cigarjoe
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Posts posted by cigarjoe
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Joseph Calleia is an actor I have always been fond of going back to the 30s. He should be featured in Summer Under the Stars.
I assume his best known role is in Gilda.
He's a riot in Deadline at Dawn
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Out Of Sight (1998) a vehicle for JLo and Clooney it should remain out of sight. 6/10
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Beast of the City (1932) Wow what a great stylistic opening sequence, it then settles down to standard Hollywood product but it's entertaining. Chief of Police's brother gets mixed up with Gangsters and Jean Harlow.Directed by Charles Brabin, cinematography by Norbert Brodine, written by W.R. Burnett (story) and , John Lee Mahin (dialogue continuity) Stars: Walter Huston, Jean Harlow, Wallace Ford. 7/10
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When you said Peck and Matthau I immediately at first thought I knew which one you were talking about but it's Charade.
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I've always considered Mirage to be underappreciated.
I'm not just saying this as a Peck fan.
People rarely mention this movie on lists of favourite artists and it's quite suspenseful. It reminds me of Mr. Buddwing.
I can't remember if I've seen it or not.
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Last night I watched The Shining with one of the twins in the kitchen while she was baking cookies and fudge.
She gave it a 10. She also said Jack was really creepy looking.
I got a funny story I watched this with my kids after it came out on VHS back in the day, my son said the scariest person in the film was Shelley Duvall
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When I did the review on The Beat Generation, someone mentioned that Ray Danton looked like David Schwimmer. Here is a comparison side by side.
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To Live And Die In L.A. (1985) Smog Noir in the City Of Angels
Directed by William Friedkin (The French Connection (1971)), written by former U.S. Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich (novel), screenplay by William Friedkin and Gerald Petievich. Outstanding cinematography by Robby Müller (Paris, Texas (1984), Barfly (1987)) the film stars quite the cast, William Petersen (Thief(1981), Manhunter (1986)) , Willem Dafoe (Wild at Heart (1990)), John Pankow, Michael Greene, John Turturro (Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998)), Darlanne Fluegel (Once Upon a Time in America (1984)), Dean Stockwell (The Arnelo Affair (1947), (Compulsion(1959), (Paris, Texas (1984), (Blue Velvet (1986)), Robert Downey Sr., and Jack Hoar.Beautifully bleak and highly stylistic. This film actually makes a lethally smoggy industrial West Coast/LA sunrise jaw droppingly gorgeous, perverting the normal aesthetic. Palm trees compete with power poles and high tension lines that diffuse into a yellowish soup. Rail yards and wrecking yards are bathed in golden light. All this segues into a montage of a series of varied illegal counterfeit $20 bill transactions.The film has a 80's techno Wang Chung pounding beat. The cast at that time (save for Dean Stockwell) where pretty much all unknowns. The mayhem ratchets up nicely and unpredictably throughout the film. It's an anti buddy cop film.Gritty, flamboyant, caustic, beautifully bleak 9/10Fuller review on Film Noir/Gangster Board and again with many screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/to-live-and-die-in-la-1985-smog-noir-in.html-
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To Live And Die In L.A. (1985) Smog Noir in the City Of AngelsDirected by William Friedkin (The French Connection (1971)), written by former U.S. Secret Service agent Gerald Petievich (novel), screenplay by William Friedkin and Gerald Petievich. Outstanding cinematography by Robby Müller (Paris, Texas (1984), Barfly (1987)) the film stars quite the cast, William Petersen (Thief (1981), Manhunter (1986)) , Willem Dafoe (Wild at Heart (1990)), John Pankow, Michael Greene, John Turturro (Miller's Crossing (1990), Barton Fink (1991), The Big Lebowski (1998)), Darlanne Fluegel (Once Upon a Time in America (1984)), Dean Stockwell (The Arnelo Affair (1947), (Compulsion (1959), (Paris, Texas (1984), (Blue Velvet (1986)), Robert Downey Sr., and Jack Hoar.Beautifully bleak and highly stylistic. This film actually makes a lethally smoggy industrial West Coast/LA sunrise jaw droppingly gorgeous, perverting the normal aesthetic. Palm trees compete with power poles and high tension lines that diffuse into a yellowish soup. Rail yards and wrecking yards are bathed in golden light. All this segues into a montage of a series of varied illegal counterfeit $20 bill transactions.(On a personal sidebar, in the late 60's early 70's, I lived in New York City and used to commute back and forth into Manhattan from Queens by elevated subway. I can vividly remember standing on the Queensboro Plaza station and watching the unearthly crazy colored polluted sunsets I saw over the Manhattan skyline violet, sea greens, fuschia, and pink.)
