The Back Alley Forums - Noir reviews

Servant, The (1963)

JohnChard — Sun, 19 May 2013 19:53:41 GMT

http://www.themoviedb.org/movie/42987-the-servant

The Fatales � Homme & Femme.

The Servant is directed by Joseph Losey and adapted to screenplay by Harold Pinter from the novelette of the same name written by Robin Maugham. It stars Dirk Bogarde, Sarah Mles, Wendy Craig and James Fox. Music is by John Dankworth and cinematography by Douglas Slocombe.

When well-to-do Londoner Tony (Fox) hires Hugo Barrett (Bogarde) as his manservant, he gets more than he bargained for. Especially when Hugo's sister Vera (Miles) also arrives on the scene�

The Servant remains as enigmatic today as it was back on its release in the early part of the 1960s. It's a film that defies classification, that rare old cinematic treat that continues to cause debate about not only its worth as art, but also its very meaning(s). A head bothering delight that revels in toying with your perceptions as much as Hugo Barrett enjoys toying with his supposed master. Lets play master and servant � indeed.

Set predominantly in the confines of Tony's swanky Chelsea abode, there's a disturbing claustrophobia that pervades the narrative, and this before we even begin to ponder the power of man, his ability to dominate and manipulate, or the reverse side that sees another's lack of ability to not succumb to the downward spiral instigated by a supposed lesser man.

Sprinkled over power issues are sexual desires, obtained, unfulfilled or simmering away unspoken. As the literate screenplay comes out in sharp dialogue snatches, breaking free of Pinter's other wise cement ensconced writing, there's evidence that this is a psychological study as opposed to the class system allegory that many thought it was way back then. This really isn't about role reversal, the finale tells us that.

Visually it's a box of atmospheric tricks as well. Losey and Slocombe use deep angular black and white photography to enforce the chilly dynamics at work in the story, the longer the film goes on, as it gets to the nitty gritty, the more jarring the camera work becomes � delightfully so � the house no longer an affluent person's residence, but a skew-whiff place of debauchery and mind transference. And mirrors � reflections, important and used to great effect.

Some scenes are striking and rich. Hugo at the top of the stairs standing in the bedroom doorway, in silhouette, an overhead shot of Hugo and Tony playing a childlike ball game on the stairs, a sex scene on a leather chair that we don't see but understand totally. And many more as Losey finds the material that allows him to show his skills.

Cast performances are across the board terrific, particularly Bogarde who gives a visual acting master class, and Fox who beautifully shifts a gear from toff twit into dependant dead beat. While Dankworth's musical accompaniments add flavour to the unfolding machinations. 9/10

Don�t Bother to Knock (1952)

Nighthawk — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:45:47 GMT

The film features no guns, and any acts of violence are few and far between. Even Elisha Cook Jr. manages to make it through the entire film without getting offed—a truly rare occurrence. Yet Don’t Bother to Knock (1952), a B film from 20th Century Fox that features Marilyn Monroe in her first starring role, is one of the most unsettling and terrifying noirs ever made. When it was first released, the film most likely made many parents think twice about who they hired to babysit their children.

From 1950 to the beginning of 1952, Monroe’s star power had risen steadily, but she couldn’t break through into leading lady status. She had a small role in John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle (1950), which led into a series of supporting parts playing second fiddle to stars like Bette Davis in All About Eve (1950), Claudette Colbert in Let’s Make it Legal (1951) and Ginger Rogers in We’re Not Married! (1952). She also scored a key role in Fritz Lang’s noir melodrama Clash by Night (1952), but again, she was slotted into a secondary role, with the lead going to the Queen of Noir, Barbara Stanwyck. That turned out not to matter, because Monroe stole the show, setting her up for the lead role in Don’t Bother to Knock—not only her first starring role, but a chance for her to carry a film with more than just her looks. And she certainly made the most of the opportunity, turning in a tremendous, tour de force performance as a mentally unhinged babysitter.

The film begins by setting up two narratives that don’t take long to get tangled up. Lyn Lesley (Anne Bancroft, in her first film role), the hotel’s lounge singer, has just finished grumbling to the bartender about her lousy love life when who should walk in but her on-again, off-again beau, Jed Towers (Richard Widmark). He wants to rekindle the romance. She does not. When he presses her for a reason, she tells him that he’s a jerk who only thinks about himself—a claim that rings true, as Towers oozes arrogance and selfishness from the moment he first appears. Defeated in his quest, Towers decides to take a room in the hotel for the night before he splits.

