Movies about movie people take me out of the movie.
Maybe it is a bit odd, but movies about movies have been some of my favorites - 8 1/2, Sullivan's Travels, Ed Wood, Boogie Nights and definitely Sunset Boulevard.
I find anyone who doesn't think Sunset Boulevard is noir to be suspect.
Sunset Boulevard is definitely a film noir, but I do not revisit it nearly as often as I revisit other films noir.
When it comes to films noir, I tend to gravitate more toward the grittier “B movie” end of the spectrum. Out of the Past, Double Indemnity, Detour, The Big Heat, Private Hell 36, Hell's Half Acre, Shield for Murder, The Hitch-Hiker, Crashout, Plunder Road, the three films in the recent Mamie Van Doren collection, etc.
You know...the good old girls-guns-gangsters stuff and people making godawful bad decisions when they should know better. Fred MacMurray falling for a trashy bleached-blonde Barbara Stanwyck when he knows that it won't end well, Lee Marvin throwing coffee in a woman's face, a cop shooting a suspect just to take his money, etc.
Sunset Boulevard is magnificent, of course, but there's just something too prestigious and glossy about it when I am in the mood to go through my noir backcatalogue and venture to the dark city.
Of course, In a Lonely Place is one of my favorite films noir, and one could argue that it's equally glossy, so I'm probably not making much sense.
I wouldn't necessarily consider Muller omitting it as suspect, because he might've just ruled it out since it's British.
I've always been partial to movies about moviemaking. Some other good ones: The Bad and the Beautiful, In a Lonely Place (tangentially), Mulholland Drive.
When it comes to films noir, I tend to gravitate more toward the grittier “B movie” end of the spectrum. Out of the Past, Double Indemnity, The Big Heat
Fred MacMurray falling for a trashy bleached-blonde Barbara Stanwyck when he knows that it won't end well, Lee Marvin throwing coffee in a woman's face
Um, pretty sure Double Indemnity's not a B-movie. Barbara Stanwyck was a bigger star in 1944 than William Holden was before Sunset Blvd came out. I'm not convinced that The Big Heat or Out of the Past are B-movies either.
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Sunset Boulevard is magnificent, of course, but there's just something too prestigious and glossy about it
I think it's only prestigious in retrospect -- a film about a gigolo narrated by a dead body floating in a pool wasn't a guaranteed critical or commercial success. Wilder screened the film outside of Hollywood first because he was nervous about its reception. I would only call it glossy in the sense that Norma lives in decaying opulence and Gloria Swanson has a fading glamour. But the decay and fading are as important as the opulence and glamour. It was a fairly grim, cutting edge film for the time (though with humor and satire). I do agree that since the only crime occurs at the end (not counting that the whole movie's in flashback), that it's at the outer edge of the noir genre/style.
I love both "A" noirs like Double Indemnity, In a Lonely Place, Sweet Smell of Success, Ace in the Hole and Lady From Shanghai and B-noirs like Detour, The Lineup, Raw Deal, The Prowler and Phantom Lady. I can appreciate the efficiency and nastiness particular to good B-noir, but fortunately I don't have to choose and can love them all!
Last edited by noiradelic; 02-19-2019 at 07:01 AM.
I wouldn't necessarily consider Muller omitting it as suspect, because he might've just ruled it out since it's British.
I've always been partial to movies about moviemaking. Some other good ones: The Bad and the Beautiful, In a Lonely Place (tangentially), Mulholland Drive.
Those three are favourites for me as well because they take a dark, cynical look at moviemaking; throw in other movies that take a similar look at the media like Ace in the Hole, All About Eve, and The Sweet Smell of Success. Sunset Boulevard fits that bill but while I admire Wilder's craft and the quality of the filmmaking, nothing really draws me back to it. I've never come home on a Friday thinking "I really feel like watching Sunset Boulevard tonight"
Maybe it is a bit odd, but movies about movies have been some of my favorites - 8 1/2, Sullivan's Travels, Ed Wood, Boogie Nights and definitely Sunset Boulevard.
You left out 'The Bad and the Beautiful, but noiradelic pulled you out of the ditch.