The tale is about three US Secret Service Agents who are headquartered in L.A. When not providing security for a visiting POTUS (President of the United States) they do field investigation work for the US Treasury, targeting counterfeiters.Richard Chance (Petersen) and Jim Hart (Greene) are top notch agents. Chance the **** of the walk, is a bit reckless, a bit overconfident, a bit of a jock, a bit shady, he even shacks up in a "safe house" with a stripper Ruth Lanier (Darlanne Fluegel) that he uses as a "stoolie with benefits". He holds her probation and the ability to see her daughter as leverage.Ruth Lanier: What would happen if I stopped giving you information on Masters?Richard Chance: Why?Ruth Lanier: I'm just curious.[pause]Richard Chance: I'd have your parole revoked.Agent Hart is the veteran, steadfast, partner who is almost a father figure to Chance.
Chance and Hart have just busted up an assassination attempt on President Reagan. The stress of the details are getting too much for Hart who is soon going to retire and go fishing. Chance unwinds by bungee jumping off the Vincent Thomas Bridge over L.A. Harbor (though in the film he calls it B.A.S.E. jumping). A day after Hart's retirement party at the Dog Run Bar, and with only a few days left on the clock, Hart heads off on one last surveillance assignment. He drives out into the desert to check on a warehouse suspected of housing counterfeiting equipment. With binoculars he checks out the site belonging to counterfeiter Rick Masters (Dafoe).Hart, thinking the site is deserted approaches and jumps the fence. He starts to poke around and finds a trash bag full of cropped currancy paper in a dumpster. Masters and Jack, his bodyguard, surprize and kill Hart. Leading a team of agents to Masters desert warehouse Chance discovers a pool of blood soaking into the dirt from Hart's body lying in the dumpster.Chance gets assigned a stuffy new partner John Vukovich (Pankow), a no nonsense by the book professional. Chance tells John that he is making taking down Masters a personal vendetta.The two new partners begin putting the screws to Masters. They start by setting up a tag team surveillance post in a church across from attorney Max Waxman a well known shady shyster associate of Masters. During Vukovich's turn on watch he falls asleep, Masters shows up and whacks Waxman.Arriving at the unsecured crime scene Chance takes a notebook belonging to Waxman, which is apparently a payoff record. Vukovich tell's Chance that he's tampering with evidence but later back at headquarters the two come to an uneasy truce. Vukovich says he won't rat him out, but the agents now work two different angles. Chance uses the coded payoff book and his relationship with Ruth to get the inside skinny on underworld transactions. Vulkovich on the other hand arranges a meeting with Masters private attorney Bob Grimes (Dean Stockwell) in a downtown L.A. bar.
Vukovich and Grimes (Dean Stockwell)Bob Grimes: I don't have a lot of time. I'm in the middle of a trial.John Vukovich: What kind of trial?Bob Grimes: It's a dope case. Client got busted smuggling fifty pounds of cocaine. I should be able to get him off, though. Seach warrant's weak.John Vukovich: Weak?Bob Grimes: Color of the house is listed as brown in the warrant, when in fact it's beige and yellow.John Vukovich: You should be ashamed of yourself.Bob Grimes: I don't make any apologies for being an attorney. If I didn't accept the case, somebody else would, without a doubt. Without a doubt.
