99 River Street (1953)

This is a Sam Fuller type crime film that's not pretty, it's full of gritty realism, and it ends up being an unassuming little gem that is really enjoyable. However, instead this film comes from director Phil Karlson pairing him with John Payne. In film-noir boxers always seem to take a center stage and it is never the champs. It's the near misses or the bums. Ernie Driscoll (Payne) falls into this category as well.

After his big fight and an unfortunate conclusion to the bout, Driscoll is all washed up and he and his wife know it. He relives the moment in agony and dejectedly takes a job as a taxi driver while he tries to figure out a future without boxing. You can tell his wife is fed up with this way of life and she's getting awfully snappy. Driscoll is unhappy with his marriage going down the tubes so his only encouragement comes down at the coffee counter with his buddy Stan and the bubbly actress Linda.

Things get worse when Ernie sees his wife with another man who also happens to be a real thug. Ernie is humiliated  and looking for revenge, but on the bidding he follows Linda to the theater because she is in desperate trouble. He obliges and yet again he feels like he's been made a fool of. He cannot even seem to trust her.

Ernie wants desperately to get back into the ring against the better judgment of his former manager. But he still is caught up in the whole mess with the cunning tough guy Victor Rawlins who stole Driscoll's wife. The man shows how little the girl meant to him in comparison to the money and after getting a payoff for a fat load of diamonds he waits for a freighter to take him away.

Linda wants to help Ernie after what happened on the stage, but she cannot stop Rawlins. It's up to Ernie to duke it out on the docks and it turns into a real brawl where he struggles not to get his bell completely rung after a gunshot to the chest. It's the biggest fight of his career and somehow he wins. Really 99 River Street sounds like a run of the mill noir, but Payne's performance is rather good. It feels rather like Edward G. Robinson in Scarlet Street where no one seems to be on his side. However, he does ultimately have two solid allies in the faithful dispatcher Stan and the always vibrant Linda. Ernie finally follows Stan's earlier advice and whispers sweet nothings into the ear of his love. It's a happy ending for a noir.

The cast is rounded out nicely by a wonderful group of character actors including Brad Dexter, Jack Lambert, and Jay Adler who all work as the scum of the earth dwelling in New York. The contrast of the bubbly Evenlyn Keyes with the more aloof Peggie Castle was also very effective within the film. Now I need to see Kansas City Confidential as well.

4/5 Stars

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison (1957)

From John Huston comes another film about a woman of principle and a man who seems to be everything she is not. This time instead of Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart aboard The African Queen in WWI, we have Deborah Kerr and Robert Mitchum stuck on a desert island together during WWII.

Kerr is Sister Angela who was on the island only a few with a priest before he passed away. Now she is alone taking care of herself in solitude. That is until castaway Marine Mr. Allison washes up on her shore in a raft. For a time it is just the two of them as the Sister offers the marine food after his long arduous journey. But after getting rest and some nourishment, he returns the favor proving his resourcefulness at scrounging up food on the island. For awhile they live in relative ease like this.

But they are reminded that the war is still going when the Japanese set up camp on the island. The unlikely pair find themselves living in a cave together. Allison invades the camp on the sly to acquire food for them and they continue to manage in hiding. Once the enemy are gone the exuberant marine gets drunk on some sake and professes his love to the novice nun. Although the situation had never quite been awkward up to that point, it quickly becomes so. Sister Angela in a tizzy flees out in the pouring rain and winds up getting sick as a result.

To add to the predicament, the Japanese forces return, and back to the cave it is. This time Mr. Allison must kill a soldier in order to get a blanket for Sister Angela. Soon the Japanese are burning the underbrush in pursuit of the culprit. It's dire straights certainly, but then help comes.

Mr. Allison once again proves himself and regains the faith and admiration of Sister Angela. Once the marines roll in Mr. Allison is able to leave the island on a stretcher with the faithful novice by his side. They are a strange pair, but their relationship makes this story actually engaging. In a way the life of a marine and a nun have some similarities although they fall at completely different ends of the spectrum. In the same way Mitchum and Kerr are adept at playing their roles to that degree. Allison is rough around the edges, a Joe Palooka type, and yet he means well. The nun is devoted to her calling, proper, and it never seems as if she could ever approve of Mr. Allison. And yet in the midst of all the divides that seem in place, a true bond forms. It's a fun relationship and these two stars as well as John Huston made it thoroughly enjoyable.

4/5 Stars

Rear WIndow (1954) - Updated

Who in their right mind would make a film that takes place in a courtyard? Rear Window has always been fascinating from a technical standpoint and Alfired Hitchcock is certainly not The Master of Suspense for nothing. He uses the confined space of a single Greenwich Village courtyard with an incapacitated individual to truly build the tension to immeasurable heights. The events within the film are often highly bemusing as Hitchcock has a wicked sense of humor whether Jefferies is trying desperately to scratch that itch or the conversation turns morbid as he tries to eat breakfast.

The script has so many great little moments of back in forth repartee; some supplied by the always dynamic Thelma Ritter who plays the nurse with a lot of advice and opinions about rear window ethics: "We've become a race of peeping toms. What people ought to do is get outside their own house and look in for a change. Yes, sir. How's that for a bit of home-spun philosophy."

James Stewart is always a pleasure, but this time around he is perhaps at his most constrained as famed photographer L.B. Jefferies, who is laid up in his apartment for weeks on end with a leg in a cast. He got the injury thanks in part to his last big photo shoot where he ran in front of an incoming race car. With nothing better to do he spends his idle moments people watching and getting to know his neighbors. That's one way to put it at least. As an actor Stewart is stuck and relegated to conveying his whole performance through his gaze and the dialogue he speaks to those few who come in and out to see him. Most of what he's doing is simply looking across the way and yet it works.

