Kalo Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 I remember those articles you wrote for AMC Magazine, Kalo, back when AMC still didn't have commercial interruptions and showed old movies. I think you sent me copies, but I'm not sure I still have 'em. Any posting you can do would be appreciated! I remember the following line in particular: "...yet even the most casual tourist of Movieland must sooner or later visit the charmingly backward province known as 'Elvis Movies.'" In fact, it's popped into my mind, unbidden, on several occasions. Quote
Kalo Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Gun Crazy or the other great Joseph H. Lewis film, the Big combo. And no Sam Fuller fans here? How about Pick Up on South Street or the Crimson Kimono? Gun Crazy and Pick Up on South Street are two of my favorite noirs. Pick Up has great performances from Richard Widmark and Thelma Ritter, plus it features one of my favorite settings in any film: the riverside shack where Widmark's character lives, which is reminiscent of a similar setting in Chaplin's Modern Times. I love that bit where Widmark uses a rope to haul up a wooden box that he suspends in the river to keep his beer cold. Reminds me, in a way, of the safe apartment sequence in Touchez Pas au Grisbi, just for the specificity of its criminal-at-home domesticic detail. I've never seen The Crimson Kimono, but Fuller's House of Bamboo is some kind of crazy, comic book schlock masterpiece, with a great performance by one of my favorite actors, Robert Ryan. In my opinion, and not mine alone, Ryan is a noir axiom every bit the equal of Mitchum himself. Quote
ejp626 Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 I don't know how it stands up as a film, but I Want to Live has a great soundtrack. Also, I don't think Gilda has been mentioned. I like it quite a bit, though there is one bit of clumsy editing (probably ordered by a studio head) that does undercut the suspence towards the end. Quote
brownie Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 Nobody seems to have mentioned this one... It did not get more noir than this Raoul Walsh classic! Quote
Shawn Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 Nobody seems to have mentioned this one... It did not get more noir than this Raoul Walsh classic! Oh Yeah! Dark, dark...DARK! I need to watch this again, fantastic film. Raoul Walsh is one of my favorites. Quote
ghost of miles Posted June 16, 2007 Author Report Posted June 16, 2007 I'm surprised that no one has mentioned Gun Crazy or the other great Joseph H. Lewis film, the Big combo. Larry mentioned THE BIG COMBO back upstream in this post. Quote
BruceH Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 I remember Gun Crazy being kind of "rediscovered" back in 1990. The buzz on it was "Hey, here's a small, low-budget film that was actually very good in many ways!" Actually, I've got to agree with Kalo that there's no longer any such thing as an "underrated" noir; they've all been discovered and rediscovered over and over. What keeps me interested are the modest but strangely satisfying pleasures to be had from the less-renowned B-movie programmers. They were often saddled with lousy endings, or corny narration or other blemishes, but often delivered the goods in some scenes. I'm thinking of T-Men, or Armored Car Robbery, or Woman On the Run, or, yes, Gun Crazy (though Gun Crazy is pretty famous now.) Quote
BruceH Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 I've never seen The Crimson Kimono, but Fuller's House of Bamboo is some kind of crazy, comic book schlock masterpiece, with a great performance by one of my favorite actors, Robert Ryan. In my opinion, and not mine alone, Ryan is a noir axiom every bit the equal of Mitchum himself. Not yours alone, indeed. ( ) But how about the ending of House of Bamboo, a shootout in a mini-amusement park on the roof of a skyscraper. I get the impression that Fuller saw that amusement park and said to himself, "Got to use this." Plus the film's got DeForest ("Bones") Kelley! There's another noir favorite I'd like to mention: The Narrow Margin, a riveting little thriller that takes place largely on a train, with Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor. Some say it's Richard Fleischer's best movie, and I'm not inclined to argue. Quote
BruceH Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 Since props have already been given to Roberts Mitchum and Ryan, lets all take a moment to doff our hats to good old John Garfield. He Ran All the Way, Body and Soul, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and above all Force Of Evil, one of my all-time favorite noirs. Quote
porcy62 Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 (edited) I remember Gun Crazy being kind of "rediscovered" back in 1990. The buzz on it was "Hey, here's a small, low-budget film that was actually very good in many ways!" Actually, I've got to agree with Kalo that there's no longer any such thing as an "underrated" noir; they've all been discovered and rediscovered over and over. What keeps me interested are the modest but strangely satisfying pleasures to be had from the less-renowned B-movie programmers. They were often saddled with lousy endings, or corny narration or other blemishes, but often delivered the goods in some scenes. I'm thinking of T-Men, or Armored Car Robbery, or Woman On the Run, or, yes, Gun Crazy (though Gun Crazy is pretty famous now.) Very correct analysis. Maybe it would be interesting to look for "noir" in other movies' genres, like "Johnny Guitar", a great "noir" with some horses. Edited June 16, 2007 by porcy62 Quote
porcy62 Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 Don't know about the States, but 'Laura' is not underrated but is considered a masterpiece in France. Perfect direction by Otto Preminger and superb acting by Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price! It plays regularily in art cinemas here! C'mon Brownie, because of Henry Langlois almost every movie is considered a masterpiece in France. Quote
Van Basten II Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 I'd go with Les Diaboliques, obviously the original not the crappy remake. Quote
porcy62 Posted June 16, 2007 Report Posted June 16, 2007 I'd go with Les Diaboliques, obviously the original not the crappy remake. Van Basten, who's that girl in your avatar? Quote
porcy62 Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 (edited) BTW, at the moment the national tv is broadcasting Gunman in the Streets, sadly I lost the beginning. edit: I just remember that my first History of Cinema Course at University, was about film noir, but godamn if I remember something else a part the fact i attended at the course and watched at all these movies. I'll probably have half a dozen books about film noirs in my shelves...ageing isn't funny. Edited June 17, 2007 by porcy62 Quote