homage to the Charles McGraw film Roadblock (1951) the L.A. RiverGrimes, agrees to set up a meeting between Masters and the two agents. The agents will pose as bankers from Palm Springs interested in Masters' counterfeiting services. Masters is reluctant to work with them, but ultimately agrees to print them a million worth of fake bills for $50,000. The problem is that the Treasury Department only allows payouts of $30,000. From Ruth, Chance gets the skinny that a money deal is going down and that a bag-man is coming by Amtrak from San Francisco. He tells Vukovich that they are going to steal it.John Vukovich: So now you want to commit a robbery?Richard Chance: I wouldn't call it that.John Vukovich: What would you call it?Richard Chance: Taking down a **** bag who's trying to break the law.Unfortunately, the info is wrong the bag-man Thomas Ling is in reality an undercover FBI agent on a sting operation, after Chance and Vukovich abduct him they drive him to the rail yards along the Los Angeles River. There they break open the suitcase only to find a phone book. Chance knows hes carrying and finds that he has a money belt, the FBI agents that are shadowing him accidently kill Ling after a freak accident while they are trying to save him.Chance and Vukovich not knowing what's coming down run for their car and they try to evade a swarm of FBI men. What follows is one of the greatest car chases on film easily equal to those in Bullitt (1968), The French Connection (1971), The Seven-Ups (1973), and it's also an homage the car chase after Charles McGraw in the L.A. River in the Classic Film Noir Roadblock (1951).By luck Chance and Vukovich manage to evade their pursuers. At their daily Treasury Dept. briefing they are read an FBI bulletin that reveals that Ling and FBI agent was kidnapped, robbed, and killed by two unidentified men driving a cream colored car. Vukovich becomes guilt ridden, but Chance is still focused on getting Masters. Vukovich concerned with saving his own skin goes back to sleazeball attorney Bob Grimes, who advises to turn himself in and rat on Chance. Vukovich refuses that advice.Chance and Vukovich meet Masters for the the money exchange. The agents attempt to arrest Masters when they get the evidence but Jack Pulls a shotgun and in an exchange of fire both Chance and Jack are killed. Masters escapes in the mayhem and Vukovich is stunned by his partners death.The film has a 80's techno Wang Chung pounding beat. The cast at that time (save for Dean Stockwell) where pretty much all unknowns. The mayhem ratchets up nicely and unpredictably throughout the film. It's and anti buddy cop film.The Noir ending, has the now jaded Vukovich visiting Ruth as she's packing up to get the hell out of Dodge. He knows Chance gave her ten G's as her cut. Ruth used it to pay off her debts. She's his b*i*t*c*h now.
Gritty, flamboyant, caustic, beautifully bleak 9/10 Review with more screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/to-live-and-die-in-la-1985-smog-noir-in.html -
Eli Wallach as Tuco impersonates Confederate Bill Carson in Sergio Leone's The Good The Bad and The Ugly (1966)
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The Honeymoon Killers (1969) Directors: Leonard Kastle, Donald Volkman (uncredited) written by Leonard Kastle. Stars Shirley Stoler (Seven Beauties (1975) Miami Blues (1990)), Tony Lo Bianco (The Seven Ups (1973) The French Connection (1971)), Mary Jane Higby, Marilyn Chris, Mary Breen, and Doris Roberts.A couple of truly revolting, sleazeball, human scum prey relentlessly and mercilessly upon the most desperate, pathetic, and lonely women who are looking for love and companionship.
Fernandez and Beck were convicted of Janet Fay's murder—the only one for which they were tried—and sentenced to death. On March 8, 1951, both were executed by electric chair in Sing Sing.DVD is available from the Criterion Collection, 8/10.
The story was reworked again as Lonely Hearts (2006) telling the story from the police investigation angle, and placing the story back in the correct time frame, however the svelte Salma Hayek cast as Martha Beck was quite ridiculous.Fuller review here on Film Noir/Gangster Board and with a lot more screen caps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-honeymoon-killers-1969-lonely-heart.html
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The Honeymoon Killers (1969) Lonely Heart NoirDirectors: Leonard Kastle, Donald Volkman (uncredited) written by Leonard Kastle. Stars Shirley Stoler (Seven Beauties (1975) Miami Blues (1990)), Tony Lo Bianco (The Seven Ups (1973) The French Connection (1971)), Mary Jane Higby, Marilyn Chris, Mary Breen, and Doris Roberts.A couple of truly revolting, sleazeball, human scum prey relentlessly and mercilessly upon the most desperate, pathetic, and lonely women who are looking for love and companionship.The film is based on a true story of Raymond Martinez Fernandez and Martha Jule Beck an American serial killer couple who are believed to have killed as many as 20 women during their murderous spree between 1947 and 1949. They became known as "The Lonely Hearts Killers" for meeting their victims through lonely hearts ads in Romance magazines. Hawaiian born Fernandez served a stint in Spain's Merchant Marine and then British Intelligence during World War II during which a steel hatch fell on top of him, fracturing his skull and injuring his frontal lobe. This injury may well have affected both his judgement and his social and sexual behavior. He eventually moved to New York City and began a lucrative con business answering personal ads posted by lonely women. He would wine and dine them, then steal their money and possessions. Most were too embarrassed to report the crimes. In 1947, he answered a personal ad placed by Martha Beck.Martha Seabrook due to a glandular problem as a child was overweight and underwent puberty prematurely. Martha studied nursing but had trouble finding a job due to her weight. She was undertaker's assistant and prepared female bodies for burial. She moved to California, where she worked in an Army hospital as a nurse, there she became pregnant. The father refused to marry her, and she returned to Florida and had a child. She became pregnant again and married a Pensacola bus driver named Alfred Beck but divorced six months later. She found employment at the Pensacola Hospital for Children and found escape in the fantasy world of Romcoms, Romance mags, and novels. She placed a Lonely Hearts ad in 1947 that was answered by Raymond Fernandez.
