“Thanks for the party, kid. Any night, you feel like you want it, come on over.”

Bizarre, perverse and subtly subversive, The Woman Chaser from director Robinson Devor is difficult to define and will, unfortunately appeal only to certain tastes. If I knew you, I’d take a guess whether or not you’d appreciate this unusual gem, but instead, read this review and decide for yourself whether or not you want to take a chance.

I recently came cross The Woman Chaser reviewed on the marvelous Film Noir of the Week blog (see link on blogroll or http://filmnoiroftheweek.com ), and I’ll happily accept the genre of noir in order to categorize this strange yet wonderful film. Based on the pulp novel of the same name by Charles Willeford, The Woman Chaser is the story of Richard Hudson, a used car salesman who “possesses a pimp’s understanding of the ways in which women (and men) are most vulnerable–and justifies his seductions with a highly perverse logic.” I took that definition, by the way, right off the back of the VHS box. This isn’t something I normally do, but this description is so perfect, I can think of none better.

Anyway, Richard (played brilliantly by Patrick Warburton) arrives in L.A. and buys an existing used car lot for his San Francisco based employer. He then hires a manager, and then sets out to start raking in the money. He’s halted, however, in his drive, by a different kind of ambition–the creative urge. Richard becomes obsessed with the need to create something. He returns to his home–his bizarre, vain and self focused ex-ballerina mother (Lynette Bennett), and his stepfather, Leo (Paul Malevich), a has-been director. In Richard’s mind, Leo is the only man he knows who possesses any principles. Richard comes up with an idea for a film, and he wants Leo to direct. Together they approach the Man at Mammoth Studios….

I don’t know what I expected when I watched this film, but The Woman Chaser was so good, so unique, so damn peculiar that I watched it three times in a row–each time seeing something new and catching subtle things that I’d missed before (at one point for example, Richard is reading a book titled Much Ado About Me). I think it’s sadly quite possible that a great number of people could watch this film and dismiss it as campy trash, but it isn’t. The Woman Chaser is pure genius.

The main character, Richard, uses people–particularly women–without the slightest remorse whatsoever, but as he uses them, he rewrites his actions, and his motivations in the most off-kilter style. This is all achieved by a heavy voiceover narration by Richard throughout the entire film. This allows the viewer into the most peculiar corners of Richard’s twisted thinking. He’s a living, walking example of moral dissonance, and he unabashedly, proudly boasts of exactly how he manipulates people into getting what he wants.

Richard’s film, his baby, is called The Man Who Got Away. It’s a slim story about an angry, anti-social truck driver who runs over a child and her dog, and then proceeds to lead the police on a chase throughout California. It’s unclear whether or not the truck driver commits his crime deliberately out of a sense of misplaced rage or whether it’s just an accident. Richard grasps so many accuracies of human behavior, and yet the utter perverseness of his plot (which reflects his nature) seems to elude him.

Filmed in glorious black and white (which is perfect for this film), Patrick Warburton plays Richard as if he was born for the part. Operating with the sociopath’s emotional detachment, Richard is a large man, confident, with a large black hole when it comes to conscience. He is a frightening construct of all that’s wrong in society. Perfectly happy to dominate, intimidate and manipulate his way to the top (and to the bedroom), he’s crushed when the same thing is done to him. And one of the film’s great ironies is that Richard, the master manipulator, who understands just what fears, vices and vanities appeal to the human consciousness, finds himself outmaneuvered and out manipulated.

I was so intrigued by this film, that I chased down a copy of the book wanting to see if the novel was as perverse as the film or whether the film’s off-kilter look at life through Richard’s warped perceptions was the creation of the filmmaker. I was thrilled to discover that the film is amazingly like the book with the dialogue taken directly from the novel. That said, the film does add one embellishment in creating a very well done frame story, but at the same time the film leaves out one very disturbing detail that takes place between Richard and his secretary Laura (Emily Newman). Too bad this was cut from the film as I think this act of Richard’s really puts his moral depravity in a nutshell. Special note too for the film’s fantastic camera shots: Chet Wilson throwing a match into a puddle in which the clouds are reflected, front shots of Richard’s car, the lift traveling to the basement of the L.A. Museum, the angle of the camera during the scenes with the head of Mammoth Studios….

