about?

While enjoyable, Macao doesn't offer much beyond it's surface charm.  It's an interesting city, with some interesting locations, but beyond the city and docks, we don't see much else.  Jane Russell certainly is pleasant to look at, and her voice is nice, but acting-wise, she offers little more than sass.

Robert Mitchum plays his role with his usual laid back, sleepy eyed cool.  Hardly a stretch for him, as he could have played this character in his sleep.  Even Gloria Grahame is wasted in her far too small role.  Brad Dexter brought some steely eyed charisma to his role though.  With his confidence and vague menace, it's easy to see how he ruled the city.

It's a decent film, but suffers from predictability, even with it's twist reveal about halfway through the film.  I've read that the film was started by Josef von Sternberg and finished by Nicholas Ray.  It's certainly easy to believe, as the film feels like two different movies, with it's glamourous beginning and dark end.  Perhaps if either of them had the film to themself, it would have been stronger, and taken more chances.

Rating: 3 and a half stars out of 5

A Month of Noir Day 27 - Sudden Fear

Joan Crawford might just be the best actress I've ever seen, and no further proof is needed after watching Sudden Fear.

Don't believe me?  How about this.  She makes a unlikely romance with Jack Palance seem entirely possible and believable.  The first half of this movie played like a romantic film, and it's because she sells her falling in love with Palance so completely, despite the fact that his facial features remind me of a Dick Tracy villain.  It's not that Jack isn't handsome, he is, in a strange way, but a woman like Crawford wouldn't normally give him the time of day.

Which is exactly why her playwright/financier fires him from her most recent production, he's just not leading man handsome.  Thug?  He can play the hell out of that.  But I've got to give credit to Palance, he does admirable work.

Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) is upset when fired, but when he runs into Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) on a train from New York to Chicago, the two hit it off, and before long are in love and living in San Francisco.  There aren't many acting jobs in San Fran, but Myra makes more than enough money thanks to her own career and her inheritance from her wealthy deceased father.  It should be enough of a cushy life for Lester, but when his ex-girlfriend Irene (Gloria Grahame) shows up, the trouble starts.  She wants Myra's money and Lester, and together, the two hatch a plan to kill her.

But they probably shouldn't have made the plan in Myra's study, where her dictation recorder was conveniently left on.  Of course she ends up hearing the entire conversation, and in a scene which could teach a master class, she slowly realizes that her husband never loved her and wants her dead.

Time for a plan of her own.

I leave the spoilers off for this part, but believe me when I tell you that the final 30 minutes of this film are some of the most suspenseful, thrilling, and best shot scenes I've ever had the pleasure of watching.  They are that good.  Had the film been a bit tighter in the beginning, this would have easily been a five star movie. 

Rating: 4 and a half stars out of 5

A Month of Noir Day 26 - The Fat Men Sing

Hate to say it, but noir month is nearing it's end.  So here are a few trailers from two of the biggest filmmaking talents, Alfred Hitchcock and Orson Wells.

Shadow of a Doubt



Notorious



Strangers on a Train



The Wrong Man



The Lady From Shanghai



The Stranger



Touch of Evil

A Month of Noir Day 25 - Nightmare Alley

I've been afraid of travelling carnivals since watching the film adaptation of Ray Bradbury's Something Wicked This Way Comes back when I was a small impressionable lad.  While the fear doesn't grip me the same way now as it did then, it still gives me a solid case of the heebie-jeebies the second I see a big tent.

In other words, I was expecting to be a bit freaked out by Nightmare Alley.I'm pleased to say the film, while basing a great deal of the film in the carnival setting, doesn't dwell on it.  Hell, even the horrors of the Geek show are kept off screen.

Stanton, "Stan" Carlisle (Tyrone Power) is a young roustabout, working the carnival circuit as hard as he can.  He talks a good game, and seems to be an integral part of the show, but he wants more.  Fortune teller act Zeena (Joan Blondell) and her husband Pete were once big time, thanks to "a code", but have fallen thanks to his hard drinking.  A few more months, and he might be relegated to the Geek show, the only job available to hard core drunks.

Unfortunately for him, Stan accidentally gives him a bottle of wood alcohol to drink instead of the similarly bottled moonshine.  By morning Pete is dead.  Instead of coming clean, Stan decides to hit Zeena up for "the code."  Together they can run the show and get out of the carnival.  With the help of a very pretty sideshow entertainer Molly, the two get good and become a very popular act.  Molly also becomes very popular with Stan, much to the chagrin of her strongman boyfriend Bruno.

When their love is discovered, Molly (Coleen Gray) and Stan are banished from the circus.  Instead of feeling distraught, Stan sees this as an opportunity.  Molly knows "the code" as well, and soon they are playing ballrooms to the rich in big cities.  They have a good life with good money, and are seemingly happy married.

