Film Pairing — Orson Welles And The World Of Noir

The 1940s seemed to be the best years of film noir. Humphrey Bogart, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Sterling Hayden, and Richard Widmark were the regular tough guys of the genre. Another actor stands out, not only for being the center of attention on screen, but one of the major forces off screen.  Not always my personal favorite, Orson Welles, has nonetheless created four of the best in the genre just short of single-handedly.  Here are two of them.

The Stranger — In black & white, in high contrast and with a huge cast of shadows, Welles teams with an innocent beauty, Loretta Young in small-town post WWII America. Released in 1946 to an America recovering from the war and the horrors of Nazism, we are introduced to a fleeing war criminal (Welles), his pursuer, Edward G. Robinson and the criminal’s love interest  (Young). The film, directed by Welles, is melodramatic, stilted and yet suspenseful. Notes from various critics suggest Welles had wanted a more Nazi-oriented slant to the film rather than a small town murder story. It nonetheless works in its released form. In addition to the excellent cinematography by Russell Metty, I was also pleased to see a very young and talented Richard Long, who played Loretta Young’s younger brother.

  

The Lady From Shanghai — If The Stranger was muted by too much convention, The Lady From Shanghai might have suffered at the time of its release in 1947 by being too unconventional. We have Rita Hayworth, at her most devastatingly beautiful, playing the girlfriend of an extremely wealthy, older man, Everett Sloane, who doesn’t mind sharing her with the Irish tough guy, Orson Welles. Aside from the constant “sophisticated’ chatter, there is true noir here in my opinion, with twist on twist, dark and ingenious cinematography, and the lovely backdrops of Acapulco, Sausalito and San Francisco. Not Shanghai, however. The last scene was extraordinarily innovative, well worth the price of admission alone. The film was directed by Welles, based on the novel, If I Die Before I Wake by Sherwood King.

What would you drink on an autumn evening in New England? Maybe a sherry or port? That would do while you watch The Stranger. However traipsing about aboard a yacht in Acapulco might suggest some sort of icy tequila drink to accompany the second half of the double feature.

Film Pairings – For The Love Of A Woman

Here are two black & white crime films set in L.A.  One of them reflects the 1950s, the other the 1940s. Both are shot in black and white. Both are based on works by legendary crime writers.  Plot summaries would make them seem more similar than they are. 

My Gun Is Quick; A friend of mine enjoyed it and thought I would too.  He warned that it was low budget.  “Well not exactly low-budget,” he said, “but another fifty bucks might have helped.” Though a little flat in the cinematography department, the film worked. Based on Mickey Spillane’s novel the celluloid rendering seemed right for the material. It was a story of a good man, private eye Mike Hammer, tempted by a beautiful woman and a bag of jewels to compromise his ethics.  One of the movie promotional posters has the temptress saying, “What will it be Mike honey? Me and a million dollars in hot diamonds or a cheap funeral?” One might fault the dialogue as clichéd until one remembers this is the original — from which clichés are made. Phil Victor directed and a relatively unknown actor Robert Bray played the legendary Hammer. Something else to keep you busy:  Count the number of 1957 Fords you see on screen. You’d think Chevys were outlawed in L.A. in the ‘50s. I think this was a fairly early example of product placement.

Double Indemnity: This is a different kind of story. Then again, it isn’t.  This is regarded as a masterpiece and who am I to argue?  The plot is similar. A no good woman wants some help to knock off her husband. Barbara Stanwyck seduces her insurance broker Fred MacMurray, who doesn’t quite see good and evil as clearly defined as Mike Hammer. Billy Wilder directed and worked with Raymond Chandler on the screenplay. The dialogue crackles.  The two masters, according to reports, didn't get along, but had quite a bit to work with as they brought James M. Cain’s classic noir novella to the screen. Edward G. Robinson played the savvy insurance investigator. Cinematographer John Selz showed how great black and white film could be.

The two films provide an interesting contrast in crime films. My Gun Is Quick (1957) relies completely on the strength of Spillane and Hammer and finds a way to deliver a tough but morally acceptable story. The film is simple and straight forward, almost like panels in an adventure comic book. Double Indemnity (1944) brought significant risk and resources to its project. MacMurray played against type. Robinson took third billing for the first time in his career, though he needn’t have worried. All of them made a movie in which there were no good guys, just variations on nasty. They dodged the code that made final approval by the censorship board difficult. And they turned the typical Hollywood ending upside down.

Both films could be described as hard-boiled. To accompany such tough stuff, I suggest no more than one ice cube, if that, in your glass of bourbon or Scotch. If you’re feeling a little deceitful and want to stay sober, but want your fellow filmgoers to think you’re tough as Mike hammer or Barbara Stanwyck, a little flat ginger ale would do the trick.