Ray Fernandez (Tony Lo Bianco)composing his letterIn The Honeymoon Killers the story is updated to the 1960s and the film begins with an overweight, chocolate gobbling, Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler) sloging away working as a head nurse in Mobile, Alabama rather than Pensacola. She lives alone with her mother (she has no kids in the film version). A friend, Bunny (played by Doris Roberts) writes in Martha's name to a "lonely hearts" club ad. Ray Fernandez (Tony Lo Bianco) a professional con artist lothario who has been preying on lonely women for quite some time has his scam down to a science. He filters out the most susceptible women. He answers Martha's letter, writing that this is his "first" foray into the Lonely Hearts Club world, and that he has never ever done this before. This is his standard M.O., he writes the same letter to all his marks, it;s his hook.
Martha Beck (Shirley Stoler) reading Ray's letter
Tony skedaddles back to New YorkRay visits Martha and seduces her. Ray doing his usual shtick gets some loot from Martha and skedaddles. Martha distraught and desperate calls Ray at the of Bunny and tells him she tried to commit suicide when he left. Ray touched by such devotion tells Martha that she'll have to get rid of her mother and come to New York if she wants to be with him. Martha dumps her mother in a nursing home follows Ray to New York. Tony reveals to Martha his true profession and she begins to assist him in selecting his victims, writing his letters, and accompany him on his jobs. He passes her off as his sister. Martha smoothly slides into the grift.Lonely lady after lonely lady are seduced by the slick and suave attentions of Ray who promises Martha he will never sleep with any of the other women. Things get complicated when he marries a pregnant woman Myrtle Young (Marilyn Chris). Myrtle and Martha sleep in one room while Tony sleeps next door. Myrtle is a pretty **** bride and she sneaks off to the other room where Ray is sleeping to jump his bones, all the while Martha is pretending to sleep.
Martha spies on them spies on Myrtle and RayMartha becomes enraged and gives Tony a dose of pills to pass on to Myrtle who had earlier in the evening asked Martha if she had some "happy" pills to celebrate her wedding. The next day Tony puts a very sick and disoriented Myrtle on a bus telling her that he will drive her car and belongings to their new home. Myrtle doesn't make it, she's D.O.A.Their next victim is the elderly Janet Fay of Albany, New York, (Mary Jane Higby). They go up to Albany and check into a hotel. They go and meet Janet and after getting acquainted for a few days they drive her to the house he shares with Martha in Valley Springs, Long Island. There Martha and Ray put their plan into action.Ray on blank sheets of paper has Janet write "SURPRISE" and then sign her name at the bottom of the sheets. He tells her that he will mail the letters to all her friends and that when they get the letters they will all call each other to ask about what the surprise is. Later after they are married, he and Janet will call her friends and tell them that they are married and that that was the surprise. In reality they white out the Surprise and will use the signed sheets to conduct whatever business they need to.
It's OK Janet the door is stuck I'll go around to the outside basement door"Janet also signs three checks totaling $10,000, but then becomes suspicious of the two when after Janet asks him to hide the check and he and Martha take them down to the basement to a "hiding place". When Janet has second thoughts and tries to call her friends and family, Ray and Martha become violent and Martha hits her in the head repeatedly with a hammer while Ray strangles her to death.Ray and Martha plant Janet down in the basement tossing into the hole on top of her body the two pictures of Jesus that Janet as Martha declares sarcastically "always took with her." The two dirtbags then hop in their sled and head off to Michigan and their next victim. They spend a few months living with Rainelle Downing (Mary Breen) and her young daughter.When Ray takes the daughter to pick up a puppy Rainelle tells Martha that she wants her to help her convince Ray to marry her as quick as possible because she has missed her period. Martha gets out her pills and tells Rainelle to take them and that it will solve her problem. Rainelle takes a few but gets sick, she runs to the bathroom and comes out telling Martha that it all was a false alarm, apparently she had her period. Martha, now openly in a jealous rage, tries to force the rest of the pills down her throat. At this moment Ray and the daughter return, the daughter sees Martha struggling with Rainelle and screams. Martha grabs the girl and takes her out of the room while Ray gets Rainelle's revolver and blows her brains out.
