Hoganman1

Yes. The ending really caught me off guard. It was easy to figure out how their scheme was going to go awry, but I doubt many anticipated what eventually happened. Dana Andrews was as good as ever. No one would ever suspect he had a drinking problem from this or any of his other performances.

I hadn't seen Carol Kane in quite awhile until she showed up in THE HUNTERS with Al Pacino. I just always remember her role in the TV show Taxi as Andy Kaufman's character's girlfriend.

What a great line-up. It's amazing all of these good films were released in 1948. I'll have to get my video recorder humming tonight.

I was hoping someone would pick up on my comment about the baby. Any thoughts on why that was added? Was it in the book? Maybe it magnified Elsa's reason's for leaving, but one would think her wanting to protect the other three boys would be reason enough.

In your defense, you didn't come back at me on my comments about Mary Astor (which I fully expected). I guess because of your name I assumed you were a fan.

I thoroughly enjoyed ADDRESS UNKNOWN. It wasn't a true noir, but it had many of the elements. Eddie was right about the visuals. They were extraordinary. The only flaw I found in the film was when Elsa had a baby. I can't figure out why that was added to the script. Elsa didn't appear pregnant when she came downstairs the night Griselle was killed and she a Martin seemed too old to handle an infant. Maybe it was in the book, but I didn't see it adding much to the film. That said, overall it's a great story and the presentation was well done.

I think TCM has done this before, but I'd like to see a FALCON marathon. I think there are thirteen of these movies. They started with George Sanders in 1941. He was replaced by his brother, Tom Conway, after the third film.

I agree with the critic. It's certainly not DOUBLE INDEMNITY, but it is a good noir. I keep hoping there are more of the obscure jewels out there. Obviously, we all are watching way more TV than normal these days. There is a lot of junk on now, but the old movie channels, History Channel, Sundance and some of the premium channels are showing great flicks. I find something every day to take my mind off the sad and disturbing news that is the realty of 2020.

Just finished watching PUSHOVER. I recorded it last week from MOVIES (Noir to Die For). It was really good. I'd never heard about it before now. The theme is similar to DOUBLE IDEMNITY. I think it was Kim Novak's first major film as she was billed as "Introducing Kim Novak". Fred McMurray was almost as good as he was as Walter Neff in DI. Also, Dorothy Malone looks just as good as she did in her bit part in THE BIG SLEEP. If you've seen it; I'm curious as to what the rest of you noir fans think.

One of my favorite old horror flicks. I like the INVASION Kevin McCarthy much better than the current version.

January 26 Actor- Paul Newman Critic-Gene Siskel Comedian-Ellen Degeneres Musician-Eddie Van Halen Athlete-Wayne Gretzky Political Jerk-Kevin McCarthy

Just finished ACROSS THE PACIFIC. As a Bogart fan, of course I enjoyed watching it again. I just love it when he dons the trench coat and the fedora. I thought both he and Greenstreet were both as good as they usually are in these films. I basically see two flaws in the story line. I get that the Dan Morton character , who is Alberta Marlowe's father, is an alcoholic and Lorenz has exploited that to set up his operation on his plantation. However, having him come out, obviously really drunk; was not handled well and Alberta didn't seem too upset that he was killed during the shootout when Leland escaped. The second flaw is while I think Alberta Marlowe (Mary Astor) is certainly attractive, she's not "the girl you dream about when you're nineteen". In fact with all due respect to our own Ms. Wonderly, I've never thought of Mary Astor as gorgeous.She is very pretty and I know she was a great actress with many great movies to her credit. I just don't think of her in the same light as some of the other actresses of the era. It's just my opinion and I don't mean to offend anyone.

CRIME WAVE was well done. As Eddie said, it was a pretty simple story. I had not seen it and I was surprised by the ending. I worried that Lacey would meet the same fate as Jeff Bailey from OUT OF THE PAST. Most noirs don't have happy endings. Also, I had forgotten about Phyllis Kirk being in the THIN MAN TV series with Peter Lawford. I'd love to see some of those again.

We took the advice offered here and ditched TWIN PEAKS. Thank goodness there is a lot available during this "stay at home" period. We watched WAIT UNTIL DARK on MOVIES yesterday. It was great. I know we had seen it before, but we didn't remember much about it. Aside from getting to see one of my adolescent crushes (Audrey Hepburn), the other actors and the plot lines were very entertaining. I thought Richard Crenna was especially good as the crooked con man with some compassion. Although it was not directed by Hitchcock I thought a lot of his signature elements were present.

