November 2020 Round-Up
TOTAL FILMS SEEN IN NOVEMBER / NOIRVEMBER: 35
(see the film posters at the bottom of the post, arranged in watching order)
NEW-TO-ME: 35
Yes! It's NOIRvember again! This month I almost only watched film noirs and I had a good time with them. Unfortunately the pandemic situation is not improving yet and we are hoping to have a vaccine available very soon. My life is pretty much uneventful nowadays. I spend a lot of time in our Barcelona beach apartment, also working from home. This November I did go to the Netherlands with my sister for 5 days to visit our family which made me very happy, even if it meant having to sit in a packed aircraft.
I didn't rewatch any films because I normally don't do that at home and I didn't take any trips to the Filmoteca. The theater was closed for most part of the month due to Covid restrictions and fortunately opened its doors again on the 24th of November. (Very excited about the December program with a Marilyn Monroe special and also screenings of Ninotchka, The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Heiress, The Secret Garden and The Wizard of Oz. There's a Marilyn exhibition planned as well with photos by Milton Greene!)
I had hoped to watch a lot more films this month than I did but it wasn't meant to be. Still, 35 films in total is not bad at all. Fortunately I could tick off a lot of essential noirs from my watchlist (like Night and the City and T-Men) and I also stumbled upon little known noirs (like the great Plunder Road).
One of the reasons I love noirs so much is because of their often stunning cinematography. A while back I wrote a little tribute post dedicated to the wonderful cinematographers: Film Noir and Masters of Chiaroscuro. A lot of noirs possess the trademarks specific to the genre. Yet some of them are hardly recognisable as noirs but they feature on film noir lists (most notably the noir list on They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?) and/or are classified as film noir on IMDB or Wikipedia, so I went by their classification.
My most watched actor of November is George Raft with 5 films seen. I sought out the films especially for him because I like him. Dennis O'Keefe and Charles McGraw tie for second place with 4 films seen. Several other male actors appeared in two films this month: Cornel Wilde, Richard Widmark, Sterling Hayden, John Garfield and Richard Conte. There's not really one most watched actress this month. There were a couple of actresses with two films seen: Ida Lupino, Marsha Hunt, Donna Reed and Nina Foch.
Breaking the 35 watched films down in decades:
1910s - 0
1920s - 0
1930s - 2
1940s - 17
1950s - 16
1960s - 0
Here is the full list of film noirs seen this month, in watching order:
Plunder Road (with Gene Raymond, Jeanne Cooper, Wayne Morris and Elisha Cook Jr.)
Roadblock (with Charles McGraw and Joan Dixon)
The Threat (with Michael O'Shea, Virginia Grey and Charles McGraw)
Dangerous Crossing (with Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie)
The Killer That Stalked New York (with Evelyn Keyes, Charles Korvin and Dorothy Malone)
Abandoned (with Dennis O'Keefe, Gale Storm and Jeff Chandler)
T-Men (with Dennis O'Keefe, Charles McGraw, Wallace Ford and Mary Meade)
Bullets or Ballots (with Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Humphrey Bogart and Barton MacLane)
Cry Vengeance (with Mark Stevens, Martha Hyer and Skip Homeier)
Killer's Kiss (with Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith and Irene Kane)
Cover Up (with William Bendix, Dennis O'Keefe and Barbara Britton)
Road House (with Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, Celeste Holm and Richard Widmark)
Naked Alibi (with Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame and Gene Barry)
Suddenly (with Sterling Hayden, Frank Sinatra and James Gleason)
Johnny Allegro (with George Raft, Nina Foch and George Macready)
Loan Shark (with George Raft, Dorothy Hart and Paul Stewart)
Dishonored Lady (with Hedy Lamarr, Dennis O'Keefe, John Loder and William Lundigan)
Shockproof (with Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight)
Mr. Ace (with George Raft and Sylvia Sidney)
Force of Evil (with John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Marie Windsor and Beatrice Pearson)
Out of the Fog (with John Garfield, Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell, Eddie Albert and John Qualen)
The Blue Gardenia (with Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern and Raymond Burr)
Scandal Sheet (with Broderick Crawford, Donna Reed and John Derek)
The Price of Fear (with Merle Oberon, Lex Barker and Charles Drake)
Rogue Cop (with Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh and George Raft)
Railroaded! (with John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont and Jane Randolph)
Dark City (with Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott and Viveca Lindfors)
The Tall Target (with Dick Powell, Paula Raymond and Adolphe Menjou)
Cry of the City (with Victor Mature, Richard Conte and Shelley Winters)
Night and the City (with Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers and Hugh Marlowe)
Border Incident (with Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, James Mitchell and Charles McGraw)
The Undercover Man (with Glenn Ford, Nina Foch and James Whitmore)
Let's start with my three highest rated noirs: Plunder Road, Cry of the City and Night and the City.
