cigarjoe

April 1, 2016

I'd like to see the Film Noir The Man I Love (1947), has TCM ever shown it?

March 31, 2016

cigarjoe, I've never seen Against All Odds, but I've always heard it was a re-make (or "re-imagining" might be a better word) of Out of the Past. Have you heard this too? Whaja think? Any similarities?

Yea it is a remake of Out Of The Past, I figured most would recognize that from the description.

March 31, 2016

Against All Odds (1984) 5/10

Let's take the flashback tale of a somewhat sleazy detective who is hired by a mobster to find his ex gal pal who stole a wad of cash from him and took off to Mexico. Said detective finds the girl in a one of the most icon sequences in Film Noir and falls under her spell, and then takes off with her. The detective's partner is then hired by the mobster to find him and the girl. He finds the detective and the girl and a fight results in the detective's partners death. The girl splits and leaves the detective holding the bag. When he does find her she's back shacked up with the mobster. Movie has nice dark Noir Visuals.

Let's take all this and change it to....

Lose the flashback. Make the detective a recently injury suspended football player who drives a Porsche but needs money enough to be talked into looking for the wayward daughter of the team's owner who's fled to Mexico, by her sleazy club owner of a boyfriend. He finds the girl in an idyllic tropical Mexico anti iconically wearing nondescript clothes buying groceries at an outside market. He falls in love with her and while making love in a Mayan pyramid is surprised by his coach who was sent by the sleazy boyfriend to find the two. She shoots the coach dead and runs off leaving the football player with the body. He comes back to LA and finds her back with the sleazy boyfriend, and there is still a half hour yet of more ways to screw up a good hardboiled story. Also lose all the the Noir Stylistics.

This movie is a travelog for Cozumel and Quintana Roo, Mexico.

If you want good Mexican Based Neo Noirs check out The Wrong Man (1993) Night Train (1999) and Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)

March 30, 2016

City Heat (1984) - (5/10) - Confused Prohibition-era action-comedy starring Clint Eastwood as a tough plainclothes cop who teams up with his ex-partner Burt Reynolds, now a private detective, to solve a murder. Also featuring Jane Alexander, Madeline Kahn, Rip Torn, Tony Lo Bianco, Richard Roundtree, Irene Cara, Robert Davi, William Sanderson, and Jack Nance. There's a lot of period detail, even though some seems more suited to a 40's-set noir than a film taking place in the early 30's. The tone is all over the place, with some scenes playing as farce while others are deadly serious with a lot of violence. The direction from Richard Benjamin seems erratic and unfocused, but I imagine trying to direct the two stars must have been difficult. Reynolds shows some of his star-making charm, and Eastwood does a lot of grunting and snarling. I saw this in the theater 32 years ago, and all I could recall was a lot of punching. It isn't very memorable, although the occasional bit works.

Rewatch. Source: DVD.

City Heat (1984) What a mess, I fell asleep, I'll give it another go before I send it back in it's netflix envelope.

Ok gave it another shot, (this is the third time I've seen this, the first was probably back in 1984) this final go round I watched it awake and in the right frame of mind. It's a fricking comedy, go into it with that in perspective and it's still not that great but I did get a few chuckles. Now I wonder what it may have been like if Blake Edwards would have not quit as director. It's a spoof of Film Noir and Dirty Harry. I don't remember the publicity campaign for it, how was it marketed? I don't think I was expecting a comedy the first time I saw it.

Another beef who did the casting of the women? If you would have had some hot hollywood starlet eye candy in the roles of the secretary Addy and Burt's gal Caroline it may have somewhat redeemed itself with some sex, but no we get Jane Alexander and Madeline Kahn, who cast this? If you had Theresa Russell, Susan Sarandon, Jessica Lange, Debra Winger, Teri Garr, I would give it another half point. I'll give it a 6/10

March 30, 2016

The Incident (1967) New York Subway Noir

A triumvirate of native New Yorkers, director Larry Peerce (Goodbye, Columbus (1969)), veteran Noir cinematographer, Gerald Hirschfeld ('C'-Man (1949), Guilty Bystander (1950), Fail-Safe (1964) and writer Nicholas E. Baehr, all add a big city garnish of authenticity and atmospherics to this dark tale of events going out of control on a late night Bronx IRT Jerome Avenue el train heading downtown towards Manhattan.