His neighbors are as follows: 

There's Ms. Torso who is an aspiring dancer and always the target of many men. There's Ms. Lonelyheart who never can find the love she so desires. A washed-up composer spends the entire film trying to figure out his newest project (even getting a visit by Hitchcock himself). There the newlyweds who hardly ever leave there bedroom, because they're doing something... Then, comes the older couple on the second floor with a cute little dog and the sculptor who lives below.

Most interesting of all is the couple directly across the way from Jeffries, because that''s where a long-suffering husband and his wife live. All seems normal to begin with, however, Jeffries begins to have his suspicions thanks to circumstantial evidence and no sign of Mrs. Thorwald. His first thoughts immediately shoot to murder, but it seems highly unlikely. Day and night he continues to watch seeming to get more evidence, only to have his theories crushed, and then gain new hope through more evidence. 

The interesting part is that as an audience we are fully involved in this story. We see much of the picture from Jeffries apartment, because there is no place to go and so we stay inside the confines of the complex. In this way Hitchcock creates a lot of Rear Window's  plot out of actions occurring and than the reactions that follow. We are constantly being fed a scene and then immediately being shown the gaze of Jeffries. It effectively pulls us into this position of a peeping tom too. Danger keeps on creeping closer and closer as he discovers more and more. The narrative continues to progress methodically from day to night to the next day and the next evening. 

In the climatic moments he finally faces the man who he always looked in at from the outside and yet by the end the roles are reversed with Jeffries space being fully invaded and yet he can do little to flee, because of his cast. Hitchcock cuts it in such a choppy and chaotic way which breaks with the smooth continuity of the rest of the film, but it works so wonderfully in stark juxtaposition.

This is one of the main appeals of Rear Window, because it has this Hitchcockian story of murder, mystery, and suspense. However, I am constantly eager to revisit this story, since there are so many other intricacies that are of interest. 

Although the film uses a score by Franz Waxman, the majority of the sounds heard are diegetic and they either are street noises or music wafting around the courtyard from one of the apartments.  Also, there is only one small outlet to the outside world. At times it becomes fun to survey what is going on whether it is kids playing on the street corner or cars passing back and forth. It builds this sense of realism suggesting that this world that has been created is larger than this one set full of apartment buildings. 

Another important element is themes of romance and love. Jefferies comes into the film with issues in his own love life. His girl is the elegant and refined Liza Fremont who seems perfect, too perfect in his estimation. In his mind, they just don't seem compatible enough and he cannot see marrying her. It's something they have to work through because she truly loves him.

Really every character essentially has a different outlook on love and different struggles, because romance is never an easy thing. Like the lyricist's song it is so often fragmented, but in this case Jefferies and Lisa seem to figure things out just like the song finally gets finished. The moment where you can see it in Jefferies' face that he is both impressed and worried for Lisa's safety seems to be the time when things change. He realizes his love for her since she is very dear. He quits his thinking and his analyzing of their relationship, as gut-wrenching emotions take over when she is caught. In a sense he listens to Stella's earlier advice: "Look, Mr. Jefferies, I'm not an educated woman, but I can tell you one thing. When a man and a woman see each other and like each other they ought to come together - wham! Like a couple of taxis on Broadway, not sit around analyzing each other like two specimens in a bottle."

Wendell Corey in his supporting role as Jefferies' friend and the police detective is a man who can be a skeptic and still prove his loyalty as a friend. They can be at odds and still poke fun at each other with mutual affection. It feels real. Raymond Burr as the villainous Lars Thorwald works well too, because he is certainly an angry, unfriendly grouch, but he does not seem altogether evil. It shows how easy it is for the lines to be blurred. 

Above all Grace Kelly shines opposite Jimmy Stewart. There's no one quite like her, so elegant, eloquent, with a touch of playfulness and adventure. She is willing to fight for her man and even go out on a limb for him (ie. breaking into Thorwalds' apartment). One of the film's most extraordinary images out of many has to be when a shadow covers the face of Stewart as he rests. Then there is a closeup of Kelly, her face slowly descending towards him. It's hard to forget and for the rest of the film she attempts to not let him forget her. 

It's not often easy for me to make statements like this, but Rear Window has to be close to my favorite film of all time. Yes, I said it. It never gets old for me and I pick out new things every time. It's more than just a mystery thriller. Hitchcock made it a technical marvel that is also steeped in themes of love and ethical questions. The players are the best of the best from James Stewart, to Grace Kelly, to Thelma Ritter, all down the line. It's at times deliberate, but never boring, completely immersing the viewer into this drama as a firsthand witness. It's the type of cinema we just don't get everyday because it has everything and it cuts to the core, to the most visceral level. That is the sign of cinematic greatness, 

5/5 Stars

Monkey Business (1952)

I always was under the assumption that the screwball comedy died off in the 1940s with homages coming out years later. Is there such a thing as neo-screwball comedies? Anyways after watching Monkey Business I feel it is necessary to reevaluate that general conclusion. Here is a film from Howard Hawks that channels a great deal of the mad cap craziness that you see if his earlier works like Bringing up Baby (1938). For lack of a better term it is very screwy indeed. Right from the opening credits you have the voice of God (Hawks himself) breaking the fourth wall and calling Cary Grant by his real name.

Then the film actually opens and we meet the quintessential absent-minded genius Barnaby (Grant) and his loving wife Edwina (Ginger Rogers). They are meant to go to a social gathering and yet he is so caught up in his work that they stay behind. You see he is trying to develop an elixir of youth so to speak. His experiments are of interest to the business minded and much older Oliver Oxly (Charles Coburn), who only sees the positives of such a discovery. Barnaby tries to explain to him that it's not so cut and dry. In fact, his work could have dire effects if careful precautions are not taken.

Little does Dr. Fulton know that one of his lab chimps got lose in his lab and tampered with some chemicals, dumping them in a water cooler. After this absurd moment, Barnaby unknowingly consumes the rejuvenating concoction and his whole demeanor takes a turn.

