‘Armored Car Robbery’ literally makes a quick getaway
Armored Car Robbery Directed by Richard Fleischer Written by Earl Felton, Gerald Drayson Adams et al. U.S.A., 1950 The subject of a common argument amongst film lovers pertains to a given movie’s...
View ArticleTIFF Cinematheque presents a Summer in France: ‘Port of Shadows’ an...
Port of Shadows Directed by Marcel Carné Written by Jacques Prévert France, 1938 There’s a reason why it’s called ‘film noir’. Stylish, haunting, and lyrically cynical, the genre, however, has always...
View Article‘Lady in the Lake’ uses trickery to serve merely an adequate story
Lady in the Lake Directed by Robert Montgomery Screenplay by Steve Fisher, novel by Raymond Chandler U.S.A., 1947 In the history of film noir, only so many entries stands a good chance of taking the...
View Article‘Deadline at Dawn’ throws a lot together…but little of it sticks
Deadline at Dawn Directed by Harold Clurman Written by Clifford Odets U.S.A, 1946 Believability is a funny thing in movies. When two film fans enter a debate surrounding the merits of a picture, with...
View ArticleTIFF Cinematheque presents a Summer in France: ‘Elevator to the Gallows’ a...
Elevator to the Gallows Directed by Louis Malle Written by Louis Malle and Roger Nimier France, 1958 As English poet John Lyly once wrote, “The rules of fair play do not apply in love and war”. When it...
View ArticleThe Case Of The Disappearing Private Eye
I looked for him, but he was gone. I checked the boozy dives and the greasy spoons and the street corners where the not-nice girls hang out. Nothing. He was gone. Tall guy, fedora, trench coat. You...
View Article‘Backfire’ is a well acted, poignant and fun little gem
Backfire Directed by Vincent Sherman Written by Larry Marcus, Ben Roberts and Ivan Goff U.S.A., 1950 Reviewing movies with the benefit of hindsight offers ample opportunity to discover, analyze and...
View Article‘Kiss Me Deadly’ is low on love, but high on attitude
Kiss Me Deadly Directed by Robert Aldrich Written by A.I. Bezzerides U.S.A., 1955 Fear and danger frequently go hand in hand all to easily, be it in the world of the movies or in real life, the latter...
View Article‘The Big Combo’ comes up big where it counts
The Big Combo Directed by Joseph H. Lewis Written by Philip Yordon U.S.A., 1955 A detective is obsessed with a case, tracking down either a killer or a thief which has eluded him for long enough for...
View ArticleBullets and mixed emotions are a flying in ‘Gun Crazy’
Gun Crazy (also known as Deadly is the Female) Directed by Joseph H. Lewis Written by MacKinlay Kantor, Dalton Trumbo and co. U.S.A., 1950 An argument can be made that almost every movie made is, in...
View Article‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’ is a tantalizingly messy affair
The Postman Always Rings Twice Directed by Tay Garnett Written by Harry Ruskin and Niven Busch (screenplay), based on James M. Cain’s novel U.S.A., 1946 Movies provide escapism in most cases, save...
View Article‘Detour,’ a worthy B picture
Forty 1940s Films: ‘Detour’ Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer Starring Tom Neal, Ann Savage, and Edmund MacDonald USA, 67 min – 1945. “Money. You know what that is. It’s the stuff, you never have enough of....
View Article‘Touch of Evil’ sees Welles elevate both his game and film noir
Touch of Evil Directed by Orson Welles Written by Orson Welles, from the novel by Whit Masterson U.S.A., 1958 Touted as one of the greatest films of all time, let alone one of the greatest American...
View Article‘The Man Who Cheated Himself’ is merely competent overall, but has a...
The Man Who Cheated Himself Written by Seton I. Miller and Philip MacDonald Directed by Felix E. Feist U.S.A. 1950 Underestimation is arguably one of Man’s greatest flaws. Once an individual has...
View Article‘Out of the Past,’ asks whether a man can escape his future
Out of the Past Directed by Jacques Tourneur Written by Daniel Mainwaring Starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas USA, 97 min – 1947. “I never saw her in the daytime. We seemed to live...
View Article‘The Chase’ will have viewers expect the unexpected
The Chase Written by Philip Yordan Directed by Arthur Ripley U.S.A., 1946 *A fair warning to readers: those sensitive to spoilers had best watch the film under review before reading the article. To...
View ArticleFriday Noir Special: Top 5 films
The Friday Noir column has been tugging along at a steady pace for well over a year at this point. After being privy to so many double-crosses, back stabbings, bleak outlooks and cynical one-liners, it...
View Article‘Laura’ is much ado about love, much of it quite evil in fact
Laura Written by Jay Dratler, Samuel Hoffenstein and Elizabeth Reinhardt Directed by Otto Preminger U.S.A., 1944 A detective’s work is challenging enough already without the complications that arise...
View Article‘Out of the Past’ is exceptionally gripping from start to finish
Out of the Past Written by Daniel Mainwaring Directed by Jacques Tourneur U.S.A., 1947 Sometimes, there is no eluding one’s past, regardless of how hard one tries. The reasons are numerous. Perhaps the...
View Article‘Panic in the Streets’ has director Elia Kazan offer pure thrills and chills
Harmony Korine explores the oft avoided subcultures of the United States, John Carpenter's greater strengths lie in sharing thriller and horror tales and Elia Kazan's most famous and respected projects...
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