Noir Alley

[Hibi]

Check Arthur out in THE CIRCUS OF DR. LAO -- nothing inconsequential about him there, plus he's got a delightful scene with a particularly talkative snake. Fine, versatile actor (BUS STOP, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, PICNIC, etc.) but he just gives me the willies!

I'll bet there are certain actors/actresses that give YOU the willies -- come on, spill it! (maybe not here in Noir but Musings.)

Funny you mentioning this today, as I discovered one (an actor that is) who kind'a gave me the willies while I watched a poor attempt at what seemed a sex comedy last night on TCM during this month's Gloria Grahame SOTM presentations.

The film was 'Blonde Fever' (1944), but no, I'm not talkin' about she who would apply her lipstick WAY over her upper lip line here.(and somethin' I seem to always fixate on in every closeup shot of her and in every movie she was ever in)

Nope, I'm talkin' about THIS guy here...

Philip Dorn

Ya see, not only was he playin' a creep of a philandering husband (to Mary Astor) in this thing and which of course doesn't endear himself to the audence to begin with, AND not only was the Dutch-born American actor pretty much one-note throughout this thing, but while watchin' this turkey of a film it suddenly dawned on me the creepy vibes this guy gives off, generally speaking, and yep, even thinking back to when he played Irene Dunne's husband in 'I Remember Mama'.

(...and so there's one for ya here, Bronxie)

I recorded that as I'd never seen that film or heard of it. I'm always distracted when actresses wear lipstick beyond their lipline. That happened in Experiment in Terror w/Lee Remick's close up in the garage in the beginning. I'm always drawn to that and don't focus on what's going on in the scene.

Gloria had this fixation about her lips and would stick cotton in the front of her mouth to give her a more pouty look! I imagine if she were young and working today, she'd be getting collagen injections in her lips.

[Dargo]

Check Arthur out in THE CIRCUS OF DR. LAO -- nothing inconsequential about him there, plus he's got a delightful scene with a particularly talkative snake. Fine, versatile actor (BUS STOP, ANATOMY OF A MURDER, PICNIC, etc.) but he just gives me the willies!

I'll bet there are certain actors/actresses that give YOU the willies -- come on, spill it! (maybe not here in Noir but Musings.)

Funny you mentioning this today, as I discovered one (an actor that is) who kind'a gave me the willies while I watched a poor attempt at what seemed a sex comedy last night on TCM during this month's Gloria Grahame SOTM presentations.

The film was 'Blonde Fever' (1944), but no, I'm not talkin' about she who would apply her lipstick WAY over her upper lip line here.(and somethin' I seem to always fixate on in every closeup shot of her and in every movie she was ever in)

Nope, I'm talkin' about THIS guy here...

Philip Dorn

Ya see, not only was he playin' a creep of a philandering husband (to Mary Astor) in this thing and which of course doesn't endear himself to the audence to begin with, AND not only was the Dutch-born American actor pretty much one-note throughout this thing, but while watchin' this turkey of a film it suddenly dawned on me the creepy vibes this guy gives off, generally speaking, and yep, even thinking back to when he played Irene Dunne's husband in 'I Remember Mama'.

(...and so there's one for ya here, Bronxie)

I recorded that as I'd never seen that film or heard of it. I'm always distracted when actresses wear lipstick beyond their lipline. That happened in Experiment in Terror w/Lee Remick's close up in the garage in the beginning. I'm always drawn to that and don't focus on what's going on in the scene.

Gloria had this fixation about her lips and would stick cotton in the front of her mouth to give her a more pouty look! I imagine if she were young and working today, she'd be getting collagen injections in her lips.

Yep, and in fact if you watch your recording of this movie (and one as you probably read in my previous post I categorized as a "turkey" and so don't expect much from it...and one I thought the best thing about it was that young Marshall Thompson rides around on a period Harley-Davidson motorcycle...me being an avid classic motorcycle buff ya know...AH, but I digress...LOL) you'll then see host Alicia Malone in her outro for this turkey commenting on Gloria's obsession about her upper lip and the lengths she went to in order to "correct" it.

[Hibi]

LOL! Thanks for the heads up!

[Bronxgirl48]

Hibi -- I agree about Lee Remick's lip liner -- almost as shocking as the scene itself.

Dargo -- I know the "creep factor" viewers might feel for a particular performer is highly subjective yet I must strenuously object (but respectfully, lol) with your loathing of Philip Dorn in I REMEMBER MAMA. He gives off such warmth as Papa! I wanted him to be my father. I love Lars and Martha's (Irene Dunne) loving husband-and-wife relationship, so supportive and filled with pride for each other....

[Bronxgirl48]

I saw Eddie's promo for Kitty Feral and sort of hope he was being tongue in cheek saying early exposure to film noir was basically beneficial to kids as they would learn "not to trust adults".

