A Walk on the Noir Side

[CineMaven]

THE T-SHIRTED, TRUSTING and TORMENTED HERO...

 

BURT LANCASTER.

 

( SPOILERS ):

 

This was part of TCM's for me: 'Film Noirish Triple Decker Triple Feature' last Tuesday ( Sept 6th ) of Kirk Douglas' intro into films. With "I WALK ALONE" this was Burt Lancaster's and Kirk Douglas' first of seven screen pairings. And right from the beginning, their chemistry was dynamite. If they were ever to really get into a fist fight, I don't know who I'd put my money on...I don't know who'd win...but I do know they'd each give as good as they got.

 

"I Walk Alone" is the story of a man released from prison after fourteen years, expecting to become half owner of a night club run by his old rum-running buddy.

 

He is in for a rude awakening.

 

KIRK DOUGLAS is the old pal, Noll (nicknamed 'Dink') and he is as far from scared little Walter O?Neill as you or Martha Ivers could get. Noll is mucho suave-aaaay. He can talk his way out of or smooth over anything. He'll use the night club's chanteuse to pump Frankie for info, while continuing to string her along in their romance. He'll hook up with an ice queen socialite to further his business and social standing. He's not above blackmailing an old friend. Noll will do or say whatever it takes. He is ambitious. He is a smooth operator.

 

And quite the opposite personality is BURT LANCASTER as Frankie Madison. He's been cooped up for fourteen years. ("FOURTEEN YEARS!!!!" he says tightly and you feel every bit of those 14 years, as he bares his clenched perfect teeth). Oh, he doesn't look any worse for the wear. He's tall, fills a suit nicely...a big strapping fella. (I think it should be de rigueuer for Burt Lancaster to wear a t-shirt in every movie from 1946 - 1952!) But he's a man of few words, very defensive, sensitive and coiled as tightly as a snake. Where Noll is cool as a cucumber, Frankie is a hothead. He's a bit awkward socially, being out of practice for so long. Noll's Socialite Gal Pal, Alexis Richardson. speaks to him:

 

SOCIALITE: "You know, you're quite an attractive man."

 

FRANKIE: "Keep going.?

 

SOCIALITE: "How far do you want me to go?"

 

FRANKIE: "I?m at the plate. You're doing the pitching."

 

The socialite is played to an Alexis Smith-ish fare-thee-well by KRISTINE MILLER.

 

But that interaction ends poorly with Alexis wanting Frankie thrown out of the club, saying:

 

"You looked like a man who might have three or four interesting sentences to say. You've said them. Goodbye!!"

 

Well...he was out of practice.

 

Frankie's wined and dined by club chanteuse: Kay Lawrence played by LIZABETH SCOTT, whose been sent by Noll. Noll tells her:

 

"That's why men take women to dinner. So they'll have someone to talk about themselves to."

 

Kay gets all mangled in Noll's machinations because of her love for him. And there's the usual requisite tension between two women who love the same man. Well, I doubt Mrs. Richardson loves Noll:

 

"You're so utterly no good I should marry you," she says. Love as punishment. Ha!

 

(ASIDE: Kristine Miller appeared in several movies with Lizabeth Scott including "Desert Fury" and "Too Late For Tears").

 

Frankie realizes the ruse to pump him for information and unjustly lambasts into Kay. He trusts no one except book keeper Dave, who visited him often in prison. He lumps Kay in with all the snakes. Kay finally sees what a user Noll really is when he tells her he's marrying the Socialite:

 

"You love me but you're marrying her?"

 

I love Lizabeth's display of pouty anger when she tells off Kirk Douglas' character. Noll says,

 

NOLL: "You're in Frankie's league now."

KAY: "I couldn't ask for better company."

 

She sides with Frankie (when she finally gets him to trust her). Yes, I know this romantic coupling is pretty quick and just a plot contrivance. But I say in the scheme of 40's films, relationships happen at the speed of a writer's Underwood.

 

 

I know things like this can make or break one's enjoyment of a film. But I don't mind the shorthand in these old movies. I know it doesn't make psychological sense for the script, but it sure gets things moving a lot quicker. I like Lizabeth Scott in this film. Yes, she's so stiff and wooden down to her walk and her hairstyle. I know the voice they dubbed was wrong for her and her singing stance was all stiff. But a better pal a guy couldn't have in the 40's (depending on the film?s budget) to while away the time with, than with Lizabeth Scott. So Kay and Frankie are now an "item." She falls for the right wronged man.

 

Poor Frankie. It's like he is stuck in a time warp... when a handshake was as bonding and binding as a contract. A Promise meant something. He's going to make Noll live up to his promise of fourteen years ago, ("FOURTEEN YEARS!") by using some muscle. He's going to take what's his. He speaks to his old pal Nick Palestro to help round up the gang. I thought it was a great casting choice to have MARC LAWRENCE play the gangster. He was such a staple in 30's movies when he played "The Gangster." (When I see Lawrence in "The Man With the Golden Gun" I smile at the nod).

