jimimac71 wrote: ↑May 7th, 2023, 1:29 pm I wish Eddie was on TCM more than just Noir Alley.
I look forward to seeing previews and the like for Noir Alley.
Not that anyone from TCM ever comes to this forum for clues BUT don't mess with Noir Alley.
Don't remove it from the schedule ever, unless Eddie says so.
Eddie Muller's intro and outro for GIANT (which the sweetie and I recently saw on Watch TCM) were fantastic!
The sweetie thought that Eddie seemed to fawn over James Dean the way that Ben Mankiewicz fawns over Steven Spielberg, but I was fine with that.
I don't care what you say, I'm not going to pull your finger.
First things first. Wendell wearing white socks with a business suit. That should be a deal breaker right there.
Maybe Barbara didn't care, but I'll bet Joanie would have walked away in a huff or maybe a minute and
a huff. Things start out okay with the drunk scene and then Wendell and Barbara start fooling around. There
was a little bit of a drag in the middle of the picture because it seems like just another story about infidelity.
Let's get on to more homicidal business, like bumping off Auntie Em. Then the trial where Wendell slow walks
the prosecution. I noticed that in the trial after the defense says it won't put Thelma on the stand Wendell argues
for a while about that, the judge decides against him and then suddenly the defense stars its closing argument.
Doesn't the prosecution have the fist crack at a closing argument. Anyhow, Thelma gets off and goes back to
Tony. Of course that make Wendell angry. I found it hard to tell which one Thelma wanted to stay with. I figured
it would be whoever she thought she could get the most out of. Of course one can never account for the vagaries
of human behavior, but I just didn't buy Thel having a sudden case of remorse or maybe disgust and sticking that
cig lighter into Tony's puss and causing the car crash. But whatever. Had to feel a little sorry for Wendell as he
lost it all, maybe even his wife. Speaking of his wife, I thought she was just as pretty as Thelma, but then Thelma
didn't have a super annoying father. Pretty solid flick, but it doesn't hold up that well on repeated viewings
Andree wrote: ↑May 7th, 2023, 6:25 pm
...but I just didn't buy Thelma having a sudden case of remorse or maybe disgust and sticking that
cig lighter into Tony's puss and causing the car crash.
To me, this had the Production Code requirements of the time written all over it.
I also vaguely remember watching this film years ago but couldn't remember much of it or how it ended, however I had a feeling as I watched this scene unfold that Thelma and Tony would have to meet this fate and because of the Code, and so lessening any sort of surprise that it happened and making it seemed forced.
(...and re Stanwyck's death scene...her lack of any facial burns and/or contusions after the fiery and violent car cash, reminded me a lot of how Lizabeth Scott looked on her hospital deathbed in the film 'Dead Reckoning'...didn't buy this notion in either movie)
kingrat wrote: ↑May 7th, 2023, 3:09 pm
I remembered liking The File on Thelma Jordon, and it was even better than I remembered. Wendell Corey has his best role ever, ideally cast as the basically good and smart but weak deputy D.A., and he actually carries the film, with Stanwyck ideal as the woman he falls for.
Paul Kelly (whose sordid personal history Eddie Muller mentioned in the outro) is great as the tough investigator, and Eddie opined that Stanley Ridges as the ace criminal defense lawyer has the best scene in the film, as he carefully outlines for Thelma what each of them can and cannot say. Very well-written scene. Perhaps it isn't surprising that screenwriter Ketti Frings would go on to win a Pulitzer for her stage adaptation of Look Homeward, Angel.
Agree. It was better than I remembered it being, too. I don't think I've seen it in 20 yrs or more. Barbara was great as always as was Wendell Corey. Very effective photography and lighting (or lack thereof!) Ridges also very good as the shifty lawyer. Thought the final scene with Barbara was heartbreaking. My only complaint about the film was the emerald necklace. If that was the reason for the theft WHY was it left in a pot on the porch??? They don't even show the necklace being found. It's only in a throwaway line at the trial that we hear it was found. I hope Thelma turns up again on the schedule. It deserves to be seen more.
jimimac71 wrote: ↑May 7th, 2023, 3:34 pm
I just looked up Noir Alley on TCM.
I’m getting a birthday present (July 22) of Julie.
I’m guessing there is no other Julie but the Doris Day movie.
