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Topics - cigar joe
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« on: May 26, 2023, 01:29:09 PM »
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« on: May 22, 2023, 04:05:49 PM »
May 18, 2023, Los Angeles. Star of El Condor, Rio Conchos, Dark Of The Sun, Slaughter, The Dirty Dozen, The Mercenaries, 100 Rifles, Three the Hard Way, and Mars Attacks.
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« on: February 11, 2023, 01:24:50 PM »
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« on: January 30, 2023, 07:46:50 PM »
Chair de Poule aka Highway Pick-Up (1963) French "Spaghetti" Western Noir
Directed by Julien Duvivier (P?p? le Moko, Panique). Written by Julien Duvivier and Ren? Barjavel (screenplay), adapting a James Hadley Chase novel "Come Easy--Go Easy."
A little dash of Bad Day At Black Rock, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Detour. The "good" guy is an escaped falsely convicted murderer who took the rap for his best friend. He becomes an employee and fast friends with a truck stops owner. The Femme Fatale is the owner's wife, supposedly and ex hotel waitress of some sort, wink, wink. Who got off a bus and stayed because it was convenient and there was a wad of cash to keep her there until she figures out a way to get it. It works.
The film just changes the original California / Death Valley-ish local to France but uses the same aesthetics and story. The truck stop, a last chance gas, called the "Relay de Col" is an Avia station with lunch counter "Chez Thomas," on the arid Col de Vence, a mountain pass through the 10,000 foot high peaks of the Maritime Alps between the Mediterranean coast and the interior. The next gas is 96 kilometers (60 miles) The film also blends in a some nods to the Noir Western Rawhide (about a stage relay station) and enforces this with what sounds like a prescient Spaghetti Western like score.
This is a great Film Noir, the general story is a wonderful riff on other familiar noir storylines and yet they are tossed enough to keep you guessing. Robert Hossein and Georges Wilson are believable as friends and are both very compelling.
Julien Duvivier and Ren? Barjavel stick pretty much to the Chase novel with some minor changes. Ferisnstance, in the novel Daniel's safecracking partner Paul just randomly drives into the Relay de Col Avia station and meets up with Daniel in a true twist of fate. The locksmith company they worked for suspected that Paul may have been involved with the heist. The company thought it would be better for the company's image if Paul was out selling safes on the road rather near any temptation. Out of site out of mind. In the film Daniel actually sends for Paul to help him get a forged passport and papers so he could get out of the country. It's the least he could do as a favor.
Catherine Rouvel shines. She elevates herself into one of the great Femme Fatales of Noir. Her character portrayal in excellent. She is sexy, gorgeous, devious, and dangerous. She is alluring and it helps that all of her outfits are tight or quite revealing, most notably is what looks like a gold lame halter that becomes sticky and clingy after working in the hot kitchen and serving tables. The halter leaves almost nothing to the imagination.
Jean Sorel always reminds me of a French Robert Wagner, while Lucien Raimbourg and Jacques Bertrand are great as the French hillbillies. 8-9/10.
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« on: January 27, 2023, 10:57:23 AM »
Directed and Written by Richard Brooks.
Brooks directed (Deadline - U.S.A.(1952), Blackboard Jungle (1955), In Cold Blood (1967), Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977). Excellent Cinematography by Petrus R. Schl?mp and Music by Quincy Jones (In the Heat of the Night).
The film stars Warren Beatty (All Fall Down, Mickey One, Bonnie and Clyde, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Dick Tracy, Bugsy) as Joe Collins, Goldie Hawn (CrissCross) as hooker Dawn Divine, Gert Fr?be (Goldfinger) as Mr. Kessel. Robert Webber (in Noirs Highway 301, Harper, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and also 12 Angry Men) as Attorney Mr. North, Scott Brady (He Walked By Night, Undertow, Port Of New York, The Night Strangler) as Sarge, Arthur Brauss (Cross of Iron) as Candy Man aka "Mister Sunglasses" with Robert Stiles as Major, Christiane Maybach as Helga, and Hamburg circa 1970.