Soon he's out buying flashy clothes, getting a flamboyant car, ice skating, and driving like a speed demon down the thoroughfares with an astonished secretary Ms. Laurel (Marilyn Monroe). Cary Gran even shows of his impressive acrobatic skills performing a cart wheel and a few other tricks.

Only when the concoction does he figure out what happens and he resolves to be more careful next time. Except next time turns out to come sooner than he was expecting when Edwina willingly drinks some of the substance so Barnaby can observe her. Just like that she is a prank pulling schoolgirl with insatiable energy.

Once more Barnaby takes the elixir while Edwina is sleeping off the effect. However, when she wakes up a misunderstand leads to more mayhem as she tries to get help from Mr. Oxly. What develops is a spiral into more hilarity. Barnaby and Edwina are reunited, Edwina's old flame is incensed, Ms. Laurel is petrified, and chimps and man alike are taking part in some Monkey Business.

3.5/5 Stars

An Affair to Remember (1956)

An Affair to Remember (1956) has always been noted as a great American romance as far as I can ever remember and I figured out that part of that was because it gets a mention in Sleepless in Seattle (1993). Whatever the reason I finally got around to watching it and it is certainly an enjoyable film. Any film with Cary Grant as a romantic lead is usually at least charming and this one is. He is a famed man on an ocean liner who has finally gone and gotten himself hitched. It's big news and as soon as the ship touches down he is going to meet his love.

Quite by chance he meets Deborah Kerr's character and they are immediately taken with each other. Soon their friendship grows into an affectionate romance, and yet they feel uncomfortable in front of the other passengers who seem to be watching their every move with interest. They both know that once the boat reaches New York things will not be the same between them for sometime.

And so it is, but they had made one last plan to meet each other at the top of the Empire State Building. Grant makes it but Kerr is detained for a very good reason. After seeing her in a awkward situation at a show, Grant resolves to go see her and get to the bottom of what happened. It's a tearful albeit it happy reunion as they come back together.

If any of this feels familiar, like a rerun, that's because it is. Leo McCarey actually made An Affair to Remember (1956) as a scene for scene remake of his earlier film Love Affair (1939). I never thought I'd say that I like a film with Charles Boyer more than a comparable one with Cary Grant, but it's the truth. I'm not sure if it's because I saw it first or that the film feels more intimate, but I really enjoyed Love Affair. An Affair to Remember is certainly elegant in color and Deborah Kerr gives a fine performance, but I was personally blown away by Irene Dunne as an actress. In fact, back in the day Dunne worked quite a bit with Cary Grant (The Awful Truth, My Favorite Wife, and Penny Serenade).

So my advice is go back and give Love Affair a watch. It's still by McCarey with much of the same story so it's really a personal preference what film you like more.

3.5/5 Stars

All That Heaven Allows (1955)

When I first saw the work of Douglas Sirk, I was immediately struck by how well it seemed to personify 1950s Hollywood. All That Heaven Allows (1955) is little different in its opulence and superficial soap opera tonalities. Except this one at times feels a little like it should be apart of a Norman Rockwell Saturday Evening Post cover. Perhaps it glides a slightly more interesting line between high society country club members and quintessential middle America.

The two alternatives are contrasted in our screen couple played by Jane Wyman and Rock Hudson.
Cary Scott (Wyman) is a well to do, middle-aged widow with two grown kids off at school. She is often lonely and always sensible when it comes to the life decisions she makes. After all she doesn't want the local gossip blabbing about her life to all their local society friends.

That changes rather gradually thanks to her seasonal gardener and professional tree-trimmer Ron Kirby (Hudson). He is a different sort of spirit who seems to be content with nature and his place in it as nurturer. Their acquaintance begins over a harmless cup of coffee, turns into an excursion to his humble abode. Over time Cary is introduced to Ron's brands of friend who are all charming, down-to-earth folk, who live life to the fullest without worrying about wealth or societal pressures. This is what she has been looking for and the man who she needs. So when Ron proposes marriage she ultimately accepts.


Now comes the task of putting it before the kids and then showing Ron to the local snarks. The socialites are no different with their sniggering and pointed remarks. There is no mercy for Cary and Ron. In fact, they are appalled by such a scandalous romance. The children who normally are rational and kind, do not mince words with their mother. Ned talks about the family honor, the legacy of their father, and their home. He cannot bear for his mother to supposedly throw all that away. Kay on her part is always getting caught up in psychoanalysis, but this time all rationale goes out the window after her boyfriend breaks up with her.  Under this built of pressure Cary reluctantly breaks off their marriage, mostly for the sake of the children.

Except she is never quite the same and never feels like she did with Ron. Cary is resigned to staying in her lavish home, while reluctantly accepting the newest form of modern entertainment -- a television. Christmas time is especially hard when she runs into Ron, but then the kids come home. That's when she realizes the grave error and what comes next is exactly what you expect, with a few small diversions. Cary turns back to Ron, who has been a funk of his own. Following an accident that was induced by Cary's presence, Ron is bedridden and Cary rushes to his aid. This is the life she was meant for no matter what society says of her.

It's pretty gushy, weepy stuff is a sense. That's the superficial level of second rate romance and picture perfect technicolor. In fact, All That Heaven Allows is visually beautiful in a sickening sort of way. The town is too pristine, the seasons are too perfect, the snow too puffy. And yet it all seems to be a perfect supplement to Sirk's moral drama. Ironically, this is not a moral tale about unbridled love between a woman and her younger lover. That would make complete sense. Instead Sirk subverts that wonderfully, by suggesting the weight of the blame is on society and the peer pressure that permeates the upper crust.

Even if this film is a little to syrupy in its sweetness, I can manage a spoonful or too because there is seemingly a greater meaning to this frivolity. All That Heaven Allows is certainly an acquired taste.