Anyway, The Woman Chaser is brilliant, bold and one of the most faithful adaptations of a novel I have ever come across. I suspect author Charles Willeford, who died in 1988, would be satisfied with the film version of his “psycho-pulp” classic.

Quotes:

I didn’t want Becky involved with some immature, tattooed youth who’d work the word love into his pitch. That would be unnecessarily emotional for her.

I had saved the girl from any physical or emotional involvement for a long time.

When a man starts doing stuff like that, he needs a woman in the worst way.

His evil parody made the notion of love and tenderness obscene.

Somehow, I had got dreams mixed up with reality.

I felt as though I was an unreal person creating a reality that might become unreal.

This movie isn’t cynical, it’s bitter.

“If I can only get off this merry-go-round, figure things out.”

In He Ran All the Way from director John Berry, Nick (John Garfield) and his partner Al (Norman Lloyd) make a payroll robbery at gunpoint that leaves a police officer wounded. Al is caught at the scene, but Nick escapes. With the words, “stick with the crowds” drumming in his brain, he heads to a public swimming pool where he meets comely, and lonely Peggy Dobbs (Shelley Winters) frolicking in the water.

Peggy is an easy target for Nick, and he slickly picks her up and then offers to take her home. He’s introduced to her nice little family: Father (Wallace Ford), mother (Selena Royle) and younger brother, Bobby (Robert Hyatt), and while the family goes out for the evening, Nick and Peggy settle in supposedly for a pleasant night together.

But as the police dragnet tightens around the city, a very nervous Nick loses his grip, unnecessarily exposing himself as a criminal on the lam. With no clear plan in mind and reluctant to step outside of the door, Nick holds the Dobbs family hostage.

The film’s title, He Ran All the Way refers, to me at least, to the manner in which Nick runs towards his fate, and in this rush towards self-destruction, Nick’s character hustles him along. When the film begins, and Al suggests the robbery to Nick, Nick doesn’t really want to do it. He doesn’t feel quite well, but he goes along with the disastrous plan rather than argue. Even after the robbery is botched, Nick could still make some sort of a getaway, but his character, and his deep-rooted insecurities keep him locked in the city while he becomes a hunted animal. A man with more confidence would have stepped away from the crime and from the city, and with the loot in hand moved on to some place where he could remain anonymous. It is a horrible mistake on Nick’s part to stay in the city, but stay he does. Holed up in the Dobbs’s apartment, Nick threatens and bullies the family, and the occasional glimpses of a long submerged humanity are quickly obfuscated by violence.

Nick establishes a slightly different relationship with each member of the Dobbs family. Bobby isn’t really too bothered that Nick is holed up in the apartment with a gun, and Nick bears a certain respect for Mrs. Dobbs–probably because she’s the antithesis of his own boozy mother (Gladys George). Nick’s brusqueness towards Peggy seems particularly cruel because it’s obvious that it hasn’t really sunk in to Peggy’s head that Nick used her just to find a safe hideout.

Some of the very best scenes take place between Nick and Mr. Dobbs as they try to establish just who is in charge. There’s a macho struggle going on between these two, and this is partially caused by Mr. Dobbs believing that a ‘real’ man should tackle Nick. But Dobbs is hampered by concerns of his family’s safety, so in effect his ability to take action is neutralized by the fact he has a family and emotional bonds with other people. Nick, on the other hand, has no emotional attachments whatsoever, so he’s not as vulnerable as Dobbs. At a couple of points in the film, Nick feels a twinge of emotion, and he manages to fight off the temptation to give into it. The best scene in the film occurs when the family sits down to eat dinner, and Mrs. Dobbs serves stew whereas Nick wants them to eat the turkey he’s bought. This is a very tense film and a suffocating claustrophobia builds to explosive levels as the tension mounts in the Dobbs’s home. Based on a novel by Sam Ross.

“What if we’re each other’s solution?”

