Film-Noir Discussion/DVD Review Thread

[dave jenkins]

Joe, how did you see that one?

[cigar joe]

By complete accident, "The Grand Central Murder" was on TCM yesterday morning

[dave jenkins]

Huh. I get the impression that the film is rather tongue-in-cheek. Did you find it so?

[dave jenkins]

saw "Station West" on TCM. how about a Western noir!

Did you like it? Looking it up on IMDb, it seems to have a great noir cast: Powell and Greer, of course, but also Aggie Morehead, Steve Brodie, Raymond Burr, and even Regis Toomey! The synopsis makes it sound pretty good, too: "Dick Powell stars as Haven, a government private investigator assigned to investigate the murders of two cavalrymen. Travelling incognito, Haven arrives in a small frontier outpost, where saloon singer Charlie controls all illegal activities. After making short work of Charlie's burly henchman, Haven gets a job at her gambling emporium, biding his time and gathering evidence against the gorgeous crime chieftain. Cast as a philosophical bartender, Burl Ives is afforded at least one opportunity to sing."

[cigar joe]

Huh. I get the impression that the film is rather tongue-in-cheek. Did you find it so?

Yes it was sort of a hybrid-noir similar to "The Thin Man" series

[cigar joe]

Did you like it? Looking it up on IMDb, it seems to have a great noir cast: Powell and Greer, of course, but also Aggie Morehead, Steve Brodie, Raymond Burr, and even Regis Toomey! The synopsis makes it sound pretty good, too: "Dick Powell stars as Haven, a government private investigator assigned to investigate the murders of two cavalrymen. Travelling incognito, Haven arrives in a small frontier outpost, where saloon singer Charlie controls all illegal activities. After making short work of Charlie's burly henchman, Haven gets a job at her gambling emporium, biding his time and gathering evidence against the gorgeous crime chieftain. Cast as a philosophical bartender, Burl Ives is afforded at least one opportunity to sing."

That sounded like a good one.

[cigar joe]

Murder My Sweet/Farewell My Lovely

Watched this today, I too, even though I haven't read the book in years, was wondering why they deviated so much from the plot. I'll agree that in seeing it again that O"Halloran is the superior Malloy, thought I do like the "Pepper's Ghost" entrance of Malloy that is employed in this interpretation, the Richards film is superior and I believe more faithful to the book.  

This version ties up the loose ends in a beach house rather than on the gambling ship and the Burnette character is absent.  It also has a lame epilogue catering to the female audience.

Powell is great as Marlowe pretty much as I pictured him in my minds eye as I remember the book (Mitchum was just a tad too old and a tad too iconic, unfortunately), and I'll go with Rampling also she had a devious look in her eyes, Trevor wasn't as believable to me she played it a bit to "upper crust", all in all though, I prefer all the rest of the actors in the Richards version. 8/10 agreed.

OK reviving this discussion.

For clarification and ease I'll abbreviate the film titles FML = Farewell My Lovely, and MMS = Murder My Sweet

Just finished reading Chandler's "Farewell My Lovely" and with the recent viewings of both films fresh in my mind I have to admit that they both deviate from the novel quite a bit in different areas.

Moose Malloy gets more memorable screen time in FML he becomes an almost sympathetic character in FML you end up caring for the dumb lug, less so in MMS. In the novel you barely get the character at all, which is reflected in MMS.

The character Ann Riordan is eliminated entirely from FML. The most likely reason being Mitchum's age, he's portrayed as a Marlowe in his declining years.

The whole scenario of how Marlowe finds Jessie Florian in FML is not in the book what is in the book is the hotel, and a clerk finds Florian with a City Directory.

The whole flashback sequence with the temporarily blinded Marlowe is a fabrication in MMS. But the hint of the love affair with Riordan is in the novel.

In novel there are two cops that Marlowe has to deal with Nulty, of LAPD and Randal of the Bay City Police in FML they are combined into just Nulty played by Ireland, in MYS the main cop is Randal.

Amthor in the novel is a psychic, in FML he becomes a she and a notorious LA madam and Amthor's and Dr, Sonderborg's sequences in the novel are combined into the same house, in MMS I think he's still a psychic but the way its played out in the novel is much more elaborately detailed and memorable than what is in the film. Interestingly there is a second big bruiser in the novel a henchman of Amthor called The Indian.

In the novel there are two ships off shore one is a whorehouse ship, one is a gambling ship. In FML there is only one ship, in MMS no ship.

In the novel the final denouement between Malloy and Velma takes place in Marlowe's apartment, she puts five bullets in him and escapes. In MMS it takes place in a beach house and Malloy and Velma kill each other and Marlowe is temporarily blinded by a close gunshot. In FML it takes place in Brunette's office on the gambling ship
and Malloy and Velma both die too.

In the novel Velma disappears again, becomes a brunette and is singing in a band again like what she used to do a Florian's but she is finally spotted by a cop back east who approaches her in the dressing room and confronts her, she guns him down then kills herself.

[cigar joe]

Caged (1950) Dir by John Cromwell with Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, Ellen Corby, Jane Darwell and many others, sort of a very noirish prison drama with an extremely dark ending. For what it was a 7/10

Imdb synopsis:

Frightened 19-year-old Marie Allen gets sent to an Illinois penitentiary for being an accomplice in an armed robbery. A sympathetic warden tries to help, but her efforts are subverted by cruel matron Evelyn Harper. Marie's harsh experiences turn her from doe-eyed innocent to hard-nosed con.

On TCM the other night.

[dave jenkins]

August 16th can't get here soon enough: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDReviews8/killing.htm

[T.H.]

I wish I could pre-order The Killing for 20 during the B&N sale.

[dave jenkins]

I wish I could pre-order The Killing for 20 during the B&N sale.

I hear ya. However, you could wait for the next sale (November?) and order it then.

[T.H.]

That's what I was planning to do.

[dave jenkins]

On the other hand, $24.99 (amazon's current price) for 2 Kubrick films in high def is a pretty reasonable price point.

More praise for this release: http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/The-Killing-and-Killers-Kiss-Blu-ray/21865/#Review

[T.H.]

That's a solid price. I'd pick it up if I didn't just drop 140 on the B&N sale.

[cigar joe]

Woman In The Window (1944) director Fritz Lang, with Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey,    Edmund Breon, and Dan Duryea.

Professor Wanley (Robinson) and his friends obsess about a portrait of a woman in the window next to their men's club. Wanley just happens to meet the woman while admiring her portrait, and finds himself in her apartment when her boyfriend bursts in and attacks Wanley. During their confrontation Wanley is getting choked to the point of unconsciousness when he manages to stab him to death.

So beings the story of cover-up and blackmail. Its a bit of a lighthearted noir than most, if I had to choose between this and "Scarlet Street" I'd go with the latter. 7/10