The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery(1959). Noir. Cast: Steve McQueen. The film is based on a 1953 bank robbery attempt of Southwest Bank in St. Louis. The film was shot on location in St. Louis and some of the men and woman from the St. Louis Police Department, as well as some of the local residents and bank employees, who play the same parts they did in the real robbery attempt.
College dropout George Fowler, joins a gang planning to rob a bank in St. Louis that they think will have a $100,000 by Friday. George, is hired to be the getaway driver in a bank robbery by, Gino an old girlfriend's older brother. George and Gino need a place to stay for the next two weeks so they turn to Gino's sister, Ann, for help. George is planning to use the money to go back to college. Not trusting George, John Egan moves him to the inside, but the robbery doesn't go off as planned.
I thought this shoot them up film noir is worth seeing. I really enjoyed seeing a young Steve McQueen, the clothes, hats and the cars they drove back in the day.
Crahan Denton (born Arthur Denton, March 20, 1914 – December 4, 1966) . From 1945 until his death in 1966, Denton performed in many films, including: The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery, The Parent Trap, Birdman of Alcatraz, To Kill a Mockingbird, and Bus Riley's Back in Town. He was also a guest star on many television shows, including Bonanza, Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Perry Mason, Gunsmoke, Have Gun Will Travel, and The Fugitive.
Backfire(1950). Noir. Cast: Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, Edmond O'Brien and Viveca Lindfors.
This movie mystery is told in flashbacks: About a returning serviceman in a VA hospital recovering from a spinal injury. During his recovery he falls in love with his nurse and begins to make plans with his friend Steve to buy a ranch together.
While still in the VA hospital, Bob begins to have nightmares that his friend Steve is in danger. Late one night, he’s visited by Steve’s girlfriend, who tells him that .. Steve, is badly injured. Bob falls asleep before he can find out more. The blurred vision give a hallucinatory quality to the scene.
After Bob, is released from the hospital he has plans to spend a romantic weekend with Mayo. Their weekend plans come to an end when he’s picked up by cops and taken to the homicide division. There he’s told that his best friend is the main suspect in the killing of a well known gambler. Bob, wants to help his friend clear his name.
I really enjoyed seeing MacRae in a film noir. I mostly know him from his performances in musicals. The rest of cast members all give good performances and there are plenty of flavorful character actors in supporting roles. I thought the film was suspenseful and very entertaining.
Dane Clark (February 26, 1912 – September 11, 1998) was an American film actor who was known for playing, as he labeled himself, "Joe Average".
He graduated from Cornell University and earned a law degree at St. John's University School of Law in Queens, New York. During the Great Depression, he worked as a boxer, baseball player, construction worker and model.
Clark got his big break when he was signed by Warner Bros. in 1943. He performed in war movies: Action in the North Atlantic (1943), his breakthrough part, opposite Humphrey Bogart, Destination Tokyo (1943) with Cary Grant, and Pride of the Marines (1945) with friend John Garfield. According to Clark, Bogart gave him his stage name.
Viveca Lindfors (29 December 1920 – 25 October 1995), was a Swedish stage and film actress. She trained at the Royal Dramatic Theatre School, Stockholm. Soon after, she became a theater and film star in Sweden. She moved to the United States in 1946 after being signed by Warner Bros. She appeared in more than one hundred films such as: Night Unto Night, No Sad Songs for Me, Dark City, King of Kings, Creepshow, and Stargate.
In the last years of her life, she taught acting at the School of Visual Arts in New York.
Pushover (1954). Film noir notable for being the first film to feature Kim Novak in a starring role. The picture also stars Fred MacMurray as a good cop gone bad. It was adapted from two novels, The Night Watch by Thomas Walsh and Rafferty by William S. Ballinger. Other cast members: Philip Carey and Dorothy Malone.
Bank robbers, Harry Wheeler and his partner kill a policeman and pocket $200,000. After the police investigation, headed by Lt. Carl Ekstrom, he knows Wheeler as the man responsible. Eckstrom assigns detective Paul Sheridan to befriend Wheeler's girl friend, Lona McLane. Paul plans a meeting with Lona and they quickly fall in love. Paul takes Lona to his apartment, then spends the next several days with her. Later, Eckstrom, Paul and his partner, Rick McAllister, plan a stakeout across from Lona's apartment, and wait for Wheeler to contact her. They watch as Lona leaves the apartment, Paul follows her, to his apartment. He meets her there and she accuses him of being a cop. Paul admits to being a detective, but tells her that he has been seeing her for personal reasons. Lona tells him that she is frightened of Wheeler and says that she did not know about his criminal activities. Lona asks what would happen to Wheeler if she turned him in and that she and Paul keep the money, he angrily demands she leave. It won't be easy for Paul to get his hands on the money when he's part of the investigation. Soon, he's in much deeper than he wants to be. This story becomes quite exciting as a crooked cop tries to cover his tracks.
This maybe an underrated, little known crime melodrama from the mid-'50s. Fred MacMurray, in another movie where he is an authority figure seduced by the charms of a femme fatale.
