ChiO
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Posts posted by ChiO
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Yesterday, I finally saw *The Blue Dahlia* for the first time ("And you call yourself a film noir fan?")...on a big screen...with James Naremore introducing it. I agree with _MissG_ that it could at times be too talky (the scene about 2/3's through with Lake and da Silva in their apartment seemed interminable), but I was able to tolerate it because Chandler's words are so good. Howard da Silva is wonderful and Will Wright (was he ever a young man?) is a joy to watch. Da Silva is another one of those actors who I tend to forget and then am amazed when I see a performance. Overall, quite enjoyable except for the blah ending.
A couple of Naremore's comments:
1. Chandler intended *The Blue Dahlia* to be the truly dark side of *The Best Years of Our Lives* and the original ending reflected that.
2. The ending was changed when the U.S. Navy complained that it would show the Navy in a bad light. The original script also didn't have what Naremore said Chandler wanted to avoid -- a confrontation of all the suspects with a detective wringing it out of one.
I prefer to think of Ward Cleaver as a killer rather than Chester A. Riley (or Ben Weaver for that matter).
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Am I getting Day of the Outlaw? You betcha. I think there's another Western coming out the same day that I really want to get -- Man of the West.
That's a great Anthony Mann film where, with no cast to work with at all, he creates a work of art.
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*Paths of Glory* is my favorite Timothy Carey performance (The Killing being a close second), thereby making it difficult for me to judge it even semi-objectively. It is also my favorite Kirk Douglas performance; I'm not a fan of his, but sometimes his elocution and natural arrogance & nastiness are perfect for a role.
There are 3 or 4 Kubrick films (and, if one gives him partial credit for AI: Artificial Intelligence, then make that 4 or 5) that I like better than Paths of Glory. But, yeah, I like it alot.
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I saw *Day of the Outlaw* for the first time this morning. It has now replaced *Pursued* as my favorite Western film noir.
What Andre De Toth had to say about Robert Ryan in the movie:
Bob Ryan was already on the picture. He was a gentleman, a sincere human being -- and what a good actor. He was with me all the way. Without him, I would've been laid out in the snow and counted out quickly. (De Toth on De Toth: Putting the Drama in Front of the Camera)
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_MissG_ said: *I like Ralph Meeker now but there was a time I couldn't stand him.*
Here's my query(ies): Were you unable to stand him because Timothy Carey surpassed him by light years on the screen in Paths of Glory? Or, do you now like him because he was able to still find work even though Timothy Carey surpassed him by light years on the screen in Paths of Glory?
It's all about Timothy Carey.
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_MissG_ said: *Did anyone catch BERLIN EXPRESS last night? I watched most of it. I was a bit disappointed. I expected more. More RR, more Merle and more from director Tourneur.*
I missed it this time, but I have seen it...and I agree with you. My expectations were sky high with the Tourneur-Ryan combo, but it never grabbed me. Worth seeing, but not up to their usual standards.
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*Where "elsewhere" did you write about it, Chio?*
SSO, about a week ago, as a head's up. (Now we know you ignore me there, too.
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*"suicide vicitim is rescued by simple minded mechanic who gives her love".*
Not exactly how I would have put it (see elsewhere for how I described it about a week ago), but I can understand the description...if "love" were within quotation marks, underlined, and italicized.
The ending isn't what one might expect (for goodness sake, most of the movie is not what one might expect, especially in 1962) and I will not give it away. After all, the one-sheet for it -- yes, I recently purchased it in my ever increasing obsession -- clearly states:
For your fullest enjoyment of the mounting excitement of "Something Wild"...please see it in its entirety from the beginning.
Who am I to argue with United Artists' 1962 advertising department? But I will tell you this...
"Rosebud" is a sled.
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_Favorite Type of Movies_
I'll watch anything that resembles film noir. After that, anything directed by...
Orson Welles
Jacques Tourneur
Carl Th. Dreyer
Samuel Fuller
John Cassavetes
Fritz Lang
Erich von Stroheim
Sergei Eisenstein
Robert Bresson
F.W. Murnau
...or with Timothy Carey (a genre unto himself).