The steamy Spanish thriller Between Your Legs (Entre Las Piernas) is a tale of adultery, blackmail and murder set against the relationship of two people who meet at a Sex Addicts support group. With Victoria Abril and Javier Bardem as the two sex addicts, sparks fly, but they also fizzle in the depths of a murky plot that leaves some questions unanswered.

I’ve sometimes wondered if having a number of sex addicts attend a meeting together is advisable, and all the spicy scenarios my over-active imagination conjures up come to pass in this film when sex addict, Miranda (Victoria Abril) meets fellow insatiable sex addict Javier (Javier Bardem). There’s an immediate attraction, although Miranda who’s married to detective Felix (Carmelo Gomez) tries valiantly for a moment or two to brush off Javier’s attentions. But who is she kidding? The next thing we know, Miranda and Javier are writhing in the back seat of a car in a deserted parking lot.

Miranda and Javier are characters whose lives are seeped in sex. Miranda is a telephone operator for a late-night call-in show and most of her calls are about…you’ve guessed it…sex. Javier works for a publishing company, and all the scripts he reads are about…yes, right again…sex. No wonder these two poor buggers are sex addicts. They can’t get away from the subject.

Javier, rather rationally, I thought, decides that it makes perfect sense that he and Miranda should be together. He realizes that they both have needs and desires and decides that they can basically solve each other’s problem. Makes sense to me. But it doesn’t make sense to Miranda’s husband, Felix, who soon sniffs that adultery is afoot. Plus being a detective, it’s a fairly easy matter for him to follow Miranda, trace license plate numbers, etc.

But then to complicate matters, a body is found in the trunk of the car that Miranda and Javier appropriated for their impromptu steamy rendezvous. Felix investigates the case, and soon he has reason to place Javier as the main suspect.

Now this sounds like an interesting plot, but unfortunately other elements that appear fairly early on in the film confuse matters. These include fantasy sequences involving Javier and a mystery woman who drew him into sex addiction, the sensationalistic illicit sex story of the man running the Sex Addicts meeting, and the existence of some sex tapes. There’s a sequence involving Miranda’s dog and a trip to the veterinarian that leads nowhere, and there’s also a minor subplot involving a taxi driver and AIDS. I’m still uncertain why this latter sub plot was included unless it was supposed to represent the ’safe sex’ part of the equation. Anyway, thanks to all these superfluous scenes and characters, the first half of the film was a bit confusing, while the second half ironed out some (not all) of these plot elements.

The optimistic conclusion counteracted the film’s overall noir mood, and I still had a couple of questions left unanswered when the credits rolled. If anyone out there can tell me what Felix stepped on in the last scene, please leave a comment. Between Your Legs is based on a novel by Joaquin Oristrell and directed by Manuel Gomez Pereira.

“We’re always so sure we’re calling the shots in life.”

First Snow is an excellent thriller from first-time director Mark Fergus and starring Guy Pearce–an interesting actor who seems to conserve himself for roles he cares about. First Snow, a moody neo-noir film keeps the emphasis on suspense while exploring the inevitability of fate.

Life for glib, confident salesman Jimmy (Guy Pearce) isn’t the same after his car breaks down in a remote rest stop. Jimmy is a busy, ambitious man who doesn’t waste time enjoying life. For him, it’s all about the next sale, and he dreams of hitting the big time. Hoping to make a mint selling a stash of vintage Wurlitzers, Jimmy sees time as something to be tackled and conquered. And for this reason, Jimmy is particular annoyed when his car breaks down and he’s forced to waste a few hours. Bored and waiting for his car to be repaired, Jimmy strolls over to the local bar and gets a drink. There’s still time to kill, so he decides to have his fortune told by a cowboy.

The cowboy’s trailer doesn’t look much like the sort of place we’d expect a fortune teller to live in. The cowboy, whose name is Vacaro (J.K. Simmons) doesn’t exactly go in for fancy props–there’s no crystal ball, no costumes, just a few odd little statues. For a skeptic like Jimmy, having his fortune told is a lark, and he hands over his ten dollars expecting the usual mumbo-jumbo. As a consummate salesman, it’s as if Jimmy expects some sort of a credible experience, and he’s unsettled when Vacaro’s take-it-or-leave it attitude doesn’t ’sell’ him on what is revealed. When Vacaro abruptly brings the fortune telling session to an end, Jimmy feels cheated by the experience.

