Tag: Murder

“Fallen Angel” (1945) starring Alice Faye, Dana Andrews, & Linda Darnell

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[1] The tainted, ambiguous relationships that Dana Andrews forges… make this film a dark study in romantic pathology. It also features Linda Darnell at her most sultry and mercenary… Andrews’ very layered tension between rich good gal Faye and gold-digging bad girl Darnell keeps the viewer off balance all the way through.

[2] Preminger’s fluid camera work and long takes here reach perfection… Each scene is shot and elaborated with precision, with minimum amount of edits to elucidate the emotions of the characters.

The magnificent chiaroscuro photography by Joseph LaShelle has certain crispness and lucidity…

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

Stella: What do you do when you don’t tell fortunes?

Eric: I help make ’em for others.

Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews) is thrown off a Greyhound bus for not having enough fare to reach San Francisco. With just a dollar in his pocket, he lands in Walton, a small coastal town. Eric goes to a little diner by the beach and meets the owner, Pop (Perry Kilbride), retired NYC cop Mark Judd (Charles Bickford), and young waitress Stella (Linda Darnell- then only 21 y.o.) An “old friend” of Eric’s, Professor Madley (John Carradine- in a brief supporting role), is coming to the local hotel to hold a “spiritual” (psychic) show. Madley’s assistant, Ellis, laments that there may not be a show, since the former mayor’s daughter (a respected leader) disapproves of “spooks.” Eric (“a promoter”) goes to the Mills house to speak w/ this woman, Clara (Anne Revere- a character actress descended from Paul Revere). She’s unimpressed by his words, but her younger sister, June (Alice Faye), later convinces her to support the show. Then the drama begins!

Stella [to Eric on the beach]: You talk different, sure. But you drive just like the rest. Well, you’ve got the wrong girl.

TCM’s Eddie Muller noted that it’s a shame that this film suffered, as it was compared to director Otto Preminger’s previous film- Laura (1944)- which was a big hit. I saw Fallen Angel recently and really enjoyed it! The story comes from a novel written by a young woman (Mary Hallen); she wrote under a male pen name. Preminger (known for his demanding personality) was one of the best directors of his time; he made Angel Face (1953) and Anatomy of a Murder (1954)- two notable noir movies. He used much of the crew from Laura; we also see Dorothy Adams (Laura’s loyal “domestic”) as Stella’s neighbor. Andrews (who played a straight-shooting NYC cop in Laura) didn’t want to do Fallen Angel, as he disliked his character. I thought he did a fine job playing a charming con man (who can be shady or sweet). He and Darnell have terrific chemistry when they banter and are esp. good at playing the romance angle.

Eric [to June after their first date]: No. One kiss goes a long way with you. You need a guy who will take it the same way. Who will give you marriage, with all the trimmings. Home and kids. Who will walk to church with you every Sunday. Save all your good nights for him.

Faye (at age 28 y.o.) was already a big star in Hollywood; this is why she has top billing. After taking a break to start a family, she was very disappointed w/ how 20th Century Fox finally cut this film. Faye left the studio once she saw that her best scenes were edited out. Instead of balancing out the love triangle, producer Daryl Zanuck put the focus more on Eric and Stella; he was involved in a romantic relationship w/ Darnell during filming. Thus, Eric and June’s relationship comes off as rushed. There is a great scene between Andrews and Faye in the third act. You can see the movie (in HD) below!

“I Wake Up Screaming” (1941) starring Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, & Laird Cregar

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Vicky: [waiting on Frankie and his friends: Larry Evans- a columnist and Robin Ray- a Broadway actor] Is that all?

Larry: No, but the rest of it isn’t on the menu.

Vicky: You couldn’t afford it if it was.

NYC promoter Frankie Christopher (Victor Mature), being interrogated by police in the death of model Vicky Lynn (Carole Landis), recalls in flashback: meeting her as a waitress in a Times Square diner, Frankie is sure that her beauty will launch her into high society and a modeling career. Frankie succeeds, perhaps too well; after a few months and many magazine covers, Vicky is about to fly to Hollywood for a screen test, when someone kills her! Now, Frankie gets the feeling that a detective, Ed Cornell (Laird Cregar), is determined to frame him for murder. It turns out that he’s right; he seeks out Vicky’s older sister, Jill (Betty Grable), for help.

Jill: [referring to Cornell, who has been watching Vicky outside the diner] He gives me the creeps.

Vicky: You’ll have to get used to that. We’ve got more wolves in New York than they have in Siberia.

Elisha Cook Jr. (the pint-sized actor who became a staple of noir) plays Harry, the clerk at the hotel where the Lynn sisters live. Grable and Landis do look like they could be related. They have different philosophies about life- Jill is humble and practical; Vicky is ambitious and and thinks big. The cops and newspapers assume and Frankie is upset re: being dumped by Vicky (professionally and personally).