The Incident is a true ensemble Noir much in the vein of Deadline at Dawn (1946) His Kind of Woman (1951), and The Girl in Black Stockings (1957).

The film stars Robert Bannard, Beau Bridges (Force of Evil (1948)), Tony Musante (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), The Detective (1968)), Martin Sheen (The Naked City, TV (1962), Ed McMahon, Donna Mills (Play Misty for Me (1971)), Brock Peters (The Pawnbroker (1964)), Jack Gilford (Mister Buddwing (1966)) Victor Arnold (Shaft (1971), The Seven Ups (1973)), Mike Kellin (The Naked City, TV (1959-1963)), Robert Fields (They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)) Diana Van der Vlis (The Girl in Black Stockings (1957)) , and Henry Proach.

Four Classic Noir actors provide some very effective cinematic memory to The Incident, Ruby Dee (No Way Out (1950), The Tall Target (1951), Gary Merrill (Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), A Blueprint for Murder (1953), Night Without Sleep (1952), Witness to Murder (1954), Thelma Ritter, (Call Northside 777 (1948), Pickup on South Street (1953), Rear Window (1954)), and Jan Sterling (Caged (1950), Union Station (1950), Appointment with Danger (1951), Ace in the Hole (1951), Split Second (1953), and The Harder They Fall (1956).

The Incident is the best NYC Subway based psychological thriller film out there. Music was by Charles Fox and Terry Knight. Sound by Jack C. Jacobsen. There is no current R1 or R0 video available for The Incident. Screen caps were from the R2 Simply Media. 9/10 a 10/10 with a restoration. TCM has aired this.

For the full review see Film Noir/Gangster thread or the same with more Screencaps: http://http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-incident-1967-new-york-subway-noir.html

March 29, 2016

The Incident (1967) New York Subway Noir

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Musante and Sheen notice the distinctive Westinghouse Whiteways streetlights

A triumvirate of native New Yorkers, director Larry Peerce (Goodbye, Columbus (1969)), veteran Noir cinematographer, Gerald Hirschfeld ('C'-Man (1949), Guilty Bystander (1950), Fail-Safe (1964) and writer Nicholas E. Baehr, all add a big city garnish of authenticity and atmospherics to this dark tale of events going out of control on a late night Bronx IRT Jerome Avenue el train heading downtown towards Manhattan. (Reports have been posted though, that most of the actual outdoor scenes of the train (below) were filmed on and around the Bronx section of the IRT Third Avenue Line which was demolished in 1973. I haven't been able to confirm this.)

Baehr adapted The Incident from his earlier teleplay, which had been previously adapted as TV movie Ride With Terror (1963) which starred Vincent Gardenia, Gene Hackman and coincidentally Tony Musante who reprises his role of Joe Ferrone in The Incident. It would be interesting to someday make a side by side comparison.

The Incident is a true ensemble Noir much in the vein of Deadline at Dawn (1946) His Kind of Woman (1951), and The Girl in Black Stockings (1957).

The film stars Robert Bannard, Beau Bridges (Force of Evil (1948)), Tony Musante (The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970), The Detective (1968)), Martin Sheen (The Naked City, TV (1962), Ed McMahon, Donna Mills (Play Misty for Me (1971)), Brock Peters (The Pawnbroker (1964)), Jack Gilford (Mister Buddwing (1966)) Victor Arnold (Shaft (1971), The Seven Ups (1973)), Mike Kellin (The Naked City, TV (1959-1963)), Robert Fields (They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)) Diana Van der Vlis (The Girl in Black Stockings (1957)) , and Henry Proach.