 

With Palestro, it's where we see that the times, they are a-changing; that the old gang just ain't what it used to be. Nick is a businessman now who owns a car lot. He'll assemble some new boys, but things are not the same he tells Frankie. When Frankie and the boys meet Noll, Dave is asked to show Frankie "the books." It all hits the fan now. This was a sad scene to me on a couple of levels: time passing Frankie by, Noll's lies, Dave's betrayal. That cut Frankie to the quick. (And that knife cut both ways where Dave was concerned too. Et tu Brutus?) The shame and humiliation Frankie suffers in front of EVERYone was tough to watch. I felt embarassed for him. Noll throws him under the bus. He's like caged animal. The day of the old-time gangster in spats and Tommy gun is gone. Frankie's fight is with an amorphous enemy. He rails against The Corporation. Noll left him no dignity. It was sad to watch his powerless rage; and hey, check out the men who are watching him (especially that wisea$$ guy). I think of those soldiers who came back from the war, having difficulty adjusting to Society. Frankie now wants to settle the score...but it only seems like hes the one living in the past. A relic. And then the ultimate indignity...getting a beatdown.

 

MAZURKI...HE ALWAYS GETS A

HANDLE ON THINGS.

 

Never was really a big fan of WENDELL COREY. His skeletal features and pale blue eyes kind of pushed my shallow soul away from the screen. But...he did have a great speaking voice...and he really could handle Stanwyck in "The Furies." Hmmm...let me think about this.

 

Okay!! I?ve settled it in my mind.

 

I am now totally coming around to Wendell Corey. (Welcome to CineMaven's Van Heflin Club, Mr. Corey. Step right up. Here you have Mr. Heflin...and there you have Mr. Howard). Now, maybe not with lust in my heart, (I've got to see him in a t-shirt) but with some hard core respect for this fine Actor, I'm coming around to Wendell. With "I Walk Alone" I do think he was the heart and soul of the movie. My heart goes out to him. Corey plays Dave, the bookkeeper and he's really caught between a rock and a hard place with these two old friends. Dave was torn between his heartfelt loyalty to Frankie...and the "hooks" Dink had into him, re: the forgery. Corey plays Dave wonderfully. We see a beaten man, heavy with the weight of guilt and resentment. It is weighing him down. Frankie says,

 

"You're two years older than me and I?ve been in jail. You look ten years older than me!!"

 

When the inevitable happens, (and if you're reading this post, you're a movie buff...you know what will happen), it springs Frankie into action. It takes him OUTSIDE his Self to think about someone else. And goes to action he does. I think this is a testimony to how Wendell Corey plays Dave. (Kent Smith would've played him differently and we might've cheered for his demise...but that's for another thread). At the end of the movie Frankie does take exactly what's coming to him, down to the penny. And hewalks off into the nighttime mist with the girl.

 

I really like "I Walk Alone." When it finished it felt like a nice satisfying meal. It feels to me like the quintessential nineteen forties movie in style and dress and dialogue. It has all the archetypical characters you could want to have; all the characters that were perhaps already old hat by the late forties: The Big Lug, The Girl, The Smooth Operator, The Strong Arm, The Snot-Nosed Up & Comer, The Bored Socialite, The Erudite Servant/Restauranteur. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying things, and I hope you do too. Is this movie officially a film noir...I don't know. I'll leave that to wiser movie buffs to define.

 

I just know what I like.

[Bronxgirl48]

Couldn't agree with you more what you say of the script "imposing its own noirish psychology on Sam" in THE STRANGE LOVER OF MARTHA IVERS. This is really illustrated when a drunken Walter falls down those "Ivers stairs" and Martha is urging Sam to finish her hubby off: "It would be so easy, Sam..." Then Heflin, with a weird smile on his face, creeps down the steps towards Kirk and leans over him like Bela Lugosi in DRACULA before the vampire bites a prostrate Dwight Frye on the neck.

 

 

[JackFavell]

Burt BURT! *FOURTEEN YEARS!*

 

It's hard to imagine Burt being old enough at this point to have been anywhere for fourteen years.

 

Thank goodness the nickname Dink has gone out of fashion. My Joe Calleia got labeled with that in *Public Hero No. 1*.... I can't think of a person more ill suited for the name.

 

You know, Lizabeth Scott may not be the best actress in the world, but she does mangled better than anyone.

 

I am putting a plug in for Marc Lawrence. he's really caught my eye the last few movies - in Oxbow, he's the only one of the men to show genuine remorse, and here, he really made the difference for me between an OK movie and a good one. He tipped the scales in that "corporation" scene. That scene felt sooooo modern didn't it? Frighteningly so.

 

Edited by: JackFavell on Sep 13, 2011 8:31 AM

[CineMaven]

Did you ever see Marc Lawrence in *"The Asphalt Jungle"*? He's good in that too. So is it really about who your agent is in terms of breaking a typecast...getting a juicier part? Yes, Lawrence in *"The Oxbow Incident"* looked visibly effected by the news that his friend was still alive. So many gems in the nugget of performances by character actors of the past.

 

I agree, that corporation scene was VERY real. Stockholders of ENRON...the folks that Bernie Madoff cheated...the more things change, the more they stay the change, huh. It's just most times the big kahuna does not pay for his crime.

 

And you know what...no good can come of a man named Dink.

[JackFavell]

> {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote}Did you ever see Marc Lawrence in *"The Asphalt Jungle"*? He's good in that too. So is it really about who your agent is in terms of breaking a typecast...getting a juicier part? Yes, Lawrence in *"The Oxbow Incident"* looked visibly effected by the news that his friend was still alive. So many gems in the nugget of performances by character actors of the past.

