Noir Alley

[ElCid]

32 minutes ago, TomJH said:

Yes, I was surprised by the billing. I'm not certain that I've seen any other black actress billed that way in a film, though I assume Witness to Murder is not alone.

I can't recall any film in which a black actor is billed as "Negro."

Probably because they did not use the name of the character as in most other movies where the black actor was billed by name.

[TomJH]

2 hours ago, ElCid said:

Probably because they did not use the name of the character as in most other movies where the black actor was billed by name.

Well there can certainly be other descriptions of a character without a name other than his/her race.

Juanita Moore in Witness to Murder, for example, could have been called "Hospital Ward Inmate" or "Singing Hospital Inmate."

[jamesjazzguitar]

Note that on Wiki,   the listing of the credits for Witness to Murder says this:

• Juanita Moore as Black Woman - Mental Patient

 

[Dargo]

6 hours ago, TomJH said:

Yes, I was surprised by the billing. I'm not certain that I've seen any other black actress billed that way in a film, though I assume Witness to Murder is not alone.

I can't recall any film in which a black actor is billed as "Negro."

 

After thinking that the actor Stepin Fetchit almost assuredly had had to have been credited in that manner at least once, I've now discovered that yes, he indeed had been but only once and as "Negro Man" in the now considered lost 1929 silent film titled The Kid's Clever, and with the following synopsis according to the IMDb website:

Bugs Raymond (Glenn Tryon) invents a car that doesn't require fuel but his road to love and riches are thwarted by a rival mechanic.

(...although, considering the many decades of Hollywood studios churning out films, and considering so much of that time had been before the Civil Rights movement began in earnest, I'm thinking that there almost has be at least a few more instances of this which could be discovered)

[misswonderly3]

Ok, I thought of starting a new thread about this, but then I realized since my topic is specifically about something to do with Noir Alley, I might as well stick with this thread, since only the people who follow this thread would have anything to say about it.

Now, I mentioned this particular thing before, but nobody seemed to care, and I got crickets.  Maybe this time will be different.

What the frig am I talking about?  THIS:   HOW COME  NOIR ALLEY HAS STARTED DOING SO MANY REPEATS ??      This Sunday will be the third Noir Alley repeat in as many months:  Born to Kill.  Eddie's already featured this one, I think maybe even just a year or so ago.  Other repeats:  Tomorrow is Another Day,  and  Detour.    

What's going on?  I know there are many noirs out there that Eddie Muller still hasn't shown on Noir Alley.  Now, ok, maybe some of them are unavailable due to rights issues or whatever, but still, I can't believe he's run through all the film noirs that TCM could air since Noir Alley started, which was in March, 2017.   Ok, it's 4 years later, but honestly, there are a lot more  noirs than it takes 4 years to show  (at a rate of one a week), especially since Eddie doesn't mind stretching the parameters of the genre sometimes.

Am I the only one who's noticed this, or cares?  I think the least  Mr. Muller could do is openly acknowledge it when he's airing a repeat, and maybe explain why he's doing it.

 

[cmovieviewer]

Thanks for posting your thoughts.  You are not alone in noticing the repeats.

If I could try to look at it from the opposite side, I'm sure it takes a great deal of work for Eddie to prepare this material, both for him and the production staff.  He is providing something like 10 to 12 minutes of programming each week, which is based on his own personal knowledge and opinions on the films.  I've also noticed that for some of these films Eddie has previously done dvd commentaries or other writings, so he can draw on that for some of the material.  But films he has never considered before might take even more work to prepare for showing on TCM.

One reason for showing repeats may be to introduce Noir films to newer members of the audience.  Even though many of us have been watching Noir Alley for years, Eddie and TCM may think that to keep building an audience for the show they have to repeat the tentpole films occasionally.

Obviously the work-from-home nature of the past year may have also had an effect.  It must be more difficult to put everything together, from shooting the intros safely, to the assembling of photos, the editing, etc.  I would say that it's a mark of Eddie's success on TCM that we all look forward to the show and want to enjoy new material so much.

At least for the repeat scheduled for Sat./Sun. this week, Born to Kill, Eddie mentioned that he will be discussing the film with author and historian Max Allan Collins, so that will be new material even if the film has been shown on Noir Alley before.

[Hoganman1]

I get your point. Surely, there are enough "noirs" available to avoid repeats. However, my guess is there are many viewers that haven't seen every one Eddie has shown since 2017. For instance, I don't think I've seen BORN TO KILL even though it was featured a year ago. It would be better if there were no repeats, but there are many that I don't mind seeing again.  I've noticed that MOVIES, which is my second source for these films, shows repeats quite frequently.  At least Eddie doesn't do it that often. 

