It’s Low-Budget and Quick, but is Inner Sanctum Worth an Hour of Your Time?

Do you take a chance on a low-budget movie just because it’s a film noir and you love watching film noir? Any film noir? It’s only an hour long, but is it worth it? Find out!

Noirvember 2017, Episode 28: The Dark Past (1948)

The Dark Past (1948) Rudolph Maté
TCM (1:15)

The Dark Past caught me off guard in a number of ways. I’m sure it happened in other films, but I can’t remember ever seeing William Holden playing a criminal or Lee J. Cobb so calm and in complete control, his voice never rising above a mezzo forte. So The Dark Past held a few (mostly) pleasant surprises.

Noirvember 2017, Bonus Episode: He Walked by Night (1948)

My previous bonus episode covered T-Men (1947), a recent Blu-ray from ClassicFlix. Now comes another release from the same company, one that may be even more impressive than T-Men: Alfred L. Werker’s He Walked by Night (1948) with directorial contributions by Anthony Mann.

Noirvember 2016, Episode 28: Act of Violence (1948)

Act of Violence (1948) Fred Zinnemann (2x)
(1:22)
Warner Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4 DVD

World War II hero Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is a well-respected man in Santa Lisa, California and has everything going for him: a wonderful wife named Edith (Janet Leigh) and a little boy named Georgie.

But when Frank discovers that one of his war buddies Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) desperately wants to see him, he panics. No one knows why, but Frank’s fear forces him into hiding.

Noirvember 2016, Episode 18: Call Northside 777 (1948)

Call Northside 777 (1948) Henry Hathaway
(1:51)
Fox Film Noir DVD

When a man named Frank Wiecek (Richard Conte, left) is found guilty of murdering a policeman in a Chicago speakeasy during Prohibition, no one seems to care, except Wiecek’s mother (Kasia Orzazewski), who places an ad in a newspaper offering $5,000 for information leading to the real murder. Chicago Times reporter P.J. McNeal (James Stewart, right) decides to investigate the ad, the story, and Wiecek himself. But nobody – including Wiecek – is interested in uncovering the truth.

Noirvember 2016, Episode 10: Cry of the City (1948)

Cry of the City (1948) Robert Siodmak
(1:35)
Kino Lorber Blu-ray

Cry of the City opens with Alfred Newman’s soaring, dramatic score, seemingly promising drama or even melodrama, until the opening credits end with an ominous chord that hits you square between the eyes. There’s no mistaking the music’s message: you’re in film noir territory.

Noir City DC 2016 – Part VI: Corridor of Mirrors (1948) Terence Young

In his introduction, Eddie Muller called the British film Corridor of Mirrors (1948) “probably the most unknown film on our (Noir City DC) schedule.” Muller also explained that British noir differs from American noir in several different ways, particularly in the British artistic response(s) to World War II, which often included art, fantasy, and obsession as ways to cope with war.

British Noir Five Film Set from Kino Lorber

British Noir – Kino Lobber five DVD set

So you’re a film noir fan, maybe a veteran noir watcher, or maybe you’ve just gotten bit by the noir bug. Is this set for you? Let’s take a quick look at each of these films individually and see:

Two British Noir Movies

Just a short look today at two British film noir movies:

Sleep, My Love (1948) Noirvember 2015: Episode 21

Sleep, My Love (1948) Douglas Sirk
(1:37)
Olive DVD (library)

Alison Courtland (Claudette Colbert, above) finds herself on a passenger train bound for Boston, with no memory of how she got there or the gun in her purse. She’s aided by fellow passenger Bruce Elcott (Robert Cummings, second picture below, left), who makes sure she gets home to her husband Richard Courtland (Don Ameche, below left), where she’ll be safe and taken care of. She’ll be taken care of, all right, just not in way Elcott thinks.