Noir Alley

[jamesjazzguitar]

Someone here on SSO claims it is the first movie for Doris Day with MGM, after leaving WB.

FYI: Julie was the first film, made by Day's and her Husband's production company Arwin Productions. MGM was only the distributor.

[jimimac71]

Someone here on SSO claims it is the first movie for Doris Day with MGM, after leaving WB.

FYI: Julie was the first film, made by Day's and her Husband's production company Arwin Productions. MGM was only the distributor.

Guess that's something else I don't understand.

[Andree]

Half of what she says is meaningless. I saw this one a while back. Okay, but nothing special. I actually liked it a bit
better on this go round, but it's still far from top tier. I think it would have been better if they showed Doris' first
hubby and Jourdan's jealousy instead of just starting the movie with Jourdan suddenly going psycho in the car. Even
a nut case is helped by some character development. He made a fairly good psycho/stalker, though it's funny to imagine
him carrying around that big tape recorder in order to harass Julie with his piano playing. And wasn't Barry lucky to come
across Fred Ziffel after he was shot. Fred went above and beyond helping Barry with all those phone calls. Yeah, Doris
flying and landing the plane was pretty ridiculous and kind of a dumb way to end the movie. I did think it was funny how
her fellow stewardess tried to calm the passengers after multiple gunshots are heard--'Oh that's nothing to worry about.
The reverse omnotron hosiwhatis sounds just like a gunshot.' Sure. A better screenplay was what this flick really needed.
Too late now.

[Dargo]

...Sure. A better screenplay was what this flick really needed.
Too late now.

Why Andree! How can you say such a thing here?

Don't you know that this flick's screenplay was Oscar nominated?!

Although, how this could have possibly have happened, might have made for better and more interesting movie than this one Eddie showed us this weekend. Well, just as long as it too wouldn't have been filled with such lame dialogue as in 'Julie'.

And which now brings me to question how he could call this one a "noir", and other than that it was filmed in B&W, as I didn't see very many visuals throughout it which gave me the impression that it was and/or even attempting to be, and with the only and questionable "noir" aspect to it at all perhaps being the "lady in peril" storyline.

(...now, I'll bet if had actually been filmed in Technicolor, and which I think would have served it better and especially so by then taking advantage of the gorgeous Carmel area shown during the beginning of the movie, there would be no way Eddie would've shown it and/or even thought of it as being "noir" and thus being worthy of him presenting it)

[Dargo]

And now one more comment about Eddie and his wraparounds for 'Julie'...

While I thought his outro for this film (which was pretty much nothing but a tribute to the life and career of Doris Day) was pleasant enough (I'll now admit to never being a big fan of hers) I wish he would've taken a few minutes from that in order to focus on a few other aspects of this movie, and say such as some of the supporting actors in it, and/or considering he thought this film a "noir"(once again, I still don't see this), perhaps a little bit about its cinematographer.

(...guess he figured, and as he mentioned in his intro about Doris' forays into noir being few, that this would be his only chance to give her this sort of tribute and why from the impression I then got from this being the only reason he presented this film)

[Hibi]

I hadn't seen the film in a long time. It hasn't held up well over the years. But it's very entertaining! LOL. I think Love Me Or Leave Me would've been a better choice (A sort of musical noir). Yes, the Fred Ziffel interlude is very funny (only because of the Green Acres link). Playing the same sort of character, but this time not for laughs! I think I saw the film for the first time before the series started to air. Yeah, the screenplay nomination and the song are head scratching. Neither Oscar caliber in my opinion. I had to laugh this time around, the scene with Doris tacking the note on the apt door that she had been called up. Why not leave it INSIDE? Because Lovejoy couldn't have read it then! The oversteering in both car scenes: why did Stone allow that? No one could've stayed on the road steering like that. Despite her feelings about the project Doris does her best. She always did, no matter how mediocre the project. I enjoy Julie a lot more than some of her 60s misfires towards the end of her career.

I think Julie was noirish enough to be shown. A lot of films Eddie shows is borderline noir stuff.

[txfilmfan]

I hadn't seen the film in a long time. It hasn't held up well over the years. But it's very entertaining! LOL. I think Love Me Or Leave Me would've been a better choice (A sort of musical noir). Yes, the Fred Ziffel interlude is very funny (only because of the Green Acres link). Playing the same sort of character, but this time not for laughs! I think I saw the film for the first time before the series started to air. Yeah, the screenplay nomination and the song are head scratching. Neither Oscar caliber in my opinion. I had to laugh this time around, the scene with Doris tacking the note on the apt door that she had been called up. Why not leave it INSIDE? Because Lovejoy couldn't have read it then! The oversteering in both car scenes: why did Stone allow that? No one could've stayed on the road steering like that. Despite her feelings about the project Doris does her best. She always did, no matter how mediocre the project. I enjoy Julie a lot more than some of her 60s misfires towards the end of her career.