But Stan can't leave well enough alone.  While his act is popular, a chance encounter with both a psychologist and a grieving father give him a new opportunity.  His ability to cold read people gives him an upper hand, and soon he claims to be communicating with the dead.  Molly is apprehensive, but the psychologist, Lilith (Helen Walker) has inside info that can help him.  She records all her conversations with patients, and that information can give him just the edge he needs to score a huge payday.

Stan now has another lady in his life, but he may have met his match this time.  For once, he doesn't hold all the power.  A score goes wrong, and he is double crossed by Lilith.  Any claim he makes will just be viewed as a psychosis thanks to her professional standing.  He sends Molly away to save her, and is soon wanted by the police.

The film ends with Stan destitute, telling stories to hobos.  He wanders to a fairground to ask for a job, and is only offered the job of Geek, the lowest work.  He takes it without complaint, and begins drinking himself into a stupor.  The film ends with a drunken and crazed Stan being found by Molly.

Despite my irrational fears, I absolutely loved this film.  Tyrone Power gives an incredibly seductive performance.  It's not hard to imagine him bewitching everyone around him, as his ability to read people and "sermonize" them is absolutely convincing.  But his is not the only good performance.  All three of his stepping stones, I mean ladies, are great.  Joan Blondell is convincing as the world weary and wise Zeena, and despite the goofiness of her Tarot card readings, she sells her belief in them.  Coleen Gray is excellent as the young Molly, captivated by Stan's charm.  And lastly, Helen Walker is amazing as Lilith, the psychologist who finally gives Stan what he deserves.  She comes off as naive and willing, but it just hides her motives very well.  When she turns on Stan it's a shock, but not a surprise.  We should have expected it all along.

How can a man fall so far?  Easy.  By reaching too high.

Rating: 4 and a half stars out of 5

A Month of Noir Day 24 - Bringing Darkness to Light

"Here's what film noir is to me.  It's a righteous generically American film movement that went from 1945 to 1958 and exposited one great theme, and that theme is...

You're fucked.

You have just met a woman.  You are inches away from the greatest sex of your life, but within six weeks of meeting the woman you will be framed for a crime you didn't commit and you will end up in the gas chamber and as they strap you in and you are about to breathe in the cyanide fumes you will be grateful for the few weeks you had with her and grateful for your own death."      -James Ellroy
               
I should have made this documentary the first thing I viewed/reviewed this month, but honestly, I forgot I owned it.  This 1:08 documentary was an added bonus to the Film Noir Classic Collection: Volume 3 box set which included gems such as Border Incident, His Kind of Woman, Lady in the Lake, On Dangerous Ground, and The Racket.

Should you ever want a "Cliffs Notes" answer to "What is Film Noir?" then this is the documentary for you.

Listen to actors, directors, composers, cinematographers, critics, scholars and even entertainers such as the already quoted James Ellroy, Henry Rollins, Kim Newman, Graeme Revell, Janusz Kaminski, Sydney Pollack, Frank Miller, Eddie Muller, Christopher McQuarrie, Paul Schrader, Carol Littleton, Christopher Nolan, Rick Jewell, Edward Dmytryk, James Ursini, Brian Hegeland, Drew Casper, Gordon Willis, Talia Shire, Audrey Totter, Roger Deakins, John Alton, Michael Madsen, William Goldman, Jane Greer, Nicholas Pileggi and a few others, as they talk about everything concerning film noir.

Will you learn much?  Not if you're already familiar with the genre, but it's still fun to listen to.  And if your spouse or friend has no clue what you talk about when you start obsessing about light and shadow, hand them this disc.  Maybe next time they won't roll their eyes at you and will sit down to watch Out of the Past.

And if you are only mildly familiar with the genre, the disc offers clips from many classic examples such as:
Crime Wave, The Set-Up, His Kind of Woman, On Dangerous Ground, The Maltese Falcon, Murder My Sweet, The Asphalt Jungle, Stranger on the Third Floor, Decoy, Clash by Night, Crossfire, They Live By Night, Born to Kill, Gun Crazy, The Lady in the Lake, Border Incident, Out of the Past, The Big Steal, The Narrow Margin and a couple more.

I must say I was pleased I had chosen a few of these films to watch this month.  Should you be interested in watching this documentary, it's also available separately from Netflix.

A Month of Noir Day 23 - Where the Sidewalk Ends

One of the staples of the genre is the cop who doesn't play by the rules, who seems to be hiding something.  I'll admit, I don't get sick of it.  Throw that scenario at me 100 times and I'll watch the movie without complaint, as long as it's a well made film.