Dorothy Malone (born January 30, 1925), in her early years she played mainly in B-movies. best known for her performance in, Written on the Wind (1956), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her film career reached its peak in the 1960s, and she achieved later success with her television role of Constance MacKenzie on Peyton Place from 1964 to 1968. Less active in her later years, Malone returned to film in 1992 as the friend of Sharon Stone's character in Basic Instinct.
Philip Carey, performed in the films: I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951), This Woman is Dangerous with Joan Crawford (1952) Calamity Jane with Doris Day (1953), Pushover (1954), The Long Gray Line (1955) and Monster (1979).
The Nanny(1965). Suspense film directed by Seth Holt. Cast: Bette Davis as a devoted nanny caring for a ten-year-old boy recently discharged from a home for disturbed children. It is based on the novel of the same name by Evelyn Piper (a pseudonym for Merriam Modell), and the film was scored by Richard Rodney Bennett.
The viewer feels the tension right from the very beginning. Nanny has always taken care of Virgie Fane and is now the nanny for her two children. After two years, Joey is now coming home, after being placed in a home for disturbed children. Everyone believes that he was responsible in the drowning of his younger sister, although, he puts the blame on, nanny.. Both of his parents Virgie and Bill, are worried about Joey's behavior when returns home. Joey refuses to have anything to do with Nanny, but no one believes his story except, maybe the girl upstairs. The father, is called away on business and the mother ends up in the hospital after being food poisoned. Aunt Pen, comes to take care of Joey and she begins to believe Joey is telling the truth, when she sees Nanny, standing outside his bedroom door with a pillow. Joey, is so disrespectful that you believe that he is capable of murder and it makes you wonder, did he or didn't he?
Fun Facts:
The role of the Nanny was originally intended for Greer Garson who first accepted then declined, saying the script would not be good for her career.
Suspicion (1941). Romantic/ psychological /thriller. Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine. It also stars Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Nigel Bruce, Dame May Whitty, Isabel Jeans and Heather Angel.
Playboy Johnnie Aysgarth, in a whirlwind romance sweeps Lina McLaidlaw, off her feet and convinces her into marrying him, even though her family does not want her to. After their honeymoon, she soon learns that Johnnie was hoping to live off her father. She tells him that he has to get a job and he goes to work for his cousin, estate agent Captain Melbeck .
Lina soon learns that Johnnie has been gambling on the horses and that he has sold her family heirloom chairs. Next, She goes to visit him at work and finds out that he has been fired from his job. Johnnie's best friend Beaky tells her that her husband is a good man, but without much success.
Johnnie convinces Beaky to finance a land development project, Lina tries to talk Beaky out of it. Johnnie overhears and warns his wife to mind her own business, but later he decides to cancel the deal. When Beaky leaves for Paris, Johnnie travels with him. Later, Lina hears Beaky's died in Paris and she begins to suspect Johnnie in his friend's death.
Soon, she begins suspect she is next on her husband's list, so he can collect on her life insurance. Johnnie brings Lina a glass of milk before bed, but she is too afraid to drink it.
She makes up a story about staying with her mother for a few days and Johnnie insists on driving her there. He drives recklessly beside a cliff. Suddenly, Lina's door opens, will she be saved?
If you are a Hitchcock fan I think you will want to see this film. Fontaine's believable performance allows the viewer to really feel her fear. I have read some negative reviews about the surprise ending, but it is worth seeing and deciding for yourself .
Nigel Bruce (4 February 1895 – 8 October 1953), was a British character actor on stage and screen. He was best known for his portrayal of Doctor Watson in a series of films and in the radio series, The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (starring Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes). Bruce is also remembered for his roles in the Alfred Hitchcock films Rebecca and Suspicion. During his film career, he worked in 78 movies.
The Woman on the Beach (1947). film noir directed by Jean Renoir.Cast: Robert Ryan, Joan Bennett and Charles Bickford.
After waking up from a nightmare, Lieutenant Scott Burnett, becomes curious about the woman on the beach, named Peggy Butler, a married woman he sees on his daily patrol and the woman he sees in his nightmare. Scott asks his girl friend, Eve Geddes, to marry him that night, and though she agrees at first, she asks Scott to wait another two weeks. Later, Scott sees Peggy on the beach collecting fire-wood from an abandoned shipwreck, he stops and tells Peggy not to take the wood. She asks him if he is haunted by "ghosts" of the ship and then invites him to back to her house. Scott is touched by her understanding and compassion. Soon Peggy's husband Tod, a blind, famous artist joins them. Tod invites Scott to stay, but he thinks it best to return to his station. Later that night, Tod shows up at the station and invites Scott to have dinner at his house, and Scott, who is supposed to meet Eve in town, agrees, standing her up. During dinner, Scott and Tod talk about Tod's blindness. Later, Peggy confesses to Scott that she stays with Tod because she accidentally cut his optic nerve during a drunken fight and feels responsible for him. Scott, doubts that Tod is really blind and comes up with a plan to prove that he really can see.. Will he succeed?
