Vautrin

Maybe the bell boy was just offering tonic water to go along with the bottle of gin. I believe the bell boys and desk clerks in the Philip Marlowe novels were usually a bit on the seamy side and always knew where the "action" was. I guess I'm so used to the sleazy surroundings of many noirs that I sometimes don't pay attention to the details.

And he was probably a member of the IRA in the early 1920s for which I give him two kneecaps up.

Speaking of gay subtext, in the original script the geek bites the heads off of live chicken hawks.

Congratulations on 25,000 posts, Hibi. I'm sure the boss is glad to have a hard working, dedicated employee like you.

I should have made that clearer. Someone had already posted about Raisin in the Sun. Imagine sending "Emil Peterson" to persuade somebody to do something they don't want to do. Fiedler did play the same role in the play. Now if you want someone who is an expert at underhanded real estate dealings, Elliot Carlin is your man.

I found it humorous that John Fiedler played the head of the white community association sent out to try to get the Younger family to not move into the neighborhood. He is about as imposing and forceful as a wet rag. Maybe Wally Cox wasn't interested.

I was surprised by it too, especially the suddenness of the whole thing. At the beginning of the film it isn't made very clear what the exact relationship is between Molly and Bruno. Are they related, just friends, or does he see himself as her protector. Freaks popped into my mind, where the circus freaks have their own code and way of doing things, however bizarre it might seem to outsiders. The Nightmare Alley carnies need to chill out and take it easy.

Interesting question. I will think about it for...maybe ten seconds.

I figured the name Lilith was used to give a hint as to the true nature of her character. I agree that the Helen Walker character was a scammer on a higher level than Stan, who was stuck with starting on the low level of being a small time circus grifter, though he was working his way up. Overall Coleen Gray was fine, but there were one or two scenes where she seemed a little too innocent to be believed but maybe that was the way they wanted the character played.

I always thought that Jeff should have shot Kathy and let the dead Kirk Douglas take the rap, so to speak. Then he could have gone back to his sweet girlfriend and she wouldn't have been stuck with that dumb forest ranger or whatever he was. I think it was obvious to most people that the ending was tacked on to produce a more positive finale to Nightmare Alley. And no doubt Stan was not a good person by far. I still felt a little sorry for him. Maybe once he got the chicken feathers out of his mouth, he would have reviewed his conduct and decided to be a better person.

Yes, you'd think they'd cover the keep the dough lesson in the first week of Running a Scam 101. I've noticed that in some crime/noir films this basic piece of wisdom is not followed.

One day you're eating filet mignon, the next you're biting the heads off live chickens. So the wheel of fortune turns. This is sort of a meta noir. The carny folks are trying to put one over on the rubes and get their money by putting on a show with lots of fakery and bluster. Sort of like movie people. From the crummy carny to high society to the psychoanalyst's couch, it's all the same scam only with different tactics and spiels for the particular environment of the chumps. On a practical note, I never understood why a smart guy like Stan would give his $150,000($1.7 million in 2019 dollars) to semi-butch Helen Walker. Always keep the money yourself. Lesson not learned. While it was a pretty typical happy Hollywood ending, I'm mostly glad that Stan would be given a second chance.

Perhaps Edward was unconsciously influenced by the carny ballyhoo of the movie's early setting. I was watching a number of British noirs on YT. One films leads to a list of similar films. The October Man, The Upturned Glass, Dear Murderer, all from 1947 and Beyond This Place from 1959. There were others I can't recall at the moment. Pretty solid films, though in general less gritty and violent than their American counterparts.

Don't marry the dude who plays your son in a movie. It won't work out.

It's Fat M vs. Thin M. I saw the remake a number of years ago and didn't remember much about it. On its own it's a fairly good flick, though not up to the original. The German version has a certain exoticism from being so long ago and set in Germany. There's nothing the 1951 version can do about that, it's just the way it is. I found it to be a typical police procedural wrapped around a psychotic killer tale, and pretty effective as that. The mommy messed me up theory likely seemed pretty nifty back then, today less so. Give mom a break. I did get a kick out of the scene where Wayne strangles the Pillsbury Dough Boy as mommy looks on from her photo. The mass paranoia and hysteria theme is also well done, though I suppose it's an obvious tack to take. All in all, worth watching.

LOL. Yes indeed. You're not a mean one. I can't say that it's one of my favorite Christmas songs, but I get a kick out of hearing it during the Christmas season. Certainly a nice change of pace from the usual Christmas tunes.

Stank and stunk are correct grammar. They are past forms of the verb stink.

It's from YT comments about The Big Combo (1955). It doesn't really matter that much. Just about every studio era film will have very similar comments.

He was busted to buck private and is peeling potatoes and cleaning latrines. The People of YouTube. think people who judge these films are really longing for the late 40's-to-early 50's era, before government oppression reduced all of us to the level of intruders in Washington's nation. +Lee Larson Lee I enjoy these classic movies because there is no sex or cursing compared to today's TV and movies. Ed +Ed Fulmer Sr no cursing but, loads of violence, much of it against women. I'd rather have the cursing and of course, sex. +William George --Grow up. I agree . It looks nicer than what we have now! Doubt the government was full of open crooks like now! you mean like Nixon When police abused people with impunity because cell phones didn't exist to record them? Casual racism and bigotry? THAT era you miss???

I don't know it LIS was better, but at least it was more lucrative.

I believe Roberts decided at the last moment to hang around for one more season so Williams was no longer needed. I don't think it had anything to do with Williams personally.

And does so without any of the hosts holding a shotgun across their laps.

Let 'em come up with a slightly more imaginative name than Canada Day. A while back I made the somewhat disturbing discovery that we have French Canadian ancestors on my mother's side of the family. They emigrated to upstate New York sometime in the 1840s. O, thank you, thank you. Les uns, joyeux de fuir une patrie infame;

Yes, it was a political deal, no doubt about it. One that likely did more harm than good.