 

*The Asphalt Jungle* is a movie I can never get into - unless I walk in right in the middle! It's sort of doomed for me to never see that one from the beginning... or fall asleep before it ever gets going. I have a favorite scene though - the one with Marilyn and Louis Calhern, where he gets nabbed and she doesn't know what to do? It's splendid and almost makes me like him, even after his performance in *Devil's Doorway.*

 

> I agree, that corporation scene was VERY real. Stockholders of ENRON...the folks that Bernie Madoff cheated...the more things change, the more they stay the change, huh. It's just most times the big kahuna does not pay for his crime.

 

 

Yeah. ick.

 

 

> And you know what...no good can come of a man named Dink.

 

 

Ha! Now that made me laugh hard! Poor Joe, I mean Dink, bumped off in that one a la Dillinger. I think Jackie Cooper turned out all right, didn't he?

[CineMaven]

" 'The Asphalt Jungle' is a movie I can never get into - unless I walk in right in the middle! It's sort of doomed for me to never see that one from the beginning... or fall asleep before it ever gets going. I have a favorite scene though - the one with Marilyn and Louis Calhern, where he gets nabbed and she doesn't know what to do? It's splendid and almost makes me like him, even after his performance in 'Devil's Doorway'."

 

I hope you hold yourself hostage one day and check out this classic. It's really very good. John Huston just has such command of his craft. All the characters' stories were interesting...each one of them shine. Marilyn laying on the couch and slooooowly opening up her eyes to Calhern...my my my. (Cute kid). Jean Hagen...very good, Sam Jaffe, a card...and yes, Louis Calhern. Louie Louie Louie Louaaaaaaay. Even when he's caught, he's just such a gent...the old scoundrel! It's the unravelling that's brilliantly well constructed.

 

I hope you see the movie all the way through, one day. It's good. Or at the very least, you'll be able to cross it off your list as a movie to have seen.

 

(I don't know why in the Sam Hill that font came out so small below. < ( sigh ) > This board...)

[CineMaven]

Yay!

 

Mostly I like movies with muscle...not such a frou frou girl unless I have to be or am in the mood. Guess that's why I like film noir so much. I can down that stuff like Kool-Aid.

 

Give it a chance one day when you have time.

[FrankGrimes]

I think you'd like what's behind Dix's (Sterling Hayden) motivations in *The Asphalt Jungle*.

[JackFavell]

I'll try it again, even though I am definitely a frou frou.... I occasionally like to take a ride to the dark side of town.

 

Which reminds me, *Temple Drake* is on tonight at 8.

[CineMaven]

"CRISS CROSS"

 

Sometimes men go down with the ship. And this ship is the S.S. DeCARLO:

 

 

"All those things that happened to us; everything that went before...we'll forget it. You'll see. I'll make you forget it. After it's done, after it's all over and we're safe... it'll just be you and me. You and me. The way it should have been all along from the start."

 

Promises, promises.

 

I re-visited "CRISS CROSS" which I haven't seen in ages. Now I know this film might not have the narrowly defined mise en scene of film noir, but it does have a fatalistic hero...one who blithely, obstinately and steadfastly walks down that path of doom and self-destruction. Well that's BURT LANCASTER...in spades in this movie.

 

One thing that kept niggling me the back of my neck during the movie was why his cop friend and family was soooooooooooo getting into this man's love life? He's a grown man. Lancaster plays STEVE and he's in love with ANNA. Hmmm...love might be an understatement. The movie states it is LOVE but it looks and feels like LUST to me. Anna is played by YVONNE DeCARLO. To say she's hot might also be an understatement if her Rhumba dancing is any indication. (And get a load of her dancing partner: Anthony Curtis...soon to become Tony Curtis). Steve and Anna were married, fought all the time and split up. But I guess Steve couldn't get her out of his head. His family was trying to help him get over her...but he just couldn't get out of his own libido's way. Strong thing that libido.

 

He wants her...he doesn't want her. He barks at her...and then follows her around like a little puppy dog. (Not that anything's wrong with that...Burt could follow me anytime. I know...don't remind me. I'm no Yvonne DeCarlo). Steve willingly resides in the excruciatingly exquisite netherworld of "can't live with her / can't live without her." I thought it was funny how his family saw the signs in him, even while he didn't...he was going on auto-pilot on his return to town. Maybe his mom should have been Anne Revere. On second thought even Mother Teresa couldn't compete with Anna.

 

Well the first thing you do is get the hero's attention. Then beg and plead with him not to do anything (too) foolish.

 

Steve keeps fighting Anna (or fighting himself for still having feelings for Anna). She looks like she's ready to pick up where they left off; let bygones be bygones. But he keeps pushing her away. She said she was tired of chasing him. Why did their marriage break up in the first place? Was he insecure that he wouldn't be able to keep her? Is this something I even need to know...is it integral to the plot? Maybe not, but I was curious.

 

Steve is now in a trap of his own making.

 

To get out of the trap, Steve comes up with an ingenious excuse for Anna's husband: "LET'S HEIST AN ARMORED CAR COMPANY. AND GET THIS...I WORK FOR ONE!!"

 

I liked when the film turned to this heist. BUT what a wacky excuse to give a husband when he catches you with your pants down around your ankles with his wife. (Steve's brainstorm?? He comes up with the idea that he was seeing Anna to get in contact with Slim for purposes of planning a heist). I get the impression Steve isn't the smartest bulb in the box. (And with that physique, you got it...baby I don't care). But he is thinking with his... emotions. The bad thing about that decision is that it really has him thoroughly ensconced in Slim's life. "I don't know any crooks but you," or words to that effect.