When predictions from Vacaro bizarrely begin to come true, a vague uneasiness in Jimmy grows. And in spite of his workmate, Ed’s (William Fichtner) glib explanations, Jimmy becomes obsessed with his future and becomes convinced that Vacaro held something back….

The saying Character is fate comes to the fore in this excellent suspense film. Jimmy’s character leads him into the cowboy’s trailer in the first place, and while Ed explains away the fortune teller’s predictions, Jimmy isn’t convinced. At one point he even visits another fortune teller and asks if destiny can be changed. This fortune teller has the props Vacaro lacks, but Jimmy seems only impatient and annoyed by these trappings. Even though Vacaro isn’t much of a salesman when it comes to fortune telling, Jimmy becomes increasingly convinced that Vacaro’s dire predictions will come true.

Jimmy has a long buried secret in his past, and so he tries to change his destiny by confronting his past. The irony of this is that fate is, of course, inescapable, and the more Jimmy struggles against destiny, the more he races towards his fate.

I loved this film. I loved its moodiness and its sense of isolation. Long shots of empty highways and bleak snow covered roads of New Mexico accentuate this film’s dark mood. Noir fans–give this film a try.

Another great role for Richard Widmark

This film begins with a pseudo-documentary style as a narrator recounts various methods in which the FBI solves crime, and this is a lead-in to the meat of the story of The Street With No Name. FBI agent, Gene Cordell (Mark Stevens), goes undercover as criminal George Manley in order to infiltrate a gang headed by the explosive yet calculating Alec Stiles (Richard Widmark). The methods of 1940s crime detection seem archaic, but once the story gets underway, suspense mounts until the film’s exciting conclusion.

Richard Widmark excels in playing the role of the brutal, heartless baddie, and as Stiles, he certainly is credible and threatening as the clever gang leader who has developed a unique method for screening potential new gang members. This classic film noir illustrates how crime is deeply entrenched in society, and also shows the lengths to which the FBI is prepared to go to identify and remove the rotten roots at the base of some seemingly unconnected murders. Widmark dominates the film (he’s one of my favourite male noir actors), but he’s so evil, you have to support the brave undercover FBI agent who risks his life. The sets are ominously dark and moody–lots of use of shadow and fog. Fans of film noir should add this title to a list of ‘must-see’ films. Directed by William Keighley.

“If you like the sound of gravel.”

Jefty (Richard Widmark) owns a Road House in a small town. It’s managed by childhood friend, Pete Morgan (Cornell Wilde). Jefty, who has a reputation with the ladies, brings home a sultry singer, Lily Stevens (Ida Lupino), and when Pete hears that she’s getting $250 a week for singing in the bar, he’s against the deal. Jefty, apparently, has a history of bringing female singers back to the road house, and then expecting more than just a few songs for his money. Pete tries to dump Lily at the train station, and Lily refuses to leave. This initial maneuver by Pete sets him at odds with Lily. But then when Pete hears Lily sing, he realizes that she’s worth every penny Jefty’s paying her.

Jefty soon makes it clear that Lily is hired to entertain the crowds that swarm to listen to her every night, but that in her spare time, she belongs to him. Lily is experienced enough to know how to manage Jefty. Circumstances, however, throw her into Pete’s company, and they fall in love. Jefty feels crossed. He’s not about to let his manager leave town with Lily, so he devises a plan that guarantees that the couple will be under his sadistic thumb for a long time….

Lily, Jefty, and Pete could make an interesting love triangle. Unfortunately, there’s just not enough of a hint early in the film to explain Jefty’s later actions. His character isn’t explored adequately to explain his evil actions once the couple try to leave town. It’s clear that Jefty has a problem with using his female singers (and that Pete is tired of moping up after Jefty), but Jefty’s character is not warped beyond a certain weakness where women are concerned. Pete and Jefty should be foils for one another, but neither character is distinct enough to really bring this out. Pete is too bland, and Jefty isn’t spoiled and evil enough. There are just not enough sparks here. Widmark as Jefty does a credible job with the restraints placed upon him by the narrow role. There are shades of Tommy Ugo (Kiss of Death) when Jefty goes crazy in the final scenes, so for film noir fans, this film is well worth watching. Lupino, as the singer who sounds as though she’s smoked her way through a six-pack-a-day habit for years, is great. From director Jean Negulesco.

