By David in TN
friday, june 16, 2023 at 7:58:00 p.m. edt
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. ET is Richard Bare’s Flaxy Martin (1949) with Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone, Douglas Kennedy, Elisha Cook Jr., Helen Westcott and Jack Overman.
Film Noir Guide: “Crime boss Kennedy’s moll (Mayo) pretends to be in love with the mob’s lawyer (Scott), to keep him in line. Scott, sick of being on the wrong side of the law, balks at defending one of Kennedy’s goons (Overman) on a murder charge, because he believes the man is guilty.
“Kennedy and Mayo hire a dipso (Westcott) to testify that the hood was with her on the night of the murder, influencing the unwitting Scott to change his opinion about Overman’s guilt. He takes the case and succeeds in getting the killer off.
“Westcott, meanwhile, emboldened by the hooch, tries to blackmail Kennedy, who has her bumped off by Overman, the man she helped free. When Mayo gets implicated in the murder, Scott, the biggest sucker for a dame since Bob Mitchum (see Angel Face, Out of the Past, and Where Danger Lives), confesses to the crime to protect her. He pleads self-defense but, thanks to a double-cross by Kennedy and Mayo, he's convicted and sentenced to twenty years.
“Malone plays the pretty librarian who helps Scott prove his innocence after he escapes from police custody. Noir veteran Cook is entertaining as a small-time hood, and Mayo is terrific as a femme fatale without an ounce of goodness in her. It’s a pleasure hating her.
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4 comments:
Hi Nick: Here's wishing you a Happy Juneteenth
Sounds pretty entertaining.I think if I was to start reviewing movies/tv,I would add a nig-o-meter as a warning:How often do blacks show up in the picture?
Zero ink spots ○ Not one black
One ink spot ● negro extra(s)no lines--a few seconds
Two ink spots ●● minor character(couple lines)--couple minutes
Three ink spots ●●● two minor characters--5-10 minutes.
Four ink spots ●●●● Main character(Poitier,Washington)--most of the movie.
Five ink spots ●●●●● a nigfest("black panther" like)Wall to Wall Wakanda.
--GRA
TCM is showing The Naked City (1948) Friday Morning at 9:30 a.m. ET. Although grouped in the Noir canon it was the first police procedural. It had tropes such as the veteran detective (Barry Fitzgerald) and the young partner (Don Taylor) which became standard.
The Naked City was filmed in the summer of 1947 in New York City and is a time capsule of how it looked and the demographics. The story is supposed to be "dark," but as in many films of the period, late 1940s New York City looks very civilized.
Mark Hellinger, the producer, narrated with the most famous line, ("There are eight million stories in the Naked City. This has been one of them"). Hellinger died of a heart attack right after seeing the final cut.
Some film historians and reviewers have said the climax takes place on the Brooklyn Bridge but there is a sign reading Williamsburg Bridge.
TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at 12:15 and 10 a.m. ET is Stuart Heisler's Storm Warning (1950) with Ginger Rogers, Ronald Reagan, Doris Day, Steve Cochran. The screenplay is by Richard Brooks and Daniel Fuchs.
Film Noir Guide: "While visiting her sister (Day) in a small Southern town, fashion model Rogers witnesses the murder of a newspaper reporter by the Ku Klux Klan. One of the two unhooded faces she sees belongs to her brother-in-law (Cochran)m whom she meets for the first time later that evening."
"Reagan, the crusading D.A., enlists Rogers as a witness against the Klan, causing a serious dilemma for the model. Should she do the right thing and testify, or should she protect her sister?"
"Rogers and Day, two actresses noted for their musicals, are excellent. Seeing the usual smooth and debonair Cochran portray a none-too-bright hayseed may be a shock to the system, but he does it well."
"The film, however, suffers from a lack of realism--race is never mentioned; no one speaks with a Southern accent; Klan members are portrayed as naive dupes of the imperial wizard, whose only motive for organizing them is financial gain; and the only black faces on screen are the ones in the crowd scenes. Despite these shortcomings, the tightly woven script and solid acting makes this an enjoyable film."
David In TN: Storm Warning has always been disliked by left-wing critics. They see it as an anti-communist film supporting the "Red Scare" investigations. We'll see how Red Eddie Muller reacts.
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