Noir Alley

[cigarjoe]

13 hours ago, JamesJazGuitar said:

I assume what you don't believe is true is "Eddie has shown all the Noir films from the US that are available to him.".

If that is the case I agree:    there are many noirs from Fox,  Universal,  Columbia and Paramount that TCM should be able to lease.    So this could be another case of TCM not willing to spend the money to lease outside of the Turner library of films.     There there are the independents,  like United Artist, etc.. as you noted.

 

 

Just grabbing your attention James, did you or your Issei or Nisei side of the family members see Cruel Gun Story or any Japanese Noir for that matter?

[JamesJazGuitar]

2 hours ago, cigarjoe said:

Just grabbing your attention James, did you or your Issei or Nisei side of the family members see Cruel Gun Story or any Japanese Noir for that matter?

I called my mom Saturday morning and told her TCM was showing a  Japanese film.    Yesterday I went to lunch and  asked her if she viewed the film.   She said  she started to but the film was too weird for her and it was late so she only watched the first 15 minutes or so.    She had never heard of the film since she was living in the USA when it was released.

So well,  her lost!

 

 

[Hibi]

19 hours ago, JamesJazGuitar said:

I assume what you don't believe is true is "Eddie has shown all the Noir films from the US that are available to him.".

If that is the case I agree:    there are many noirs from Fox,  Universal,  Columbia and Paramount that TCM should be able to lease.    So this could be another case of TCM not willing to spend the money to lease outside of the Turner library of films.     There there are the independents,  like United Artist, etc.. as you noted.

 

 

Yes, on both counts.

[Vautrin]

On a peripheral  note,  I was watching  an episode of Burke's Law on YT a few days ago. There was a scene  in an  art gallery and  what should

appear on the wall but one of those  godawful "paintings" from  Scarlet Street, the one of  the giant snake  in the subway or the el.  Someone hung

onto  that horror for  twenty years.  Talk about cheap. 

[JamesJazGuitar]

2 hours ago, Vautrin said:

On a peripheral  note,  I was watching  an episode of Burke's Law on YT a few days ago. There was a scene  in an  art gallery and  what should

appear on the wall but one of those  godawful "paintings" from  Scarlet Street, the one of  the giant snake  in the subway or the el.  Someone hung

onto  that horror for  twenty years.  Talk about cheap. 

They were able to hoodwink Arron Spelling and sell the paintings to him.     I saw these paintings on Charlie Angel's.

 

[Dargo]

8 hours ago, JamesJazGuitar said:

I called my mom Saturday morning and told her TCM was showing a  Japanese film.    Yesterday I went to lunch and  asked her if she viewed the film.   She said  she started to but the film was too weird for her and it was late so she only watched the first 15 minutes or so.    She had never heard of the film since she was living in the USA when it was released.

So well,  her lost!

 

 

Like CJ, I also thought of you and your mom as I watched Eddie's latest offering, James.

And so thanks for responding to his query.

(...and re your mom only lasting the first 15 minutes of the movie...I have to say and in her defense, I didn't think the film really took off and didn't garner my full attention until about 20 minutes into it)

[Vautrin]

3 hours ago, JamesJazGuitar said:

They were able to hoodwink Arron Spelling and sell the paintings to him.     I saw these paintings on Charlie Angel's.

 

Apparently so. You'd  think by the time of Charlie's Angels he would have a bigger budget and have something  better than

those monstrosities.  

[JamesJazGuitar]

12 hours ago, Vautrin said:

Apparently so. You'd  think by the time of Charlie's Angels he would have a bigger budget and have something  better than

those monstrosities.  

Spelling got his career started as an actor in noir films like Vicky (which I watched last night on MOVIES-TV).     When he made it big as a producer he purchased such items so he would have a tie to that era.

