Noir Films

[JackFavell]

I love hearing Marsha Hunt speak! She always seems so on the ball, really aware of what she was living through, and she's pretty sassy. Plus she has that thrilling voice and a sense of humor. Thanks for posting, she's a great favorite of mine in interviews.

[CineMaven]

She's lovely. Isn't she one of your girls from "Pride and Prejudice"? I liked her in "The Human Comedy" and especially in "Cry Havoc."

...Oh and what she said about fear and politics is certainly applicable today.

[CineMaven]

"OUT OF THE PAST"



Steve Hayes gives his review of the great classic film noir starring Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas...and Jane Greer.

[MichiganJ]

For some inexplicable reason I had a hankering to see a Diana Dors film so watched the British noir from Hammer, Man Bait (1952). Dors is quite good as the girl-gone-bad, who works at a bookstore. (Unfortunately nobody comes in looking for a rare Ben-Hur.) Intrigue, blackmail, murder are all handled well by director Terrence Fisher, and years before he'd direct many of the best of Hammer's horrors, Fisher provides a wonderful scare, that had me jump. Some clunky diologue, with lots of exposition, didn't bother me in the least from enjoying this low budget noir.

[RedRiver]

Mr. Fischer directed the atmospheric BRIDES OF DRACULA, a better than average vampire film that was on this weekend.

[Rita Hayworth]

Mr. Fischer directed the atmospheric BRIDES OF DRACULA, a better than average vampire film that was on this weekend.

I know it was one ... but my cable station that carries it ... both sound and visual images of that channel stinks and I did not watch it at all. But, I do remember watching it on other channels and this movie "BRIDES OF DRACULA" ... by Mr. Fischer is one of the better vampires movies around. The channel that I have called ME TV ... and I don't watch it all ... because of the sound and picture quality.

[RedRiver]

My signal is terrible too. ME TV is a low tech channel.

[MissGoddess]

For some inexplicable reason I had a hankering to see a Diana Dors film so watched the British noir from Hammer, Man Bait (1952). Dors is quite good as the girl-gone-bad, who works at a bookstore. (Unfortunately nobody comes in looking for a rare Ben-Hur.) Intrigue, blackmail, murder are all handled well by director Terrence Fisher, and years before he'd direct many of the best of Hammer's horrors, Fisher provides a wonderful scare, that had me jump. Some clunky diologue, with lots of exposition, didn't bother me in the least from enjoying this low budget noir.

I watched this last week for the first time, too, and I thought it was pretty good. I like Diana, she looked so young yet so comfortable before the camera.

[CineMaven]

Looks like I've got to check with my Texas connection to get my hot little hands on "MAN BAIT" judging by your comments and this trailer. Whoa, look at Georgie.

[charliechaplinfan]

I'm never sure what constitutes a noir and I'm sure that we all have slightly different opinions, anyhow afficiandos, guide me, I've seen two films recently that I'd class as Noir, A Bullet For Joey with Edward G Robinson as the good cop and George Raft as the rogue. Today I watched The Burglar with Dan Duryea and Jayne Mansfield, to me these are noir films especially the later movie.

For me Noir films are mostly black and white, have villans that almost always have a redeeming feature although there might also be villans who are out an out ruthless in these type if films there is often a rogue type too, gone off the tracks but redeemable in some way. They usually have a femme fatale who none of the characters can resist for very long. Do we have a thread dedicated to reviewing Noir films like the ones we have for other movies? I'm never quite sure were to write them up, I wrote this on the What Films Have You Seen Lately about A Bullet For Joey

A Bullet For Joey is a reteaming of Edward G Robinson and George Raft, together again after a rather stormy relationship on the set of Manpower. A noirish thriller, Edward G is the cop and Raft is the underworld figure brought back to Canada after being exiled to Lisbon, his wish is to get back home to the States, he rounds up his gang and goes after a Dr Macklin played by Joe Dolenz, Peter Van Eyck is the paymaster behind the crime. The fun is the reteaming of the two studio tough guys although they only get to act together towards the end, the story twists and turns and has Audrey Totter as the femme fatal. A good noir storyline that doesn't lag at all.