Sadly I suppose in this particularly hellish day and age Muller has a point yet I can't help but feel children should be able to retain their innocent and un-cynical view of the world at least until puberty, lol.

[txfilmfan]

I saw Eddie's promo for Kitty Feral and sort of hope he was being tongue in cheek saying early exposure to film noir was basically beneficial to kids as they would learn "not to trust adults".

Sadly I suppose in this particularly hellish day and age Muller has a point yet I can't help but feel children should be able to retain their innocent and un-cynical view of the world at least until puberty, lol.

Just echoing that baby boomer mantra of never trusting anyone over 30, I suppose...

[Bronxgirl48]

As a boomer myself though I never held that view, lol.

[jamesjazzguitar]

This week's Noir Alley is Cry Terror (1958); many fine actors in this film like James Mason, Inger Stevens, with Ron Steiger being his animated self (as well as Neville Brand).

MOVIES-TV has been showing this every other week or so.

[Andree]

Eduardo has merchandise to move as part of his rather tiresome noir shtick. Please make a purchase.

[Bronxgirl48]

Don't know exactly what I expected from CRY TERROR! on my first viewing this morning, but I found the whole thing a tremendous let-down. Jumps right into the story with no build-up of true suspense; James Mason is wasted, Rod Steiger as the fastidious villain only barely maintained my interest, Inger Stevens went overboard with hysteria although I did like and appreciate that frantic car drive and her effective voice-overs, as though she was warming up for the classic, frightening Twilight Zone episode "The Hitchhiker". Neville Brand delivers his usual fine "brand" of menace. Overall I really thought this was a slog.

[ElCid]

I enjoyed Cry Terror and thought it well laid out as far as scenes and sequencing. Much of it was a little far-fetched and Eddie alluded to that in the intro. But hey, it's a movie. The only slow part or drags I felt was during Inger Stevens wrong way turn drive. Guess it was supposed to add suspense, but seems overdone to me. Ironic that she went out of the way and back again and still got there by 1:32. Rod Steiger obviously built in some time loss as he made it basically in much shorter time.
Stevens was featured in an episode of Route 66 and did it very well. Good early presentation of Angie Dickinson. Eddie mentioned that the next year or two she was in Rio Bravo. One of the few John Wayne movies that I actually like and Dickinson was excellent in it -far, far, far better than Ricky Nelson. Policewoman was an interesting series, but most of the plots featured Dickinson getting into trouble and then the guys have to rescue her.
Mason's whole going down the elevator shaft and leaving his daughter alone with "the killers" really did not make sense, especially since he did not really accomplish much. But I guess it did get him into the hallway for when the FBI showed up.
Speaking of FBI, I thought Kenneth Tobey did a credible job - and no monsters were involved.
Being owned by several cats, I agreed with Eddie's view that cats are the perfect Noir animal.

[Hibi]

Hibi -- I agree about Lee Remick's lip liner -- almost as shocking as the scene itself.


LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Dargo -- I know the "creep factor" viewers might feel for a particular performer is highly subjective yet I must strenuously object (but respectfully, lol) with your loathing of Philip Dorn in I REMEMBER MAMA. He gives off such warmth as Papa! I wanted him to be my father. I love Lars and Martha's (Irene Dunne) loving husband-and-wife relationship, so supportive and filled with pride for each other....

I agree with you there.

[Hibi]

I had seen Cry Terror before, but not in a long while. Although the premise is highly implausible, if you disregard that and just run with it, it's a very gripping story with some very suspenseful sequences. Poor Inger Stevens. I remember how shocking it was when she died. But if you knew about her life it seemed inevitable at some point. I wish I had read the bio about her published years ago. It's long out of print. She never quite made it to A list but she was a very good actress.

To my surprise the book has been reprinted and is on sale at Amazon again! I'm going to get a copy there or on ebay.

[Andree]

I thought this was an above average entry in the kidnapping hostages to pull off a different crime genre.
I knew from the moment that Eddie called Steiger's character a criminal mastermind that things would
end badly for him. Also that when he went down on the subway tracks after Inger, only one of them would
come out alive and it wouldn't be Rod. It was also fun to see Inger stab Neville Brand in the gut, not only
eliminating him as a predator but also putting a stop to his endless what I did in prison stories. Then there
was the comic situation of James Mason being jacked up and down every time somebody got in the elevator.
Last and least, the premature Twilight Zone cast reunion. I give this one a B.

[Dargo]

...Last and least, the premature Twilight Zone cast reunion. I give this one a B.

Other than Inger and Klugman, were there any others in this film who'd go on to be featured in Serling's program?

(...a question submitted for your approval here, of course)

I do remember Mason and Dickinson starring together in an episode of "The 'Alfred Hitchcock Hour' at one point, anyway.