TCM’s Eddie Muller explained that this movie (released by 20th C. Fox and originally Hot Spot) is one of the earliest examples of what came to be known as film noir. Screenwriter Dwight Taylor and the source novel’s author, Steve Fisher, wrote the screenplay. The music in this movie is memorable; “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” (from the 1939 hit The Wizard of Oz) is recycled (maybe too much) as Frankie and Jill’s theme. Vicky’s signature tune is a catchy jazz melody. Watch the full movie below!

[1] Bruce Humberstone directs this attractive early noir with a strong sense of visual style. His Director of Photography, Edward Cronjager, works wonders with elongated shadows and labyrinths of lattice.

Her character has psychological depth, and Grable does justice to the part.

Carole Landis… deserves a special mention. She gives a confident performance and sings beautifully.

[2] A formidable, menacing presence, Cregar rocks in the role. His silky voice and charming smile somehow make him even scarier…

Always an appealing presence, Mature was a better actor than he got credit for, making it look easy. He was hot, too…

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“The Man Who Cheated Himself” (1950) starring Lee J. Cobb, Jane Wyatt, & John Dall

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Lois: I didn’t know what I was doing! You know the truth!

Ed: The truth can get you twenty years!

In San Francisco, Lois Frazer (Jane Wyatt AKA Spock’s mom in Star Trek), is set to divorce her fortune-hunter husband, Howard. Once he leaves for the airport, she finds out that he bought a gun, and thinks he plans to kill her. Lois frantically calls her lover, who happens to be an experienced homicide detective, Lt. Ed Cullen (Lee J. Cobb). Ed arrives at her house to calm Lois down. Soon after, Howard unexpectedly returns, and she shoots him dead! Ed (though he knows better) feels compelled to cover up the killing. Soon, he’s assigned to investigate the case. His younger brother/new detective, Andy (John Dall), is also assigned and anxious to prove his merit. Andy is getting married in a few days.

Ed: [to Andy] Better learn one thing: never take a case to bed.

We see locations in and around the Golden Gate Bridge, Fisherman’s Wharf, Telegraph Hill and Fort Point (which was used in Hitchcock’s Vertigo). There are some colorful supporting characters who add to the drama. The action (incl. car chase) scenes are done well. TCM’s Eddie Muller explained that this film was made on a small budget and produced by Jack M. Warner, who was fighting w/ his father, the Jack Warner. The son wanted to make films on his own. The director, Felix Feist, was a freelancer (not tied to any studio); he was married to Lisa Howard (who plays Janet- Andy’s wife).

Unlike Dall, Howard’s performance is natural and easy. Andy needed more characterization; he comes off as too dreamy-eyed for a cop. You also have to ignore the fact that Dall (tall/blonde/slim) and Cobb (short/dark-haired/stocky) look and sound nothing alike! It’s rare to see Cobb as a leading man; he tones down the brooding intensity and growling voice (which we know/love from his character roles). Sadly, Cobb and Wyatt (cast against type as the femme fatale) lack romantic chemistry. I did like their last scene together, which was enigmatic and had some smolder! Cobb got this role after a successful run on Broadway in Death of a Salesman. Arthur Miller wrote the role of Willy Loman w/ Cobb in mind -WOW!

[1] …it is relentless and edgy, with no time for polish or emotional depth. Cameraman Russell Harlan (Blackboard Jungle; To Kill a Mockingbird) does a brilliant job with great angles and framing. It isn’t elegant, but it’s visually sharp.

[2] A fast, curious, edgy crime film that depends on a fabulous, simple twist, which you learn right at the start and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. The clash of two cops who are brothers begins innocently, and turns and builds in a very believable way…

Lee J. Cobb… just perfect in his role, right to the last scene when you see him look down the hall with the same feeling he has at the beginning of the film.

-Excerpts from IMDB movies

“Brute Force” (1947) starring Burt Lancaster & Hume Cronyn

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Gallagher [after learning that parole board hearings have been cancelled]: Those gates only open three times. When you come in, when you’ve served your time, or when you’re dead!

Joe Collins (Burt Lancaster) is a serving a life sentence at a maximum security prison (Westgate Penitentiary). After being held in solitary, then hearing of a friend’s sudden death, he has had enough! Collins and Gallagher (Charles Bickford), the prison’s newspaper editor, plan an elaborate escape. The men in his cell say they’ll follow along. The head guard, Capt. Munsey (Hume Cronyn in his only villainous role), suspects something is up; he has informants all over. Warden Barnes (Roman Bohnen) holds authority on paper only; Dr. Walters (Art Smith) is a decent man who has been driven to alcoholism. These veteran actors came from NYC’s Group Theater (1931-1940) which followed the principles of Stanislavski. The film ends in a huge fight between guards and inmates, w/ gunfire, explosions, and many deaths!

