Film Noir : What Film Noir did you see?:September/October edition.

What Film Noir did you see?:September/October edition.

Hi everyone I hope you all had a good Summer,and with there only being a month of 🌞 left before Halloween arrives it is the perfect time to say...


Hello to the Homme and Femme Fatales of the dark alleyways,and welcome to the latest edition of your bimonthly thread.This is where we all get a chance to post our views on Film Noir or films of a similar ilk from Neo-Noir to Gothic Noir.Although we are primarily about the Noir world,post on your non-Noir viewings are all welcomed as well,in the spirit of good conversation.

ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

CONTAINS SPOILERS


ROGUE COP 1954

Bent cops, the Mob, murder and revenge are all at the top of the bill in this MGM production. The cast includes, Robert Taylor, Steve Forrest, George Raft, Janet Leigh, Anne Francis, Robert Ellenstein, Alan Hale Jr, Robert F. Simon, Olive Carey and Vince Edwards.

Robert Taylor plays a crooked Detective who is on the payroll of Mob boss, George Raft. Raft calls up Taylor for a meeting at the race track. Raft needs Taylor to have a word with Taylor's kid brother, rookie cop, Steve Forrest. Forrest is the only witness against a murderer, Peter Brocco that the Mob wants released. The Mob is willing to cough up 10 large for Forrest to have some memory issues.

Taylor has a talk with his brother but Forrest is not interested. Taylor tells Forrest that the Mob is not inclined to take no for an answer. Taylor also has a word with Forrest's girl, nightclub singer, Janet Leigh. Taylor wants Leigh to "suggest" to Forrest that the 10 grand would let them get married and such. Forrest still refuses to play ball.

Taylor has another meeting with Raft and Raft's Mob boss, Robert F. Simon. Taylor asks why this particular man, Peter Brocco is so important. He gets no answer to the question, instead Raft tells Taylor that Forrest had best agree to the deal, or else drastic measures will be taken. Taylor loses his cool which ends with Raft and himself exchanging punches with Raft taking a thumping. (As does Raft's bodyguard, Alan Hale Jr) Taylor warns Raft and Simon that he will be most upset if anything happens to his brother.

In the middle of all this is the alcoholic girlfriend of Raft, Anne Francis. After Taylor pounds on Raft, Raft takes it out on Francis when she cracks wise about the beating.

The film now goes to a straight up vengeance picture as the Mob does indeed kill Forrest. Taylor goes off the rails as he goes after Brocco to find out what he has on Raft and company. Turns out Brocco had witnessed Raft and Simon do a murder years ago, and has been blackmailing them since. Bodies are needless to say going to pile up along the way here.

For a MGM film, this is a real change of pace with plenty of violence etc. Robert Taylor is excellent as the bent cop as is Raft as the mobster. The screenplay is by Sydney Boehm from the novel of William P. McGivern. McGivern also wrote the novels for ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW, THE BIG HEAT, HELL ON FRISCO BAY and SHIELD FOR MURDER. All these novels were turned into films.

ROGUE COP cinematographer, John F Seitz was nominated for an Oscar for Best Cinematography. Seitz was a favourite of Alan Ladd and worked with Ladd over 20 times. The 7 time Oscar nominated Seitz was a sure hand in the Noir genre with, SUNSET BLVD, THE LOST WEEKEND, THIS GUN FOR HIRE, CALCUTTA, SAIGON, THE BIG CLOCK, CHICAGO DEADLINE, APPOINTMENT WITH DANGER and DOUBLE INDEMNITY as examples of his work.

Re: ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

You're watching all my favorites. I love Rogue Cop. By the mid-fifties Taylor had certainly shed his "powder puff" image completely and was all the better for it. He and Janet Leigh had great chemistry.

I don't know if it's out on DVD, this one should get a restoration.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

If I had a choice of bent cops I actually prefer Edmund O'Brien in "Shield For Murder"

Re: ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

Shield for Murder has been on my list a long time, but I have not been able to track it down. Guess I have to buy it.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

Shield For Murder actually has a nice cameo by Carolyn Jones as a "B" Girl check this clip
here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O4ajt8eLcg ;-)

Re: ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

As a blonde! Almost didn't recognize her.

I put it in the amazon basket.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

Have been wanting to watch Rogue Cop for years and am unable to find it on dvd. Where did you watch it?

Re: ROGUE COP 1954 : Robert Taylor shines

I had a copy recorded off of TCM years ago.

Hard boiled TV :MICKEY SPILLANE'S "Mike Hammer!"1954 Brian Keith

Re-watched this a while back and thought it worth posting.

CONTAINS SPOILERS

MICKEY SPILLANE'S – "Mike Hammer!" - 1954

An excellent first stab at producing a series based on writer Spillane's hard-boiled detective. This was to be the pilot for the series, but the networks decided to pass on adding it to any of their line-ups. In this one, Brian Keith plays the hard as nails private detective.

This one starts with Keith paying a nighttime visit to his favourite watering hole and club, "The Purple Peacock". Out front, Keith stops for a moment to say hello to young newspaper hawker, Leon Burbank.

Once inside the club Keith orders a drink and a big steak. He joined by the club owner, Robert Foulk. Foulk nods at a table with three men across the way. He then says to Keith that two of the men are FBI types. They are guarding the third man who is a witness in a mob trial.

