DHelvering Posted December 17, 2008 Share Posted December 17, 2008 Does anyone know of a stereotypical film noir that contains both voice-over narration and sexy saxophone solos? You know the scene. As a saxophone wails in the background, we hear: "I could tell she was trouble when I first laid eyes on her. etc." None of the few film noirs that I know use sax. I'm wondering if these are characteristics more of radio dramas than they are of films. In any case, I'd appreciate any film (or radio) suggestions. Thanks, David Link to post Share on other sites
Pia Posted December 18, 2008 Share Posted December 18, 2008 I don't offhand, sorry, but theres a movie that I THINK has the VO narrator at the beginning, (not sure about the sax, but I know where you're coming from with this!) I any case, its the one where the mother of a baby gets out of bed to see to him and says something in VO like, 'I know that there are 7 o'clock babies and there are 8 o'clock babies, why do YOU have to be a 6 o'clock baby' wish I could recall the name. And then there is another film - and they show quite a few moments from it in the B&W, TCM ''Up All Night' piece, that ends with the coffee shop scene - that I am pretty sure has a narration, as well I sure hope others post responses that are far more helpful and informative. So sorry, I couldn't have been more helpful to you. Link to post Share on other sites
Film_Fatale Posted December 19, 2008 Share Posted December 19, 2008 David, welcome to the boards. It's hard offhand to think of a noir that has both of the characteristics you are interested in. The part with the sax is the hard one. I think most noirs I know have a relatively subdued soundtrack. Of course, I don't usually pay attention to the soundtrack of a movie consciously, mostly I just let it work on me, to the extent that it will. Have you tried the 1946 *The Killers* and *Out of the Past* already? Sorry can't be much more help than that. Happy Holidays! Link to post Share on other sites
GinaM Posted December 21, 2008 Share Posted December 21, 2008 Hi David, What comes mostly to mind, although can't remember if there's a sax, but Bogart has a few movies that do vo's. Dark Passage and The Big Sleep are two. Hope this helps, Gina Link to post Share on other sites
DHelvering Posted January 5, 2009 Author Share Posted January 5, 2009 Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I'll check those films out. It's not terribly important that I find a film like the one I described. It's just that I heard a radio commercial the other day that used voice over with sexy sax music to depict a stereotypical film noir scene, and it got me to thinking that I don't actually know a film noir film that observes those characteristics. It's been a while since I've seen it, but I think Tension (1949) might have the sexy sax solos I'm looking for. I'm not sure about the voice over narration. Link to post Share on other sites
OllieTSB Posted March 5, 2009 Share Posted March 5, 2009 Probably a couple of months too late, but I'd also recommend THE KILLING, with Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Jay C. Flippen and Elisha Cook Jr. This film has poor narration overlays - they seem incongruous or mis-written or misplaced. Like maybe a young director would 'settle for' - and this was an early work by Stanley Kubrick. THE KILLING gets my vote for Memorable Noir because it's a procedural, step-by-step invitation for the audience to go along with the bad guys. I'd love to hear what Sterling Hayden thought of this film. I have a feeling he didn't care for it, because it was a mid-career film for him, and he'd already turned in stronger performances in better films (Asphalt Jungle, Suddenly, Crime Wave, Johnny Guitar). But I'm not sure his was a lesser performance one bit - he really moves this film along, and powerfully. Link to post Share on other sites
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