Meanwhile, Eddie Forbes (Cook Jr.), the hotel’s longtime hotel operator, has lined up a babysitting gig for his sister, Nell (Monroe). All she has to do is watch a young girl named Bunny (Donna Corcoran) for a few hours while her parents, who are staying at the hotel, head out to a banquet at which Bunny’s father is receiving an award. It’s a simple job—read the kid a story, put her to bed, stay awake until the parents get home—and Eddie assures them both that Nell will have no problem handling it.

Except that, from the moment Monroe first appears on the screen, it’s obvious that something is deeply wrong with Nell. It’s tough—actually, its practically impossible—to pin down exactly what makes her character so unsettling, which makes the first part of the film even more unnerving. There’s just something off about her. We know with absolute certainty that Nell should not be put in charge of a child, even if we don’t know why.

Shortly after Nell reads Bunny a bedtime story and forces her to go to bed, Jed—whose room just happens to be across the courtyard—sees her through his window. It isn’t long before he has figured out her room number, called her up, and invited himself over for a drink. While Nell initially resists, she eventually calls him back and tells him to come over.

That’s when things get complicated. And potentially fatal.

No spoilers here, except to say that the reason for Nell’s strange behavior is eventually revealed, putting a unique and perhaps one-of-a-kind, female-oriented spin on a storyline that is often addressed in film noir—several times in the amnesia subgenre—but almost always from a predominantly male perspective. Given the fact that the plausibility of the entire film’s plot hinges on the believability of Nell’s character, it was necessary for Monroe to turn in an A-level performance. Thankfully, she absolutely nails the role. In all of her scenes, she infuses the proceedings with a sense of dread and impending doom due to her bizarre and unpredictable actions. The film features two of the most frightening scenes in any noir ever made. To describe them would be to rob them of their potency. But don’t worry—you’ll know them when you see them.

Like most B noirs, Don’t Bother to Knock was made with a small budget, and it shows. The entire film takes place within the confines of the hotel, but thankfully, the trimmed-down production costs don’t rob the film of its power. In fact, they elevate it, as the hotel’s tight quarters only heighten the tension due to their claustrophobic feel. The film features a number of firsts—Monroe’s first job as a lead character, Ann Bancroft’s first film role, and Roy Ward Baker’s first Hollywood directing gig. Baker spent several years working in England before 20th Century Fox brought him across the pond. As it turned out, the only Hollywood films Baker ever directed—Don’t Bother to Knock, Night without Sleep (1952) and the 3-D extravaganza Inferno (1953)—were all noir. In this film, Baker puts his skills on display by keeping the plot moving. With the exception of some of the opening scenes between Bancroft and Widmark, the film is tightly plotted and executed, clocking in a brief 76 minutes and using almost all of that time to maximum effect.

Don’t Bother to Knock not only cemented Marilyn Monroe as an actress worthy of serious attention, it also proved that, to make an effective, disturbing noir, you don’t need double-crossing tough guys killing each other in dark alleys. Yes, the darkness of noir certainly thrives in the male-dominated realm of the criminal underworld. But this film proves that that same darkness can just as easily show up at your doorstep in the form of a young, attractive babysitter.

Apology for Murder (1945)

Steve-O — Tue, 14 May 2013 13:07:49 GMT

Apology for Murder is not a great movie. However, the film does give viewers a glimpse into how films (especially B-movies) were green-lighted in the 1940s.

Double Indemnity was released in 1944 and made movie history. It wasn't the first film noir but it was and still is one of the best. If you're ever stuck trying to explain to someone what film noir is, pop Double Indemnity into the DVD player and have them get comfortable. The twisty plot told with razor-sharp dialog (courtesy of James M. Cain and screenwriters Raymond Chandler and director Billy Wilder) was jaw dropping in it's freshness. No one ever spoke or acted like Neff and Phyllis in films before – certainly no one in the real world was ever that quick witted. In fact, the film – filled with implied sex and violence- just a few years before release was considered impossible to make thanks to the Hayes code. Casting also proved difficult due to the racy content. Even Wilder's long time collaborator Charles Brackett steered clear of the project. Wilder pushed the film forward despite all the roadblocks.

