Monday, July 27, 2015

Film Noir, or Film Blanc?

By David in TN

[Previously, by this writer:

Angel Face: When Jean Simmons and Stewart Granger Almost Murdered Howard Hughes.”]
 

A bonus of films noir is that they often shot them on location in Los Angeles to save money, which makes them a time capsule of sorts. Ironically, these films are supposed to be “dark,” but the city looks pretty civilized, compared to today.

2 comments:

David In TN said...

Eddie Muller's final Friday Night Summer of Darkness is Friday night, July 31. His four films are Criss Cross, Brute Force, Desperate, and The Asphalt Jungle.

Criss Cross is after The Killers, another Burt Lancaster portrayal of a sap who lets a woman lead him to his doom. It shows what Los Angeles and its population looked like in 1948.

Brute Force has Lancaster in a prison break movie. It's one of those films that makes you think, "I didn't there were so many nice people in prison."

Desperate is a favorite of mine and a noir trope. A working man gets himself involved in a crime. Raymond Burr easily plays the heavy, several years before he became Perry Mason.

The Asphalt Jungle is possible the most famous noir Caper film and Marilyn Monroe's first major role.

Nicholas said...

Sorry, David, I meant to post it as a blog, but my pc had a mini-meltdown, and I got distracted. That happens a lot.