By David in TN
Friday, December 27, 2019 at 6:48:00 P.M. EST
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight ET and 10 a.m. ET is Repeat Performance (1947). Directed by Alfred Werker, it features Joan Leslie, Louis Hayward, Richard Basehart, Virginia Field, Tom Conway and Natalie Schafer. Screenplay by Walter Bullock.
Film Noir Guide: “New Year’s Eve, 1947. Broadway actress Leslie shoots and kills her adulterous, alcoholic husband, has-been playwright Hayward. After confiding in her poet friend Basehart (in his film debut), Leslie wishes that she had the year to live over so she could do things differently. Surprisingly, her wish is granted and she discovers that Hayward is still alive.
"The actress thinks she’s tricked destiny, but the same events seem to be recurring—Hayward still meets and falls in love with Field, a femme fatale playwright; the neurotic Basehart, despite Leslie’s warnings, still hooks up with a wealthy, fickle patron of the arts (Schafer); and Leslie accepts the starring role in a hit Broadway play written by her romantic rival. Meanwhile, the holidays are fast approaching and Leslie can’t help but be concerned about Hayward’s growing obsession with Field. The intriguing premise suffers from Hayward’s overacting and a script filled with holes, but somehow the film manages to fascinate until the surprise ending, which the alert viewer will probably see coming.”
Friday, December 27, 2019
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TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight ET and 10 am ET is Howard Hawk's The Big Sleep (1946), based on Raymond Chandler's novel. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in their most famous pairing, along with Martha Vickers,Regis Toomey, Charles Waldron, John Ridgely, and Louis Jean Heydt, with a brief, memorable scene with a young Dorothy Malone.
Film Noir Guide: "Bogart stars as Raymond handler's famous private eye Philip Marlowe in this sordid tale of murder, blackmail, illicit sex, and gambling. Bogey is hired by wealthy invalid Waldron to find out who's blackmailing his younger daughter (Vickers). While investigating, Bogey falls for Vickers' sultry sibling (Bacall), covers up a murder, shoots a few bad guys, wards off the sexual advances of several cuties and takes a couple of vicious beatings All in a days work (for tgwenty-five bucks plus expenses)...The plot is borderline incomprehensible (even Chandler is said to be unsure of the identity of a murderer), but the real attraction of this film is the chemistry between Bogey and Bacall, who heat up the screen with their thinly disguised sexual banter. Bogart's gritty portrayal of the tough but foursquare private eye was a hint of things to come in film noir. Look for B western star Bob Steele as Ridgely's hit man."
I wish Eddie would screen the pre-release version but he indicated in his outro last week it would be the usual 1946 movie.
There is a Noir bonus this week. After the Midnight showing of The Big Sleep, TCM at 2:15 am ET has Kiss of Death (1947). Victor Mature plays a former crook trying to go straight while threatened by a psycho named Tommy Udo, memorably played by Richard Widmark, who's over the top performance resulted in "Tommy Udo" fan clubs springing up around the country.
After Kiss of Death at 4 am ET is the "Extended" Touch of Evil (1958), with Charlton Heston and Orson Welles.
TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at 12:30 am and 10 am is Alfred Worker's Repeat Performance (1947) with Joan Leslie and Louis Hayward.
For the first TCM film noir of 2022, Eddie Muller recycles one he showed two years ago. Joan Leslie plays against type as a femme fatale.
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