Murder, My Sweet.

Review #2233: Murder, My Sweet.

Cast: 

Dick Powell (Philip Marlowe), Claire Trevor (Helen Grayle/Velma Valento), Anne Shirley (Ann Grayle), Otto Kruger (Jules Amthor), Mike Mazurki (Moose Malloy), Miles Mander (Mr. Grayle) Douglas Walton (Lindsay Marriott), Don Douglas (Police Lt. Randall), Ralf Harolde (Dr. Sonderborg), and Esther Howard (Mrs. Jessie Florian) Directed by Edward Dmytryk (#715 - Crossfire)

Review: 

The 1940s were a tremendous time for mysteries and film noirs, with a handful involving Raymond Chandler in some form. Chandler had done a handful of writing in his early life, but he had worked in civil service and a variety of other things, which ended with being fired as vice president of the Dabney Oil Syndicate in the midst of the Great Depression. It was then that Chandler decided to write pulp fiction for a living (as inspired by reading stuff such as the pulp magazine Black Mask), which included his first novel (involving the character of Philip Marlowe) with The Big Sleep in 1939; Chandler finished seven novels with Marlowe prior to his death in 1959 at age 70. The first film based on Chandler's books was Time to Kill (1942), which was based on Chandler's third novel The High Window (1942) but with the lead character's name being "Michael Shayne" (which actually was a detective character created by Brett Halliday featured in a handful of films). There was then The Falcon Takes Over (1942), which borrowed elements from Chandlers' second novel in Farewell, My Lovely (1940) that was actually the third film in a series with a gentleman detective named "The Falcon". Now here we are in 1944 with the first Chandler adaptation with the Marlowe character while the author was busy with scripts himself (he co-wrote Double Indemnity along with And Now Tomorrow). RKO, who had been behind the aforementioned Falcon film, was behind this film, which was scripted by John Paxton. At the hand to direct is Dmytryk, who had risen from editor to directing by 1935, which was mostly in the B-category. RKO changed the title before release on the grounds that people thought it was a musical. The next adaptation of the Farewell novel would be in 1975, featuring Robert Mitchum as Marlowe. 

Powell was actually more known for his singing and romantic image. Incidentally, he had applied for the lead role in Double Indemnity, but he lost out to Fred MacMurray. The resulting success of this film altered his image, and he would feature again in a Dmytryk film with Cornered (1945). Considered by some to be among the first of the film noirs, it is pretty evident one has a wonderfully boiled movie on their hands that maneuvers through 95 minutes with worthwhile pacing and dialogue (as sometimes told in voiceover) in cutting efficiency. There is a casual edge to Powell that carries the film in ways that could only be done in an era of blistering need for entertainment. He drifts in and out with curiosity that really could fit the description made once in the film as not so much a detective but a slot machine. His nightmare in this atmosphere is one that we can get behind within all of the dirty work that arises in mystery that is especially familiar to those who love their cut-rate stories. Shirley (in her final role prior to retiring) and Trevor are the dueling objects of curiosity that each do pretty well in the usual expectations, particularly for the femme fatale in the latter. Mazurki makes a worthwhile heavy (with a little bit of help in angling, since the former wrestler was only slightly taller than Powell). The climax in finishing the setup of its intro (a man with a blindfold) is a pretty good one in closing such a lingering story of crosses with worthwhile reward (Chandler was once quoted as saying an ideal mystery was "one you would read if the end was missing", incidentally). As a whole, when it comes to seedy noirs relayed to audiences with worthwhile conviction and foundation, you can't go wrong with films such as this one to check out. 

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

High Noon.

Review #2083: High Noon.

Cast: 

Gary Cooper (Marshal Will Kane), Thomas Mitchell (Mayor Jonas Henderson), Lloyd Bridges (Deputy Marshal Harvey Pell), Katy Jurado (Helen Ramírez), Grace Kelly (Amy Fowler Kane), Otto Kruger (Judge Percy Mettrick), Lon Chaney Jr (Martin Howe), Harry Morgan (Sam Fuller), Ian MacDonald (Frank Miller), Eve McVeagh (Mildred Fuller), Morgan Farley (Dr. Mahin), Harry Shannon (Cooper), Lee Van Cleef (Jack Colby), Robert J. Wilke (Jim Pierce), and Sheb Wooley (Ben Miller) Directed by Fred Zinnemann (#1377 - The Men)

Review: 

"Sheriffs are people and no two people are alike. The story of High Noon takes place in the Old West but it is really a story about a man's conflict of conscience. In this sense it is a cousin to A Man for All Seasons. In any event, respect for the Western hero has not been diminished by High Noon."