Sorry to move on from these classic period pieces. but we just watched Season 1 Episode 1 of TWIN PEAKS on Netflix from 1990. I don't know how I missed it's two season run on ABC thirty years ago. It reminded me a lot of the movie FARGO with all the oddball characters. I did some research and see that Showtime revived the series in 2017. Obviously, they must have changed the characters after twenty seven years. Also, I'm not sure Netflix has the 2017 season three. If any of you can share some info without spoilers please do so. We plan to keep watching to see where this goes.

Here's my top ten 1. The Maltese Falcon 2. Double Indemnity 3. The Big Sleep 4. Out of the Past 5. Dark Passage 6. Murder My Sweet 7. The Lady in the Lake 8. Laura 9. The Woman in the Window 10. The Killers

I'm looking forward to CRIME WAVE next weekend. I haven't seen that one.

With due respect, I really like DIAL M FOR MURDER. Many of the comments here are on target. As with any film there are flaws. For instance, Robert Cummings would not have been my first pick to play Mark. I have to confess that I'm a big fan of Grace Kelly .I like almost every movie she made before she "retired" to Monaco. However, I struggled with her playing the role of an unfaithful wife. I much prefer her roles in REAR WINDOW or IT TAKES A THIEF. In terms of my boyhood crushes she is right up there with Natalie Wood and Audrey Hepburn.

I wasn't bothered by your post. You were simply pointing out that those of us who love this genre of movies are cheating ourselves if we ignore foreign films.

OK. You're right. I guess I do have to get out of my "comfort zone". Also, as my hearing deteriorates; sub-titles are helping. I actually find following the dialog on many of the foreign films on Netflix (even British) more difficult. Hard to admit for or a guy who claims he likes women with British accents. Also, I forgot to comment on the film's score. Miles Davis is a jazz icon.

ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS was certainly different. I usually steer away from foreign films with sub-titles, but I stuck with it because I trust Eddie. I have to admit I found it entertaining. While it was interesting, I'm not sure I want a steady diet of French noir. Also, I enjoyed seeing Alicia Malone. She seems well versed in French films as well as classic films in general. I actually like her, but I've always had a soft spot for women with British (or Australian) accents. Heck, I watched a lot of the impeachment hearings just to see and hear Fiona Hill.

Wow, thanks Dargo. I haven't seen these home movies before now. Nat looks great as usual.

I didn't read through all six pages so forgive me if someone has already chosen my star. I have been in love with Natalie Wood since I was ten years old. I first saw her in WEST SIDE STORY and I think I've seen almost all of her movies from MIRACLE ON 34th STREET to BRAINSTORM. I've always been in love with Audrey Hepburn too, but she finishes second to Natalie. My favorite of her films even though it wasn't a big hit was PENELOPE. LOVE WITH A PROPER STRANGER was a favorite too. I was crushed when she died so suddenly and under suspicious circumstances in 1981. PS Sorry I didn't comply with the "newly discovered" part of the question. If I had to pick a star that I didn't know anything about until recently I guess it would be Audrey Totter.

I thought IWUS was just OK too. I kept thinking I'd seen it before and realized I was thinking about VICKI (the remake) after doing some research. For some reason I haven't seen many Betty Grable movies. I guess the fact she was primarily a song and dance actress explains why. Anyway I liked both her and Mature's performances for the most part. Here's hoping the next few Noir Alleys excite me a little more. It looks like my TCM watching will only increase over the next few weeks. Hopefully, my wife can cultivate a taste for classic mystery movies to match mine.

I just watched RETURN OF THE SEVEN. It's a fairly weak sequel to the 1960 MAGNIFICENT SEVEN which was a classic. Yul Brenner and the music were the two best things about it. Robert Fuller does an OK job as Vinn, but clearly he's no Steve McQueen. The character development is lacking compared to the original and the plot isn't as interesting either. It did prompt me to do a little research on all five films ( the original, three sequels and the 2017 re-make). I have not seen the other sequels or the recent re-make, but I'm a huge fan of Denzel Washington. From what I've read the 2017 film is pretty good even though they've altered the names of the characters and have changed the plot. Also, apparently the musical score is different too. I'm not sure I can handle that change. If I do decide to watch it I guess I'll have to put aside my long held belief that some great classic films should not be re-made.