Noir Alley

[Hibi]

2 hours ago, Dargo said:

I was at least able to find this still (lobby card) on the internet of the deleted original closing scene which Eddie talked about in his outro, and in which Bickford and Andrews square off on a bluff above the Pacific Ocean...

I think this may have been the better ending than what was in the film which was rather blah.

[Joe Gillis]

OK.  Not getting all the love for FALLEN ANGEL.  Despite its incredible pedigree (Otto Preminger, Joseph LaShelle, David Raskin) and a good cast (though I thought Alice Faye was truly miscast) this film is a rambling, disjointed mess.  Where is the great LaShelle cinematography??  Why does it seem as though this movie repeats the same scenes over and over again?  I thought I would lose my mind as Linda Darnell and Dana Andrews had THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION time and time again. Ditto for Alice Faye and Anne Revere.  Also, you have to believe that Alice Faye is some kind of desperate moron to marry sleazy Dana Andrews after knowing him for 1 week.  Maybe her "best scenes" were left on the cutting room floor,  but her one-dimensional, saintly self was truly hard to take.  Anne Revere (who I usually love) was also a one-note character with not much to do.  For me, only Linda Darnell and Charles Bickford were worth watching.  After Eddie Muller's big build up:  "This is every bit as good as LAURA" I certainly wasn't expecting to find myself snoozing through the entire first half.  The second half of the film is a bit better but overall, FALLEN ANGEL is a tragic waste of of talent on both sides of the camera.

[cigarjoe]

Among The Living (1941) 

An early Film Noir that's a bit along the lines of  The Dark Mirror (1946), A Stolen Life (1946) The Guilty (1947) The Man with My Face (1951),  with a touch of  Try and Get Me,  Directed by Stuart Heisler and starring  Albert Dekker, Frances Farmer Harry Carey and a very cute  Susan Hayward. Watchable  6/10

[overeasy]

6 hours ago, Joe Gillis said:

OK.  Not getting all the love for FALLEN ANGEL.  Despite its incredible pedigree (Otto Preminger, Joseph LaShelle, David Raskin) and a good cast (though I thought Alice Faye was truly miscast) this film is a rambling, disjointed mess.  Where is the great LaShelle cinematography??  Why does it seem as though this movie repeats the same scenes over and over again?  I thought I would lose my mind as Linda Darnell and Dana Andrews had THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION time and time again. Ditto for Alice Faye and Anne Revere.  Also, you have to believe that Alice Faye is some kind of desperate moron to marry sleazy Dana Andrews after knowing him for 1 week.  Maybe her "best scenes" were left on the cutting room floor,  but her one-dimensional, saintly self was truly hard to take.  Anne Revere (who I usually love) was also a one-note character with not much to do.  For me, only Linda Darnell and Charles Bickford were worth watching.  After Eddie Muller's big build up:  "This is every bit as good as LAURA" I certainly wasn't expecting to find myself snoozing through the entire first half.  The second half of the film is a bit better but overall, FALLEN ANGEL is a tragic waste of of talent on both sides of the camera.

Agree completely!  This was a lot of great talent in search of a script. Perhaps it got mucked up by the producer or in post, but it felt, as you noted, as if the same scenes were played over and over again. Not so in Laura, which moves along briskly and each scene builds on the prior one. That's how a story is told!

What I found odd was the early scene in which Anne Revere's character is said to HATE SPIRITUALISTS, but, after a little BS from Andrews, she and Faye decide to buy tickets? ****? The guy is clearly a con artist!  When the comment is made about getting married "a week later," my head practically exploded! It's just been a week? Faye went from the perfect, good girl in town to a drunken, dancing **** who marries a loser in seven days? Please!

[lpetiti]

I need to begin paying more attention to the films shown on Noir Alley. I love the film noir style, I've always loved mysteries and detective stories, and thoroughly enjoyed the course that TCM did a few years ago on film noir. Beyond that, I'm an avid DnD player (what can I say, I'm nerdy on many different fronts) and there is a campaign setting that I've fallen in love with that feels very noir-ish, so I can't wait to watch more through Noir Alley to help me get more inspiration for my writing!

[cigarjoe]

4 minutes ago, overeasy said:

What I found odd was the early scene in which Anne Revere's character is said to HATE SPIRITUALISTS, but, after a little BS from Andrews, she and Faye decide to buy tickets? ****? The guy is clearly a con artist!  When the comment is made about getting married "a week later," my head practically exploded! It's just been a week? Faye went from the perfect, good girl in town to a drunken, dancing **** who marries a loser in seven days? Please!