_Favorite Type of Music_
I like just about everything other than art song (lieder), Metal, MOR/Adult Contemporary, New Age, & schlocky jazz.
*No. 1*: Southern Soul from early '60s to early '70s. Anything on Stax, Hi, Goldwax or recorded at Fame Studios or Muscle Shoals.
Favorite performers (or composers):
W.A. Mozart
Charles Ives
Edgar Varese
Aarvo Part
Thelonius Monk
Miles Davis
John Coltrane
Charles Mingus
Albert Ayler
Tony Bennett
Louis Jordan & the Tympany Five
Hank Williams
Howlin' Wolf
The Drifters (with Clyde McPhatter)
Sam Cooke
The Soul Stirrers
Little Richard
Jerry Lee Lewis
Buddy Holly/The Crickets
The Beach Boys (through Surf's Up)/Brian Wilson
Bob Dylan
The Kinks/Ray Davies
The Zombies
The Byrds
Love
Sam & Dave
The Velvet Underground
Big Star
Brian Eno
The Ramones
The Talking Heads
The Mekons
The Go-Betweens
Sebadoh
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five
Afrika Bambaataa (& his various permutations)
Moby
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*Timothy Carey*: Scene-stealing, over-emoting, lunatic vs. improvisational surrealist acting genius.
It's the latter for me -- to my dying breath.
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I strongly agree with the listing of The Parade's Gone By, Who the Devil Made It, Conversations with Wilder, and Print the Legend. Some others I recommend:
_Bios_
Robert Mitchum: Baby, I Don't Care (Lee Server)
Fritz Lang: The Nature of the Beast (Patrick McGilligan)
Accidental Genius: How John Cassavetes Invented the American Independent Film (Marshall Fine)
A Third Face: My Tale of Writing, Fighting and Filmmaking (Samuel Fuller)
_Criticism_
What Is Cinema (Vols. I & II) (Andre Bazin)
Theory of Film (Siegried Kracauer)
Confessions of a Cultist: On the Cinema, 1955/1969 (Andrew Sarris)
Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons (Jonathan Rosenbaum)
Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer (Paul Schrader)
Re/Search #10: Incredibly Strange Films
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*Why didn't he direct more?*
It was a critical and box office failure. There may be more to a full explanation, but that certainly wouldn't have helped.
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It is difficult for me to rank his films as a whole because even the worst among them has some virtues, and the best are among the greatest films made.
_Film Noir_
1. *Pickup on South Street*
2. *The Crimson Kimono*
3. *Underworld USA*
4. *The House of Bamboo*
_War_
1. *Fixed Bayonets*
2. *The Steel Helmet*
3. *China Gate*
4. *Verboten!*
5. *The Big Red One*
6. *Merrill's Marauders*
7. *Hell and High Water*
_Social Criticism_
1. *Shock Corridor* (tie)
1. *The Naked Kiss* (tie)
3. *White Dog*
4. *Park Row*
5. *Shark!*
_Westerns_
1. *Forty Guns*
2. *I Shot Jesse James*
3. *The Baron of Arizona*
There are a few films I need to see, but other than *Run of the Arrow*, I think the main ones are covered. *Shark!* was not as bad as I expected, and *Hell and High Water* was a disappointment given that it has Richard Widmark and immediately followed my favorite, *Pickup on South Street*. *Shock Corridor* and *The Naked Kiss* could easily be categorized as film noir, but I wanted to avoid having them compete with *Pickup on South Street*. And, of course, each of his films is "Social Criticism", but I decided to nitpick.
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Today is Greek Independence Day, so it would be appropriate today to watch as many movies by a Greek Independent -- *John Cassavetes* -- as possible. I rewatched *LOVE STREAMS* last week and it is even _more_ powerful than I remembered it.
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If you're a Fuller fan, *The Crimson Kimono* is a must-see. Admission: For me, setting *The Baron of Arizona* and *Hell and High Water* aside, Fuller's films range from wonderful ( *I Shot Jesse James* & *Shark* ) to incredible (everything else), though I still have to watch *China Gate* (it's sitting on the VHS player) and *Run of the Arrow*.