4/5 Stars

The Big Heat (1953) - Updated

The Big Heat is not a Noir where the darkness comes from the shadowy visuals, but from within its characters themselves. In fact, some of these individuals are so subtle in their corruption that it easily gets overshadowed. Homicide cop Dave Bannion is ironically the straight-arrow trying to do what is right and he becomes the most vengeful character in Fritz Lang's film. It's a subversion of the typical noir arc, because his greatest help ultimately comes from the former femme fatale. That's not how it's supposed to happen, but then again a lot of things happen a little differently in The Big Heat.

The film opens and within a second a man has shot himself and left a confession his desk. The cues tell us that he's a cop and he's just committed suicide. His wife comes down stairs strangely composed and shuffles through the pages he has written. She goes to the phone, not to call the police, but she talks to a third party. We quickly forget what's she's done, but the fact is Mrs. Duncan represents the corruption that reigns supreme in this film. She's used a juicy piece of blackmail to receive large payoffs from someone and she's not the only sellout.

Bannion (Glen Ford) is a cop by day and  a family man at night with a loving wife and a beautiful little girl. By convention he is supposed to be the moral compass of this film -- the emblem of good versus evil. He takes on the straightforward case of officer Duncan's death, but it gets convoluted when a B girl named Lucy Chapman calls him up to say she knew the deceased and he would never kill himself. Initially Bannion, like us originally, takes little heed of this girl because she is hardly as respectable as Mrs. Duncan or so society says.

He gets pressure from his superior Wilks to lay off, but Bannion is discontent with lose ends especially when he receives news that the Chapman girl has been brutally murdered. This can't all be all coincidence and he begins sniffing out the truth like a bloodhound. Bannion leads us into the home of this empire of crime literally. He confronts local businessman/crime boss Mike Laganna, who he accuses of involvement in the corruption. Things are beginning to heat up and they begin to infiltrate the sanctity of his home life. The dark recesses of the noir world can never be subdued and Bannion dives deeper into the labyrinth that is created by his own obsessive vendetta. He has no tolerance for his colleagues who don't take a stand in favor of a pension. He can't stand tight-lipped locals who give him no help and most of all he hates Laganna's guts.

At the local shady nightclub The Retreat Bannion has his first run-in with the hired thug Vince Stone (Lee Marvin). Afterwards Vince's girl Debby is genuinely impressed by Bannion's methods, but he will not give her the time of day. He expects her to be the same superficially ditsy dame that we have all seen before. Hardly a femme fatale, but still there is the potential to be deadly. The one character who seems to conform to the stereotype is Stone, and yet he is even more brutal than most burning girls with cigarette butts and splashing scalding coffee on Debby's face.

Bannion gets to one of the other hired guns Larry and both Stone and Laganna decide that something must be done to stop Bannion in his tracks. The obvious target is his little girl, but this time the family life prevails over the noir world. His family and colleagues rally around him and yet Bannion is not done with his obsession.

In fact, it is Debby who actually finishes off Bannion's work by paying a visit to Mrs. Chapman and then too Vince to pay her respects. Bannion arrives soon after to reprimand Vince, but Debby has already done the dirty work. The nightmare is over and everything that is good and right comes to the forefront. Debby proves her allegiance, the criminals are put away and Bannion gets a new position with homicide. But underlying this seemingly happy ending is still a sense of tension. The film ends as Bannion heads out on a new homicide case with the cycle continuing and it seems like he will never be free of it. The world will continue ripping away the ones he loves before he is left with only his personal vengeance to drive his future. Bannion very easily could cross the line between righteousness and corruption. He already almost strangled two characters and was not opposed to slugging it out with others. It's only a matter of time before he totally blows his cool and collected cover. It's a dark assumption, but then again that is a lot of what film-noir is. Fritz Lang seems to get this and that's what makes his characters here so powerful, because he knows that the root of all evil can be in everyone.

4.5/5 Stars

Gun Crazy (1950) - Updated

Bart has an intense obsession for guns. It's what his life revolves around. It's the only thing he wants to do as a boy and the only things he seems to think about. It becomes a problem when he breaks a store window, but during the following hearing his sister and friends vouch for his character. He would never take a him life or kill. That's not in his nature.

No matter, it is decided Bart should be sent off to a special preparatory school and he only returns years later as a grown man recently off a stint in the army.  He's back in his home town not quite sure what his future plans will be, but his buddies are glad to see him. They shoot some, drink a few beers and decide to take a jaunt to the carnival for a night of fun.

Their Bart meets the girls of his dreams. There's a quality to John Dall that makes Bart into a pure victim of a character. He's quickly infatuated with the gun slinging and sensuous Peggy, who seems to share his one love. A goofy smile is plastered on his face as he faces off against her in an act of skill. He makes her uneasy and ultimately beats her. 

He gets a job with the carnival and spends as much time as he can with her when he's not shooting guns. They are fed up with their boss and leave the migrant life behind. Marriage is on their radar and they live it up with the money they have. But Peggy wants more and she wants to keep living the high life. 

She wants to rob a gas station. It's one little idea that soon blows way out of proportion. They are holding up banks, gas stations and any place with money that they can lay their hands on. The pair are fugitives with exploits plastered all over the front pages and roadblocks waiting to stop them up. All the while Bart makes Peggy promise not to shoot anything, because he still is totally opposed to killing people. 

It seems like things might end peaceably, except once again the gun-toting lovers are nearly flat broke so Peggy coaxes Bart into one last job to end all jobs. For the first time, despite their planning, just enough goes wrong to nearly botch their mission. Bart drives off and Peggy shoots a guard. He's not the only one. 

When Bart finds out after the fact he realizes they have just stepped up a level with murder stuck on them. The game is winding down and the only place Bart can turn is his home town where his sister is. For good reason she cannot stand Bart or Peggy who she sees as poisoning her brother. And it's true Bart seems different now, so paralyzed by fear that he even pulls a gun on his old friends.

The last ditch effort of Bart and Peggy is to literally head for the hills. The dragnet is sent out and the hounds are let loose. They hardly have a chance before dropping from exhaustion in a swamp. They're trapped and a crazed Peggy looks to shoot it out to the death. But for once Bart breaks with her remembering his friends. It doesn't help him much.