I've know some desperate alost closeted  women who've reacted exactly that way when they meet the first man who pays just a little attention to them. its believable.

[cigarjoe]

Affair in Havana (1957) 

A weird little Noir shot in Havana  and directed by Laslo Benedek, with  John Cassavetes, Raymond Burr, Sara Shane  and  Lilia Lazo.  Cassavetes is a piano player in a nightclub. Raymond Burr is a very wealthy almost albino looking invalid in a wheelchair, Sara Shane is his **** wife who starts making the over on Cassavetes. John is doing his usual shtick which always reminds me of a deranged Jerry Lewis. A time waster. 6/10

[Hibi]

7 hours ago, Joe Gillis said:

OK.  Not getting all the love for FALLEN ANGEL.  Despite its incredible pedigree (Otto Preminger, Joseph LaShelle, David Raskin) and a good cast (though I thought Alice Faye was truly miscast) this film is a rambling, disjointed mess.  Where is the great LaShelle cinematography??  Why does it seem as though this movie repeats the same scenes over and over again?  I thought I would lose my mind as Linda Darnell and Dana Andrews had THE EXACT SAME CONVERSATION time and time again. Ditto for Alice Faye and Anne Revere.  Also, you have to believe that Alice Faye is some kind of desperate moron to marry sleazy Dana Andrews after knowing him for 1 week.  Maybe her "best scenes" were left on the cutting room floor,  but her one-dimensional, saintly self was truly hard to take.  Anne Revere (who I usually love) was also a one-note character with not much to do.  For me, only Linda Darnell and Charles Bickford were worth watching.  After Eddie Muller's big build up:  "This is every bit as good as LAURA" I certainly wasn't expecting to find myself snoozing through the entire first half.  The second half of the film is a bit better but overall, FALLEN ANGEL is a tragic waste of of talent on both sides of the camera.

I know. The Andrews/Darnell scenes were very similar and repetitive. Some of them could've been cut. And Faye falling for him so quickly when there was ample evidence of his being a con man strains credibility. Maybe her cut scenes could've shed more light on the matter. Too bad we never got to see Preminger's cut of the movie before Zanuck fiddled with it.

[Hibi]

1 hour ago, overeasy said:

Agree completely!  This was a lot of great talent in search of a script. Perhaps it got mucked up by the producer or in post, but it felt, as you noted, as if the same scenes were played over and over again. Not so in Laura, which moves along briskly and each scene builds on the prior one. That's how a story is told!

What I found odd was the early scene in which Anne Revere's character is said to HATE SPIRITUALISTS, but, after a little BS from Andrews, she and Faye decide to buy tickets? ****? The guy is clearly a con artist!  When the comment is made about getting married "a week later," my head practically exploded! It's just been a week? Faye went from the perfect, good girl in town to a drunken, dancing **** who marries a loser in seven days? Please!

I don' t recall Faye being drunk in the film.

[Hibi]

1 hour ago, cigarjoe said:

I've know some desperate alost closeted  women who've reacted exactly that way when they meet the first man who pays just a little attention to them. its believable.

I don't recall Faye being a drunken, dancing sl-t either.

[Dargo]

1 hour ago, cigarjoe said:

I've know some desperate alost closeted  women who've reacted exactly that way when they meet the first man who pays just a little attention to them. its believable.

 Well, this certainly sounds like the voice of experience talkin' here alright, CJ!

This wouldn't have been when you were out there hustlin' for a buck TOO like Dana was in this flick, would it?! 

(...like maybe during those years you were out there in the Big Sky country of Montana??? ) 

 

[Joe Gillis]

On 5/5/2020 at 12:07 AM, Hibi said:

I don't recall Faye being a drunken, dancing sl-t either.

Neither do I, but I was yawning so much, I might have missed it.  If she WAS a drunken, dancing ****, even briefly, that would definitely have improved the character.  And, provided the title for the sequel. 

[Joe Gillis]

On 5/4/2020 at 10:53 PM, overeasy said:

Agree completely!  This was a lot of great talent in search of a script. Perhaps it got mucked up by the producer or in post, but it felt, as you noted, as if the same scenes were played over and over again. Not so in Laura, which moves along briskly and each scene builds on the prior one. That's how a story is told!