Wow! Plunder Road was such a thrilling way to start Noirvember! My sister recommended this to me and I trust her judgment so knew this was going to be good. And it totally lived up to my high expectations. An absolutely magnificent opening sequence of a meticulously planned train heist during a rainy night — gorgeously shot by Ernest Haller (DP of among others Gone With the Wind and Mildred Pierce) — sets the tone for this little-known film noir. There is actually not much happening other than the criminals driving their trucks filled with the gold loot to safety but it's fast-paced and very suspenseful. It was rather surprising what the crooks did with the gold — a bit unbelievable too — but the ending was great and satisfying. Nice to see Gene Raymond and Wayne Morris (actors I primarily know from lightweight 1930/40s films) in a different kind of role and to see them older and more mature. And of course noir heavy Elisha Cook Jr. never fails to deliver.
Cry of the City is a first-rate and dark film noir with one of my fave noir actors Richard Conte. He plays an escaped cop killer battling it out with cop lieutenant Victor Mature, giving a great and balanced performance. The story is very compelling and moves at a fast pace. The rest of the cast is pretty good too. It was a nice turn of events that Mature got injured in the end, so with the final confrontation both Mature and Conte were physically handicapped (Conte suffered from bullet wounds in his leg). The ending didn't disappoint and the final shot with Mature and the boy (Tommy Cook) was touching. Great support by Hope Emerson (as the masseuse) and a young Shelley Winters, and 15-year old Debra Paget (as Conte's love interest!) plays a small but pivotal role. Great cinematography by Lloyd Ahern.
Night and the City is the third of my highest rated noirs of this month, a long awaited film noir that I had been postponing to see for the first time because I had hoped it would be shown on the big screen at the Filmoteca. Well, I couldn't wait anymore and decided to watch it finally for this Noirvember. My expectations were high and fortunately it's a great film. Richard Widmark can become a bit too much for me when flashing that toothy grin (always reminding me of his sociopath role in Kiss of Death), but he plays the complex role of the two-bit hustler well and with an amazing energy. His character is pretty much despicable but somehow you feel sorry for him, maybe even root for him that in the end things will turn out right. Too bad Gene Tierney's role is so small here, I would have loved to see more of her. The better female part is given to Googie Withers who's great as the femme fatale. Herbert Lom is also good and the death scene with Stanislaus Zbyszko (as his father, the wrestler) is touching. Outstanding cinematography by Max Greene, I loved the London location shots.
Now let's have a look at the George Raft noirs seen, 4 in total. (The 5th Raft film Under-Cover Man will be listed among the three non-noir films later on in this post.)
Johnny Allegro was the least enjoyable of the 4 noirs but it's still okay and manages to entertain. Even though Raft is not the world's greatest actor (fortunately he's less wooden here), I really like him. It's funny how he played gangsters and tough guys a lot because he has soft and friendly eyes. I don't really care for Nina Foch but that white coat she's wearing looks stunning. Nice photography by Joseph F. Biroc.
Loan Shark is another okay noir with George Raft, more enjoyable and gripping than Johnny Allegro. I also liked his leading lady Dorothy Hart. He plays an ex-con and around Hart he seems really nice and gentlemanly so I was actually surprised how he forced a kiss from her, almost assaulting her. Again good photography by Joseph F. Biroc.
Mr. Ace is not a noir at all in my opinion, but classified as such on Wikipedia (not on IMDB). I love Raft and Sylvia Sidney together, they have such natural chemistry. Raft's performance is not so wooden here and he also looks quite good. Sidney reminded me a bit of Bette Davis, the way she talks and looks with the hairdo. I didn't particularly like the clothes she's wearing, loved her best in the scene at the cottage with her hair down and the sweater (when Raft says she looks like a little girl). Story-wise this is not very exciting, the political plot lacks credibility and Raft's opinion on women running for office is old-fashioned and sexist. I still enjoyed it and really love the leads together.
