Introduction

Hey y’all, how is this Winter going (so far)? It’s NOT fun for me; I’m recovering from a bad cough/cold (after Thanksgiving). I’m also way behind on blog posts. As DC area noir-istas know, my local (AFI) theater had a festival in OCT; Eddie Muller (TCM) came to introduce the movies during the opening wknd. This yr, the festival had double features (2 movies) which revolved around the same themes; 5 out of the 6 noirs I saw were new to me.

Thanks for reading!

-EMMA

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Union Station (1950) starring William Holden, Nancy Olsen, & Barry Fitzgerald

A secretary traveling from Connecticut to NYC, Joyce Willecombe (Nancy Olsen), grows suspicious of 2 men boarding her train. She is referred to Bill Calhoun (William Holden), head of the Union Station police; the no-nonsense Calhoun is initially skeptical, BUT the men (who escape) prove to be involved in a kidnapping case. Calhoun calls in his boss/mentor, Inspector Donnelly (Barry Fitzgerald), BUT the ruthless kidnappers stay one step ahead of them. Most of the action centers around busy/fast-paced Union Station.

Holden and Olson also co-starred in Sunset Boulevard in the same year- 1950. Joyce plays Calhoun’s conscience, concerned that the interests of the victim don’t get overlooked in the hunt for the criminals. This is a (lesser-known/low budget) film noir; Holden was on the cusp of stardom. This was Lyle Bettger’s 3rd film; he played a LOT of baddies in his career. The platinum-blonde/wide-eyed Jan Sterling has a small role as his (TOO loyal) gf. Fitzgerald (who always played Irish cops or priests) brings in the humor. You can find this noir on streaming services (or rent on YT).

Cairo Station (1958)

Qinawi (Youssef Chahine), a physically-challenged peddler who makes his living selling newspapers in the central Cairo train station, is obsessed w/ Hanuma (Hind Rustum), a curvy/pretty young woman who sells drinks. Hanuma treats Qinawi kindly and flirts w/ him re: a possible relationship. However, she’s already engaged to Abu Siri, a burly/macho porter struggling to unionize his fellow workers to combat their boss’ exploitative treatment. The movie has a large cast (portraying Egyptians of disparate classes) and does NOT fall easily into one genre. Some viewers commented that the climactic scenes reminded them of Hitchcock! Chahine (an Egyptian of Christian heritage) also wrote the story and served as director. If you’re familiar w/ the characterization, visual style, and themes often seen in Bollywood, you should check it out.

[1] The work sometimes recalls Jean Renoir’s “La Bete Humaine,” but with more attention to detail. […]

Let’s underline the importance of the wide screen, which makes the director look like an entomologist watching an ant hill with a magnifying glass…

[2] It’s not hard to see why “Cairo Station” was banned for 20 years in Egypt. It gained much recognition in Berlin, being nominated for the Golden Bear…

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

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Le Samourai (1967)

In Paris, Jef Costello (Alain Delon) is a solitary hit man who works under contract. He’s hired to kill the owner of a club, and soon becomes the prime suspect of that murder. His gf (Jane), one of her clients (Wiener), and the Black singer of the club (Valerie) are questioned by the police. Jef is chased by henchmen (sent by the same man who hired him) and by cops. He seeks out who has hired him to get revenge. There is NOT much of a plot, characters have little development, and there isn’t much dialogue. I heard of this film yrs. ago, BUT this was my 1st time seeing it. As Gen Z may say, this movie is “all about vibes.” Sorry IF you’re a fan of thing kind of stuff, BUT I didn’t connect w/ it.

This Gun for Hire (1942)

Hit man Philip Raven (Alan Ladd), is kind to kids and feeds stray cats. He kills a blackmailer and is paid off by Willard Gates (Laird Cregar) in “hot” (marked) money. Meanwhile, a young/blonde entertainer, Ellen Graham (Veronica Lake), gf of police Lt. Michael Crane (Robert Preston) is enlisted by a Senator to help investigate Gates. Raven, while seeking Gates, meets Ellen on a train. Their relationship gradually evolves from that of killer and (potential) victim to an uneasy alliance against a common enemy. This is a well-known/low budget noir which I’ve seen before (on the small screen); it’s a quick/well-paced watch.

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They Made Me a Fugitive (1947)

In this British noir (from Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti), a frustrated/cynical former RAF pilot, Clem Morgan (Trevor Howard), joins a criminal gang led by a nasty character nicknamed Narcy (Griffith Jones). On his 1st break-in job, the getaway car crashes and ends up killing a cop. Quickly, Clem is framed as the driver and sent to jail. Seeking revenge, he escapes prison and heads for London. Along the way, he breaks into a suburban home; a housewife named Mrs. Fenshaw (Veda Hope) helps him out, then asks him to murder her husband. Upon reaching London, Clem is sheltered by a blonde/petite dancer named Sally Connor (Sally Gray), who falls for him. He confronts Narcy and the gang in an abandoned warehouse.

[1] There is more attention to sound and camera-work than I’ve noticed in most British movies from the end of the war until about 1956 or so. Warner Brothers gets a huge credit at the start… So, it’s British, but it has American and continental style. […]

It’s scarier than the American gangster movies of the late forties.

[2] The general gloominess (a mainstay of thrillers emanating from the post-war era) is leavened somewhat by its constant flurry of hard-boiled dialogue courtesy of screenwriter Noel Langley. […]

Still, perhaps my favorite scene in the entire film is Howard’s surreal encounter with the zombie-like Vida Hope – in whose household he stumbles while on the run; she turns out to be deranged, and even tries to talk our hero into murdering her alcoholic husband (Maurice Denham)!

-Excerpts from IMDb reviews

Aimless Bullet (1961)

A couple of yrs. after the war in Seoul, a 30-something accountant’s salary is TOO small for him to even get his cavity fixed. He must somehow provide for his PTSD-affected mother, his pregnant wife, a younger brother (who can’t get work after serving in the army), a younger sister (who sneaks out at night to sell herself to American GIs), and 2 young children. This movie was banned in Korea b/c it was so realistically stark in it’s post- war depiction. You could tell that the locations were real; we see urban offices, outdoor cafes (for tea and drinking away sorrows), slums (located on the hilly areas near the city). The character development was V good, though the pacing felt a bit slow at times.

This film is depressing and it drives slowly towards its conclusion. On the other hand, compared to the often over-the-top melodrama present in other films I’ve seen from the era, Obaltan is a stark contrast. Owing more to Italian Neorealism than Hollywood, the film has many moments of mundaneness and potentially existentialist commentary. That Obaltan means “the aimless bullet” should give that away from the start.

-Excerpt from IMDb review