“I know a lot of smart guys and a few honest ones.”

In the film Out of the Past Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is the owner of a small garage in the sleepy town of Bridgeport, California. He keeps to himself, and that arouses the suspicions of the locals, and some of them disapprove of the fact that he’s courting the saintly Ann Miller. One day, a mysterious stranger appears in town bearing a summons from Tahoe-based gangster, Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas). Bailey reluctantly agrees to meet Sterling. They have some unfinished business together, and Bailey cannot refuse.

A protagonist running away from a sordid past is a popular theme in film noir. In Out of the Past Bailey’s pre-Bridgeport history catches up with him, and suddenly it’s time to face past mistakes.

Years before, Bailey was a New York private detective. He was hired by Sterling to track down Sterling’s runaway girlfriend, Kathie (Jane Greer)–as well as the $40,000 that disappeared with her. Kathie, apparently, used Sterling for a little target practice before she disappeared. Bailey begins searching for Kathie, and, eventually, he catches up with her ….

Humphrey Bogart was slated for the role of Bailey. Mitchum does a credible job–he’s not as edgy as Bogart, and there’s a certain laconic sloth to his personality. It’s easy to accept Mitchum as the corruptible P.I. who accepts a dirty job from Sterling, and it’s no stretch of the imagination to see Mitchum falling for Kathie. As a Dark City femme fatale, Greer delivers a stellar performance. Bailey tells her: “You’re like a leaf that the wind blows from one gutter to another.” Kirk Douglas as gangster Whit Sterling really adds to the atmosphere of the film. He has a chilly politeness and ironic–yet threatening–sense of humour.

For film noir fans, Out of the Past is a hidden gem. Unfortunately, the plot loses some of its tight drama when the action moves to San Francisco. This results in a red herring or two which detracts from the action and the tension. This slight flaw noted, however, film noir fans will enjoy the performances, and the dialogue is full of acid-based one-liners. From director Jacques Tourneur and based on a novel by Daniel Mainwaring.

“I make my own luck.”

In Charles Vidor’s classic film Gilda Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) plays a down-on-his luck drifter in Argentina. One night, he meets mysterious casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready), and soon Johnny is working in the casino–and rapidly rises to become Ballin’s right-hand man. Johnny has a rosy future until Ballin leaves for a short period and returns with a juicy new bride–Gilda (Rita Hayworth).

Johnny and Gilda had a relationship in the past that turned sour. Ballin quickly guesses the true state of affairs and a rather bizarre love triangle ensues….

Ballin attempts to control Gilda by giving her a very long leash. He has some rather dirty business in his past, and that keeps him occupied. Ballin assigns the role of watchdog to Johnny. Johnny finds this role excruciatingly painful, and he’s caught between fealty to his employer and suppressed lust for Gilda. Johnny attempts to control Gilda by locking her up–neither man’s plan works. Gilda remains an exotic, reckless creature who endangers herself in order to make a point. Gilda’s wild attitude towards life, and her sarcasm–loaded with suggestive meaning–is brilliant. When describing herself, Gilda says, “If I’d been a ranch, they’d have named me the Bar Nothing.” All men want to possess her, and yet possession is the one thing she won’t allow.

Rita Hayworth as Gilda is simply stunning. There’s no other word that I can use. When she’s in a scene, she takes over–with her body, her movements, and her reckless approach to life. When she enters Ballin’s sharply controlled existence, chaos rules, and she sends out shock waves of desire to all who see her. Hayworth performs a semi-striptease during a song, and she removes one item of clothing. The crowd roars with delight, and the men in the audience have to be physically restrained from ravishing her on the spot. Amazing stuff. For film noir buffs, I recommend this film. It’s highly entertaining, full of great-one liners, and Rita Hayworth is nothing less that magnificent. The DVD was marvelous quality and well worth the purchase.

 “I hope all your socks have holes in them.”

In the film Crime of Passion, tough, successful career woman Kathy Ferguson (Barbara Stanwyck) abandons her newspaper column and a prestigious new job to marry LA police detective Bill Doyle (Sterling Hayden). She imagines a life of domestic bliss, and soon she’s living in suburbia–along with all the other detectives’ wives. Doyle is happy plodding along in his career, but Kathy really can’t stand the life she finds herself in. The Doyle’s social life is composed of dreary evenings with Doyle’s co-workers. The men play card games, and the women chatter on about inane subjects. While no unpleasant words exit from the mouths of the detectives’ wives, it’s quite clear that a strict social hierarchy exists. In particular, one wife, Sara Alidos, is all too happy to carry on at length about her intimate friendship with the Police Commissioner Pope (Raymond Burr) and his wife. Kathy really doesn’t belong with these other wives. Try as she might, she just doesn’t fit in, and her own lack of conformity drives Kathy to the brink of a breakdown.