When Double Indemnity was released in 1944 it changed everything. The financial and critical success of the movie opened the floodgates and studios rushed to make the next “Double Indemnity.” Cain's steamy best seller The Postman Always Rings Twice, which had its own rocky journey to the silver screen, was finally considered filmable thanks to its success. Not only did Wilder and crew find a way to bypass the Hayes Code (by using double-meaning dialog and suggestive -but not explicit- visual images to describe sex and murder) but they helped define a new film style. Armed with these newly found freedoms filmmakers pushed out several movies born because of Double Indemnity. Movies we'd call film noir. (Certainly many, many other films from that time also contributed to noir – including The Maltese Falcon and Murder, My Sweet – but I think none had the impact of Double Indemnity.)

Hollywood does the same copycatting today. If a Michael Crichton book becomes a blockbuster then all his novels are filmed. When The Lord of the Rings did huge business it started the ball rolling on several sci-fi/fantasy trilogies.

The difference today there are no Poverty Row studios - or at least not as they were in the 1940s. Today, when a movie is ripped off it's usually a straight-to-video title people only take home from Blockbuster when they've mistook it for something else. However, these home video releases at least have some budget. The makers of Apology for Murder and the vastly superior Detour, PRC, seemed to make movies without any financing – or at least they looked that way.

Which brings us to Apology for Murder. This isn't just a film in the mold of Double Indemnity from a year before – it's an exact copy of it. Or should I say it's a copy of the film if it were made with little budget and no star power. The two leads at the time were no names. It would be years before Hugh Beaumont would become Ward Cleaver on TV. The femme fatale Ann Savage would go onto become a household name among cult film and noir lovers thanks to Detour (which was released by PRC the same year). It wasn't until the 1960s before Savage would get any praise for her role. Thanks to countless 3 am insomniac airing of Detour on TV beginning in the 60s, word of mouth about Savage's brilliant performance as Vera spread among film affectionatos that continues today.

In Apology for Murder, Savage actually is almost unrecognizable in the glamorous femme fatale role. I've seenDetour so many times I just assumed that she was always the dark and evil Vera. However, in Apology for Murder B-western director Sam Newfield shows us a Savage I never knew. Wearing formal 1945-stylish cloths and lighter hair I wouldn't have recognized her if I didn't read the credits. It's amazing that this woman would become Vera just a few months later (Apology for Murder was released in September and Detour in November of 1945). Savage pulls it off. She's sexy from the first glimpse of her gams.

Hugh Beaumont is another story. Certainly he was handsome enough to be a leading man but I think he had a very limited range. Another thing about Beaumont is that he will always be remembered by generations of TV fans as one of the most famous dads ever. It's hard watching him spout witty lines without thinking about all those speeches he gave Wally and Beav. Now that Leave it to Beaver is shown less and less on TV maybe younger movie fans won't immediately make the connection and appreciate Beaumont as the tough talking newspaper man. Then again, whenever I show someone Double Indemnity for the first time they usually shout out “My Three Sons!” when Fred MacMurray comes on screen. The connection between Ward Cleaver and Beaumont in Anthony Mann's Railroaded! is even closer. When Beaumont (a young cop in that one) shows up in a very Leave it to Beaver-like suburb any feelings about the movie being a serious crime film go out the window. Which is a shame because Railroaded! actually is a watchable thriller.

Back to Apology for Murder. When Kenny Blake (Beaumont) first sees Toni (Savage) he breaks out in a grin that goes ear to ear. Beaumont totally overplays the scene. You can tell Blake is attracted to her just by the way they photographed Savage – showing her legs flicking up in the air before you even see her face. A better director would have advised Beaumont to turn it down a few degrees and take the scene again. However, considering that the film was probably made in less than a week there probably wasn't time.

After the two meet up and apparently sleep together its only then does Blake realize that Toni is married. In Double Indemnity Neff not only knows that Phyllis is married but you suspect this isn't the first lonely housewife he's encountered. The realization is an unintentionally funny scene in Apology for Murder. Only hours before they learned each others names and now after they've slept together does this newspaper man find out that she's married to the rich old man he tried to interview earlier.