Four Classic Noir actors provide some very effective cinematic memory to The Incident, Ruby Dee (No Way Out (1950), The Tall Target (1951), Gary Merrill (Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950), A Blueprint for Murder (1953), Night Without Sleep (1952), Witness to Murder (1954), Thelma Ritter, (Call Northside 777 (1948), Pickup on South Street (1953), Rear Window (1954)), and Jan Sterling (Caged (1950), Union Station (1950), Appointment with Danger (1951), Ace in the Hole (1951), Split Second (1953), and The Harder They Fall (1956).

The Story:

It's the 60s, dig, it's The Bronx. Late Sunday night early Monday morning. Two blitzed deadbeats, one Joe Ferrone, and one Artie Connors are up to no good. Ferrone (Musante) has a sport jacket with his shirt unbuttoned down to his navel, wears a medallion, carries a blade, and has pointy sideburns, a real wannabe Italian stallion. Connors (Sheen) is threading it mod wears a jacket with a turtleneck. These sick puppies are gassed and really amped to make a bad scene.

They close down the ten table Academy Pool Hall. Then, down on 170th Street looking for kicks, they begin to check door handles for unlocked cars. These two punks next taunt a couple on the sidewalk and then decide to mug the first cat that comes by.

Waiting for the victim

They hide in a basement stairwell. When a lone square comes down the concrete stroll they dart out pull him into the cellar. Mugging him for all the bread he's got, a measly eight bucks. They then beat the *beep* out of him for fun, nice guys. Not ready to call it a night these two *beep* decide to book downtown to Times Square. They head to the elevated station just down the block at Jerome Avenue.

Noirish

In flashback we see the Wilks', Bill (McMahon) and Helen (Van der Vlis). Bill is shlepping their sleeping daughter home from a birthday party. He's a tight wad who won't spring for a cab back to Queens. He ops for the el and while waiting for the train gets into an argument with Helen about not wanting more kids cause they're too expensive. A downtown number 4 train pulls in. They go to get on the last car. One of it's three sliding doors is out of order. The Wilks' have to step around a sleeping drunk (Proach) who is crashed out on the rattan covered bench seat by the working door

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el

Tony Goya (Arnold) has "pantalones calientes" for Alice Keenan (Mills). Tony is grease-ball swarthy, and he can't keep his hands to himself. Alice is cherry, blond, all show and no go. Alice wears a short pleated mini skirt that swooshes tantalizingly from side to side as she walks showing lots of creamy white thigh. **** Tony's got his eyes on the prize, Alice's golden gate.

Alice is driving Tony plumb loco, they are continually swapping spit, but Alice is constantly applying the brakes. She won't go all the way, and "pobrecito" Tony has a serious case of blue balls. He tells her he's had it, she tells him next time, maybe. He says he'll try and get some wheels, a car's got a back seat you know he's thinking.

They get on the train and into the same car as the Wilks family at Bedford Park Boulevard Station, and begin to mess around. It's not easy to get laid in New York City when you are young and broke.

Sam Beckerman (Guilford) is a bitter man he constantly kvetches to his wife Bertha that his own son won't give him five hundred bucks to fix his teeth, so he "can eat like a human being," but he'll blow that much at the track. Bertha (Ritter) is ambivalent and looking very tired of it all. They get on the train at Kingsbridge Road.

Army buddies Pfc. Phillip Carmatti (Bannard) and Pfc. Felix Teflinger (Bridges) have just finished a nice family dinner at the Carmatti's apartment. They head out the door and to the el station. Phillip is going to see his wounded pal Felix off at the Port Authority Bus Terminal in Manhattan. Felix is heading home first to St. Louis, then South from there. They get on the train at Fordam Road in the last car with the Wilks, Tony, Alice, Sam and Bertha.

Harry (Kellin) and Muriel (Sterling) Purvis' marriage is going Skidsville. They were at a high rise cocktail party with their old friends, all of whom have been way more successful than they are. Harry is a nerdy uptight prim and proper history teacher who is happy with his lot in life. He's wearing a pocket protector, black rim glasses, carries a briefcase and an umbrella. He's a poster boy for the geek squad. Muriel is dressed all in black as if she went to a funeral. Her locks are pinned up, she wears a hair net and pearls. She is wound a little bit too tight with resentment. She is sexually frustrated, emotional exhausted, and envious of their affluent friends. She resents her priggish husband. They get on the train with the rest at Burnside Avenue.