Well, Where the Sidewalk Ends is a brilliant film, and it's largely in part to Dana Andrew's portrayal of Detective Mark Dixon.  Right at the beginning of the film, we're invited in to the top brass office as Dixon gets a dressing down from his superiors.  He's been rough and tumble with the "hoods, dusters, mugs, and gutter nickel-rats" one too many times, and he's on final warning.  Dixon doesn't care, he's got a job to do and he's going to do it.  Andrew's doesn't say as much as he shows, with his eyes and tight lips doing most of the talking.  He reminds me of Russell Crowe in L.A. Confidential.  Quiet, tough, determined.

His determination is soon given the opportunity.  At an illegal dice joint, a man, Mr. Morrison has won a hefty sum of $19,000 and he's ready to go home.  The man responsible for enticing him there, Paine (Craig Stevens) is a little nervous.  He's into these gangsters, and this man leaving with their money won't leave them happy.  He tries to get Morrison to stay, and soon they are knocking each other around.  When he renders Morrison unconscious, Paine hightails it out of there, leaving boss Tommy Scalise (Gary Merrill) to deal with it. 

The cops are called, and when the arrive, Morrison is dead, a knife to the chest, and Scalise is laying the blame on Paine.  The tension and hatred between Scalise and Dixon is AMAZING!  Merrill and Andrews allow the contempt to just bubble under the surface, with Scalise taunting Dixon with past failed prosecutions and an unspoken connection between the two (which will be revealed later).  Merrill, with his sideways smile and constant sniffing of nose spray is perfect as the boss.  He's confident, creepy, and knows his way around a crime.  He's not going to be ruffled by some flat foot.

So now Dixon has a mission, prove Scalise was involved in the Morrison murder.  He quickly finds Paine, drunk and belligerent, and before Dixon has a chance to ask him a question, he knocks Paine on his ass, accidentally killing him.

And this is where the film gets great.  Does Dixon call his partner or the station, admit to killing Paine and be kicked off the force, possibly facing murder charges for the death of a war hero, or does he frame Scalisi?  You know what choice he's going to make.

The rest of the film is a cat and mouse game between Dixon, his supervisor Lt. Thomas, (a stoic and commanding Karl Malden) and Paines widow Morgan (Gene Tierney) whom Dixon has fallen for.  It's a tight suspenseful film that will keep you guessing until it's rather unpredictable end. 

Rating : 5 stars out of 5.

view the trailer here:
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1238565913/

A Month of Noir Day 22 - They Live By Night

"In a way I'm a thief just the same as you are.  But I won't sell you hope when there aint any."

Those words, uttered by a truck stop marrying man, $30 for the deluxe package, $20 for the regular, come towards the end of Nicholas Ray's early film They Live By Night.  It's a great quote, and sadly, prophetic about my feelings regarding the film.

I really wanted this movie to be better.

It's my own fault.  When I think of lovers on the run, my mind goes to the classics, Terrance Malick's Badlands, Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde, even Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers.  Desperate couples, barely avoiding capture, spending what time they have enveloped in each other, not caring for the rest of the world.  Unfortunately, most of this film avoids all of that.

Bowie (Farley Granger) meets Keechie (Cathy O'Donnell) shortly after a prison escape.  Along with his partners T-Dub and Chickamaw, an injured Bowie holes up at Chickamaw's brothers house, and his niece, Keechie sees to the men.  The attraction between these two naive kids is evident right from the start, and after one more job, the two are completely in love and heading off on their own, leaving their past lives behind them.

But you know that old saying about the past not being through with you, it's apt here.  Soon the exploits of the Bowie the Kid gang are all over the papers and radio, despite the fact that Bowie was the low man on the totem pole.  So Bowie and Keechie get married and go to some cabins she visited as a child.  As a hideout it's good.  They make themselves a little life in it's seclusion, the only problem being that Chickamaw knows about the cabin as well.

Chickamaw and T-Dub have blown through their money, so they need another job.  Despite Keechie's protest, Bowie tags along, his debt to them helping him escape still unpaid.  Everything goes wrong, and T-Dub takes a dirt nap.  Chick and Bowie escape, but Bowie has had enough and ditches his uncle-in-law on the side of the road.

They run from the cabin and travel across the state, living it up as best they can.  It could have gone well, only the radio has reported that Chickamaw is dead, and Bowie is becoming more and more recognizable.  One would think when wanted by the law, it would be best not to go out to dinner, or for that matter, use each others names in public.  After a minor scrape, a man recognized Bowie and takes his gun.  But instead of calling the cops for a reward, he simply lets him go.

By this point, I'd given up all hope on the film.

I realize, from both the sets and the actors used, that this film was made on a low budget.  I was not expecting to see grand heists or shootouts, but even a bit would have been good.  These two have been on the run from the law for most of the film, yet there is zero tension in their plight.  We don't feel the law pushing down on them one bit, so their flight seems inconsequential.  Had they been smart and just disappeared into oblivion with their stash at the beginning, they would have gotten away clean. 

The one thing that works for this film are the characters are done in by their own choices, not the skill of the pursuing detectives, but it's not enough.  It feels slight.