I just saw the film, Woman on the Beach, for the first time yesterday on TCM. There is some beautifully haunting imagery and Robert Ryan, in my opinion, gives a strong performance as does Joan Bennett . There's an interesting love triangle going on here with a very well done mystery. Although, there are a couple of scenes that I could have done without like.... when the kids were whining about wanting candy.
Charles Bickford (January 1, 1891 – November 9, 1967) was an American actor best known for his supporting roles. He was nominated three times for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, for The Song of Bernadette (1943), The Farmer's Daughter (1947), and Johnny Belinda (1948). Other notable roles include Whirlpool (1948), A Star is Born (1954) and The Big Country (1958).
Blackmail (1929), Directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Cast: Anny Ondra, John Longden and Cyril Ritchard, and featuring Donald Calthrop, Sara Allgood and Charles Paton. The film is based on the play Blackmail by Charles Bennett. Having began production as a silent film, the studio, British International Pictures, decided to convert it to sound during shooting. As an early 'talkie', the film is frequently cited by film historians as a landmark film, and is often considered to be the first British sound feature film.
The story begins, as Scotland Yard Detective Frank Webber and his girlfriend Alice White decide to dine at a local tea house. They have an argument and Alice leaves with Mr. Crewe, an artist whom she has earlier agreed to meet. At his apartment, Crewe sings and plays "Miss Up-to-Date" on the piano. He convinces Alice to try on a dress then makes a move on her as she is changing. Alice grabs a knife killing him.
Alice leaves after attempting to conceal any evidence of her presence in the apartment. Unfortunately, she has left her gloves behind. The next day Frank is assigned to the case and finds one of the gloves. He realizes the glove belongs to Alice and visits Alice at her father's shop. Unsavory character Tracey, saw Alice at the artist's apartment earlier, and tries to blackmail the couple.
Things become complicated when Tracey becomes the chief suspect after the artist's landlady identifies him as being at the scene of the crime. Tracey runs for his life with the police hot on his trail. Will he be successful at getting away?
The camera angles, scenery, all combined to make what we would expect in a Hitchcock movie.
Alfred Hitchcock's cameo, shows him being bothered by a small boy as he reads a book on the London Underground. This is probably the lengthiest cameo appearance Hitchcock performed in his film career.
Fun Facts:
In one key shot, the villain Cyril Ritchard is photographed with a thick shadow (caused by the arm of an overhead chandelier) across his upper lip. Hitchcock wanted the image to evoke the old-fashioned, heavily mustached villain found in many silent films. He later called this touch "my farewell to silent pictures".
Generally acknowledged as the first British talkie, and definitely the first sound-on-film British talkie. The Clue of the New Pin (1929), was released in March 1929 in the British Phototone system.
With The Jazz Singer (1927) doing spectacular business, the producers decided that the last reel of this predominantly silent film should have sound. Alfred Hitchcock thought that this was an absurd idea and so he secretly filmed the whole thing with sound.
The light levels in the British Museum were insufficient to allow Hitchcock to film the final chase scene in the museum. Without informing the producer, Alfred Hitchcock used the Schufftan process (developed by German cinematographer Eugen Schüfftan). This involved taking still photos of the interior of the museum, then reflecting the photos in a mirror with certain parts of the silvering of the mirror scraped away to allow people (entering a door, for example) to be filmed through the mirror so that they appeared to be present in the museum (in later years, American development of traveling matte and other process photography methods largely replaced the Shufftan process).
Alfred Hitchcock filmed the silent version with Sam Livesey as the Chief Inspector, but when filming the sound version replaced Livesey with Harvey Braban.
Michael Powell claims to have suggested the use of The British Museum as the location for the final pursuit, thus beginning Alfred Hitchcock's use of famous landmarks in his "chase" films.
As Tracy (Donald Calthrop) sits eating some food which he has just gained in a first minor act of blackmail, he sits humming the tune "The Best Things in Life are Free".
Anny Ondra (May 15 1903 – February 28 1987), acted in Czech, Austrian and German comedies in the 1920s, and in some British dramas, best known for her films: The Manxman and Blackmail (both in 1929). When Blackmail was remade with sound, Ondra's thick accent was considered unacceptable, so her dialogue was recorded by actress Joan Barry. Ondra made some forty more films in the sound era before retiring in the late-1930s.
She had a production company with her first husband, director Karel Lamac. Lamac had directed her in several silent films and also acted with her in films. They worked together, even after their divorce. On July 6, 1933, she married the boxer Max Schmeling, with whom she performed in the film, Knock-out (1935).
She was portrayed by Britt Ekland in the television movie, Ring of Passion (1978), where the character was named "Amy Ondra Schmeling." She was also portrayed by Peta Wilson in another television movie Joe and Max (2002).
The Killers (1946). Film noir. Based on the short story of the same name by Ernest Hemingway. The film was directed by Robert Siodmak Cast: Burt Lancaster in his screen debut, as well as Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, and Sam Levene.
Two hit men, Max and Al, drive to small town diner, looking for,"the Swede" . They find him held up in a boarding house where, they carry out thier plans to murder him.