But then Kathy has an idea. In Kathy’s mind, her husband is superior to the other detectives, and she is cleverer than the rest of the wives. And so Kathy sets out to use her brain to promote her dullard of a husband through whatever means are necessary.

Barbara Stanwyck is excellent in the role of Kathy–a woman who gives up her career and lives to regret it. Kathy is hard and tough, but when she meets Bill, she gives into romance, and in her case, this is a big mistake. Bill Doyle is a good, hard-working man, but Kathy doesn’t respect him. Raymond Burr as Pope is the man who sees past Kathy’s persona and sees the conniving woman underneath.

From director Gert Oswald, Crime of Passion contains some extremely interesting comments especially about the roles of women in the 50s. For film noir/Stanwyck fans, this is a film well worth watching.

 “She was too spoiled and too beautiful.”

The Phantom Lady is the mystery woman Scott Anderson (Alan Curtis) meets at a bar. The woman seems despondent and Scott persuades her to accompany him to a musical. She agrees–but only on the condition that he asks no questions and names are not exchanged.

Later that night, Anderson returns home to find his wife brutally murdered. Without an alibi–and only the untraceable mystery woman can provide that–Anderson is facing the death penalty. In a race against time, Scott’s assistant, Carol “Kansas” Richman (Ella Raines) begins a little detective work of her own ….

The interesting thing about this film is that the identity of the murderer is revealed about half way through the film. This has the potential to kill suspense–however, the film remains tense and suspenseful–and this is largely due to the performance of the extremely talented Ella Raines. She stalks witnesses, and even goes undercover as a party girl (and for this role, she’s almost unrecognizable). Every lead takes her to a dead end, but soon she has an ally–Inspector Burgess–the man who originally investigated the Anderson murder. “Kansas” really is a fantastic character. Her tough, disciplined, and no nonsense approach to the mystery elevates the film. Also noted are the performances of Estela Monteiro (Aurora Miranda) as a tempestuous singer, Cliff (Elisha Cook Jr.)–the manic, swinging drummer who knows more than he’s willing to tell, and Scott Marlow (Franchot Tone) as Anderson’s best friend. The Phantom Lady is an excellent example of Film Noir. Directed by Robert Siodmak, the film is based on a Cornell Woolrich novel.

 “Sometimes the truth is wicked.”

In the film Leave Her to Heaven, writer Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) travels to New Mexico for a holiday. On the train, he meets a woman, Ellen (Gene Tierney) who happens to be reading his book. They strike up a conversation, and once in New Mexico, Richard finds himself in a relationship with Ellen. A whirlwind romance leads to marriage, and soon the newlyweds are heading back to Harland’s home on the East Coast.

It doesn’t take long before Harland realizes that there’s something not quite right with his beautiful bride. She’s insanely jealous, but she’s also hideously rude to lifelong friends. Ellen, however, is quite practiced at hiding her ugly side. At first, she welcomes Richard’s crippled brother, Danny, but within a few weeks, she’s eager to rid of him–she tries to get rid of Danny gracefully at first, and when that doesn’t work, she takes matters into her own evil hands….

The role of Ellen is considered one of the all-time great Evil Women in cinema, and Gene Tierney was very well cast. She has a sort of restless grace that convincingly conveys the sense of a mind that is not quite in control. Tierney’s performance as the seriously disturbed beauty is flawless. She shifts from false sweetness to absolute psychotic evil with the blink of her eyelashes. Even the other characters in the scene seem amazed by her performance. Jeanne Crain is cast as Ellen’s adopted sister, and the two actresses look incredibly alike. Vincent Price has a relatively small (and tame) role as Ellen’s ex-fiance-the man has no idea what a narrow escape he had. Directed by John M. Stahl, Leave Her to Heaven is classed as film noir, but it has the feel of a soap opera at heart–an excellent one, I’ll admit.

 “You cannot escape the person you are.”

