More Film Noir Favorites 2023

Below are brief reviews of ten films that my wife and I enjoyed watching in 2023. Usually known as film noir, these black and white films were a staple of what is known as Hollywood’s Golden Age. They feature some of the leading stars of the era and were done by directors and other craftsmen who not only were true artists, but who also knew how to gain and hold an audience. In addition to being good stories they also provide a real window into the world of my childhood. 

I like to view these films on DVD, but most are available on streaming services. CC indicates that close captioning is available for the hearing impaired.

 

Laura. Gene Tierney and Dana Andrews star in this 1944 thriller that is now regarded as one of the best films of all time. Tierney, one of Hollywood’s most beautiful actresses, catapulted to stardom in the title role. Clifton Webb, in his first screen role, received a best supporting actor nomination, and Vincent Price, and Judith Anderson rounded out the superb cast. Otto Preminger directed this film marked by great writing, cinematography, set design, and a music score based on the haunting Laura theme. The DVD version comes with an excellent commentary by Jeanine Basinger, creator of the Gene Tierney collection at Wesleyan University.  88 minutes.  CC.

 

Boomerang.  Director Elia Kazan won critical acclaim for this 1947 film based on a true-life story about the murder of a beloved priest. Dana Andrews starred as a District Attorney out to bring the suspected murderer to justice. Filmed on location in Stamford, Connecticut, this naturalistic court room drama was based on a pivotal case in the career of Homer Cummings, who would go on to become Attorney General of the United States. Jane Wyatt, and Lee J. Cobb play supporting roles. 85 minutes. CC.

In a Lonely Place.  In this 1950 film Humphrey Bogart, who appeared in more outstanding films than any other male actor, gave one of his best performances as a veteran screenwriter whose career is plagued by anger issues. After a chance meeting with a young hat-check girl he becomes a prime suspect when the girl is found murdered. Film Noir favorite Gloria Grahame matched Bogart’s performance in this film directed by ground-breaking director Nicholas Ray, who also happened to be her husband at the time. 94 minutes. CC.

The Burglar. This little known 1957 crime thriller with typical noir twists and turns stars Dan Duryea as a cunning jewel thief hoping to pull off a final big heist. Jayne Mansfield, before she became a blond sex-bomb, is very effective in her role as one of the burglar’s accomplices. This film, based on a novel by famed crime writer David Goodis, marked the directorial debut of Paul Wendkos who showed he was a noir master from the surprising opening scene, through the suspenseful burglary, and finally to the tragic end shot on the boardwalk of Atlantic City. Oddly enough, Wendkos is best known for directing “Gidget.”  90 minutes. No subtitles.

Witness to Murder. Barbara Stanwyck stars in this 1954 film noir as a woman fighting to convince police that one sleepless night, she saw a young woman being strangled in an apartment across the street. When a body cannot be found, the police suspect that she has either been dreaming or out of her mind. George Sanders and Gary Merrill co-star. Roy Rowland directed this film with help from innovative cinematographer John Alton. 83 minutes. No subtitles.

I Wake Up Screaming. In a rare dramatic role Betty Grable plays the sister of a beautiful, murdered model in this tense 1941 thriller. While police search for the murderer, Grable is falling in love with the prime suspect played by Victor Mature, the first Italian American to become a leading man. The many plot twists and turns leave viewers guessing right to the end. Some critics consider this film to be the first film noir. It was shot at the same time as the Maltese Falcon and has even more noir features that would show up again and again in subsequent films. In addition to the plot twists, there are the many flash-backs characteristic of noir, the police interrogation room with its bright light and dark shadows, and the haunting strains of Street Scene, a song that can be heard in many later noir dramas. 82 minutes. CC.

Lady from Shanghai. Orson Welles directed and starred in this spellbinding 1948 film that also starred beautiful femme fatale Rita Hayworth. Hired to work on a yacht belonging to Hayworth’s wealthy but disabled husband, Welles is drawn into a web of intrigue and murder. Everett Sloane, a Welles favorite turns in a masterful performance especially in the courtroom scene. The climax of the film takes place in a Hall of Mirrors in a deserted amusement park. It is one of the greatest scenes in film history. 88 minutes. CC.

The Asphalt Jungle. John Huston directed this 1950 classic noir heist drama that has often been copied but never equaled. Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, and Louis Calhern star as the principals in a plot to steal a fortune in jewels. Huston humanizes his criminals. They have their flaws, often fatal, but they are not all bad. The film also features Jean Hagan, best known as silent film star Lina Lamont in the great musical Singing in the Rain, as a down and out “B” girl, and Marilyn Monroe in a fine early performance. Her body and personality later made Monroe an international icon, but she could act. As Ginger Rogers noted in one of her films with Fred Astaire: “It takes brains to act dumb.” 112 minutes. CC.

