The Silver Screen Oasis

Robinson, fine actor that he was, isn't always or even usually considered
a major noir icon--despite appearing in a strong string of noir thrillers
during the 40s and 50s.
The murky and moody Delmer Daves film THE RED HOUSE (1945)
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Orson Welles' classic THE STRANGER (1946)
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The John Huston gangster film KEY LARGO (1948)
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and the remake of 1947's "Fear in the Night" NIGHTMARE (1956)
from none other than...Cornell Woolrich!
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My favorite Robinson noir is THE NIGHT HAS A THOUSAND EYES, again
from the poison pen of Cornell Woolrich. But alas, nothing on YouTube!

ChiO, House of Strangers is indeed a masterpiece of suspicion, betrayal and mind-rattling tension.
Just out of curiosity, and not to sidetrack any discussion of HoS, but have you ever caught the Old West remake of this movie? It's called Broken Lance, and stars Spencer Tracy, Richard Widmark & Robert Wagner; though it doesn't retain very much of the original's noir flavor & texture, it is a fast-paced character study with solid performances, and a surprisingly dark finish.

RE: Robinson; I must have meant to say my favorite EGR noir
after SCARLET STREET and WOMAN IN THE WINDOW.
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Morning, Boss!
Hey, remember that glitzy blonde with that magic act you interviewed last year?
Well, she's workin' some clubs downtown now, and wait'll you catch her new song & trix act!
Check it out!
(It's in the middle of the embed below, sort of . . )

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How well I remember that night, Lefty. I always felt bad about making
you wait in the car. Anyhow, I thought you might also remember the
kid's sister. She came around a time or two.
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Hey, Gang!
Lefty here; if you've all been wonderin' just why the ol' HoN had been all locked-up & dark for the past 5 days, well, now I can give ya the answer!
Seems we had ourselves a big ol' electrical problem.
And in case you're also scratchin' yer noggin 'bout how come them high-paid power lineman didn't get it fixed any faster for us, well, I can tell ya, it's 'cause they're all caught up with their personal problems!
Think I'm kiddin'?
Here's the proof:

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{Ya know, that short lineman with the froggy face looks familiar to me . . . didn't he used to gumshoe for a big insurance outfit? Hmmmm . . }

Course, we also had us a doozy of telephone breakdown as well, but once we connected with that Ma Bell splicer over at 711 Oceanside Drive, we got that unsnarled toute suite!

Hey, Boss, don't let that sneaky Lefty snow ya..he went on a 4 day bender, and never showed up till this morning, and me standin around in that pourdown rain we had all week. Heard he was wit that blonde dame, looks kinda like Babs Stanwyck, lives in a joint over on Shore Drive. She throwed him over for a tall drink of water that works for some insurance comp'ny AND I heard she's married to some stiff who's tight with the dough. That Lefty's got some imagination...
Moe

Thanks for the dope on Lefty, Moe. And thanks too for the great
surveillance video on our boy. I think we've got him where we
want him!
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knitwit45 wrote:Hey, Boss, don't let that sneaky Lefty snow ya..he went on a 4 day bender, and never showed up till this morning . . That Lefty's got some imagination...
Moe

Yeah, like the way I keep makin' believe that you're an old friend of mine, someone I can count on . .
Ya know, Moe, ya should be more careful, 'cause some of the guys around here who wind-up listenin' to you rattle on about that kinda stuff might not find you as endlessly entertaining as I do, and ya just might end-up gettin' airborne under one of them windsor knots yer always hawkin' . . when I'm not around to watch out fer ya!
Speakin' o' which . . ya got anything in a super-slim silk, maybe a hi-tone green, with a wildlife crest? Got me a weekend gig down off Baja, tiltin' Scotch for this Sicilan deportee on his yacht; Dewey's OK'd it, even paid for a night before & after for me at this swanky resort down there called Morro's Lodge . . ever heard of it?

yeah, I had a gig there as a maid, it's pretty posh. You need somethin less flash, a nice brown or black silk will do ya better.
If ya get a chance, catch Lenore's act in the lounge. She's pretty good. Taught her everything she knows.....

And hey, I'm sorry I ratted on you. I was pretty sore, standin in the rain every morning, waiting for you to show up and let me in.....these old bones just cant take it anymore....

Tonight, at our retrospective of great B noir films, I WAKE UP DREAMING
at the Roxie in San Francisco, we'll be presenting a 35mm print of the
1951 poverty row gem, THE HOODLUM starring the incomparable
Lawrence Tiernery! For those of you who won't be making that last
minute flight to SF, here's the film in its entirety, compliments of YouTube!
Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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Part 4
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Part 5
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Part 6
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Part 7
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Part 8
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Part 9
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Part 10
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This is my favorite performance by my second-favorite Brooklyn actor (HEY!!! -- Where are those Timothy Carey movies anyways? Oh...he must be an A-movie kinda guy.). I'm about to finish a pint of bourbon to be prepared. And I won't be turning my suede jacket inside-out to show its pink lining.

Here's a little post-classic noir era action with Ralph Nelson's Once a Thief (1965). Not a perfect film, but some great actors and I think perhaps Ann Margarets' best performance on film. The embedding is disabled, so you'll have to hit the link for this one:

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Well, if we're going to be celebrating the minimalist wonders of Alain Delon's acting, let's go for Le Samouraï (1967), director Jean-Pierre Melville's study of a true loner, that begins below:

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As the decompression phase of my film noir extravaganza in San
Francisco sets in, it is time to relax at the House of Noir with a
double dose of early 50s TV NOIR...

GANGBUSTERS “The Durable Mike Malloy Case” (1952)
Part One:
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Part Two:
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Part Three:
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DRAGNET “The Big Phone Call” (1952)
Part One:
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Part Two:
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Part Three:
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