Rogue Cop is a solid noir with a great performance by Robert Taylor who makes his portrayal of the cynical and tough crooked cop believable. Also the display of his emotions upon seeing his dead brother in the morgue rings true. I didn't like the scene where Taylor acts tough and macho with Janet Leigh and kisses her with force. George Raft has a supporting role and is effective as the bad guy. Anne Francis gives a good performance as Raft's girlfriend who's fond of the bottle. The ending may be a little rushed but the shoot-out was great and I also liked the fact that there was no forced romantic ending with Leigh and Taylor. Fine photography by John F. Seitz for which he won an Oscar nomination (Best Cinematography, Black-and-White).
Continuing with the rest of the film noirs:
Roadblock, The Killer That Stalked New York, T-Men, Killer’s Kiss, Road House, Out of the Fog, Scandal Sheet, Border Incident and The Undercover Man are all good noirs and I enjoyed them a lot.
I chose Roadblock because I like Charles McGraw and it's only 73 minutes long. Interesting story premise of a good guy falling for a bad girl after which the good guy turns bad and the bad girl turns good. I loved the rather unusual courtship between McGraw and the beautiful Joan Dixon and thought they had great chemistry. Nixon is great as the femme fatale but after she decides she prefers love over money, her character becomes rather dull. McGraw's decision to turn to the criminal life is a bit unbelievable but it makes for an interesting watch, even though it's not so difficult to guess how things will turn out for him. McGraw has some great lines, by the way. Great final car chase in the Los Angeles riverbed, with cinematography by Nicholas Musuraca.
The Killer That Stalked New York is a mix of film noir and medical thriller with an interesting story premise of a jewel smuggler (Evelyn Keyes) infected with smallpox and bringing the disease to New York. Interesting, because the medical aspect is so relatable to the current pandemic. Being constantly reminded myself to wear a face mask in real life, seeing the doctors on screen without wearing one while being near an infected patient alerted me immediately. Then I realised they had been vaccinated. Yes, they already had a vaccine (but they were soon running out of it). They also did track and trace of people having come into contact with infected patients. Great performance by Keyes and small role for Dorothy Malone as the nurse. Love the cinematography by Joseph F. Biroc and the New York location shots.
T-Men is one of those must-see noirs. Directed by Anthony Mann and told in documentary style, it's pretty gritty and suspenseful. It has a good performance by Dennis O'Keefe, the best I've seen of him so far. Charles McGraw plays the bad guy and he's involved in two brutal torture scenes: one where he tries to mutilate O'Keefe's hand and the other where he locks up Wallace Ford in the steam room. Both scenes are wonderfully shot. In fact, the cinematography of this film is amazing, with lots of single light sources, and it's no surprise master DP John Alton is at work here. The narrative felt procedural and distant but I did root for the undercover treasury agents not to get caught. And the voice-over was quite annoying at times. Yet Alton makes up for all the film's flaws!
At one time I had the opportunity to watch Killer's Kiss, an early Kubrick film, on the big screen but I passed it up because it didn't appeal to me and I didn't know any of the players. Well, I'd wish I hád seen it on the big screen because the cinematography (by the director himself) is amazing. Admittedly the story isn't very compelling nor are the actors appealing and their performances are forgettable, but the images and the New York location shots are such a treat. I also like the music score by Gerald Fried and there are some serious suspenseful moments, like the rooftop chase scene and the final fight at a mannequin factory.
Road House is a really enjoyable and compelling noir with a great role for Ida Lupino. I had not read the film's blurb beforehand so had no idea where this was leading to and I liked how the story developed. Initially it plays out more like a melodrama involving a love triangle but after 45 minutes I was ready for some noir and fortunately it turns into something darker. Lupino's role seems like the typical femme fatale kind — she's also cracking some memorable lines — but as the film progresses and she finds love with Cornel Wilde, the fatale part appears to diminish. Lupino's performance is great and I also liked her talk-singing those sultry songs. Richard Widmark, getting crazier by the minute, is good too and I was glad Celeste Holm's loyal character didn't die. The photography by Joseph LaShelle is often striking.