After that the film plays exactly like Double Indemnity. The femme fatale gets her sucker boyfriend to kill her husband. The boyfriend feels guilty because someone else is being accused of the murder and so he steps in and tries to do the right thing by stopping Phyllis/Toni. I would guess that if you haven't seen Double Indemnity for a while you may actually find Apology for Murder a decent grade-Z thriller. For classic movie fans I would recommend it just to see Savage play in another film noir.

The end has another surprise. When Blake confronts Toni while she two timing on him with her lawyer, Blake shoots and kills the unarmed lawyer and then shots
Toni in the back. After that Blake stumbles back to his newspaper and writes his confession (on a typewriter instead of a dictograph). I found it hard to feel sorry for this guy. I mean did he have to kill the lawyer? I'm not sure why he did it. I know he's a lawyer and all but that seems overkill. A strange end to say the least.

Surprisingly the film is finally out on home video. The copy isn't perfect – it's the same quality as we've seen watching DVDs of Detour – but it's a considerable improvement over film collectors copies that have been floating around. Definitely one you'd want to pick up if you're a film noir completest.

Not a great movie but a excellent example of how Poverty Row studios worked in the 1940s.

Man Is Armed, The (1956)

gordonl56 — Sun, 05 May 2013 10:04:20 GMT

NOTW � �The Man Is Armed" � 1956

This is another programmer from that seemingly endless supply produced by Republic Pictures.

Truck driver Dane Clark has just gotten out of prison after serving a one year bit. He is hitching his back way back to LA. Fred Wayne, who works for the same trucking outfit Clark had, picks him up.

When they hit LA, Wayne says he needs to make a stop before hitting the warehouse. Clark says no problem and has Wayne drop him just outside of downtown. They arrange to meet in one hour.

Clark hotfoots it over to a nearby apartment building. He enters and heads upstairs. There he finds Richard Benedict. Clark figures that Benedict had set him up for the Police. The boys in blue had collared Clark with stolen goods in his truck. Clark had been filling in for Benedict on the delivery. Clark has been waiting a year to settle the score.

A quick round of fisticuffs ends with Benedict going for a 6 floor fall off the roof. Clark calmly leaves the apartment and meets his ride Wayne. The two then drive to the trucking depot.

Running the office phones at the depot is the built like a brick ****house, May Wynn. Wynn and Clark had been stepping out before Clark�s trip to the jailhouse. While swapping spit with Wynn, they are interrupted by depot boss, William Talman. He would like a word with Clark in his office.

Talman gives Clark back his job and offers him a chance at a cool 100 grand. Talman wants to make up for being the one who really set the cops on Clark. He had wanted to test Clark�s �character�. A less than amused Clark wants to give Talman a bit of what he gave Benedict in error. But 100 grand is 100 grand. Talman hands Clark a couple of c notes and arranges a meeting for the next day. All will be explained then.

The pair are now interrupted by Police Detective, Barton MacLane. He is here to ask some questions about one of depot�s drivers. The driver is of course, the late Richard Benedict. They need to know if anyone had it in for Benedict. MacLane, just happens to be the cop who had pinched Clark on the stolen goods beef. He asks Clark where he was at the time. �Just getting to town with one of the depot�s drivers� he answers.

Clark wines and dines Wynn that night and tells her he wants to marry her. Wynn is a tad reluctant to answer. She has been enjoying the company of up and coming Doctor, Robert Horton. She tells Clark she needs some time.

Next day Clark meets up with Talman. Talman has the perfect caper lined up. He has all the inside dope on an armored car warehouse. He knows all about the guards, cash amounts, times etc.

He wants Clark to run the operation with three other men he has hired. Again, 100 large for his end talks big, and Clark agrees. Clark and the men, Richard Reeves, Bob Jordan and Henry Lewis have one week to get ready. They spend the time going over blueprints and getting the plan down pat.

The night of the robbery everything seems to go smooth and by the numbers. They silence the guard and break open the payroll safe. They scoop up the half million and dash for the getaway car. Now a second guard shows. Shots are exchanged with the guard getting plugged for his troubles. The boys then speed off to a second car. Clark takes the cash and heads off in the second car while Reeves, Jordan and Lewis go the other direction.

The Police however are quickly off the mark tonight and have already put roadblocks up. Clark decides to ditch the cash rather than risk a search at a roadblock. He then contacts Talman by phone with the info. Clark says he will retrieve the cash later.