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Another great seldom seen noir, although a little past the "golden age", is *BLAST OF SILENCE*. Directed by and starring *Allen Baron*. *Lionel Stander* voice-overs. *Larry Tucker* appearance. About an independent hit man, but it is the atmosphere -- not the plot -- that makes this one of the great films noir. It goes beyond the usual noir existentialism into complete and utter bleakness and nihilism. Rarely shown on TV, it has been available through "5 Minutes to Live", but -- and this is truly exciting -- Criterion is releasing it in April. Opening narration:
You were born with hate and anger built in. Took a slap in backside to blast out the scream. Then you knew you were alive....Later you learned to hold back the screams and let out the hate and anger in other ways.
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Oh, it pained me to omit Ulmer and Karlson.
Ahem, only one great noir by Welles? Oh, Dewey....
I saw The Crimson Kimono for the first time two weeks ago. Oh...my...goodness. Ranking Fuller's films is now an absolute exercise in futility. Not that fond of The Baron of Arizona, but the rest range from great to phenomenal, although I have not seen China Gate and (my face is red) Run of the Arrow yet.
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DIAL 1119 (1950): A film noir that was unknown to me and seen a couple of weeks ago. It is now in my Top 10 (15?) noirs. Directed by Gerald Mayer, who directed about 8 movies and tons of TV shows, from The Millionaire to Lou Grant. Andrea King is a floozie. The ubiquitous Leon Ames is a wannabe ladies' man. William Conrad is Chuckles (who else?) the bartender. And the star is Marshall Thompson, the psychopath who holds them hostage. The opening 15 or so minutes is an incredible use of background noise and minimalist dialog.
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FrankListerineGrimes -- Don't bring your DPs here. See the separate thread.
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This was another FrankGrimes suggestion (and he's too much of a weeny -- or is it weasel?-- to do this), so blame him.
If any type of movie is defined by the cinematographer as much as it is by the director, then it is film noir. Give us your 10 (or fewer) favorite film noir cinematographers (or, directors of photography, if you wish) in order of preference and, if so moved, the reason(s) for inclusion. Extra points for multiple use of ?Expressionistic?, ?baroque? and ?chiaroscuro? (and spelling counts).
10. James Wong Howe: Hangmen Also Die!, Pursued, Sweet Smell of Success ? Not a lot of films noir, but good ones from a pioneer.
9. Ernest Laszlo: Impact, D.O.A., Kiss Me Deadly, The Big Knife, While the City Sleeps
8. Russell Metty: The Stranger, Naked Alibi, Touch of Evil ? Two by Welles and a little-seen Sterling Hayden gem?well?
7. Milton Krasner: The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, The Set-Up, House of Strangers, No Way Out
6. Joe MacDonald: Call Northside 777, The Street with No Name, Panic in the Streets, Niagara, Pickup on South Street, House of Bamboo
5. John Seitz: This Gun for Hire, Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, The Big Clock, Sunset Blvd ? My introduction to the noir look with the three Wilder movies.
4. Stanley Cortez: Secret Beyond the Door, Man on the Eiffel Tower, Night of the Hunter, Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss ? Anyone who can put these, The Magnificent Ambersons and They Saved Hitler?s Brain on his resume needs to be near the top.
3. George E. Diskant: Desperate, They Live by Night, Port of New York, The Racket, On Dangerous Ground, The Narrow Margin, Beware, My Lovely, Kansas City Confidential, The Bigamist
2. Nicholas Musuraca: Stranger on the Third Floor, The Spiral Staircase, Deadline at Dawn, Out of the Past, Woman on Pier 13, Clash by Night, The Hitch-Hiker ? Arguably the first noir and, in addition to these, five of the Val Lewton horror films noir
1. John Alton: T-Men, The Spiritualist (aka The Amazing Mr. X), Raw Deal, He Walked by Night, Hollow Triumph (aka The Scar), Border Incident, Reign of Terror (aka The Black Book), The Big Combo, Slightly Scarlet, Lonelyhearts ? Fast, cheap, and spectacular. What more could a director want? Baroque angles, chiaroscuro lighting, with an Expressionistic look. His films are film noir.