“Sudden death sells papers.”

In The Blue Gardenia Norah Larkin (Anne Baxter) is a naive telephone operator who sits at home most evenings. Her fiance is stationed in Korea, so while Norah’s two roommates enjoy their social lives, Norah turns down offers and stays home to read letters from Korea. Artist/playboy Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr) telephones one evening–he thinks he’s calling one of Norah’s roommates, but he gets a distraught Norah instead. Norah accepts Prebble’s invitation to meet for dinner at the Blue Gardenia. After downing half a dozen Polynesian Pearl Divers, a very inebriated Norah accompanies Prebble to his home. The next day, Norah can’t remember a thing, but newspaper headlines announce Prebble’s murder–and a hunt begins for the mysterious blonde murderess now known as The Blue Gardenia.

The Blue Gardenia–directed by Fritz Lang–is film noir, but it is also considered an entry in the sub-genre of newspaper noir. A great deal of the plot focuses on newspaperman Casey Mayo’s unethical attempts to contact the murderess and get an exclusive story. Mayo (Richard Conte) will stop at nothing to sell the paper, and he capitalizes on sensationalism and the sleazy aspects of the murder. The Blue Gardenia is an interesting film as it has a few twists on some familiar themes–for example, the killer is a woman, and a male offers comfort (although it’s a false offer). Plus Norah’s reputation is at risk by even admitting she’s stepped into a man’s apartment–anyone who downs 6 Polynesian Pearl Divers is a real floozy in everyone’s eyes. There’s also an appearance of Nat King Cole singing Blue Gardenia. The initial set-up with Norah and her roommates was refreshingly original, and Anne Baxter gave a credible performance as the naive Norah.

“Has there ever been any insanity in your family?”

In the film Stranger on the Third Floor from director Boris Ingster, newspaper reporter Michael Ward (John McGuire) gets his big break when he stumbles upon a murder. Ward becomes the key witness at the murder trial of Briggs (Elisha Cook Jr) who is accused of slashing the throat of a popular cafe owner. Briggs maintains his innocence and claims that he found the victim with his throat cut, but Ward’s testimony convicts Briggs and he is sentenced to the chair.

The spotlight’s on Ward, and he gets a $12 a month raise–just enough for him to consider marriage to his long-time girlfriend, Jane (Margaret Tallichet) but she can’t shake the feeling that the raise, and their marriage will always be tainted by the murder. She considers the possibility that Briggs may be telling the truth. Unfortunately, Ward isn’t too interested in her doubts about the trial. Briggs is a ne’er-do-well who made threats to Nick, plus Ward’s role as the star witness resulted in an improvement in his newspaper career.

Ward soon finds out the hard way that threats and circumstantial evidence can convict an innocent man. Stranger on the Third Floor includes one of the best dream sequences ever filmed–thanks to strong character acting and excellent use of black and white. The film also includes another classic scene that takes place in Ward’s rented room in a boarding house when Ward’s amorous plans are thwarted by with a nosy landlady and a prying, sanctimonious neighbour. The reptilian Peter Lorre stars as ‘the stranger’ and he’s delightfully creepy and bizarre. All the characters–even the relatively minor ones–are very sharply developed. Stranger on the Third Floor–an early film noir– is just over 64 minutes long, but it’s a tightly developed, perfect little package and well worth watching if you can find a copy of it anywhere.

 “People have funny things swimming around inside them.”

In the film Clash By Night Mae Doyle (Barbara Stanwyck) returns home after a ten-year absence to a small coastal fishing town in California. Her brother, Joe, doesn’t ask too many questions–he can tell that she’s down on her luck. Mae arrives with just a single suitcase and a large chip on her shoulder about life and men.