While all this is going on, Maclane has been giving truck driver Fred Wayne a spot of 3rd degree. Wayne breaks and admits he had dropped Clark off near where Benedict had been killed. MacLane puts out an all points for Clark on suspicion of murder.

The next day Clark and Talman meet to retrieve the cash. When Clark hands over the loot, slime-ball Talman, pulls a rod and shots Clark in the chest. He then laughs and drives off to stash the cash at the family farm.

Clark however is not quite as dead as Talman thought. He manages to get to Wynn�s apartment. Wynn is busy with her Doctor, Robert Horton. Clark applies some gun butt to Horton�s head and drags Wynn off. He knows where Talman intends to hide the money. He wants Wynn to drive him to the farm. They are soon on the road with Wynn behind the wheel.

Horton regains his senses and calls the Police. MacLane and the boys in blue quickly show. After a talk with Horton, Maclane radios the make, model and license number of Wynn�s car to all units. They are not to stop the car but follow it. Wynn�s car is soon spotted by a motorcycle cop who calls it in and follows at a distance.

Wynn and Clark have now reached the Talman farm. Clark catches Talman in the act of digging a hole in which to bury the cash. Clark fills the hole with Talman after he puts several slugs into him. He grabs the bag of cash and starts to the car.

MacLane, along with and a dozen or so heavily armed bulls have also made it to the farm. They have Clark surrounded. Clark drags the loot and Wynn into the barn. A thoroughly frightened Wynn tries to talk Clark into surrendering.

Clark throws his piece aside and staggers outside the barn where he drops dead. The blood loss from the wound Talman gave him had caught up with him. Another perfect plan goes amiss.

Not a world-beater by any means, but at only 70 minutes it passes the time quite well.

Noir regular Clark was in, THE GLASS KEY, HER KIND OF MAN, MOONRISE, WHIPLASH, BACKFIRE, HIGHLY DANGEROUS, GUNMAN IN THE STREETS, NEVER TRUST A GAMBLER, MURDER BY PROXY and PORT OF HELL.

Also in the cast are Larry Blake, Darlene Fields and Robert�s brother, John Mitchum.

The director here was Franklin Adreon. Adreon started out as a director of serials such as PANTHER GIRL OF THE KONGO, CANADIAN MOUNTIES vs THE ATOMIC INVADERS and TRADER TOM OF THE CHINA SEAS. His noir output includes, NO MAN�S WOMAN and TERROR AT MIDNIGHT.

The screenplay was by Richard Landau and Robert Dennis. Dennis wrote hundreds of tv episodes while Landau did, THE CROOKED WAY, FBI GIRL, MURDER BY PROXY and ROADBLOCK.

The D of P was Bud Thackery. His best noir was UNMASKED.

There are several snappy lines peppered throughout the film. A good one is Fred Wayne�s response to being questioned by the Police. � The way you guys want answers you would think I was up for the $64,000 Question.�

Delicatessen (1991)

cigar joe — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 18:57:41 GMT

A Post-Apocalyptic, Neo-noir, Bizarre Comedy

Directed by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, written by Gilles Adrien, Marc Caro, and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Cinematography by Darius Khondji. Starring Dominique Pinon as Louison, Marie-Laure Dougnac as Julie Clapet, Jean-Claude Dreyfus as The Butcher Clapet, Karin Viard as Mademoiselle Plusse, Ticky Holgado as Marcel Tapioca, Anne-Marie Pisani as Madame Tapioca, Edith Ker as Grandmother, Rufus as Robert Kube, Jacques Mathou as Roger, Howard Vernon as Frog Man, Chick Ortega as Postman, Silvie Laguna as Aurore Interligator, Jean-Fran�ois Perrier as Georges Interligator, Dominique Zardi as Taxi Driver.

Neo-Noirsville... Somewhere in the not to distant past of the French Quarter of The Twilight Zone.

