Orson Welles was probably the most misunderstood and under-appreciated filmmaker of his time. Today he is considered one of the best directors of all time, but Welles only had one movie make back its budget and constantly struggled with studio heads wanting to cut and re-shoot his pictures. He was considered a flop and a failure during the 40s, so much so that he was left to make his movies in Europe, where he was much more appreciated. The Lady From Shanghai, along with Macbeth the following year, were the straws that broke the camels back and forced him out of Hollywood.
Welles plays Michael O'Hara, an Irish sailor who rescues Rosalie Bannister (Rita Hayworth) from muggers one night, and is offered a spot working for her and her much-older husband, lawyer Arthur (Everett Stone) on their yacht. He and Rosalie fall in love, and are discovered by Arthur's partner George Grisby, who enlists Michael to help him fake his death. Except George is planning to frame him for a very real murder. Michael is caught and tried for a murder he didn't commit, but escapes to clear his name. The revelatory twist of the true conspiracy is very well executed, though somewhat confusing, and works with the previous plot. Many twist endings don't stand up when watching earlier scenes with knowledge of the twist in mind, but The Lady From Shanghai actually benefits from prior knowledge. The iconic ending of the movie is masterfully shot and extremely creative for its time, creating a feeling of surrealness that is all too grounded in harsh reality. It is reminiscent of Michael's view of the story, like a mirror, he had it all backwards and it shatters around him.
Through a modern prism, we can appreciate Welles pictures, The Lady From Shanghai included. It is undoubtedly a weird movie, but Film Noir is a weird genre in of itself and the oddities are on purpose. The awkward feeling helps to get across the feeling of a fish-out-of-water, just as common sailor Michael is out of place among the rich Bannisters. The awkward angles and bizarre closeups increase the feeling of uneasiness as Michael falls into the frameup. The herky-jerky pacing is a result of the studio heads, who cut over an hour from the film, but the dialogue and camera work is signature Welles. He makes use of many long takes, on location, shooting in Mexico and San Francisco, which gives the movie a gritty realism that contrasts the heady dialogue. Like a lot of Welles work, it has been butchered by studio cuts, but The Lady From Shanghai, such as it is, is still a terrific Noir with one of the best climactic scenes in the history of film.
There is something inherently seedy in almost every Film Noir, frequently they present anti-heroes, or no heroes at all, while operating in a moral gray area. The audience doesn't always have anyone to root for in these types of movies, which can be dangerous because it runs the risk of alienating the viewer to the point they emotionally disengage. To keep them interested, it has to be well crafted film with a gripping narrative. The Postman Always Rings Twice is short on role models, but terrific movie none-the-less.
The movie opens with drifter Frank Chambers (John Garfield) stopping at a roadside dinner somewhere in the rural Southern California run by the elderly Nick Smith (Cecil Kallaway) and his much younger wife Cora (Lana Turner). Nick hires Frank to do odd jobs around the diner, despite the protests of Cora. Regardless of her hesitancy, Cora and Frank begin a passionate affair that leads them to try to run off together, but Cora realizes she won't be happy penniless on the road with Frank, so back to the diner they go, this time with murder on their minds. Their attempts at killing Nick are expertly crafted to create tension, in anticipation of both the murder and their potential exposure. Nick's eventual murder by the pair is the turning point in the movie, now Frank and Cora, finally are free to be together, suddenly find they are unable to trust one another. Making their life more uneasy is prosecutor Kyle Sackett (Leon Ames), who is convinced of their guilt, though unable to prove it. The movie is at it's best when showing the mistrust of Frank and Cora, who once thought they were in love enough to murder for it, but now can't stand one another. Film Noir generally treats killing pretty callously, but The Postman Always Rings Twice does a great job showing that taking a life can change you.
Based on the James M. Cain novel of the same name, The Postman Always Rings Twice is a classic Noir with a great story and terrific acting. All the actors give terrific performances, especially Turner, probably the best of her career as a prototypical femme fatale and the driving force behind the plot. It is not a light viewing experience, but it is thrilling in parts, and designed to make the audience think about the consequences of murder.
For the most part movies are a male dominated medium. This is especially the case with Film Noir, where women play a crucial role, though it is usually that of a femme fatale, enticing and ensnaring our hero (or anti-hero). Women rarely were the main character, but in Mildred Pierce, the title-character, played by Joan Crawford is the center of the story. Mildred drives the story from beginning to end, chronicling her rise and fall as a businesswoman and mother in Southern California.