I wonder if Love Me Or Leave Me will turn up at some point? Just as noirish as Party Girl (which has already been shown)
Storm Warning could be considered also.
Last edited by Hibi on May 8th, 2023, 2:49 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Andree wrote: ↑May 7th, 2023, 6:25 pm
...but I just didn't buy Thelma having a sudden case of remorse or maybe disgust and sticking that
cig lighter into Tony's puss and causing the car crash.
To me, this had the Production Code requirements of the time written all over it.
I also vaguely remember watching this film years ago but couldn't remember much of it or how it ended, however I had a feeling as I watched this scene unfold that Thelma and Tony would have to meet this fate and because of the Code, and so lessening any sort of surprise that it happened and making it seemed forced.
(...and re Stanwyck's death scene...her lack of any facial burns and/or contusions after the fiery and violent car cash, reminded me a lot of how Lizabeth Scott looked on her hospital deathbed in the film 'Dead Reckoning'...didn't buy this notion in either movie)
Well, if her face was all burned up, doubt she would've been able to talk/confess at the end!
Hibi wrote: ↑May 8th, 2023, 12:45 pm
Well, if her face was all burned up, doubt she would've been able to talk/confess at the end!
True, IF her face had been "ALL burned up". However, the lack of ANY burns or contusions to her face just makes the scene a bit harder to believe, wouldn't you admit, Hibi?
Although I will now admit that at least Babs' face while lying there dying seemed to feature no makeup at all in order to affect the idea of physical trauma, and at least didn't look perfectly made up like Lizabeth's face did when she died in 'Dead Reckoning'.
(...and which looked like she had just left Max Factor's salon after the full glamour treatment)
Dargo wrote: ↑May 8th, 2023, 1:21 pm
Although I will now admit that at least Babs' face while lying there dying seemed to feature no makeup at all in order to affect the idea of physical trauma
If you'd ever had the misfortune to see my mother's face without makeup, you'd know what trauma really is.
Hibi wrote: ↑May 8th, 2023, 12:45 pm
Well, if her face was all burned up, doubt she would've been able to talk/confess at the end!
True, IF her face had been "ALL burned up". However, the lack of ANY burns or contusions to her face just makes the scene a bit harder to believe, wouldn't you admit, Hibi?
Although I will now admit that at least Babs' face while lying there dying seemed to feature no makeup at all in order to affect the idea of physical trauma, and at least didn't look perfectly made up like Lizabeth's face did when she died in 'Dead Reckoning'.
(...and which looked like she had just left Max Factor's salon after the full glamour treatment)
Dargo wrote: ↑May 8th, 2023, 1:21 pm
Although I will now admit that at least Babs' face while lying there dying seemed to feature no makeup at all in order to affect the idea of physical trauma
If you'd ever had the misfortune to see my mother's face without makeup, you'd know what trauma really is.
Dargo wrote: ↑May 8th, 2023, 1:21 pm
Although I will now admit that at least Babs' face while lying there dying seemed to feature no makeup at all in order to affect the idea of physical trauma
If you'd ever had the misfortune to see my mother's face without makeup, you'd know what trauma really is.
LOL
Funny line here Intrepid, but then again and in your mother's defense, I'm thinkin' there probably aren't a whole lot of "natural beauties" in the world, generally speaking.
(...nope, and not even...wait for it...Salome Jens!!!)
To me, this had the Production Code requirements of the time written all over it.
I also vaguely remember watching this film years ago but couldn't remember much of it or how it ended, however I had a feeling as I watched this scene unfold that Thelma and Tony would have to meet this fate and because of the Code, and so lessening any sort of surprise that it happened and making it seemed forced.
(...and re Stanwyck's death scene...her lack of any facial burns and/or contusions after the fiery and violent car cash, reminded me a lot of how Lizabeth Scott looked on her hospital deathbed in the film 'Dead Reckoning'...didn't buy this notion in either movie)
No doubt that was a big factor. She had to be punished, though they gave her a brief death scene, maybe to soften things up a bit.
Anytime someone is riding in a car toward the end of a noir flick I suspect the worst. Yeah, you can't expect the big stars to scar
up like regular folks, can you?
The last time I saw this one was on YT a few years ago. In general it's pretty good, but for some reason I need a few years of
absence before watching it again.
