friday, april 5, 2024 at 3:28:00 p.m. edt
TCM’s Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at Midnight and 10 a.m. ET is Jack Bernhard’s Violence (1947), with Michael O’Shea, Nancy Coleman, Sheldon Leonard, Peter Whitney and Emory Parnell.
Film Noir Guide: “Special agent O’Shea and reporter Coleman go undercover to expose a shady veteran’s organization that has been duping ex-G.I.s into committing acts of violence by ‘priming them with hate.’”
“Funded by a mysterious ‘Mr. X,’ the ring (headed by Parnell, Leonard and Whitney) promises vets better housing conditions, relief from shortages and good jobs if they’ll only join the organization and follow orders. It’s slow going but there’s an interesting gimmick that might keep the viewer interested— investigative reporter Coleman develops amnesia and gets caught up in the ring’s propaganda.”
David in TN: I’ve never seen it. Made by Monogram. Let’s see if Red Eddie Muller will claim it relates to today.
N.S.: I know exactly where David is leading. Red Eddie is going to say that “MAGA” is a continuation of this scenario. We don’t call him “Red Eddie” for nothing!
The movie sounds like a rip-off of The Black Legion (1937), a hoax movie about a nazi-style group from the 1930s, which murdered a man.
The movie The Black Legion was supposedly inspired by a real murder, but the movement it (and Red Eddie) claimed was guilty of the murder, and supposedly spanned several states and thousands postscript: nay, millions!] of members, didn’t exist. I tried without success to hunt it down.
As for the “interesting gimmick,” the protagonist (or a protagonist) suffering from amnesia was one of the most abused movie clichés of the immediate postwar era!
4 comments:
Black Legion. Whitey southerners dressing in disguise and impersonating the negro to commit crimes. How novel. I want to be like one of those people [negroes] too.
Who doesn't want to be like a negro? Run, jump, throw, dance sing better. And always a great success with the ladies.
I just watched Violence. Red Eddie Muller went where we predicted he would. He brought in, as he does for almost every noir film, HUAC's persecution of those poor, innocent Communists. Eddie also declared it predicted what is supposedly going on today.
Actually, Violence (1947) is not political, rather a crime story involving crooks and swindlers taking advantage of disgruntled veterans. The best part is Nancy Coleman as the protagonist. She carries the film.
TCM's Film Noir of the Week Saturday Night-Sunday Morning at 12:15 a.m. and 10 a.m is Michael Curtiz's The Breaking Point (1950) with John Garfield, Patricia Neal, Phyllis Thaxter, Juano Hernandez, Wallace Ford.
This is the third time The Breaking Point has been on Noir Alley. This Saturday is an all-day tribute to the late TCM host, Robert Osbourne. We can expect Red Eddie Muller to wax lyrical on how HUAC and Joe McCarthy's "witch hunts" killed John Garfield. Muller does that every time this film is shown.
John Garfield's death was described (latimes.com/local/obituaries/la-me-john-garfield-19590522-20160519-snap-story.html) in 1952 by the LA Times:
"John Garfield, 39, 'tough guy' screen and stage star, died of a heart attack in bed today in the two-bedroom Gramercy Park apartment of Iris Whitney, an actress friend."
"Miss Whitney said he visited her at the apartment last night, became ill, and stayed overnight. She said she slept on a couch."
"Police were forced to break down the apartment door to investigate."
"They learned of the death through a routine report telephoned to the medical examiner's office by a private physician."
"When they reached the apartment, the stage actress refused to permit them to enter. She said she thought they were newsmen."
"Garfield's wife received the news of her husband's death in the Garfield apartment on Central Park West."
"She declined to see newsmen. Barry Hyams, a friend of the Garfields, said she was under the care of a physician and had been given a sedative. He said Mrs. Garfield expected Garfield home last night and became worried when he did not appear."
"Mrs. Whitney told police she had known Garfield about two months."
"She said she had dinner with him last night at Luchow's Restaurant and they went to her apartment."
"She said they had coffee and that he had remarked: 'I feel awful.'"
"He went to the bedroom, removed his clothing except for his shorts and T-shirt, and got into the double bed, she said."
"Miss Whitney said she decided to let him stay for the night and that she went to sleep on a couch in the living room."
"She awoke at about 8 a.m., looked into the bedroom and saw him still apparently asleep, she said."
"She said she went to the kitchenette, got some orange juice and placed a glass of it on a night table beside the bed."
"Then she tried to awaken him, but without success. She telephoned Dr. Charles H. Hammack, who pronounced the actor dead. Police said they found the glass of orange juice still on the table."
"They said Miss Whitney expressed concern about Garfield's family, expressing hope they would not misinterpret his presence in her apartment."
David In TN: We enjoy John Garfield's movies. We'll see if Red Eddie blames the "witch hunts" again in his Intro.
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