Saturday, March 13, 2021 at 12:15:00 A.M. EST
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. ET is Andrew L. Stone’s The Night Holds Terror (1955), with Jack Kelly, Hildy Parks, Vince Edwards, John Cassavetes and David Gross.
Film Noir Guide: “Kelly, a businessman on his way home after a hard day at work, is kidnapped by a hitchhiker (Edwards) and his two cohorts (Cassavetes and Gross).
“Just when it seems that the psychos are going to kill him after finding only ten bucks on him, Kelly talks them out of it by promising to sell his car and giving them the two grand he expects to get for it. The car salesman, however, is unable to come up with the entire amount in cash so the thugs decide to hole up at Kelly's house until the bank opens the next morning.
“At the house, ladies’ man Edwards tries to force himself on Kelly’s attractive wife (Parks), while Kelly seethes and his two terrified kids huddle in their room.
“When the hoods discover that his father is a wealthy businessman, they get the bright idea of holding Kelly for ransom.
“Based on a true story, this is a taut, dramatic thriller, with Kelly, Cassavetes and Edwards, early in their careers, giving solid performances.”
David in TN: The family held hostage in their home was a common 1950’s plot line, such as The Desperate Hours (1955). Vince Edwards commonly played bad guys in the 1950’s, before being TV's Ben Casey.
2 comments:
Sounds pretty good,but as I've mentioned,I dumped everything but very basic cable--just have the loco local channels.
-GRA
TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 am ET is Carol Reed's The Third Man (1949) with Joseph Cotten, Orson Welles, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, and Bernard Lee.
Film Noir Guide: "An American Western writer (Cotten) arrives in postwar Vienna, 'happy as a lark and without a cent,' expecting to get a job with his best friend (Welles). Unfortunately, he arrives just in time for Welles' funeral. Cotton is told that Welles was struck by a car while crossing the street, but, because of conflicting stories and too many coincidences, Cotten suspects that his childhood friend may have been murdered. Cotten meets Welles' Czechoslovakian lover (Valli), in Vienna on a forged passport, and convinces her to help him investigate. A British military police officer (Howard) and his subordinate (Lee), eager to send the nosy American packing, inform him that Welles had been a small-time gangster specializing in the black market sale of watered-down penicillin, which was being administered to sick civilians, including children. Shocked and disgusted, Cotten agrees to give up his investigation and leave the country. But after Cotten sees Welles hiding in a darkened alley outside Valli's apartment building, his loyalty and friendship are put to the ultimate test. The exciting climax in the labyrinthine Vienna sewer system is reminiscent of the Los Angeles storm drain manhunt in the 1948 film noir HE WALKED BY NIGHT. The Third Man, which has been rated number 57 on the American Film Institute's List of America's 100 Greatest Movies, is one of the best suspense films ever made. Cotten, Welles, and Valli are just sensational; Reed was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Director, while Robert Krasker won an Oscar for Best Cinematography (black and white). The Third Man Theme, with its perky zither music, almost seems inappropriate considering the film's dark content, but, strangely, it works like a charm. Don't miss tis outstanding classic."
Last week in his outro, Eddie Muller gushingly called The Third Man "the greatest British film of all time."
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