LoveFilmNoir

Angela Lansbury was in THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY with Moyna MacGill

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote} > ...so what was the last true noir, ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW? (noir supposedly was restricted to the '40s and '50s). But THE MONEY TRAP (1966) had ALL of the characteristics of noir. I caught The Money Trap last year on TCM and I LOVED it...it screamed noir that I thought it was one and was filmed in the 50s and I kept asking myself why Rita looked older. Then I googled and saw that it came out in '65. WOW and WOW....the movie is great from the plot, to the acting to the cinematography....this movie is added evidence that it is hard to define noir by the year the film was made.

> {quote:title=misswonderly wrote:}{quote} > SueSue: I think you really nailed *Night of the Hunter*. Your description of that great film was one of the most concise and accurate I've ever read! And you appreciated the poetry and visual beauty of it, too. > > It seems *Night of the Hunter* has been rediscovered in recent years. The last time it was aired, I got my (teenage) kids to watch it with me. I'm always trying to get them to watch classic films, sometimes successfully, sometimes not. They loved it! > > Mitch could be so good at playing scary and creepy. (Not only this role, *but how about *Cape Fear* ?*) > That "sleepy" look and general lassitude belies a great acting intelligence at work. > I think he's one of those magnetic actors -you just can't take your eyes off him. His performance in *Cape Fear* has to be some of the best creepiness I have ever seen in film. It beats Tony Curtis' Boston Strangler and John Leguizamo's Son of Sam as well as many other creepy characters in between. Mitchum's dialogue in Cape Fear is a hoot along with his mannerisms. Great film.

> {quote:title=primosprimos wrote:}{quote} > He did (72 flix) > > And most of them were bad. But hey, if you-know-who can get a day, why *not* Dennis Hopper? Hmmmm....Widmark has 75 credits according to TCM and he only got an evening if I remember....and I think he was in 24 hours worth of quality films....so the night to early morning morning tribute for Hopper should suffice....and I plan to catch up with some films from my DVR and do some deleting on you-know-who's day....although I might try and catch a film.

I wonder why these companies license films (and pay for the licensing) when they can dig into the public domain, clean up the prints, and release them with commentary and whatever other extras they can get their hands on. Ida Lupino (as director) and Phil Karlson have some damn good titles sitting in the PD (although their are clean prints of their films out there)

Sammy Davis Jr was in OCEAN'S ELEVEN with Dean Martin

You made some great points Arturo.....particularly "noir is in the eye of the beholder". I think if every noir had a femme fatale and took place solely in a major city, the plots would have run out and fast. Film noir was about 2 decades of some damn great movies. From some sound suspense filled plots to contrived ones...filled with love, affairs, revenge, greed....subplots that sometimes take you off track where you don't even know who the killer or bad guy is until 5 minutes before the ending credits. It is definitely my favorite film genre of all time.

Thank you ChiO...I couldn't have said it any better. In another thread, I just responded to Arturo who coined a great term necessary in understanding and dissecting this genre of films "noir is in the eye of the beholder". Roadhouse is noir....yet it takes place in a road house seemingly in the middle of no where and the film climaxes in the woods. Just the other day someone asked me if 1*3 Rue Madeleine* qualified as noir. My first reaction was no and more of a spy/suspense film but it was directed by Henry Hathaway who was under contract with Fox at the time and shot *Kiss of Death* that same year....the film feels just as noirish.

Richard Beymer was in HIGH TIME with Bing Crosby

Cary Grant was in THAT TOUCH OF MINK with John Astin

Mary Astor was in THE PALM BEACH STORY with Rudy Vallee

Timothy Hutton was in TURK 182! With Darren McGavin

I still think the term film noir is up for debate and will be for a long time. Some people have even argued that *Night and the City* is not a noir because it takes place in Britain. People say *Strangers on a Train* is not noir simply because it was directed by Hitchcock when it has all the noir elements.

I see they won't be playing the *Seven Little Foys* on Hope's day....I'd watch just for the Cagney as Cohan cameo.

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote} > Interesting that Cregar's performance was so understated, because Richard Boone played the same role in the remake, VICKI, and his performance was completely over-the-top. This is what makes the original better than the remake - the only thing I liked about the remake were the two leading ladies...everything else was pee eww for the most part. He was so over the top that even if you hadn't seen the original you would have suspected it was him very early on in the film.

> {quote:title=scsu1975 wrote:}{quote} > > {quote:title=LoveFilmNoir wrote:}{quote} > > I'm lost, what's wrong with Maureen O'Hara? > > She's not Greta Garbo. I just saw who the poster was, you're right.

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote} > I classified JOHNNY APOLLO as a gangster film for the simple reason that it was a 1940 release. Most say that noirs began with THE MALTESE FALCON (1941). I generally associate noirs with a lot of darkness. JOHNNY APOLLO did not have this. (I understand that darkness is only one criterion) Good point finance. From what I have read, noir officially began with *Stranger on the Third Floor* (1940) however, the darkness that is present in another early noir, I Wake Up Screaming (1941), is also present in this film. I really like how crime/noirs were shot from Fox in the 1940s. I think what makes Johnny seem to be a gangster film is because of the gangster element (Lloyd Nolan's character) and at the time, gangster films like "The Roaring Twenties" as well as many B pictures had been out for a while setting the trend.

