Noir Alley on TCM

[Hibi]

It started out well, but the middle part really dragged. It became a sort of night club noir. Too many musical numbers! Was Vincent dubbed? I sort of guessed the ending once Lorre was cleared due to the lack of suspects. (And the outside bolt on Dan's door that anyone could unlock. That was strange). But I thought for different reasons than I thought it would be (blacking out). When Vincent came home with her husband's belongings I thought he was already dead. If they had cut 10 mins or so I think it would've been a better film. But one I'm glad I was able to watch.

Constance Dowling was a stunner. Too bad her career didn't pan out. I didn't realize she was the sister of Doris until Eddie mentioned it.

[Hibi]

Saw BLACK ANGEL for the first time last night. Interesting "doubling" aspect of the two married couples. And who doesn't love Dan Duryea? (is the guy who plays that Hollywood columnist the oily salesman whispering to Joe Gillis "as long as the lady is paying, why not take the vicuna?" in SUNSET BOULEVARD?)

Yes, I'm pretty sure it was. I noticed him right away!

[Hibi]

Here is a Cornell Woolrich based film that unfortunately completely changes the entire setup of the novel.

The 1943 novel takes place in New York City, The 1946 film adaptation unfortunately moves everything to Los Angeles. That wipes out the entire searching The Bowery flophouses for "Heartbreak" sequence. Though, interestingly enough Heartbreak shows up in the film as a song on a record.

In the novel the main protagonist is a woman Alberta Murray. The first inkling that something is wrong is when her husband stops calling her by his pet name for her, "Angel Face." Then she finds a solid gold powder compact engraved "To Mia from Marty," in Kirk's overcoat pocket. Kirk tells Alberta that he found it on the street. When the next day it is gone, and she asks about it, Kirk tells her that he took it to a jewelers and left it there when the jeweler told him it was just a gilt metal fake. Suspicious because she noticed a "14 k," Alberta visits the jeweler who tells her Kirk was never there. Alberta now suspects her husband Kirk's infidelity with Mia Mercer, a woman of somewhat loose morals whose real profession is left to the imagination. Woolrich describes a publicity photo of her as a scantily clad "attraction," at a place called Dave Hennessey's The Hermitage. Probably a topless showgirl or a stripper. (In the film the name Mia Mercer is changed to Mavis Marlowe and she is now a nightclub singer).

Alberta, after finding a valise and two of Kirk's suits missing, thinks her husband is going off on a weekend trip with Mia.

Alberta decides to go and do something about it. She sleuths out Mia's address from The Hermitage and goes to confront her in person. Mia lives in a posh apartment that has various pieces of bric-a-brac festooned with her initials MM. When she gets to Mia's apartment building she finds the door to Mia's unlocked and Mia in her bedroom laying on the floor, suffocated to death with a pillow. While the threat to her marriage is now defunct, Mia, worried about any scandal connecting Mia to her husband Kirk, grabs Mia's address / telephone book. Leaving the apartment Alberta notices on the way out, that the front door didn't lock because someone, the murderer, jammed a matchbook with a single letter M on it's cover, into the doors lock mechanism. It prevented the bolt from engaging.

Alberta rushes back to her home and frantically tries to get ahold of her husband at his office, to warn him about going to Mia's. It's already too late. When Kirk gets to Mia's the murder has already been discovered, and he is arrested by the police. Various witness statements place Kirk at Mia's apartment many times.

The trial is quick, Kirk is found guilty, and ever loyal Alberta armed with Mia's address book decides to try and find the real murderer before Kirks execution date. In the address book there are four "M's".

Marty ----- Crestview 6-4824

Mordant ---- Atwater 8-7457

Mason -- Butterfield 9-8019

McKee ---- Columbus 4-0011

So the rest of the novel is about Albert's quest to find the killer and exonerate her husband.

The film switches the action from New York to Los Angeles then of course drops the whole Bowery search, all of Dr. Mordant and the drug dealing angle altogether, and combines alcoholic Marty "Heartbreak" Blair and socialite Ladd Mason into pianist/composer Martin Blair. Alberta and Kirk Murray in the novel, are changed to Catherine and Kirk Bennett. Mavis Marlowe (Mia Mercer in the novel) changes from being a slutty playgirl to a slutty blackmailer aka the Black Angel of the film title) The film also expands a police captains role.

It's too bad they made so many changes to the story. It's no wonder Woolrich hated it!

[Hibi]

Joe, thank you for letting us know about the original novel. You wonder why some of the names were changed. And why was the singer's name pronounced "Mavvis" instead of "Mayvis"? I found BLACK ANGEL pretty enjoyable, with some imaginative camera movement and camera set-ups, thanks to director Roy William Neill and cinematographer Paul Ivano. The story moved along well, and any movie with good parts for Dan Duryea and Peter Lorre is doing something right. Duryea and June Vincent made a good couple as they tried to track down the real killer. Actually, all the acting was strong, with a variety of small but important roles for middle-aged male character actors. I wouldn't have minded a flashback scene or two with Constance Dowling as the bad girl.

SPOILER ALERT: I had wondered if the Wallace Ford character would turn out to be the killer. I did like the twist that was used.

Yes, I liked the ending. A nice twist, but by then I wasn't surprised. Crawford seemed to disappear in the last third of the film. I was curious, too, if Ford had something to do with it (unlocking the door) but they went in another direction about that.