The three finish their meal, pay the tab and head out. Suddenly the night is split by multiple blasts from a shotgun. The mob witness, one FBI man and the young newspaper seller all go down in a pool of blood. Hammer rushes out and helps the wounded FBI man. He then has a look at the other two. Both newsboy Burbank and the Mob witness are dead. The Police and an ambulance are summoned.

Later in the evening, Keith is in the office of Police Captain, Robert Bice. They are talking about the killing. Bice knows it was a hit ordered by local mobster, Donald Randolph. But he cannot prove it since Randolph and his crew have alibis.

Keith of course sets out to prove what the Police are unable to do. He pays a visit to the apartment of Virginia Lee. Lee is Randolph's girlfriend and supplier of his alibi. Also at the apartment are, Randolph and his two pet gunsels, Donald Harvey and Dale Van Sickle. Words are exchanged and warnings issued by both sides before Keith exits.

Later on, Keith returns and breaks into Lee's apartment. He wakes her and starts with some heavy 3rd degree. Lee stands firm and tells Keith nothing useful. She cracks, "I didn't hear you knock when you came in." "Who knocks from the fire escape". Keith grumbles in return before he leaves.

The next day Keith is contacted by Miss Lee and told she does have some info for him. A meeting is arranged for that evening down in the warehouse district. Lee shows and tells Keith that she had lied about being with Randolph and his brunos at the time of the murders. She is telling Keith this, but has no intention on telling the cops the same. "I want to keep breathing, but I feel bad about the young kid getting whacked."

Keith heads home for some sack time before deciding what his next move is. As he enters his apartment, Keith is jumped by Randolph's thugs, Harvey and Van Sickle. They proceed to give Keith a first-rate curb stomping. Keith manages to get in a couple punches himself, then, dives out the bathroom window with bullets chasing him. Down the fire escape and into a pile of garbage Keith throws himself. The two thugs miss him in the dark and soon take off.

The thoroughly pulverized Keith stays under the garbage. "A guy needs some sleep after a beating like that. I'll just close my eyes and bleed a while." Next morning Keith hauls himself over to Miss Lee's apartment. Needless to say he finds that Lee has been dealt with by Harvey and Van Sickle, in a most unpleasant manner.

Keith spends the day licking his wounds while planning his revenge. That night he hits Randolph's estate and watches. He cracks the guard on duty and enters the estate. He sees Randolph inside talking with his gunmen. Randolph dismisses them and sits for a drink. Keith now enters through the patio doors and grabs up Randolph. A revolver planted up his nose soon has Randolph agreeing to write a confession. He ordered the killing of the witness and Miss Lee.

As this is going on, Harvey and Van Sickle have discovered the unconscious guard. They quickly return to Randolph's study and find Keith. Van Sickle goes for his rod and is shot by Keith. Keith smiles at Harvey and shows him the confession by Randolph. "This lands you in the jackpot." A furious Harvey now pulls his piece, but blasts Randolph before turning on Keith. Keith drops the man with several well-placed shots.

Keith calmly waits outside for the Police. He tells Captain Bice it was all a matter of self defence.

What an episode! It features hard-boiled dialogue from start to finish and is remarkably violent for the time.

The episode was written and directed by Blake Edwards. You could say this was a tune up for his later series, PETER GUNN.

The d of p was noir great, George Diskant. His film work include, DESPERATE, RIFFRAFF, THEY LIVE BY NIGHT, PORT OF NEW YORK, BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN, THE RACKET, BEWARE MY LOVELY, ON DANGEROUS GROUND, KANSAS CITY CONFIDENTIAL and THE NARROW MARGIN.

Rogue Leigh

It sounds like you enjoyed watching this Hammer ep again Gordon! I also want to say thank you for the excellent review of Rogue Cop, (which I've ticked) and that with recently having seen her fun 1951 movie Two Tickets to Broadway,I do think that Leigh's pre-Psycho/Touch of Evil credits are still getting largely overlooked.

Re: Rogue Leigh

Thanks.

Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

10

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GFAMA42/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687762&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00026L74U&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=HYWYZZABWZMEEK2JDKEQ


https://www.amazon.co.uk/Quai-Brumes-DVD-Digitally-Restored/dp/B007SURE7W


"You shoot..and then some guy screams,he holds his stomach and makes a face like a kid with bellyache.His hands turn red…and then he drops."


* This review may contain spoilers ***

February 2016:

Opening a parcel of DVDs on my birthday,I was pleased to find that as a gift,the DVD seller had included a copy of Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (in a plain white sleeve.) Going out to meet pals,I put the disc to the side,and made plans to watch it later that night.Returning home,it soon hit me that I had forgotten where I put it,with the white sleeve blending into other DVD cases (who says you can have a "watch list" that is to big!)

September 2016:

Searching for the 1950 Yves Allégret/Simone Signoret Film Noir Manèges,I was thrilled to stumble on Port of Shadows,which led to me rushing to the port.

The plot:

Desperate to leave his life in the army behind, deserter Jean sails into the port city of Le Havre,in order to catch a ship where he can start a new life. Planning to stay hidden in the shadows,Jean steps out when he catches a glimpse of 17 year old (police!) Nelly. Running away from her godfather Zabel's place after he makes aggressive advances,Nelly (whose boyfriend Maurice has "disappeared") starts to spend time with Jean. As Jean and Nelly get closer,Zabel and local gangster Lucien start making plans on sending Jean off to the port of shadows.

