Post by london777 on Apr 29, 2017 14:55:54 GMT
I was going to post this in my Downloading Films in the Public Domain thread, but I hope by giving it its own thread it will spark a discussion of some of the wider issues I have raised.
He Walked by Night (1948) Alfred Werker, Anthony Mann (uncredited)
.mp4 good copy
It is not known which parts of this film were directed by Anthony Mann once Werker fell ill, but stylistically it is of a piece with his T-Men of the previous year.
These years were the high tide of Film Noir, but T-Men was perhaps the first (?) - (help me out here, please, you film historians!) of the pseudo-documentary crime-fighter movies which increasingly elbowed Noir off the screens during the fifties. It is a category which I find distasteful, and not only for that reason.
Whereas Noir was empathetic, morally and psychological ambiguous, and implicitly subversive, these pseudo-docs were impersonal, categorically judgmental and obsequious to authority, a perfect fit for the Eisenhower/HUAC era. There were a few good hybrids, of which Kubrick's The Killing (1956) was perhaps the best.
Some frequent characteristics of these films are a "dedication" to a specific public service (often with its badge, logo or imposing edifice as background to the titles) accompanied by martial music, a sanctimonious male voice barking out platitudinous generalities before homing in on the case in hand, contrived "documentary" sequences showing the routine workings of the particular institution being praised, a disdain for those on the fringes of society who, whether street bookies or serial killers are all basketed together as "deplorables" and thus expendable, and an uncomplicated plot showing the inevitable victory of authority.
But the more fundamental difference with Film Noir is the observer viewpoint. In pure Film Noir the viewer identifies with the anti-hero and as little as possible is shown that is not from his viewpoint. Thus he is often bewildered as to what is going on. He does not see the bigger picture, nor does the audience.
In pseudo docs the narrator has an emotionally detached and godlike view. He knows the whole story and how it will end (very often because it is "based on actual events"). The result, as in the present film, is to turn the criminal (typically a cornered man) into an insect whose swatting is only a matter of time. In Film Noirs, the anti-hero's demise is only inevitable at a deeper level because they are tragedies (in the Greek sense). But at surface level we hope until the last scenes that Jeff Bailey will make it over the border, or that Walter Neff will not bleed out. In pseudo-docs we are not allowed to have any such partial sympathy for the wrongdoers.
I do not know how far the limitations of the present movie are due to Werker's poor health and the shared direction. It could have been a great Film Noir had they used more of the story of real-life villain Erwin Walker and made him the central character instead of a pair of robotic cops played by typecast Roy Roberts and impassive lump Scott Brady. They already had the perfect anti-hero in Richard Basehart who is the best thing in this film. Walker's real-life back-story is interesting, and ideal for the psychological probings of Noir. But Basehart has too few scenes, whereas much footage is wasted on police procedure, sometimes resulting in absurd conversations between long-serving police officers along the lines of "As you know, Captain, everyone's finger-prints are different" or "Well, sergeant, a revolver is different from a pistol". Another unrealistic scene is when a group of witnesses of Basehart's crimes contribute to assembling his identikit portrait. After showing four sketches of different hairstyles, and a similar number of eyes, noses and mouths, they arrive at an almost photographic likeness in about three minutes, when the actual number of possible combinations must run to hundreds of thousands.
Another odd factor is how the film keeps harping on about Basehart's criminal genius, and at one point the narrator mentions "the maze of baffling trails" he left. Like assuming a false name? Or using gloves in order not to leave fingerprints? Wow! A veritable Moriarty! In fact his modus operandi would inevitably lead to his capture, which may be nearer the truth, as the real-life Walker was less a career criminal than someone with serious mental problems resulting from his war experiences.
Jack Webb appears in his first proper role, and it inspired his Dragnet series of which this is virtually a pilot.
Another interesting point is the final manhunt through the storm-drains which predates the more famous and accomplished one through the sewers of Vienna in The Third Man (1949) by a year. As an Englishman it pains me to admit that Carol Reed stole these scenes lock, stock and barrel from the American film.
The cinematographer is Film Noir doyen John Alton. I would prefer to think that the copy I watched had deteriorated somewhat, as Alton's deep blacks and vivid whites were not evident, though his trademark use of shadows and Dutch angles were.