Let's go see mommy and the puppy down in the cellarLater down in the cellar, when Ray wants to drop the daughter off at the Salvation Army, Martha nixes the idea saying that she'll blab, and that they have to get rid of her. Martha looks over at the slop sink and turns on the faucet.Fernandez and Beck were convicted of Janet Fay's murder—the only one for which they were tried—and sentenced to death. On March 8, 1951, both were executed by electric chair in Sing Sing.DVD is available from the Criterion Collection, 8/10.The story was reworked again as Lonely Hearts (2006) telling the story from the police investigation angle, and placing the story back in the correct time frame, however the svelte Salma Hayek cast as Martha Beck was quite ridiculous. -
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I noticed you mentioned Jackie Coogan in the cast. I haven't seen him in anything except The Kid. I know about the Jackie Coogan law.
How old was Jackie Coogan when he made this movie?
This sounds like a film I'd love to see.
he was 45
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The Beat Generation (1959) You Rang?Another Tail Fin Noir (barely), a curiosity on the cusp of Classic Noir/Neo Noir, Directed by Charles F. Haas, and stars, Steve Cochran, Mamie Van Doren, Ray Danton, Jackie Coogan, Fay Spain, Louis Armstrong, James Mitchum, Cathy Crosby, Ray Anthony, Dick Contino, Maila Nurmi (Vampira) "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom and Sid Melton.
The Beat Generation is somewhat in the vein of Detective Story (1951) the ensemble film that takes place in a New York City Police Precinct Detective squad. In Detective Story, Kirk Douglas plays an embittered morally superior cop McLeod who crusades against NYC's lowlifes. In the course of his pursuit of a Doctor Schneider who is an abortionist he discovers that his wife Mary, whom he had assumed was virginal and pure on the day of his marriage has had an abortion after she had a liaison with a racketeer named Giacoppetti. Mary confesses this her husband, and asks his forgiveness. McLeod tells her in a misogynist rage that "he'd rather die than find out his wife is a tramp." He then asks if her infertility was caused by Schneider's abortion.
Part of the title sequence with Louis Armstrong with title bongo with beat stereotype artworkIn The Beat Generation Steve Cochran plays a Sergeant of Detectives Culloran, who is after a serial rapist dubbed "The Aspirin Kid" Stan Hess, (Ray Danton) a quasi "Beat" coffee house guru, who charismatically attracts women but is in reality a misogynist. The Kid's M.O. is to impersonate the friend of his victim's husband, boyfriend, etc., etc., by saying that he's there to pay back some money that he borrowed. He then gains entrance to their house by saying he needs a pen to write his check. Once inside he fakes a headache, and asks the victim for a glass of water so that he can take a aspirin. While the victim is out of the room he puts on leather gloves and lies in wait, attacking them from behind and **** them upon their return.Leaving his latest victim The Kid is lightly hit by a car driven by Culloran, when he jaywalks out in the road, he's picked up and innocently given a ride to an emergency room. While making small talk Culloran reveals that he's married but is working late nights on the Aspirin Kid Case. The Kid spots a letter addressed to Culloran and memorises his address, writing it down. The Kids next victim is Culloran's wife. She subsequently gets a "bun in the oven", and Culloran begins to show his own misogynist streak, blaming the women victims for getting raped. His wife wants to get an abortion, which puts Culloran into destructive obsessed overdrive trying to solve the case so that he can find out The Aspirin Kid's blood type. This all alienates him from his wife and friends.Both Detective Story and The Beat Generation are examples of films with slim to none Noir visual stylistics, they are NIPOs, Noir In Plot Only type films that get listed in the Noir Canon more for the dark subject matter (at that time period) of their plots than for the cinematography.The film opens in a Daliesque festooned coffee house The Golden Seallion, Louis Armstrong and his Allstars playing to a Beat crowd.
Golden Seallion
Beat Crowd with Louis Armstrong and his All StarsDetective Jake Baron: It's summer alright that's when these cages get heavy... the trees are green the birds are on the wing and all the nuts are coming out of the woodwork.The Beats are your stereotypical Maynard G. Krebs beatnik's dressed in torn sweatshirts, goatees, black sweaters, berets, sunglasses, horizontal striped shirts, ponytails and leotards, Some are grooving to the jazz some are stone still. Other's walk around dazed carrying abstract sculpture. Stan Hess dressed in black is sitting at a table reading Schopenhauer. Meg a blonde in spaghetti straps is beside him. We get full frontal beatnik jive dialogue heavily seasoned with the culture's Zeitgeist of impending nuclear destruction.