View on the film:

Called "immoral, depressing and distressing for young people" and being too negative on the country when it hit the screens,the movie has had a tough fight for survival,with the master print having scenes (sadly still missing) ripped out,and the Criterion version (which I saw) having a clean picture and sound,but lacking the extended first scene,but poorer image quality of the Studio Canal edition. Despite these challenges,director Marcel Carné is still able to cast Film Noir mist over the high seas.

Sailing in, Jean Gabin gives an excellent performance as Jean. Restraining Jean's anger,Gabin hatches open the shell of a Film Noir loner,hanging his shoulders low and shuffling across the floor,who crosses Nelly's personal space with an exquisite delicacy, haunted by an avalanche of death. Repulsed at Zabel's advances,the gorgeous Michèle Morgan gives a magnetic performance as 17 year old Femme Fatale Nelly,whose age allows Morgan to retain a hint of innocence criss-crossed with a fatal firmness on standing her ground.Appearing to choke on his own beard, Michel Simon gives a dazzling, monstrous performance as Zabel,while future Eyes Without A Face Pierre Brasseur gives a simmering performance as Lucien.

Arriving to Le Havre on a foggy night,director Marcel Carné and cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan bathe the title in a brittle Film Noir atmosphere,covering the streets in cobbles shattered by sleet,whilst Jean's search for the harbour of escape/hope,is clouded by the rich fog Carné blocks any shots of light entering Jean's life. Wrapping an atmosphere of Film Noir doom round Nelly and Jean, Carné & Schüfftan dip the couple into an extraordinary elegance,Jean and Nelly's low- lit faces against a stark backdrop gives the Noir romance a poetic quality.

Bringing Pierre Dumarchais's book into shore,the screenplay by Jacques Prévert pounds the Film Noir with cracking,hard-nosed dialogue,which along with uncovering the tough skin loner Jean has developed,also captures the tense air of menace that Lucien and Zabel have shot into the bleak sky. Cleverly commenting on events gathering pace (with Prime Minister Édouard Daladier in 1938 telling the British that Hitler's goal was "A domination of the Continent in comparison with which the ambitions of Napoleon were feeble.") Prévert brilliantly makes Jean's heart-wrenching fight for Nelly a battle for "freedom" in the merciless Film Noir terror of Zabel and Lucien,as the port of shadows sinks into darkness.

Re: Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

I like this one too.

Re: Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

That is good to hear Mgt,and I was wondering if you have seen any of Carne's other movies?



Re: Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

I love this film. Always been a Gabin fan.

Jean Gabin made only one American film, Moontide with Ida Lupino. I saw it not long ago, it was very disappointing unfortunately. Somehow Hollywood couldn't capture his unique persona and charisma.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

Hi Jess,I hope you are having a good weekend,and from looking at the reviews of Moontide (co-directed by an un-credited Lang) it sounds like Gabin never quite settles in from being out of his film world.With you enjoying this movie so much,I was wondering if you have seen any of Carne's other works?

Re: Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

Just saw your reply.
The only other Carné film I've seen is Les enfants du paradis/Children of Paradise, obviously a must-see. If you haven't seen it, try to track it down.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

I also liked this powerful and rather sad film, but I had a different reaction than Jessica about Moontide. I thought it was a beautifully photographed, extremely atmospheric noir with a strong story.

I just saw another, lesser-known Carne film, Les Tricheurs (1958) aka The Cheaters, aka The Young Cheaters. It is not a noir, but a story of disaffected young people in Paris experimenting with existentialism, casual sex, and rejection of traditional values. But unlike American films of this period that dealt with punky high school students, Carne deals with well-dressed, intelligent college types that prefer hot jazz over rock 'n roll. They are the "beautiful people" rebels led by star Jaques Charrier who has Alain Delon type looks. But regardless of their classiness, their lives spiral out of control just like the tough-guy Americans' lives did. A fascinating film.

Re: Marcel Carné's Port of Shadows (1938):DVD Links.

I agree Moontide had beautiful cinematography. Maybe it was just too much of a fairy tale for me to really fall in love with it.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Les Tricheurs

Hi Retro,thank you for the rec,and I'm pleased to report that I've tracked Les Tricheurs down!

Re: Les Tricheurs

I've just discovered that this film is available on Amazon (US) streaming under the title "Youthful Sinners."

Flaxy Martin (1949)

Flaxy Martin is a minor but very enjoyable B Noir directed by Richard Bare for Warner Brothers. For no discernible reason the movie is almost unknown, though it shouldn’t be. Bare worked almost exclusively in television, this was his only Noir but he acquitted himself quite well.
The picture has nice visuals curtesy of Carl Guthrie.

Virginia Mayo plays scheming and duplicitous showgirl Flaxy Martin who lets boyfriend Walter Colby (Zachary Scott) take the rap for a murder to which she was an accessory, just to help boyfriend No. 2, a mobster.
Colby, who has to realize he has been taken for a ride by Flaxy and her mobster friend, gets 20 years for murder, escapes from prison and is helped by nice girl Nora Carson (Dorothy Malone) in clearing his name.

Without a doubt the movie is derivative. There’s an innocent man on the run and there are shades of Dark Passage and Impact.
Credibility has to be checked in at the door, there are quite a few plot contrivances, and the characters’s motivations should not be scrutinized too closely, lest they don’t hold up to logic. Never mind though.

