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Author Topic: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017  (Read 18231 times)

1SO

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #80 on: November 29, 2017, 08:05:33 PM »
With a double feature of Kiss the Blood Off My Hands and Southside 1-1000 I completed 250 Quintessential Noir Films. *shrug* From the last batch, my favorite was The Killer That Stalked New York, but none were as enjoyable as Criminal Lawyer.

What broke me was looking for MartinTeller reviews. I'd find these wonderful write-ups to go with what I was watching and I remembered them not making much of an impact when he first posted them. So rather than add on, I would say to just look up Martin's Noir reviews because I agree with them about 90% of the time.

I also read through a Noirvember from years ago. There just used to be more lively discussion in these, but many of the key players have left or have seen the main films. Seems like every year, somebody still has to discover The Thing (Shocktober), but not a fraction as many care to watch Double Indemnity, let alone Odds Against Tomorrow.

MartinTeller

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #81 on: November 29, 2017, 10:10:48 PM »
They Made Me a Fugitive  (Alberto Cavalcanti, 1947)

Grade: B-

Nightmare Alley  (Edmund Goulding, 1947)

Grade: C+

The Lodger  (John Brahm, 1944)

Grade: B

You are killing me here, pix. I guess "B" is a pretty good score for you, though. Do you ever give A's? I think you must be our harshest critic.


They Won't Believe Me  (Irving Pichel, 1947)

MartinTeller, based on your review, I wonder if you perhaps watched the (shortened) 80-minute version of the film. The full 96-minute version I watched didn't seem to suggest at all the possibility of an unreliable narrator.

Ah heck, I have no memory of that movie whatsoever. I couldn't tell you which version I saw.

1SO

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #82 on: November 29, 2017, 10:36:38 PM »
Nightmare Alley is due for a rewatch. When I first saw it 5 years ago, I didn't know who Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell were. Blondell hardly needs an introduction though I believe this was past her peak. Power gets knocked a lot, like he was a Keanu Reeves of his generation (though the looks were passed onto Clooney.) I caught onto Power with Witness for the Prosecution. Jesse James is where he stood out and he's excellent in Abandon Ship and The Long Gray Line. He's made my Watchlist (14 out of 50 so far).

One of your screenshots has Blondell with Mike Mazurki. I rewatched The Thin Man Goes Home today because I read he was in a scene. Big fan of his at the moment.

Sandy

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #83 on: November 29, 2017, 11:19:30 PM »
The Dark Mirror



The inverse of Double Jeopardy, the antecedent of Parent Trap and the primordial ooze of Face Off... The story has decades of other movies coming after and upping the ante, but this was new and innovative once and is still a great mood piece. Once I stop comparing this to future films, I settle in, enjoying Thomas Mitchell and Olivia de Havilland's performances immensely.

Thanks, 1SO for the recommendation. It took me a while, but I'm really happy I finally got to it.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2017, 12:30:14 AM by Sandy »

1SO

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #84 on: November 29, 2017, 11:51:53 PM »
One of the most fun Noir and one of Olivia de Havilland's most enjoyable performances. Probably the one to watch after Robin Hood, unless you're ready for The Heiress to blow you away. It's a movie I don't own yet and I'm not sure why not.

Sandy

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #85 on: November 30, 2017, 08:30:39 AM »
I love The Heiress! I haven’t seen Robin Hood since I was a kid, so I’ll make that my next de Havilland film.

“Fun noir” :) Now that’s my kind of noir!

pixote

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #86 on: November 30, 2017, 04:03:12 PM »
You are killing me here, pix. I guess "B" is a pretty good score for you, though. Do you ever give A's? I think you must be our harshest critic.

I used to fall in love before I leaned that love wasn't for me.

Next November, I'll try to prioritize some rewatches of films that I remember being A-level — The Killers, Murder by Contract, Odds Against Tomorrow, Body and Soul, Force of Evil, etc.

I caught onto Power with Witness for the Prosecution. Jesse James is where he stood out and he's excellent in Abandon Ship and The Long Gray Line. He's made my Watchlist (14 out of 50 so far).

Damn, I don't seem to have reviewed those two 1957 films when I watched them for the Retrospots. I think I did rather like Power in Abandon Ship (aka Seven Waves Away), but I'm not positive. The Long Gray Line, meanwhile, is twenty-four films away in my John Ford marathon.