Dr. Walters: Yes, Capt. Munsey. I’m just a very ordinary man. I get drunk on whiskey but you sir – you get drunk on power.

The acting is top notch; this is Lancaster’s 2nd movie after his debut opposite Ava Gardner in The Killers (1946). He had height, looks (traffic-stopping), and screen presence; he was discovered by producer Mark Hallinger (who died at just 44 y.o. from a heart attack). Cronyn (who hailed from the theater, like his wife Jessica Tandy) chews up the scenery as a sadistic wanna-be dictator. In one standout scene, he interrogates and beats the prison reporter, Louie (Sam Levene), while the music of Wagner (Hitler’s favorite composer) plays in the background. The musical score (composed by Miklos Rozsa) is considered to be even more compelling than the one he wrote for The Killers.

Spencer: Driving along with such a dream doll beside me, I figured myself a pretty lucky guy. Flossie had looks, brains, and all the accessories. She was better than a deck with six aces.

Yes, there are women here (unlike most jail-related movies); they appear in flashbacks. Spencer (John Hoyt- best known as Dr. Boyce in the series pilot of Star Trek: TOS) recounts a story of picking up a beautiful gambler, Flossie (Anita Colby). A mild-mannered bookeeper is in jail b/c he stole to please his wife (Ella Raines- who appeared in several noir films). Becker (Howard Duff) is former soldier dreaming of going back to Italy, where he left his lady love (Yvonne De Carlo). She co-starred w/ Lancaster in Criss Cross, which is a can’t miss noir. The woman in Collins’ life, Ruth (Ann Blyth), is as far from a femme fatale as you can get! This movie is on Amazon and YouTube (can see for free).

[1] Director Jules Dassin is brilliant with light, and sets the example for the French “new wave” of cinema. Lighting Burt Lancaster from the side, or from underneath, makes him and the other actors look almost surreal.

[2] The violence is not explicitly disclosed like in the present days, but the cruelty of Captain Munsey can be understood even by the most naive viewer.

[3] This powerful drama is totally uncompromising and provides a convincing account of what life is like in a prison which is being run in a particularly brutal and autocratic manner. The consequence for the inmates is that they live in an oppressive and overcrowded environment where hard labour, poor quality food and harsh treatment are the norm. Furthermore, they are also subjected to a cruel system which leads to many of them being abused, tortured or even killed…

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“Kansas City Confidential” (1952) starring John Payne & Coleen Gray

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Detective: … left school to enlist with the engineers. Pretty good soldier too! Bronze Star, Purple Heart!

Joe: Try and buy a cup of coffee with them!

A WWII vet working as a flower deliveryman, Joe Rolfe (John Payne- best known as the lawyer/neighbor in Miracle on 34th Street), becomes the fall guy for an armored car robbery worth $1.2M. Payne is very tall (6’4″), w/ an athletic body, and large/expressive brown eyes. When Joe is released for lack of evidence, after being roughly interrogated by the cops, he’s determined to discover who set him up and why. After 6 mos, he gets info which leads down to Tijuana, Mexico. There he meets a nervous ex-con, Pete Harris (Jack Elam), at a gambling house. Pete doesn’t have his share of the robbery money, but is flying to Barrados (a fishing village) to pick it up. He doesn’t know who planned it, or the other criminals (character actors Neville Brand and Lee Van Cleef). They all had to wear full face masks during the robbery!

[1] …Payne started off as a crooner and hoofer, a light leading man… he ended up one of the most convincing ordinary-guy protagonists in the noir cycle. He’s tough, all right, but still shows the flop-sweat of fear; and he’s smart, too, but because he’s forced to be what he’s trying to hang onto is all he’s got.

[2] The suspense in Kansas City Confidential is not about who did it. The three robbers are… three of the nastiest dudes in film history. The suspense lies whether Payne can put it all together. As he says to one of them, he’s flying blind in this one.

John Payne gives a riveting performance of a desperate man and one you don’t leave holding the bag without consequences. This is one of the best noir films ever done, not to be missed.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

Quentin Tarantino said that Reservoir Dogs (1992) was inspired by this film noir. Kansas City Confidential was directed by Phil Karson (who also made Scandal Sheet); he worked steadily in small budget pictures. This film doesn’t shy away from violence (punching, kicking, and gunplay). The fights happen fast and don’t look slick; they’re a fact of life for shady men. Joe spent a year in jail, too; he can handle himself in rough situations. His love interest is pretty, but also smart (a law student); Helen (Coleen Gray) surprises her father (Preston Foster) by arriving at the resort for a vacation. Gray is perhaps best known as Fay, the loyal girlfriend to Sterling Hayden (another handsome tall drink of water) in Kubrick’s The Killing (1956). The romantic scenes were few, but played well; Payne and Gray became a real-life couple for some time. I noticed (on second viewing) that the editing is tight and well-done. Check out this film for free (since it’s in the public domain) on Amazon or YouTube!