Meg And Stan HessMeg: I wish I didn't have to make the scene with that plane tonight. I wish I never had to go back East. I wish I wish....Hess: Hey hey play it cool chick, like play it like cool. You got to go, everybody's got to move. I mean we can't stand still and wait for the next mushroom cloud now you dig.Meg: Crazy, but as soon as I cut out you'll forget me.Hess: Oh Meg you're the most, but there's no tomorrow not while the sky grooves radiation gumdrops, man you got to live for kicks, right here and know that's all there is.Meg: You know in all the months I've know you you never even held my hand.Hess: The love and marriage bit I put that down. That's for the Rat Race and the squares, Schopenhauer says and I agree with him, lovers are traitors who seek to perpetuate the whole want and druggery of life..... That cat Schopenhauer also says that this world which is so real with all it's sunsets and milky ways is nothing.Meg: It's the only world we got.Hess: Crazy.
Fay Spain and Steve Cochran
The huge ensemble cast has some standouts, watch for Jackie Coogan (pre Uncle Fester from The Addams Family) in a serious turn as Culloran's best friend and fellow detective Jake Baron. James Mitchum, doing his daddio's eyelids at half mast schtick. Sexpot Mamie Van Doren as a divorced women on the make who turns the tables on Mitchum, Maila Nurmi (Vampira, pre Ed Wood's Plan 9 From Outer Space) reciting poetry with a pet rat on her shoulder, Slapsie Maxie Rosenbloom the wrestling beatnik, and a guy billed as just Grabowski.
Mamie Van Doren
The film has a bit of crossdressing humor as the Coogan and Sid Melton in drag try to bait a lovers lane bandit . It also seems to cram in some of society's in things of 1959, hula hoops, California mussel beach blanket culture, even references to TV's Sea Hunt with a scuba sequence, I'm surprised it didn't have some surfing too. Like a lot of Hollywood films that attempted to replicate the 60's you get the impression that the Beat Generation wasn't just a man with a goatee and beret reciting nonsensical poetry and playing bongo drums or a base without strings, while ponytailed babes wearing black leotards dance in abandonment. lol. Soundtrack is Jazz, torch songs, bongo music. As a visual Noir it's a 5/10 it's pretty hard to get that claustrophobic atmosphere in a film shot in 2.35:1 CinemaScope, as an entertaining window onto a frozen moment of a quickly changing culture filtered through a Hollywood reflection 7/10. Crazy Man, Dig?Full review with more screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/03/the-beat-generation-1959-you-rang.html
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The Beat Generation (1959)Another Tail Fin Noir (barely), a curiosity on the cusp of Classic Noir/Neo Noir, Directed by Charles F. Haas, and stars, Steve Cochran, Mamie Van Doren, Ray Danton, Jackie Coogan, Fay Spain, Louis Armstrong, James Mitchum, Cathy Crosby, Ray Anthony, Dick Contino, Maila Nurmi (Vampira) "Slapsie" Maxie Rosenbloom and Sid Melton.In The Beat Generation Steve Cochran plays a Sergeant of Detectives Culloran, who is after a serial rapist dubbed "The Aspirin Kid" Stan Hess, (Ray Danton) a quasi "Beat" coffee house guru, who charismatically attracts women but is in reality a misogynist. The Kid's M.O. is to impersonate the friend of his victim's husband, boyfriend, etc., etc., by saying that he's there to pay back some money that he borrowed. He then gains entrance to their house by saying he needs a pen to write his check. Once inside he fakes a headache, and asks the victim for a glass of water so that he can take a aspirin. While the victim is out of the room he puts on leather gloves and lies in wait, attacking them from behind and **** them upon their return.The film has a bit of crossdressing humor as the Coogan and Sid Melton in drag try to bait a lovers lane bandit . It also seems to cram in some of society's in things of 1959, hula hoops, California mussel beach blanket culture, even references to TV's Sea Hunt with a scuba sequence, I'm surprised it didn't have some surfing too. Like a lot of Hollywood films that attempted to replicate the 60's you get the impression that the Beat Generation wasn't just a man with a goatee and beret reciting nonsensical poetry and playing bongo drums or a base without strings, while ponytailed babes wearing black leotards dance in abandonment. lol. Soundtrack is Jazz, torch songs, bongo music. As a visual Noir it's a 5/10 it's pretty hard to get that claustrophobic atmosphere in a film shot in 2.35:1 CinemaScope, as an entertaining window onto a frozen moment of a quickly changing culture filtered through a Hollywood reflection 7/10. Crazy Man, Dig?fuller review on Film Noir/Gangster board
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Early Richard Conte Noir. He plays a New Orleans PI. Has Ann Savage and Kurt Kreuger and Mantan Moreland. 6/10
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The Spider (1945)Was able to watch a poor quality copy of this yesterday, it's nothing special but it's rare. Directed by Robert D. Webb Starring Richard Conte, Faye Marlowe, Kurt Kreuger (The Dark Corner 1946), Ann Savage (Detour 1945), Mantan Moreland, John Harvey, Martin Kosleck and Walter Sande. Interesting low budget film that was Richard Conte's first Noir, set in New Orleans. He plays a private detective who is hired to retrieve a letter for a client. The letter is held by his sometime partner Ann Savage who unfortunately is soon murdered. Mantan Moreland provides some eye popping stereotypical shtick as Conte's associate. It does have some nice noirish cinematography but it really isn't anything to actively seek out, it's more for noir aficionados. 5/10