 

Another heist gone wrong sequence...and I loved it: the smoke...the confusion..the torn loyalty. Pop pays the ultimate price for Steve's love-crazed decision to pull a heist on his own company. I was on pins and needles with the hospital sequence and the gentleman visiting his wife. (I thought of Don Corleone in the hospital with nothing but young Michael between Corleone and some hit men). To see Steve trussed up in his hospital bed totally vulnerable to the fates was rough. But the fates do find him.

 

Steve finally "gets it" about Anna. The light finally goes off in his head and he takes the acceptance very well considering much of the movie he is a hothead. As you see Anna giving him a good tongue lashing Steve sits there...arm in a sling with a slight slight peaceful look on his face. I'm not sure if she was money-hungry all along. I like to think that Anna did love Steve but he was just too fat-headed to deal with Love head on. Then again I also would like to think of her as a real lethal lady in that when Steve proposes the idea of a heist with Slim...that her little femme fatale mind started working over time and she plotted to get the money and be rid of both her sleazy husband and puppy dog Steve. Dump two birds in one fell swoop as it were. When the money presents itself to Anna, well...temptation is a heady thing. What's a girl to do?

 

I believe Steve taunted Fate. And Fate finds him. Fate comes in through the door as the Boogey Man. Enter Slim...and he will give Steve what he wanted; to be with Anna, forever.

 

This is the second time Burt Lancaster is shot and killed over a woman. ("THE KILLERS.") I hope he never learns his lesson. It makes for a better movie.

[FrankGrimes]

That was expressed beautifully, CinemAva! We're in agreement with a lot. I shall look to reply to you tomorrow night.

 

[mrroberts]

*Criss Cross* is a very underrated noir in my opinion. I think it ranks up with the best, but doesn't seem to get the air time like the others, I can't remember when I saw it last.

[FrankGrimes]

SPOILED BY THE CRISS CROSS

What's the bad word, Lively Gal? -- *Sometimes men go down with the ship. And this ship is the S.S. DeCARLO:*

 

That's not a bad way to go. She's stunning in *Criss Cross*.

 

 

*"All those things that happened to us; everything that went before...we'll forget it. You'll see. I'll make you forget it. After it's done, after it's all over and we're safe... it'll just be you and me. You and me. The way it should have been all along from the start."*

 

*Promises, promises.*

 

 

That's great! Ahhhhhh, Anna (Yvonne De Carlo). She could sell a guy most anything.

 

 

 

 

*I re-visited "CRISS CROSS" which I haven't seen in ages. Now I know this film might not have the narrowly defined mise en scene of film noir, but it does have a fatalistic hero...one who blithely, obstinately and steadfastly walks down that path of doom and self-destruction. Well that's* *BURT LANCASTER...in spades in this movie.*

 

 

It's a big-time film noir to me because of what you say about Steve (Burt Lancaster), but also Anna. *Criss Cross* is a "femme fatale" film noir. One of the best.

 

 

*One thing that kept niggling me the back of my neck during the movie was why his cop friend and family was soooooooooooo getting into this man's love life? He's a grown man.*

 

 

Because they knew the score with Anna and Steve. Sure, it wasn't their place, but they feared what was to happen. Sometimes it's necessary to play the villain.

 

 

*Lancaster plays* *STEVE and he's in love with* *ANNA. Hmmm...love might be an understatement. The movie states it is LOVE but it looks and feels like LUST to me.*

 

 

I agree with you. I think Steve is on the "lust" side. He knows what he's doing is wrong but he can't let it go.

 

 

*Anna is played by YVONNE DeCARLO. To say she's hot might also be an understatement if her Rhumba dancing is any indication.*

 

 

Yeah, she's sizzling in this one.

 

 

 

 

*Steve and Anna were married, fought all the time and split up.*

 

 

Passion.

 

 

*But I guess Steve couldn't get her out of his head.*

 

 

More like bloodstream!

 

 

*His family was trying to help him get over her...but he just couldn't get out of his own libido's way. Strong thing that libido.*

 

 

I always think when we're lost we turn to past emotions for rescue. Until you can move on, you are stuck on something.

 

 

*He wants her...he doesn't want her. He barks at her...and then follows her around like a little puppy dog.*

 

 

He hates to love her but he's too weak to make that break. Internal struggles are horrible.

 

 

*I thought it was funny how his family saw the signs in him, even while he didn't...he was going on auto-pilot on his return to town. Maybe his mom should have been Anne Revere. On second thought even Mother Teresa couldn't compete with Anna.*

 

 

That was funny! Those who are caught up in the storm never know it, but others can see it.

 

 

*Well the first thing you do is get the hero's attention. Then beg and plead with him not to do anything (too) foolish.*

 

 

Women! That sounds like my country grandma. "Can you do this for me? No rush." Yeah, right!

 

 

*Steve keeps fighting Anna (or fighting himself for still having feelings for Anna).*

 

 

Oooohhh, I like that. You're right on it.

 

 

*She looks like she's ready to pick up where they left off; let bygones be bygones. But he keeps pushing her away. She said she was tired of chasing him. Why did their marriage break up in the first place? Was he insecure that he wouldn't be able to keep her? Is this something I even need to know...is it integral to the plot? Maybe not, but I was curious.*

 

 

It's a very good question. Anna seems like the restless type. She seems tough to please. In this viewing, she came off as a softer version of Margot Shelby (Jean Gillie in *Decoy* ). She just doesn't reveal it until later.