[jamesjazzguitar]

1 hour ago, misswonderly3 said:

Ok, I thought of starting a new thread about this, but then I realized since my topic is specifically about something to do with Noir Alley, I might as well stick with this thread, since only the people who follow this thread would have anything to say about it.

Now, I mentioned this particular thing before, but nobody seemed to care, and I got crickets.  Maybe this time will be different.

What the frig am I talking about?  THIS:   HOW COME  NOIR ALLEY HAS STARTED DOING SO MANY REPEATS ??      This Sunday will be the third Noir Alley repeat in as many months:  Born to Kill.  Eddie's already featured this one, I think maybe even just a year or so ago.  Other repeats:  Tomorrow is Another Day,  and  Detour.    

What's going on?  I know there are many noirs out there that Eddie Muller still hasn't shown on Noir Alley.  Now, ok, maybe some of them are unavailable due to rights issues or whatever, but still, I can't believe he's run through all the film noirs that TCM could air since Noir Alley started, which was in March, 2017.   Ok, it's 4 years later, but honestly, there are a lot more  noirs than it takes 4 years to show  (at a rate of one a week), especially since Eddie doesn't mind stretching the parameters of the genre sometimes.

Am I the only one who's noticed this, or cares?  I think the least  Mr. Muller could do is openly acknowledge it when he's airing a repeat, and maybe explain why he's doing it.

 

Could be a lot of reasons,  for example,  TCM's budget.     I assume TCM pays Eddie less for a "repeat" (if at all),  verses having to pay him to record new-material. 

Then there is the cost of leasing the films.

Of course it could be because TCM believes the series has run-its-course.        I clearly hope that isn't the case,  since, as noted,  there are many fine noirs Eddie hasn't shown and I always enjoy his take.

 

 

[Vautrin]

Forget Noir Alley repeats. Can the repeats of those Which noir actor wears his fedora best and Bogie,

bow tie or straight  tie promos.

[Hoganman1]

On 1/22/2021 at 5:32 PM, jamesjazzguitar said:

 

Of course it could be because TCM believes the series has run-its-course.        I clearly hope that isn't the case,  since, as noted,  there are many fine noirs Eddie hasn't shown and I always enjoy his take.

 

 

Well, I sincerely hope that isn't the case either. I get that many younger viewers do not not care about B&W films from 70 years ago, However, some us boomers are still around in great numbers and we enjoy seeing them. Some of these movies are timeless even if they don't have all the computer generated special effects. I just cannot get into movies about super heroes even though the comic books from which they came are from our youth as well.  Now, turn down your music and get off my lawn. 

[Hoganman1]

I thought BORN TO KILL was fantastic. I know most of you have seen it before but this was my first viewing. It has moved into my top ten favorite noirs.  I also enjoyed Eddie and his guest's comments before and after the film. I wish they had spent more time talking about Claire Trevor. Her performance of a woman torn between doing the right thing, her physical attraction to a strong, but violent man and her desire for self preservation was terrific.  She seemed to always make the wrong choice until it was too late. Lawrence Tierney was his usual menacing self. He was an intriguing character both on and off the screen.  In my humble opinion, BORN TO KILL is Eddie's finest selection in quite awhile. 

[ElCid]

7 minutes ago, Hoganman1 said:

I thought BORN TO KILL was fantastic. I know most of you have seen it before but this was my first viewing. It has moved into my top ten favorite noirs.  I also enjoyed Eddie and his guest's comments before and after the film. I wish they had spent more time talking about Claire Trevor. Her performance of a woman torn between doing the right thing, her physical attraction to a strong, but violent man and her desire for self preservation was terrific.  She seemed to always make the wrong choice until it was too late. Lawrence Tierney was his usual menacing self. He was an intriguing character both on and off the screen.  In my humble opinion, BORN TO KILL is Eddie's finest selection in quite awhile. 

I skipped it this time.  It is OK, but never much cared for it.

[jamesjazzguitar]

On 1/24/2021 at 12:45 PM, Hoganman1 said:

I thought BORN TO KILL was fantastic. I know most of you have seen it before but this was my first viewing. It has moved into my top ten favorite noirs.  I also enjoyed Eddie and his guest's comments before and after the film. I wish they had spent more time talking about Claire Trevor. Her performance of a woman torn between doing the right thing, her physical attraction to a strong, but violent man and her desire for self preservation was terrific.  She seemed to always make the wrong choice until it was too late. Lawrence Tierney was his usual menacing self. He was an intriguing character both on and off the screen.  In my humble opinion, BORN TO KILL is Eddie's finest selection in quite awhile. 