During the first half of the movie we are firmly in Noir territory, shady lawyers, mobsters who have witnesses murdered and a dame with a dubious morality abound. The second half unfortunately loses steam a bit for a while due to the redemption subplot of Scott and Malone. Pastoral small-town life is shown to promise deliverance from the evils of big city (crime and sin), but it’s drawn out a bit too long.

Incredibly glamorous Virginia Mayo steals the show as amoral Flaxy. She’s perfect as a devious dame who loves to live easy and should get honorable mention in the parthenon of great femmes fatales. She has a knack for working her way out of a jam, by letting others take the fall for her in the approved femme fatale fashion. Why suffer yourself when you can send somebody else up the river? Her little smile when Colby takes the blame for her and when she stands by watching a killing is truly chilling.
Unfortunately her time on the screen is limited, she is absent entirely during the second half of the movie and only appears in the end again. Her shenanigans are sorely missed.

Zachary Scott, an underrated actor, is the shyster lawyer for the mob. He’s not exactly crooked himself but has certainly looked the other way a few times and let his morals become corrupted. Scott is not quite as memorable as he was in Mildred Pierce and Flamingo Road, but he is very good as a man who has become bitter due to a rude awakening about the company he keeps.

Honorable mention has to go to Elisha Cook Jr., who played the role he so often excelled at, the little nasty weasel. Here he is a gunsel for the mob.

Dorothy Malone has the thankless role as the good girl, the redemptive woman. She is very touching though and makes the most of it.

All in all recommended.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Nice review! Still need to see this one, thanks for the reminder.

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Well done, Jess. I also like the same director's THIS SIDE OF THE LAW from 1950.

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Somehow I completely missed This Side of the Law, another forgotten one. I saw your review of it and it sounds good. Amazon has it.

On a different note, Gordon, as you watch a lot of classic TV, many episodes of The Untouchables are on youtube, mostly good prints, some are very bad though. I'm glad I stumbled on them again.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

LOL. It will be years before I ever get around to the UNTOUCHABLES.

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Oh that's sad. They're up there now. I forgot how much I liked them.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

I totally agree with you on this one. Although it is a minor noir, it has a lot going for it. I especially liked the cast that includes so many good actors, including the unique Cook...any film in which he appears is worth a look.

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

You may want to check out Bare's The House Across the Street (1949). It's packaged with Homicide (1949) as a two-fer at The Warner Archive and while neither is among the ten best of the year, they're both respectable programmers if not exactly noir as indicated on the box.

The House Across the Street (1949) was previously filmed by Warners three times, so I guess they thought that they finally got it right.


It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Thanks for the tip, I'll check it out. So I guess I was wrong about Richard Bare having directed only one Noir. Looking through his filmography, there's a few.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Bare's short So You Want to Be a Detective (1948) is one of the earliest noir spoofs and one of the best entries in the long running Joe McDoakes series of shorts. Mitchum's playmate Lila Leeds is in it as is Clifton Young who tried extortion on Bogie in Dark Passage and ended up regretting it.

As far as whether Flaxy is Bare's only noir or not is debatable. To some, a shadow and an alley are all that are needed to put the stamp "noir" on a film. It's reached the point of being a commercial gimmick now, like how suddenly every 30s and early 40s comedy seems to be labeled "screwball" now. I think we try too hard to put things in boxes, I tend to work more on a "if you liked that, you may enjoy this" basis.

It's similar with westerns now, too much fine tuning and people saying that The Wild Bunch isn't a western since most of it takes place in Mexico or it misses a date cut-off point. Screw it, if you liked Vera Cruz, you'll love The Wild Bunch. They both have guns, horses, good-bad guys and bad-good guys.

As always, a pleasure Jessica.



It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)


To some, a shadow and an alley are all that are needed to put the stamp "noir" on a film. It's reached the point of being a commercial gimmick now

Absolutely, I think there have been several discussions about it, here and on the CFB. It's definitively a marketing tool.

I had never heard about the So You Want to Be... series, but then I read about the Detective one and it seems to be really great. Must watch now.

Lila Leeds was not only one of Mitchum's many girlfriends, I remember her from The Lady in the Lake as Audrey Totter's secretary. Totter is great, but I think the award for the best dame in the movie goes to Lila.

Edit: What happened to Lila? Her career is practically non-existent. She was perfect for Noir.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

You might recognize the voice of Joe McDoakes - it's George O'Hanlon who voiced George Jetson.

I'll have to check in with melvelvit who once posted something about the later years of Lila Leeds. The publicity hurt her and I believe that there were other run-ins with the law.

So You Want To Be in Pictures (lots of cameos) and So You Want To Play the Horses are also good entries in the series. TCM used to play them often but of late they've been spending a lot of their between films time on promos - and not promos for upcoming movies.



It ain't easy being green, or anything else, other than to be me

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Hi Jess,thank you for the superb review for what sounds like a pretty overlooked Film Noir. Whilst Bare (who died last year at 101 years old!) did not hit the big time in movies,the 7 Twilight Zone eps he did are some of the best of the series ( Nick of Time/To Serve Man & The Prime Mover are some of my top TZ eps.)