Ricardo Montalban was in THE MONEY TRAP with Rita Hayworth

> {quote:title=konway87 wrote:}{quote} > Here are Top 5 of mine. > > *1. Laird Cregar's Performance in I wake up Screaming (1941)* > 2. Michael Denison's Performance in The Importance of Being Earnest (1952) > 3. Robert Donat's performance in The Winslow Boy (1948) > 4. John Hodiak's performance in Lifeboat (1944) > 5. Alastair Sim's performance in The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950) I couldn't agree more with the bolded! One of the things I love about the noir genre is that there is usually at least one understated performance in the cast and it leaves the viewer with the "wait, did he do it?" question in their head until the climax. A perfect example of this is Joseph Mankiewicz' Somewhere in the Night starring John Hodiak. I don't want to spoil the plot if anyone has never seen it (would love to see this on TCM in prime time) but it seems like EVERYONE including Hodiak has an understated performance. I didn't know "whodunit" until the end - and I suspected everyone in the main cast at one point or another.

> {quote:title=finance wrote:}{quote} > Again, gangster and noir films are very different animals........... I just saw JOHNNY APOLLO on FMC this morning, a good gangster film, which was relatively unusual for Fox. > > Edited by: finance on May 30, 2010 3:45 PM I actually throw Johnny Apollo into the noir bin. Definitely had more of a noir feel than a gangster film and was shot in the same style of *Kiss of Death*, *The Dark Corner* and *Call Northside 777* (Director Henry Hathaway's other Fox noirs). Now there are other films that have elements of noir but come off as a "crime drama" or detective/mystery like the Thin Man series. Two noirs that I watched that stuck out to me from May 19th: *Destination Murder* - it was a quickie but it had one of my faves (Hurd Hatfield) as the bad guy. This is one of those movies I am sure was double billed with another film but it is definitely my kind of noir - quick. I prefer my noirs at 90 minutes...120 minutes is definitely pushing it. The story had many holes in it, mainly a cast of unknowns. The Unknown Man - another "noir" (or court room/crime drama) with Walter Pidgeon in the lead. Also under 90 minutes, the film had a decent pace, good acting. I think Pidgeon's talent shines in dramas. I happen to also think he was good with the lovely (and brunette) Joan Bennett in *the House Across the Bay*.

I had no idea some people wanted what they feel like seeing to be shown on TCM 24/7....how would you be able to go to work? How would your DVD and DVR recorders keep up? I thought part of cable television was variety, when your favorite channel has something on you don't want to see, you watch something else. I caught some Clint yesterday, and then I watched Andrew Zimmern eat bugs and steamed animal intestines. The way some people comment about programming you would think they buy their channels from their cable or satellite provider a la carte (although I wish this were possible).

> {quote:title=Fedya wrote:}{quote} > > i am going to throw up on those two days...............maureen o'hara????????????? come on! > > I dare you to throw up on Maureen O'Hara. > > Throwing up on Robert Stack would be kind of difficult.... I'm lost, what's wrong with Maureen O'Hara?

> {quote:title=SueSueApplegate wrote:}{quote} > Thanks for this insightful post, lzcutter. > > Just because her legions of fans, and I belong to that group, desire formal recognition > doesn't mean that she should accept an honor that is unconnected to her current > lifestyle. We all wish her continued peace and happiness, however elusive they > might have been for her in the past. I second this. As a fan, it is sad when some of our favorite stars retreat from the public eye (for good) for the rest of their lives, and even if we don't get the word of mouth behind the scenes info through specials and interviews, we will always have their movies to enjoy.

> {quote:title=thomasterryjr wrote:}{quote} > I thought it was refreshing to see "Nazty Nuisance," "*The First Traveling Saleslady*," "A Fistful of Dollars," "For A Few Dollars More," "The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly," and "Hang 'Em High" on Memorial Day instead of the usual war and combat fare. It would have made my day if "Unforgiven" could have been scheduled for broadcast on Memorial Day. I hated the print of this film, completely washed out (that's okay though, I'm not petitioning for a restoration of it) but Carol and Clint? I had a good early morning "tee hee hee". Thanks TCM.

> {quote:title=TikiSoo wrote:}{quote} > Thanks Skimpole for starting this thread. I recognized every scene/nuance commented on and like the fact this film touches so many. This forum is the only place I can discuss film with other classic film fans. In most conversations, cinefiles try to impress you with obscure facts rather than simply comment on what "moved" them about a picture. Well said TikiSoo...it is also why I like this forum. I too watch this film EVERY time it comes on TV and I have to point out that one subplot that really stuck out to me was Dana Andrews character has to suck it up and go back to working at the drug store. I know it may seem minor compared to many other parts of the film, but I am sure there are many servicemen coming home from serving and experiencing this as well even today. Even many college students are coming back home to take less than stellar jobs....the whole subplot is very humbling.