Film Pairing — So So Noir And Not So Noir

I’m not sure you’d call them curiosities. Maybe movies that might have slipped by everyone except the most devout followers of old crime films.

Fred MacMurray And Kim Novak

Pushover — The movie Double Indemnity is regarded as a classic and classic “noir.” Fred MacMurray played his first bad guy and did it well, giving him a whole new life as an actor in1944. In1954, MacMurray essentially reprised his role as a decent guy lured into murder by a twisted, beautiful, evil woman.  In this case we see for the first time in a major role Kim Novak as the Barbara Stanwyck character. Roy Huggins wrote the screenplay, based on two novels, The Nightwatch and Rafferty by Thomas Walsh and Bill S. Ballinger, respectively. For me, the dialogue was the only bright spot in this theft of the classic.  The cinematography, though attempting to create the dark, shadowy mood of most film noir was flat, and the soundtrack was distracting. Richard Quine directed. Philip Carey, Dorothy Malone and E. G. Marshall co-starred.

Lloyd Nolan And Mary Beth Hughes

Dressed To Kill  — Not to be confused with an earlier Sherlock Holmes film or the later erotic thriller by Brian DePalma, this is one of the films featuring popular fictional private eye Michael Shayne. The character came to life in 1939 in the first of 50 novels by Davis Dresser under the nom de plume, Brett Halliday. Shayne was so popular in the 1940s and ‘50s, the character was on radio and in comic books and eventually on TV (1960) with Richard Denning as Shayne. There was even a popular Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine featuring short stories. Dressed To Kill was one of seven Shayne films starring Lloyd Nolan.  I wasn’t expecting much. And during the first few minutes I was sure my doubts were justified.  Not so. The 1941 black and white film turned out to be a lot of fun. Shayne comes upon a couple of dead bodies in a hotel room, cons a newspaper and a couple of suspects to pay him to investigate. He continually cons the cops and his supposed bride to be (Mary Beth Hughes) in the kind of well-plotted but slightly silly drama in The Thin Man tradition. Good banter. Interestingly, Richard Burke wrote the novel on which Shayne creator Brett Halliday based the screenplay. It was directed by Eugene J. Forde and also featured William Demarest (later of “My Three Sons” with Fred MacMurray). Actor Hugh Beaumont would go on to play Shayne in a series of even lower budget films in 1946.

I’d go for something light and bubbly as an accompaniment despite the intended serious nature of Pushover. The sassy dialogue of the second light-hearted movie calls for it.

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.