Re: Flaxy Martin (1949)

Twilight Zone is a show I really have to look into again. It's years since I've seen any episodes. I'll try to find the ones you mentioned.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Tv Bit: THE WHISTLER "The Pattern"1955

CONTAINS SPOILERS

THE WHISTLER – The Pattern –1955

This is episode 23 from the 39 episode run of, THE WHISTLER television series. The series ran during 1954 and 1955. It is based on the popular radio and film series of the same name. Each episode begins with the sound of footsteps and a person whistling. The episodes followed the same formula, in that someone's criminal acts were undone, either by an overlooked detail, or by their own stupidity. During the episodes, the Whistler himself narrated, often commenting directly upon the action.

Mild mannered book store owner, Robert Ellenstein calls in his friend, Police Detective, Ken Tobey for a chat. There has been a string of deaths in the city and Ellenstein thinks he sees a pattern in the deaths. They are happening every two blocks with his block next in line. Detective Tobey thinks it is just a fluke thing but promises to look into it.

Ellenstein later gets a visit from Milton Frome. Frome is the older brother of the woman, Ellen Corby, who Ellenstein has been seeing. Frome does not like Ellenstein, and knocks him around a bit as he warns him to stay away from his sister. Ellenstein is adamant that he will continue to see Corby. Frome storms out of the store.

That night, Ellenstein takes a revolver and heads to Frome's house. He intends to kill Frome. He lines up his pistol at Frome as Frome sits by an open window reading a paper. Ellenstein starts shaking and realizes that he is no killer. He pockets the gun and returns home.

The next day Detective Tobey pays him a visit. It seems that Miss Corby returned home last night and found the house in a mess and her brother missing. Ellenstein goes over to see Corby while she explains her movements for the night before. Ellenstein steps out into the garden to light up his pipe. He notices something shining on some freshly turn earth. He picks it up and he recognizes it as one of Frome's cuff links. Ellenstein immediately thinks that his love, Corby has killed her swine brother and buried him.

He says nothing as he reenters the house. Inside the Police are interviewing the just arrived Carlyle Mitchell. Mitchell is the boss of the stock brokerage firm where Frome works as a book-keeper. He was worried when Frome failed to show up for work.

Ellenstein is torn between keeping quiet for Corby's sake or telling Detective Tobey about the cuff link and the garden. He decides to take the night and sleep on it.

The next day Ellenstein heads over to Corby's to ask her if she had killed Frome. It turns out the Police had come that morning and picked her up. Ellenstein returns home to his store to ponder this. He figures that Corby must have killed her brother to get out from under his thumb.

A bit later Detective Tobey pops in for a talk. It turns out Frome is very much alive. He had bilked his firm out of 20 large in cash. He had been captured at a bus depot along with his boss Mitchell. Mitchell had been there with a .45 to get back his cash. The turned over earth in the garden had been where Frome had hid the money. The Police had picked up Corby simply to tell her they had Frome in custody.

Not bad!


STREET BANDITS 1951 Another Republic Quickie

CONTAINS SPOILERS

STREET BANDITS – 1951

This is another of those quick (54 minute) programmers that "Republic Pictures" cranked out by the barrel full.

This one has just out of Law School Lawyers, Robert Clarke and Ross Ford starting up their own practice. They rent a small office and wait for the clients to roll in. They end up sitting on their butts till a businessman down the hall, John Eldredge, hires them to defend one of his employees. The man, Roy Barcroft, is really a mobbed up guy who runs the local slot machine racket.

Barcroft, (a thug if ever there was one) is up on a murder beef. It seems he blew up a bar that had refused to use his slots. It was a message to all the local club and bar owners to not refuse his offer. Lawyer Clarke takes to the work like a shark to blood and soon springs Barcroft.

Clarke's girl, Penny Edwards, is not at all happy with Clarke defending "those criminal types". Clarke's partner, Ross Ford is not at all happy with the setup either. He quits and joins the District Attorney's office.

Clarke continues to work for Eldredge's company, even though he knows the outfit is just a front for the mob. He also knows that Eldredge is just the public face, while Barcroft is the real boss.

Barcroft decides it is time to expand his hold on the slots racket. He blows up the boss, Charles Wagenhiem, of the other slot machine supplier. This of course brings loads more Police pressure on the rackets. Barcroft though, is an old school type who believes violence fixes everything.

Lawyer Clarke has decided to stop working for Eldredge and Barcroft so he can marry his darling, Miss Edwards. He also wants time to spend with his ill mother, Helen Wallace. Clarke and Edwards get hitched and go off on their honeymoon. Half way through they get a call from Eldredge offering $10,000 to represent Barcroft again. It seems there had been a witness to Barcroft blowing up Wagenhiem and his warehouse. Clarke accepts because he can use the money to help his mother get the proper care for her illness. (bad heart)

By this time, mob front man, Eldredge, is getting sick of the life and the increasingly crazy Barcroft. He shows Clarke a secret safe where he has documents, ledgers etc on all the crooked dealing he and Barcroft have done. He has decided to turn States evidence on Barcroft and take a light sentence.

Needless to say Mister Barcroft is less than amused with his partner's idea when he finds out. He pulls a .38 and kills Eldredge right in front of Clarke. This is a more than subtle hint for Clarke to not step out of line and annoy Barcroft.

Clarke heads home thinking about what he should do. He calls his ex-partner, Ross Ford at the DA's office. He tells him about the killing and that he should grab up Barcroft and his crew. Clarke says he will supply enough evidence to send Barcroft to the chair.