Gun Crazy is a B-film and yet it is easy to forget or at least the way Joseph Lewis constructed this film is impressive in its economy. One scene that reflects this so beautifully is the long take from the back of the car. The camera does not change positioning and so we see a bank job from the outside and it only helps to build up greater tension.

 We also have enough time to care about certain characters. We have enough time to see Peggy is really no good. Yet with her keen marksmanship she is a different shade of femme-fatale who is still as deadly as any of her contemporaries. Along with They Live by Night (1948), this is one of the archetypal Bonnie and Clyde-esque films. Thank goodness this film's title was changed from Deadly is the Female to the more apt Gun Crazy. That it is. 

4/5 Stars

While the City Sleeps (1956)

While the City Sleeps has a brilliant cold open followed by a pounding title sequence courtesy of Fritz Lang that brings to mind a bit of Diabolique and Psycho. The rest of the film turns into a case to find the wanted lipstick murderer (based on a real killer), but that only holds part of our attention.

When newspaper magnate Mr. Kyne dies suddenly his begrudging son Walter (Vincent Price) takes over intent on shaking up the status quo and putting his mark on the company. He soon turns three men against each other as they desperately fight for the new position of executive director. The first is veteran newspaper editor John Day Griffith (played by the always memorable character actor Thomas Mitchell). The second candidate is chief of the wire service Mark Loving (George Sanders) who is Griffith's main competitor. Finally, in the third spot is Harry Kritzer who happens to have a secret ace in the hole. Each of them is tasked with finding out the real scoop about the serial killer and it turns into a real tooth and claw ordeal. Within the glass cubicles everything can be scene, but not everything is heard and that's where the secrets get disclosed.

On the outside looking in so to speak is star TV reporter Edward Mobley, who agrees to help his friend Griffith by doing a little digging around about the murderer. He gets some tips from a cop friend Lt. Kaufmann (Howard Duff) and Mobley tries to spoke the killer out on air. However, it leads to the potential endangerment of his fiancee Nancy, who also happens to be Loving's secretary. Loving has his love directed towards a female reporter named Midred Donner (Ida Lupino), who attempts to needle Mobley for info. At the same time the killer is on the move once more, with Nancy being an obvious target. Mr. Kritzer's own romantic entanglements get him in trouble because he is seeing Kyne's beatiful but detached wife Dorothy (Rhonda Fleming). Mildred finds out about them and they have some talking to do. Mobley also has some making up to do with Nancy after she finds out Mildred came to see him.

Mobley juggles everything from his love life to the big scoop and they apprehend the killer, but things at Kyne's don't wind up exactly the way they expected. Mobley looks to move on from the paper with Nancy, but even he cannot get away that easily.

While the City Sleeps is an underrated tale from Lang that is positively stacked with big names. It's pacing can be deliberate at times, but it is just as much a indictment of journalism as it is a thriller. The office is a web of deception with so many interconnections between these work factions. Those you would normally expect to be scrupulous seem to give up their honor in the face of this new promotion. In a sense Mobley seems to be outside of this fray and yet he cannot help, but get involved in it. It doesn't help that nothing turns out the way it's supposed to. Everybody seems to gain something, but nobody really wins the game.

I must say it was great to see Dana Andrews in one of these leading roles again and although their roles were smaller Ida Lupino and George Sanders still had a deliciously stuffy and corrupt pair. I was never a fan of Vincent Price due to the roles he normally plays, but I was inclined to like Howard Duff (Lupino's real-life husband) in his turn as the policemen. It goes without saying that Rhonda Fleming is positively beautiful, but she also cannot be trusted. I guess that applies to about every character in this film. It's certainly a cynical world out there that Lang paints, where the killer might be caught, but corruption is never fully quelled.

4/5 Stars

The Crimson Kimono (1959)

From director Samuel Fuller comes another welcomed addition to his canon. It features the same type of seedy urban landscapes and back alleys of Pick up on South Street and there are some equally interesting characters like Mac (Anna Lee). It all is underlined by by some sleazy jazz music in the vein of Sweet Smell of Success except this one is set in L.A.

The plot line is basic enough following two policemen as they investigate the homicide of a local stripper with a heart of gold and wasted plans for a new show involving kimonos and karate. There only real lead is a painting and the name that goes with it. And that's where the more interesting part of story begins.

I failed to mention that one of the cops is Caucasian. His name is Detective Sergeant Charlie Bancroft (Glenn Corbett). His partner is Japanese-American or "Nisei" meaning second generation. Detective Joe Kojaku (James Shigeta) is his name. The beauty of their relationship, which is one of Fuller's focuses, is that they are equals who are inseparable ever since landing in a fox hole together in Korea.  Charlie was saved by a pint of Joe's blood, Charlie practices kendo with Joe in their off hours and they live together on the side. You cannot get much closer than that.

The movement of the plot leads them to Ms. Chris Downes (Victoria Shaw), a pretty young painter who is the only witness who potentially saw the man who shot Sugar Torch. In between looking at journals full of mug shots, she gets to know both Charlie and Joe. Charlie sees himself falling in love with her and like anyone he tells his best friend. Joe is happy for him until the fateful moment when he is alone with Chris. She makes her affection for him quite plain, because he's a pretty great guy, but as a good friend he doesn't do anything. It tears him apart and it only hurts them as they plod on with the homicide.

What follows is a painful love triangle embroiled with issues of race, friendship and misguided notions. It's jarring because these three are all likable and you want only the best for them, but it cannot be remedied like the murder which ultimately gets wrapped up neatly.

Samuel Fuller always tackles issues of race head on like no other. In fact, he was ahead of his time when no one else would show such relationships, romantic or otherwise, on the silver screen. Beyond whether or not a Asian man and a Caucasian woman romantically involved in a movie was accepted back in the 1950s or not, it probably was not what audience cared to see. To me, now, it's really interesting, especially to see such non-stereotypical roles all across the board. It's a breath of fresh air from Charlie Chans and Mr. Motos.

