Children of Paradise (1945) Marcel Carne

Children of Paradise (1945) had been on my “to watch” list for several years, waiting patiently for me to give it a chance. I knew it has been called both one of the greatest films of all time and the greatest French film ever, but I also knew it’s over three hours long. And in French.

I also know I am frequently an idiot.

But sometimes idiots take steps in the right direction. After watching the movie on FilmStruck recently, I posted on Twitter: “I just watched Children of Paradise (1945) on FilmStruck and my life will never be the same.”

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Noirvember 2017, Episode 30: Hangover Square (1945)

Hangover Square (1945) John Brahm
TCM (1:18)

“I’ve worked all my life for this one night.”

This line spoken by composer George Harvey Bone (Laird Cregar) is chilling in the context of the film and even more so as you consider its off-screen significance, which I’ll cover momentarily. Bone is a late 19th/early 20th century London composer who suffers from amnesia, a condition triggered by loud, discordant sounds. We see a spectacular display of this in the film’s opening scene, a great beginning for a gaslight noir that’s impressive on its own merits of decor and costume, but add in a crazed murder and we’re hooked. Director John Brahm knows the period well and proves himself expert in making the era come alive as he also did one year earlier in The Lodger (also starring both Laird Cregar and George Sanders).

Blind Spot Series 2017: Brief Encounter (1945)

Brief Encounter (1945)
Directed by David Lean
Written by Anthony Havelock-Allan, Ronald Neame, and David Lean
Based on the play Still Life by Noël Coward
Cinematography by Robert Krasker
Edited by Jack Harris
FilmStruck streaming (1:26)

(For more about the Blind Spot series, please check out The Matinee)

David Lean’s Brief Encounter is undeniably a great film, one that continues to resonate with audiences for many reasons: it depicts a forbidden romance, is superbly crafted, meticulously photographed, and refuses to descend to the level of sappy vapid romances that have plagued movies since their inception. Although the story is set in the prewar British suburbs of 1938, the film was released in November 1945, several months after the end of World War II. While Brief Encounter is not a film noir, it contains an undercurrent of dissatisfaction (in this case, with a marriage) and unease, elements that are common to both noir and the postwar era. The film also prompts us to examine our own lives, in effect asking – regardless of the differing mores of 1945 versus 2017 – “What would I do in a similar situation?” Brief Encounter hits us where we live.

Noirvember 2016, Episode 22: The Lady Confesses (1945)

The Lady Confesses (1945) Sam Newfield
(1:04)
Mill Creek Crime Wave DVD

The Lady Confesses isn’t the worst hour and four minutes I’ve ever spent and I suspect the same may be true of you. (If not, you haven’t seen nearly enough really bad movies in your life.) It’s a Producers Releasing Corporation (PRC) flick, which may mean nothing to folks who are not fans of classic films. PRC was also one of the Poverty Row studios, a term that should need no explanation after watching just a few minutes of this film. As long as you know this about The Lady Confesses and adjust your expectations accordingly (i.e. You ain’t gettin’ Citizen Kane here…), you might have a pretty good time.

The House on 92nd Street (1945) Henry Hathaway

The House on 92nd Street (1945) Henry Hathaway
20th Century Fox DVD (1:28)

The House on 92nd Street is a strange bird. It starts as a semidocumentary, complete with voiceover narration about the ongoing struggles and activities of the FBI (made with the full cooperation of J. Edgar Hoover, who can been seen in the film) and using actual agents on camera. Hathaway (or more accurately, producer Louis De Rochemont, who was the driving force behind the film) incorporates stock footage of FBI agents and actual criminals, making 1945 audiences wonder whether they were watching a crime drama or a documentary.

Mildred Pierce (1945) Noirvember 2015: Episode 30

Mildred Pierce (1945) Michael Curtiz
(1:51)
Warner Brothers DVD

The longer you think about Mildred Pierce, the more you realize how completely devastating it is. You may not know exactly how to feel about the film once it’s over and that’s understandable. You may not even know what to call it: film noir, melodrama, women’s picture, or all three. You can certainly make a case for each, but over the years, melodrama seems to have won out. If Mildred Pierce is indeed a melodrama, it’s one of the best you’re likely to see.

Fallen Angel (1945) Noirvember 2015: Episode 20

Fallen Angel (1945) Otto Preminger
(1:38)
Fox Film Noir DVD

Our introduction to Eric Stanton (Dana Andrews, above) finds him being thrown off a bus for not having enough fare to make it to San Francisco. The little town of Walton will have to do for this drifter/con man. Eric’s first stop is Pop’s Eats, a hole-in-the-wall diner where the proprietor – appropriately named Pop (Percy Kilbride) – is all in a tizzy: Pop’s best (and maybe only) waitress Stella has been gone for days. When she finally shows up, we immediately see why business tanks when she’s not around.