Clarke drives back to Eldredge's office to grab the papers from the secret safe Eldredge had shown him. He is going to give it all to the Police. This idea goes south as Barcroft catches him with the stuff. Barcroft goes for his piece but Clarke flattens him with a solid punch. Clarke then races out and leaps in his car with the papers. He floors the beast and heads for the Police. Barcroft is quickly in hot pursuit with one of his henchmen.

There is a pretty good chase sequence with Clarke leading Barcroft through the streets. Clarke beats Barcroft to the Police Station by a whisker. He takes the evidence and runs to the Station. Barcroft pulls up, plugs Clarke with a nifty bit of marksmanship. He grabs the evidence from the wounded Clarke and jumps back into his car.

The Police are just as quick off the mark and the pursuit now has Barcroft as the rabbit in front. Barcroft and his driver soon fail to make a turn and crash into the side of a building. Barcroft beats the feet down the street but is soon cornered. He has no intention of coming quietly, and is soon suffering from a severe lead overdose.

This quick and to the point programmer has Republic regular, R.G. Springsteen handling the directing chores. His films include, REVOLT IN THE BIG HOUSE, DOUBLE JEOPARDY, WHEN GANGLAND STRIKES, SECRET VENTURE, I COVER THE UNDERWORLD and SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATOR.

Handling the director of photography chores is equally long serving Republic staple, John MacBurnie. MacBurnie started out on serials like, RADAR MEN FROM THE MOON, CAPTAIN America, JESSE JAMES RIDES AGAIN and THE BLACK WIDOW. He then moved on to B-westerns and low rent crime and film noir. These include, SECRET SERVICE INVESTIGATOR, HIDEOUT, THE RED MEANCE, FEDERAL AGENT AT LARGE, POST OFFICE INVESTIGATOR, MISSING WOMEN and INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR. Several of these like, HIDEOUT, POST OFFICE INVESTIGATOR and INSURANCE INVESTIGATOR are quite nifty low renters.

Roy Barcroft appeared in 375 plus different film and television productions. He was pretty well always the villain of the piece.

Re: STREET BANDITS 1951 Another Republic Quickie

Thanks for the review. It sounds great! Will try and check this one out, those Republic programmers can be a lot of fun (like the '... Investigator' movies you mention).

Journey Into Fear (1943) The US and Euro Cuts.

Special thanks to Jess for setting me off on this unique viewing experience

*** This review may contain spoilers ***


May 2016:

Reading IMDb's Film Noir board,I found an excellent post about an Orson Welles-starring Noir.Looking for more info on the title,I found out that there were two cuts of the movie,with the "Euro" cut being vastly different to the US one. Finding more details on Welles sites about recent screenings,I was disappointed to learn that the "US cut" (whose presentation is on a long deleted French remastered DVD) was the only one around on US and UK DVD.Trying to find out more about the Euro cut,I spotted a post which revealed that the Euro cut has come out on DVD (as Estambul)…in Mexico!

July 2016:

Crossing my fingers when the disc hit the landing that it was the Euro cut,it hit me that I had not picked up a disc of the US cut to compare it to. Glancing at downloads in order to do a quick comparison,the very first link I clicked on was for…the long out of print French remastered version,which led to me getting set for two journeys into fear.

The plot-

WWII-Turkey.

Entering the hotel,US ballistics expert Howard Graham (who wants to help re-arm Turkish ships) and his wife Stephanie are met by Kopeikin,who works for Howard's company.Wanting to talk business,Kopekin takes Howard alone to a night club.Unknown to the guys,a mysterious man looking across the streets follows them.During their chat,Howard joins a magician for his big set-piece.Dimming the lights,a loud gun shot is heard.Aiming for Howard,the stranger discovers that he killed the magician instead. Pulled from the club to the secret police headquarters,Howard is told of a Nazi plot designed to send a shiver of fear down his spine.

View on the film:

-Note:Due to how different they are,I will give both cuts separate reviews.

Reuniting with two fellow stars of Citizen Kane,co-writer/(along with Richard Collins/ Crime Without Passion director Ben Hecht & Orson Welles) Joseph Cotten gives a striking performance as Howard via skilfully blending Howard's wide-eyed, fish out of water Film Noir loner with a quick-wit, that gives Howard's battle against the underworld an espionage atmosphere. Hightailing in a year before she would break up with her co-star (and uncredited co-director) Dolores del Rio shakes the movie with a sassy purr as dancer Josette Martel,whilst Agnes Moorehead (who loses the most in the US cut) gives Howard's escape plans a frosty bite as Mrs.Matthews. Stomping round as Jack Moss's Peter Banat hisses in the corner, Orson Welles gives an excellent performance as Colonel Haki. Displaying a real relish in chomping out orders, Welles keeps a playful Noir cunning just under the surface of Haki's military march,which reveals itself on the murky dealings of the ships floor.

The US cut: 6/10.

Solely credited to Cotten,this adaptation of Eric Ambler's novel moves at a quick pace,partly caused by studio enforced dissolves.Going for a lighter.more comedic mood,the addition of a narration completely changes the perspective of the movie,due to it being made clear that Howard is talking about events from the past,which clips the Film Noir dread that setting it in the "present" allows the Euro cut to grip on.

