Noir Films

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CineMaven
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Re: Noir Films

Post by CineMaven »

The next two days of double features I saw included this quartet.

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MARILYN MONROE ( Rose Loomis ) - She wants her older shell-shocked veteran husband dead. ( You should see the tall, dark and handsome cutie waiting in the wings. ) Her plan goes awry like Helen Walker’s in “Impact” and she goes the way of most lethal ladies who get caught. Husband Joseph Cotten is like a butterfly pinned to the mat by Monroe’s sexuality. He’s hopeless, helpless and unbalanced. Marilyn has EDGE. She’s sarcastic. And I wish the studios let her exhibit this smart-alec edge more often. It shows well in “Niagara.” She didn’t have to be that ‘little lost girl.’ But Marilyn is after all Marilyn, and perhaps she wouldn’t be Marilyn without being Marilyn. When she steps from her bungalow into the courtyard in her neon chartreuse dress, the young folks in the background step back as she makes her way through them to give the d.j. her record. They look and stare as though she’s something they’ve never seen before. You know what...they’re right. Oh yeah...there was Harlow. But there IS Marilyn, too.
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JEAN SIMMONS ( Diane Tremaine ) - Cultured manner. Velvet-voiced. To the manor born. But don’t be fooled. Looks are deceiving. Her unfathomable eyes flash like a shark’s. Her flashes of anger and pique might be attributed to Otto Preminger, but they serve her well as the murderous femme fatale. As Diane Tremaine, her idle runs high. No doubt she’s high maintenance and Noir’s resident maintenance man is...you know it: Robert Mitchum. He trades his trenchoat and fedora for hospital whites. Yep, once again Mitchum leaves a nice stable practical bland blonde for the dark side; this time, a girl unhinged by Daddy issues. Simmons is made for Noir ( or whatever genre she tackles. ) Dark and lovely, she solves her problems by murder. And when all plans fail as they almost must in Film Noir, she goes for the Pyrrhic Victory. You’ve gotta love a femme fatale who goes down with the ship.

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

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AVA GARDNER ( Kitty Collins ) - “Don’t ask a dying man to lie his soul into Hell.”

My favorite movie line. Yeah. That about sums up Ava and her Power. Eternity. Into the next life. She smolders, she lies, she withholds. She’s got fight too...she’s no shrinking violet: ( “Touch me and you won’t live ‘till morning.” ) Lancaster is hit with a sledgehammer when he first sees her. When she whispers, he’s the only thing that matters. Now, about that money...
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RITA HAYWORTH - She IS The Love Goddess.

She might not be everyone’s cuppa. But I can’t say I’ve felt anything like this in my movie-watching memory but you can correct me if I’m wrong. I can’t recall a studio so presenting their star to us in such a full display. It begins with the opening title card in King Kong-sized letters: “RITA HAYWORTH as GILDA” ( you English majors can tell me the difference between ‘is’ and ‘as.’ Is one more “being” than the other? ) It’s as though Columbia were Tiffany or Harry Winston presenting rare and precious gems and stones to us on a sterling silver tray. Hayworth is just on such spectacular display, for all the world to see, from her iconic entrance to her two solo musical numbers.

Sandwiched between these moments, Hayworth shows wonderful facets of dramatic ability. Now, she’s not bad like Tierney or Greer or Stanwyck. But she is Fire, and wreaks havoc on one man. She gives as good as she gets in this sado-masochistic ping pong game. She’s in control when she taunts, teases and torments Glenn Ford. But she’s merely lashing out in payback for his abandoning her before the movie starts. What she gets, is a painful sight to see. Her vulnerability is raw. And her final insight is piercing: “You wouldn’t think one woman could marry two insane men in one lifetime.”

( P.S. George Macready's voice is almost as compelling to listen to...as Rita Hayworth is to watch. )
"You build my gallows high, baby."

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RedRiver
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Re: Noir Films

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NIAGARA. Further proof that dark, creepy crime stories can be in beautiful color. Makes you want to LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN!
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CineMaven
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Re: Noir Films

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[color=#BF0000][u]RedRiver[/u][/color] wrote:NIAGARA. Further proof that dark, creepy crime stories can be in beautiful color. Makes you want to LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN!
For a little more proof of crime stories in color...and out in the sunshine, Brooklyn's BAM Rose Cinemas ( Brooklyn Academy of Music ) will be showing a whole slew of "Sunshine Noir" at the end of November. Click on my collage and check out BAM's schedule at the end of the month:


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"You build my gallows high, baby."

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RedRiver
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Re: Noir Films

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Some fine colorful crime stories there, Cine-(insert silly film reference here)! Not to isolate on one example, but I've been a fan of the almost unheard of STRAIGHT TIME since it came out. It's tough, cynical and exciting. M. Emmett Walsh is sensational. He always is! Every moment of this sad drama is intriguing and thought provoking. I'm surprised it gets so little attention. Or am I wrong?
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Rita Hayworth
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Re: Noir Films

Post by Rita Hayworth »

CineMaven wrote: Her vulnerability is raw. And her final insight is piercing: “You wouldn’t think one woman could marry two insane men in one lifetime.”
That quote that you've written CineMaven is one of my favorite lines in Gilda ... bar none!
RedRiver
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Re: Noir Films

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I'm one who became familiar with Norman Lloyd through his work on ST. ELSEWHERE. Later, when I saw him dangling from a certain New York statue, I did a double take!
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movieman1957
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Re: Noir Films

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Just a reminder that TCM kicks off its Friday Noir schedule tonight. "Summer of Darkness" is the title of the programming of over 100 noir films shown in June and July. You'll find its own website here

Also, as a bonus today's Wall Street Journal has an article that touts the talents of RKO composer Roy Webb. He will likely be figured prominently among the films over the next two months.

Check out both if you can.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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movieman1957
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Re: Noir Films

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Woman On The Run is a drama starring Ann Sheridan and Dennis O'Keefe. Her husband witnesses a murder and then he goes on the run for fear of becoming a target himself. Ann, along with the police, look for him. Ann enlists an eager O'Keefe to find him. Ann is a smart aleck the whole way through and manages to be funny and more loving of her husband as she learns more about him. (She knows surprisingly little for a wife.)

The drama builds as they close in on finding the husband.

At a little over 70 minutes and thanks to some find dialogue it is well worth a look. I saw it On Demand on cable. The print wasn't that good but was serviceable.

Enjoy.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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GaryCooper
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Re: Noir Films

Post by GaryCooper »

Movies are written in sand: applauded today, forgotten tomorrow.
D. W. Griffith
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