On another level Fuller's camera makes solitary L.A. street corners and the bustling Nisei festival amazingly dynamic. It brings Little Tokyo alive filling it with genuine people, sights and sounds. Thank you Samuel Fuller.

"It's like mixing two dabs of paint together. You could never separate them." ~ Mac on Charlie and Joe
"It’s what you think is behind every word and every look." ~ Chris Downs
3.5/5 Stars

Union Station (1950)

Although it features the pairing of William Holden and Nancy Olsen, Union Station certainly is no Sunset Boulevard, but it doesn't need to be. It's a modest procedural of 80 minutes but it has a gritty realism that is rather reminiscent of Pick up on South Street (1953) or The Naked City (1947). This is ironic since is hardly believable and yet it still ropes us in. The story goes something like this.

A young woman (Nancy Olsen) says goodbye to a blind friend and later after she boards a train, she sees two suspicious men board the same car as her. At the final destination of Union Station she goes to lead cop Willie Calhoun who uses his network of plainclothesman to investigate and tail the men. As it turns out the girl has been kidnapped and a ransom is put on her for $100,000. Her father is understandably desperate to get her back and does whatever he is relayed to do. He remains in contact with Calhoun and the Inspector named Donnelly (Barry Fitzgerald) who resolve to get his daughter back and apprehend the perpetrator.

However, the man they are dealing with has been around the block a few times and he is well acquainted with Union Station. Thus, the station becomes the main point of interest in the film evolving from less of a game of cat and mouse to a chess match. Men are tailed aboard trains, in terminals and everywhere else. When one man leaves another takes his place, eyes are always watching and the beauty of it all is you can never tell who is a policemen and who is not in the veritable mass of humanity. But it goes the other way too.

The ransom is ultimately set to go down at Union Station and just in the nick of time Calhoun catches a break. All that's left is to chase down the mastermind, but its not so easy as he also has the blind girl Lorna stashed away. Calhoun must race to apprehend the culprit while also getting to Lorna first. Its a photo finish.

Did I say already that Union Station employs a gritty realism. Well it does, and it is full of slimy criminal types pitted against no-nonsense cops who are not opposed to using rough methods if necessary. Willie Calhoun is the number one tough guy and he's relentless in his job as the intense finale suggest. Donnelly is a character blessed with the voice of a Leprechaun thanks to Fitzgerald and believe me that's a compliment. He's a personable, mentoring type figure who is a nice compliment to Holden. Inquisitive Joyce Willecombe is necessary to get the plot rolling and also as the love interests, but Nancy Olsen gives her appeal that reaches greater than that.

Enough said, now take a trip down memory lane to Union Station where you are sure to be lost with the masses in this engaging procedural.

3.5/5 Stars

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)

The title gives a clear indication of what this Stanley Donen musical will be about but it does not tell us how we will arrive at that conclusion. It all begins when woodsman Adam (Howard Keel) comes to town intent on finding himself a cute and handy bride. That he does in Milly (Jane Powell) and soon enough in a whirlwind they are married and heading back to his home. There she is greatly surprised to meet his rambunctious and rough younger brothers. Six to be exact, but you already guessed that.

Once she accepts her new life, it becomes Milly's mission to straighten them out and find them girls to court. It isn't easy but soon they learn table manners and proper etiquette before the big barn raising takes place. There the boys make quite the impression and the audience is given quite the show complete with bright colors and inventive-foot-tapping choreography. It's an understatement to say that the Pontipee brothers are not popular with the locals and not only is there a barn-raising but some hell-raising as well.

Adam is proud of their showing but the rest of the lads are lovesick as the long cold winter begins, separating them indefinitely from their girls. With Adam's encouragement they decide to do as the Romans and kidnap their sweets but they fail to think about the consequences. The town's in an uproar, the girls are frightened and a man made avalanche means there is no contact with the outside world for at least 5 months!

Milly is appalled by their actions, especially Adam's part, and the lads are made to sleep in the barn as she dotes over the scared group of girls. Not liking what he's seeing, Adam heads off on his own for a while. Spring brings a fresh start as young love flourishes and the boys are forgiven. Milly gives birth to a baby girl and Adam finally returns home with a new perspective. But what about the town folk you ask? They do come after the  Pontipees and they don't like what they see when they ride in. Needless to say it is a happy ending with each boy getting his girl, thanks to a few shotguns.

With catchy songs, beautiful color cinematography, lively dance numbers and an amusing premise this is a very strong MGM musical even if it is not the best of the lot. That is not saying much because the studio could hardly go wrong with such previous titles as On the Town, An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain and The Band Wagon. Seven Brides is a nice addition although I will say it vaguely reminded me of Oklahoma. However, it is different enough to be well worth it. The only question left to ask is, "Are Adam, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, "Frank," and Gideon natural red-heads? I'm not sure I know the answer but I could wager a guess.

4/5 Stars

Kiss Me Deadly (1955) - Film-Noir

Set in L.A., the film stars Ralph Meeker as the callous and often corrupt PI Mike Hammer, adapted from the Mickey Spillane novels. One night while driving, Hammer picks up a frightened woman who begs him to remember her. They are forced off the road by thugs and the girl is eventually killed. Hammer wakes up in the hospital to his secretary girlfriend Velda (Maxime Cooper). He makes it his priority to find out what the mysterious woman was talking about. He meets up with opposition and a femme fatale, but Hammer keeps on going using strong-armed tactics. He finally tracks down a mysterious whats-it but then discovers that Velda was kidnapped. In the final confrontation he finally learns who he was looking for and he finds out the consequences of the Pandora's box in the hands of a deadly female.