Emphasizing the comedic elements with chainsaw editing,the relationship between the Graham's is limited to just two scenes.This leads to the movie being transformed into a cheerful man on the run caper, complete with large jumps in plot, (where does Howard get the gun from?) a lack of psychological depth into Howard's Film Noir nightmare,and an ending that is chopped off, with a misshaped happy coda that brings a character back from the dead.

The Euro cut:8/10

Pulling the narration,happy coda and focus on the comedic side,the screenplay by Welles/Cotten/Collins and Hecht open up the raw war time Film Noir paranoia,by smartly making Howard's attempt to escape from Banat on a ship,to sail onto fragile relationships,where doubt and mistrust is lit by the Film Noir troubled times. Taking place in the "present" the writers make Howard's relationship with Stephanie a beacon of light shining in the darkness,as Howard has to grasp at the smallest hope to send Stephanie a sign of life. Catching Banat lingering silently in the background,the writers bask the title in Film Noir dread,via giving Howard a raging fear over Banat's tune whirling down a brittle Film Noir street pelted with a haunting ending that leaves Howard melting in the Film Noir rain.

Turning the volume down on Roy Webb's energetic score, co-directors Norman Foster & uncredited Orson Welles and cinematographer Karl Struss ship Howard to a murky Film Noir world,diced via unbreakable shadows allowing Howard's fear of Banat appearing to fester. Running out of the gunfire,the directors give Howard's escape from Turkey a warm,dusty shine spun by stylish tracking shots which are looped onto the claustrophobic corridors of the ship,as Howard goes on a journey into fear.

THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

CONTAINS SPOILERS

THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER – 1947

I had this one sitting in the, "to watch" pile for several years. Every time it hit the top I would stick it back to the bottom. The title just did not garb me. This time I decided to give it a spin, and boy was I surprised. It is a first class production with more than a few film noir touches throughout.

Oscar Homolka headlines the film with excellent help from Kenneth Griffith, Muriel Pavlow, Derek Farr, Manning Whiley and Gary Marsh.

Homolka runs a successful antique shop with an interesting sideline. He is in partnership with cat burglar, Manning Whiley. Whiley steals gold and jewels which Homokla breaks down. The gold is melted down and the jewels shipped offshore. All this is so Homolka can pay for his daughter, Muriel Palow's education and training as a world class violin player.

Of course this happy arrangement cannot continue forever. Homolka's shop assistant, Kenneth Griffith is a crooked little rat, who is not adverse to pocketing a few pounds, by selling items for a bit more than priced. The swine is also infatuated with Homolka's daughter.

One evening Griffith happens to overhears Homolka and Whiley taking about their arrangement. Homolka is telling Whiley that he has enough of the deal. He has enough cash saved to look after himself and see to his daughter. He also tells Whiley about his early life. He was from France and had once been a prisoner on Devil's Island. He had murdered a man and been sentenced to life. He had escaped and had been living under a false name in England since. Whiley is cool with the break up as he also feels it is time to cool his heels.

After Whiley leaves, Homolka is confronted by Griffith. The man is in the mood for a spot of blackmail. Pony up some cash, or Griffith will spill the beans to John Law about Homolka's past.

Several months later, Derek Farr, a navy doctor, returns from the far-east. Farr is the fiancé of Palow. The two are madly in love, which makes Homolka very happy. Daughter Palow though has noticed a difference in her father over the last few months. He seems bothered by something. She has fiancé Farr have a word with Homolka about it. Farr has also noticed that former shop assistant Griffith seems to be in the cash of late. He is always popping in to see Homolka and acts like he owns the place. Homolka just says he is feeling a bit under the weather.

Griffith is have a grand time on Homolka's dime. He is dressed to the nines in fancy clothes, has a great apartment and has just bought a flash car. Every time he needs a bit of loot, he just puts the touch on Homolka.

Homolka gets hold of his old partner, Whiley for a talk about Griffith. Whiley is all for eliminating Griffith and knows a few "heavy mob" types who will make Griffith "disappear". Homokla is not willing to go that far. He just wanted Whiley to know what was going on. Homolka has a plan that he hopes will end the matter.

He will offer Griffith 20,000 pounds to leave the country. Take it or leave type thing. If Griffith goes to the Police he will be ending his supply of cash.

Several days later, Griffith pays the shop a call to see Homolka. The future son in law, Farr, happens to be there waiting to pick up Palow. The oily Griffith makes some crack about Palow, to which Farr responds with several solid punches to the head. He then picks up Griffith and tosses him out in the street.

Griffith, rather annoyed with the beating Farr gave him, returns that evening with his answer to Homolka's offer. He wants the cash, and he also intends to marry Palow himself. He wants Homolka to break up Farr and his daughter's planned marriage.

Homolka has had enough, and without really thinking, is soon choking the life out of the bastard Griffith. Collecting himself, Homolka calls Whiley over to the shop. Whiley has a look at the stiff and agrees to help Homolka dispose of the swine. They pop the body into Whiley's car and drop it off in an outlaying wooded area. It is pouring rain, so they assume the water will wash any evidence away.

Unfortunately for them there was a witness to them dumping the body. A woman spotted the men as they drove off from the woods. She gives the Police the car plate numbers. The body is quickly found and the wheels start rolling. Homolka is soon paid a visit from Police Inspector Gary Marsh about his former assistant. Marsh and Homolka are friends as Marsh is a collector who has bought items from the shop before.

