HOUSE OF NOIR

[Ollie]

(One comment about BEWITCHED. I really liked the so-called Special Effects - the 'spirits' rising up out of the body. Just plain ol' overlays, but it's a quite well-done effect. This probably wasn't a high-budget film but when I see well-done effects, it makes me question other films with obviously larger budgets who achieve so much less.)

[MissGoddess]

And John Hodiak is just the perfect snake that sneaks up on his prey. Even the seduction of her is well-constructed. He holds out the apple, he tells her what will happen, she turns away and then comes back after feeling like her marriage pushes her back to him.

And Murphy The Mouse proves to be perfectly cast. On his hind legs, he presents a formidable challenge to Hodiak who, like all predators, never want to risk any injury, always preferring the easiest prey of all with zero effort - like, get the wife to run away with him - he won't even have to fight for her!

Hi Ollie! Now see, I thought Hodiak (or the filmakers and the actor together) brought
out something more interesting than just the typical "predator". He was a wrong guy,
no doubt, but much was introduced by exposition on his background, but, more
importantly, there were moments when Hodiak's expression of longing, of all that he'd
missed (been robbed of?) and longed for was in his eyes. I could even argue that, in a
way, he appreciated Anne's value and worth more than her husband (temporarily)
did. This is what I found so interesting. He is NOT just looking for another
sexual conquest. Perhaps I read too much into it, but why else did Oboler choose
to hold the camera in such an objective way on Hodiak when talked seriously to
Anne---and hold reflectively on Anne's own warm reactions?

[MissGoddess]

(One comment about BEWITCHED. I really liked the so-called Special Effects - the 'spirits' rising up out of the body. Just plain ol' overlays, but it's a quite well-done effect. This probably wasn't a high-budget film but when I see well-done effects, it makes me question other films with obviously larger budgets who achieve so much less.)

I agree, I thought it all exceptionally well done, including the emotional but
intelligent script.

[MissGoddess]

So THAT's how it is, ey? Guess I've got to see this movie that wins you over. I saw "Cry Havoc" a coupla weeks ago, and was fascinated by one of the actresses in there. In the mix with Blondell and Sothern and Marsha and Sullavan (and my favorite) Ella Raines, there was an actress that really caught my attention: FRANCES GIFFORD.

Ha! I knew I'd get caught! Rest assured, Miss Davis' and Mr Wyler's crowns
are VERY secure from any threat by Mr. Oboler or Miss Gifford. I just meant that
emotionally---almost hypnotically---I was pulled into this story more than I am
the others. Or rather, in a more subjective way. The Letter is the superior film,
I don't deny that.

How is that for backpeddaling? But if it gets you to watch TAA, then I'm OK with that.

[Ollie]

..there were moments when Hodiak's expression of longing, of all that he'd
missed (been robbed of?)

You're absolutely right. I've forgotten those moments where we see that he really wanted to belong to the groups of good people who'd visit his clubs, but obviously felt like he was being sucked into the dark side. And that Anne (Frances Gifford) was a ticket to true happiness. Yet he compartmentalized the actual murder and compartmentalized away the frame-up job he'd pulled on her. He was telling himself, "Those are OK, once I get what I want - Anne - those will be long forgotten..."

But you're right - this made him an atypical expression of a bad-guy. He didn't want to be. He wanted to be a lot more, and not just some crime kingpin. I agree that he probably saw Anne in her longings and needs, more accurately in that short-term than George Murphy.

Murphy's "being wrong" is done so well. He's a wuss of a guy, physically, matched up with this knock-out beauty. A boy who idolizes him (of course) but pays him fleeting attention when work calls. And gives his wife even less attention. And when he finally does...

If Murphy had been just about any other actor, bigger, more virile looking - the whole Worm Turns Scene and its aftermath - would never have worked as well. This is where I congratulate the casting choice - far-sighted and it helps the story. I doubt if it helped the box-office, though. Still, all these decades later, this is a most memorable film to me.