Richard Brooks slips in some Classic Noir references. The Candy Man character reminds us of Alan Ladd in This Gun for Hire when he feeds his cat. The Candy Man's sunglasses are also maybe a homage to Sam Fuller's Underworld USA. The displayed gold bar in the bank connected with Gert Fr?be is obviously a nod to Goldfinger, lol. The chase through the railyards and the trains at night possibly homages Brit Noir It Always Rains On Sunday and French Poetic Realist Noir Le Bette Humaine. There's even a mention of 14 Hours at one point, lol, intentional or coincidence. There may be more to look for.
Warren Beaty's Sam is just a variation of his John McCabe character from McCabe & Mrs. Miller, and Goldie Hawn is just doing her giggly, silly, groovy hippie chick character we all probably first noticed from Laugh In. It works, adequately as an updated version of the same type of silly, ditsy characters Marilyn Monreo played in Some Like It Hot and The Seven Year Itch or Barbara Nichols for that matter. Scott Brady is great, (and the most impressive) as a more deadly and serious version of Sergeant Bilko, playing a shady black marketeer. Robert Webber is good as the slightly kinked mob mouthpiece and Arthur Brauss is scary as the alienated and obsessed mob hit man / junkie.
This film functions like Hamburg's Naked City. The film is a wonderful archival treasure trove of Hamburg circa 1970s. And if you are a railfan there are some great train sequences throughout. It's two slight flaws are probably the over long chase sequence (though I didn't mind it), and what seems like a tacked on "happy" ending (were they thinking of a possible sequel?). 8/10
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« on: January 06, 2023, 05:36:38 PM »
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« on: October 23, 2022, 08:42:00 AM »
Can't believe we didn't have a seperate thread for this This is all I could find on our board and it came in the "Best Mike Hammer" tread I've seen " I, The Jury" (1953) with Biff Elliot in the role of Hammer and Peggy Castel as Charlotte Manning and Tani Guthrie as Mary Bellamy were hot. Elliot on the other hand was a bit miscast Now it's due for a real review... Wow a restored release https://www.facebook.com/StudiocanalUK/videos/5876852862326473amzn.to/3yw9A4J
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« on: September 30, 2022, 02:13:51 PM »
Ok this is going way back but it has to do with the colors of the DVD's & the Blu's I remember back in 1966-67 one review actually did mentioned the golden Mediterranean light. Back then I read reviews from the NY Times, the NY Daily News, The Long Island Star Journal, Time, Newsweek, and a couple of other Film review publications so it had to be one of them. I've been uploading images from a past European trip and that discussion we had and that review again came back to me when I was uploading the images. In Parma   Roma   Dalmatia  even Cortina in the Dolomites  There is a more golden hue to the blue sky in the Mediterranean.
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« on: September 17, 2022, 06:20:10 AM »
I liked him in The Manchurian Candidate, The Bravados, Viva Zapata!, The Tall T, Ocean's Eleven
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« on: August 22, 2022, 09:30:59 AM »
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« on: July 13, 2022, 02:38:20 PM »
 None of the women in this look remotely like the poster, lol. titoli
Accused of Murder (1956) What struck me in this run of the mill cop movie is the looks of the 2 female leads: ugly and old. Vera Ralston was about 33 at the time but she looks well in her '40s. But even in her youth I doubt would have troubled anybody's dream. Virginia Grey was 39 but she could have subbed for Bette Davis in Baby Jane. LVC has got a more relevant part than usual and it's the only reason to watch this one. 5-6/10 cigar joe Agree Visually, it all looked too artificial, and antiseptic. The streets are too clean and too empty, the dime a dance ballroom too big, the police office too big and too clean. Also the widescreen enhances all of the above. Noirs should be more claustrophobic, in my opinion. Accused of Murder had a few shots that looked good, but not many, you didn't see any Dutch angles and not much visual style. I think once you see Noirs like The Naked City, Side Street, The Sniper, Kiss Me Deadly, The Line-Up and others heavy with on location work the studio set back lot Noirs look anemic in comparison. Catch The Money Trap (1965) where mixing back lot with on location just doesn't look right. Yea the leading ladies were definitely not eye candy, lol.