Jazzmoose Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 Ralphie Boy mentioned Detour; I'd have to go with that one. Not really a great movie; more of a car wreck that you can't look away from. It's poorly made, cheap, depressing, and I love it. Quote
Jazzmoose Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 Don't know about the States, but 'Laura' is not underrated but is considered a masterpiece in France. Perfect direction by Otto Preminger and superb acting by Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price! It plays regularily in art cinemas here! Strangely enough, I'd consider Laura to be more at home in a list of overrated films. I sat down to enjoy a masterpiece and was definitely disappointed. I think if it had been released in the thirties I would have enjoyed it more, if that makes sense... Quote
Kalo Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 I remember Gun Crazy being kind of "rediscovered" back in 1990. The buzz on it was "Hey, here's a small, low-budget film that was actually very good in many ways!" Actually, I've got to agree with Kalo that there's no longer any such thing as an "underrated" noir; they've all been discovered and rediscovered over and over. What keeps me interested are the modest but strangely satisfying pleasures to be had from the less-renowned B-movie programmers. They were often saddled with lousy endings, or corny narration or other blemishes, but often delivered the goods in some scenes. I'm thinking of T-Men, or Armored Car Robbery, or Woman On the Run, or, yes, Gun Crazy (though Gun Crazy is pretty famous now.) Nothing wrong with the ending of Gun Crazy! Quote
Shawn Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 Not sure if it qualifies as "noir"...but this is another film I really enjoy: Widmark and Paul Douglas on the hunt for killer carrying bubonic plague (Jack Palance). A gritty Kazan effort. Quote
Kalo Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 There's another noir favorite I'd like to mention: The Narrow Margin, a riveting little thriller that takes place largely on a train, with Charles McGraw and Marie Windsor. Some say it's Richard Fleischer's best movie, and I'm not inclined to argue. A genre highlight, indeed. A rare leading role for the Gravel-voiced McGraw, who appeared in more noirs than anyone this side of Elisha Cook, Jr. Since props have already been given to Roberts Mitchum and Ryan, lets all take a moment to doff our hats to good old John Garfield. He Ran All the Way, Body and Soul, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and above all Force Of Evil, one of my all-time favorite noirs. Hear, hear. Quote
Kalo Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 Not sure if it qualifies as "noir"...but this is another film I really enjoy: Widmark and Paul Douglas on the hunt for killer carrying bubonic plague (Jack Palance). A gritty Kazan effort. I'd say it's a noir. A real firecracker of the film, and one that definitively puts the lie to the canard that Elia Kazan was a stagy director. Great villains, too, in Jack Palance (in his film debut) and... wait for it... Zero Mostel! Also features a nice early turn by Barbara Bel Geddes as Widmark's wife. Quote
brownie Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 Don't know about the States, but 'Laura' is not underrated but is considered a masterpiece in France. Perfect direction by Otto Preminger and superb acting by Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price! It plays regularily in art cinemas here! C'mon Brownie, because of Henry Langlois almost every movie is considered a masterpiece in France. At least we take our cinema seriously over here. And Langlois was one of the reasons for this! I must admit that I never belonged to any organization, never. But I was once a card-carrying dues-paying member of the Amis de Henri Langlois reunion that was founded back in 1968 when then Ministre de la Culture André Malraux tried to dismiss Langlois as director of the Cinémathèque Française. The riots that followed the dismissal preceded by a few weeks the May 1968 students confrontations. Quote
porcy62 Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 (edited) Don't know about the States, but 'Laura' is not underrated but is considered a masterpiece in France. Perfect direction by Otto Preminger and superb acting by Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb and Vincent Price! It plays regularily in art cinemas here! C'mon Brownie, because of Henry Langlois almost every movie is considered a masterpiece in France. At least we take our cinema seriously over here. And Langlois was one of the reasons for this! I must admit that I never belonged to any organization, never. But I was once a card-carrying dues-paying member of the Amis de Henri Langlois reunion that was founded back in 1968 when then Ministre de la Culture André Malraux tried to dismiss Langlois as director of the Cinémathèque Française. The riots that followed the dismissal preceded by a few weeks the May 1968 students confrontations. Brownie, Brownie, you're a bad boy: Zéro de conduite! Edited June 17, 2007 by porcy62 Quote
Shawn Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 I must admit that I never belonged to any organization, never. But I was once a card-carrying dues-paying member of the Amis de Henri Langlois reunion that was founded back in 1968 when then Ministre de la Culture André Malraux tried to dismiss Langlois as director of the Cinémathèque Française. The riots that followed the dismissal preceded by a few weeks the May 1968 students confrontations. This was the setting for Bertolucci's "The Dreamers", right? Quote
brownie Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 I must admit that I never belonged to any organization, never. But I was once a card-carrying dues-paying member of the Amis de Henri Langlois reunion that was founded back in 1968 when then Ministre de la Culture André Malraux tried to dismiss Langlois as director of the Cinémathèque Française. The riots that followed the dismissal preceded by a few weeks the May 1968 students confrontations. This was the setting for Bertolucci's "The Dreamers", right? Yes, several scenes were set at and outside the Cinémathèque. Porcy62, I happen to have been young once Quote
Van Basten II Posted June 17, 2007 Report Posted June 17, 2007 I'd go with Les Diaboliques, obviously the original not the crappy remake. Van Basten, who's that girl in your avatar? The lovely Adriana Lima I think we're disgressing but i feel i'll be pardonned Quote
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