Out of the Fog is a John Garfield noir. I was hoping for some beautiful fog-enshrouded photography and was excited when I saw James Wong Howe's name with the opening credits. Well, it's foggy alright and Howe creates a great atmosphere. Garfield plays a bad guy, this time a real obnoxious one. I almost cringed every time he appeared on screen. He's not dealing with gangsters here (like in Force of Evil, discussed later in this post) but his victims are lovable Thomas Mitchell and John Qualen, so I was immediately rooting for our male couple to conquer all evil. Ida Lupino looks lovely this young but her character is a bit stupid to fall for a guy like Garfield, especially after what he did to her father. Aline MacMahon is wasted as Mitchell's wife whereas Eddie Albert looks really good in his leather jacket.
I had been meaning to see Scandal Sheet for a while and I'm glad I got around to it this Noirvember. It's a compelling film noir with good performances. Undoubtedly the story premise has been done before but the pace is good and it kept me engaged. I really like Donna Reed's character but would have preferred another actor in John Derek's role because I'm pretty much indifferent to him. I also like the fact that the forced romance between Reed and Derek was left out. What I was wondering at the end: why did Broderick Crawford change his name and start anew? (Did I miss something?) Good cinematography by Burnett Guffey.
Border Incident is another Anthony Mann noir. I haven't seen much of Ricardo Montalban other than his television work in Fantasy Island, but he was really handsome when he was young. If you don't believe me, just watch this film. With the social commentary on the subject of illegal immigration it's clear that Anthony Mann sides with the Mexicans and Montalban comes away as the hero. Montalban gives a great performance but George Murphy is also good, especially in the scenes where he's being tortured. His death caused by the plowing machine is very thrilling. I harboured the hope that he would be saved by Montalban and James Mitchell but unfortunately ... Also with Charles McGraw and a great ending with the quicksand. And last but not least ... John Alton! Again stunning visuals. Alton was actually the main reason I chose this noir because I was ready again for some beautiful photography. And he never fails to deliver.
Well, the title The Undercover Man is misleading, as is the film's description on Letterboxd. Glenn Ford is not going undercover, but if he would have done that it would have made for a more suspenseful and exciting film. Still, I didn't mind that this police procedural (about the treasury department investigating the tax evasion of a big crime boss) is low in action. I enjoyed the performances, especially Ford is great. I also liked Nina Foch here. Her role is just the supporting wife but I loved her scenes and relationship with Ford, it felt very real. In particular the scene where a worried Ford visits Foch (after threats been made to her life and he thinks of quitting his job) shows Ford's fear and love for his wife and Foch is sensible and supportive. It's a lovely quiet scene with them sitting under a tree, basically my favourite scene from the film. It stands in sharp contrast with the most harrowing moment of this noir, namely the foot chase where gangster Anthony Caruso is shot down before his daughter's eyes (the little actress Joan Lazer is great by the way). This film, directed by Joseph H. Lewis (from Gun Crazy and The Big Combo), is well worth a watch and benefits from great visuals by Burnett Guffey.
Dangerous Crossing, Abandoned, Bullets or Ballots, Cry Vengeance, Cover Up, Naked Alibi, The Blue Gardenia, The Price of Fear, Railroaded! and The Tall Target are all good and enjoyable but I had expected more.
My mind was preoccupied elsewhere so I didn't pay full attention to Dangerous Crossing — with a story reminiscent of The Lady Vanishes — and I didn't see the plot twist coming. But it's an enjoyable noir with some great moody and fog-enshrouded photography by Harry J. Wild. Also love the setting on the cruise ship. Jeanne Crain is somewhat hysterical and her fainting spells are a bit too much but I do like her.
Abandoned is a solid noir about a woman gone missing and her sister (Gale Storm) looking for her. Dennis O'Keefe plays the reporter helping our heroine. He's annoying at first but his character grew on me and I liked the development of the relationship between the leads and their chemistry. By the way, I had to laugh at how the mike (for picking up a conversation with the suspect) is hidden in the bushes, which reminded me of the scene in Singin' In the Rain with Jean Hagen and the mike sticking out of the bush. Nicely shot by William H. Daniels.
Bullets or Ballots is more gangster film than noir but IMDB classifies it as noir so noir it is! It has little to do with the genre, though, but it's entertaining, with Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart playing opponents. Robinson is the good guy and Bogart plays the tough gangster (his supporting role is considerable). Both give good performances. I didn't completely follow the racketeer intricacies but I don't think I missed anything crucial to the story. Sadly Joan Blondell (wearing some great dresses) is underused here, I'd wish she had more screen time. She has great chemistry with Robinson and I liked their relationship. Though the ending was satisfying, I thought it was kind of a bummer that Robinson and Blondell didn't end up together.