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Harry Purvis (Kellin) with fedora, pocket protector,umbrella and briefcase and Muriel (Jan Sterling)

Douglas McCann (Merrill) is a recovering booze hound who is haunted by the loss of his job, his family his future. He drifts down the sidewalk towards the neon lights of a bar like a storm tossed ship to a lighthouse. He falls off the wagon at a dive on 176th Street.

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Gary Merrill

Kenneth Otis (Fields) is a closet gay who's looking for a real good buddy. He's clueless about how to go about it. He's is in the same bar with McCann. In the men's room Kenneth tries to get chummy with Doug and is ignored. Doug finishes his drink and heads up the stairway to the platform pausing at the stations coin booth area to drop a dime on an old boss about an upcoming interview. While Doug is on the phone Kenneth has also come up the stairs and gets into Doug's space standing right behind him like a love sick puppy. Doug tells him to get lost. They both go up the the platform and Kenny follows Doug into the same car with the rest of our cast of characters.

At Mt. Eden Station an African-American couple Arnold (Peters) and Joan (Dee) Robinson buy tokens for the train. An innocent transaction with the change clerk goes sour and Arnold goes ballistic. Arnold is a wannabe black militant who gets exaggeratedly offended at the slightest provocation railing against the man in general. Joan is slightly exasperated at his self righteous misbegotten belligerence.

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The calm before the storm

At the point in time when the train arrives at the next station, 170th Street, the flashback ends and real time begins as Joe Ferrone and Artie Connors board the last car.

Now if you are not a native New Yorker this fact of big city survival may not be apparent. The one thing you do not do, and you were taught this back in the day not only by family and friends but also learn it day in and day out by basic instinct, is to NOT make eye contact with strangers, and especially with crazy strangers, either on the street, on the bus, on the subway. That's just asking for trouble, and when trouble happens you stay out of it. Even a good deed can turn deadly.

Joe and Artie burst into the car at 170th Street, Artie is laughing, riding piggy back on Joe. Everyone of course looks but immediately everyone instinctively ignores. They are just two lit up rowdies out for a good time. Joe and Artie spin around a pole cackling, then run up and down the car. Joe plops down in an empty seat and swigs from his pint bottle. Artie stands near the bum.

Their first victim is the bum. Artie tries to give him a hot foot sticking a match between the sole and top leather of his shoe. He lights the match and watches with gleeful anticipation. It burns down. The bum is in La La Land, there is no reaction. Artie redoubles his efforts putting unlit matches between the derelicts lips. Doug McCann, perhaps seeing the drunken bum as his personal Ghost of Christmas Future, tells Artie to knock it off. He's the first of the passengers to stand up to the punks but when no one else joins in he backs off.

(Let's just pause for a moment to discuss the setup of the final act. The subway car that our characters ride has a total of eight doors. It has two manually operated doors at each end, but since this is the end car of the train the door at the tail end is locked. The manually operated door at the opposite end is broken and wont open. If it did open you could pass between cars while the train is running. So that leaves six automatic sliding doors three on the right side of the car and three on the left. Since this train is a local the doors only operate on the right side of the car. On this particular car one of those doors is broken and inoperable. When Joe and Artie effectively take the car over they use the shoe of the unconscious bum to wedge another sliding inoperable leaving only one way in and out of the car.)

In this claustrophobic environment Joe and Artie systematically degrade, terrorize and humiliate all the passengers. Joe is the sociopath, the bigger jackass and more aggressive. Artie is Joe's sidekick more of a follower aping his moves.

Jack Gilford, Thelma Ritter, Tony Musante

Joe and Artie have their way until they go one victim to far in the claustrophobic confines of the subway car.

In an ironic bit of prescient commentary on today's current events when the cops finally get to the car they immediately try to arrest Arnold the only black man.