Interesting fact: Producer Alexander Korda originally wanted Cary Grant to play Joseph Cotton's role, with Noel Coward as Harry Lime! American co-producer David O. Selznick nixed that idea.
Interesting fact: Producer Alexander Korda originally wanted Cary Grant to play Joseph Cotton's role, with Noel Coward as Harry Lime! American co-producer David O. Selznick nixed that idea.
Thanks for finding that clip and posting it. Eddie Muller's intro and outros are
always well-organized and detailed. He gives the audience full coverage
every time. And he really knows film noir.
Has anyone else seen the Blu-ray of My Name is Julia Ross yet? I can heartily recommend it. It's fast-moving film and quite unnerving in places. Picture and sound quality, given that it's a 70+ year old cheapie that has not been given the Criterion treatment, is extremely impressive. Definitely an enjoyable viewing experience.
Has anyone else seen the Blu-ray of My Name is Julia Ross yet? I can heartily recommend it. It's fast-moving film and quite unnerving in places. Picture and sound quality, given that it's a 70+ year old cheapie that has not been given the Criterion treatment, is extremely impressive. Definitely an enjoyable viewing experience.
I ordered it a while ago, but Deepdiscount hasn't bothered to ship it.
Those three are favourites for me as well because they take a dark, cynical look at moviemaking; throw in other movies that take a similar look at the media like Ace in the Hole, All About Eve, and The Sweet Smell of Success. Sunset Boulevard fits that bill but while I admire Wilder's craft and the quality of the filmmaking, nothing really draws me back to it. I've never come home on a Friday thinking "I really feel like watching Sunset Boulevard tonight"
I think about watching Sunset Blvd quite often, but it's in my top 5. When I think of the film I think of the narration first, it's probably my favorite element of that film.
Plus I have a framed British-quad poster of it in my living room to remind me I want to watch it.
I had never heard of these, so I ran to read your user review. Surprised there wasn't one!
He posted great reviews in this thread a few months ago.
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Originally Posted by The Great Owl
Let's get this set started with The Girl in Black Stockings...
When a young woman is found brutally murdered at a lodge in Utah, the lives of all of her fellow guests are thrown into disarray by the police investigation. The local sheriff, played by John Dehner (The Right Stuff), has his hands full, because any one of the dead playgirl's acquaintances could have a potential motive.
The wheelchair-bound lodge owner, played to icy perfection by Ron Randell (The Longest Day), makes no secret of his hatred for the victim and her teasing ways. The owner's sister, played by noir stalwart Marie Windsor (The Killing, The Narrow Margin), seems to unravel with visible anger whenever any woman gets close to her brother. A handsome lawyer, played by Lex Barker (Tarzan's Peril, The Deerslayer), discovered the body, but seems a little too quick with his convenient explanations as he puts the moves on the lodge switchboard operator, played by Anne Bancroft (The Graduate), who also works as an assistant to the owner and feels a closeness to the handicapped man. An alcoholic actor, played by John Holland (Chinatown), is tired of reliving the glory days with his girlfriend, played by 1950s/1960s bombshell Mamie Van Doren (High School Confidential, The Beat Generation), and does not want the murder to inconvenience his quest to make a comeback. A lumberyard worker, played by Gerald Frank, hurriedly evades police questioning whenever the subject of his past relationship with the murdered girl comes to light. A mysterious man, played by Gene O'Donnell, checks into the lodge and immediately starts making phone calls. Finally, a Native American, played by Larry Chance (Northwest Passage), is found in a drunken stupor with the murder weapon, a knife, in his possession. As bodies continue to pile up, their throats slit in the same way, these red herring players are eliminated one by one from the suspect list.
The 1957 film noir, The Girl in Black Stockings, which was written by Richard H. Landau (The Crooked Way, The Black Hole) and directed by Howard W. Koch (Shield for Murder, Big House, U.S.A.), was a latecomer during the classic era of the genre, and, in terms of tone, dialogue, and visuals, it veers just as wildly into the realm of exploitation cinema. In fact, it's not a stretch to consider this sleaze-laced B movie a precursor of sorts to 1970s Italian giallo films or 1980s slasher horror features, since the unfortunate victims usually tend to be attractive women.