In the film, Strange Impersonation chemist Nora Goodrich (Brenda Marshall) is close to perfecting a new form of anesthesia, and she’s also fending off fiance and fellow chemist, Dr Lindstrom. Lindstrom is pushing for a wedding date, but Nora’s ambition dictates the conclusion of her experiments before moving on to personal business. Nora decides to accelerate product testing by experimenting with the anesthetic at home. She enlists the help of lab assistant Arline Cole. The experiment, however, goes horribly wrong, and Nora’s face is scarred beyond recognition.

Following a bizarre encounter with female blackmailer Jane Karaski, Nora seizes the opportunity to assume Jane’s identity. Nora–as Jane–goes into hiding and then undergoes over a year’s worth of intense plastic surgery to restore her face.

Director Anthony Mann is considered one of the great film noir directors. So for those interested in the genre, Strange Impersonation is a must-see. However, that said, viewers should be aware that the film is seeped in 1940s technology and science (Nora’s lab–Nora’s experiments, etc), and so much of the film seems extremely dated. There are literally beakers full of smoking concoctions. Also, the film has a very high camp quality. The fights between females, a hideously scarred face hidden by veils, and the nonsensical inability to identify a body because the face is damaged beyond recognition, all add up to a good laugh. While the performances of the main actors are up-to-standard, some of the minor characters are definitely bad actors.

Strange Impersonation is absolutely not in the same league as The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity or The Strange Love of Martha Ivers. It’s just too campy for that. However, I was extremely interested in Mann’s portrayal of females in this film. Nora is a brilliant scientist, Arline is the wicked schemer, and Jane Karaski is a female thug. This is a film about strong women (not necessarily nice) who take fate into their own hands. The characters of the females are fascinating–whereas the males play only dull minor roles on the periphery of the film. Strange Impersonation is relatively short–68 minutes long, and if you want to see a “B” cult classic from the 40s, then this film–with all its flaws–is worth your while. This is a restored version of the film, and both the picture and sound were excellent quality.

“We’re sisters under the mink.”

A few years ago, I read an article in the newspaper about the SF 2004 Film Noir Festival. It sounded like the sort of thing I would love to go to, but long hours in the salt mine just wipe out that sort of entertainment for me. Eddie Muller, the author of Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir was interviewed in the story, and he also hosts the annual film festival. I really liked what he said about the genre. As a result of the article (and my inability to attend the festival), I ordered his book.

I was aware–vaguely–of the meaning of the term film noir. I had a sense of what it was all about. But, after reading this book, I can say that the amount I knew about film noir only scratched the surface of this absolutely fascinating subject. While I was aware of many of the ‘big’ titles–Double Indemnity and The Postman Always Rings Twice for example, I had simply no idea that so many B titles existed. This invaluable book gave me many leads to look into. I have to add, though, that I am horrified at how many titles are no longer available.

Muller writes in a hard-boiled detective style, and this complements the genre. Muller’s book is divided into chapters that are organized thematically. The chapter, Vixenville, for example, concentrates on some of the female film noir stars and covers some of the more infamous female roles in the genre. The book is also loaded with short bios of many of the stars–including Barbara Stanwyck, Gloria Grahame, Joan Crawford, Ida Lupino, Gene Tierney, and Rita Hayworth. Also included are brief overview of the careers and influence of some of the film noir novelists (Cain & Raymond Chandler)–along with many behind-the-scene anecdotes. While examining the careers of some of those involved in the world of film noir, Muller also touches on the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) and its impact on Hollywood. Muller also offers his theory of how film noir began and how it ended.

Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir is an oversized book–complete with many gorgeous photographs, a poster gallery, an index (and believe me, you’ll use it) as well as a bibliography. This really isn’t a book that you can sit down and read cover-to-cover in one sitting. It’s a resource to return to repeatedly.

“I was on guard against everyone except myself.”

In the Douglas Sirk film Lured a series of young girls disappear after responding to personal ads. The killer taunts Scotland Yard by sending poems describing the girl and announcing the upcoming murder. The police are left with a handful of clues–the personal ads, the flaws of the typewriter used for the poems, and the fact that the killer has a penchant for Baudelaire.

Sandra Carpenter (Lucille Ball) plays an unflappable dance-hall girl whose friend is the latest victim of the killer. Inspector Temple (Charles Coburn) recruits Sandra to operate undercover through the personal ads. Sandra meets a lot of peculiar men through the ads, and soon she’s juggling dates with bizarre dress designer Charles van Druten (Boris Karloff) and smooth playboy Robert Fleming (George Sanders).