 

 

*I liked when the film turned to this heist.*

 

 

So did I. It gives the film a real jolt. I love the ironic results, too.

 

 

*BUT what a wacky excuse to give a husband when he catches you with your pants down around your ankles with his wife. (Steve's brainstorm?? He comes up with the idea that he was seeing Anna to get in contact with Slim for purposes of planning a heist).*

 

 

That's some quick thinking! It seems surreal to me. Does Steve realize Anna needs money to love him (the money)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Another heist gone wrong sequence...and I loved it: the smoke...the confusion..the torn loyalty.*

 

 

I love it, too. It's one of the best I've seen.

 

 

 

 

*Pop pays the ultimate price for Steve's love-crazed decision to pull a heist on his own company.*

 

 

I really enjoyed the ride with "Pop" (Griff Barnett).

 

 

*I was on pins and needles with the hospital sequence and the gentleman visiting his wife. (I thought of Don Corleone in the hospital with nothing but young Michael between Corleone and some hit men). To see Steve trussed up in his hospital bed totally vulnerable to the fates was rough. But the fates do find him.*

 

 

You are hitting on all the right notes. I thought the hospital scene was very suspenseful.

 

 

*Steve finally "gets it" about Anna. The light finally goes off in his head and he takes the acceptance very well considering much of the movie he is a hothead. As you see Anna giving him a good tongue lashing Steve sits there...arm in a sling with a slight slight peaceful look on his face.*

 

 

I thought he was kind of stunned by her words. He was incredulous.

 

 

*I'm not sure if she was money-hungry all along.*

 

 

That's hard to say. I certainly believe she was never truly honest with Steve. So was she completely honest then?

 

 

 

 

As Anna tells Steve: "You always have to do what's best for yourself. That's the trouble with you. It always was, from the beginning. You just don't know what kind of world it is."

 

 

Which leads to:

 

 

 

 

And I think that's the problem with their relationship. What Steve wants and what Anna wants are completely different. Steve wants Anna. Anna wants more than just Steve. A couple is doomed if they don't just want each other, above all else. When other factors come into play... trouble.

 

 

 

 

*I like to think that Anna did love Steve but he was just too fat-headed to deal with Love head on. Then again I also would like to think of her as a real lethal lady in that when Steve proposes the idea of a heist with Slim...that her little femme fatale mind started working over time and she plotted to get the money and be rid of both her sleazy husband and puppy dog Steve. Dump two birds in one fell swoop as it were. When the money presents itself to Anna, well...temptation is a heady thing. What's a girl to do?*

 

 

Her true nature is exposed.

 

 

*I believe Steve taunted Fate. And Fate finds him. Fate comes in through the door as the Boogey Man. Enter Slim...and he will give Steve what he wanted; to be with Anna, forever.*

 

 

Love that ironic ending. That's why I love film noir. It's the best.

 

 

*This is the second time Burt Lancaster is shot and killed over a woman. ("THE KILLERS.") I hope he* *never learns his lesson. It makes for a better movie.*

 

 

Very good!

[CineMaven]

What's the good word, Grimesy? - *That was expressed beautifully, CinemAva!*

 

Thank you. :-)

 

*We're in agreement with a lot.*

 

Awwwww, that'll be no fun.

 

*...She's stunning in Criss Cross.*

 

Yes. She's got an exotic look; ...maybe in the Spanish family?

 

*It's a big-time film noir to me because of what you say about Steve (Burt Lancaster), but also Anna. Criss Cross is a "femme fatale" film noir. One of the best.*

 

Perhaps it's because I'm not one hundred percent sure of your definition ("femme fatale film noir") but it seemed mostly about Steve and his angst over Anna.

 

*Because they knew the score with Anna and Steve. Sure, it wasn't their place, but they feared what was to happen. Sometimes it's necessary to play the villain.*

 

True. And yet they still couldn’t stop this train wreck. Can you imagine his family when they get the news at the end?

 

But I guess Steve couldn't get her out of his head.

 

*More like bloodstream!*

 

Oooh boy...when it's in your DNA, you've got it baaad.

 

*He hates to love her but he's too weak to make that break. Internal struggles are horrible.*

 

The worse.

 

*...Anna seems like the restless type. She seems tough to please. In this viewing, she came off as a softer version of Margot Shelby (Jean Gillie in "Decoy"). She just doesn't reveal it until later.*

 

Funny, I didn’t find her tough to please. I got the impression that all she wanted was to go away and be with Steve; but he was being difficult about that instead of going with the flow of it. When he threw in the idea of the heist, I think that was a monkey wrench for her and then it became about the money. That reminds me...I've got to re-visit *"Decoy."* (Burt cuts quite a figure in your screen cap, with that t-shirt. My bloodstream thanks you).

 

*I thought he was kind of stunned by her words. He was incredulous.*

 

...comes the dawn.

 

*That's hard to say. I certainly believe she was never truly honest with Steve. So was she completely honest then?*

 

Ha! What femme fatale is. Her outburst certainly felt tacked on to me...her jawing on and on about the money and how they’re both different, felt like it came from left-field. Nothing earlier in her character gave me any indication she was a money-hungry vamp.

