By David in TN
Friday, January 18, 2019 at 5:45:00 P.M. EST
TCM's Film Noir of the Week for Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight ET (and 10 a.m. ET Sunday) is Murder My Sweet (1944), starring Dick Powell, Clair Trevor, Anne Shirley, Otto Krueger, Mike Mazurki, Douglas Walton, Ralph Harolde, Don Douglas and Miles Mander.
Film Noir Guide: "Powell stars as Raymond Chandler's hard-boiled sleuth, Philip Marlowe, on a case involving a missing dame and a jade necklace worth a hundred grand. He's hired by a huge, slow-witted ex-con (Mazurki) to find a former girlfriend but soon finds himself suspected of murdering another client, a foppish ladies man (Walton). While trying to find the real killer, Powell becomes involved with a dangerous blackmailer (Krueger), a suspicious cop (Douglas), a narcotics dispensing doctor (Harolde) and an elderly tycoon (Mander), his pretty daughter (Shirley) and his femme fatale wife (Trevor).
"Murder My Sweet is one of the paradigm examples of Film Noir. Powell's interpretation of Marlowe is said to have been author Chandler's favorite. The original title of Farewell, My Lovely was changed because people might think it was another Dick Powell song and dance vehicle. Powell was trying to change to a 'tougher' image with this role."
Earlier on Saturday, at 3:30 p.m. ET, TCM shows The Seven-Ups (1973). I saw it in a theater at the time.
The Seven-Ups was billed as something of a sequel to 1971 Oscar winner The French Connection, whose producer, Phil D'Antoni, does his only directorial turn. Roy Scheider returns as Buddy Manucci, "essentially the same character he played in the previous film with a slightly more crooked morality."
The Seven-Ups are a special detective squad going after criminals for offenses rating seven years and up.
There is a ten-minute spectacular car chase and location shooting of Manhattan, Brooklyn, and the Bronx.
Tony Lo Bianco plays Scheider's mob informant who uses the cops to set up mobsters to be kidnapped for ransom, a ploy supposedly used by the depression era Purple Gang.
TCM's Film Noir of the Week goes on a month long hiatus in February, during TCM's 31 Days of Oscar.
ReplyDeleteTomorrow night, Sunday, January 27, TCM will have a special Noir Double feature. At 8 pm ET. Act of Violence (1949), and at 9:45 pm ET, In a Lonely Place.
Our friend Eddie Muller will take Ben Mankiewicz's place as host for these two films. Act of Violence stars Van Heflin as a former bomber pilot with a dark secret, directed by Fred Zinneman. In a Lonely Place stars Humphrey Bogart. This film is notable for Bogart playing the character most like his real life self he ever played.
Eddie Muller has said In a Lonely Place is his favorite film noir.