Hodiak, so capable of a sinister look, is also able to show us that needy, unsure, wanting side, too. Just a great set of faces were cast for this film. Anne's always saying to herself, "I should be happy with this life. I've got it all - everything any woman should ask for... but still..."

[MissGoddess]

Possible spoilers....

He was telling himself, "Those are OK, once I get what I want - Anne - those will be long forgotten..."

Right. And he kept making the comparison between her, Anne, and the
other kinds of women he'd known (like the actress). Unfortunately, he
couldn't really look in the mirror.

Murphy's "being wrong" is done so well. He's a wuss of a guy, physically, matched up with this knock-out beauty. A boy who idolizes him (of course) but pays him fleeting attention when work calls. And gives his wife even less attention. And when he finally does...

Murphy is surprisingly good. Very normal, very typical and therefore beleivable.
Anne says they were "Childhood sweethearts" doesn't she? Or am I confusing
this movie with BEWITCHED?

I thought the scene between Murphy and Hodiak was great, because we are
expecting a "showdown" which turns into a "shut down". And Murphy even
admits as much afterward: "I didn't kill him. I didn't even hit him. I just
listened."

Anne's always saying to herself, "I should be happy with this life. I've got it all - everything any woman should ask for... but still..."
She was definitely very conflicted, which seems at odds with this, her most interesting exchange with Hodiak: "I've never been hurt before. I guess I'm not used to it---but you know what it's like to be hurt." To me, she played the character like someone who had been hurt, plenty; there was a real sadness in her character. Not the placid, somewhat unemotional quality many who've been very sheltered have. Like I said, very conflictive.

[CineMaven]

"Ha! I knew I'd get caught! Rest assured, Miss Davis' and Mr Wyler's crowns are VERY secure from any threat by Mr. Oboler or Miss Gifford. I just meant that emotionally---almost hypnotically---I was pulled into this story more than I am the others. Or rather, in a more subjective way. The Letter is the superior film, I don't deny that." - Mis Goddess.

I get it that some films are classics and some films catch our hearts. Happens to me all the time.

Ever since I saw "Cry Havoc" I've been wondering how I can see more of Frances Gifford. Can you tell me where I can get a copy of "The Arnelo Affair"?? Thanx!

[klondike]

Hey, Boss - Lefty here!
Didja hear that our old buddy Bill Bendix is getting showcased on TCM? Three flicks worth of him, no less!
Must be true, 'cause Moira told me, and she's one classy dame . . er, lady, I mean . .
Anyway, here the sort of fun ya might be missin' if ya don't tune in . . .

[youtube][/youtube]

[knitwit45]

Hey, Boss, Moe checking in. Just wondered if you could tell me the name of the cop at the end of this interesting little noir, that calls the Donatello a piece of junk? He was a great character actor, and his name just escapes me. I might need to put the squeeze on him later, um, I mean add him to my list of contacts He looks like he could buy a couple of ties.....



The Dark Corner
[youtube][/youtube]

[Dewey1960]

This coming Saturday, May 2 TCM will be airing CROSSFIRE, the harsh
1947 RKO noir that took for its theme the issue of anti Semitism among a
group of soldiers at the end of the War. Mitchum and Young are the heroes
here, but it’s Ryan who owns this picture—lock, stock and barrel. (Although
Gloria Grahame and Paul Kelly stand out in oddly eccentric character roles.)
Here’s the original overly-revealing trailer:
[youtube][/youtube]
And now the first ten minutes of the film:
[youtube][/youtube]
Any other fans of this penetrating film?

[ChiO]

The three Bobs, two of whom are among my four favorite actors...and another B-for Brooks who provided the story...count me in. Further evidence that Robert Ryan is THE great actor of his generation.

[Dewey1960]

of which ChiO said: Further evidence that Robert Ryan is THE great
actor of his generation.
And yet further...Ryan's bravura performance from Nicholas Ray's
ON DANGEROUS GROUND--among the most terrifying depictions ever
of a good man gone bad. Only a director like Ray would have guts
and the heart to bring him back.
[youtube][/youtube]

[klondike]

Don't ya just hate it when dying men grab the tablecloth on the way down, and ruin the whole meal for everyone?!!