Noirish Creole Bar
Ann Savage and Richard Conte
Kurt Kreuger
Mantan Moreland and Richard Conte
NoirishA bit more here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-spider-1945.html
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The Spider (1945) Directed by Robert D. Webb Starring Richard Conte, Faye Marlowe, Kurt Kreuger (The Dark Corner), Ann Savage (Detour), Mantan Moreland, John Harvey, Martin Kosleck and Walter Sande. Interesting low budget film that was Richard Conte's first Noir, set in New Orleans. He plays a private detective who is hired to retrieve a letter for a client. The letter is held by his sometime partner Ann Savage who unfortunately is soon murdered. Mantan Moreland provides some eye popping stereotypical shtick as Conte's associate. 5/10-
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Finally Saw P.J. (1968) a PI flick that stars George Peppard and Gayle Hunnicutt, but also Noir Icons Raymond Burr and Coleen Gray. It's been listed as a potential Neo Noir (it's not). It has one powerful Noir-ish sequence in the Court St. Subway station that lasts about 3 minutes. The impression I got was more akin to a Bond flick with music that sounded close to Henry Mancini.
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I am crazy nuts about cats and I wanted to watch a movie where one of the main characters is a cat!
I love cats.
If my moniker wasn't available I probably would have some reference to cats in my name here.
Watch Harry and Tonto
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I've not seen this Walk on the Wild Side, Cigarjoe, but the title reminds me of a wonderfully dark movie of the same name.
Walk on the Wild Side starring Barbara Stanwyck and a young Jane Fonda. It's the source of the song "Walk on the Wild Side."
I'd love to see it again.
TCM has played Walk On The Wild Side it also stars Laurence Harvey and Capucine.
1990 film is Just called Impulse the Walk On The Wild Side part of the title is like a summary.
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Impulse (1990) A Walk on the Wild SideDirected by Sondra Locke is a gritty story of an Los Angeles femme fatale vice cop Lottie Mason (Theresa Russell) and her "Walk On The Wild Side" of cusp of Noir. It is a dance with with death, love, power and temptation. It's probably one of the Last of the Warner Brothers Noirs.
A piano riff dissolves the blackness into an elevated view of a sleazy Hollywood, hot sheet motel block, at the corner of Las Palmas and Sunset Blvd., one of those all look alike City of Angels low profile strips. Time the late '80s, Madonna is in vogue. The scene is accented by wet pavement reflecting neon. A long ringletted blonde "angel" is strutting her stuff in tight gold Lamé snakeskins, but this celestial Femme Fatale has clipped wings. She's trolling the midnight drift, a lure with hooks. Lonely sad losers cruise the mainstem scoping the fast skirts that will get them a shot at 20 minutes of ecstasy. The opening title sequence displays the workings of the vice stakeout with the excellent noir-ish stylistic cinematography of Dean Semler. The piano riff repeats and become a leitmotif for Lottie's darkside.
a moving violation in gold Lamé
Impulse is set strictly in Squaresville, it's a story of the world of hard working cops doing their everyday busts. Lottie's night in and night out tolling the low company is affecting her personal life. Her various Vice assignments, i.e., impersonating a streetwalker, a junkie, a B-girl hooker, a drug dealer has her visiting the division PR office and the psychiatrist/counselor on a regular basis for an hour session mandated by Internal Affairs. They want to know if having to lie and deceive on a regular basis is affecting her job. Her Doctor, Dr. Gardner seems more interested in her personal life her debts and her love life. Lottie when questioned about her torpedoed relationships states that she's only been with cops and she rattles off squads, Vice, Homicide, and Bunco rather than names. Gardener asks about Lottie's quasi-stalker encounter with Lt. Joe Morgan (George Dzundza) an ex boyfriend that she didn't report. Lottie says it's because he'd say she encouraged it. But Lottie makes a confession that she is mainlining on the power of her femininity while staring at her reflection in the window in a great sequence:Lottie: Lately... sometimes... working Vice... strangers.... the way they look at you, you feel that power over them... make them pay... it's frightening... I just... want them to look at me... to just do it... be a trollop.
reflecting "you feel that power over them... make them pay"
Another assignment has Lottie going undercover as a heroin junkie in a shooting gallery, this combined with a second storyline concerning a 2 year old case, a witness protection program witness and a double cross drug deal in NYC brings a District Attorney named Stan (Jeff Fahey) into Lottie's world. Stan is attracted to her and they have an affair though Lottie is still a bit standoffish a bit gunshy.