Tony Musante is frightening as Joe. Jeff Bridges is heroic as Felix. Brock Peters is outstanding showing some great range as Arnold. Gary Merrill is great as the down and out alkie, Jan Sterling equally as the crumbling beauty facing a stagnant life. Mike Kellin is a wonderful as the dweeb. Martin Sheen, Ruby Dee, Victor Arnold, Jack Gilford, Diana Van der Vlis, and Ed McMahon are all believable. Donna Mills is pretty much eye candy. Thelma Ritter who always seemed to play a feisty older woman here really is old and she looks tired, this was her second to last film, she died 15 months after this was released.

The Incident is the best NYC Subway based psychological thriller film out there. Music was by Charles Fox and Terry Knight. Sound by Jack C. Jacobsen. There is no current R1 or R0 video available for The Incident. Screen caps were from the R2 Simply Media. 9/10 a 10/10 with a restoration.

For the Review with Screencaps:http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-incident-1967-new-york-subway-noir.html

March 27, 2016

From the promo & in order of appearance:

Strange Cargo

The Story of Temple Drake

Black Narcissus

Baby Face

Never On Sunday

The Moon is Blue

The Competition

Strange Cargo

Baby Doll

?

Kiss Me Stupid

Lemora, A Child's Tale of the Supernatural

Blow-up

Black Narcissus

Untamed Youth

Blow-up

Viridiana

?

Strange Cargo

Untamed Youth

Kiss Me Stupid

Baby Doll

?

Black Narcissus

Untamed Youth

Reflections in a Golden Eye

?

The Story of Temple Drake

And God Created Woman

The Story of Temple Drake

Reflections in a Golden Eye

And God Created Woman

The ? are ones I've not yet identified, though I suspect L'Amore may be in there somewhere.

Thanks for your time and effort.

I don't recall ever seeing these:

Strange Cargo

The Story of Temple Drake

The Competition

Strange Cargo

Lemora, A Child's Tale of the Supernatural

Untamed Youth

March 27, 2016

I can tell you some of them from memory:

No order:

BLOW UP

REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE

THE STORY OF TEMPLE DRAKE

STRANGE CARGO

BABY DOLL

THE MOON IS BLUE

BACK NARCISSIS

I will watch the promo again and tell you more.

Of those I I recognised these

BLOW UP

REFLECTIONS IN A GOLDEN EYE

BABY DOLL

THE MOON IS BLUE

BACK NARCISSUS

March 26, 2016

I've only caught a few of the films programed in Condemned Thursday.

Out of curiosity on the promo clip does anybody know or name all the films that were sited/used, and where all these films programed on the Thursdays of this month?

In other words, can anybody list all the films in the promo?

March 26, 2016

Désirée (1954) another part of the Merle Oberon Star of the Month.

Never seen it before probably never will again.

Has Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Michael Rennie also in the leads, and future TV staples Richard Deacon (Dick Van Dyke Show with hair, lol), Cameron Mitchell (The High Chaparral unrecognisable at first ), Carolyn Jones (The Addams Family).who because of what I guess you'd call imprinting were all more familiar to me from that media.

6/10

March 21, 2016

Get Otta Town (1960) obscure B noir , a longtime criminal Kelly Olesen (Doug Wilson) returns to his native Los Angeles, determined to avenge his brother's murder. Notable for being filmed in the Minnewaska Hotel aka The Dome, 201 S. Grand Avenue and some other Bunker Hill locations. An interesting artifact.

March 18, 2016

The American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund) (1977) Euro Noir

Director: Wim Wenders (Hammett (1982), Paris, Texas (1984)), story by Patricia Highsmith (novel), screenplay by Wim Wenders. Beautiful cinematography by Robby Müller (Paris, Texas (1984), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Barfly (1987). Music by Jürgen Knieper.