Nightfall. Aldo Ray and a young Anne Bancroft star in this 1957 film noir about a young man innocently trapped in a web of crime and murder. The film features some of the best work of two film noir masters: director Jacques Tourneur, and Burnett Guffey, the cinematographer whose dark city scenes and winter landscapes are classic noir. This film is very loosely based on a novel by crime writer David Goodis. 79 minutes. CC.

Christmas Holiday. Although the action takes place on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, this 1944 film, based on a novel by Somerset Maugham, is not typical Holiday fare. Deanna Durbin and Gene Kelly star in unfamiliar roles. Durbin’s singing voice and wholesome personality had made her a box office favorite but here she appears in a serious role as a night club singer with a dark history who meets a stranded soldier on Christmas Eve in New Orleans. Despite its dark theme, the film features some outstanding music. Durbin sings two songs including Irving Berlin’s haunting Always; a symphony orchestra performs Wagner’s Liebestod, often used in films about doomed lovers; and there is even a dramatic filming of a Midnight Mass in a packed cathedral. The director was Robert Siodmak, regarded as the best of all noir directors by TCM critic Eddie Muller. 93 minutes. No subtitles.

 Happy New Year.

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Home for Christmas 2023

I find it hard to understand why some people don’t like Christmas, or why some even go out of their way to criticize or even attack it. I have wonderful memories of Christmas and for me it is hard to imagine what life would have been like without Christmas. It is true that most of these memories have been blurred together by the passage of time. I have written about some of these memories on earlier posts but here are a couple of others. 

Many, many years ago when my eldest son was just a boy, he had a best friend named John, but everyone called him by his nickname, “Stepper.”  Stepper was often at our house and one day just before Christmas we were discussing the fact that Christmas Day that year would be on a Monday, just like this year. When we explained to Stepper that not only would he have to attend Mass on Sunday, he would also have to attend on Monday, the day of the feast, he erupted vehemently and protested: “WHAT A RIP-OFF!" 

I suppose my favorite memory is just being home for Christmas when all our kids were young. As our family grew larger, Linda and I decided to just stay home on Christmas, and not visit relatives. It was our custom to put up the Christmas tree on Christmas Eve. We usually put it in its stand early in the day, but waited until after dinner to decorate it. All six children would pitch in to put on the lights, and the other decorations. However, no presents would be placed around the tree until after the kids went to bed. We left that to Santa.

It was only about one or two in the morning that my wife would take the presents from secret hiding places, that we now know were not so secret, and place them under and around the tree. Next morning, sometimes even before break of dawn, the kids would come clambering down full of excitement even though there were some years when the pickings were sparse. After opening the presents we would sit down around the table for Linda’s wonderful breakfast.

Inevitably, while all this was going on I would play Anne Murray’s Christmas album, “Christmas Wishes.” Anne Murray was a particular favorite of mine and I still believe that her album is the best Christmas album. My favorite song was her rendition of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.” The kids are all grown now and my wife and I will be alone this Christmas morning, but like Anne, I’m “dreaming tonight of a place I love”:  that home when Linda and I were sitting around the tree with all the kids: Fran, Ed, Anne, Kate, Jane, and DD.

 

Merry Christmas to all.

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Christmas History 2023

 

The birth of Jesus is recorded on the gospels of Matthew and Luke, but they only have one fact in common: that the Holy Family was in Bethlehem, the birthplace of King David, when Jesus was born.

Nevertheless, scholars now agree that the accounts have a firm basis in history and complement each other. Modern biblical scholars argue  that the birth occurred in what we call 7 B.C. The gospel of Matthew says that Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod who died in 4 B.C. The gospel of Luke states that the birth occurred during a Roman census ordered when Quirinus, a Roman official, was governor of Syria. This official was governor in 6 A.D. but now we know that he was also governor between 10 B.C. and 7 B.C. During both terms he ordered a census.

The date Is also confirmed by astronomy. It appears that the star followed by the Three Kings or Magi is no pious fiction. There is no record of a comet or super nova in 7 B. C., but in the seventeenth century, famed astronomer  Johannes Kepler claimed that there had been a conspicuous conjunction of the two largest planets, Jupiter and Saturn, in the area of the constellation Pisces visible for months in 7 B.C. Only in the twentieth century did scientists confirm Kepler’s observation.

What about the Magi? Historians now doubt that they were kings but claim that they were astrologers (scientists) who were keen observers of the stars and planets. In fact, scholars now believe that they were Jewish astrologers living in the large Jewish community in Persia who were continually searching the skies for signs of the coming Messiah. 

What about Bethlehem? Joseph would have been required to travel with his wife the 70 miles from Nazareth to Bethlehem, the hometown of his family to register for the census. The small town situated on a hill six miles from Jerusalem would have been crowded with others coming for the census. It would have been very likely that they would have had to stay in a stable or cave used to shelter animals.