The Swede had life insurance, so Investigator Jim Reardon, is assigned to look into the murder for his company. Interviewing people from his past, Reardon believes that The Swede's murder was because of a payroll robbery masterminded by, Big Jim Colfax and Kitty Collins , the woman Swede loved.
The film was very entertaining.. Although, I never quite figured out why Swede allowed himself to be murdered, and who ordered the killing.
Video: First of 10.
Virginia Christine, was best known as the "Folger Coffee Woman". After moving to Los Angeles, Virginia worked in radio while attending the University of California, Los Angeles. She was trained for a theatrical career by actor/director Fritz Feld, whom she married in 1940. In 1942, she signed a contract with Warner Bros. and began performing in films: Edge of Darkness (1943), High Noon (1952), Judgment at Nuremberg (1961), The Mummy's Curse (1944) and Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). She was a favorite of Stanley Kramer, performing in a number of his films. But her greatest fame came in the 1960's when she started her 21-year appearances as "Mrs. Olson", who always had comforting words for young married couples while pouring Folgers Coffee.
A Man With A Problem (1958). Cast: Elisabeth Montgomery and Gary Merrill.
After Carl checks into a hotel and steps out the window, thinking about jumping off the ledge. Carl thinks back to his problems that have led him here: His wife Karen was having an affair with a married man named Steve and decides to leave him. Carl warns her that men like Steve will never leave his wife. She refuses to listen, but.. later finds out that her husband was right and she commits suicide.
On the ledge, Carl seems to like Officer Barrett and only wants talk to him. Officer Barrett eventually goes out on the ledge to save Carls life. Will Officer Barrett ever figure out why Carl is out on the ledge?
Leave it to Hitchcock to give us a surprise ending.
Elisabeth Montgomery made her television debut in her father's series Robert Montgomery Presents and her film debut in, The Court Martial of Billy Mitchell(1955).
Her early career she made appearances in live television dramas and series, such as: Studio One, Kraft Television Theater, Johnny Staccato, The Twilight Zone, The Eleventh Hour, Boris Karloff's Thriller and Alfred Hitchcock Presents.
In 1960 Montgomery was nominated for an Emmy for her portrayal of southern prostitute Rusty Heller in an episode of The Untouchables.
She performed as a socialite with Henry Silva and Sammy Davis, Jr. in the film Johnny Cool(1963) and, the same year, with Dean Martin and Carol Burnett in, Who's Been Sleeping in My Bed? Alfred Hitchcock, wanted her to play the sister-in-law of Sean Connery, in the movie Marnie, but Montgomery was unavailable because of her new television show: Bewitched.
Alfred Hitchcock Presents: The Canary Sedan(1958). Cast: Jessica Tandy and Murray Matheson.
Laura Bowlby a psychic, who is has just recovered from an illness, now wants to join her husband in, Hong Kong. After traveling by ship, she is picked up by a chauffeur who takes her to pick out a car to see the sights in. She immediately drawn to a black sedan. Laura tells the chauffeur that she might like the car better if it were a canary yellow. The driver informs her that the the car was once canary yellow, before a recent paint job. Soon, Laura begins to hear a woman voice telling her about a passionate affair that she once had. Laura wishes for passion in her own life because her husband is unromantic and distant. Laura enters a beautiful garden, looking for the grave, of the woman who has been talking to her. She looks at the gravestone and is shocked when she sees the initials carved in the headstone. I loved seeing a younger Jessica Tandy, give a wonderful performance, in this fun/little cheesy film.
Murray Matheson, played The Clown in the 1961 Twilight Zone episode "Five Characters in Search of an Exit". Matheson's last performance was in the "Kick the Can" segment of Twilight Zone: The Movie (1985). His first feature film was a small role in 1945's "The Way to the Stars". Murray also played the captain in the Frank Sinatra film: "Assault on a Queen"(1966).
This week at the movies: Alfred Hitchcock Presents, was an American television anthology series hosted by Alfred Hitchcock. The series featured dramas, thrillers and mysteries. By the premiere of the show on October 2, 1955, Hitchcock had been directing films for over 30 years.
This weeks feature: The Human Interest Story. Newspaper reporter (Steve Mc Queen)interviews a man who believes he is from the planet Mars.
Newspaperman Bill Everett, goes to the neighborhood bar to interview a man who believes he is a Martian. There, Everett meets up with Howard Wilcox, who tells him he woke up one morning to find that everyone on his planet had all disappeared. He traveled to Earth and found himself in Wilcox's body. He almost convinces Wilcox to keep his story a secret. Instead He decides to tell his wife the truth. Everett decides to take action to keep him quite and then reports back to his editor. It was fun to see a very young Steve McQueen. Loved the surprise ending. Click to view : Human Interest Story.
Secret Beyond the Door(1948). Psychological thriller. Directed by Fritz Lang, produced by Lang's Diana Productions. Cast: Joan Bennett and was produced by her husband Walter Wanger.