The Girl in Black Stockings is a fast-paced and constantly engaging 75-minute whodunit that holds its cards close to the vest until the final few minutes. The journey to that outcome is quite a thrill ride in itself, thanks to some unexpectedly garish turns, namely a tragic equipment accident, and to its lively cast. Mamie Van Doren steals every scene that she's in, while Marie Windsor holds the throne as one of the best faces in noir. Ron Randell's paralyzed character, however, rules all, and there is never a split second when his bitter face does not convey a world of caustic loathing. This film is a rousingly engaging surprise from my favorite genre of cinema.
Present-day viewers may also be reminded of the 2018 crime drama, Bad Times at the El Royale, because of the lodge setting, although this classic noir is nowhere near as visceral.
This Kino Lorber Blu-ray sports a pleasantly filmic transfer and an audio presentation that is clear enough that I did not mourn the lack of subtitles. This movie is featured on its own disc in The Mamie Van Doren Film Noir Collection, and it includes a present day interview with the actress, who is still marvelous.
Be sure to watch the included trailer for The Girl in Black Stockings, since Mamie Van Doren's legs are shown in the titular stockings.
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Originally Posted by The Great Owl
Let's get this Mamie Van Doren show back on the road with Guns, Girls and Gangsters.
Immediately after he is paroled, Chuck Wheeler, an ex-con played by Gerald Mohr (Gilda), arrives in Las Vegas to orchestrate an armored car robbery plan that he and his cellmate devised in prison. With the help of Lou, a small-time criminal played by Paul Fix (To Kill a Mockingbird), he plans to use a short-wave radio to duplicate police check-in codes for the armored car after executing the robbery, but he first has to recruit Joe Darren, a racketeer played by Grant Richards (The Untouchables), to launder the money. The final piece of the puzzle is Vi Victor, a blonde nightclub singer played by Mamie Van Doren (The Girl in Black Stockings), who is married to Chuck's cellmate, but also secretly involved with Darren.
As these shady players set up base at a roadside motel and gas station, Chuck and Vi begin to fall in love while, at the same time, Vi befriends the couple who owns the motel. There is only one minor problem. Chuck's terrifyingly violent and trigger-happy cellmate, Mike Bennett, played by Lee Van Cleef (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly), has escaped from prison on the eve of the planned robbery, and he is leaving a trail of corpses on his way to Las Vegas to be reunited with his estranged wife.
The 1959 film noir crime thriller, Guns, Girls and Gangsters, which was directed by Edward L. Cahn (It! The Terror from Beyond Space), is a riveting and fast-paced 70-minute feature that hits the ground running to serve the three basic cinematic food groups promised by its title. Mamie Van Doren, who, along with Marilyn Monroe and Jayne Mansfield, stopped traffic during the 1950s, has one of the most sultry character introductions that I have ever seen, in the form of a nightclub performance early in the movie. The ensuing rough-edged dialogue sequence, where her character first meets Mohr's Chuck, could serve as a contemporary by-the-numbers tutorial for what not to do when interacting with women at their places of work. The plot development of Vi later falling for Chuck after he “made a pass” at her backstage at the club adds to the outdated feel of the film by today's standards, but, on the plus side, it also cements the convincing actor portrayals of our key antiheroes as lost souls who do what they can to survive while navigating through their lives of disappointment and broken dreams, and who are willing to take the ultimate risk for a slim chance at wealth and happiness.
Elaine Edwards (The Bat) and John Baer (We're No Angels), as the friendly motel couple, are memorable as the moral counterpoints to the choices made by our girl and our gangsters. These two are also integral to the equation during the action-packed climax, since we are pulling for them to survive.
Lee Van Cleef is the true show stealer here, though, and he excels at what was one of his most fearsomely unhinged character roles. The split second that he appears on the screen, we know that things are not going to end well for anyone involved.
The final scene of Guns, Girls and Gangsters, showing an armored car driving along a desert road, is a priceless example of Production Code era goodness. A voiceover narration, which states, “This is an armored car, specially constructed for its job. It does that job.”, is downright comical in light of the story that has unfolded just before. The armored car featured in the plot certainly did a great job...of being robbed!
