Noir Alley

[jamesjazzguitar]

James I would be surprised Clark would be taller than Smith,her height was a problem at Warners most the leading men were 5'7, Smith was close to 5'10 or5'11,I watched about 30 movies with Dane Clark I always noticed he was diminutive, probably 5'6, nothing higher. On the internet it says more but it was probably studio pub, he is using the same tricks they used for Alan Ladd.Even the hairdo helped him to look taller

Yes, Smith was VERY tall. I think they may have been using the Alan Ladd equalizing method!

Clark most likely wore lifts also.

Clark likely wore lifts when he went to his doctor which is why he is listed as just over 5.8 instead of his actual height of 5.6!

[Cinemaspeak59]

Just got around to watching Two O’Clock Courage. Enjoyable, and they packed a decent amount of story in a little over an hour.

[laffite]

Eve Arden seems to have wandered in from some other WB film in Whiplash. Her part could've been easily edited out. She provides the link to Dane going to the nightclub to discover Smith singing there, but that's about all in the film's plot. She disappears from the film right after only to show up near the very end again.

But we might say that Eve provided that proverbial comic relief to which this story might have deemed to need? But you're right, she was not around much. Pity.

One could also argue she threw off the noir mood of the film, though I did enjoy her brief scenes. Arden knew how to deliver those type of lines in her sleep!

Yes, that's true and a good point to make here. In fact, I don't believe that comic relief is a regular convention of noir. Good catch.

[jamesjazzguitar]

This week's Noir Alley is the Warner Bros. film Deception (1946), starring Bette Davis, Claude Rains and Paul Herreid. These 3 WB contract players are at their best in this somewhat noir film. Claude Rains is at his sly evil best self here and dominates all the scenes he is in. He doesn't overshadow Davis (who could), but part of the plot is how he dominates all that is around him, and we see this in the acting as well.

One visual that stands out is the Davis\Herreid apartment with those slanted windows.

[jamesjazzguitar]

Noir fans might want to check out tonight's showing of BORDER INCIDENT, which has some dark moments even for an Anthony Mann film. I don't know if Eddie has shown this on Noir Alley, but it as clearly noir as TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE isn't.

James Mitchell isn't the first actor who comes to mind to play a bracero, but he makes it very clear that his character has fallen in love with Ricardo Montalban. Who wouldn't? There's an extremely romantic shot of the two men looking at each other against the backdrop of the plaza of the little town. Mitchell tries to warn Montalban against going to the dangerous ranch, then goes there himself when Montalban insists on going.

Border Incident is a fine film and one that still has a solid political theme, especially here in CA. I.e. not much has changed over 75 years later.

At first, I read your comment of "has some dark moments even for an Anthony Mann film.", as implying that Mann's films don't have many dark moments. So, I did a quick review of Mann's film, and realized you meant that Border Incident has some serious dark moments, even more so than other Mann noir films like T-Men, Desperate, and Raw Deal. Yes, the treatment of Mexican workers could be viewed as sadistic. Border Incident would be the last noir type film Mann would direct, before he took on mostly westerns.

How Mann and Jimmy Stewart worked together, expanding Stewart's range as an actor and screen persona with dark moments in westerns is, of course, legendary.

[Hibi]

Noir fans might want to check out tonight's showing of BORDER INCIDENT, which has some dark moments even for an Anthony Mann film. I don't know if Eddie has shown this on Noir Alley, but it as clearly noir as TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE isn't.

James Mitchell isn't the first actor who comes to mind to play a bracero, but he makes it very clear that his character has fallen in love with Ricardo Montalban. Who wouldn't? There's an extremely romantic shot of the two men looking at each other against the backdrop of the plaza of the little town. Mitchell tries to warn Montalban against going to the dangerous ranch, then goes there himself when Montalban insists on going.

I'm pretty sure he did. A year or so ago.

[jamesjazzguitar]

Noir fans might want to check out tonight's showing of BORDER INCIDENT, which has some dark moments even for an Anthony Mann film. I don't know if Eddie has shown this on Noir Alley, but it as clearly noir as TWO O'CLOCK COURAGE isn't.

James Mitchell isn't the first actor who comes to mind to play a bracero, but he makes it very clear that his character has fallen in love with Ricardo Montalban. Who wouldn't? There's an extremely romantic shot of the two men looking at each other against the backdrop of the plaza of the little town. Mitchell tries to warn Montalban against going to the dangerous ranch, then goes there himself when Montalban insists on going.

I'm pretty sure he did. A year or so ago.

You're correct but time does fly. (it was over 3 years ago).

[Hibi]

Wow. That long? I remember because that was the first time for me watching that film (Though it's on often, just didn't appeal to me).but I ended up liking it a lot!

[Hibi]

Yes it was. Still gross by today's standards.

[laffite]

When it Rains, it pours

I think "campy" is for the most part a derogatory term, at least being attributing to Rains here. If you're the Queen of Camp or something like that, A-okay. Rain's performance here is so good it's hard to find the words. Yes, he acts with a certain flourish, as in that incomparable scene at the dinner table. He may correspond to what one might think as an unlikable character, but IMO he is a thoroughly delightful character from a dramatic point of view. My favorite Rains.

And Davis and Henreid were superb. Davis is perfect as one coming round and speaking truth, being direct when she has to, both to Henreid and Rains. Stanwyck would not be up of this. Oh, she could pull it off as a general rule, but not like this. Yet if she had played the role we might like it absent the comparison.

I was patting myself on the back for noting right off that the Haydn Cello Concerto was being played and that the cadenza was wildly inappropriate for Haydn. Then this pipsqueak of a music writer for a newspaper stole my thunder. He remind me a bit of Snooky Lanson.

[laffite]

When it Rains, it pours

I think "campy" is for the most part a derogatory term, at least being attributing to Rains here. If you're the Queen of Camp or something like that, A-okay. Rain's performance here is so good it's hard to find the words. Yes, he acts with a certain flourish, as in that incomparable scene at the dinner table. He may correspond to what one might think as an unlikable character, but IMO he is a thoroughly delightful character from a dramatic point of view. My favorite Rains.

And Davis and Henreid were superb. Davis is perfect as one coming round and speaking truth, being direct when she has to, both to Henreid and Rains. Stanwyck would not be up of this. Oh, she could pull it off as a general rule, but not like this. Yet if she had played the role we might like it absent the comparison.

I was patting myself on the back for noting right off that the Haydn Cello Concerto was being played and that the cadenza was wildly inappropriate for Haydn. Then this pipsqueak of a music writer for a newspaper stole my thunder. He remind me a bit of Snooky Lanson.

You realize you get extra points for references to Snooky Lanson?

Yes, points for the town geezer.