Noir Films

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JackFavell
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Re: Noir Films

Post by JackFavell »

Wow, WOW, WOW!

That noir sounds terrific, ChiO. I am a big fan of Anthony Quinn and just saw him in that small role in Buffalo Bill recently. The movie was simple but he was not. He knocked me out, he was so ambiguous - brutal and seething, and yet still something of a sympathetic character. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. You couldn't tell what side he was going to come down on. Multi-dimensional, I guess. One thing I like about Quinn is that he never felt the need to retain a particular persona like so many leading men did....he didn't have to play nice, and I'm sure after a while, in all those bit parts, he didn't WANT to play nice in the movies. I was wondering why he didn't do more noir films. He was born to play in them, with their "Who is good, who is bad?" viewpoint. I can't think of a performance by Quinn where his background wasn't questionable, and maybe his motives.

Charles Coburn in a noir sounds like it could work well - I imagine he could lend an air of corrupt authority as a mob money man.
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CineMaven
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Re: Noir Films

Post by CineMaven »

[u][color=#800000]JackFavell[/color][/u] wrote:...Charles Coburn in a noir sounds like it could work well - I imagine he could lend an air of corrupt authority as a mob money man.
COULD work? :shock: Sure it would. Look at him in "Kings Row." He's very dark and sinister there. ( So much so I was in shock when I saw him in "The More the Merrier." )
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JackFavell
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Re: Noir Films

Post by JackFavell »

I was thinking of just that, Maven when picturing Coburn in The Long Wait! I had seen Coburn in a lot of light comedies before I ever saw him in King's Row and YIKES! What a shock it was. EWWW! Then saw him as creepy uncle in In This Our Life. Yes, Coburn could fit quite well in noir..... :D :D
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: Noir Films

Post by Rita Hayworth »

JackFavell wrote:
I am a big fan of Anthony Quinn and just saw him in that small role in Buffalo Bill recently. The movie was simple but he was not. He knocked me out, he was so ambiguous - brutal and seething, and yet still something of a sympathetic character. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. You couldn't tell what side he was going to come down on. Multi-dimensional, I guess. One thing I like about Quinn is that he never felt the need to retain a particular persona like so many leading men did....he didn't have to play nice, and I'm sure after a while, in all those bit parts, he didn't WANT to play nice in the movies. I was wondering why he didn't do more noir films. He was born to play in them, with their "Who is good, who is bad?" viewpoint. I can't think of a performance by Quinn where his background wasn't questionable, and maybe his motives.

Your review here about Anthony Quinn in Buffalo Bill makes me want to see this movie ... Are you talking about the 1944 Movie of which starred Joel McCray as Buffalo Bill? ...
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Re: Noir Films

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[u][color=#800000]JackFavell[/color][/u] wrote:I was thinking of just that, Maven when picturing Coburn in The Long Wait! I had seen Coburn in a lot of light comedies before I ever saw him in King's Row and YIKES! What a shock it was. EWWW! Then saw him as creepy uncle in In This Our Life. Yes, Coburn could fit quite well in noir..... :D :D
Oh man JaxXxon! I did just the opposite of you. I saw him in "In This Our Life" first. And after that, I just hated him. ( Creepy is right! :twisted: ) He cut off Ronnie's legs for no good reason in "Kings Row." ( Well...he had a reason and it was just as ewww-ing as in his Bette Davis movie. Then I saw him in "Impact" and liked him, though I was wary ( and didn't mind his phoney baloney Irish brogue. ) I didn't want to see "The More The Merrier" for the longest ( WHO GAVE HIM AN OSCAR?!!! HE'S AN EWWWW!! ) and even a tall drink of water like Joel McCrea couldn't persuade me. But then I was checking out Jean Arthur in my effort to see what her charm and appeal is ( I see...I see ) and I had to put this movie on my list for her...just hadda get past Charles Coburn. ( I was fearful of my life with him in the picture. ) Well Charlie my boy turned out to be a find. Oh he was hilarious. :lol: How bad can he be when a little blonde like Jean Arthur could push him around.

ImageImageImageImage

I like him. Now. What a career. Didn't he work with Marilyn? Coming at an actor from different directions sure informs our like/dislike of him/her, doesn't it?

P.S. Still like your skating man avatar. Look at the swagger on HIM! :wink: I'm still sticking with smokin' Anne Francis.
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RedRiver
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Re: Noir Films

Post by RedRiver »

I've been a fan of Charles Coburn most of my life. I've developed a radical theory as to how he could play such a variety of types. He was a good actor! That being said (in typically silly fasion), I,also, associate him mostly with light, neighborly roles!

