Noir City 14: Los tallos amargos (1956)

Noir City 14 was filled with many great moments and wonderful films, but by far the festival’s highlight was the North American premiere of the Argentine film Los tallos amargos (The Bitter Stems or The Bitter Stalks) from 1956.

Noir City 14: Crack-Up (1946)

Noir City 14 presented me with a couple of challenges. I wanted to get my money’s worth from the festival, yet I also wanted to explore San Francisco with my wife, who is not a movie fan. So I made a decision to skip a couple of films, one of which I had already seen recently, The Dark Corner (1946), which you can read about here.

Even so, I was able to catch the last 30 minutes or so of the film, plenty of time to see William Bendix get what was coming to him at the hands of Clifton Webb. (Sorry, slight spoiler there…)

In his introduction to the next film, Eddie Muller admitted that Crack-Up (1946, directed by Irving Reis) is not one of his favorite noir films, but it does fit the Noir City 14 theme of art. The film begins with an agitated man (Pat O’Brien, below on his back) smashing the glass door of the Manhattan Museum and assaulting a museum guard. Once the museum staff rush to the scene, they discover that this crazed man is none other than George Steele, art critic, forgery expert, and lecturer at the museum.

Noir City 14: Rear Window (1954) and The Public Eye (1992)

Ever since film noir began to wrap its dark tendrils around my neck a couple of years ago, I knew it would eventually lead me deep into the heart of Noir City. This year, I could no longer resist. Although I could only attend six days of the festival’s ten-day schedule, I got a good sense of what Noir City, its films and its people, are all about.

Noir City Report – Coming Soon

Although I was only able to attend six days (out of ten) of Noir City 14 in San Francisco, I had a great time, saw some great films, and have lots to report during the next few days, including my Alfred Hitchcock San Francisco tour, a brief conversation with Eddie Muller, and much more. Right now, I need a little sleep…

The Enemy Below (1957) Dick Powell

The Enemy Below (1957)
Directed by Dick Powell
Produced by Dick Powell
Screenplay by Wendell Mayes, based on a novel by Commander D.A. (Denys) Rayner
Cinematography by Harold Rosson
Edited by Stuart Gilmore
Music by Leigh Harline
20th Century Fox
(color; Cinemascope; 1:38)

The crew members of the Navy destroyer escort U.S.S. Haynes are a bit nervous. They’re patrolling the South Atlantic during World War II with a new commander, Captain Murrell (Robert Mitchum) who has confined himself to his cabin since coming aboard. Several of the sailors wager that the new captain’s seasick. Or maybe just yellow.

Books on Movies: How to Watch a Movie (2015) David Thomson

How to Watch a Movie (2015) David Thomson

Anyone picking up this book who has previously read David Thomson will know exactly what to expect. Thomson has written about film for The Guardian, The Independent, Salon, Film Comment and many other publications. He’s written many books on film, several of them doorstoppers. Thomson is also intelligent, brash and opinionated. (What film critic isn’t?) So even if Thomson can be abrasive, at least this little volume should be a lightweight excursion, even for those who’ve never read the man’s previous works, right?

Well….

No Man of Her Own (1950) Part of the Remembering Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon

No Man of Her Own (1950)
Directed by Mitchell Leisen
Produced by Richard Maibaum
Screenplay by Sally Benson, Catherine Turney
Based on the novel I Married a Dead Man by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich)
Cinematography by Daniel L. Fapp
Edited by Alma Macrorie
Music by Hugo Friedhofer
Costumes by Edith Head
Paramount Pictures
(black-and-white; 1:38)
Amazon streaming

Original viewing October 25, 2015, Noir City DC at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center

Stanwyck’s throaty narration begins as the camera takes us from a quiet street up past a perfectly manicured lawn to a sprawling home large enough to house dozens of people. It’s a place, Stanwyck’s voice tells us, of “perfect peace and security. The summer nights are pleasant in Caulfield, but not for us.”

A Mostly Noir Birthday

Pardon me for getting a little personal today. I have wonderful family and friends and they’ve blessed me with another great birthday. I am thankful for you all and that you love  me enough to understand my love for movies, books, and all the things that go along with them.

Fantômas (1913-1914) Louis Feuillade

I don’t care that Fantômas is over 100 years old, that it’s silent, or that it’s in French (with English subtitles). You can tell me all day long about how it inspired Fritz Lang’s Dr. Mabuse films (which I love), how the title character has come to be recognized as cinema’s first supervillain, and how influential director Louis Feuillade was to other directors. I knew everything I needed to know in the first scene from the first film: a montage of the villian Fantômas (René Navarre) going through a series of disguises, changing them effortlessly as if he’s shedding skin every few seconds. I knew from that opening that Fantômas was going to be a fun, wild ride, and that’s exactly what it is.

The Great Movies – Spreading the Word

The Severna Park Voice published a nice article today about our Great Movies series at the Severna Park Library. I had previously posted here about our first event, a showing of Casablanca, which was both well attended and well received. Thanks to Dylan Roche for helping us spread the word about classic movies and their relevance today.