Film Pairing — Fritz Lang, Two With Edward G.

I confess what I’m recommending as a double feature is more of a comparison study than anything else.  They are remarkably, perhaps inexplicably alike. Director Fritz Lang made The Woman in the Window in 1944 and Scarlet Street in 1945.  Both films starred Edward G. Robinson and Joan Bennett as well featuring the great B-movie regular and scene-stealer Dan Duryea in a major supporting role.  

I’d like to say that’s where the similarities end.  But no.  Both are set in New York.  Oil paintings, portraits of Bennett’s character, are in gallery windows in both films and are significant in advancing the plot.  In both films, Robinson is an innocent guy, Bennett has questionable morals, and Duryea is a villain.  There are some subtle differences in character, but it’s almost the same movie.  Usually, of course, that’s not good. However, in the case of these two films, the fun comes from watching them back-to-back to note the nuances.

My favorite is The Woman in the Window, by far.  A small part of that choice, I confess, is the quality of the two discs.  Lang’s movies are noted for its stylish, noirish cinematography.  And both had Milton R. Krasner behind the camera.  Mission accomplished. However, Scarlet Street suffered from blurry reproduction.  That was, as I said, a small part.  Scarlet Street was also a little too melodramatic for my taste.  Robinson was a little too innocent.  Bennett was a little too evil.  And final scenes, while more in keeping with noir sensibility, were a bit too much.  It’s not easy acting crazy on screen. One tends to overdo it. The film is based in the French novel, La Chienne by Georges de La Fouchardiere. It had also been a stage play and a 1931 film directed by the legendary Jean Renoir.

The Woman in the Window seems a bit more real. The situation is believable.  There is a misunderstanding.  A man is accidentally killed in a fight that should have ended with wounded pride.  And, an otherwise decent college professor makes one fateful mistake. He tries to cover it up and the descent into hell begins. The characters have depth.  Raymond Massey also appears in this film based on Once Off Guard by J. H. Wallis.

I’d recommend watching The Woman in the Window second because it is a better movie. I think it is safe to say the critics at the time would agree to that assessment. To accompany the evening, select your favorite hard liquor and drink it as straight as you can.

Film Pairing — Atlantic City and Key Largo, Dangerous Destinations

Last week I splurged on films, providing the sure-to-offend “top best” crime movies and TV lists. Both Atlantic City and Key Largo were honorable mentions, so I’ll trot them out again as a potential double feature for some rainy Friday night. What we have in this pairing are portraits of old gangsters. Lou Pascal, in Atlantic City is an aging gangster who remembers being a big-time gangster and Johnny Rocco, in Key Largo who thinks he still is. Both are wrong. An accompanying similarity is the fact that both movies use their geographical locations as key characters in the drama. One more thing they have in common — both are also based on plays by lauded American playwrights.

Atlantic City, the old Atlantic City that is, is withering away, with, as it turns out, symbolic appropriateness. Louis Malle’s sensitive and somewhat quirky film released in 1980 was based on a script by the highly regarded American playwright, John Guare. Burt Lancaster’s Lou Pascal was fading as fast as the old neighborhoods he inhabits, but he is given a chance to be the person he always thought he was. It is a poignant portrayal in a film that received Academy Award nominations in the top five categories — winning none. Viewers will get a chance to see the pre-Trump and legendary East Coast city that no longer exists as well as seeing an unusual and unusually good film that also stars Susan Sarandon.

For the second feature — how could you go wrong with tough guys Edward G. Robinson and Humphrey Bogart? Key Largo (1948) was the fifth time they performed together and apparently their star status (relative to each other) in film advertisements was settled by Bogart’s name being to the left on posters and Robinson’s occupying a higher position in the middle. In the film, Johnny Rocco and his equally nasty crew take over a small hotel in Florida’s Key Largo, where they are threatened by a rival gangster, the police, one of the hostages and a hurricane. Directed by John Huston and based on Maxwell Anderson’s play, the cast includes Edward G. Robinson (as Johnny Rocco), Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Lionel Barrymore and Claire Trevor. Trevor, called the Queen of Noir (says Wikipedia) was nominated three times for an Academy Award and won Best Supporting Actress for her role as Rocco’s alcoholic and abused girlfriend.

The two fading gangsters couldn’t be more different. But we need some sort of tough-guy drink to accompany the double feature. Another question to consider: What should you drink during a hurricane? Rum may not be appropriate for New Jersey, but remember, you’ll be heading for the sultry Keys.