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« on: June 17, 2022, 03:01:43 PM »
Silenced RIP
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« on: May 18, 2022, 02:48:02 PM »
 A Cabaretera - Zoot Suit Noir that manages a magical fusion of gritty big city Film Noir with Afro-Caribbean-Cuban-Mexican Musical and the Western. (Noirsville) Directed masterfully by Emilio Fern?ndez. Written by Emilio Fern?ndez and Mauricio Magdaleno and based on Magdaleno's story. The phenomenal Cinematography was by the great Gabriel Figueroa, and the Music was by Antonio D?az Conde. Just based on the amazing visuals that continually top those in the preceding frames this film has shot into my personal 10/10 list of Black & White International Noir. And get this, I first watched a streaming un-subtitled version that was cropped from an Academy ratio to a 1.78:1 (16:9). Its a simple story and since I'm part Italian and have lots of Hispanic friends, between the similarities of the two languages and the very animated acting, it is pretty easy to figure out what is going on. That says a lot, and I have since purchased the current DVD available (it has English subs), but I'd easily re purchase it again if a Blu comes out. The film plays like a Noir Music Video and and you can even enjoy it that way. If you are a Noir Visual junkie once you see it it will be unforgettable. Emilio "El Indio" Fern?ndez creates a masterpiece in re-visiting Cabaretera Noir. His first was Salon Mexico (1949) This film checks all the boxes of what a great Noir made around the early 1950's should contain. Gabe Figueroa's cinematography is visually dark, graphic, and gritty. He is an equal to Alton, Guffey, Diskant, Ballard, and Musuraca. The story hits on all cylinders, the music and dance routines are eye openly progressive compared to any films produced by Hollywood of the same vintage. The Music is for the most part diegetic and is provided by the P?rez Prado Orchestra, Rita Montaner, Jimmy Monterrey's "bongocero" rumba band, a un-credited Jalisco mariachi group playing Santiago's leitmotif "el tren," and even the famous Mexican crooner Pedro Vargas gets to do a number as a celebrity guest in the Chang?o audience. Visual highlights are the warren like back alleys, the neon lit clubs, the early morning railyard views from El puente de Nonoalco, the prostitute cribs. Acosta's Zoot Suit "jive" dance, all of Nin?n Sevilla's numbers, Rita Montaner singing "Ay, Jos?" wink wink, which never would have been permitted by the Legion of Decency or the Motion Picture Production Code here, the "**** riot," and a cool Western gunfight at the railyard. All the performances are spot on, Sevilla, Junco, Acosta are excellent and especially of note is the acting by Ismael P?rez as Juanito with some very compelling sequences. Screencaps from Mirada DVD 10/10.
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« on: May 01, 2022, 04:55:58 PM »
Original thread accidently deleted dave jenkins ? : April 23, 2022, 03:59:17 PM ? The Blu at last: https://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=30522 T.H. Re: Cockfighter (1974) ? #1 : April 29, 2022, 11:20:51 AM ? An old review of mine: Warren Oates had to be the single best choice at that time to play a character that takes a vow of silence - his expressions and facial tics are really put on display here. Hellman brilliantly succeeds at perfecting the docudrama style and manages to accomplish that feat in the most humble way possible - this movie's south feels as real as something like Heartworn Highways. A- dave jenkinsRe: Cockfighter (1974) ? #2 : April 29, 2022, 11:46:51 AM ? I did not read that before composing this earlier today: Quote Cockfighter (1974) - 9/10. Formulaic comeback story is redeemed by an unusual milieu, a good mix of non-actors and professionals, and an amazing non-speaking central performance by Warren Oates. With Richard B. Shull, Harry Dean Stanton, Laurie Bird, Steve "She's destroyed worlds!" Railsback, and a young Ed Begley Jr. You gave it an A- and I gave it a 9/10. Hmm, we are very close on this. cigar joe Re: Cockfighter (1974) ? #3 : Today at 05:29:56 AM ? https://noirsville.blogspot.com/2021/03/cockfighter-1974-hixploitation-blood.html
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« on: January 07, 2022, 10:42:42 AM »
RIP
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