He Walked by Night (1948) Alfred Werker, Anthony Mann (uncredited)
.mp4 good copy
It is not known which parts of this film were directed by Anthony Mann once Werker fell ill, but stylistically it is of a piece with his T-Men of the previous year.
These years were the high tide of Film Noir, but T-Men was perhaps the first (?) - (help me out here, please, you film historians!) of the pseudo-documentary crime-fighter movies which increasingly elbowed Noir off the screens during the fifties. It is a category which I find distasteful, and not only for that reason.
Whereas Noir was empathetic, morally and psychological ambiguous, and implicitly subversive, these pseudo-docs were impersonal, categorically judgmental and obsequious to authority, a perfect fit for the Eisenhower/HUAC era. There were a few good hybrids, of which Kubrick's The Killing (1956) was perhaps the best.
Some frequent characteristics of these films are a "dedication" to a specific public service (often with its badge, logo or imposing edifice as background to the titles) accompanied by martial music, a sanctimonious male voice barking out platitudinous generalities before homing in on the case in hand, contrived "documentary" sequences showing the routine workings of the particular institution being praised, a disdain for those on the fringes of society who, whether street bookies or serial killers are all basketed together as "deplorables" and thus expendable, and an uncomplicated plot showing the inevitable victory of authority.
But the more fundamental difference with Film Noir is the observer viewpoint. In pure Film Noir the viewer identifies with the anti-hero and as little as possible is shown that is not from his viewpoint. Thus he is often bewildered as to what is going on. He does not see the bigger picture, nor does the audience.
In pseudo docs the narrator has an emotionally detached and godlike view. He knows the whole story and how it will end (very often because it is "based on actual events"). The result, as in the present film, is to turn the criminal (typically a cornered man) into an insect whose swatting is only a matter of time. In Film Noirs, the anti-hero's demise is only inevitable at a deeper level because they are tragedies (in the Greek sense). But at surface level we hope until the last scenes that Jeff Bailey will make it over the border, or that Walter Neff will not bleed out. In pseudo-docs we are not allowed to have any such partial sympathy for the wrongdoers.
I do not know how far the limitations of the present movie are due to Werker's poor health and the shared direction. It could have been a great Film Noir had they used more of the story of real-life villain Erwin Walker and made him the central character instead of a pair of robotic cops played by typecast Roy Roberts and impassive lump Scott Brady. They already had the perfect anti-hero in Richard Basehart who is the best thing in this film. Walker's real-life back-story is interesting, and ideal for the psychological probings of Noir. But Basehart has too few scenes, whereas much footage is wasted on police procedure, sometimes resulting in absurd conversations between long-serving police officers along the lines of "As you know, Captain, everyone's finger-prints are different" or "Well, sergeant, a revolver is different from a pistol". Another unrealistic scene is when a group of witnesses of Basehart's crimes contribute to assembling his identikit portrait. After showing four sketches of different hairstyles, and a similar number of eyes, noses and mouths, they arrive at an almost photographic likeness in about three minutes, when the actual number of possible combinations must run to hundreds of thousands.
Another odd factor is how the film keeps harping on about Basehart's criminal genius, and at one point the narrator mentions "the maze of baffling trails" he left. Like assuming a false name? Or using gloves in order not to leave fingerprints? Wow! A veritable Moriarty! In fact his modus operandi would inevitably lead to his capture, which may be nearer the truth, as the real-life Walker was less a career criminal than someone with serious mental problems resulting from his war experiences.
Jack Webb appears in his first proper role, and it inspired his Dragnet series of which this is virtually a pilot.
Another interesting point is the final manhunt through the storm-drains which predates the more famous and accomplished one through the sewers of Vienna in The Third Man (1949) by a year. As an Englishman it pains me to admit that Carol Reed stole these scenes lock, stock and barrel from the American film.
The cinematographer is Film Noir doyen John Alton. I would prefer to think that the copy I watched had deteriorated somewhat, as Alton's deep blacks and vivid whites were not evident, though his trademark use of shadows and Dutch angles were.
