The Dark Corner

The Dark Corner ~ I remember seeing this when I was a little kid, and of course then the whole novelty of seeing it was to simply see a movie with Lucille Ball. I grew up on Lucy as most of America did. I fondly remember afternoon reruns of "I Love Lucy," morning reruns of "The Lucy Show," and "Here's Lucy" running in prime time on CBS concurrently. She was a television fixture, so seeing this black and white detective flick on UHF was a treat of a different flavor.

Years later when I saw that this was running on board the Disney Fantasy in the Buena Vista Theatre as part of the 2016 TCM Classic Cruise, I had to check it out. The film was introduced by Eddie Muller, the czar of noir, and Lucie Arnaz, the daughter of Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz - and really if I had to tell you that last part, shame on you, and I know how old you are. Either way, I bet you never knew Lucy made a film noir.

Made in 1946, this taut thriller gave the impression that it was time to poke a bit of fun at the genre. The Dark Corner has a few film noir clichés that it turns on its head and laughs at. Add Lucy to the mix, even though she's the polar opposite of her comedienne character, and there's a lot of fun here. Sadly, she didn't have a lot of fun on set. She was on loan to Fox from MGM as punishment for trying to get out of her contract, and director Henry Hathaway hated her and thought she had no talent, and felt he was being punished by being saddled with her. So this was not a good experience for Lucy, but after hearing what Hathaway thought of her, she was determined to give her finest performance. Not only does she, hell, Lucy steals the movie.

Add in the possible fire between her and male lead Mark Stevens, the only man of whom Desi Arnaz was ever jealous, if that puts this potential onscreen romance in perspective, that makes this flick quite a footnote in Lucy's career. This story of a shady private investigator set up for murder, and his resourceful secretary who helps him out is classic noir, set apart by Stevens' wisecracks and Lucy's fast talking chutzpah, but rooted with Clifton Webb's evil baddie. Check this one out, it's well worth it, and you'll see Lucy through cool new eyes. Recommended.

Mirage

Mirage ~ This was another film I had the pleasure of not just seeing on the TCM Classic Cruise on the big screen, along with one of its stars, the great Diane Baker, but I got to see it for the first time that way. The film, Joe Dante's favorite, is the sadly forgotten missing link between the classic film noir dramas of the forties and fifties, and the intense sexy thrillers of the eighties and nineties.

Diane Baker is looking very good for her age. After a brief introduction to the genre, and this movie in particular, she and host Robert Osborne speculated on why this obscure film didn't do better when it came out. I was already sold on seeing a great film noir I had not yet seen, but after hearing the two talk about it, I was really psyched.

I could not believe that there were people who left after the talk but before the film - after they were told what a fantastic film it was. This was something I would see several times on the cruise. I am unsure if it was ignorance or indifference, or the people were simple victims of the unfortunate viewing schedule and had to choose carefully what event they went to. No matter, it still felt kinda rude.

Mirage is a complex 1965 black and white film about a man (Gregory Peck) with amnesia blocking out a terrible memory. Chased by hitmen and a beautiful fellow employee he tries to put the puzzle together. Oh yeah, classic noir, and the black and white over the modernity of the 1960s gives it a very specific vibe - lost between the ages. Based on the book "Fallen Angel" by Howard Fast, it is a classic of the genre. The blacklisted Fast also wrote the novel on which Stanley Kubrick's Spartacus was based.

Walter Matthau plays against type pleasantly, usually gruff and hard to like at first, he is a brief point of light and hope here. The crazy haired and wildly young looking George Kennedy and Jack Weston (who made me forget him as George Stickel in The Incredible Mr. Limpet here) are the baddies. Character actor Kevin McCarthy also amazes as usual.

This flick is a forgotten treasure that needs to be rediscovered. Find it on TV, on video, wherever, and check it out, must see.

Night of Noir

One of the great features of the TCM Classic Cruise this year was the Night of Noir. Essentially it was just a big dress-up night with music, dancing, and culminating in the famous Disney Cruise trademarked fireworks at sea display. This being my first TCM Cruise, I wasn't really sure what to expect, and sadly did not prep for the party. I dressed nice, for sure, but no one was going to mistake me for an extra is The Big Sleep or Detour, if you get my drift.

The Hot Sardines were awesome in an on-deck party that night. I only stayed for a few songs as I wanted to go to see John Barrymore's silent Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, which also had live music. They were a great jazz combo, and there were people dancing on top of the pool It's a Wonderful Life style. And the best part was the costumes.

That's right, cosplay on the TCM Cruise - who would have thunk it? The idea was to dress as your favorite film noir character, and folks who knew much better than me went all out. A couple of our fish extender friends came as 1920s beach men. There were many private dicks and molls, and there was even a gender bending Groucho Marx and Margaret Dumont on the dance floor. Great stuff. Next time, we're definitely bringing costumes.

RIP Lauren Bacall

Award winning actress of the stage and screen, as well as model and Hollywood legend, Lauren Bacall has passed away. She was 89.

Ms. Bacall first made the scene as a model but soon swept the world, and Humphrey Bogart, off its feet with her film debut in 1944's To Have and Have Not. She continued her film noir journey in Hollywood with beau and eventual husband Bogart in Key Largo, Dark Passage, and The Big Sleep. She continued to model, and act on the screen and on the stage for decades.

Watching her interact and play against Humphrey Bogart was one of the great delights in film history. Their chemistry was undeniable any time they worked together. Lauren Bacall was one of the last queens of the Golden Age of Hollywood, and she will be missed.

Quicksand!

