The use of light and shadows was first rate in Hummingbird. Like in Hummingbird, in If I Should Die a flashlight is also used to good effect, but also the moon. The bottom line for me was that while each of the choices made by the first-rate crew that made these films could be consider minor and one could say "well, I've seen that used in other films", the sum of these small parts ends up being stunning.kingrat wrote: ↑June 9th, 2024, 1:58 pm One of the many beautiful moments was the shot in Hummingbird of the blind Aunt Rosa and her niece Maria listening to the men upstairs. The camera is shooting up at their faces, which are bathed in light, as the women listen intently to figure out what is going on upstairs.
And yes, the house in the first film displayed not merely wealth, but immaculate good taste.
Noir Alley
- jamesjazzguitar
- Posts: 875
- Joined: November 14th, 2022, 2:43 pm
Re: Noir Alley
- Allhallowsday
- Posts: 1644
- Joined: November 17th, 2022, 6:19 pm
Re: Noir Alley
And I watched quite a bit of both... but I have no Spanish and the subtitles would've been great 30years ago... I kept going back because of how they looked. Dreamy, and ominous.cmovieviewer wrote: ↑June 3rd, 2024, 12:32 pm ...Never Open That Door (1952)
ttps://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184782/
and
If I Should Die Before I Wake (1952)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0184901/
Re: Noir Alley
I had to go away for the wknd and had to miss Noir Alley last wknd, but I recorded it. I'll need to catch up on these two! Were they from the same director?
- jamesjazzguitar
- Posts: 875
- Joined: November 14th, 2022, 2:43 pm
Re: Noir Alley
The first one is two separate stories, and yes all have the same director, Carlos Hugo Christensen.
Re: Noir Alley
Thanks.jamesjazzguitar wrote: ↑June 10th, 2024, 9:34 amThe first one is two separate stories, and yes all have the same director, Carlos Hugo Christensen.
Re: Noir Alley
The first film was a bit like two episodes of AHP, though above average episodes
but with the usual trick ending and with nice visual touches. I didn't feel like
staying up late for the second film, so I watched it Sunday morning. For the most
part serial killers don't wait three or four years between killings, though it happens.
It also had an interesting subplot about puppy love that takes away some of the
gloom.
but with the usual trick ending and with nice visual touches. I didn't feel like
staying up late for the second film, so I watched it Sunday morning. For the most
part serial killers don't wait three or four years between killings, though it happens.
It also had an interesting subplot about puppy love that takes away some of the
gloom.
Every man has a right to an umbrella.~Dostoyevsky
- LostHorizons
- Posts: 586
- Joined: October 22nd, 2022, 4:37 pm
Re: Noir Alley
Never open that door
The first episode was like a really lame version of the Twilight Zone with a stupid ending. The ending doesn’t really make sense and isn’t deep. My initial thought was actually that it was a separate guy who was also working with this gambler and the gambler just happened to use the same five rings phone call with him. The second episode was a bit better but didn’t save it. 4/10
The first episode was like a really lame version of the Twilight Zone with a stupid ending. The ending doesn’t really make sense and isn’t deep. My initial thought was actually that it was a separate guy who was also working with this gambler and the gambler just happened to use the same five rings phone call with him. The second episode was a bit better but didn’t save it. 4/10
- cmovieviewer
- Posts: 226
- Joined: October 24th, 2022, 9:21 pm
Re: Noir Alley
This weekend's Noir Alley feature is Call Northside 777 (1948), with Jimmy Stewart, Richard Conte, and Lee J. Cobb. As a Fox film, it is not shown on TCM very often - the last time was in 2017. It will also be a premiere showing for Noir Alley:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040202/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0040202/
- cmovieviewer
- Posts: 226
- Joined: October 24th, 2022, 9:21 pm
Re: Noir Alley
I enjoyed Call Northside 777 very much, especially the on-location cinematography and the pathos of the mother seeking justice for her son.