Out of most of the prominent works in the canon, Kiss Me Deadly is probably the pulpiest of L.A. Noir. The images are rather like a historical time capsule of 1950's Los Angeles with locations on Wilshire Blvd., Sunset Blvd, and even near Angels Flight. It has crisp black and white cinematography with many noticeably low angles underlying the sleekness, but also the paranoia wrapped up in this story. It arguably has the queerest cold open and ending of any noir which I cannot help but remember.

Ralph Meeker plays's Mickey Spillane's P.I. Mike Hammer to a tee. His husky voice perfectly fits the bravado of Hammer, a misogynistic brute prone to coercive action. Out of all the private gumshoes we've met, Hammer is probably the lowest -- he's a real scuzzball.

Hammer throws women around like playthings and even his girl Velda has a double purpose. Yes, she is a lover, but she also makes a keen asset for business. As a P.I. specializing in divorce cases and marital problems, he's not below giving business a little help. Maxine willingly works on the husbands for him and he's not above playing around with their wives. It's a cozy little set-up.

That's Hammer's level and so when he gets caught up in the story of the mysterious girl Christina (Cloris Leachmann), he has no idea what he gotten himself into. It's a lot bigger than him and when the authorities throw around words like the Manhattan Project, Los Alamos, and Trinity he finally understands what its all about, but not really. In essence, Kiss Me Deadly is the quintessential film of paranoia in the Cold War nuclear age. We have a Macguffin in the form of the mysterious Whats-it, but aside from

that we get few answers. Only a few deaths and some mighty destruction.

Kiss Me Deadly has some great characters aside from Hammer and Velma. The thugs are played by the perpetually cross-eyed Jack Elam and the glowering Jack Lambert which turns out to be great casting. Also, the lively Greek-American Nick (Nick Dennis) is a great deal of fun with his enthusiasm and a lot of "Vavavoom!"

It's an interesting dilemma because I have never loved Kiss Me Deadly, but director Robert Aldrich developed a film that is so persistently interesting. It was a film that was supposed to ruin young viewers for its moral depravity, sensuality and who knows what else. This film literally screams "Remember Me" and honestly I will not be forgetting about it anytime soon.

3.5/5 Stars

Christina: You have only one real lasting love.
Hammer: Now who could that be?
Christina: You. You're one of those self-indulgent males who thinks about nothing but his clothes, his car, himself. Bet you do push-ups every morning just to keep your belly hard. 

To Catch a Thief (1955) - Updated

Robert Wagner certainly knows It takes a thief, to catch a thief. The same goes for Cary Grant in this film which has him playing reformed cat burglar John Robie who is suspected for a series of thefts that have struck the French Riviera.

However, he knows he is not the culprit so he must clear his own name by catching the cat himself. The police want to nab him, his old French resistance buddies suspect him, and a beautiful young American woman traveling with her mother is sure he is the cat. With a little help, mixed with some passionate romance, he is able bring some closure and get the girl.

That is all fine and dandy if you wanted a typical romance thriller. However, no one does it as well as Hitch. He somehow wonderfully balances the little bits of humor with his darker moments of suspense.  Jessie Royce Landis helps bring that comedy whether she is putting her cigarette out in some eggs or holding her book upside down as she commits a little white lie.

Hitchcock certainly had better films, but this one is so fun and it has the same glamorous Hollywood look as Hitchcock's Man Who Knew Too Much (1956) with location shooting and vibrant colors.

Cary Grant and Grace Kelly make quite the pair, perfectly matched with the French Riviera in all its glory. I am convinced that Grace Kelly is and always will be one of my favorite actresses, period. Any era, any genre. Her name sums up her persona, because much like Audrey Hepburn, she has an extraordinary grace in how she carries herself. She can also be quite mischievous as well in her role as Francie. She is sure to set off fireworks.

4/5 Stars

Written on the Wind (1956)

Here is a film that wholly personifies an over the top melodrama or soap opera. Douglas Sirk's film is full of complicated romances, tense relationships, drunkenness, and murder. Yet when the two stars drive away through the gates of the Hadley Estate everything is resolved (at least to a degree).

It seems that Sirk undoubtedly knew how over the top his story is and he reinforces it with his blatantly loud colors, dramatic music, flashy cars, gaudy interiors, and so on. He embraces a style that seems stereo-typically 1950s Hollywood and he makes it work.

Ironically Rock Hudson gives a good performance and Lauren Bacall is okay but the real drama flows from Robert Stack and especially Dorothy Malone. They are the black sheep of the Hadley family and by the end of the film they definitely deserve the moniker. Except there is more to them then that. Kyle is a tragic figure to be sure and despite her sex-crazed ways there still is a bit of sympathy for Marylee.

I cannot wait to see more Sirk because he seems quintessentially 1950s.

4.5/5 Stars

Lavender Hill Mob (1951) - Updated

Here is a madcap comedy heist film that differs from the usual stories we are used to. First of all it stars Alec Guinness as an English foundry worker and the mastermind behind a gold heist. Except he is far from the criminal type (more of an English gentlemen actually) and so his attempt to snag the gold although clever has many problems. Rather than being tragic this tale is far more humorous and light with crazy chase scenes and humorous characters. If you want dark moody drama I would recommend The Asphalt Jungle or The Killing instead. You will find none of that type of violence here.

I hope to watch more from the Ealing Studios soon because like The Archers, these films seem quintessentially English which I am a fan of.  Aside from Guinness, Stanley Holloway gives a delightful performance as a partner in crime and there is also a very early appearance by Audrey Hepburn.

4.5/5 Star

Auntie Mame (1958)

With Rosalind Russell reprising her role from the stage, this film is made by her scene stealing portrayal. The film opens when a rich man dies suddenly and his young son is sent to live with his Auntie Mame. She is a social, energetic and free-spirited woman. Despite the fact that Patrick was raised proper, Auntie Mame soon teaches him how to enjoy life and they grow close to each other.