There were certainly grazing fields around the town where shepherds could be watching their flocks, but scholars now believe that the flocks would not have been grazing at the onset of winter. The gospel accounts do not specify an exact date, and it seems most likely that December 25 is a later addition to the story.

Nevertheless, after all these years, it is hard to imagine a better date to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Winter is coming on, and we are faced with three months of cold and gloom. What’s wrong with a ray of light to pierce the darkness?

The birth of Jesus 2030 years ago was an actual event that took place in a specific time and place. It is confirmed by historians and scientists. No matter what you believe, you cannot doubt that it changed the world forever.

Maybe we still have not achieved peace on earth and goodwill toward men, but we can always hope. Years ago I heard this lovely rendition of "Peace on Earth" by famed country singer Vince Gill, and his daughter Jenny, now a star in her own right. Click on this link or view the video below.

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Note: The image above is a painting by the Venetian Renaissance artist Giorgione. It is usually called The Three Philosophers, but I agree with those who believe it depicts the Magi when they first behold the star.

War Stories

                                          

 

Two recent news items about the war in Ukraine caught my attention. The first was about a 58-year-old Ukrainian sniper who had just killed a Russian soldier who was 2.5 a miles away.  He claimed the shot set a new world’s record as if it were an Olympic event. He was depicted with his rifle and spotter sitting on a couch somewhere. I wonder what the deceased soldier’s mother, wife, or sweetheart thought of the killing. It sounds like murder but how can we possibly understand the hatred Ukrainians feel for Russians, especially after the Soviet induced famine of the 1930s? 

A couple of days later, a second article appeared about Russian criminals released from prison to serve in the Ukraine war. If they agree to serve on the battlefield for six months, they can return home, and their sentences are commuted.  Apparently, if they survive, many return to their life of crime. One even murdered six people and burned down the house in which they resided.

It would appear that the Russian army has been seriously depleted by the struggle since they have to recruit convicted criminals. Mohammed Ali was the most famous American who refused to fight in the Vietnam war, but many chose to avoid the draft or even leave the country rather than go to war. I suspect that this is happening in Russia today and that many young men are seeking to flee the country. Reports indicate that some have even made it to our southern border.

As the saying goes, “War is Hell” but many commentators on both sides seem to regard it as a game that can be won or lost. The Biden administration is pressing for billions of dollars of military aid for Ukraine, but I am sure that no one in the Administration would be willing to tote those weapons on an actual battlefield. It is always the young men on both sides who will bear the burden and face the horror.

Lawrence Kirby

 

Speaking of young men, I have been reading Lawrence Kirby’s Stories from the Pacific, a book about his experience as a young Marine in World War II. I was told about this book by my brother-in-law Richard Gardella who knew Larry Kirby briefly before the former Marine died at the age of 99 in a Senior residence. The stories in Kirby’s book are a real eye opener and at times extremely heart rending. 

In one especially moving chapter he describes one incident that took place while fighting in the jungle of the island of Guam. He was on a scouting mission when suddenly he came upon a young Japanese soldier about 20 feet away. Their eyes met in stunned silence but after a brief pause the Japanese hurled a grenade and Kirby rushed him and opened fire. Kirby was wounded by the grenade shrapnel, but the Japanese soldier was dead. Kirby never forgot that tragic experience. Years later he wrote this poem.

I met a youthful enemy 

My fear reflected in his eye

I loathed him not, nor did he me

But we must fight and one must die.

No longer boys but not yet men

Just sad young soldiers sick with fright

Flag and face our difference then

One’s timeless sleep would come that night

Panic grew with every breath

I had to kill, I had to try.

Why do I seek a stranger’s death?

With vain despair I wondered why?

I could be his friend, not foe

Such wish was true, not foolish whim.

The brave, young lad will never know.

With tragic skill I murdered him.

Long years have passed since when he fell

My heart still aches, no sense of pride.

Though I seem here I live in hell.

On that cruel day I also died. *

Lawrence Kirby believed that soldiers did not like to talk about their experiences mainly because no one would believe how horrible war could be for the young men who actually fought. He wrote, 

The ultimate desecration of the human spirit is the conscious activity of cruel inhumanity, predicated and justified—at least in the minds of those who sent us—as noble and patriotic duty, a privilege and responsibility accepted willingly by only the brave, offering their lives in this crusade and, further, willing to kill other equally brave and misguided young men in the cause of patriotism and in the name of duty…. (53)

My war ended with Iwo Jima. I was one of the very lucky few to survive the terrible bloodshed. It was my last campaign, thank God. The killing, the screaming, the torn bodies, the shattered limbs the suffering—it had become too much to handle! There were times when I thought I would welcome death. Ending the terror seemed more important than living. (56)

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*Lawrence F. Kirby: Stories from the Pacific. P. 102