Joe’s boss, Jerry D’Amato, shows interest in Mae. Jerry is a very solid character. He owns a fishing boat, and he takes care of his demented father and irresponsible Uncle Vince. Mae marries Jerry–making it clear that she does not love him–but that the relationship offers her security. After a year of marriage and a baby, Mae, who has long been attracted to Jerry’s sleazy friend, Earl Pfeiffer (Robert Ryan), breaks out of her housewife routine and begins an affair with Earl.

Clash by Night is film noir, but it has soap opera tones too. The thing that prevents one from reaching for the nearest hankie is the performance of Barbara Stanwyck as hard-as-nails Mae Doyle D’Amato. Although her dilemma is clear–security vs. excitement, Stanwyck’s hard-edged speeches eliminate the need for tears. It’s difficult to feel sorry for her husband, Jerry. He’s a good, decent man, and obviously out-of-his depth with Mae, and he goes into the marriage knowing she doesn’t love him. Jerry is the sort of man other men like to make fun of–probably because they can never be as solid and reliable as he is. Jerry seems emasculated and this is largely due to Uncle Vince–an opportunist who blatantly uses Jerry.

Mae’s attraction to Earl–even though he’s exactly the sort of man she’s trying to avoid–adds interest to the plot. Also, Marilyn Monroe stars as Peggy, the tomboy sweetheart of Joe Doyle. She works in the cannery, and the cannery represents the sum total of the career opportunities in town. Peg sympathizes with Mae, and it’s curious to see a very young Monroe in the role of a tomboy and without that carefully developed blonde bombshell role.

Clash by Night is directed by Fritz Lang. It was filmed in Monterey, and fans of Barbara Stanwyck will find the film well worth watching for its strong characters and excellent acting.

“Don’t look back, baby. Don’t ever look back.”

Young Martha Ivers shares a terrible secret with her two childhood friends, Sam Masterson and Walter O’Neil concerning the death of her Aunt. Years pass, and Martha (Barbara Stanwyck) is now married to District Attorney O’Neil (Kirk Douglas). They still live in Iverstown (named for Martha’s wealthy family). Their marriage is not a happy one, but it’s sealed by shared guilt. Martha is now the wealthiest woman in Iverstown, and she and her husband either own or control everything in this corrupt small town.

One night, a car accident strands Sam (Van Heflin) in Iverstown. It’s mere coincidence that he’s back after an absence of almost twenty years, but Walter and Martha assume he’s there to blackmail them. Their guilt alerts Masterson to the possibilities of the situation, and so he sets out to exploit it.

From director Lewis Milestone, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers is a classic entry in the genre of film noir. Kirk Douglas, in his first screen role, stars as Walter O’Neil. Obviously the studios did not yet have Douglas type-cast in the strong hero roles he later assumed. In this film, he plays mealy-mouthed O’Neil–a spineless man who’s pushed around by his wife. O’Neil’s love for his wife is sick and corrupted. He knows she despises him, but he’s going to hang onto her no matter what it takes. Lizabeth Scott stars as Toni–the girl Sam meets on his first night in town. Scott enjoyed a brief career–which was extinguished by an expose in Confidential magazine. Scott reminds me very much of Lauren Bacall, and this may sound like heresy, but I prefer Scott. She’s rough around the edges and seems to be the genuine article. If Bacall hangs out with low-lifes, she is just slumming, but Lizabeth Scott seems to belong with the dregs of society–just waiting for some man to rescue her and take her home. It’s not a stretch of the imagination to envision her as Toni–the hard luck girl who’s just released from jail.

Barbara Stanwyck is, of course, one of film noirs great leading ladies. She’s ice cold and cruel in this role. But there’s more to Martha than meets the eye. In Martha’s first hysterical scene with her aunt, we get a glimpse of the hard, heartless woman she’ll become. And yet Martha claims to love Sam–but her love is twisted and sick too. She’s not capable of loving anyone in any normal sense of the word. Van Heflin as Sam–is a cipher. He’s a WWII veteran with a checkered past. As a child, he dominated Walter, and when Sam blows back into town, he picks up where he left off. Yet ultimately, Walter and Sam seem to recognize each other’s position. The relationship between Martha, Sam, and Walter dominates this fascinating film. The DVD is excellent quality. For film noir fans, I wholeheartedly recommend The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. It’s a fantastic film