Quicksand ~ I bet you never knew Mickey Rooney made a film noir, did you? This lost flick from 1950 stars Rooney as a good old American kid, almost a grown up Andy Hardy without the smarts who wants to take a flashy girl, played by Jeanne Cagney (Jimmy's sister), out and impress her. He sneaks twenty bucks from the register at work, fully intending to return it the next day, and chaos ensues. She's not the innocent girl she seems, and is involved in shady dealings, including the creepy and fearsome Peter Lorre who runs the local arcade.

Though for the most part forgotten, this is a pure example of film noir, as our mostly innocent protagonist falls deeper and deeper into a criminal whirlpool of quicksand, thus the title. Taken from Cornell Woolrich story and deftly played by the cast, this film was also one of the first to feature product placement - keep an eye out for Pepsi and Bit-O-Honey.

Quicksand does have two failings, and they're not all that bad, and of course I'm excluding the, er, intriguing fashion of the time. It suffers from the Woody Woodpecker syndrome of "None of this would have happened if only he'd gone to the police in the first place." Also, it's hard to ever forget that Mickey Rooney is anybody other than Mickey Rooney. Still, it's an intriguing time capsule, and a great lost film noir.

Gun Crazy

Gun Crazy ~ This 1949 film noir, also known as Deadly Is the Female, was adapted by Dalton Trumbo from the Saturday Evening Post article by novelist MacKinley Kantor. It’s often been compared by film historians as the precursor to Arthur Penn’s classic Bonnie and Clyde - and indeed, the protagonists here are loosely based on the real life Bonnie and Clyde.

The flick opens with a young Russ Tamblyn, listed as Rusty Tamblyn in the credits, as Bart Tare, a gun-obsessed youth. After a spell in reform school and the army, he returns home as played by John Dell – and still gun-obsessed. Once home he meets a stunt shooting gal, Laurie Starr, seductively played by Peggy Cummins, at a carnival and they run away together and get married.

All in all, Rusty Tamblyn was much more believable as a bad guy than the rather naïve and innocent-looking John Dell. But little Rusty was just too young to pull it off. Peggy Cummins on the other hand is excellent as the manipulative brains when the twosome engage in a daring spree of cross-country robberies. She comes off almost like a tough Sandy Dennis, and perfectly portrays the alternate title role.

Director Joseph H. Lewis, who surprisingly later went on to direct TV westerns, is a master here in the use of shadow, symbolism and expressionism. His take is actually evocative of Fritz Lang and Val Lewton in my opinion. This is great film noir juiciness, recommended.

Silver Screen Monday

I went to Silver Screen Classics yesterday to catch a film that I have been told several times I need to see - Scarlet Street. Granted, I would have gotten around to getting the disc on my Netflix queue eventually, but trust me, it's always better to see anything, especially a classic film, on the big screen. For those of you not in the know, every Monday at the Showcase at the Ritz in Voorhees NJ, film historian Lou DiCrescenzo presents a classic film from years gone by along with a short subject, all on the big screen.

Scarlet Street is a classic film noir from master director Fritz Lang, starring tough guy Edward G. Robinson playing completely against type. He's a cashier and wannabe artist caught in a web of deceit with femme fatale Joan Bennett and her abusive con artist boyfriend Dan Duryea. Some of us might remember an older Joan Bennett as the matronly Elizabeth Stoddard on "Dark Shadows." Her role here shows she was once very hot stuff. Moody atmospheric and what every film noir should be, I really enjoyed this, and probably more than I would have had I simply seen it on a television screen.

Before the feature, Mr. DiCrescenzo presented a two-reel Mack Sennett comedy starring W.C. Fields called The Barber Shop. Great gags, and he was notably upstaged by both a kid and a dog. Terrific stuff.


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The Maltese Falcon

NEAR PERFECT

A Video Review of The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Copyright 2003 Glenn Walker

The third screen version from 1941 of Dashiell Hammett’s "The Maltese Falcon" is quite possibly the best film noir ever made. Not only is director John Huston’s screenplay nearly word for word identical to the novel the film has a nearly perfect ensemble cast.

The famous story involves private investigator Sam Spade on the track of both his partner’s killer and an elusive jeweled statuette called the Maltese Falcon. Where the 1941 version succeeds over its predecessors is in the casting. Hammett’s work is about off the wall, colorful characters that just weren’t properly brought to life previously.

Humphrey Bogart is Sam Spade. He plays it with a cynical disconnection almost giving the effect of not actually living his life but watching and enjoying the ride. The female lead is Mary Astor one of the few actresses to make the leap between silents and talkies successfully. Her Brigid O’Shaughnessy isn’t as tough as she should be but still exquisitely done.

The skill demonstrated here is immaculate. Gladys George as Spade’s partner’s sexy wife Iva, Barton MacLane as big time prick Dundy, Peter Lorre in one of his most famous roles as Joel Cairo - all wonderful and flawless in their parts. I didn’t care much for Lee Patrick as Effie but that’s just my personal preference. I found her foxy but unconvincing at times, not as charming as previous Effies.

The parade doesn’t stop there. Sydney Greenstreet is the sinister fat man Kaspar Gutman perhaps his most memorable role, Ward Bond famous for TV’s "Wagon Train" plays amiable cop Tom Polhaus and film noir veteran Elisha Cook Jr. known as Hollywood’s lightest heavy is the decidedly evil Wilmer Cook. Blink and you’ll miss the director’s dad Walter as Captain Jacoby. As I said this is a perfect ensemble cast.

It’s rare that such a combination of perfect script and cast happens but when they do it’s a joy. Add in the beautifully fitting score by legendary composer Adolph Deutsch and you’ve got possibly one of the best film noirs ever made and probably one of the best of that decade. 1941’s The Maltese Falcon is a masterpiece.