Tag: Romance

“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!

“Human Desire” (1954) starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, & Broderick Crawford

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Director Fritz Lang said that his American films of the 1950s were “all about fate.” He never saw the characters as evil; they were “people who succumbed to social evils.” This film was made right after The Big Heat– a must-see for fans of noir and classics. We have the re-teaming of Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame, who work very well together. Human Desire was shot on location in Oklahoma. Director of Photography (DP), Burnett Guffey, won Oscars for From Here to Eternity and Bonnie and Clyde. Suiting the dark subject material, the look is grim and gritty. There is much use of shadows, most notably in the scenes where the lovers are alone. Trains are often heard in the background- wheels, whistles, and even going off the tracks.

Jeff Warren (Ford), a Korean War vet, returns to his railroad engineer job and boards at the home of his older friend/co-worker, Alec Simmons (Edgar Buchanan) and his family. He’s amused by Alec’s daughter, Ellen (Kathleen Case), who has an obvious crush. Vicki (Grahame) is the young wife of a middle-aged rail supervisor, Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford). After the hot-tempered Carl is fired for insubordination, he begs Vicki to intercede on his behalf w/ John Owens, a rich/powerful businessman. Vicki’s mother was Owens’ housekeeper; his influence could get Carl his job back. When Carl suspects Vicki slept w/ Owens, he beats Vicki and forms a plan to get revenge. Jeff meets Vicki, not knowing that she’s married.

You see, the war messed him up. He can’t be in a normal relationship. He has to somehow degrade himself in being w/ Vicki. He’s even willing to commit a crime for her. -Ileana Douglas (actor/film buff)

There is mention of war and killing, though not much detail is provided by Jeff. Under his regular guy persona, something is hidden which draws him toward the troubled Vicki (instead of the carefree Ellen). After Jeff helps Vicki take the drunken Carl home, there is a (semi-erotic) scene. Grahame unbuttons her blouse part of the way, pulls it off one shoulder, and reveals the bruises inflicted by her abusive husband. Later on, when they kiss in the abandoned shed, Ford buries his fingers in Grahame’s hair and yanks her head back (yowza)! While these may seem tame (by today’s standards), I’m sure they surprised audiences in 1954. See comment (below) for the full movie.

[1] This film features interesting photography and lighting typical of this style of film – I especially like the way the train scenes are shot, with the camera strapped to the front of the train, giving a first-person ride along the railroad tracks.

[2] Grahame is a revelation as the amoral wife stung by unfulfillment, sleazy yet sexy. Grahame makes Vicki both alluring and sympathetic.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“Scandal Sheet” (1952) starring Broderick Crawford, John Derek, & Donna Reed

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An ambitious/tough-talking editor, Mark Chapman (Broderick Crawford), meets the wife he abandoned 20+ yrs ago at a “Lonely Hearts Club” ball sponsored by his NYC newspaper. Charlotte Grant (Rosemary DeCamp), threatens to expose him as a wife-deserter and impostor (he changed his name). In a fit of rage, he pushes and accidentally kills her! When Mrs. Grant’s body is found, Chapman assigns his young protégé reporter, Steve McCleary (John Derek), to the story. It could be a juicy follow-up story to the ball and raise circulation. Julie Allison (Donna Reed), a features writer/Steve’s girlfriend, gets a phone call which could crack the case.

This film noir is based on the 1944 novel, The Dark Page, by Samuel Fuller. The wise-cracking photographer, Biddle, is played by Harry Morgan (who gained fame in the TV show M.A.S.H.) Less than a year ago, Chapman was brought on board to save the paper, as it was losing money. Now, some of the shareholders don’t approve of the scandalous stories which he chooses to cover, though the paper is nearing a circulation of 750,000. Julie can barely hide her disdain for Chapman; she’s disappointed that Steve looks up to him. Derek is (as expected) uber-handsome w/ long lashes and thick dark hair; his character makes some sexist comments (reflecting the era). A few viewers were a bit shocked that Reed (who does a fine job) smokes in this movie- LOL!

Top notch suspense as Crawford gambles that he can keep his cool and get away with it, even as the walls close in and the odds look worse and worse. Crawford is at his no-nonsense, take no prisoners, mince-no-words best…

Reed plays a woman who is like the voice of conscience in the movie–always appalled at Crawford’s methods and making it clear that she wants no part of this degradation of the paper.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“The Big Combo” (1955) starring Cornel Wilde & Richard Conte

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Capt. Peterson: You’re a cop, Leonard. There’s 17,000 laws on the books to be enforced. You haven’t got time to reform wayward girls. She’s been with Brown three and a half years. That’s a lot of days… and nights.