I really enjoyed The Burglar, my first Jayne Mansfield movie and so fresh she looks, very different from what I'd imagined, I like Dan Duryea, he reminds me of Richard Widmark but not as dangerous, Martha Vickers played the other femme fatale. The location work was superb, especially at the amusement park, the plot had a very good twist and the whole feel of the movie went from seedy and disreputable to quite bright and airy, at the same moment as the feelings towards the gang changed, I wanted so much for them to get away with what they'd done.

Perhaps that is another sign of a good noir film that if the rogue has a redeeming quality or a humane reason for what he's done we want the rogues to get away with it and don't care too much about the police.

[ChiO]

I'm never sure what constitutes a noir and I'm sure that we all have slightly different opinions, anyhow afficiandos, guide me

Take a gander at the "What Constitutes Noir" thread started four years ago, then resurrected about a year ago. Also, the freewheeling "Bogart Noir on TCM 8/17" thread from a year ago. You aren't sure what constitutes noir? Guess, what...you're not the only one. I, of course, know exactly what constitutes Noir. It's just that I change my mind each week.

Do we have a thread dedicated to reviewing Noir films like the ones we have for other movies?

Yes. And here it is.

For me, A BULLET FOR JOEY may be the victim of heightened expectations. With Robinson, Raft and Totter on the screen, and Daniel Mainwaring and A.I Bezzerides (two of the best ever to toil in Noir) providing the words, I expected great things, but this movie doesn't move me. Of director Lewis Allen's Noir output, I prefer CHICAGO DEADLINE (1949), APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER (1951), SUDDENLY (1954) and ILLEGAL (1955 -- with Robinson and Mansfield!)

THE BURGLAR -- love that one. MissG got off to a wonderful start on a thread devoted to it two months ago.

[JackFavell]

I liked The Burglar, but didn't love it. However, Dan Duryea was magnificent. Jayne Mansfield was fresh and lovely, very good, and as you say different from the expected. I'm trying to remember why it wasn't as good to me as it should be, I think I was very annoyed by the music.

[charliechaplinfan]

The music was somewhat dominating, I loved it though, I'm particularly partial to films shot on location.

I love the stars of A Bullet For Joey, I don't think I'd be half as bothered if it wasn't Robinson, Raft and Audrey Totter.

I know where to bring my noir movie reviews now and I guess the definition of noir is that if one person thinks it's a noir movie it deserves a review on this thread.

[kingrat]

DEAD RECKONING (1947, John Cromwell) is a classic noir, with all the expected elements. Good acting and directing, notable cinematography from Leo Tover. TCM showed it as part of an evening devoted to noirs which use flashbacks. Humphrey Bogart runs into a church to escape some bad guys, then tells his story to a priest. At one point, however, he leaves, and the film then continues to the end in present time. Very neatly done. The cut from the priest in bright light to Lizabeth Scott in bright light is a great touch. But is she as trustworthy as the priest?

Capt. Rip Murdoch has managed to get the Congressional Medal of Honor for his brave wartime buddy Johnny (William Prince), but Johnny disappears when he finds out about this; he'd enlisted under a false name. Rip traces him to Gulf City, "Tropical Paradise of the South" and finds the woman Johnny loved: Coral Chandler (Lizabeth), whom Johnny called "Dusty" and Rip calls "Mike." Mike?? At one time the part was intended for Lauren Bacall, which may explain some of this. She's mixed up with a casino owner (Morris Carnovsky) and his sadistic goon (Marvin Miller, who was much nicer when he handed out money on The Millionaire).

The mutual attraction of Rip and "Mike" is front and center, with plenty of time devoted to the twists and turns of the relationship. If you're interested in the way women are portrayed in film noir, Rip has quite a speech where he says he wishes women were four inches tall and you could put them in your pocket until you want them to be full-size again. "Mike" interprets this as meaning that he loves her! Perhaps she's right. Notice toward the very end of the film when Rip switches to calling her "Dusty," then back to "Mike" in the very last scene; another nice touch.

DEAD RECKONING is more violent than most films of the time. Bogart gives one of his best performances, though he has rarely looked less attractive. I found this film very satisfying.

[JackFavell]

OHHH NOOOOO! Not Marvin Miller as a bad guy! I loved the way he handed out J. Beresford Tipton's money with such aplomb.