 

[Vautrin]

5 hours ago, JamesJazGuitar said:

Spelling got his career started as an actor in noir films like Vicky (which I watched last night on MOVIES-TV).     When he made it big as a producer he purchased such items so he would have a tie to that era.

 

So for sentimental reasons. That makes sense. I  saw him on an episode of Gunsmoke where he played a rather puny sad sack. 

[Dargo]

37 minutes ago, Vautrin said:

So for sentimental reasons. That makes sense. I  saw him on an episode of Gunsmoke where he played a rather puny sad sack. 

Isn't that one of the reasons he quit acting and went into producing in the first place?

(...being typecast and after SO many years of wanting to play the romantic lead?)

[Vautrin]

5 hours ago, Dargo said:

Isn't that one of the reasons he quit acting and went into producing in the first place?

(...being typecast and after SO many years of wanting to play the romantic lead?)

I don't  know why he decided  to quit  acting  and  go into producing. It was certainly a smart career move.

After  all, not everybody  can be Cary Grant. 

[Dargo]

3 hours ago, Vautrin said:

I don't  know why he decided  to quit  acting  and  go into producing. It was certainly a smart career move.

After  all, not everybody  can be Cary Grant. 

OR for that matter Grant Carey.

(...a guy I went to school with and who all the girls thought was a real hunk...always wondered what he had that I didn't...betcha the rat bastard is fat and bald now days, boy...yeah, serves him right for takin' away the attentions of that foxy Debbie Connors from me like that...and not only that, but...but...oops, sorry, got carried away for a second there, didn't I) 

[NoShear]

35 minutes ago, Dargo said:

OR for that matter Grant Carey.

(...a guy I went to school with and who all the girls thought was a real hunk...always wondered what he had that I didn't...betcha the rat bastard is fat and bald now days, boy...yeah, serves him right for takin' away the attentions of that foxy Debbie Connors from me like that...and not only that, but...but...oops, sorry, got carried away for a second there, didn't I) 

 All those "Debbie"s, Dargo...

[Vautrin]

38 minutes ago, Dargo said:

OR for that matter Grant Carey.

(...a guy I went to school with and who all the girls thought was a real hunk...always wondered what he had that I didn't...betcha the rat bastard is fat and bald now days, boy...yeah, serves him right for takin' away the attentions of that foxy Debbie Connors from me like that...and not only that, but...but...oops, sorry, got carried away for a second there, didn't I) 

Chill, dude. Why I'll bet that Debbie  went from a 10 to a 3.  OTOH.....🤠

[King Rat]

5 hours ago, Dargo said:

OR for that matter Grant Carey.

(...a guy I went to school with and who all the girls thought was a real hunk...always wondered what he had that I didn't...betcha the rat bastard is fat and bald now days, boy...yeah, serves him right for takin' away the attentions of that foxy Debbie Connors from me like that...and not only that, but...but...oops, sorry, got carried away for a second there, didn't I) 

Dargo, I'm pretty confident that all the cute girls and good-looking guys in my high school class have gained 100 pounds and voted for Donald Trump. You know, it's kind of like how I always wanted to look as good as Robert Redford and now that he's in his mid-eighties, maybe I do.

[Thompson]

Well, speaking for myself, I completely avoid the mirror except to shave every week.  Even then I don’t look into the eyes.  I like myself okay but I don’t like the reflection in the mirror.  I took a selfie on the phone the other day and it turned into a video and it was just heart wrenching to watch the video.  Nobody can look that bad.  Nobody can be that disgusting looking.  I like myself okay but Lord.

 

[cigarjoe]

53 minutes ago, Thompson said:

Well, speaking for myself, I completely avoid the mirror except to shave every week.  Even then I don’t look into the eyes.  I like myself okay but I don’t like the reflection in the mirror.  I took a selfie on the phone the other day and it turned into a video and it was just heart wrenching to watch the video.  Nobody can look that bad.  Nobody can be that disgusting looking.  I like myself okay but Lord.

 

You could be a great Noir character.