When Celia's beloved older brother Rick dies she is left with a large trust fund. Celia decides to vacation in Mexico with her friend, Edith Potter. After arriving, Celia and Edith witness a knife fight between two men over a woman. Celia can not tear herself from the fight which attracts the attention of an American architect, Mark Lamphere. They quickly fall in love and within days are married. After the wedding, Mark tells Celia about his work managing an architectural journal and his interest reproducing in exact replica of rooms in which brutal murders were committed. The couple's honeymoon plans change when Mark tells Celia he has received a telegram sending him back to New York City. Mark asks Celia to go ahead to his family estate in Lavender Falls, where he will meet her later. That night the maid tells Celia that Mark received no telegram. Puzzled, Celia travels to her new home, where she is met by his sister, Caroline Lamphere, who tells her that Mark has been delayed. Celia is shocked to learn that Mark has a young teenage son, David. Carey introduces Celia to Mark's secretary, Miss Robey, who wears a scarf to hide the side of her face that was burned years before when she rescued David from the fire. When Celia meets Mark at the train station, he reacts strangly to her lilac corsage. Later he tells Celia he is worried about money, as his journal is failing. During a large party at the house, Bob tells Celia he believes that Mark may have married her for her money. Mark then takes the guests through his recreated rooms, which feature the murders of wives by their husbands, and Celia becomes worried when he refuses to show her the last room, which remains locked. What will Celia find beyond the door?
Even if this movie might be a little cheesy, I loved the cinematography and the haunting music which helped create a dreamy atmosphere. The focus on the door and the naration keeps you interested as to what the secret really is.
Fun Facts:
Fritz Lang's version of Rebecca (1940) was a project fraught with disaster. It ran over budget and over schedule, while Lang was at constant loggerheads with his leading lady, Joan Bennett. The first preview of the film attracted comments like "beyond human endurance" and "it stinks". Bennett herself referred to the film as "an unqualified disaster".
Michael Redgrave's first American film.
Anne Revere was a direct descendant of American Revolution hero Paul Revere. In 1926, she graduated from Wellesley College, then enrolled at the American Laboratory School to study acting with Maria Ouspenskaya and Richard Boleslavsky.
Revere made her Broadway debut in, The Great Barrington (1931). Three years later she went to Hollywood to reprise her stage role in the film, Double Door. She returned to Broadway to perform in the original production of, The Children's Hour(1934), and in later years she performed on the New York stage in: As You Like It, The Three Sisters, and Toys in the Attic (play), for which she won the 1960 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play.
Revere worked as a character actress in films between 1934 and 1951. She played mother to Elizabeth Taylor, Jennifer Jones, Gregory Peck, John Garfield, and Montgomery Clift. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress three times and won for her performance in National Velvet. Other Revere films: The Song of Bernadette, Gentleman's Agreement, The Keys of the Kingdom, Body and Soul, and A Place in the Sun.
In 1951, Revere resigned from the board of the Screen Actors Guild after she pleaded the Fifth Amendment and refused to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. She would not perform until twenty years later in the film, Tell Me That You Love Me, Junie Moon. She began performing on television in 1960, in soap operas : The Edge of Night, Search for Tomorrow, and Ryan's Hope.
The Big Clock(1948). Film noir thriller. Directed by John Farrow. The black-and-white film is set in New York City. cast: Ray Milland and Maureen O'Sullivan. Real-life married couple Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton perform in the film, along with Harry Morgan, in an early film role, as a hired thug.
The film begins with, George Stroud, editor-in-chief of Crimeways magazine, hiding from security guards, in the clock tower of the Janoth Publications building, in New York City. Just thirty-six hours before, was about to leave on his honeymoon after seven years of marriage, is ordered by his over baring boss, Earl Janoth, to go on assignment or be fired. Tired of jeopardizing his family life, George decides to quit his job at the magazine. Janoth's mistress Pauline York, follows him to the bar where he stopped in for a drink. Pauline, wants to help George humiliate Janoth by writing the truth about him in a biography. George tells Pauline that Janoth fired a man earlier in the day for using red ink instead of green. They go on a search for a green clock as a "present" for Janoth, who is obsessed with time. While in an antique shop, George and Pauline out-bid a woman for a Patterson painting, unaware that she is,Louise Patterson.
Later, they visit Burt's Sports Bar, where George introduces Pauline to McKinley, a radio actor friend. After finding the green clock, Burt gives George and Pauline a sundial. After which George takes Pauline home and falls asleep on her couch. Around one-thirty in the morning, Pauline sees Janoth arriving and pushes George out the door with his painting. Unfortunately, Janoth catches a glimpse of him waiting for the elevator and he and Pauline get into a fight about their infidelities. Pauline tells Janoth she spent the evening with a man named Jefferson Randolph. When Janoth insults her, Pauline says that women only go out with him for his power and position. Before he knows what he is doing, he snaps and hits her with the sundial, instantly killing her. He then calls one of his editors, Steve Hagen, for help. They quickly come up with a plan to shift the blame on, George Stroud.
I just saw The film, The Big Clock, for the first time. I thought it was a wonderful film noir, that turns out to be a exciting duel, of one man trying to out think the other.
Fun Facts:
Co-stars Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laughton were married, as were star Maureen O'Sullivan and director John Farrow.
A 'fin' is $5 in American slang.