It is never a bad time for a Western, particularly ones with interesting stories beyond the camera. The film is based on the short story "The Tin Star", as seen in 1947 in Collier's magazine that was done by John W. Cunningham. Carl Foreman (the credited screenwriter of the film) claimed later that he had written an outline that apparently seemed similar to Cunningham's story, which led to him buying the rights to the story. However, Richard Fleischer claimed in his autobiography (written decades after the fact) that he had helped Foreman develop the story while they had been working together in The Clay Pigeon (1949). Anyway, let's talk about Foreman for a bit. He had studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign as a teenager, dropped out to seek out Hollywood, went back to Illinois to study at the John J. Marshall School of Law, and then dropped out of there to work a variety of jobs (writer, reporter, and even carnival barker) before eventually returning back to Hollywood by the late 1930s; during that time, he became a member of the Communist Party, which he left by the dawn of World War II, which saw him serve with the U.S. Army Signal Corps. Foreman had done his first writing in film with the 1941 film Bowery Blitzkrieg in an uncredited manner, but he got onto a more regular pattern of work with story/writing credits for Dakota (1945) and So This Is New York (1948) - the latter was the first Foreman made in association with Stanley Kramer (who he met when they both were serving in World War II). There would be a handful of films that Foreman made as a writer for Kramer's company, which included The Men (1950), as directed by Fred Zinnemann. At any rate, Foreman's career took a beating due to the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAAC), who labeled him as an unfriendly witness after he admitted to being a party member but did not want to name names. He later called the film a parable against blacklisting, one that seems apt when considering that Kramer essentially shortchanged him when it came to having him sell his share in the company and even tried to get him booted off the production prior to the meeting with the HUAAC (because he feared he would be implicated by Foreman, assocation or not). Living mostly in London for the rest of his days, Foreman was given the cold shoulder from Hollywood for the rest of the 1950s that saw him either work on the side away from Hollywood or with modified credit that ranged from The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957); he also did a hand of producing in addition to writing for films such as Mackenna's Gold (1969); Foreman died in 1984 at the age of 69.

Fans of the Western know that Howard Hawks made Rio Bravo (1959) as a response to what he thought about this film that he felt didn't make much of a good Western, which naturally starred John Wayne (incidentally, he called High Noon "un-American", which is probably the silliest thing ever said by Wayne in the 1950s). Of course, Zinnemann years later responded by saying he wished Hawks would leave his films alone, so there's that. It seems only apt to have Cooper here, since the film that made him a key presence for bigger things in film was The Virginian (1929), which incidentally was a film that dealt with a man recently finding love in the West having to deal with the ramifications of an old foe coming into town for revenge in a shootout. The amusing point in all of this is that the two films are basically the same in quality anyways, ones that serve as being pretty good for what they are with distinct human qualities that make for a useful Western. The anguish and fear shown in its lead character (with credit going to Zinnemann and cinematographer Floyd Crosby) make a resounding effort to make a panicky piece of entertainment that makes a suitable morality tale that also is a sharp real-time thriller of conscience. In the end, a town may be a town, but it is nothing if there are no good people willing to stand side by side with folks in need of help, whether that involves men bound to their duty and honor or not. It is the kind of film that enforces the idea that beyond the one person bound to serve and protect folks sees them exposed for who they are (cowardice, resentment, jealousy, or bad timing) when the cards are down, which isn't always the easiest thing to confront when seeing human nature that leads to a man needing to make a decision (in Zinnemann's words) "according to his conscience." Cooper makes the ideal lead to make this grand quandary worth watching, which works pretty well when presented with a collection of various recognizable presences that make the lineup of human frailty (well, aside from the Quaker and an assertive presence of who stands by their man most) that even overshadow the outlaws (a quartet led by MacDonald), which somehow seems right. Kelly makes a decent pacifist in the middle, but really the most suitable presence to counter Cooper in pursuit is Bridges or Jurado, who each show the side of just what past loyalties mean when it comes to pride. The climax proves worthwhile in showing the chase of just how much pride and devotion mean when staring at a frontier where guns are in the picture rather than the idea of safety. As such, High Noon is a worthwhile effort in showing the nature of man and pride in a story that is distinct from the general Western tales and myths that arise from gunslingers and towns of man and dirt. Analyze all you want about just where the best Western lies, but this one is a pretty good one to go along with no matter where you encounter it in your travels.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Dracula's Daughter.

Review #297: Dracula's Daughter.

Cast
Otto Kruger (Dr. Jeffrey Garth), Gloria Holden (Marya Zaleska), Marguerite Churchill (Janet), Edward Van Sloan (Van Helsing), Gilbert Emery (Basil Humphrey), Irving Pichel (Sandor), Halliwell Hobbes (Hawkins), Billy Bevan (Albert), and Nan Grey (Lili) Directed by Lambert Hillyer.

Review
This is one of those "Wait, there was a sequel to this?" kind of film, having been a sequel of Dracula (#71), released 5 years it, with no Lugosi (Except one wax model of him), but Van Sloan is back as Van Helsing (misspelled as Von Helsing, but whatever), which is a plus. The acting is ranges from good to okay, depending on the actor/actress. Kruger and Holden do a good job, along with Van Sloan, as he was back in Dracula. Churchill is okay, but not much else other then a small annoyance. The rest of the actors are all alright, doing a standard yet useful job. There are a few scares, but not as chilling as the first one or as mysterious. It is slightly original, not really based off any novels (Okay it was actually based off a short story, but it apparently didn't take any of the story's plot), but it is short enough to run a suddenly short length of 71 minutes. In the end, while the film does have some good moments that might work, it is slightly bogged down by sluggish pace at times and a weird pace of story. Not bad, but not great either. Countdown to 300 Reviews: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3...

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.