The commonly held notion that every black and white film made before 1970 is simply a "B" movie is a maddeningly idiotic one at best, and THE LOCKET, a sumptuous 1946 noir classic from RKO is a prime example of that particularly misconstrued paradigm. (The similarly held notion that "B" films are inferior to "A" films in the first place is another source of consternation, but that's a whole topic in itself.) It airs on TCM this coming Saturday, October 13.
THE LOCKET is perhaps one of the most seriously misunderstood and underrated films of the 1940's. Stylishly directed by the brilliant John Brahm, THE LOCKET is a prestige "A" production in virtually every respect, outshining many of its better-known noir cousins in the process. Boasting its notorious "flashback within a flashback within a flashback" structure, the film is a visually mesmerizing, thematically vibrant psychological melodrama. Nancy Monks (Larraine Day) is a young woman who has been emotionally scarred by a childhood event, one that has serious and homicidal repercussions in her later life. Through a succession of relationships (most notably with Robert Mitchum as a struggling, arrogant artist and Brian Aherne as an altruistic physician) Nancy leaves a trail of misery and death in her wake and her eventual comeuppance is a cinematic tour de force that will leave astute viewers breathless and heartbroken.
THE LOCKET deserves a much better reputation than it seems to have and hopefully it will find a place in one of Warner Home Video's upcoming film noir box sets. It far surpasses many of the films already included. Don't miss it!
THE LOCKET (1946) on Sat Oct 13
THE LOCKET (1946) on Sat Oct 13
Last edited by Dewey1960 on October 11th, 2007, 8:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Mr. Arkadin
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nightwalker
- Posts: 122
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The flashback-in-a-flashback structure reminded me of "The Sargossa Manuscript," which was originally a 19th Century Polish novel and then was filmed in the 1960s very successfully.
"The Locket" was interesting. Mitchum was good. The movie suffered after he left. Much of this film reminded me of Hitchcock, and perhaps it isn't surprising that its director, John Brahm, ended up working for the Hitchcock TV show later on.
"The Locket" was interesting. Mitchum was good. The movie suffered after he left. Much of this film reminded me of Hitchcock, and perhaps it isn't surprising that its director, John Brahm, ended up working for the Hitchcock TV show later on.
Flashback is one of my favorite movie styles. For some reason, flashback sequences (in mysteries especially) seem to make the point better than a regular filming schedule.
This is about the third time I've seen The Locket, and it's one of those that you see something else each time. For one thing, I like Laraine Day in this movie better than any other. She's more animated. Usually she is so bland, even in things like Foreign Correspondent. Naturally I liked Mitchum, but Brian Aherne also does a good job as both the angry ex, and understanding doctor. The one thing that has eluded me, and I'm not sure if someone says something to clarify it in the beginning, is, does the grooms mother ever realize that this Nancy is the same little girl?
Anne
This is about the third time I've seen The Locket, and it's one of those that you see something else each time. For one thing, I like Laraine Day in this movie better than any other. She's more animated. Usually she is so bland, even in things like Foreign Correspondent. Naturally I liked Mitchum, but Brian Aherne also does a good job as both the angry ex, and understanding doctor. The one thing that has eluded me, and I'm not sure if someone says something to clarify it in the beginning, is, does the grooms mother ever realize that this Nancy is the same little girl?
Anne
Anne
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Mr. Arkadin
- Posts: 2645
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One thing that interested me about the film was a comparison of it with Brahm's work for "Thriller," specifically the episode called "The Cheaters," about a cursed pair of eyeglasses. "The Cheaters" was made up of separate stories as the glasses worked from one person to another, and "The Locket" seemed to consist of separate stories.
The scene in which the locket finally comes back to Nancy and she goes mad felt very much like the denoument from a "Thriller" episode, as the hero is finally destroyed by the cursed object from the past.
The scene in which the locket finally comes back to Nancy and she goes mad felt very much like the denoument from a "Thriller" episode, as the hero is finally destroyed by the cursed object from the past.
THE LOCKET
I'm really glad everyone enjoyed THE LOCKET so much; it's really one of my most favorite noir films.
Mr. Ark - Not the least bit surprised that you found the film to your liking. It's always gratifying to find a film that manages to merge its visual stylings to its thematic content -- as this film so beautifully does. Made that much more amazing by the fact that (once again) TCM ran such an inferior-looking print; lots of annoying speckles and drop-outs. The power of (certain) films!
