You know the saying, they sure don’t make them like this anymore …. they could well have been referring to White Heat, the king of gangster films, and the last to come from Warner Brothers. What a film!! White Heat was made in 1949, nearly 70 years ago, and I can honestly say that as… Continue reading James Cagney Loves his Mommie!
Barbara Stanwyck and Sterling Hayden star in Crime of Passion, a noir crime film from 1957. Stanwyck plays Kathy, a strong, intelligent, independent career woman who has foregone romance and marriage for a job as an advice columnist for the lovelorn with a San Francisco newspaper. Stanwyck falls in love with Hayden who plays Lieutenant… Continue reading An Interesting Look at Gender Stereotypes in Film-Noir Crime of Passion
Requiem for a Heavyweight is a powerful film, a searing masterpiece that takes a heartbreaking look at the seamy, corrupt world of professional low level boxing. This is a feature film version superbly realized by master writer Rod Serling from his remarkable 1956 Playhouse 90 teleplay. Rod Serling is best known for the Twilight Zone… Continue reading The End of the Road for a Fighter – Requiem for a Heavyweight
I’m a fan of the Rocky film franchise, so with the release of Rocky spinoff, Creed, I have decided to look at one of Hollywood’s best boxing contenders. Robert Wise was an incredibly versatile director and one of Hollywood’s most accomplished. He helmed a long list of films in a variety of genres that… Continue reading Brutally Realistic, The Set-Up is an Honest Look at a Boxer’s Life
This is one of my favourite films! My best friend and I even performed a version of this in our French class. I had seen the film years before, when I was 10 or 11. They used to rerun these great films all the time, now PBS or Public Broadcasting Service, TVO, TCM and Silver… Continue reading Acting Extraordinaire from Signoret, Clouzot and Meurisse in Masterpiece Les Diaboliques
There is a famous remake, now welcome to the original! Plein Soleil, otherwise called Purple Noon, is simply flawless … from the performances, to the direction, editing and cinematography. The screenplay was adapted from a brilliant suspense novel by Patricia Highsmith and directed by one of France’s leading directors at the time, René Clément. Clément… Continue reading Alain Delon Simmers in Simply Flawless Masterpiece Plein Soleil
The Postman Always Rings Twice is an entertaining piece of vintage classic film noir. Lana Turner and her leading man John Garfield generate sparks and they both turn in superb performances. There’s a key moment when the two meet that simply smoulders with desire and tension. Watch for Lana’s outfits and see if you can… Continue reading Lana Turner and John Garfield Simmer in The Postman Always Rings Twice
Blue Dahlia was made in 1946 and starred two popular actors of the day, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. William Bendix definitely stole the show in this one. Novelist Raymond Chandler wrote the screenplay and versatile director George Marshall directed. If you want to familiarize yourself with film noir, you won’t go wrong with this… Continue reading Sultry Lake, Amazing Ladd and Superb Work from William Bendix in The Blue Dahlia
Noir films are all the rage right now! If you love them like us and you haven’t seen 99 River Street or you just want to see it again, head on over to your local rental store or look for it online. John Payne stars as a washed-up boxer with a two-timing wife. When I… Continue reading 99 River Street is a Gem of a Thriller
Director William Wyler’s The Desperate Hours was based on actual events. This was the only time Hollywood veteran leads Humphrey Bogart and Fredric March appeared together. After seeing this film, you’re going to wish these actors they did more! The frequent stand-offs between the two characters is guaranteed to keep you at the edge of… Continue reading The Desperate Hours – Tightly Wound Film Par Excellence
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