Lottie as B girl
After an adrenaline rush chase down a highrise and shootout with two drug trafficking perps in a grocery, Lottie is on stressed and on edge, Stan tries to comfort her but she wants him to back off and give her space. She takes off in her Camaro to unwind. She gets a flat tire drives into a service station and while the tire is changed drops into the bar across the street and into Noirsville.At the bar she's picked up by Tony Peron (Shawn Elliott) who is coincidentally and unbeknownst to Lottie, the drug dealer partner of the man Stan has in witness protection. He asks her if there was anything in the world she could do what would it be. Lottie tells him "I'd get on a plane and go somewhere I'd never been". Tony pulls out a deck of hundred dollar bills and counts off ten, Lottie tells him she wants to go "first class". Tony adds another five, but tells her that first she'll have to go to his house. On impulse Lottie picks up the dough and follows him out to his Beverly Estates house.When Tony gets her to his place he begins to get busy with it. Lottie holds him off telling him she wants to freshen up. Tony tells her to use the upstairs bedroom bath. Lottie has second thoughts as she stands by vertical blinds in a nice sequence. Afterwards while washing her face she hears two gunshots, and peering down the stairway spots Tony dead on the tile floor. The shooter is actively searching the house. Since her gun was confiscated after the recent shooting Lottie scrambles to hide from the killer.
Having second thoughts
The shooter leaves the house and Lottie checks out Tony popped twice in the head. She goes through his clothes finding a locker key in his jacket. She wipes down all the surfaces she touched calls the cops disguising her voice and splits. At the airport the next day she opens the locker and finds a suitcase with close to a million dollars.
Hollywood
Sondra Locke did a wonderful job at directing this little Neo Noir gem. The writing by John DeMarco and Leigh Chapman, is competent and consequently the characters are very well developed. This is Theresa Russell's best performance. The rest of the cast are Jeff Fahey as Stan, George Dzundza as Lt. Joe Morgan, Lynne Thigpen as Dr. Gardner, and Shawn Elliott as Tony Peron. The music by Michel Colombier is great along with the various pieces that comprise the soundtrack. Again I can't say enough about the Noir stylistic cinematography which is excellent.
Is Stan going to resolve his case and find the killer? Are Stan and Lottie going to continue to be an item? Is Lottie going to keep the money? The DVD is from the Warner Archives. 9/10
Full review with lots of screencaps here: http://noirsville.blogspot.com/2016/02/impulse-1990-walk-on-wild-side.html
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*** dammit, YES!
Beautiful piece of writing here, makes me miss LA so much.
You ever write in long-form?
No but I've written some pieces for the New York Times.
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Impulse (1990) directed by Sondra Locke is a gritty story of an Los Angeles femme fatale vice cop Lottie Mason (Theresa Russell) and her "Walk On The Wild Side" of the cusp of Noir. It is a dance with with death, love, power and temptation. It's probably one of the Last of the Warner Brothers Noirs.
A piano riff dissolves the blackness into an elevated view of a sleazy Hollywood, hot sheet motel block, at the corner of Las Palmas and Sunset Blvd., one of those all look alike City of Angels low profile strips. Time the late '80s, Madonna is in vogue. The scene is accented by wet pavement reflecting neon. A long ringletted blonde "angel" is strutting her stuff in tight gold Lamé snakeskins, but this celestial Femme Fatale has clipped wings. She's trolling the midnight drift, a lure with hooks. Lonely sad losers cruise the mainstem scoping the fast skirts that will get them a shot at 20 minutes of ecstasy. The opening title sequence displays the workings of the vice stakeout with the excellent noir-ish stylistic cinematography of Dean Semler. The piano riff repeats and become a leitmotif for Lottie's darkside. 9/10-
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Recently watched Noir
in Film Noir--Gangster
Posted
I wrote this blurb about Cornered a while ago.
On being demobilized at the end of the war, Canadian flyer Laurence Gerard returns to France to track down who ordered the killing of a group of Resistance fighters including his new bride in a convoluted plot that has Buenos Aries as its centerpoint. RKO's back lot is not a very distinctive Buenos Aries, not much atmosphere no diegetic music that would have helped. Still a 7/10.