Cry Vengeance, directed by and starring Mark Stevens, is a noir mainly set in the daytime and in beautiful Alaska. It's pretty average, with no real suspense to speak of since everything is exposed from the beginning, but it hugely benefits from the location shooting. It's an added character. Despite being predictable I still had a good time with this. The makeup job with the fake facial burn is badly done, though.
Cover Up is a noir which isn't really a noir (though classified as such on IMDB) but an enjoyable mystery film starring Dennis O'Keefe. I was pleasantly surprised with the female lead Barbara Britton. She's lovely and sparkling and I liked the romance angle. Though lacking in the suspense department, it was still good fun.
Sterling Hayden is pretty hunky in Naked Alibi but Gloria Grahame easily steals every scene she's in. I liked her femme fatale with a heart of gold and she looks both sexy and vulnerable. I've only seen Gene Barry in The War of the Worlds but here he was convincing as the bad guy. We are left a bit in the dark about his motives to kill the cops (or I must have missed something). Hayden and Grahame have great chemistry and it's too bad they don't share more scenes and that this is the only film they made together. Great cinematography by Russell Metty.
The Blue Gardenia is an enjoyable Fritz Lang noir with a familiar story premise of someone committing a murder while being drunk. (But did she really do it?) Good role for Anne Baxter. I liked seeing Baxter with her roommates Ann Sothern and Jeff Donnell. Richard Conte is a bit underused and his role ended up being solely for the purpose of falling for Baxter. It was curious, though, when Baxter told Conte the happenings of the night of the murder, claiming it concerned her friend, that Conte acts surprised after finding out it was Baxter herself. Doesn't he know that they always talk about themselves while pretending to talk about someone else? Predictable plot twist, nice photography by Nicholas Musuraca and always a pleasure to see and hear Nat King Cole croon.
Didn't expect anything from The Price of Fear but it had a surprisingly original plot (Lex Barker suspected of two crimes he didn't commit, including a hit-and-run accident caused by Merle Oberon) with some twists up its sleeve. The lead stars Barker and Oberon are just passable in their roles and this could have been so much better with more dynamic noir power. Imagine, for instance, Lizabeth Scott in Oberon's part! There's also little chemistry between Oberon and Barker and their relationship could have used more passion and heat to make the quick romance believable. Still, not a waste of time and a good way to spend 79 minutes.
Railroaded! is a decent little film noir by Anthony Mann with great photography by Guy Roe. I was pretty much unfamiliar with the cast, except for Jane Randolph who turned out to be my favourite character. She's great here as the femme fatale. Sheila Ryan, who plays the sister of the guy who's being framed for killing a cop, has a less interesting role. She also serves as the romantic interest for our detective hero Hugh Beaumont but at the same time hangs out with bad guy John Ireland. The detective is a bit too nice, by the way. He would have been more interesting with some Charles McGraw toughness. Not a memorable noir by any means but enjoyable while it lasted. Watch out for that catfight!
Another Anthony Mann noir. The Tall Target about the conspiracy to assassinate president-elect Abraham Lincoln before his inauguration was overall a let-down as I had high hopes for it. It starts off rather slow and it takes some time before it picks up speed. In the beginning it was almost boring. Fortunately it also has things going for it. The visuals by DP Paul Vogel are stunning. I loved the train setting, also the period in which the story is set and the overall atmosphere. Paula Raymond has very little to do, though, so her second billing didn't make much sense, also because she's not a big name in the first place. The stand-out role is reserved for Ruby Dee as Rachel, Raymond's servant, and I liked the fact that she was given such a prominent role. ("Freedom isn’t a thing you should’ve been able to give me, Miss Ginny. Freedom is something I should’ve been born with.") Except for Dee the performances are nothing out of the ordinary but I like Dick Powell (here his character is named John Kennedy!), especially in his noir films. Though this is classified as a noir, it feels more like a period thriller.
The Threat, Suddenly, Shockproof, Force of Evil and Dark City are enjoyable but flawed and ultimately disappointing.