This is a lesser-known/low-budget noir w/ snappy dialogue, a jazz score (rare for that period), and fine B&W cinematography. It has its good points, but the femme fatale isn’t compelling, and a few scenes seem slow. A determined cop, Lt. Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde from Leave Her to Heaven), is told to stop surveillance of suave mob boss, Mr. Brown (Richard Conte from Thieves’ Highway). Leonard’s captain says it’s costing the police department too much money w/ no results after 6 mos. Diamond makes one last attempt to uncover evidence against Brown by going to Brown’s girlfriend, Susan Lowell (Jean Wallace- wife of Wilde and resembling Grace Kelly), who is chaperoned by two henchmen- Fante (Lee Van Cleef) and Mingo (Earl Holliman).

Mr. Brown: I’m trying to run an impersonal business. Killing is very personal. Once it gets started, it’s hard to stop.

This was one of the very first American films to imply a man going down on a woman; I was a bit surprised! Brown maneuvers around Susan, stopping briefly at her lips, but then dropping out of frame, seemingly down past her waist. Leonard is clearly having a “friends w/ benefits” relationship w/ the burlesque dancer, Rita (Helene Stanton). Her show outfit is sparkly and skimpy, even by today’s standards. Also, the film openly infers that Fante and Mingo are a gay couple who live together, kill together, and seem to love each other (note the basement scene).

 In a performance brimming with cool menace, Conte is fond of saying `First is first and second is nobody.’

And Brown is obsessed with his prowess with women as Diamond is with capturing him and wooing his moll. The film is filled with risque sexual allusions…

What almost ruined this picture for me was the hideously annoying performance of actress Jean Wallace…

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

“The Breaking Point” (1950) starring John Garfield, Patricia Neal, & Phyllis Thaxter

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[1] Peppered with sparkling dialogue throughout, everything in the film is splendidly executed. The movie just rattles along at a well defined pace.

[2] ...this contains one of John Garfield’s best performances. Always a fine actor, he gets under the skin of his character and makes you understand his desperation and moral conflict, he’s riveting every second he is on screen.

[3] The relationship between Juano Hernandez’ Wesley and Garfield’s Harry is about as race neutral as it could be. … they are partners – and they seem truly friends beyond their business relationship.

-Excerpts from IMDB reviews

Tagline: There’s nothing more deadly than a gentle man pushed too far!

This film is smart, touching, entertaining, well-acted, and well-shot. The Breaking Point comes from a novel by Ernest Hemingway (To Have and Have Not). This was identified by critic Thom Andersen as an example of film gris, a suggested sub-category of film noir w/ a left-wing narrative. Michael Curtiz, who also directed Casablanca, shows he had a tough side. The screenplay by Ranald MacDougall is considered (in certain scenes) to be even better than the novel! TCM’s Eddie Muller noted that star John Garfield thought this was his best performance and the film of which he was most proud. He provided many ideas to the producers and director, unofficially taking on an executive producer role. This was Garfield’s second to last role before being blacklisted.

Harry: A man alone ain’t got a chance.

Garfield was the type of leading man who resembled a working man- rugged, blue collar, and wearing a leather jacket. This kind of leading man would rise to prominence after WWII w/ actors such as: James Dean, Marlon Brando, Paul Newman, and Steve McQueen. In Balboa, CA, Capt. Harry Morgan (Garfield) doesn’t quite fit in during peacetime. He earned a Purple Heart for his service in WWII, but now struggles to make payments on his boat and provide for his family (wife and two daughters). The domestic scenes between Harry and wife- Lucy (Phyllis Thaxter)- are touching and realistic. Though devoted to her stubborn husband, she’s determined and strong-willed. Harry’s mate, Wesley Park (Juano Hernandez- a pioneer among Black actors), is loyal, wise and patient; they worked together on the boat for 12 yrs. Unlike some other characters of the period, “he is not an example of noble Black suffering” (as Muller commented). Wesley has a shy/young son who walks to school w/ Harry’s daughters.

Harry: [to Leona as she reaches into his shirt pocket for a cigarette] Yuh know, one of these days you’re gonna get your arm broke reachin’ for something that don’t belong to yuh.

Leona: It’s all in a good cause.

The femme fatale in the story is Leona Charles (Patricia Neal); she meets Harry on one of his trips down to Mexico w/ her older male friend, Hannagan (Ralph Dumke). Leona is a platinum blonde, wears nice clothes, and leads w/ her feminine charms. Harry tries to ignore her (but in a nice manner); she keeps trying to get him interested. After the two-week fishing trip, Hannagan suddenly flies off before paying Harry, and stranding Leona! A shady lawyer, F.R. Duncan (Wallace Ford), offers to help Harry make up for the loss and maybe earn a lot more. Harry has never done anything illegal, but now is faced w/ a desperate situation.