This is an interesting role for Lucille Ball. Here she’s worldly-wise and savvy to every pick-up line in the book. Inspector Temple sagaciously assesses Sandra’s character and realizing she can handle men effectively, he adds her talent to his investigation. Lucille Ball fans will be pleasantly surprised by her role in Lured, and Douglas Sirk fans should enjoy the film too. The characters are well defined, and the plot kept my attention throughout. It’s in glorious black and white, and that complements the story and the setting.

“When they need you, they forgive and forget.”

In the film, Ace in the Hole, unemployed newspaper reporter Charles Tatum (Kirk Douglas) finds himself stuck in New Mexico. He’s penniless, his car has just broken down, and he has no prospects whatsoever. One thing Tatum does have in abundance is nerve. And it’s this nerve that takes Tatum into the local newspaper office where he bullies and bargains his way into a job as a reporter. Tatum has a checkered past. He used to work for big newspapers, but he’s “been fired from 11 papers.” He’s been at the top of his field, and he dreams of getting back up there one day. Tatum realizes that his best shot at fame is through the chance of writing a killer story–and he brags, “if there’s no news, I’ll go out and bite a dog.” Stuck in a small backwater town, the opportunities for the big break just don’t materialize. Tatum is on his way to cover the annual Rattlesnake hunt, when he stumbles across the story of a lifetime.

Tatum accidentally runs into a crisis–there’s a man stuck in an abandoned mine shaft/Indian burial ground. Leo Minosa is trapped and buried under some fallen rubble. To extract him carelessly could cause the mine to collapse and Leo would be killed. Tatum turns the rescue into a media circus–and of course, he’s the one with all the power.

The three main characters all want to escape in different ways. Tatum wants to escape the small time. Leo wants to escape from the mine, and his wife, Lorraine, a former dime-a-dance girl (Jan Sterling) wants to escape from the boring humdrum existence stuck behind the serving counter at the family business. The three characters collude–from necessity–and create a media circus in the middle of nowhere.

The role of Tatum is Kirk Douglas at his best–he’s hard as nails, cynical, shameless and driven. He never gives an inch in his inhuman drive for fame and fortune. Ace in the Hole examines the issue of ethics in journalism, and I doubt there’s a better film on the subject. This is simply an incredible classic film, and it’s a travesty that it’s not available commercially. Based on a true story, this film was a huge flop for director Billy Wilder, and it’s wonderful that this film was finally resurrected from the vaults.

“They’ll be masterpieces.”

In Scarlet Street mild-mannered bank cashier Chris Cross (Edward G Robinson) dreams of being a great painter one day. His nagging wife ridicules his hobby and constantly humiliates him. Then one day Chris meets a young woman named Kitty (Joan Bennett). He thinks she’s being mugged, but she’s really a ‘working girl’ squabbling with her slimy boyfriend, Johnny (Dan Duryea). Chris and Kitty strike up a conversation, and soon Kitty and Johnny are ready to use Chris for whatever money they can get out of him.

Chris seems to be just too nice for his own good. He’s a reliable, largely underappreciated employee who plugs away daily at his desk. But painting is one thing he’s passionate about, and it saves him from the sheer boredom of mediocrity. He’s a rather unhappy character–first his impossible wife is kicking him around, and it doesn’t take long for Kitty to sink her materialistic little hooks into Chris too. As events take place within the film, the strength and weaknesses of Chris Cross are explored. Will he exploit opportunities or is he destined to always be a slave to his character flaws? Many marvelous little touches raise this film above the average and make it memorable. I’d never heard of this film until recently when I came across the title in a book about film noir. As a fan of director, Fritz Lang’s films, I sought out this film. The plot is extremely clever–full of unpredictable twists and turns. Kitty deceives Chris, but he is guilty of his own sort of deception.

The DVD quality is not great, but I am not downgrading the film for that. My DVD is produced by Alpha video at a very reasonable price. The film is not re-mastered at all, and there are no extra features. At some points during the film, a thin vertical line was visible, and the sound quality varied (seems to get louder), plus there were some crackles. The black and white picture is grainy at times. All of these defects, however, did not interfere with my ability to watch and enjoy the film. It’s about the same quality as a television version of the film. If you enjoyed Woman in the Window (a much more famous Fritz Lang/Edgar G Robinson/Joan Bennett film) you should enjoy this one too.