What I found odd was the early scene in which Anne Revere's character is said to HATE SPIRITUALISTS, but, after a little BS from Andrews, she and Faye decide to buy tickets? ****? The guy is clearly a con artist!  When the comment is made about getting married "a week later," my head practically exploded! It's just been a week? Faye went from the perfect, good girl in town to a drunken, dancing **** who marries a loser in seven days? Please!

I especially liked her "good girl" hair style (when she was in the church  --  of course she was in church!) which appeared to be braids wrapped around her head (?) channelling either a Swedish milkmaid  or perhaps Princess Leia.

[jamesjazzguitar]

10 minutes ago, Joe Gillis said:

I especially liked her "good girl" hair style (when she was in the church  --  of course she was in church!) which appeared to be braids wrapped around her head (?) channelling either a Swedish milkmaid  or perhaps Princess Leia.

You're complaining about her looks?     I'm not sure you can make a case for this Joe,  given your past history:
 

[Joe Gillis]

Yea, but she gave great parties, not to mention charming chimp wakes.

[kingrat]

On 5/4/2020 at 8:05 PM, cigarjoe said:

Affair in Havana (1957) 

A weird little Noir shot in Havana  and directed by Laslo Benedek, with  John Cassavetes, Raymond Burr, Sara Shane  and  Lilia Lazo.  Cassavetes is a piano player in a nightclub. Raymond Burr is a very wealthy almost albino looking invalid in a wheelchair, Sara Shane is his **** wife who starts making the over on Cassavetes. John is doing his usual shtick which always reminds me of a deranged Jerry Lewis. A time waster. 6/10

This is the best description of John Cassavetes I have ever seen.

[cigarjoe]

23 minutes ago, kingrat said:

This is the best description of John Cassavetes I have ever seen.

Lol, one film that  departs from that is a Neo Noir called  Mikey and Nicky

[overeasy]

On 5/5/2020 at 12:14 AM, Dargo said:

 Well, this certainly sounds like the voice of experience talkin' here alright, CJ!

This wouldn't have been when you were out there hustlin' for a buck TOO like Dana was in this flick, would it?! 

(...like maybe during those years you were out there in the Big Sky country of Montana??? ) 

 

Well, perhaps not falling down drunk, but she was the perfect rural girl who played the church organ one day and another organ the next day....  Just sayin....

[LornaHansonForbes]

Tangentially related to a conversation we were having in this thread last week, I am watching THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (1946) And in the opening scene a couple is having lunch at an Italian restaurant when someone comes by and tells them they should change their order of two salami sandwiches with coffee to two cheese sandwiches with coffee. 

Personally, I am torn on which sounds more disgusting.

[TikiSoo]

12 hours ago, overeasy said:

Just sayin....

What are you saying?

[speedracer5]

4 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

Tangentially related to a conversation we were having in this thread last week, I am watching THE BEAST WITH FIVE FINGERS (1946) And in the opening scene a couple is having lunch at an Italian restaurant when someone comes by and tells them they should change their order of two salami sandwiches with coffee to two cheese sandwiches with coffee. 

Personally, I am torn on which sounds more disgusting.

I think cheese sandwiches with coffee sounds awful. 

[LornaHansonForbes]

23 minutes ago, speedracer5 said:

I think cheese sandwiches with coffee sounds awful. 

Every time I think that, my mind goes back to the combination of coffee and salami.

(Full disclosure I don’t eat pork or red meat because I think they’re gross.)

[David Guercio]

What’s the Blues song called that was playing on the radio in Fallen Angel and who sings it?

[speedracer5]

9 hours ago, LornaHansonForbes said:

Every time I think that, my mind goes back to the combination of coffee and salami.

(Full disclosure I don’t eat pork or red meat because I think they’re gross.)

I'm not keen on drinking coffee with anything other than breakfast food.  The only time I drink coffee when it's not the morning is if I'm out and about and it's really cold outside.

Salami and Coffee also sounds awful.  I'm thinking of the spices in the salami and how that mixes in with the coffee.  

[Hoganman1]

This is pretty remote but this discussion of having coffee with a sandwich reminds me of a scene from THE PARALLAX VIEW . Actor Hume Cronyn,  who plays Warren Beatty's character's editor,  is found dead after a "new" delivery guy brings him coffee and a sandwich while he's working late.  It's a key plot point since Cronyn's character is the only person who knows Beatty is a reporter  working undercover on a story about  a company that recruits assassins.  I really liked this film and try to catch it whenever it is shown.