At a cross road, in a ruined town, stands a lone surviving apartment house with its electric lit apartments and storefront Delicatessen, a dim beacon of civilization. All the domain of Clapet The Butcher (Jean-Claude Dreyfus), who we first encounter in his shop engaged in the art of sharpening a cleaver. He is a sort of French incarnation of a combination of Raymond Burr and demented Jackie Gleason, a murder, who lures victims "meat" who he sells to his tenants for grain, with a help wanted add in a paper called Hard Times. He is aided in this scheme by the Postman and the Taxi Driver. This world is split into cannibals, underground sewer dwelling grain eaters, and one frog and snail gourmet whose abode is a permanently flooded apartment a fertile breeding habitat for amphibians and mollusks with which he co-exixts.

The Butcher

The film opens as the latest victim is dispatched.

Our protagonist is Dominique Pinon is Stan Louison, a clown, part of the comedy duo "Stan & Livingstone", who is down on his luck since the slaughter for food of his monkey Clown Act partner Livingstone, rides out in a taxi to the job interview. He pays for the ride with his shoes. The Butcher asks how much does he weigh looking him over with an appraising eye, while over head, most of the denizens of the apartment are savoring the latest candidate. Marie-Laure Dougnac is Julie Clapet the butchers farsighted daughter. Clapet and Pinon fall in love and she becomes determined to save him from his fate. Watch for their musical duos, the soap bubble sequence, and other audio-visual delights. There are quite a few tongue-in-cheek food references.

soap bubble

Marie-Laure Dougnac

Dominique Pinon & Karin Viard

The rest of the apartments oddball tenants are a the butchers squeeze Mademoiselle Pluss a government employee and his frustrated suicidal wife who constructs incredibly complex Rube Goldberg contraptions to do herself in, a group of toy makers, and a petty thief and his family. All the main characters are nicely fleshed out. In addition we have a literal underground, anarchist society of grain eaters who Julie Clapet engages to kidnap

This droll Neo Noir is envelops you totally. The camera work and set design recall some of the great classic studio noirs of the 40's and the pallet of the handful of color noirs of the 50's with interesting compositions, and dutch angles. There are also echos and homages to films like The Widow, The Enforcer, Berlin Express, The Third Man, The Drowning Pool, Brazil, David Lynch's Blue Velvet and the films of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, and Laurel & Hardy.

Julie (Dougnac) in her apartment

A nice addition to a Neo Noir comedy sub genre 10/10. Put it on the shelf alongside The Big Lebowski

From IMDb

One most inventive and original films to grace the silver screen, 9 September 2004

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Delicatessen is hard to pin down under a specific genre label; it's a surreal black comedy, a human drama, a post-apocalyptic horror movie, a twisted thriller, a futuristic fantasy; and all in all; one of the strangest and most original films I've ever seen.

In this fantasy world, the world has been ravaged and food is now in short supply. This has therefore made food invaluable and it is being used as currency. Things are traded for with grain, corn and lentils, but not everyone can afford the luxury of food, and some have had to resort to cannibalism to continue to enjoy eating. Our scene opens at a delicatessen in an unspecified location in France, and we are treated to an absolutely delicious sequence (no pun intended) in which a man is desperately trying to hide himself in the trash can. We later find that the reason for this is that this particular delicatessen hires handymen and keeps them long enough to fatten them up, and then they are eaten by the delicatessen's butcher and the inhabitants of the apartment building in which they live. The story really gets going when an ex-clown turns up at the shop, wanting the handyman's job, which has...become available. The plot thickens when the new handyman meets, and later falls in love with, the butcher's daughter; Julie. Julie knows what goes on at the delicatessen and can't allow her new found love to meet the same fate as the others, and therefore does the only thing she can do; hire a band of vegetarian freedom fighters to save her love from becoming dinner for the butcher and his customers.

Delicatessen is directed by the team of Marc Caro (whom, I'm afraid, I am unfamiliar with) and the more well known Jean-Pierre Jeunet, director of a few lesser known modern classics, but best known for the enthusiastic 'Amelie'. The film is brought to life by a brilliant ensemble cast. Dominique Pinon (who also featured in Jeunet's Amelie, Alien 4 and City of Lost Children) takes the lead role of the clown turned handyman. His performance is both understated and magical; as he simultaneously manages to entice the viewer into his performance, and yet keeps his character in the realms of reality (a place in which this film doesn't take place). Jean-Claude Dreyfus is the real star of the show, however, as the extroverted and over the top butcher. His performance certainly isn't subdued, to say the least; and every moment that he is on screen is a delight. In a stark contrast to Dreyfus, Marie-Laure Dougnac; the young lady that plays his daughter and love interest for Pinon is very down to earth, and is the most 'normal' character in the film...although there's still room for her to be a nearly blind klutz. The rest of the ensemble comes together excellently, and not a single actor in the film performs below par or looks out of place; and there's not many films that you can say that for.

