The Silver Screen Oasis

After much procrastination I've finally managed to upload some of
the short films I made in the 1980s onto YouTube. I thought I'd share
the first of them with you here, on the film noir thread. This is BLIND
ALLEY, a 12-minute noir short film I completed back in 1981.
I hope you enjoy it.
BLIND ALLEY (1981)
[youtube][/youtube]

Great to see you finally uploading this little gem Dewey. A nice homage to the genre that still maintains its own individuality and can stand alone. Mr. Tarantino owes you big time!

GEEZ! The phone rang here at my house just as the ending credits started running!

That was brilliant Dewey! Or should I say Monsieur Director? I've known a few people who tried their hand in film over the years, even some who've gone to Hollywood to direct, but no one I knew had the chops you have. Beautiful black and white, and the ideas to match the cinematography. I loved your actors, both spot on type. You can have all the ideas in the world, but if your actors don't know what they are doing, it's all lost.

I especially liked that deep focus shot in the alley. You definitely had a command of the camera, and also of sound, which I loved in the film.... now tell me where you found all the vintage stuff? Especially the car.

I saw a neat compact little noir today called "BLIND ALLEY" (1981).

A robbery's gone wrong and our twelve-minutes with the hapless protagonist is as claustrophobic as anything you'll see in film noir. The director uses all the elements of the noir genre:

* black & white photography...with blacks as deep as a black hole in space
* shadows
* neon lights
* rotary phone
* good, crisp "you-are-there" sound design
* noir music...the pings of strings and piano keys
* ...and a hero who can not escape his fate

All of these elements were seamlessly and tautly blended together. I agree with the following review:

[b][u][color=#0000FF]JackFavell[/color][/u][/b] wrote: I loved your actors, both spot on type. You can have all the ideas in the world, but if your actors don't know what they are doing, it's all lost.

"Blind Alley" was directed by Elliot Lavine. This thirty-year old undiscovered gem of a movie is worth a look. I, for one, am curious to see more of this talented director's work and it's a pleasure to see a director who knows his genre like the back of his hand...that cold dark hand of fate.

Inquiring minds need to know:

1.a. Is it true that actors are cattle?
1.b. If not, should they be treated as cattle?

2. How much did that backlot cost?

3. Was the voice of the radio news commentator the voice of someone we may know?

Whatta gem! The closing credit never fails to give me the shivers.

Oh, darn it! I was going to ask about the radio commentator!

Great to see you finally uploading this... sez Mr. Ark.
I'm pretty bereft of computer skills beyond the simplest tasks, and I kept
resisting, but finally caved when tech savvy friends came to the rescue! I'm
strictly analog!
I loved your actors, both spot on type...or so sez Jack Favell.
I got lucky with both guys. Greg Pace (Benny) was an actor very busy with a lot of local
stage work around that time. He was really confused during the shoot because of our
need to shoot totally out of order. He was something of a method guy and needed to
know where he was in the story at all times. He was pretty certain he had done a terrible
job until he saw the film when it played in front of a huge crowd at San Francisco State.
He was thrilled. The other guy, Ron Gregoire (Leo) was a non-pro who just happened to
look perfect for the role. The night we shot his phone dialog scene he got completely
smashed beforehand and had to read all his lines off sheets of paper we put down at his
feet. Which is why he always seems to be looking down during that scene! But I really
love what he did with it. He has one of the most noir muggs I've ever seen. Greg does
too; he resembles Tom Neal a little.
ChiO's Inquiring mind needs to know:
1 A: Yes; 1 B: Yes. 2: That was no backlot, that was my apartment. 3: Yes, that was me. The
actor who was supposed to do it never showed up.
And quoth the Maven: I, for one, am curious to see more of this talented director's work...
I'll be happy to oblige; I have three others ready to post soon! Pretty much in a similar vein.
Thanks all of you for your wonderfully flattering comments!!!