However, Patrick is taken to a boarding school against the wishes of his aunt. They still remain close as Mame tries to get work and then she meets a southern gentleman. Patrick is growing up as Mame travels the world with Beau. He is killed in an accident so Mame returns home to work on a memoir. She soon realizes how grown up her little Patrick is because there is a girl he is intent on marrying.

Mame does not voice her displeasure with this upper class girl and her superficial parents. Instead she invites them all to dinner and by sabotaging everything Mame makes Patrick realize he is not like these people. He once again embraces her idea that life is a banquet and most poor suckers are starving to death. You have to get out and live a little.

This film was shot almost like a stage play and I found it rather long but Russell is superb and she holds the film together nicely.

4/5 Stars

Hondo (1953)

In many ways Hondo feels a lot like Shane since it came out the same year and follows a wandering gunslinger who comes in contact with a frontier family. The story based off the novel by famed western writer Louis L'Amour is a lesser addition to the Western canon, but its hard to complain about a film with John Wayne. I was not a big fan of Geraldine Page (she seemed too needy) but I was happy to see some western mainstays in Ward Bond and a young James Arness.

The film opens with homesteader Angela Lowe and her 6 year old son Johnny spotting a man off in the distance. At first they are tense but as he gets closer and they interact with Hondo, it is clear he only has the best intentions and needs assistance since he lost his horse.

A great deal of the film revolves around the conflict between the native Apache and the U.S. Cavalry with Lowe and her son stuck in the middle of it all. Both sides seem to be at fault at times and in the right in others. Hondo used to be a scout for the Cavalry and he killed three men in the past year which raises the lady's suspicions but she does not know the circumstances. 

When Hondo's not having run-ins with the Apache or on the brink of being killed, he gets in hot water with Lowe's vagrant husband. Through it all he returns to the ranch and watches over Johnny who has been made a blood brother to the Apache. 

His relationship with Angie deepens and when all seems to be lost during an Apache ambush, he breaks up their wagon circle and kills the enemies leader allowing them to flee. Hondo has a happy family life ahead of him, but it is pretty evident that the Apache existence will die out soon with the arrival of still more Cavalry forces. 

3.5/5 Stars

White Christmas (1954)

Many times I feel like a broken record (this time playing a Christmas tune), but White Christmas is one of the those classics that I never get tired of. It is so ingrained, so integral to my childhood memories that I have difficulty analyzing it or finding fault.

Wonderful, visceral films stop being something that must be thought about and simply become an all out experience. That's what White Christmas is for me. A full blown Christmas experience courtesy of Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney Vera-Ellen, Dean Jagger, director Michael Curtiz and of course Irving Berlin.

I mean this as a compliment, but at a basic level I always thought of White Christmas as a Christmas-like version of Singin' in the Rain. We have a talented and dashing leading man in Crosby (Bing Crosby) and his mischievous and hilarious partner in crime (Danny Kaye). They are never better than during their parody of the sister's act (It's a priceless gem of a moment) Similarly you also have big spectacles, lavish sets, great songs, dancing and constant quotability. Perhaps that's just because of the annual viewings, but all of this simply a compliment to both films.

No matter, White Christmas follows those two war buddies as they make it big as a double act and ultimately help out a pair of sisters and their now washed-up General Waverly (Dean Jagger) who owns a inn in sunny (not snowy) Vermont. It's the perfect locale for matchmaking, acts of kindness and misunderstandings courtesy of local inn keeper and eavesdropper Emma (Mary Wickes). But ultimately what we receive is a joyous romance with plenty of Christmas cheer and sentiment to go around.


Bing Crosby's pipes are as good as ever ("Count Your Blessings") and Danny Kaye can make his voice crack like no other. Vera-Ella has a talented pair of legs and Rosemary Clooney can carry a tune in her own right. Whether it's "Snow," "Sisters," or the eponymous track, there's so much to offer. Weather any slow sections and you will ultimately be rewarded thanks to the even handed direction of Michael Curtiz (Casablanca) paired with the memorable compositions of Irving Berlin.

Now go spend the holidays with your kith and kin. Vermont must be nice this time of year, all that snow.

4/5 Stars

Pickup on South Street (1953)

From American cult film director Samuel Fuller comes a brief yet potent film-noir laced with communism, pick pocketing and a lot of shady business on the streets of New York.

Grifter Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark) is just recently out of the can and he is back on the streets up to his old tricks again swiping wallets. His victim this time around is a pretty young dame named Candy (Jean Peters) who has a mission of her own to drop off a package. Neither of them knows quite what they have gotten into and to start off with nothing happens. What exactly has Skip stumbled upon? The answer includes microfilm, spies and the Commies. All of a sudden things are hot as McCoy tries to cut a deal with the Reds and Candy tries to recover the film she unknowingly lost. Candy gets caught in the middle of her boyfriend who is sided with Communists and Skip who wants to cash in on his good fortune. Between Skip and Candy begins a wild and passionate love affair that seems destined for disaster. Both have their own agendas but it is ultimately Candy who drops hers because of her new found affection. McCoy is callous at first but he comes around in the end leaving this Noir on a surprisingly positive note.

Thelma Ritter was usually colorful in her many screen appearances and she has another memorable turn as the wheeler and dealer Moe Williams in this film. However, Moe does not just deal ties and secrets; she is a woman with a conscience and a touch of good old-fashioned patriotism. In her own simple way she is a hero whether people know it or not.

Widmark played a similar conman in Night and the City (1950) but this time around things worked out a little differently for his character. The pick pocket sequences were perhaps less elaborate but still similarly intricate to Robert Bresson's Pickpocket (1959). It is possible that he got some of his inspiration from Fuller's work here.

This is a real communist era thriller that Fuller injects with passion, grit and some unadulterated violence. It is not a pretty film necessarily but that is probably not what Fuller is going for, instead he reveals to his audience the nitty-gritty of South Street up close and personal. If that was in fact his objective he succeeded with flying colors.

4/5 Stars