The Threat is okay, but to be honest, I missed some of this noir's middle part because I was very sleepy. But I have seen enough of this film to have noticed that it suffers from the weak leading role of Michael O'Shea as the police detective. Charles McGraw's escaped convict, set out to take revenge on the men who put him in jail, is good and he's pretty brutal. Virginia Grey is the femme fatale who isn't that fatale but saves the day in the end. Cinematography by Harry J. Wild.
Suddenly is a disappointment. There was hardly any suspense, the part set in the house was too talky with little action, the dialogue is weak and leaves a lot to be desired. I love Sterling Hayden, because of his physique and screen presence, but his performances are often stiff and his line delivery couldn't be more wooden than here. Frank Sinatra gives an okay performance but I just didn't find his character believable. The bad guys in the house were outnumbered by the good guys and Sinatra was talking all the time and walking around with his gun poking out of his holster. It didn't make sense that nobody attempted to grab it, with a sheriff and a retired Secret Service agent in the house. The female lead Nancy Gates is very weak and the boy gets annoying. Also unsatisfactory ending.
With Shockproof, a noir directed by Douglas Sirk, I had no idea what to expect. I liked the story premise of a parole officer falling for his parolee and it showed promise but the romance depicted was just not very believable. Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight were married while making this film, yet curiously enough they don't convince as a couple. Also the development of the story stretches the boundaries of credibility and it would have been so much better if Knight hadn't fallen for Wilde but would have played along with her criminal boyfriend. Well, if you feel it's all unbelievable, then wait until you come to the end. I think this is the worst noir ending I have ever seen, it really boggles the mind why they have opted for such a conclusion. Fortunately DP Charles Lawton Jr. treats us to great visuals.
Force of Evil has great cinematography by George Barnes (who won an Oscar for his work in Rebecca), a femme fatale (or rather the promise of) and some shady immoral business. But what a disappointment! The plot was so convoluted, I didn't understand the intricacies and workings of the numbers racket business and soon enough gave up trying to make sense of it. I lost complete interest somewhere along the way and didn't care what happened to the characters. John Garfield is a bad guy and unlikeable and he plays it well. Thomas Gomez as his brother gives a good performance, but Marie Windsor is hugely underused. I would have preferred to see John Garfield spending more time with Windsor instead of romancing unappealing Beatrice Pearson. I didn't like Pearson's character nor the actress at all. So basically this viewing suffered from my lack of engagement and I fail to understand why this noir is so widely praised.
Dark City is also a bit of a let-down but there's still enough to enjoy. Some nice photography by Victor Milner, especially during the poker game scenes with a cigarette-smoke-filled room, the harsh light of the overhead table lamp and the close-ups of the players. Charlton Heston is okay in his first major starring role and he actually looks pretty good in his white shirt. I didn't care much for the female roles. A lot of screen time is reserved for Lizabeth Scott (singing too many songs) but her character is not interesting or important to the story. Also the sudden love triangle plot twist with Viveca Lindfors lacks credibility. I did like the male supporting cast a lot. Jack Webb, Ed Begley and Harry Morgan are all great. Dean Jagger and Don DeFore are good too. With a surprisingly upbeat happy ending.
Coming to the last of the noirs which is also my lowest rated film of the month. Dishonored Lady is hampered by the Hays Code and doesn't depict the promiscuity of its Dishonered Lady Hedy Lamarr well enough. I found it all rather tame. Moreover, the story premise of a promiscuous woman being condemned for her immoral behaviour is terribly outdated. The film is worthwhile for Lamarr, if only to see her exceptional beauty (she looks really good in this film and at times reminded me of Vivien Leigh). The three leading men Dennis O'Keefe, John Loder and William Lundigan are all fairly dull with O'Keefe sporting a very blond hairdo (unbecoming). Noteworthy fact: Loder and Lamarr were married at the time.
Before I will talk about the non-noirs seen this month, I want to put the spotlight on noir's cinematography. The way the masters of chiaroscuro — the directors of photography — paint the screen with light and dark tones, make use of high contrast and deep focus, is a genuine treat for the eyes. My favourite shot noirs of this month are: Plunder Road (Ernest Haller), T-Men (John Alton), Killer’s Kiss (Stanley Kubrick), Naked Alibi (Russell Metty), Force of Evil (George Barnes), Out of the Fog (James Wong Howe), Rogue Cop (John F. Seitz), Railroaded! (Guy Roe), The Tall Target (Paul Vogel), Cry of the City (Lloyd Ahern), Night and the City (Max Greene) and Border Incident (John Alton).