This film isn't quite like anything else I've ever seen. In fact, the only film I can think of that is similar to this is Terry Gilliam's futuristic fantasy; Brazil. The film draws it's originality from it's plot mainly, which is extremely surreal and inventive in itself, but it's not just that which makes Delicatessen one of a kind; it's all the smaller plot points. How many films do you know that feature a bullshit detector? (that is set off when the butcher tells it that "life is wonderful", no less). The way that the film looks is also wonderfully different; Delicatessen has a yellow hue, which lends it a style that is very dull and dreary; and that does the film no end of favours when you consider it's core subject material. The yellow hue also makes the film almost feel like a moving comic book, which is one of the things that gives the film it's surreal and absurd edge. I'm a big fan of atmospheric films, which is one of the main reasons why I like horror so much; and this film also has an atmosphere like no other. It's the way that the yellow-ish buildings look next to the dark skyline, and the way that the film uses darkness and smoke to make it more horrifying (see roof sequence towards the end) that gives this film the finishing touch to it's already distinct style.

The love story in the film is sweet and tender, and this very much offsets the dark overtones of the rest of the film. This is nice, as during the scenes between the clown (Pinon) and Julie (Dougnac), the film allows itself to indulge in humour that isn't dark like the rest of the film, and you get the impression that it's enjoying itself a little more. This is just another thing in a long line of great things that make Delicatessen a great movie. Another of these things is the more minor characters. I have never seen a more motley crew than the one in this film. As previously mentioned, Julie, although not entirely 'normal', is the most normal character in the film; the rest of it is populated by lunatics. There's a man with a house full of frogs, a woman that continually tries to commit suicide, a man that puts cans on his deaf mother in law so they know where she is etc. The support cast's wackiness don't add anything much to the story itself (which only really requires them to be there), but the fact that they are different and imaginative is another of the film's absurd edges, and another thing that makes this film different from everything else.

Delicatessen concentrates more on being absurd and surreal than it does in posing deep and philosophical questions. Personally, I have no problem with that, but those who do want a movie to be deep and meaningful might find the film disappointing because of that. That is not to say that the film completely lacks depth or meaning; although a moral to the story doesn't seem to present itself, the film takes it's depth from the 'what if' scenario that it presents; "if the world's food supply became too short to feed the population, would you resort to cannibalism or join the vegetarian freedom fighters?". It's a very general message; but it's definitely there.

Overall, Delicatessen is a sublime piece of cinema. You wont find imagination and inventiveness to the extent that it is shown here in most films, and that alone is reason enough to warrant this classic status. Delicatessen is everything I say it is and more; and overall the film is one of the true highlights of the 1990's. A gem.

I enjoyed reading your review of this film, that ...

NOTW comment bot: comments from Noiroftheweek.com — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:58:47 GMT

I enjoyed reading your review of this film, that I barely managed to stay awake for, not because of the film itself (though the version I saw had poor sound and image) but because it was my 4th noir of the evening. (I'm going to seek help...)A couple of things, though: When will critics stop mentioning that a film has a twist? This is almost a spoiler since the viewer is already on the lookout. And the info about the creepy lodger is also a kind of a spoiler. Spoiler warning, please!

comment by waldog2006

This comment was made at Noiroftheweek.com.

2013-04-28T10:50:39.836-05:00

Blue Gardenia, The (1953)

Steve-O — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:41:06 GMT

After getting a Dear John letter from her boyfriend overseas, a young girl goes out on a blind date with a heel. She blacks out after drinking half-a-dozen mixed drinks but remembers fighting off the man with a poker. She goes into a panic when a police manhunt begins for her. A Los Angeles reporter tracks the mystery woman down before the police can get to her. But is she innocent?

The Blue Gardenia deserves a second look. When I first got into film noir I devoured as many of these dark films as I could -- based on what was available on DVD and on television.