Needless to say the whole thing starts to come unglued as clues start to pop up for the Police. Whiley is tracked down from his car plates and is killed in a high speed chase trying to escape. A search of Griffith's flat finds a bit too many objects from Homolka's shop. The Police cannot find any bank records, of where Griffith was getting his cash from. The leads all seem to head back to Homolka.

Without giving away the ending, suffice it to say it is a real cracker. Homolka is great in this film, taking full advantage of one of the few times he had a leading role.

Director George King hits all the marks spot on in this superb UK noir.

Re: THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

It's on youtube in a perfect print, under the title Code of Scotland Yard though. I'll watch it later.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

Thanks for that info

Re: THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

The US title, "Code of Scotland Yard" really misses the boat. Give it a watch, I think you will like it.

Re: THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

Hi Gordon,I'm pleased to hear that you enjoyed the Whistler ep and Republic quickie,and I want to say thank you for the excellent review (which I've ticked) of this obscure Brit Noir,and I was wondering if you spotted Diana Dors as "Mildred"?

Re: THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

Dors always "stands out" in a crowd shall we say!

Re: THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

Thanks of the tip. I watched it and agree with you. A beautiful film, very suspenseful.

I'm trying hard to think of a more despicable character than Archie, can't come up with one.

Diana Dors looked good as a brunette.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Re: THE SHOP ON SLY CORNER 1947 Superb UK Noir

Glad you liked it.

Deadly Record (1959)

Deadly Record (1959): Airline pilot Lee Patterson ('The Counterfeit Plan', 'The Good Die Young') comes back home to an empty house, and judging by the milk bottles left by their front door, his wife's been away for a few days. Not thinking too much of it, he goes to bed. The next morning he's woken up early by a cop, who claims his car had been in an accident that night. Patterson says it must've been his wife, and the cop asks to see the garage, where they find the dented car, to Patterson's surprise. Even worse, they find his wife murdered with a knife in her back in her studio. Of course that puts Patterson at the top of police inspector Geoffrey Keen's ('Portrait Of Alison', several Bond movies) list of suspects, esp after it's revealed the marriage was anything but happy and she had had her fair share of affairs. By marrying Patterson, she had put a promising dancing career on hold, which caused tension. Together with family friend and airline hostess (and British scream queen) Barbara Shelley, Patterson tries to reconstruct his wife's last days to find the real killer.

At less than an hour, the movie flies by. Director (and co-writer of the screenplay) Lawrence Huntington ('The Upturned Glass') keeps things moving at a rapid pace, but can't hide the plot holes and conveniences in the storyline. Which I could've forgiven more easily had the movie looked killer, but unfortunately DoP Eric Cross ('Hunted') gives the movie a TV-like appearance, keeping the rich shadows only for the finale. Maybe that's because while it was shown as a second feature in the UK, it aired almost immediately after release on US television as part of 'Kraft Mystery Theater'. In any case, the lack of interesting visuals doesn't exactly help this movie. It's got some decent performances and does the job, but with its sloppy story and unimaginative direction and lighting, it's hard to recommend this one. 6/10

The Strip (1951)

The Strip (1951): Korea vet and aspiring drummer Mickey Rooney ('Quicksand') gets driven off the road by suave racketeer James Craig ('While The City Sleeps'). To compensate, Craig gives Rooney a job in his bookmaker's room. When the police bust in to the business, Rooney manages to escape and hitches a ride with Sally Forrest ('Mystery Street'), who works at a nightclub owned by William Demarest ('Night Has A Thousand Eyes'). Rooney pays the nightclub a visit and before he knows it, he's switched jobs from the bookie room to the drum kit and has fallen hard for Forrest. Forrest wants a movie career however, so Rooney introduces her to Craig, who has some contacts. But Craig isn't interested in helping Forrest, he just sees another pretty girl to add to his list of conquests. When Rooney confronts Craig about this things quickly fall apart, leading to Craig getting killed, and Forrest nearly dead, and Rooney as the prime suspect...

Told in flashback, the movie starts with the discovery of Forrest barely alive on her apartment floor, and during the investigation, the discovery of Craig's body and a gun. Rooney is brought in for interrogation, and he tells his side of the story in flashback. It all sounds like pure noir, until you see the movie, which is also in many ways a musical. Artists and musicians like Louis Armstrong, Vic Damone and Jack Teagarden are given plenty of time to play their music and sing their songs, as a large part of the movie plays out in nightclubs. In fact, one of the songs (sung by hatcheck girl Kay Brown) got the movie an Oscar nomination. Thankfully, unlike some noirs where musical interludes slow down the story, it works rather well here. And seeing Rooney and Forrest showing off their drumming and dancing skills respectively was way more fun than I expected, impressive stuff.

But a noir it still is, trust me. People use people and through the flashback structure, there is always tension under the surface as (part of) the outcome is already known to the viewer. And it has a bleak, downbeat, even ironic, ending that firmly establishes this as a noir. Performances are great across the board, helped by the well-written characters and dialogue. The main negative is that the directing by Laszlo Kardos ('The Tijuana Story') and cinematography by Robert Surtees ('Act Of Violence') is good but not very noir or imaginative. Still, that's only a minor quibble, this movie impressed me with its successful blending of noir and musical, the performances and the story. Recommended! 8/10
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