This video has a couple of wonderful, Elsa Lanchester, scenes.
Maureen O'Sullivan's film career began when she met director Frank Borzage, who was doing location filming on. Song o' My Heart. He suggested she take a screen test. After she won the part in the movie, she moved to the United States.
O'Sullivan performed in six movies at Fox, then made three more at other movie studios. In 1932, she signed a contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After several roles there and at other movie studios, she was chosen to perform as, Jane Parker in Tarzan the Ape Man with Johnny Weissmuller.
In all, O'Sullivan played Jane in six features between (1932) and (1942). She did not mind doing the first two jungle movies, but was worried she would become typecast and quickly became bored with the role.
She also performed with William Powell and Myrna Loy in The Thin Man (1934) and played Kitty in Anna Karenina (1935) with Greta Garbo and Basil Rathbone. She performed as Molly Beaumont in A Yank at Oxford (1938). She played another Jane in Pride and Prejudice (1940) with Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, and supported Ann Sothern in Maisie Was a Lady (1941).
After performing in Tarzan's New York Adventure (1942), O'Sullivan asked MGM to release her from her contract so she could care for her husband who had just left the Navy with typhoid. She then retired from show business, devoting her time to being a wife and mother.
Behind the Green Lights(1948). Cast: Carole Landis and William Gargan. Director: Otto Brower who directed 45 movies before he died in 1946. This movie was released a month after his death.
The trouble begins when the body of a murdered private detective is found in an abandoned car. An officer on the case finds himself tempted to use dishonest means to help his career. Things get even more complicated when he falls in love with a female murder suspect. The clothes an hats worn in this film Noir are a lot of fun. Click to view the movie: Behind the Green Lights(1946).
Carole Landis dropped out of high school at age 15 and went on to a career in show business. She started out as a hula dancer in a San Francisco nightclub and later sang with a dance band.. She dyed her hair blond and changed her name to "Carole Landis" after her favorite actress, Carole Lombard. Her 1937 film debut was as an extra in A Star Is Born. She performed in bit parts until 1940 when Hal Roach cast her as a cave girl in One Million B.C.. The movie turned Carole into a star. A press agent nicknamed her "The Ping Girl" (because "she makes you purr"). Landis performed in many successful films in the early forties, usually as the second female lead. In a time when the singing of many actresses was dubbed in, Landis's own voice was considered good enough and was used in her few musical roles. Landis landed a contract with 20th Century Fox. She had roles playing opposite fellow pin-up girl Betty Grable in Moon Over Miami and I Wake Up Screaming, both in 1941. Carole Landis websight. FUN FACTS :
Actress Diana Lewis once gave Carole a gold cross as a gift. Carole wore the cross for the rest of her life and was even buried wearing it.
Spent more time visiting troops during World War II than any other Hollywood star. She nearly died from malaria she contracted while traveling overseas.
Carole Landis list of films:
Brass Monkey (1948) Noose (1948) Out of the Blue (1947) It Shouldn't Happen to a Dog (1946) A Scandal in Paris (1946) . Behind Green Lights (1946) Having Wonderful Crime(1945) Secret Command (1944) Wintertime (1943) The Powers Girl (1943) Manila Calling (1942) Orchestra Wives (1942) It Happened in Flatbush (1942) My Gal Sal (1942) A Gentleman at Heart (1942) Cadet Girl (1941) I Wake Up Screaming (1941) Dance Hall (1941) Moon Over Miami (1941)
Topper Returns (1941) Road Show (1941) Mystery Sea Raider (1940) Turnabout (1940) One Million B.C. (1940) Cowboys from Texas (1939) Daredevils of the Red Circle (1939) Three Texas Steers (1939) Four's a Crowd (1938)
The Blue Dahlia (1946). Film noir directed by George Marshall and written by Raymond Chandler. The film is the third pairing of Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake.
Three United States Navy officers, Johnny Morrison, Buzz Wanchek and George Copeland, arrive in Hollywood, California. Johnny surprises his wife Helen and discovers she is having an affair with the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. Helen, drunk, confesses to Johnny that their son Dickie, who Johnny believed died of diphtheria, really died in a car crash because she was driving drunk.
Not knowing who Helen really is , Buzz goes to her apartment for a drink. After Eddie ends the affair, Helen blackmails him into seeing her again. Johnny, is picked up walking in the rain by Joyce Harwood. They spend the night in separate rooms in a Malibu inn. The next morning, the radio informs them that Helen has been murdered and that Johnny is suspected. How will Johnny prove is innocence?
I just watched the film, Blue Dahlia, for the first time . I thought the film had plenty of action and a surprise twist or two that will keep you guessing.
Veronica Lake Fun Fact: When former lover Marlon Brando read in a newspaper that a reporter had found Veronica Lake working as a cocktail waitress in a Manhattan bar, he had his accountant send her a check for a thousand dollars. Out of pride, she never cashed it, but kept it framed in her Miami living room to show her friends.
The Big Bluff (1955) Film Noir. Cast: John Bromfield, Martha Vickers, Robert Hutton and Rosemarie Stack. Director: W. Lee Wilder.