Directed by Fritz Lang, I thought this 50s thriller was a no-brainer -- especially after seeing Scarlet Street and Woman in the Window on TCM. Unfortunately it was one of those "later" Hollywood Lang efforts. The Blue Gardenia had no budget, little style and even a flat 50s TV look. I shelved the DVD after one watch until this week.

Watching it again all of my initial criticisms are still valid. But...

Anne Baxter -- Oscar winner! -- just isn't a convincing actor. Her panicky freakouts are hard to watch. Loretta Young was better at it. See The Stranger or The Accused and you'll see what I mean. I felt the same way about Baxter in I, Confess. Fritz Lang and Hitchcock must have been forced to cast the hot property.

I know that Lang didn't have control of his casting at that point. Nor his budgets. After almost 20 years in the Hollywood system Lang couldn't get much -- but obviously he could sometimes turn mush into gold. 1953 also saw the release of Human Desire and in '54 The Big Heat would be released. This one isn't as good as them.

But here's the "But". The film is pretty decent if you watch it from the prospective of the newspaper men and cops chasing the killer. Richard Conte (The Big Combo and The Godfather) and his sidekick Richard Erdman (Cry Danger) are now faces I always like to see in film noir. They're professional newspaper men trying to "nail the killer". Conte, playing a celebrity columnist, chases scoops in a relaxed, cool way. Like the suspect will eventually come to him. And she does! George "Superman" Reeves is good as the frustrated police chief trying to keep Conte out of the story. Raymond Burr is the dead body. Before his head meets a fireplace poker early on he's a playboy sketch artist -- getting enough phone number "to fill a phone book". When he's not on the make he draws woman presumably for Los Angeles publications. All his women are drawn young, eager and with lots of cleavage. Erdman is the sleepy photographer friend of Conte's. Erdman is still going strong, having a reoccurring funny part on NBC's Community.

After the killing in the film is when thing start to get good. Not unlike the recent Boston bombing, the press goes crazy over the story of a killer on the loose. And residents are all suspicious and wonder who the killer is. Like in Boston, the media is used to try and lure in a suspect. Conte writes an open letter to the suspect telling her not to go to the police but rather to him. That of course doesn't sit well with the coppers.

Anne Baxter's roommates -- comic Ann Sothern and Jeff Donnell (Donnell got her nickname Jeff as a child. Based on the Mutt & Jeff comic strip) soak in the story from press reports when not coming and going as switchboard operators at the phone company. The two women are funny and charming -- the female versions of Erdman. One playing slightly older and one slightly younger than Baxter. Sothern --former amateur detective Maisie Ravier in a series of films-- is first to suspect Baxter. Donnell's character is obsessed with pulp Mickey-Spillane-like paperbacks. The actress is good but goes into the noir all of fame for being in In A Lonely Place a few years before.

The story takes place in Los Angeles. It looks like there was no location shooting. But it still has some elements that make films like this worth preserving as a time capsule. It shows LA like it was despite not actually SHOWING it. When Sothern goes on a date it's “drive-in dinner, drive-in movie, and afterwards we go for a drive.” Classic LA. The newspapers are on paper. The diner has those remote juke box controllers at every table. Yards have garbage incinerators (that can only be used during the day!)

As I mentioned before the film is flat without much of a pace. The only truly noir shots are The Chronicle at night with the light flashing through the venetian blinds and THE CHRONICLE superimposed as a shadow on the floor and Burr's death.

But for every interesting shot there's some old chestnuts that may have been ancient even in 1953. Using a handkerchief over the phone to make your voice sound completely different and the spinning whirlpool when Baxter blacks out are bound to draw some guffaws.

Lang does, however, have some interesting things going on in the film -- the broken mirrors, the song (even sung by Nat King Cole in the film) is played again and again. The Dear John letter from Baxter's boyfriend in Korea parallels Conte's "Letter To An Unknown Killer." The mundane existence working and living in LA. But, as with Lang's other, better, genre-defining noirs (M, Scarlet Street) it's all about survival and what you'd do to survive.

The poster above is one I just dug up this week. It's so much better than the DVD cover (Baxter timidly peaking out of a closet). It's Baxter's arm shielding her face. Not from her attacker, but from the reporters trying to get a shot of her as she's surprisingly detained. This movie may have been the beginning of the end of noir during the classic era, but it shouldn't be dismissed. It's essential for noir fans, and a decent watch for others.

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