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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 7, 2019 18:45:57 GMT
A week or two before this, we--my sister and I--watched The Postman Always Rings TwiceGarfield and (Lana) Turner set the screen on fire every time they appear together. Ay chihuahua! Whenever I watch a John Garfield film, I am torn between avid admiration and a mixture of frustration, helpless rage, and sorrow when I reflect on his tragic death at the age of 39. Thanks a bunch, HUAC! Yep, the Garfield life pan out is sucky to say the least. TPART > Torrid Romance. Frank Chambers (John Garfield) stops at a rural diner for a bite to eat, and after noticing the "Man Wanted" sign-ends up working there. The diner is run by beautiful Cora Smith (Lana Turner), and her much older husband, Nick (Cecil Kellaway). The animal attraction is evident from the off and the pair soon enter into an affair. It's an affair that will have far reaching consequences for all three parties. Forget any remake and go straight to this, the best adaptation of James M. Cain's hard hitting novel. Out of MGM, it's nice to say that the studio, in spite of 1940s censors, let director Tay Garnett put vitality into Cain's novel and more crucially,! let Turner fan the flames of smouldering passion. From the moment the camera pans from her shapely foot to the silky blonde mop that sits above her beautiful face, we know that Frank Chambers, and us the audience, are about to be taken in hook line and sinker. Much has been made of the over-use of lighting with Turner in the film, that complaint is something I just can't truck with in any shape or form. It's not for nothing that Turner's Cora is virginal white for 98% of the picture, surely a sign that Cora is in need of some dark to lighten her dark existence. Sounds weird I'm sure, but there it is, and the lighting only emphasises that virginal quality about to be steered down a troubled road. It should also be noted that the only time she's out of white is for the particularly dark moments in her life. It's a confliction with the Noir ethic to utilise whiteness, but this is a very different femme fatale, more vulnerable and searching for love, even if ultimately it's car crash love. John Garfield matches Turner in performance. A performance that gathers momentum at every quarter. So it's no surprise to find that both actors got a positive response from critics and public alike. But the support is also very strong, particularly Hume Cronyn & Leon Ames. While Kellaway absolutely nails that good old harmless old boy seriously in denial-out of his depth character-with some aplomb. I personally was delighted with a different sort of film-noir viewing here. And I have to say that I avoided this film on account of having watched the Jack Nicholson remake first, years ago; and found it immeasurably dull. This is a different animal, much like the female protagonist funnily enough. Perhaps the final word should come from James M. Cain himself? Who after seeing what Turner did with the role of Cora gave her a gift of a leather bound first edition of the book, the inscription said "For my dear Lana, thank you for giving a performance that was finer than I expected." Tis true that, lighting be damned! 8/10
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Aug 7, 2019 18:57:47 GMT
Only had one this week...  Actually a great film about the Texas Revolution and predated Wayne's The Alamo by a few years. Sterling Hayden was great as Col. Jim Bowie. Slim Pickens has a small role too, and it's always easy to spot him. Whilst it's one that I wish was better, I do feel it's one that more should take a peek at. So with that in mind I'm glad yo liked it so much. My review - which I hope you may get some info from > Republic Pictures take on the Alamo legend. Forget any adherence to historical facts, directed by Frank Lloyd and with a Warren Duff screenplay, The Last Command is a slow moving piece that uses Jim Bowie as its focal point. Starring Sterling Hayden (Bowie), Richard Carlson (William Travers), Arthur Hunnicutt (Davy Crockett), Ernest Borgnine (Mike Radin), J. Carrol Naish (Santa Ana), and Anna Maria Alberghetti (Consuela), the piece was a project long courted by John Wayne. However, Republic refused to sanction the type of budget the Duke wanted for his vision. So after offering him a nominal fee for a part, he refused and Republic promptly went on to make the film anyway. The final result is an interesting film that finally pays off for those having the patience and tolerance for patriotic flag waving. The story follows the battle of the Alamo in San Antonio in 1836, where brave Texans gave their life to become free of the Mexican rule, by defending the former mission station against overwhelming odds as the Mexican army of Santa Ana closed in for victory. The final battle is very well staged by Lloyd, and the acting, though not making the earth move, is very competent, particularly Hayden who does a nice line in tortured ruggedness. Max Steiner provides a zippy score and the low budget use of Trucolor doesn't affect the work of cinematographer Jack Marta. Safe and enjoyable as a story telling piece, if ultimately far from being a rousing spectacle fit for that particular part in history. 6/10
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Post by morrisondylanfan on Aug 7, 2019 19:18:37 GMT
 Thieves' Highway (1949) 9 Continuing a visual/ audio motif which even appeared in his early light Comedy flick Martha, directing auteur Jules Dassin makes silence deafening, rolling Garcos down the Noir road with dialogue-free sequences filled of the rumbling screech, and dead weight clang bursting from Garcos truck. Apple bobbing at the real Figlia Market, Dassin & cinematographer Norbert Brodine unpack a rustic Noir atmosphere, rubbed with stylish tracking shots weaving between the boxes Garcos opens up to find corruption at the Market, and nailed with entrancing long shadows over the ruthlessness Figlia controls the Market with. Forced to throw in a last-minute coda for Hays Code approval which ends it all on a Film Gris note, A.I. Bezzerides thankfully stays off-track for the rest of this thrilling adaptation of his own novel, slyly dissecting the post-WWII "free market", a place where Garcos goes for a fair deal, only to be met by Figlia shaking down any small businesses that have disagreements with him. Returning home to find his dad legless, Bezzerides leaves Garcos a Noir loner on the thieving highway, who