[youtube][/youtube]

Intrigued to see what happens next?
I know I am! Go check out Moira's new thread about the "Laughton / Lorre" treats that start tomorrow night (Monday, 5/4) on TCM!
Can't stay up with the hoot owls, or get up before the chickens?
Do what I do, and set that VCR!

[CineMaven]

THE ARNELO AFFAIR
John Hodiak, George Murphy, Eve Arden and FRANCES GIFFORD.

I came by ”The Arnelo Affair” on the back of a glossy big-budgeted, M-G-M, war-time drama: “Cry Havoc.” There was one actor who stood out among veterans Bainter, Blondell and Sothern and newbies like Ella Raines. Her name was FRANCES GIFFORD and she hit me with a wallop.

So, doing an IMDB search on her, seeing a trailer for the movie and reading Board members’ posts on it, I knew I had to see it. I did.

I loved it.

Let me get this out of the way for the first of many times I might mention this: I found Frances Gifford stunningly beautiful in this film. Oh, I don’t mean in the blinding way of Hedy, Gene and Vivien. Or in the glam queen mode of that triumvirate of pin-up of Ava-Lana-Rita. Gifford is beautiful in a down-to-earth, approachable, easy kind of way. If she arched her eyebrows and dropped her voice a register, she’d be a hard-boiled dame. But as she presents herself in this movie, she’s beautiful.

Now I know…you go for the story and plot and cinematography and composition and mise-en-scene and deus ex machina of it all. Me too but here, it took me a while to get passed Frances Gifford before I could look at the rest of the elements; as it is, I'll probably have to see the movie again. But I did…finally; and found a nicely woven plot.

“The Arnelo Affair” (I like the title) is simple enough. A married woman is implicated in a murder she did not commit. You’re smart…movie savvy. You’ve seen this ilk before and can probably figure it alllllll out. But there’s wonderful performances in this drama, starting and hinging on Frances Gifford. She's where the emotional investment lies (I see now what you're saying Miss Goddess about Bette in "The Letter.")

Look, I can’t write with the structured disciplined essayistic style of Molly H. or Pauline K., so I’ll just do it the CineMaven way.

The movie’s initially constructed as a flashback with the distraught Gifford in Hodiak’s car. I don’t know if I was really crazy about the use of voice-overs in this. I usually don’t mind it, but here I guess I just wanted the story to unfold on its own. Admittedly for me, the music is kind of way over the top throughout the proceedings with foreboding and repetitive echoes of what already has happened. It practically hit me over the head. I get it. I get it: Hodiak is a Bad Guy. And yes, he apparently goes to Zachary’s Scott barber, but he’s not quite as oily. Hodiak’s Tony Arnelo is really not all bad. He puts a different, more sensitive spin to the Bad Guy who wants what he wants. Upon meeting Gifford for the first time he is literally thunderstruck by her.

He offers her a job interior decorating his place (her hobby as her husband puts it). She declines but he’s gently insistent. Her husband, played by the wooden-headed, ex-hoofer George Murphy has his head buried in his briefs. I’d say ”neat trick” but that’s his LEGAL briefs (Nyuk! Nyuk!). Hodiak is very clear; he wants to get to know her.

And Gifford is fairly starving for attention. (By God George, is you crazy?) She makes conjugal overtures but her gestures go unanswered and absent-mindedly rebuffed by workaholic Murphy. Was love rationed too? Hodiak is handsome, virile and attentive. What’s not to like?

Gifford’s the one to watch because she’s the one who struggles with her emotions, her sense of place. Yup, she’s a wife and a mom. But she has the talent for interior decorating and doesn’t use it. She could “lunch” but her friend is Eve Arden who is a designer and working woman. (Perhaps Gifford worked with Arden b4 she married Woody Woodpecker??)