 

*And I think that's the problem with their relationship. What Steve wants and what Anna wants are completely different. Steve wants Anna. Anna wants more than just Steve. A couple is doomed if they don't just want each other, above all else. When other factors come into play... trouble.*

 

I think she came to want more than Steve in the end. Earlier she was just wanting Steve. Maybe if his family and Ramirez didn’t interfere... ( “get outta town you...you...” ) But you're right. Lovers should fundamentally be on the same page.

 

*Love that ironic ending. That's why I love film noir. It's the best.*

 

Film Noir *+* CineMaven *=* :x

 

Mr. Roberts writes: *"Criss Cross" is a very underrated noir in my opinion. I think it ranks up with the best, but doesn't seem to get the air time like the others, I can't remember when I saw it last.*

 

Hi Mr. Roberts - I hear ya. I don’t know why it gets short shrift. It certainly takes a one way trip of doom, gloom and death for our hero, doesn’t it.

[JackFavell]

By the way, I started *Asphalt Jungle* - I really am enjoying how all the characters start out seeming evil or at least low-life, but somehow change in your mind into just everyday people.... people looking for a last deluded chance at a normal, happy life - only through corrupt means (as long as we seem to be on the subject of our weaknesses doing us in). There is a lot of delusion here, and not enough James Whitmore, who really seems the most likeable character in the whole thing.

 

Unfortunately, the pace is so slow and deliberate, I fell asleep again watching. I like the way things play out very slowly, but it's a killer for this sleep deprived gal. This second week of school, my attention span has dwindled to nothing.

[JackFavell]

Oh, he's so wonderful, isn't he? I remember my mom and me watching Give em Hell, Harry on PBS years and years ago. He was magnificent. There isn't a movie he's in that he doesn't catch my eye. He's heartbreaking in that Stephen King movie, the one about the prison...the name escapes me right now.

[movieman1957]

If you haven't seen it and can find it look for Whitmore's one man show on Will Rogers. Just as potent as his Truman.

 

[JackFavell]

I'll keep an eye out for it. I also was thinking about him in Battleground. I am not a big war movie fan, but I watched part of that one because of the way it was filmed, but mainly because I saw Whitmore in it.

 

He's one of those actors who have always been around - like part of my family. He was always on TV in something, for as long I can remember. That's why I have such a fondness for him. Now I realize how good he is. The older I get, the better an actor he seems to be.

[CineMaven]

*Beg pardon for this interruption, but I really like James Whitmore. He is such a dependable actor and always reminds me of Spencer Tracy. - MISS GODDESS*

 

James Whitmore is one of the great character actors. Subtle...he gets inside you before you know it. Likening him to Spencer Tracy is dead on, Miss G.

 

*He's heartbreaking in that Stephen King movie, the one about the prison...the name escapes me right now. - JACK FAVELL*

 

 

*"THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION."* I resisted all friends' recommendations to see this movie. And as with *"FARGO"* when I finally watched it, I was bowled over. Whitmore...the old-old timer who is finally released from prison. He doesn't acclimate well to freedom. Very sad!

 

 

Jackie, stick with *"THE ASPHALT JUNGLE"* but I would start from scratch when you're not tired. This is a meal best eaten in one sitting. Huston is a great chef and you don't want to miss the nuances of his ingredients.

[JackFavell]

> {quote:title=CineMaven wrote:}{quote}Hi there Jackaaa*A*aaay. Always good food for thought from you. But first let me say, I loved the henchman Vincent. I loved his matter of fact way and vocal cadence.

 

I don't really remember him, was he the rather tired acting fella with the monotone New Yawk way of speaking? He was good! I liked Percy Helton too, and the waiter who looked like Maude's husband, only young.

 

> To me, Anna is the kind of a girl who wants what she cannot have.

 

> *Aren't we all. I mean...yeah, that Anna. Brother!!*

 

That made me giggle. I can see being in Anna's shoes, she's a smart cookie, and her lover is none too bright. He's either blinded by her, or he just can't think more than one step ahead. Anna's all about the ahead - she's ten jumps ahead of anyone, but you can't stay that far ahead without someone getting upset with you.

 

> The forbidden...it holds a lot of sway, I must say. For me, she went out on a date with Slim b'cuz she's no longer married. Now you don't just go out on a date with a guy like Slim (Dan Duryea-Steve Cochran-Ricardo Cortez-Jack LaRue). They're not buying you roses and kissing you on the cheek. These are rough guys...and a date with them means they want to possess you. She should have dated a soda jerk after Steve. (Where's Dana Andrews when you need him. But not in *"Brainstorm."*)

 

You've got that right - she picked the wrong guy to rebound with. But see, that's what she does. She picks danger. Look at her choice of dance partner! Tony looks dangerous in this movie, even at this young age.

 

She didn't pick a nice Ralph Bellamy type, a rich sugar daddy to bounce her on his knee and that she could get rid of easily. She can't help it. She's going to run as fast as she can to the anti-Steve. That's Slim.

 

> I hear ya Jackie. Anna doesn't do things purposefully or with malice aforethought. Girls like her sometimes ponder: "How did I get into this mess?" A little self-reflection might have done Anna some good. She blows with the wind but not like Little Miss Moffet: (Kathie).