I think Julie was noirish enough to be shown. A lot of films Eddie shows is borderline noir stuff.

Is it the only noir to take place at a golf club (Pebble Beach, even)?

[Hibi]

I hadn't seen the film in a long time. It hasn't held up well over the years. But it's very entertaining! LOL. I think Love Me Or Leave Me would've been a better choice (A sort of musical noir). Yes, the Fred Ziffel interlude is very funny (only because of the Green Acres link). Playing the same sort of character, but this time not for laughs! I think I saw the film for the first time before the series started to air. Yeah, the screenplay nomination and the song are head scratching. Neither Oscar caliber in my opinion. I had to laugh this time around, the scene with Doris tacking the note on the apt door that she had been called up. Why not leave it INSIDE? Because Lovejoy couldn't have read it then! The oversteering in both car scenes: why did Stone allow that? No one could've stayed on the road steering like that. Despite her feelings about the project Doris does her best. She always did, no matter how mediocre the project. I enjoy Julie a lot more than some of her 60s misfires towards the end of her career.

I think Julie was noirish enough to be shown. A lot of films Eddie shows is borderline noir stuff.

Is it the only noir to take place at a golf club (Pebble Beach, even)?

LOL. Could be! FORE!!!! Come to think of it, an awful late 60s remake of Strangers on a Train called Once You Kiss A Stranger was set at a golf tournament! Wasn't half as entertaining as Julie though.

[MissWonderly]

deleted

[Andree]

Why Andree! How can you say such a thing here?

Don't you know that this flick's screenplay was Oscar nominated?!

Although, how this could have possibly have happened, might have made for better and more interesting movie than this one Eddie showed us this weekend. Well, just as long as it too wouldn't have been filled with such lame dialogue as in 'Julie'.

And which now brings me to question how he could call this one a "noir", and other than that it was filmed in B&W, as I didn't see very many visuals throughout it which gave me the impression that it was and/or even attempting to be, and with the only and questionable "noir" aspect to it at all perhaps being the "lady in peril" storyline.

(...now, I'll bet if had actually been filmed in Technicolor, and which I think would have served it better and especially so by then taking advantage of the gorgeous Carmel area shown during the beginning of the movie, there would be no way Eddie would've shown it and/or even thought of it as being "noir" and thus being worthy of him presenting it)

And I believe the title song was also nominated, which perhaps tell us something about the worth of some AA nominations.
Not one of those songs people come out of the movie theater humming to themselves. I can see it as a noir because it concerns
a psycho going after his wife with obsessive purpose, but visually it didn't have a lot of the usual noir touches, except maybe
for some scenes in the corridors of the apartment house and late night at the Ziffel's place. Maybe they should have put
Doris in the Bradbury Building. That always seems to work.

[C*i*g*a*rTheJoe]

Wasn't too impressed with Julie either. The opening car sequence was OK in the long shots and ridiculous in the rear projection ones. The car, the way Doris is driving makes it look like there's a lot of play in the steering. She's turning the wheel back and forth back and forth on a straight road, lol.

[jamesjazzguitar]

This Saturday\Sunday Noir Alley will be showing the fine noir Desperate (1947), with Steve Brodie in a raw leading man role with Raymond Burr. Running at 73 minutes, this film has some fine noir visuals and the classic noir protagonist: a decent man trapped between criminals and the police, both out to use him for their own gain.

One great line comes at the end when the hoods are hungry and look into Brodie's fridge: "nothing here but some tried meat".

[Hibi]

Don't think I've seen this one!

[jamesjazzguitar]

Don't think I've seen this one!

Desperate is a very good noir film. Note that Steve Brodie was in another noir that same year (1947), Crossfire with the 3 Roberts: Mitchum, Ryan and Young. The following year he had a minor but key role in Out of the Past.

[Dargo]

In some ways 'Desperate' has a similar plot and has always reminded me a bit of 'Crime Wave' (1953), and with both of these films having a storyline about a decent guy who against his will gets involved with a gang of criminals and which then puts his wife in danger.

(...and yes, Brodie does a good job in this rare lead role he was given)