The film stars Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet (1986), Black Widow (1987), Red Rock West (1993), True Romance 1993), Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire (1987)), Lisa Kreuzer, Gérard Blain, Nicholas Ray (director of Classic Noirs They Live by Night (1948), In A Lonely Place (1950)), Samuel Fuller (director of Classic Noirs, Pickup on South Street (1953), House Of Bamboo (1955), The Crimson Kimono (1959), and Lou Castel A Bullet For The General (1966).

Tom Ripley sells paintings at auctions from a supposedly dead artist he also has a ringer planted in the auction to drive up. the price. A criminal business associate wants Tom to make good on a debt by whacking another rival. Tom suggests his associate ask a local picture framer that man has a fatal blood disease. He has a wife and kid that he can leave a nice sum if he does the job.

Great cinematography, more review in Film Noir/Gangster board, 9/10

March 18, 2016

The American Friend (Der amerikanische Freund) (1977) Euro Noir

Director: Wim Wenders (Hammett (1982), Paris, Texas (1984)), story by Patricia Highsmith (novel), screenplay by Wim Wenders. Beautiful cinematography by Robby Müller (Paris, Texas (1984), To Live and Die in L.A. (1985), Barfly (1987). Music by Jürgen Knieper.

The film stars Dennis Hopper (Blue Velvet (1986), Black Widow (1987), Red Rock West (1993), True Romance 1993), Bruno Ganz (Wings of Desire (1987)), Lisa Kreuzer, Gérard Blain, Nicholas Ray (director of Classic Noirs They Live by Night (1948), In A Lonely Place (1950)), Samuel Fuller (director of Classic Noirs, Pickup on South Street (1953), House Of Bamboo (1955), The Crimson Kimono (1959), and Lou Castel A Bullet For The General (1966).

The story is pretty basic. Tom Ripley (Hopper) is an American who lives in Hamburg. He wears a cowboy hat and is known as the "Cowboy of Hamburg". He is a shady character with a dark past. His current scheme is posing as an art dealer bringing over paintings done by a supposedly dead NYC artist named Derwatt (Ray), he's also is involved in rigging auctions to bid up the same paintings to artificially drive up the price.

Ripley (Hopper) The Cowboy Of Hamburg

Derwatt (Nicholas Ray)

Jonathan Zimmermann (Ganz) was a talented art restorer, a rare blood disease has affected his ability to restore, and he is now reduced to working as art framer, albeit a good one. However the lifestyle of Jonathan and his family has gone seriously downhill and they are reduced to living in a cheap apartment in a building on a block that's being demolished.

Jonathan & Marianne

Jonathan meets Ripley at the auction of one of Derwatt's paintings that he framed. Ripley is aware of Jonathan's condition, and Jonathan knowing something of Ripley's shady nature and not quite feeling himself he comes off as gruff when they are introduced. Ripley, not liking being snubbed, does not forget. Later an associate of Ripley, Raoul Minot (Blain) from Paris, calls on Ripley to call in a debt. He wants a hit put on an enemy. Ripley concocts an elaborate rouse to get Jonathan to do the job. While Ripley gets on Jonathan's good side, he sends a fake telegram to Jonathan from a friend who had just left for Canada telling him that he's sorry about his worsening condition. At the same time he has Minot call Jonathan telling him that knowing the graveness of his condition he will pay him a great deal of money if he whacks this gangster, and that this will provide for his wife and son.

Jonathan calls his doctor to see what is going on and the doctor assures him that nothing has changed, but he should not get excited because excitement aggravates his condition. Ripley arranges for Minot to set up an appointment for Jonathan with blood specialists in Paris. Jonathan arrives for the test and Minot fakes the results, despondent Jonathan agrees to do the hit.

The First Hit Sequence in Paris Metro

After successfully doing the job Jonathan has 97,000 Deutschmarks in his account. Jonathan tell his wife Marianne (Kreuzer) that he is being paid by doctors to undergo experimental treatments. Minot visits Ripley again to give a thumbs up with Jonathan's performance. Ripley, who has now begun to like Jonathan, is dismayed when Minot tells him wants Jonathan to assassinate two American gangsters, this time on a train bound for Hamburg.

