love

Author Topic: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011  (Read 51843 times)

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36129
  • Marathon Man
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #260 on: November 27, 2011, 08:57:17 PM »
Can you recommend some good Film Noir that take place around Christmas? Mrs. 1SO and I usually watch Holiday films now, but with our Noir Marathon I was looking to possibly combine the two themes.

sdedalus

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 16585
  • I have a prestigious blog, sir!
    • The End of Cinema
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #261 on: November 27, 2011, 09:11:42 PM »
Well, It's a Wonderful Life works.
The End of Cinema

Seattle Screen Scene

"He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"

PeacefulAnarchy

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2132
    • Criticker reviews
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #262 on: November 27, 2011, 10:17:15 PM »



Berlin Express (1948) - 8/10 A good film that alternates between great and ok. The intrigue is excellent. From the close quarters of a train to the ruins of WWII there's a palpable sense of mistrust amongst the various characters and it leads to a very interesting parable about cooperation in the postwar setting. We see the conflicting interests, both personal and patriotic as background for a mystery whose urgency can only be understood in the context of the setting. The problem lies in the film being unwilling to let this be simply obvious subtext but insists on also making it blunt text. There are times when you can feel the lines no longer being organic to the characters but rather an attempt to bring the point home, and it can get a bit annoying. The pacing is also not all that smooth. Still, there are several great long stretches of the film, and they make up the vast majority so on the whole it's a worthwhile watch.

MartinTeller

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 17864
  • martinteller.wordpress.com
    • my movie blog
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #263 on: November 27, 2011, 10:39:41 PM »
Can you recommend some good Film Noir that take place around Christmas? Mrs. 1SO and I usually watch Holiday films now, but with our Noir Marathon I was looking to possibly combine the two themes.

Christmas Holiday is alright.

Two I've watched this month -- No Man of Her Own and I Wouldn't Be In Your Shoes -- are both good movies with some emphasis on Xmas.

Blast of Silence takes place at Xmas time, IIRC.

MartinTeller

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 17864
  • martinteller.wordpress.com
    • my movie blog
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #264 on: November 27, 2011, 10:52:32 PM »
Whistle Stop - A beautiful gal returns to her small town and has to choose between the local big shot and an old flame loser.  I've been a little down in the dumps today (not the best time to watch noir) so you'll have to forgive me if I don't feel like writing much.  The film is a little on the dull side, but has a gentle, poetic mood to it that reminded me of Borzage, a sort of lush but doomed romanticism.  Gardner, Raft and McLaglen are all pretty good, Conway perhaps a little too obviously slimy.  I feel like this is on the borderline between "Fair" and "Good" but I'll give it the benefit of the doubt since I'm feeling blue.  Rating: Good

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36129
  • Marathon Man
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #265 on: November 27, 2011, 11:06:54 PM »
Well, It's a Wonderful Life works.
True, but I was hoping more for something along the lines of City on Fire.

Blast of Silence is coming up soon in the Marathon so that's perfect.


Armored Car Robbery
During the getaway chase of Armored Car Robbery, heist mastermind Purvis is in the back seat. To fire at the pursuing cop car he smashes the rear window with his pistol. The glass merely cracks. He then jams the barrel of his pistol into the crack perfectly bracing the gun for a shot. It's a standout moment in a mostly unremarkable movie.

For the most part Armored Car Robbery is as unexceptional as its title. There's a good suspense scene at a police roadblock, and performances are solid, but the script and technical execution are competent and rarely more. It's the kind of film that explains what's going on to characters who should clearly know if they're any good at their job, but it's done for the benefit of the viewer. I appreciated the brief running time (under 70 min), but if the writer wasn't worried about the intelligence of the audience he might have attempted something a little smarter or more surprising.
RATING: * * 1/2

Mrs. 1SO...
...was perfectly fine with this. She liked the focus being divided equally between the cops and the robbers. There's also an interesting dynamic with the girl's involvement with the bad guys. She thought Purvis was a very smart bad guy and liked how he always handled problems with his head and not his heart.
* * *

1SO

  • FAB
  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 36129
  • Marathon Man
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #266 on: November 27, 2011, 11:16:09 PM »
Has anybody seen Storm Warning? It's supposed to be a Christmas film noir and stars Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan and Doris Day. And if that cast sounds too sweet for noir, it's a film about the Klan.

PeacefulAnarchy

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2132
    • Criticker reviews
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #267 on: November 28, 2011, 01:26:37 AM »
It's been a great month, but a challenger for worst noir emerges. Certainly the worst of the month, but I'm not sure it's bad enough to challenge Suddenly for the overall title. I'll have to think about it.

The Woman on Pier 13 (1949) - 4/10 Commies! Commies everywhere! They're in the unions and in management too and their only goal is to disrupt, destroy and kill. Reasons? They don't need no stinkin reasons. They do as the party says and if not they get killed. But what interest does the party have in subverting the wishes of their socialist brethren in the unions? Bah, you and your silly questions. They're commies and they're evil and as such do evil things. Everyone knows this. You're not a commie are you? CINECAST! this stupid clumsy contrived propaganda and all the caricatures in it.

There actually may be a decent film underneath all the crap, though certainly not a great one, but it's impossible for me to get past all the scaremongering. If they wanted to make an anti-communist film the least they could have done is attack actual communist ideas. Instead they have a Communist party whose only motivation is "the docks must be shut down on such a date." The workers and management coming to reasonable understanding that everyone wants, nah not what the party wants. As far as the film is concerned communists make ridiculous demands just for the thrill of creating chaos. The idea was probably that in doing so you gain the sympathy of the 'good socialists' and drive them away from the party, but there's so little subtlety here I can't imagine any sane person, even in 1949, buying that. A film driven by such blind seething hatred can't be good, and no amount of cool death scenes, about the only thing notable in this otherwise contrived mess, will make it worthwhile. Actually, Robert Ryan is pretty good too, but even he can't overcome the material.

Ironic trivia from Imdb "RKO head Howard Hughes used the film to get rid of a lot of writers, directors and actors. If you refused to work in this project, you got fired from the studio."

sdedalus

  • Objectively Awesome
  • ******
  • Posts: 16585
  • I have a prestigious blog, sir!
    • The End of Cinema
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #268 on: November 28, 2011, 02:03:37 AM »
That's interesting, because it implies Hughes fired them for not being anti-Communist enough.  I've always heard that it was Hughes who protected Nicholas Ray from McCathryism.
The End of Cinema

Seattle Screen Scene

"He was some kind of a man. What does it matter what you say about people?"

PeacefulAnarchy

  • Elite Member
  • ****
  • Posts: 2132
    • Criticker reviews
Re: Noir-vember Group Marathon 2011
« Reply #269 on: November 28, 2011, 02:20:14 AM »
That's interesting, because it implies Hughes fired them for not being anti-Communist enough.  I've always heard that it was Hughes who protected Nicholas Ray from McCathryism.
With Hughes nothing would surprise me. Hughes' use of RKO to push out anti-communist viewpoints was pretty standard stuff, though. It could be that Hughes had a particular liking for Ray. Who better to protect you from McCarthyism that one of its most ardent supporters.