John - Isn't it amazing how condescending people are with respect to "B" pictures? Too many folks seem pre-occupied with those dreaded "production values." Look at a film like (god help us) FORBIDDEN PLANET, an expensive MGM science fiction film from the fifties and then compare it to any number of smaller, less pretentious films from the same period (BODY SNATCHERS, THEM!, etc): what these pictures lacked in so-called production values, they more than made up for in creative verve and emotional power. And you're right about those musicals; with a few notable exceptions, I also prefer the efforts which came from their "B" unit. So many of those larger, so-called "presitge" musicals are lethargic and monotonous. I think it's especially true for film noir; brevity and economy seem to go hand in hand with the despairing content of these wonderfully evocative films.
Anne - Your question about the groom's mother and whether or not she was on to Nancy has made me curious enough to want to watch it again later this afternoon. I only watched bits and pieces of it on Saturday morning; I have a tape of it which I recorded off TCM when they ran it several years ago. (Same inferior print, too!)
Mike - Funny you should mention "The Cheaters" episode from THRILLER. That was always my favorite installment of that nearly forgotten series. Notable it was, too, coming from the poisonous pen of Robert "Psycho" Bloch, my absolute favorite horror writer of all time!
Mr. Ark - Not the least bit surprised that you found the film to your liking. It's always gratifying to find a film that manages to merge its visual stylings to its thematic content -- as this film so beautifully does. Made that much more amazing by the fact that (once again) TCM ran such an inferior-looking print; lots of annoying speckles and drop-outs. The power of (certain) films!
John - Isn't it amazing how condescending people are with respect to "B" pictures? Too many folks seem pre-occupied with those dreaded "production values." Look at a film like (god help us) FORBIDDEN PLANET, an expensive MGM science fiction film from the fifties and then compare it to any number of smaller, less pretentious films from the same period (BODY SNATCHERS, THEM!, etc): what these pictures lacked in so-called production values, they more than made up for in creative verve and emotional power. And you're right about those musicals; with a few notable exceptions, I also prefer the efforts which came from their "B" unit. So many of those larger, so-called "presitge" musicals are lethargic and monotonous. I think it's especially true for film noir; brevity and economy seem to go hand in hand with the despairing content of these wonderfully evocative films.
Anne - Your question about the groom's mother and whether or not she was on to Nancy has made me curious enough to want to watch it again later this afternoon. I only watched bits and pieces of it on Saturday morning; I have a tape of it which I recorded off TCM when they ran it several years ago. (Same inferior print, too!)
Mike - Funny you should mention "The Cheaters" episode from THRILLER. That was always my favorite installment of that nearly forgotten series. Notable it was, too, coming from the poisonous pen of Robert "Psycho" Bloch, my absolute favorite horror writer of all time!
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rainingviolets21
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Larraine Day gave her very best performance in this very interesting drama, of a modern day Cassandra, she is mad as a hatter, but the only man who understands her, and loves her the most, throws himself out the window and the audience is left, through a series of flashbacks, with a very engrossing melodrama, with a superb supporting cast including Olivia de Havilland's real life mom, as one of the victims...
The Locket
I just love this film. We watch it over and over and always discover something new. Laraine Day was, as the script said: "The kind of girl you always dreamed of meeting." Gorgeously coiffed and photographed. - Better than ever Day was. - It is neat to watch how her 'look' changes as her persona changes from relationship to relationship. She is not presented as a multiple; just a sort of anti-social personality with great charm and desirability and no conscience at all. (Although there is the sort of amnesiac flashback event at the end that is supposed to engender shock and almost catatonia. This is not typical for a person with this personality type, but hey, it's Hollywood, right?)
It was directed perfectly per Ms. Day. - Everytime she committs an another act of deceit she appears more innocent, honest and true. For once, Mitchum plays a chump. Bryan Aherne is a prissy psychiatrist who blindly marries her and pays the price for his willful ignorance. The man she intends to marry at the end was Gene Raymond; Jeannette MacDonald's real-life long time husband. And check out the cameo by Ricardo Cortez (aka Joseph Krantz) as the rich man who pays with his life for his interest in Nancy.
Oh, and per Mercedes McCambridge as the mother, I don't think she ever recognized Nancy. She lost her daughter and viewed Nancy as a perfect social mate for her perfect son.
It was directed perfectly per Ms. Day. - Everytime she committs an another act of deceit she appears more innocent, honest and true. For once, Mitchum plays a chump. Bryan Aherne is a prissy psychiatrist who blindly marries her and pays the price for his willful ignorance. The man she intends to marry at the end was Gene Raymond; Jeannette MacDonald's real-life long time husband. And check out the cameo by Ricardo Cortez (aka Joseph Krantz) as the rich man who pays with his life for his interest in Nancy.
Oh, and per Mercedes McCambridge as the mother, I don't think she ever recognized Nancy. She lost her daughter and viewed Nancy as a perfect social mate for her perfect son.