By David in TN
Friday, December 13, 2019 at 12:28:00 A.M. EST
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. E.T. is Robert Siodmak’s Criss Cross (1949), with Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea, Stephen McNally, Alan Napier and Percy Helton.
Siodmak and Lancaster are back with a story similar to their previous effort, The Killers (1946). Our friend Eddie Muller considers Robert Siodmak the best film noir director and rates Criss Cross one of the top five in the genre.
Film Noir Guide: “Lancaster is terribly miscast as the ‘prize sucker of all time,’ but this powerful film noir entry has other things going for it, namely, impressive performances by De Carlo as his femme fatale ex-wife, and noir icon Duryea as De Carlo’s gangster husband. When Lancaster returns home from a self-imposed exile after his divorce from the beautiful De Carlo, he finds himself irresistibly drawn back into her web, despite his mother’s concerns. (‘Out of all the girls in Los Angeles, why did you have to pick her?’)
De Carlo seems interested in resuming their relationship but, after being frightened off by Lancaster’s well-meaning detective friend (McNally), she marries the abusive Duryea. But even the dangerous gangster can’t keep the lovers apart, and, when he catches them together, armored car driver Lancaster comes up with an ingenious lie about being there to talk about a six-figure payroll heist. Duryea, putting aside his jealousy for the time being, assembles his gang and recruits an alcoholic heist expert (Napier) to devise the perfect plan which, in typical noir fashion, goes tragically awry. Veteran character actor Helton, playing a bartender, is actually likable for a change.
Remade in 1995 as The Underneath, Criss Cross is a must-see for all noir fans. Tony Curtis, in his film debut, has a non-speaking role as De Carlo’s rhumba partner.”
David in TN: Film Noir Guide calls Lancaster “terribly miscast,” even though his characterization resembles his part in The Killers.
Today we see the media use the word “awry” in cases like the murder of Tessa Majors.
TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 am ET is Cash on Demand (1962). This is a British "crime thriller" with Peter Cushing and Andre Morell,
ReplyDeleteCushing is a bank manager whose wife and son are being held hostage by a robber played by Morell.
Eddie picks one as an off beat selection.