 

Nicely put! She's governed by her capricious nature - and she thinks Steve has rejected her - he hurt her. She can't leave it alone - her first thoughts are to run AWAY from Steve, to his least favorite person. "I'll show him!" On some level she wants to hurt him. And I think on some level, Steve wants to be hurt. When the one who wants to be hurt is Burt Lancaster.... well, that's exciting.

 

> The next thing...the next thing. I didn't quite get that sense from her. Maybe if she'd played it a little edgier. But she was so soft. I wish I did get that from her, because her (DeCarlo's) very dangerous dark looks would jive with using them to get her what she wanted...knowing what effect her looks have on men. She is a Delilah. Maybe it was too subtle for me. You're good schweetheart. You pick up subtleties. Me? I need a brick wall to fall on my noggin. When it does...I get it.

>

>

> I did love it when she told Steve: "I made the first move Steve. You don't have to be proud."

>

>

> Why couldn't he settle in with that. Nawwwww, he couldn't pick up she was letting him off easy.

 

Maybe I didn't mean "the next thing"... maybe I meant she wanted "more". I think they were alike in one way - they both wanted MORE - he wanted more of her, and she wanted more FROM him, a life with the money and for him to be more sensible.

 

> I'd have wished for Anna to egg Steve on a little more if she's looking for the next thrill, but she seemed to be telling him "Hey, whaddya doin'?! Let's get outta here!!" as Steve was settling into his (half-baked) idea about the heist.

 

Yes, she has cold feet at first. But then at the end of that scene the camera lingers on her face for a second. She's getting that old feeling... maybe they can have MORE...

 

> She can't help herself any more than Steve can help being who he is. That's why they are so rotten for each other.

>

>

> Yes I agree. Here's a movie about two people who are really no good for each other. They should just go to bed but live their real lives elsewhere; you know... compartmentalize. This trying to build a relationship was disastrous. They didn't have what it takes: selflessness. The selflessness of Love to think of the other person.

 

Yes, even though we see that Burt loves her more than she loves him, he is not being selfless at all. He wants her.... perhaps because she is just out of his reach? Maybe he is the one who wants what he cannot, should not have.

 

> Why do you like this film Jack?

 

It's tight, and it's got a good suspenseful plot that uses flashback to tell the story in a very intriguing way. Its filmed well. But honestly, there is something about Burt's sensitivity and almost girlish **** that I find much more interesting than almost anything he did later. I like Burt vulnerable, but I like that it is a sick and twisted vulnerability. Running after Anna, then pushing her away when he's got her. It's so human, and very much true to some couples. I've been in that relationship. It's tough. I'm drawn to men like that.

 

 

> On some cosmic fatalistic molecular level...I think Steve got what he wanted. He couldn't do it himself. He couldn't control his self. Slim put him out of his misery. He did him a favor, actually. You almost have to laugh: what does it take for this guy to get it? A heist gone awry...busted up in a sling...a dear friend, dead. Steve's resigned acceptance the last fifteen minutes of "CRISS CROSS" was interesting. Anna's scream was shockingly visceral. I couId tell from that scream that this was *not* what she wanted. Ha! Powerful of the director to have Steve and Anna face us. This (under)statement ironically says it all:

>

>

> *"Well, I'll know better next time."*

 

Love that line! Love that you used it as a metaphor for the movie. And that last paragraph you wrote is just how I feel about it. She wasn't ready and he was - it sums up their whole relationship. It wouldn't matter if they were deeply in love. They were connected, but never on the same page.

 

 

> May I say just one thing about *"The Story of Temple Drake"*? I fell asleep during the last third of the picture, but while I was awake I got the sense that this movie was like a Morality Play...an Old Dark House story. I mean that inbred hillbilly family looked like something out of the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Everything was Heightened. Not that any of this is a bad thing mind you. I just remember saying..."are they for real?" There is a Lesson To Be Learned from Temple's story. She was like a little Alice in DegradationLand. I like the movie...but it had an over-the-top feeling to me.

 

I agree. The stumbling block for me is the idea that a tease should learn her lesson, brutally. However, I do enjoy Miriam's performance, and of course the stone cold sexy Jack LaRue. I also like the mystery involved. Did she go with him because she was scared, or because she wanted to be with him? Did she kill him because he raped her, or did she kill him because she liked it, and had to kill it within herself? I think last night it seemed a little too pat to me. She was just scared. I wish it were more grey, but maybe next time I'll see the mystery in it again. Last night's print was spectacular. I've only seen the movie in a bad print on youtube before.

[FrankGrimes]

How's the dance, CinemAva? -- *Yes. She's got an exotic look; ...maybe in the Spanish family?*

 

Very much so. She's a dark beauty.

 

*Perhaps it's because I'm not one hundred percent sure of your definition ("femme fatale film noir") but it seemed mostly about Steve and his angst over Anna.*

 

"French, literally, disastrous woman"

 

"a seductive woman who lures men into dangerous or compromising situations"

 

The thing is, not all femmes fatales are at fault. We men create our own problems by losing our mind. We convince ourselves, "I have to have her."

 

*True. And yet they still couldn’t stop this train wreck.*

 

Isn't that how it usually works? If you try and force someone not to do something, the odds are you are going to push them towards it more. They have to be the one who makes the decision.

 

*Can you imagine his family when they get the news at the end?*

 

I'm sure his mom will rake herself over the coals the rest of her life.