Incidentally, I'm finding it nearly impossible to get the title right, because I keep wanting to type it as, “Girls, Guns and Gangsters.” I guess that this natural inclination is a positive psychological validation that my order of priorities is sound.
As with The Girl in Black Stockings, which I watched and reviewed two nights ago as a first feature in the Kino Lorber set, The Mamie Van Doren Film Noir Collection, this movie, which shares a disc with the third feature, Vice Raid, is graced by an impressively filmic video presentation and good audio quality. There are no extras on the second disc, so I had to settle for restarting the movie to watch Mamie Van Doren's nightclub performance scene again.
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Originally Posted by The Great Owl
The Mamie Van Doren Film Noir Collection is one of my top 10 Blu-ray releases of 2018. Way to go, KLSC!
Let's close this out with my review of the final film, Vice Raid...
In New York City, an organized crime syndicate brings in young women from out of state for a prostitution ring and is using modeling agencies as a front for call girl escort services. Several local vice cops are secretly on the take from the syndicate, but Detective Whitey Brandon, played by Richard Coogan (The Californians), is untouchable, and he is determined to bring down the operation at any cost. Vince Malone, a steel-edged racketeer played by Brad Dexter (The Asphalt Jungle, 99 River Street), runs the city call girl businesses and is weary of Brandon meddling in his affairs, but knows that overt violence against the incorruptible detective is not an option. The syndicate has a secret weapon up its sleeve, though, in the form of Carol, a glamorous and intelligent “model” played by Mamie Van Doren (The Girl in Black Stockings, High School Confidential). Knowing that no man can possibly resist Carol's charms, Malone employs her to entrap and frame the detective.
The 1959 film noir crime drama, Vice Raid, which was helmed by Edward L. Cahn (It! The Terror from Beyond Space), pairs the director with Van Doren for the second time in the same year after their collaboration on Guns, Girls and Gangsters. This time around, Van Doren shines in a multilayered role that allows her to excel as an assertively seductive femme fatale, a protective older sister, and, finally, a tough heroine. Carol Nugent (Family Affair), as Carol's good-natured sister, is memorable during a tragic sequence that conveys the perilous side of a business that peddles what many consider to be victimless crimes. Barry Atwater (Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea) also commands attention as an ill-tempered henchman.
Vice Raid, like many noir-edged titles during the 1950s, may feature some elements that are quaint by today's standards, such as the voiceover narration that points out the dangers of prostitution and illegal sex operations, but I am impressed by the extent to which it pushed some controversial subject matter past the Production Code. The particulars of the escort “model” business are depicted in such a way that there is no question as to what is really going on.
Cinematographer Stanley Cortez, who handled photography for classics like The Night of the Hunter and The Magnificent Ambersons, lends a taut visual style to what could have been a throwaway B-movie in lesser hands. His use of light and shadows during a handful of genuinely tense moments is instrumental in carrying us along the twists and turns of this “dark city” examination of an ugly enterprise.
Be on the lookout for pinup girl Juli Reding during an early scene as a potential prostitution ring victim who arrives in the city after being taken under the wing of one of the crooks. After busting the crime, Detective Brandon puts Reding's model character back on the bus, telling her that she is going home “where she belongs.” She replies, “How do you know? You ain't never seen my home.” The detective nonchalantly laughs off the comment, but it nonetheless stays in the memory of the viewer as a reminder that many women who are drawn into prostitution are trying to escape from decidedly unfavorable circumstances at home.
As with the other two titles in The Mamie Van Doren Film Noir Collection, this one is blessed with a nicely filmic presentation.
I had never heard of these, so I ran to read your user review. Surprised there wasn't one!
A couple of years back, I decided to post movie content reviews under the Movie pages for individual films on this site instead of posting User Reviews, since User Reviews are more suited to technical evaluations of the Blu-ray discs.
If I ever rave about a particular film here, then there’s probably a write-up from me in the Movie Reviews section for the film.
Picture and sound quality, given that it's a 70+ year old cheapie that has not been given the Criterion treatment, is extremely impressive.
It's a low-budget movie, but also a Sony transfer, and theirs are often the best of any studio. This was released on DVD as part of the Columbia Film Noir Classics set Vol. 3, and the PQ of most of those DVDs are better than many B&W Blu-rays.
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