Crime \ noir film pros Claire Trevor and Elisha Cook Jr.  add the punch to Born to Kill.    Lawrence Tierney is fine as the killer with just enough charm to make the attraction of the two main women characters in the film plausible.      Yet another hard-as-nails role in a noir for Claire Trevor,  who, during the 40s was the one of the top noir dames (if not the top),  carrying over from the Warner Bros.  gangster \ crimes of the 30s into the noir films of the 40s,  like Murder My Sweet,  Johnny Angel, Crack-Up, Raw Deal,   Born to Kill , and of course the swan-song,  has-been performance of her 30s character type in Key Largo,  which earned her a much deserved Oscar.

Trevor would make one more crime \ noir film Borderline in 1950,  but here she only pretends to be a hard case.  After this she was in many westerns.  

[lydecker]

On 1/22/2021 at 6:18 PM, Vautrin said:

Forget Noir Alley repeats. Can the repeats of those Which noir actor wears his fedora best and Bogie,

bow tie or straight  tie promos.

Yep, those are really stupid.  I love Film Noir and Eddie but those Fedora/Tie promos are a monumental waste of airtime.

[TomJH]

1 hour ago, lydecker said:

Yep, those are really stupid.  I love Film Noir and Eddie but those Fedora/Tie promos are a monumental waste of airtime.

"Oh, really? I rather appreciate anyone who appreciates someone who wears a good bow tie."

[jamesjazzguitar]

Next week Noir Alley is The Killer - 1964 version.     Don't know if Eddie has shown this version before.

[Vautrin]

5 hours ago, lydecker said:

Yep, those are really stupid.  I love Film Noir and Eddie but those Fedora/Tie promos are a monumental waste of airtime.

After about the third time around it's time to give it up. Yeah fedoras, I get it. 

[Hoganman1]

I like fedoras and bow ties, but I'm old and a huge Bogart fan. I was just looking for a khaki trench coat online to wear with my fedora last week. They're actually not easy to find. 

[TomJH]

12 hours ago, Hoganman1 said:

I like fedoras and bow ties, but I'm old and a huge Bogart fan. I was just looking for a khaki trench coat online to wear with my fedora last week. They're actually not easy to find. 

"Make another crack about my tie and I'll slap that blubbery face of yours so hard you'll look like a Dick Tracy character."

[Hoganman1]

"Here's looking at YOU, Kid"

[Hibi]

Miss W,

EVERY series TCM runs has repeats. So I'm not surprised Noir Alley is having them too. It's not like there have been MONTHS of them. They have a budget to meet, so it's logical they will have some. If it gets to MONTHS of repeats, then I'll start to worry. I didn't mind Born to Kill, as its a great noir, plus he had a co-host with a new intro so that was good.

[Hibi]

17 hours ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

Next week Noir Alley is The Killer - 1964 version.     Don't know if Eddie has shown this version before.

Don't think so.

[ElCid]

21 hours ago, jamesjazzguitar said:

Crime \ noir film pros Claire Trevor and Elisha Cook Jr.  add the punch to Born to Kill.    Lawrence Tierney is fine as the killer with just enough charm to make the attraction of the two main women characters in the film plausible.      Yet another hard-as-nailed role in a noir for Claire Trevor,  who, during the 40s was the one of the top noir dames (if not the top),  carrying over from the Warner Bros.  gangster \ crimes of the 30s into the noir films of the 40s,  like Murder My Sweet,  Johnny Angel, Crack-Up, Raw Deal,   Born to Kill , and of course the swan-song,  has-been performance of her 30s character type in Key Largo,  which earned her a much deserved Oscar.

Trevor would make one more crime \ noir film Borderline in 1950,  but here she only pretends to be a hard case.  After this she was in many any westerns.  

Borderline is a very good movie.  Good mix of humor and mystery and the suitably evil Raymond Burr.

14 hours ago, Hoganman1 said:

I like fedoras and bow ties, but I'm old and a huge Bogart fan. I was just looking for a khaki trench coat online to wear with my fedora last week. They're actually not easy to find. 

Might try an Army surplus store for their nobody wanted these stocks.  Actually when I went into the Army in '69, the raincoat was a greenish trench coat.  Kept it in trunk of my car for decades for emergency use, but finally got rid of it.

[jamesjazzguitar]

1 hour ago, ElCid said:

Borderline is a very good movie.  Good mix of humor and mystery and the suitably evil Raymond Burr.

I also felt Borderline was a good movie.     Just saw it for the first time about 2 months ago (on MOVIES-TV).      Another film where Burr plays the heavy (but not a very bright one).

 

[Dargo]

23 hours ago, ElCid said:

I skipped it this time.  It is OK, but never much cared for it.

I always kind'a felt this way about it too Cid...that is until I watched it again last Saturday night. 

It seemed to click more with me this time and as I more noticed how excellently this film was shot by director Robert Wise and his cimematographer Robert De Grasse.

(...and now I think those aspects of it alone have moved  it higher on my list of favorite Noirs ever made)