The Brasher Doubloon (1947) Flawed Classic Noir "The other, other, other Classic Noir Marlowe"Directed by John Brahm who directed two period piece Noir The Locket, and The Lodger before this film. Brahm began directing some TV after 1951 and eventually transitioned over. He directed a dozen episodes of The Twilight Zone, notably the classic episode "Time Enough at Last" with Burgess Meredith and quite a few of the series Noirish episodes. The Brasher Doubloon was based on Raymond Chandler's High Window, the screen play was by Dorothy Bennett from a adaptation by Leonard Praskins with Ring Lardner Jr. (Laura, The Big Night, and M*A*S*H) probably contributing some satirical material to the script. The Cinematography was by Lloyd Ahern Sr. (Cry of the City, and later TV notably The Fugitive pilot movie and some episodes. Music was by David Buttolph. The film stars George Montgomery as Philip Marlowe, Nancy Guild as Merle Davis, Conrad Janis as Leslie Murdock,Roy Roberts as Police Lt. Breeze, Fritz Kortner as Rudolph Vannier, Florence Bates as Mrs. Elizabeth Murdock, Marvin Miller as Vince Blair, Reed Hadley as Dr. Moss (uncredited), Paul Maxey as the coroner, and Housely Stevenson (Dark Passage) and Jack Overman (vet of 12 Classic Noir) as the apartment manager.I'd seen The Brasher Doubloon a long time ago, it was a crappy blurry copy and it didn't impress. I rewatched a very good copy of it the other night. Now after having viewed and having digested a lot more Noirs in between, I've upped my opinion of it. What did the trick this go round is all the other bit players that I now recognized from all the other Films Noir. Character actors like Paul Maxey (The Narrow Margin, Highway 301, Deadline USA), Fritz Kortner (Anzelmo aka Dr. Oracle from Somewhere In the Night), Roy Roberts (from Nightmare Alley, Force of Evil, The Killer That Stalked New York), Reed Hadley (from The Dark Corner plus he V.O. narrated a lot of other Film Noir), Marvin Miller from his turn as the blind piano player at a Manhattan night club in Deadline At Dawn . These character actors now bring a lot of Cinematic Memory from the Film Noir "universe" to the film. 7/10
The film stars George Montgomery as Philip Marlowe, Nancy Guild as Merle Davis, Conrad Janis as Leslie Murdock,Roy Roberts as Police Lt. Breeze, Fritz Kortner as Rudolph Vannier, Florence Bates as Mrs. Elizabeth Murdock, Marvin Miller as Vince Blair, Reed Hadley as Dr. Moss (uncredited), Paul Maxey as the coroner, and Housely Stevenson (Dark Passage) and Jack Overman (vet of 12 Classic Noir) as the apartment manager.I'd seen The Brasher Doubloon a long time ago, it was a crappy blurry copy and it didn't impress. I rewatched a very good copy of it the other night. Now after having viewed and having digested a lot more Noirs in between, I've upped my opinion of it. What did the trick this go round is all the other bit players that I now recognized from all the other Films Noir. Character actors like Paul Maxey (The Narrow Margin, Highway 301, Deadline USA), Fritz Kortner (Anzelmo aka Dr. Oracle from Somewhere In the Night), Roy Roberts (from Nightmare Alley, Force of Evil, The Killer That Stalked New York), Reed Hadley (from The Dark Corner plus he V.O. narrated a lot of other Film Noir), Marvin Miller from his turn as the blind piano player at a Manhattan night club in Deadline At Dawn . These character actors now bring a lot of Cinematic Memory from the Film Noir "universe" to the film. 7/10
I can see how you'd appreciate it more now, but I find the casting of Nancy Guild fatal. She absolutely makes my dick shrivel. And my rule is: No Hard-on, No Noir.