Re: Noir Alley
Yes, I thought of 1970s films like Serpico and Prince of the City which deal much more directly with police corruption. Call Northside 777 raises the subject but then backs away from it. According to Eddie Muller, Henry Fonda turned down the lead in Call Northside 777 for Daisy Kenyon. Though Eddie doesn't mention it, Fonda gets only third billing in Daisy Kenyon, below Joan Crawford and Dana Andrews. Perhaps he was attracted by the role of the veteran with what we would now call PTSD.
Because Helen Walker is so memorable as the amoral psychiatrist in Nightmare Alley, it's interesting to see her play a loving wife just as convincingly. Betty Garde, who had been the original Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!, is totally committed to the dark side as the lying witness Wanda Skutnik. What a great name that is! I was simply blown away by Jane Crowley as the alcoholic who rats out Wanda to James Stewart. "She shouldna throwed bricks at me." Per imdb, Jane Crowley often worked as an extra in movies. Here she gets a character name, Anna Felczak, and delivers a great, utterly real moment.
Richard Conte as the wrongly convicted prisoner gets one of those supporting roles that probably made the original audience want to see more of him. He is equally good as hero or as villain. There are plenty of good character actors in the film, Lee J. Cobb and John McIntire to name only two, and we got to see the inventor of the lie detector, Leonarde Keeler, playing himself. The location photography and the state-of-the-art gadgets are additional pluses.
Because Helen Walker is so memorable as the amoral psychiatrist in Nightmare Alley, it's interesting to see her play a loving wife just as convincingly. Betty Garde, who had been the original Aunt Eller in Oklahoma!, is totally committed to the dark side as the lying witness Wanda Skutnik. What a great name that is! I was simply blown away by Jane Crowley as the alcoholic who rats out Wanda to James Stewart. "She shouldna throwed bricks at me." Per imdb, Jane Crowley often worked as an extra in movies. Here she gets a character name, Anna Felczak, and delivers a great, utterly real moment.
Richard Conte as the wrongly convicted prisoner gets one of those supporting roles that probably made the original audience want to see more of him. He is equally good as hero or as villain. There are plenty of good character actors in the film, Lee J. Cobb and John McIntire to name only two, and we got to see the inventor of the lie detector, Leonarde Keeler, playing himself. The location photography and the state-of-the-art gadgets are additional pluses.
- Bronxgirl48
- Posts: 1908
- Joined: May 1st, 2009, 2:06 am
Re: Noir Alley
"Wanda Skutnik" eventually wound up in prison two years later. (CAGED) The great Betty Garde!
- Bronxgirl48
- Posts: 1908
- Joined: May 1st, 2009, 2:06 am
Re: Noir Alley
Was momentarily startled to see E.G. Marshall (his role lasted about 10 seconds tops) as Conte's ex-wife's second husband.
At least he was fully dressed.
At least he was fully dressed.
- cmovieviewer
- Posts: 226
- Joined: October 24th, 2022, 9:21 pm
Re: Noir Alley
It was surprising to see E.G. Marshall in such a minor role. IMDB says this was only his 4th film appearance, with 3 of those (including this one) being uncredited.Bronxgirl48 wrote: ↑Yesterday, 6:18 pm Was momentarily startled to see E.G. Marshall (his role lasted about 10 seconds tops) as Conte's ex-wife's second husband.
https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0550855/
Re: Noir Alley
I hadn't seen 777 in several years. Solid flick with an interesting plot, though
there are occasional longueurs. The whole scene of Conte's lie detector test
went on too long for me. A minor point. And Lee. J. Cobb made it through the
entire film without having a nervous breakdown. Bravo. I think the cops should
keep an eye on E.G. When they find out what the perv is up to they'll drop a
Comstock charge on the little bastardo before he can take his socks off.
there are occasional longueurs. The whole scene of Conte's lie detector test
went on too long for me. A minor point. And Lee. J. Cobb made it through the
entire film without having a nervous breakdown. Bravo. I think the cops should
keep an eye on E.G. When they find out what the perv is up to they'll drop a
Comstock charge on the little bastardo before he can take his socks off.
Every man has a right to an umbrella.~Dostoyevsky