I was thinking of IMPACT just today. Somehow, I don't remember Coburn's part in it. But then, I could forget my dog's name! Spice? Saccharin?
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Re: Noir Films

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Good Actor? Gee... :shock: THAT's a unique way to go about it. ( Check out "Impact" again. You'll see him right there, front & center. ) As for your dog's name...open up a can of dog food for Sugar. She'll come a-runnin'. And you'll be that guy to her. :)
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Re: Noir Films

Post by feaito »

Tessie, have you seen Charlie boy in the hilarious "The Devil and Miss Jones" (1941)?
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JackFavell
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Re: Noir Films

Post by JackFavell »

Oh I like Coburn's search for his clothes at the beach in that one. And of course the tuna popovers. :D
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Re: Noir Films

Post by feaito »

:D :lol: :lol:
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Re: Noir Films

Post by CineMaven »

[u][color=#4000BF]feaito[/color][/u] wrote:Tessie, have you seen Charlie boy in the hilarious "The Devil and Miss Jones" (1941)?
[u][color=#800000]JackFavell[/color][/u] wrote:Oh I like Coburn's search for his clothes at the beach in that one. And of course the tuna popovers. :D
[u][color=#4000BF]feaito[/color][/u] wrote: :D :lol: :lol:
"The Devil..."??????? Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! I read that too quickly. The "and" didn't register with me immediately and I was thinking of another movie from the 70's. :oops:

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No I've never seen this 1941 movie and you two have not steered me wrong yet, so I have to be on the lookout for that one now that I'm no longer a-sceered of Charles Coburn. Read a smidgen about another actress who appeared with Coburn, getting this info from the Classic Film and TV Cafe blog.
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Re: Noir Films

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FEMMES NOIR

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From July 18th - August 7th NYC's Film Forum holds its FEMMES NOIRS festival. Some of the most beautiful lethal ladies in film noir are being featured. These gals all have their reasons for murder: money, love, psychological reasons ( that may or may not be revealed. ) The leading men are some of the best in movies, but c'mon, do they really stand a chance against these women? The ladies are fun to watch - from the safety of my movie seat - they go after what they want and don't care HOW they do it or WHO they have to do in. That's why I love 'em.

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LANA TURNER ( Cora Smith ) - She was one of the It Girls of the 40’s. Even though she’s starting to lose her baby fat, she’s still cotton candy soft and rockin’ that platinum hairdo. As Cora Smith, she wants her husband dead, though not planning his demise from the beginning of the plot. But when a good looking man comes Garfielding across her path, lust and murder give a gal pause. Why not have a money-making diner AND the man. I really like Lana in the second half of the movie. The jig is up, and she’s being railroaded. She has bite, bitterness and scorn. White clothes will never look the same to me again in movies.
________________________

JOAN CRAWORD ( Mildred Pierce ) - “Get out before I kill you!”

By all rights, I should feature Ann Blyth in this pantheon to femmes fatales. She has the killer instinct; she's the one who is ruthless. She knows the score and will go after what she wants - ( uhhh...money. ) But I cannot NOT feature Joan Crawford. After all, she is The Movie Star. Crawford IS more than that in “Mildred Pierce.” She is a good actress and gives a quiet, subtle and poignant performance in this movie. She has a regal bearing ( without being all Shearer about it. ) We see every sling and arrow hit its mark, as she’s constantly hurt by her daughter. Mildred’s as much trapped by her love for Veda as any man in film noir. Veda is Mildred's Achilles Heel. Veda might partly be of Mildred’s making, but ultimately she’s her own person. Crawford has that “deer-in-the-headlights-look” throughout while becoming a self-reliant career-woman. She grows in this film. The scene on the staircase between Mildred and Veda still remains unparalled. And Blyth's lucky she didn't catch Crawford on a bad day. She'd be torn to shreds.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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JANE GREER ( Kathie Moffat ) - I cannot rationally explain why I love Jane Greer so much as a femme fatale. She’s beautiful. But then again, that’s pretty much a pre-requisite for any femme fatale. I love her in "Out of the Past." Maybe it’s her cold dead eyes. Maybe it’s the off-hand way she throws out the bait ( “I sometimes go there.” ) Maybe it’s the scene in the bungalow that rainy night when Mitchum’s fallen deep and she melts in his big burly chest. Or maybe it’s the way she throws every man under the bus. I say her lies are merely... self-preservation. :shock:

She has to have “something” if you know she’s dangerous and STILL say: “Baby, I don’t care.” He puts the noose around his OWN neck. She’s my favorite lethal lady, in my favorite film noir.
________________________

GENE TIERNEY ( Ellen Berent ) - “I love you so, I can’t bear to share you with anybody.”

You drown in the luscious cinematography, and Tierney’s beauty is absolutely dazzling. How could a man not want her? She’s gorgeous and would be completely, totally, utterly and entirely devoted to him. 24/7. Literally.

Uh-oh.

Her beauty is a mask. Who knew obsessive jealousy could look so beautiful. And deadly. Well... it’s just like some lessons in life; by the time you learn them..it’s too late. It’s a chilling scene when the scales come off Cornel Wilde’s eyes. But nothing is a cold as Tierney sitting motionless on that sunny lake, letting her young brother-in-law drown. Whom the Gods wish to destroy, they first make beautiful.
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Re: Noir Films

Post by feaito »

CineMaven wrote:"The Devil..."??????? Ohhhhhhhhhhhh! I read that too quickly. The "and" didn't register with me immediately and I was thinking of another movie from the 70's. :oops:
That is completely another film altogether... :wink: In that one the devil is "in" Miss Jones :roll:
RedRiver
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Re: Noir Films

Post by RedRiver »

Veda is bad to the bone.
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Re: Noir Films

Post by RedRiver »

Daughter dearest.

Cathy Moffet She’s my favorite lethal lady, in my favorite film noir.

She's the coldest of them all.

THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES is cute. Great cast, light and amusing. It reminds me of EASY LIVING, another fine romantic comedy of the era. Not the football drama with Victor Mature!
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