Jonathan agrees but while on the train the bodyguard of the second target catches Jonathan. Ripley who was on the train shows up and overpowers him. Both Jonathan and Tom execute both target and bodyguard. Ripley confesses to Jonathan that he was the one that set him up.

Sam Fuller

Minot shows up at Jonathan's after his apartment is blown up in Paris telling Jonathan that the mafia is after them. Ripley picks up Jonathan and they drive to Ripley's mansion to wait for the assassins. Of course all this excitement is just what Jonathan didn't need and things go Noirsville. Criterion Collection DVD 9/10.

Fuller review with more screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-american-friend-der-amerikanische.html

March 17, 2016

Mr. joe, I often agree with your views on movies, especially noirs. However, as you can see from my post below, we part company on this one.

It's silly and stupid fun, I agree with you about the KiM Novak voice though.

March 17, 2016

I think it's pretty funny, one of my favorite Dean Martin comedies

March 17, 2016

Thanks for the info on Rita. Sad.

March 17, 2016

The Money Trap (1965) The Last Classic Studio Noir?

Directed by Burt Kennedy, written by Walter Bernstein (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands) based on the novel of the same name by Lionel White (The Killing). This film has quite the line-up of Classic Film Noir actors, Glenn Ford and Joseph Cotten ( both with 8 Classic Film Noir each), Rita Hayworth (Gilda (1946), Affair In Trinidad (1952), Lady From Shanghai ( 1948)), Ricardo Montalban (Border Incident (1949), Mystery Street (1950)), Ted de Corsia (7 Film Noir to his record) and Elke Sommer (Daniella by Night (1961)). Cinematography was by Paul Vogel High Wall (1947), Dial 1119 (1950), The Tall Target (1951), The Sellout (1952) the bongo/jazz/beatnik score was by Hal Schaefer.

Catching the squeal

This could be the last Studio "B" Noir. We hear a crazed bongo beat on the soundtrack. The Story: Two LAPD Homicide Detectives Joe Baron (Ford) and his Mexican partner Pete Delanos (Montalban) catch a squeal to investigate the murder of a **** at a downtown cat-house. It's pouring, it's night, it's Noir. Arriving at the address they climb a staircase and pass a landing lined with rubber necking prostitutes. The Mexican victim was secretly moonlighting as a hooker to bring in extra income. She was murdered by her enraged husband who had just found out. He hung her like a piñata from the handiest light fixture, left her swinging, and vamoosed. This is the dark and "sleazo" underworld of our ever on call detectives.

But Joe Baron , off the job, is living high on the hog. In bright contrast to the night before we see him drive up in a '65 Plymouth Fury to an impressive terraced hillside house, in the driveway is a '61 Jaguar XK-E. In the backyard a pool, in the pool a blonde bombshell trophy wife. Lisa Baron (Sommer) is young, 25-ish, bubbly, socialite, about half the age of hubby Joe who has a weary hangdog look that vanishes simultaneously as he sheds his hard exterior emotional armor and enters his castle. He caresses the Jag in the driveway, then lovingly embraces Lisa poolside, and they settle scandalously together she on top into a lounge chair under the bright sunshine.

But their playhouse is about to come tumbling down. Lisa gets a letter from her father's estate lawyer stating that they won't be paying a dividend this year.

Joe asks Lisa to remember where he lived when they first met, and if she'd like living there with him. She replies that something will work out. This is the Money Trap of the title.

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The wife I want

Back on the case Joe and Pete question the sister-in-law of the dead hooker, she lives in a crowded Bunker Hill flop house apartment. She tells them that the wife only did it for her little girl Amaya after her husband lost his job. Joe and Pete decide to set up a continuous stake out of the house to catch the father if he shows up to see his daughter.

Flop House (Brousseau Mansion)

Meanwhile, crap happens and our two flatfoots catch another squeal at the home of Dr. Horace Van Tilden M.D. (Cotten). It seems the good doctor shot a house burglar in an upstairs bedroom after he broke into a safe. That safe was empty the doctor states, the one he keeps in his office downstairs has the important papers. Joe & Pete smell something rotten, the brass is there to smooth things over, the safe wasn't cracked, the perp was a small time hood. Joe makes him as Phil Kenny, a junkie not a box man, why would he go to a bedroom if he needed a hit.