 

*Funny, I didn’t find her tough to please. I got the impression that all she wanted was to go away and be with Steve; but he was being difficult about that instead of going with the flow of it.*

 

 

 

 

I thought Anna was telling Steve one thing but wanting another. There was just something off about her. Steve can't get her out his system yet he wants to. They always fight. Over what? What is their beef? They were married, so they did commit to one another. What ended it?

 

*When he threw in the idea of the heist, I think that was a monkey wrench for her and then it became about the money.*

 

So can a person be about one thing all the time and then all of a sudden just toss that belief out the window for a big score? Was Anna's telling Steve about her needing to watch out for herself and her damning the idea of love was all a new belief with her? Or was this the real her, the one Steve has fought with for years, the one who caused Steve to flee? Money is often a good polygraph for who a person really is, inside. I think the real Anna showed up.

 

*That reminds me...I've got to re-visit "Decoy."*

 

Now that girl ain't hiding a darn thing!

 

*Ha! What femme fatale is. Her outburst certainly felt tacked on to me...her jawing on and on about the money and how they’re both different, felt like it came from left-field. Nothing earlier in her character gave me any indication she was a money-hungry vamp.*

 

I agree. But, like I said, something felt phony about Anna before she swallowed the truth serum of money. I believe she was attracted to Steve and most likely in love with him but she also knew he couldn't provide her with the money and lifestyle she wanted.

 

*I think she came to want more than Steve in the end. Earlier she was just wanting Steve. Maybe if his family and Ramirez didn’t interfere... ( “get outta town you...you...” *

 

You could be very right about that. Maybe their wires are also crisscrossed, because Steve thinks she married Slim (Dan Duryea) because of...

 

 

I absolutely love the ending. I think it's one of the best in all of film noir. Film noir endings are so doggone poetic.

 

[JackFavell]

It doesn't hurt that Duryea got the last line. He's so darn good at that type of irony.

[FrankGrimes]

Good afternoon, Little Red Buick -- *She's governed by her capricious nature - and she thinks Steve has rejected her - he hurt her. She can't leave it alone - her first thoughts are to run AWAY from Steve, to his least favorite person. "I'll show him!" On some level she wants to hurt him. And I think on some level, Steve wants to be hurt.*

 

Oooohhh, I really like that! I believe what you say to be very true. Anna's marrying Slim was her way of hurting Steve. It ends up hurting her, too.

 

*Maybe I didn't mean "the next thing"... maybe I meant she wanted "more". I think they were alike in one way - they both wanted MORE - he wanted more of her, and she wanted more FROM him, a life with the money and for him to be more sensible.*

 

Oh, no! I agree with that, too! What you wrote is perfect. Steve just wants Anna, that's all there is to it. He's crazy about her. There's a lot of lust involved, as CineMaven mentioned. I love how you say Anna is wanting more FROM him. That's right on. Anna isn't content with just Steve, she needs Steve with things. Things she knows Steve can't provide or is unwilling to provide. Steve just needs Anna.

 

*Yes, even though we see that Burt loves her more than she loves him, he is not being selfless at all. He wants her.... perhaps because she is just out of his reach? Maybe he is the one who wants what he cannot, should not have.*

 

 

Awful! Just awful! More agreement from me. Steve wants Anna a certain way, not how she really is. It kills him that she can't be the way he wants her. The same with Anna. She wants Steve a certain way, a way he isn't. It's a very classic tale of man and woman and the complications of wanting different things from each.

 

[JackFavell]

Your screencaps are killing me! Not only are they so appropriate, but Burt is amazingly gorgeous in them.

 

"Go, Don't Go..." I loved the way he said that - you really capture his expression there. That's hard to do when capping sometimes.

 

Even worse is that you and I seem to be on the same page.

[FrankGrimes]

*Your screencaps are killing me! Not only are they so appropriate, but Burt is amazingly gorgeous in them.*

 

I need to post more Yvonne!

 

*"Go, Don't Go..." I loved the way he said that - you really capture his expression there. That's hard to do when capping sometimes.*

 

But I failed! Anna is the one who says, "Go. Don't go." Steve is the one asking if he should go. Anna is kind of defeated, at that moment. But those mixed signals remain prevalent... with both.

 

*Even worse is that you and I seem to be on the same page.*

 

I don't know how that happened! It must be your fault.

 

*They both have a masochistic streak I think, when it comes to each other.*

 

I believe so. Steve speaks of this since it's his tale... and tail. And her tail! Ahhhh, Anna.

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Here is the great divide between man and woman, I think. Their wants are different. Maybe men have just as much want, but it's grounded and earthy, somehow.*

 

We want one thing! Our ego is a big problem. We want what we want. If we want a girl, we need to have her or our ego takes a beating. And once we have a girl, we don't want to lose her unless we want to lose her. It's all about our ego. Women are more complicated. Women want a man to provide. Even the most modern of women want a man to provide. It's just it may not be money and material things like the past, it may be other things, such as emotional support and encouragement.

 

Where we run into problems is the levels we set our needs at. We also lose sight of the difference between needs and wants. We get greedy. We complicate love. We make it unimportant. Yet we still say we need it. Do we? Anna seems to be more true today than ever before.

 

*I get the idea that in some noirs, the roles are reversed. There is something feminine in Steve's wants, masculine in Anna's wants. Steve's are romantic, and Anna's are practical.*

 

Precisely. Film noir is mostly about male longing. They are male fairy tales. In some ways, *Criss Cross* is a film noir "*Wuthering Heights*."