drifts in and out of a shell-shock state,to anger over the broken state of the land he has returned to. Sliding out of any attempts to one-up him, Lee J. Cobb gives a wonderful,slime ball turn as Figlia, who Cobb keeps out of reach from being caught with a slippery charm keeping his brute force underhanded tactics to control the Market out of sight. Beating Dana Andrews and Victor Mature for the role,Richard Conte gives a superb performance as Garcos, who Conte keeps shaken between fury over his dad being attacked, and frustration, from Garcos finding himself alone on the thieves highway. looks quality  One for the October challenge me thinks  Chuffed you liked Thieves' Highway as much as you did, more than myself in fact! Yup, we agree on the coda, disappointing for sure. Top reviewing as usual chap. Myself in piggyback mode > Everyone likes apples - Except doctors. Thieves' Highway is directed by Jules Dassin and adapted to screenplay by A. I. Bezzerides from his own novel Thieves' Market. It stars Richard Conte, Valentine Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence, Jack Oakie and Millard Mitchell. Music is by Alfred Newman and cinematography by Norbert Brodine. A war-veteran returns to the family home to find his father has been left wheelchair bound by a amoral produce dealer in San Francisco. Swearing revenge he sets himself up as a truck driver and heads off to Frisco with a truck load of Golden Delicious apples... Revenge, hope and desperation drives Dassin's intelligently constructed noir forward. It's a film very much interested in its characterisations as it doles out a deconstruction of the American dream. The familiar noir theme of a returning war-veteran kicks things off, with Nico Garcos (Conte) finding a crippled father and a money hungry bride to be waiting for him; welcome home sailor! From there Dassin and Bezzerides push a revenge theme to the forefront whilst deftly inserting from the sides the devils of greed and corruption of the California produce business. The trucks journey is brilliantly captured by the makers, both exciting and exuding the menace of the hard slog for truckers. Once Nico and his partner, Ed Kinney (Mitchell), get to Frisco and encounter bully business boy Mike Figlia (Cobb), underhand tactics come seeping out and the appearance of prostitute Rica (Cortese) into Nico's life adds a morally grey area that pings with sharp dialogue exchanges. Real location photography adds to the authentic feel of the story, and cast performances are quite simply excellent across the board. The code appeasing ending hurts the film a touch, inserted against Dassin's wishes, and there's a feeling that it should have been more damning with the economic tropes; while the fact that Nico's father is more concerned about being robbed of money than losing the use of his legs - is a bit strange to say the least. However, from a graveyard of tumbling apples to the fact that more than money is stolen here, Thieves' Highway is sharp, smart and engrossing stuff. 7.5/10 Thanks for the terrific Highway review Spike. On Nico's legless dad being more concerned about cash, I think his image was meant to act as a reminder to Nico of what he would have seen on the front line,with the cash worries being used to push the plot forward. I think Amsterdamned is a great choice for October, (the YT print is clean,and has hard Eng Subs) with it being a bit classier than I was expecting (it features no nudity.)
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Nov 8, 2019 22:05:55 GMT
 Amsterdamned (1988) 7 With Eng Subs: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpP7O17ekZI&t=3sWhilst not their smoothest looking transfer, Shameless present a good, slightly dark picture and a very good, clean soundtrack of Dutch or Eng Dub (most of the cast did their own dubbing.) Turning down the chance to make a Elm Street sequel (which he later said he regretted,due to missing his chance to get his foot in the door in Hollywood) to instead target his own auteur vision, writer/director/composer Dick Mass reunites with cinematographer Marc Felperlaan to dive into a Action-Crime Giallo/Slasher hybrid! Inspired by the Slasher influenced third and final wave of Gialli, Mass holds on a knife edge a balance in the murder set-pieces between the drizzled in red Slasher slayings, (complete with jump scares) with the more suggestive, foreboding tension in the long first-person tracking shots and the black scuba diving outfit-wearing psycho bubbling under the waters swimming towards the Giallo. Although featuring a surprising lack of skin, Mass, (who mentions in the making of his love for US crime films) brings the thrills in superb,off-beat Action show-stoppers. Taking full advantage of the unique location, (and backed by his own rumbling synch score) Mass connects slick tracking shots and sharp whip-pan views with a gritty edge which digs in during nail-biting boat chases down the canales,and tight car/motorbike races down the narrow, blue tint burning, streets of Amsterdam. Setting Eric Visser's (played by a terrific, aggressive Huub Stapel) murder investigation round the canales, the screenplay by Mass keeps the murders wickedly unpredictable, thanks to spending a little time with each possible victim, building fear of the psycho coming up for air at any moment. Holding Visser out as the lone cop not convinced the case is solved until the bitter end, Mass makes the unveiling of the killer after rough and tumble exchanges, (including a intense fight in a submerged boat) go off the boil, due to a last minute twist feeling out of place from being more in keeping with US Slashers, instead of the murky waters of Amsterdamned. Just watched it. Interesting to read that your research throws up that Mass was in line for an Elm Street sequel, because that scene you have put a GIF to simply has to be influenced by the original Elm Street pic. It's a great scene, the face under the inflatable dinghy first and then the knife sequence, excellent - and we don't get or need blood and guts there, suggestion is enough. I really liked it, but also like yourself have some disappointment with the finale, especially given the pics length. Also, Stapel definitely an intense actor worth engaging with, put me in mind of Vincent Cassell at his broody and aggressive best, which is no bad thing. While the speedboat pursuit is quality, good enough for a Bond movie! Think I have just written half my pending review 
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