Noirvember 2021 - 30 days of film noir

[MalteseCrow]

Sneaking in one last noir before the clock chimes midnight in my neck of the woods... and boy, is it a strange one!



Mr. Arkadin aka Confidential Report (1955) 1/2
An American smuggler (Robert Arden) and his girl (Patricia Medina) get a tip from a dying man that the wealthy eccentric Gregory Arkadin (Orson Welles) is eager to keep his past a secret. Smelling fresh blackmail dough cooking, Arden cozies up with Arkadin's daughter (Paola Mori) while Medina sidles up to Arkadin himself. Seeing through the blackmailers' transparent plot, Arkadin hires Arden to dig up his past history, claiming to have amnesia before a certain point in his life. But as Arden trots the globe to uncover the truth, he finds more than a few dead bodies along the way...

One of many films snatched from Welles' hands before he could complete it, Mr. Arkadin's seams are visible to the naked eye. And yet, there is ample surreal, absurd, hallucinatory beauty remaining. The wacky plot is simply an excuse for Welles to film visually audacious shots composed of eccentric character actors, himself included. But does it add up to anything? It's hard to say. Everything here is so mysterious and odd, you can't help but feel the fool for taking it seriously... or not taking it seriously enough. Well worth a watch for the wtf of it all.

And here's the final tally: 11 noir films, all first time watches from me, and each from a different year. I guess that gets me a dirty cop merit badge. Thanks to kingdoxie for starting the thread and to everyone who suffered through my reviews.

• The Face Behind The Mask (1941) 1/2
• The Suspect (1944)
• The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) 1/2
• Brute Force (1947)
• So Evil My Love (1948)
• Shockproof (1949)
• Whirlpool (1950)
• The Mob (1951) 1/2
• Touchez pas au Grisbi (1954)
• Mr. Arkadin (1955) 1/2
• Nightfall (1956) 1/2

[scratchtasia]

I finished this Noirvember with the 1946 Orson Welles film The Stranger. Despite some great scenes, fine acting, and terrific noir cinematography, watching this again made me remember that I want to like it more than I actually do. Problems with the script and a few melodramatic scenes keep this from true greatness, though it's certainly worth watching. 7/10



So, this is my final tally for the month:

PROTO-NOIR:
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932): 8/10
You Only Live Once (1937): 6/10

FILM NOIR:
Brighton Rock (1948): 7/10
The Fallen Idol (1948): 8/10
The Maltese Falcon (1941): 7/10
The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950): 8/10
The Stranger (1946): 7/10
T-Men (1947): 6/10

NEO-NOIR:
Following (1998): 7/10
Gone Baby Gone (2007): 8/10
Hana-Bi (Fireworks) (1997): 6/10
The Lincoln Lawyer (2011): 6/10
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001): 8/10
Snowtown (2011): 6/10
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965): 6/10
The World of Kanako (2014): 5/10

Nine were repeat viewings, and seven were entirely new to me. Next time I hope to watch more movies, more from the classic era, and more that are new to me. It looks like I made it to "Nightclub Owner" if all the proto- and neo-noir entries count. Otherwise, I'm just a dope--which is how I tend to feel anyway.

[kingdoxie]

Thanks to all the participants this year (our first full challenge as last year's was started late). I wasn't sure how the DA Challenge would go over, but it looks like it was a big hit and everyone had a lot of fun.

I hope everyone, whether new to film noir or an old hand, was able to discover some new films to check out.

I'll see you in next year's Noirvember challenge...until then keep traveling down those dark alleys, but watch out for the femme fatales.

[odguitar]

Wasn't able to complete the case for the DA, so that'll have to wait for another day (though I'm sure the DA will be breathing down my neck in the mean time). However, I was able to clear Private Detective, so my prospects are looking up. Until next time.

Originally Posted by odguitar

Recent Evidence

[Show spoiler]

DA Case Files
1940: Stranger on the Third Floor 3.5/5
1941: I Wake Up Screaming 4/5
1942: This Gun for Hire 4/5
1943: Hangmen Also Die! 3.5/5
1944: The Woman in the Window 3.5/5
1945:
1946: The Killers 4/5
1947: Nightmare Alley 4/5
1948: Force of Evil 4/5
1949:
1950: Night and the City 4.5/5
1951: On Dangerous Ground 4/5
1952: The Big Sleep 5/5
1953:
1954: Riot in Cell Block 11 4/5
1955:
1956:
1957: Sweet Smell of Success 5/5
1958:
1959:

Bogart Noir
1. Dark Passage 4/5
2. The Maltese Falcon 4/5
3. Key Largo 3.5/5
4. The Big Sleep 4/5
5. Deadline - U.S.A. 3.5/5
6. In a Lonely Place 5/5

Neo-Noir
1. The Killers (1964) 3.5/5
2. Dirty Harry 4/5
3. Medium Cool 4.5/5

Newer Neo-Noir
1. Fargo 5/5
2. L.A. Confidential 4.5/5
3. Gone Baby Gone 4.5/5

Misc. Noir
1. On the Waterfront 5/5
2. Double Indemnity 5/5

Total: 27

[bonehica]

Almost finished the challenge. Never got a '59 in there and my '40 is pretty dubious at best. However, I doubled down on '45 and '48 and threw in a couple of Château Lafite's circa '74, '82 and ought '17. Good times and thanks for the challenge kingdoxie!!

The final tally:

1940: Rebecca (Hitchcock)
1941: High Sierra (Walsh)
1942: This Gun For Hire (Tuttle)
1943: Shadow of a Doubt (Hitchcock)
1944: Phantom Lady (Siodmak)
1945: Leave Her To Heaven (Stahl) Detour (Ulmer)
1946: The Big Sleep (Hawks)
1947: Out of the Past (Tourneur)
1948: Hollow Triumph (Sekely) Sorry, Wrong Number (Litvak)
1949: Alias Nick Beal (Farrow)
1950: 711 Ocean Drive (Newman)
1951: Strangers on a Train (Hitchcock)
1952: Kansas City Confidential (Karlson)
1953: The Hitch-Hiker (Lupino)
1954: Human Desire (Lang)
1955: Kiss Me Deadly (Aldrich)
1956: While the City Sleeps (Lang)
1957: The Brothers Rico (Karlson)
1958: The Lineup (Siegel)
1959:
1974: Chinatown (Polanski)
1982: Blade Runner (Scott)
2017: Blade Runner 2049 (Villeneuve)

[kingdoxie]

I wanted to give everyone an early heads-up on the 2022 Noirvember District Attorney challenge (refer to the OP for the 2021 DA challenge). It will be A-Z: basically watch 20 films noir, each starting with a different letter of the alphabet with two exceptions: you can use one letter twice, and one of the titles can start with a number. Neo-noir and the classic period (1940-1959) count.

Kino Lorber (through 17 Oct), Indicator (through 16 Oct), and Arrow (through 1 Nov) have lots of film noir in their sales right now so hit them up to fill in any gaps!

Look for the 2022 thread on 25 October.

[kingdoxie]

Noirvember 2022 is live!