Mildred Pierce is a frame narrative, beginning with the murder of Mildred's second husband Monte (Zachary Scott), with her first husband Bert (Bruce Bennett) accused of the crime. The police interview Mildred in search of a motive, and she give them her history, beginning with her divorce of Bert up to the night of the murder. In the roughly four years in-between, Mildred, along with her two daughters, the spoiled Veda (Ann Blyth) and tom-boy Kay (Jo-Ann Marlowe), goes from poor waitress to by business tycoon. Mildred's principle motivation is to provide the best things for Veda, who desires to be in the upper-class, however by spoiling her she creates somewhat of a monster. When finally reaching where she wants to be financially, it all starts to slip away everywhere else. Though Noir is usually short on morals, Mildred Pierce makes a strong point on the value of family versus wealth, the controlling power of a spoiled child, and the value of marriage, which is very odd for the genre. But then, it is a unique Noir that plays out more in in the family living room than in a trashy alley; in the bright daytime of Malibu, rather than gloomy downtown L.A. It is still a Noir through and through, and the genres trademark shadows and gloom make their presence known. By this point, director Michael Curtiz was a veteran of many different genres, from adventure and crime to romance and musical, and his deft touch framing scenes and managing multiple actors is at full strength here. The large cast all give terrific performances, led by Crawford, who won Best Actress and Blyth, in her first major role. Blyth's Veda is one of the most dislikeable characters in film, as malicious as she is snobbish, a remarkable performance for a 16 year-old. The story, based on James M. Cain's novel, is a driving narrative that is more psychological and less sleazy than other Cain adaptions.
Before Mildred Pierce, Crawford was no longer considered a major star and was growing too old to play young romantic leads, a series of flops followed and her career looked to be in jeopardy. However, after she moved from MGM to Warner Brothers, she made Mildred Pierce and returned to prominence as a star, with her career lasting successfully into the 60s. Her character in Mildred Pierce was unique in the genre at that time, and the movie itself is a shinning example of a successful break from traditional formula.
Where it all began. The Maltese Falcon is the first major Film Noir, a huge influence on the genre, and a blueprint that decades of filmmakers would follow. Humphrey Bogart created the quintessential hardboiled anti-hero, while Mary Astor did the same for the femme-fatale. Director John Huston's dark, moody cinematography brought the gloom of German expressionism into American cinema for the first time. As far as mysteries go, the movie delivers in that respect as well, unraveling the twists, turns, and double-crosses that also became a genre staple.
Bogart portrays Sam Spade, a private detective whose partner Miles Archer is murdered while helping Ruth Wonderly (Astor) find her missing sister. Further investigation by Spade reveals Wonderly is really Bridget O'Shaughnessy and is searching for a priceless black statue, "the Maltese Falcon". The Falcon is a classic MacGuffin, an excuse to get the characters together and motivate them, but otherwise not really important. The search to find the Falcon also brings Kasper Gutman (Sydney Greenstreet), his partner Joel Cairo (Peter Lorre), and their muscle Wilmer (Elisha Cook Jr.) into the picture. Spade makes a deal with them to find the Falcon, but must deal with their treachery while also trying to figure out who murdered his partner. In classic Noir style, the plot is occasionally confusing, but it gets resolved satisfactorily in the end. The mystery is an important part of the story, just as Spade isn't sure who to trust, neither is the audience. The original audience may not have even known whether or not to trust Spade, as Bogart was playing a (mostly) good guy for the first time in his career, having been case as gangsters previously. This was also the director debut for Huston, who also wrote the script based off of Dashiell Hammett's novel of the same name. His adaption stays close to the original source material, while giving it the necessary conversion to the screen, something Huston was very good at throughout his career.
While The Maltese Falcon is notable for it's influence on the Noir genre, it should not be taken lightly just how good a movie it is. Terrific acting from all of the main characters, and while it may not be as deep a narrative as some other films, there's something to be said for a good old fashion mystery story.
The majority of Film Noir are told from the perspective of the darker side of life; criminals, private detective, and low-lifes are the main characters. If the police are involved, it is usually of a corrupt kind, or operating outside the law. That isn't the case with The Naked City, which is told from the perspective of two by-the-books, New York homicide detectives.
These two detectives are veteran Detective Lt. Dan Muldoon (Barry Fitzgerald) and rookie Detective Jimmy Halloran; the story follows them as they investigate the murder of a young woman named Jean Dexter. The investigation plays out through a very detailed, police procedural style; we see crime photographers, sketchers, witnesses interviewed, and suspects interrogated as well as the tremendous amount of trial-and-error legwork involved in tracking down leads. Suspects are introduced, including Jean's psychiatrist, the cagey Dr. Stoneman (House Jameson), her boyfriend Frank Niles (Frank Niles), and the mysterious Philip Henderson. Muldoon and Halloran slowly put the pieces together and track down the killer, leading to a climactic chase and shootout. However, neither of the two detectives, any of the suspects, or even the victim is the main character of this story, the main character is the city of New York. Shot almost entirely on location in the city, the movie makes great use of both famous locations as well as common city streets, alleys, and subway stations. The New York is alive with characters, and the movie takes time to give us little looks into common people as they go about their business, many of them portrayed by local non-actors.
Throughout the case, The Naked City is presented with purposeful realism, the movie wants you to feel as if you're watching a documentary about a murder investigation, not a dramatic rendition, something it does very well. Director Jules Dassin, who would soon be blacklisted out of Hollywood, masterfully arranged the movie, cross-cutting to different parts of the city at different times, successfully telling us one of the "eight million" stories in the naked city, as the film's closing line puts it.
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