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But wait a minute -- MissG did mention Mankiewicz, albeit obliquely. She mentioned No Way Out, but credited it to Herr Otto. Po-tay-toe, po-tah-toe (sorry for my oblique reference to St. Paddy's Day).
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From Print the Legend: The Life and Times of John Ford (Eyman, Scott, 1999) --
By the fall of 1941, Hollywood was changing. Writers like John Huston and Preston Sturges were becoming directors, and a rank outsider like Orson Welles had been given the keys to RKO's kingdom. Ford didn't care for either Huston or Sturges, but he was fond of Welles.... (p. 243)
(Ford) worried about his career, he worried about his country, he even worried about Communism in the form of a man he had stood with during the Directors Guild imbroglio. "Your letters received," he wrote Michael Killanin, "with the discouraging news that the Reds -- to wit: one John Huston is seeking refuge in our lovely Ireland. This ain't good. He is not of the Right Wing." (p. 425)
Regarding his favorite directors when interviewed by Bernard Tavernier, "I like Sammy Fuller, too; he puts a little too much violence in his films, but unlike many others he doesn't do it for base commercial reasons -- he is an upright, honest guy. I don't like John Huston, he is a phony." (p. 528)
See what I remember from reading a John Ford biography.
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Although I recall listing favorite film noir directors in miscellaneous threads, I could not find one devoted to the topic. So?
Give us your 10 (or fewer) favorite film noir directors in order of preference (or leave it up to Fate) and, if so moved, the reason(s) for inclusion. I?ll kick it off with?
10. Otto Preminger: Laura, Fallen Angel, Daisy Kenyon, Whirlpool, Where the Sidewalk Ends, Angel Face
9. Robert Siodmak: Phantom Lady, The Spiral Staircase, The Killers, Cry of the City, Criss Cross, The File on Thelma Jordon
8. Jacques Tourneur: Out of the Past, Nightfall, The Fearmakers and extra credit for making horror films that are arguably more noir than horror
7. John Huston: The Maltese Falcon, The Treasure of Sierra Madre, Key Largo, The Asphalt Jungle + bonus points for being so disliked by John Ford
6. Billy Wilder: Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard, Ace in the Hole, though the first listed is probably sufficient reason to be on this list
5. Orson Welles: The Stranger, The Lady from Shanghai, Mr. Arkadin, Touch of Evil, The Trial and, when one is a genius, one should be on every list imaginable
4. Fritz Lang: The Woman in the Window, Scarlet Street, Secret Beyond the Door, Clash by Night, The Big Heat, While the City Sleeps, Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
3. Samuel Fuller: Pickup on South Street, Underworld U.S.A., Shock Corridor, The Naked Kiss and noir elements in almost every other movie
2. Joseph H. Lewis: two of the best (quality beats quantity here) ? Gun Crazy & The Big Combo, plus two Westerns that approach noir, A Lawless Street & Terror in a Texas Town
1. Anthony Mann: Strange Impersonation, Desperate, Railroaded, T-Men, Raw Deal, He Walked by Night, Reign of Terror (aka The Black Book), Border Incident ? what a body of work! And five have the same cinematographer. Coincidence? Or, Fate?
My sincerest apologies to Robert Aldrich, Allen Baron, Jules Dassin, Andre de Toth, Henry Hathaway, Phil Karlson, Stanley Kubrick, Max Ophuls, Nicholas Ray, Don Siegel, Edgar G. Ulmer, and Robert Wise.
Message was edited by: ChiO (added Nick Ray at end)
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How did I leave off Elisha Cook, Jr. and Whit Bissell? Two of the best of the best.
The Blue Dahlia - R2 DVD
in Film Noir--Gangster
Posted
Naremore's take (or was it his explanation of Chandler's intent?) regarding The Blue Dahlia's extrapolation from *The Best Years of Our Lives* was that Chandler was showing three men who had faced and dealt with what they thought was the greatest violence imaginable, only to return home and face violence that was more personal and, therefore, arguably worse.
I see that in The Blue Dahlia, but I wish the film had been in the hands of a director with more visual flair and a darker disposition. Did I hear Fritz Lang?