Most of the other noirs had great visuals as well: The Blue Gardenia (Nicholas Musuraca), Roadblock (Nicholas Musuraca), The Threat (Harry J. Wild), Dangerous Crossing (Harry J. Wild), The Killer That Stalked New York (Joseph F. Biroc), Road House (Joseph LaShelle), Johnny Allegro (Joseph F. Biroc), Loan Shark (Joseph F. Biroc), Shockproof (Charles Lawton Jr.), Scandal Sheet (Burnett Guffey), Dark City (Victor Milner) and The Undercover Man (Burnett Guffey).
So much for the noirs!
Let's have a look at the three non-noir films I watched this month:
Under-Cover Man (with George Raft, Nancy Carroll and Roscoe Karns)
Music for Millions (with Margaret O'Brien, José Iturbi, June Allyson, Jimmy Durante and Marsha Hunt)
The Human Comedy (with Mickey Rooney, Frank Morgan, James Craig, Marsha Hunt, Van Johnson and Donna Reed)
A lot of noir crime films have little to do with film noir yet are classified as noir nonetheless. I thought maybe this would apply to Under-Cover Man starring George Raft (who played in a lot of noirs) but it doesn't feature on the They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? list, and IMDB classifies it as crime/drama and Wikipedia as a pre-code crime film. So I'll list it here. I was supersleepy while watching this and missed some parts so if there would have been a trace of noir, I would probably have missed it anyway. I enjoyed what I did see. Raft is very young here and has his shiny dark hair plastered to his scalp. He's kind of cute, especially in the last shot with Nancy Carroll (Roscoe Karns asks them to join him and they both say no in a mischievous way). Too bad Raft and Carroll didn't share more scenes together. I also liked David Landau as the inspector and Noel Francis as the gangster's moll.
I felt like watching a feel-good movie among all those gloomy noirs so I picked Music for Millions. I like Margaret O'Brien and she's totally adorable in the scene at Grand Central Station with the pointed hat, the umbrella and suitcase. The film gets a bit saccharine at times and I disapproved of the way the girls held back the bad news telegram from June Allyson and subsequently had a letter fabricated, but overall I really enjoyed this. I love Marsha Hunt and also like sweet Allyson. One of the film's selling points is the wonderful classical music, especially both renditions of Debussy's Clair de Lune, one of my favourite classical music pieces (here performed by Larry Adler on harmonica and also by José Iturbi on piano). Jimmy Durante is a bit of a hit and miss for me — usually I don't like him — but he shares some nice scenes with O'Brien.
Coming to the end of this post, there is one film left to mention. The Human Comedy is way too long with scenes dragging unnecessarily. I watched this for Marsha Hunt but I didn't really like her character and her role was pretty small. Anyway, it's Mickey Rooney's film and he gives a solid dramatic performance. I liked him and his character. This film boasts a well-known cast (Donna Reed, Frank Morgan, James Craig, Fay Bainter and Van Johnson) and also has uncredited appearances of Robert Mitchum and Don DeFore. There are few surprises and Van Johnson's fate is predictable, but it still manages to entertain and move, and despite the sentimentality and the film's length I enjoyed these little slices of life. Love the scene where the mannequin in the window leans over and scares the hell out of little Jackie 'Butch' Jenkins.
So that's another round-up! Can't believe I have only one more monthly round-up to do this year and then it's on to 2021 which I will start with a new yearly recap. Much of 2020 still seems unreal if you stop and think about it. But it's a fact that because of Covid and home confinement and working from home I have watched more films than I have ever watched in a year's time. The count so far is 297 films and my goal for 2020 is 300. I can say with certainty that I will surpass this goal in December.
Hopefully the Filmoteca doesn't have to close its doors again and we can enjoy watching some classics on the big screen. I don't want to go overboard with this since I prefer not to spend too much time indoors with other people, so I have to make film choices. I will also watch some Christmas classics at home and might write some extra blog posts.
Stay safe and healthy and see you with the next post!