When terminally ill Valerie is told by her doctor to go somewhere quiet to get some much need rest, she chooses "The Town House," which also known for its swanky Tiki nightclub. There she meets gigolo Riccardo, who already has a girlfriend, nightclub dancer, Fritzi. After which, Riccardo marries the wealthy widow. Surprised that the marriage works wonders for her health and she improves so much that he is forced to come up with a plan to murder her. You may think you know what happens next...but, do you?
The acting and cinematography are the typical 1950s low-budget film, but... there are plenty of good scenes, after a slow start.
Martha Vickers, started her career as a model for photographer William Mortenson. This attracted the interest of David O. Selznick and she signed a contract with him, but nothing came of it. Universal took over her contract where she played in bit parts in, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), Captive Wild Woman (1943) and The Mummy's Ghost (1944).
RKO gave her better parts in the films, Marine Raiders (1944) and The Falcon in Mexico (1944), but it was Warner Bros. that helped launch her career.. as Lauren Bacall's wild, sister Carmen in the film noir, The Big Sleep (1946). She landed the second femme lead in the musical, The Time, the Place and the Girl (1946). She continued on performing in the film noir, The Man I Love (1947) and the film, That Way with Women (1947).
She dated actor James Stewart and director Frederick De Cordova, Martha finally married producer A.C. Lyles in March of 1948, but the marriage was over within a couple of months. Post-war films included Love and Learn (1947), another film noir piece Ruthless (1948), and Bad Boy (1949), which was Audie Murphy's first starring role. She ended the decade with the film, Alimony (1949). Martha's second marriage to actor Mickey Rooney(1950) (she was his third wife) did not help her career. In fact, Martha was not seen in films at all during this time. The couple had a son, Teddy Rooney. Her marriage to Rooney would also be short-lived.
Martha married a third time in 1954 to Chilean polo player-turned-actor Manuel Rojas. She did return to the screen for the film, The Big Bluff (1955). The movie did nothing to help restart her film career. She performed on TV and performed in dramatic showcases. She and Rojas had two children, Tina and Tessa. In 1960, Martha did her last filming with the western Four Fast Guns (1960) and after guesting on a couple of episodes of the TV series "The Rebel," ended her career.
Deception (1946). Directed Irving Rapper. The film is based on the play Monsieur Lamberthier by Louis Verneuil. The screenplay was written by John Collier and Joseph Than. Cast: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid and Claude Rains who had also performed together in, Now, Voyager (1942).
After a long separation, pianist Christine Radcliffe is reunited in New York with her fiancee, cellist Karel Novak. When Karel wants to know how Christine can afford such a beautiful apartment and clothes, Christine says that she is giving music lessons. Soon Christine receives a call from composer Alexander Hollenius, whose mistress she has been, and informs him of her up coming marriage. Hollenius arrives at a party celebrating the marriage and tells Karel that he believes the marriage will interfere with Christine's music. The following day, Christine visits Hollenius and begs him not to reveal their relationship. Later, Karel visits Hollenius, to his surprise, he finds Hollenius listening to a recording that Karel made. Hollenius is impressed by Karel's talent and offers him a cello concerto that he has just written. When Christine hears Karel practicing Hollenius' concerto, she becomes convinced that Hollenius intends to use the concerto to destroy Karel. When Christine shares her fears to Karel, he demands to know why she is afraid that Hollenius will take the concerto away from him, but Christine still refuses to tell her husband the truth. The next day, Christine returns to Hollenius' apartment to beg him not to take out his anger on Karel, he tells her that his first duty is to his music and that he is sure Karel will perform well. As she leaves the apartment, Christine sees Bertram Gribble, the orchestra's first cellist, waiting in the foyer and is sure that Hollenius intends to replace Karel with Gribble. On the night of the performance, after Karel has left for the concert hall, Christine again visits Hollenius and begs him to promise that he will not tell Karel of their relationship and again when Hollenius refuses, what will Christine do to keep her secret?
If you're in the mood Bette Davis-Claude Rains melodrama, you have to add this film to your "gotta see" list. Rains has some of the cruelest and wittiest lines in this film. Bette matches him with her display of emotions.
Paul Henreid, performed in his two most important films. In Now, Voyager(1942) and Casablanca(1942). He made regular film performances in the 1940s, and in the early 1950s began directing for both film and television. His film credits include The Spanish Main (1945), Of Human Bondage (1946), Song of Love (1947), Thief of Damascus (1952), Siren of Bagdad (1953), and Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1961). His television directorial credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Maverick, Bonanza and The Big Valley. In 1964, Henreid directed Dead Ringer, which starred Bette Davis and featured, in a minor role, the director's daughter, Monika.
My favorite Hitchcock film of all time. It mixes comedy with suspense extremely well. Set in the Swiss Alps, a bunch of tourists meet at a village the night before boarding a train the next morning. A young girl named Iris (the excellent Margaret Lockwood) meets a young student named Gilbert (wonderful performance by Michael Redgrave). Of course they meet cute and can't stand each other. The next day on the train the lovable old Mrs. Froy (Dame May Whitty) vanishes and the chase is on to find her. You have to pay attention to the details in this one because things are not what they seem. An excellent film from Hollywood's golden past. One minute you're laughing, then you're on the edge of your seat. In my opinion, this is Hitch's best work. Just ahead of Shadow of a Doubt.