[Dargo]

Did anyone notice the similarity of the opening shot of Duryea looking up at the "Wilshire House" apartment building (and which I believe was an alternate name used for the Gaylord Apartment building that sits along Wilshire Blvd, and which one sees as the film opens) and in which his estranged wife lives, and how the camera's shot as it slowly rolls up the facade of the building and then up to and through the window of the specific apartment in which his wife resides, is so very reminiscent of the opening shot of King Vidor's 1928 silent classic 'The Crowd' ?

[Hibi]

Did anyone notice the similarity of the opening shot of Duryea looking up at the "Wilshire House" apartment building (and which I believe was an alternate name used for the Gaylord Apartment building that sits along Wilshire Blvd, and which one sees as the film opens) and in which his estranged wife lives, and how the camera's shot as it slowly rolls up the facade of the building and then up to and through the window of the specific apartment in which his wife resides, is so very reminiscent of the opening shot of King Vidor's 1928 silent classic 'The Crowd' ?

No, but good work!

[Lorna]

Did anyone notice the similarity of the opening shot of Duryea looking up at the "Wilshire House" apartment building (and which I believe was an alternate name used for the Gaylord Apartment building that sits along Wilshire Blvd, and which one sees as the film opens) and in which his estranged wife lives, and how the camera's shot as it slowly rolls up the facade of the building and then up to and through the window of the specific apartment in which his wife resides, is so very reminiscent of the opening shot of King Vidor's 1928 silent classic 'The Crowd' ?

I NOTICED!!!

(my revu is in I JUST WATCHED)
(Still finding my way around HERE.)

ps- I take a detour ABOUT THAT UGLYASS BROOCH THO

[Dargo]

Did anyone notice the similarity of the opening shot of Duryea looking up at the "Wilshire House" apartment building (and which I believe was an alternate name used for the Gaylord Apartment building that sits along Wilshire Blvd, and which one sees as the film opens) and in which his estranged wife lives, and how the camera's shot as it slowly rolls up the facade of the building and then up to and through the window of the specific apartment in which his wife resides, is so very reminiscent of the opening shot of King Vidor's 1928 silent classic 'The Crowd' ?

I NOTICED!!!

(my revu is in I JUST WATCHED)
(Still finding my way around HERE.)

ps- I take a detour ABOUT THAT UGLYASS BROOCH THO

Yeah, I've just now noticed after going to your review of this film in that thread that you also noticed this, Lorna.

(...well, what's that thing they say about "great minds" again?!)

[Lorna]

(...well, what's that thing they say about "great minds" again?!)

I DUNNO.
If I meet anybody who has one, I'll let you know.

[Lorna]

I recall being 99.9999% sure that the IMMEDIATE OPENING SHOT of BLACK ANGEL was ANIMATED, and it cuts to LIVE ACTION once we get to THE APARTMENT WINDOW.

Universal was kinda experimental with adding animation to live action film, usually with their horror genre

[Hibi]

(...well, what's that thing they say about "great minds" again?!)

I DUNNO.
If I meet anybody who has one, I'll let you know.

[Dargo]

I recall being 99.9999% sure that the IMMEDIATE OPENING SHOT of BLACK ANGEL was ANIMATED, and it cuts to LIVE ACTION once we get to THE APARTMENT WINDOW.

Universal was kinda experimental with adding animation to live action film, usually with their horror genre

Yes, the facade of the "Wilshire House" apartment building in 'Black Angel' definitely looks as though it was indeed done using a scale model.

But then again, looking at the camera cut from stock footage of NYC that King Vidor makes at the 54 second mark of this clip of 'The Crowd' and to the building in this opening sequence, it does as well to me...

[laffite]

I liked Black Angel and quite a lot. There is a nice low-key edge to it. And measured performances. If they wanted camp, Peter Lorre and Broderick Crawford could have a field day. But they were both quite regular (too me). Peter Lorre does something great with his line, "Remember, Catherine, you promised to be a good girl." When he says her name he tweaks her on the cheek. She blanches hurriedly and quickly moves away. He is startled and the rest of the line comes off super realistic, but it still need to be pulled off. (If you have a DVR start at 1:04) I adore June Vincent in this. She (and Dan) is at the center of the story and she carries it. Dan D is flawless. The alcoholic blackout is realistic, and then be a charming self. I was taken in by the misdirect that gave Dan the alibi. It was too pat, too smooth, it verily shut the door on any possibility of Dan be the murderer. I should have known better, ha. Yet it makes the audience look elsewhere for the murder on a false premise. No fair!!!I (-; And worse, there is no butler. I didn't mind the singing, the song "Black Angel" was pretty cool I thought, entrenched as it is in the style of the day. I looked it up and apparently is not a recorded song at large. I loved the use of the Moonlight Sonata, rather dramatic as an alarm bell. And of course, last and most least, Shostakovitch Seventh. "Oh, so that's why you wanted me to go to the concert." [Hey Pete, you shoulda gone, it was great.]

https://youtu.be/GB3zR_X25UU?t=10

[Bronxgirl48]

Saw BLACK ANGEL for the first time last night. Interesting "doubling" aspect of the two married couples. And who doesn't love Dan Duryea? (is the guy who plays that Hollywood columnist the oily salesman whispering to Joe Gillis "as long as the lady is paying, why not take the vicuna?" in SUNSET BOULEVARD?)

Yes, I'm pretty sure it was. I noticed him right away!

He had a tad more screen time in BLACK ANGEL but was just as smarmy, lol.

(oh, and I also was delighted to spot Ben Bard from THE SEVENTH VICTIM and THE LEOPARD MAN, plus I think a few other Lewtons. Ben was the bartender)