I also read through a Noirvember from years ago. There just used to be more lively discussion in these, but many of the key players have left or have seen the main films. Seems like every year, somebody still has to discover The Thing (Shocktober), but not a fraction as many care to watch Double Indemnity, let alone Odds Against Tomorrow.

My timing is off, because this has been my most successful forum marathon ever. 28.5 films in 29.5 days, which should climb to 30 in 30 by midnight. Too bad it'll take me through the weekend to catch up on reviews. I need to get better at that, even if it means dropping the screenshot element.

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« Last Edit: November 30, 2017, 04:07:16 PM by pixote »
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pixote

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #87 on: November 30, 2017, 05:21:24 PM »

























Miniatures!





It Always Rains on Sunday  (Robert Hamer, 1947)

The first fifteen minutes and last fifteen minutes are wonderful noir, marked by an appropriate appreciation of rain on cobblestone streets on window panes. The chase that culminates at the railroad yard is classic, perhaps anticipating The Third Man by a couple years, despite Variety's comic description of it as "lengthy" and "unnecessary."

In between those bookends is a slice-of-life, street scene drama set in the East End of London after the war, a forerunner to the kitchen sink dramas of a decade later. Compared to the excitement of the noir film that seemed promised, these scenes seem rather middling — and a bit of slumming ("I want to sleep with common people") from an industry dominated by stories of the upper class with occasional quaint glimpses of the lower. Pretty bleak and claustrophobic, with everyone on the make.

The cast is mostly good, with Googie Withers' anchoring the story despite having maybe the most thankless role. I don't really remember her from the few other films I've seen; I'll have to take note when I finally get around to One of Our Aircraft Is Missing. She has good on-screen sizzle with John McCallum, something which mirrored their off-screen life. Susan Shaw is radiant as the sluttish step-daughter, and Patricia Plunkett is equally good as her more responsible sister.

It Always Rains on Sunday is currently the highest rated film noir on IMDb with less than a thousand votes (958).

Grade: B

Up next: Moonrise

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« Last Edit: November 30, 2017, 05:25:58 PM by pixote »
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pixote

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #88 on: November 30, 2017, 06:18:29 PM »






























Moonrise  (Frank Borzage, 1948)

It's almost weird to see a Republic Picture that looks this good, but I guess they were dabbling in prestige films at this point in their history. A week about Moonrise premiered (and flopped), they finally released Orson Welles' MacBeth (another disaster for them, apparently).

Borzage's pastoral noir aesthetic here really appeals to me (comparisons to Night of the Hunter seem apt), and I especially like the flourishes such as the surreal opening sequence and the Ferris wheel scene (a definite highlight). It's unfortunate that the story is saddled with a somewhat unworkable main character, a shell of Raskolnikov. Danny Hawkins is a sociopath but not a very interesting one and certainly not one for whom I can root. His main crime is forgivable on its own but not when compounded by his reckless endangerment and attempted murder of three friend and his sexually assaulting Gilly Johnson (Gail Russell) into loving him. No thanks.

The movie's saving grace — besides the visuals — is a supporting cast highlighted by Rex Ingram (Mose), Allyn Joslyn (Sheriff Clem Otis), Harry Morgan (Billy Scripture), and Ethel Barrymore (Grandma). I'd like to track down more of Alston's work. As the town's philosophical sheriff, he gets all the best lines and really makes the most of his screen time. Most of that good dialogue reportedly comes directly from Theodore Strauss's novel, which I'll have to consider tracking down. It's a shame that Ingram was convicted of violating the Mann Act at around this same time and couldn't capitalize on the better roles that started becoming available to African American actors right then. He's a tremendous screen presence.

Grade: B-

Up next: Too Late for Tears

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pixote

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Re: Noirvember Group Marathon 2017
« Reply #89 on: November 30, 2017, 06:51:46 PM »


Too Late for Tears  (Byron Haskin, 1949)

This movie is pretty much exactly what I want from noir: a reliably entertaining story crisply told with nice twists and turns; a good feel for location; an appealing cast; and a femme fatale I can get behind. The mystery of Don DeFore's character is handled particularly well. On the other hand, I was a little confused how Dan Duryea's character seemed to become a rummy overnight. His rapiness was a bit uncomfortable, too. I should probably watch more films made from Roy Huggins' scripts, or at least more episodes of The Fugitive and Rockford Files.

I hope fans of this film have all taken the time to watch the restored version.

Grade: B

Up next: In a Lonely Place

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