Joe begins his missing millions investigation by tracking down Kenny's wife Rosalie (Hayworth). She's working as a cocktail waitress in a downtown grill. Be prepared for a shock, Hayworth looks terrible, frumpy and overweight, age, smoking, bad marriages, Hollywood and alcoholism have taken a heavy toll and she's only 47 in this flick, but looks twenty years older, the Hayworth of Gilda is a long faded memory. I hope that part of her look was just makeup for the role, if it is it's very convincing.

Rosalie Kenny (Hayworth)

Pete suspects Joe is holding out. Pete gets right in Joe's face and tells he wants in on the money. Joe is **** that Pete has followed him. Pete tells Joe that not putting down interviewing Rosalie in his report is falsifying evidence. But he won't report it if they split the money, and besides who is Van Tilden going to go to, the police?

A very interesting film for Film Noir fans. The flop house where Amaya lives is the old run down Brousseau Mansion at 238 South Bunker Hill Avenue. By 1965 the Bunker Hill redevelopment had cleared out most of the houses. That's why the house is surrounded by empty lots. Ford then tails the aunt and Amaya to Third & Olive and rides with them down Angels Flight, which is also surrounded by empty lots, the end of an era along with the end of a Classic Noir location.

On Angels Flight

Joe and Pete plan to crack Van Tilden's safe and make off with the two bags of moola. They find out that he's taking off for a week of fishing in Acapulco and go for it. But Van Tilden is a step ahead of them faking the trip and catching them in the act. There's a shootout in the dark and Pete is hit but they get the loot. Joe brings Pete to his house where they find that one of the bags has a half a million the other bag has a half million in heroin.

Pete needs a doctor and the only crooked doctor Joe knows is Van Tilden. He'll trade the dope for Pete's life. Of course it all goes Noirsville.

Noirsville

A last Noir call for Noir greats Ford, Hayworth, Cotton, de Corsia, Montalban. It's entertaining nevertheless, DVD from Warner Archive Collection. 7/10

A more extensive review with more screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-money-trap-1965-last-classic-studio.html

March 17, 2016

The Money Trap (1965) The Last Classic Studio Noir?

Directed by Burt Kennedy, written by Walter Bernstein (Kiss the Blood Off My Hands) based on the novel of the same name by Lionel White (The Killing). This film has quite the line-up of Classic Film Noir actors, Glenn Ford and Joseph Cotten, Rita Hayworth, Ricardo Montalban, Ted de Corsia and Elke Sommer. Cinematography was by Paul Vogel High Wall (1947), Dial 1119 (1950), The Tall Target (1951), The Sellout (1952) and the bongo/jazz/beatnik score was by Hal Schaefer.

This could be the last Studio "B" Noir. We hear a crazed bongo beat on the soundtrack. The Story: Two LAPD Homicide Detectives Joe Baron (Ford) and his Mexican partner Pete Delanos (Montalban) catch a squeal to investigate the murder of a **** at a downtown cat-house. It's pouring, it's night, it's Noir. Arriving at the address they climb a staircase and pass a landing lined with rubber necking prostitutes. The Mexican victim was secretly moonlighting as a hooker to bring in extra income. She was murdered by her enraged husband who had just found out. He hung her like a piñata from the handiest light fixture, left her swinging, and vamoosed. This is the dark and "sleazo" underworld of our ever on call detectives.

The film is very interesting for film Noir fans. The flop house where the character Amaya lives is the old run down Brousseau Mansion at 238 South Bunker Hill Avenue. By 1965 the Bunker Hill redevelopment had cleared out most of the houses. That's why the house is surrounded by empty lots. Ford then tails the aunt and Amaya to Third & Olive and rides with them down Angels Flight, which is also surrounded by empty lots, the end of an era along with the end of a Classic Noir location. 7/10