Runtime: 95 minutes
Directed by: Michael Curtiz
Starring: Carol Ohmart, Tom Tryon, Jody Lawrence, James Gregory, E.G. Marshall, Elaine Stritch
From: Paramount
Not a bad way to conclude my Noirvember. During this month I’ve watched a few film noirs and enjoyed them all. There’s still a vast selection for me to choose from; what inspired the decision to check this out: not only was it mentioned on the Pure Cinema Podcast episode from a few weeks ago discussing deep cuts for the genre, a mutual just gave this a rave review hours ago. It featured various people I knew, from Carol Ohmart of House on Haunted Hill fame to James Gregory and E.G. Marshall to “that guy” actors like Edward Binns to even Elaine Stritch.
A plot surrounding a jewel heist also tickled my fancy. Specifically, the heist is done at a mansion, and a poor sap is dragged into a gigantic mess by a blonde femme fatale. It is more detailed than it first sounds or that I’ll reveal, but the relationship between the poor sap and the blonde femme fatale is an affair, so for the time you can probably guess their fate… but what a fun ride it is. The husband is a class-A jerk so the illicit relationship is at least understandable.
I could nitpick several aspects of the plot (especially in the back half) but overall this was a pretty good time. It has all the hallmarks you expect from a dark tale filled w/ sleazy characters. Director Michael Curtiz could be a jerk himself-including allegedly to Ohmart-yet no doubt he knew how to direct and this has the shadowy cinematography that’s in all worthwhile film noirs. Stritch’s character and the relationship w/ her husband provided some nice chuckles, although the most memorable scene was seeing Nat King Cole perform the song Never Let Me Go in a nightclub scene.
Overall, this is a noir I was glad received recent publicity which allowed me to know of its existence; its current availability on YouTube also helped… I realize this isn’t great on my part but I know the print is from a recent Blu release by the Australian label Imprint Films. I’d feel less guilty-and you may also-if you like the movie after you see it for free then legally purchase it from Imprint… although it IS currently out of stock as of now.
No comments:
Post a Comment