Quicksand (1950). Cast: Mickey Rooney and Peter Lorre. The film has been described as "film noir in a teacup".
Auto mechanic Dan Brady, just told his friend Chuck that he has broken up with Helen Calder, when he notices the blond cashier, Vera Novak. Dan asks Vera to go out with him, but when he returns to the garage, he remembers that he is broke. While making change at the register, Dan decides to borrow twenty dollars, planning on pay it back the next day when he is paid back the money that Buzz Larson, owes him. That night, he and Vera go to the Santa Monica pier, and she tells him she used to work in the arcade managed by Nick.
The next day, Dan is unable to find Buzz, and the bookkeeper arrives two days ahead of schedule, Dan buys an expensive watch on credit and pawns it, racing back to the garage just in time to replace the money.
The next day, an investigator comes to the garage looking for Dan and tell him if he does not pay the jewelry store within twenty-four hours, he will be arrested for grand larceny.
That night, Dan goes to a bar on the pier, where he notices drunken Shorty McCabe, who runs the bingo parlor, has a wallet full of cash. Dan follows Shorty and robs him, but is seen by a witness whose screams bring the police. Dan goes to the arcade to meet Vera, and when he finds Nick putting his hands her, he knocks him down, leaving behind the handkerchief he used during the robbery.
The next day, Nick calls Dan and says he knows about the robbery, and demands a new car in exchange for the handkerchief.
Desperate, Dan steals a car from the garage, his boss Mackey tells Dan that he was seen taking the car, and threatens to go to the police. Dan goes to Vera with his problems and she suggests that they steal the money from Nick's office. They are able to pay off Mackey and Vera spends half of the money on a mink coat. Every time Dan tries to get out of trouble he finds himself deeper into... Quicksand. You have to watch to see what happens next. Click to view the movie Quicksand.
I'm not really a Mickey Rooney fan. But I did enjoy him in the film, Quicksand. Overall, it's a wonderful film although is starts slowly but gets better and better as the story unfolds.
Zero Hour!(1957). Written by Arthur Hailey. Cast: Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, and Sterling Hayden. Zero Hour! was the basis for the movie Airplane! Zero Hour! was also the remake of Hailey's Canadian Broadcasting Corporation play Flight into Danger(1956). Hailey co-wrote a novel with John Castle based on the same idea titled Flight Into Danger: Runway Zero-Eight (1958). The rights to the movie were purchased by the makers of the 1980 film Airplane! and they were able to use the screenplay almost verbatim. In later years, the film was bought by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Pilot Ted Stryker, in the final weeks of World War II, leads a raid on Wiesbaden, Germany. The target area is covered by fog, Ted does not cancel the mission and six of his pilots crash into countryside. Wounded Ted, is the only man to survive the mission and blames himself for the death of his men.
Eleven years later, Ted applies for a job in the Canadian Jet Research division of the Mid-Canadian Aircraft Co. Ted's old friend Frank Graham hires him and Ted returns home to celebrate the good news with his family. When he gets there he finds a note written by his wife Ellen, saying that she is leaving him. Ted rushes to the airport just in time to board her plane to Vancouver, even though he is still afraid of flying. Once on the the plane, Ted asks Ellen to give him another chance, but she refuses because he has never stopped punishing himself from his mistakes. Midway through the flight, some of the passengers become deathly ill, the stewardess, asks a physician who happens to be on the plane to help them. Baird tells Capt. Bill Wilson to land the plane, so the sick passengers can be taken to the hospital. Only to learn that they are going to run into bad weather and they can not land the plane. Soon, co-pilot Stewart passes out and Baird now believes that the problem is food poisoning. Soon, Bill is also sick with food poisoning. Although he is able to put the plane on autopilot before collapsing.
Baird tells Janet he is not even sure he can save the sick passengers lives unless they receive medical attention soon. In the cockpit, Baird tells Ted that he is the only person aboard who can of land the plane. Ted then takes the pilot's seat and contacts Canadian air traffic control, asking for guidance in flying the plane. Will Ted manage to get over his past and land the plane safely?
I really enjoyed this film even though some moments are impossible to watch without being reminded of their parody versions.
Sterling Hayden, For most of his career performed as a leading man, in westerns and film noir, such as Johnny Guitar, The Asphalt Jungle and The Killing. Later on he became known as a character actor for such roles as Gen. Jack D. Ripper in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). He also played the Irish policeman, Captain McCluskey, in Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather in 1972. Standing 6-feet, 5-inches tall, he is one of the tallest leading actors of all time.
Martha Vickers, started her career as a model for photographer William Mortenson. This attracted the interest of David O. Selznick and she signed a contract with him, but nothing came of it. Universal took over her contract where she played in bit parts in, Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man (1943), Captive Wild Woman (1943) and The Mummy's Ghost (1944).