When we first see Gifford, she’s waltzing with her son before a night out on the town as part of a foursome including the always wonderful Eve Arden. Gifford’s scenes with her son, played by young Dean Stockwell, were very cute and believable. You just know he had the prettiest, wholesomely sexiest Mom in his third grade class. He and her are pals, but she’s still a Mom. I’ve always found Dean Stockwell one of the most natural child actors of 1940’s Hollywood. I love seeing boys and moms. Gifford is all dolled up and ready to go, but hubby Murphy cancels the evening for work. Sharp-tongued and eagle-eyed Arden sees all; she sees Gifford’s disappointment and Hodiak’s interest.

Gifford vacillates about going to see Arnelo (Hodiak) or not. She gives in, walking to his nightclub, but then runs away, quick fast and in a hurry. Runs away from herself. Another rebuff from husband Murphy sends Gifford back over to Hodiak. She looks very stylish and sophisticated in her turban. He’s polite and attentive. “You have a sweet smile.” He feeds her a grape. Wow, I have to confess...that got me. A grape. I thought it was a very sexy inviting tempting gesture; something kind of Garden of Eden about it except the snake hits on Eve not Adam. He sees she’s skittish but he keeps pitching. He talks about his Mom and as any guy should know…you talk lovingly about your mom and you most surely will score. We see Gifford melting a bit. He says: “She never liked any of the others I’d brought over. She’d like you. You’re what she’s been telling me about.” <SIGH!> Oh he’s a charmer alright; soft, quiet, wooing. When he sees she’s succumbing, he escorts OUT. Huh?! Yep…out. He gives her a key to his place…for next time. Oh yeah, the dude’s a playa!

Frustrated and dangerously close to falling, Gifford tries again to appeal to Murphy. She flat out states she wants him to take her away. But noooooooooooo, control-freak Murphy wants to tinker with a toy plane or play Mr. Fix-It or work work work. I say he leaves her no choice but to see her attraction for Hodiak to its fruition. Who can blame the girl?

Gifford goes back to Hodiak’s. The camera follows her footsteps up the stairs, the voice-over’s voicing, the music’s kicking, we see her reservation but she uses the key.

Eve Arden is her usual Eve Arden-self. She’s a career woman and a viper. She sees Hodiak sniffing around Gifford and calls him “the man with the four-alarm eyes.” She does her usual thing with the witticisms and the one-liners and sometimes I do wish they’d give Eve a part she can sink her teeth into without all that. But then I’d miss her take on lines like: “You know Ann, just give me a plate of bacon and eggs, a full pocketbook, a chinchilla coat and a man and I’m happy. I’m such a simple girl.” How can I give that up?

I’m not really into clothes (in real life or reel life). My favorite movie outfit was Dorothy Malone’s plaid shirt and peddle pushers in “Written on the Wind” or that black smoking jacket Hepburn wore in “Woman of the Year.” But I have to say the outfits Gifford, Arden and the Other Woman wore in this little films were FIERCE! Sharp, masculine, tailored. Fashionistas out there…watch this movie; hats, shoulder pads, nice.

But mainly I hope you see this little “B” film for the twists and turns it takes with plot and character. Soft-spoken Hodiak has Gifford in his cross-hairs. He’s gangsta but he sees something good and clean and wants it. No he doesn’t earn it…but wants it all the same. That's why his decision surprises me.

And Gifford’s pain is heart-wrenching. The guilt almost kills her. The plot puts her through the wringer. I find her very believable. She has a presence, a stillness. I believe her. I believe her fear and trepidation. I believe her playfulness and longing. “The Unfaithful” “The Letter” touches on a married woman straying. And we already knows a woman pays a harsher penalty for infidelity. But the emotional impact is stronger here because of the way Frances Gifford plays her and the way Hodiak “plays” her.

If you check this out, http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0317519/bio, you will see a mini-biography on Gifford. I’m not sure why her career didn’t really take off becuz I really thought she had a presence. Her life took a sad turn but I hope she is someone you will look out for. And “The Arnelo Affair” is definitely worth viewing.

[knitwit45]

CM, her role inOur Vines have Tender Grapes (1945) is where I first met her, and she is so lovely and determined and unwilling to change. If you've never seen the movie, be sure to make time for it, it's well worth it.