 

[lilypond]

I'm very glad you like yourself, THOMPSON.   Wish you liked something about your reflection too.  I'm sure there's much about it to like as well.  You mention it being heart-wrenching to see, and 'disgusting'--  that kind of stopped me and hurt my heart too, that that is your reaction.

I don't know you, but I find something very appealing about you-- that you are capable of a kind of unflinching honesty that is rare to encounter.

This is sort of clunkily earnest and 'social worker-esque',  instead of wittily reassuring like CIGARJOE's priceless response.   Anyway, keep liking yourself,  THOMPSON.    Cheers. 

 

 

 

 

[mr6666]

 

[jameselliot]

Blast of Silence creator/actor Allen Baron had a strong resemblance to George C. Scott in some angles. The tremendous on-location shooting--guerilla cinematography at Christmas time-- gives the movie a nervous, twitchy edge. Only negative for me was Lionel Stander's nails-on-a blackboard voice as Baron's inner voice.  Interesting casting is a plus. The fat gun dealer Larry Tucker is disgusting and lives in a hovel. Eddie declared Blast a favorite Christmas noir.
 

 

[midwestan]

16 hours ago, Thompson said:

Well, speaking for myself, I completely avoid the mirror except to shave every week.  Even then I don’t look into the eyes.  I like myself okay but I don’t like the reflection in the mirror.  I took a selfie on the phone the other day and it turned into a video and it was just heart wrenching to watch the video.  Nobody can look that bad.  Nobody can be that disgusting looking.  I like myself okay but Lord.

 

You could do what I did a couple of years ago...put down the fork and pick up a pair of dumbbells!  After my weight got to the point where it looked like an interstate by-pass number, I thought it best to change things up for me.  I began working out with weights at home, and while progress has been slow at times, I think it's paying dividends.  I've got more muscle on me now than I've ever had, but since I had relatively little to begin with, that's not saying much!  I've only dropped about 30 pounds from my frame, but some of my shirts are tighter on me because my arms and shoulders got bigger.  Getting rid of the excess around my midsection has not been as easy, but I still keep plugging away and work out 4-5 times per week.  I came to my personal fitness journey very late in life.  I just turned 63 last month, but if I can do it, anybody can.  Don't give up on yourself!  👍🏻🎄

[Katie_G]

 Eddie's favorite Christmas movie. lol  A man after my own heart.   Nice in that it doesn't take 100 million to entertain everyone.  I did like Ralphie the rat man and the singer/bongo player.    The main guy/director probably made a good decision in hiring that narrator who even sounded a little like Peter Falk.  I think there's a reason he didn't do it himself or even had many lines of dialogue.   

 

"December 25th. You have all of Christmas Day to kill. You hate Christmas so much you can't stand the thought of sweating it out alone in a crummy hotel room."

"The railroad company makes sure you know it's Christmas. It gives you the creeps."

"When the Better Business Bureau rings the Christmas bell, the suckers forget there's such a business as murder."

[midwestan]

"Blast of Silence" was quite a departure from lots of films, not just in the noir or neo-noir genre.  Very little dialogue took place, and it's really a shame Lionel Stander didn't get a screen credit for his narration.  He's got such a distinctive voice.  Eddie explained why Stander didn't get the credit for his work though, and the explanation of how Allen Baron was able to score the film equipment to make this picture was fascinating.   Not just on Noir Alley, but the wrap-arounds TCM does for the films it shows are enlightening, no matter how familiar they seem to the loyal fans of the network.

[laffite]

The Hallmark Channel should air Blast of Silence as part as their Christmas fare. That should shake up a few souls.

[Janet0312]

This is Eddie's favorite Christmas noir??? I hope I'm not in the minority, but I though this picture sucked. I did enjoy the on location shooting. The story itself was okay, but the acting was horrible and the narration had me in stitches. It gave me the feeling of waking up to a very bad day.