PHOTOS/GIFS IN THIS POST FROM TOP TO BOTTOM:
*Night and the City (1950) with Gene Tierney and Richard Widmark; (screenshot by me)
*George Raft, most watched actor of the month;
*Ida Lupino for Out of the Fog (1941);
*Plunder Road (1957) with Gene Raymond, Jeanne Cooper and Steven Ritch;
*Plunder Road (1957) with Gene Raymond and Steven Ritch;
*Plunder Road (1957) with Jeanne Cooper;
*Cry of the City (1948) with Richard Conte and Debra Paget;
*Cry of the City (1948) with Victor Mature, Richard Conte and Debra Paget;
*Cry of the City (1948) with Victor Mature and Shelley Winters;
*Night and the City (1950) with Gene Tierney and Richard Widmark; (gif by me)
*Night and the City (1950) with Gene Tierney and Hugh Marlowe;
*Night and the City (1950) with Gene Tierney and Richard Widmark; (screenshot by me)
*Johnny Allegro (1949) with George Raft and Nina Foch;
*Loan Shark (1952) with George Raft and Dorothy Hart;
*Mr. Ace (1946) with George Raft and Sylvia Sidney;
*Rogue Cop (1954) with Robert Taylor, Janet Leigh, George Raft and Anne Francis;
*Roadblock (1951) with Charles McGraw and Joan Dixon;
*The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) with Evelyn Keyes;
*T-Men (1947) with Dennis O'Keefe and Wallace Ford;
*Killer’s Kiss (1955) with Jamie Smith and Irene Kane;
*Road House (1948) with Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde and Richard Widmark;
*Road House (1948) with Ida Lupino, Cornel Wilde, Celeste Holm and Richard Widmark;
*Out of the Fog (1941) with Ida Lupino and John Garfield;
*Out of the Fog (1941), behind the scenes with Ida Lupino and Eddie Albert;
*Out of the Fog (1941) with Ida Lupino, Thomas Mitchell and John Qualen;
*Scandal Sheet (1952) with Donna Reed and John Derek;
*Border Incident (1949) with Ricardo Montalban and James Mitchell; (screenshot by me)
*Border Incident (1949) with Ricardo Montalban and Sig Ruman; (gif by me)
*The Undercover Man (1949), behind the scenes with Glenn Ford, director Joseph H. Lewis, Nina Foch and dialogue coach Loren Gage;
*The Undercover Man (1949) with Glenn Ford and Nina Foch;
*Dangerous Crossing (1953) with Jeanne Crain and Michael Rennie;
*Abandoned (1949) with Dennis O'Keefe and Gale Storm;
*Bullets or Ballots (1936) with Edward G. Robinson and Joan Blondell;
*Cry Vengeance (1954) with Mark Stevens and Martha Hyer;
*Cover Up (1949) with Dennis O'Keefe and Barbara Britton; (screenshot by me)
*Naked Alibi (1954) with Sterling Hayden and Gloria Grahame;
*The Blue Gardenia (1953) with Anne Baxter;
*The Blue Gardenia (1953), publicity still with Richard Conte, Nat King Cole and Anne Baxter;
*The Price of Fear (1956) with Merle Oberon and Lex Barker;
*Railroaded! (1947) with John Ireland, Sheila Ryan and Hugh Beaumont;
*The Tall Target (1951) with Dick Powell, Paula Raymond, Marshall Thompson and Ruby Dee;
*The Threat (1949) with Michael O'Shea, Virginia Grey and Charles McGraw;
*Suddenly (1954) with Sterling Hayden;
*Suddenly (1954), behind the scenes with Frank Sinatra and Nancy Gates;
*Shockproof (1949) with Cornel Wilde and Patricia Knight;
*Force of Evil (1948) with John Garfield and Beatrice Pearson;
*Dark City (1950) with Charlton Heston, Lizabeth Scott, Jack Webb, Ed Begley and Don DeFore;
*Dishonored Lady (1947) with Hedy Lamarr and John Loder;
*Force of Evil (1948) with John Garfield;
*The Tall Target (1951) with Dick Powell and Adolphe Menjou;
*Cry of the City (1948); (screenshot by me)
*Under-Cover Man (1932) with George Raft and Nancy Carroll;
*Music for Millions (1944) with Margaret O'Brien; (gif by me)
*Music for Millions (1944) with Margaret O'Brien and Jimmy Durante;
*Music for Millions (1944) with Margaret O'Brien, June Allyson and Marsha Hunt;
*The Human Comedy (1943) with Mickey Rooney, Donna Reed, Fay Bainter and Dorothy Morris;
*The Human Comedy (1943) with Mickey Rooney.
