The People Against O’Hara

Spencer Tracy plays a seasoned attorney with his work cut out for him defending a young man in a murder trial.  In some ways a routine courtroom drama, but it goes beyond that.  Tracy is terrific, doing his usual crusty cynic bit but that’s what we love him for.  The role has some depth to it, as the character is a struggling alcoholic who makes a mistake in a moment of weakness.  The rest of the cast doesn’t match his performance, although John Hodiak is pretty good as the opposing counsel.  The plot takes some interesting turns and goes into true noir territory in the third act.  And cinematography by John Alton… need I say more?  Those brilliant patches of light amidst deep, deep shadows look fantastic as always.  I’ll be honest, courtroom movies don’t generally excite me, but this one is a cut above the usual fare.  Rating: Very Good

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Abandoned

A gal goes searching for her missing sister and uncovers an illegal baby trade ring.  This is unique subject matter for noir, at least I can’t recall having seen it before.  The film is slightly too light-hearted in tone for the topic, but it’s otherwise a pretty good flick.  The dialogue is snappy and witty, the story unfolds at a good clip, and the cinematography is quite strong, especially during the more suspenseful scenes.  Dennis O’Keefe isn’t the most compelling leading man but he has a good stack of noir credits (Raw Deal, T-Men, Woman on the Run) and a sharp line delivery.  This is my first experience with Gale Storm, who didn’t really impress me but was definitely at least okay.  Raymond Burr makes a memorable appearance as the shady private detective.  And who do you get when you need someone to beat up Burr?  The even more menacing Mike Mazurki, naturally.  The score is quite good, too.  Unfortunately there’s some incredibly unnecessary narration to point out the blatantly obvious, but it’s a minor flaw in a solid film.  Rating: Very Good

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Bodyguard

Lawrence Tierney plays a homicide detective who gets kicked off the force for his bad temper.  He lands a bodyguard job, but soon finds himself framed for murder.  Although it’s hardly a noir masterpiece, it’s an enjoyable film that ranks among Fleischer’s better efforts.  The script (by a young Robert Altman, of all people!) is tight and lean, with some fun bits of business.  The photography is not especially memorable, but it gets the job done and there are a few unusual close-ups.  It’s nice to see Tierney in a role that allows him to stretch a little more than his usual “psychotic heavy” parts, and he has a lively chemistry with the adorable Priscilla Lane.  The whodunit aspect of the film isn’t all that satisfying (you can guess who the bad guy is the moment you see him/her) but it’s got some nice details and is sufficiently entertaining.  Rating: Good

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A Woman’s Secret

A popular young radio singer (Gloria Grahame) is shot, and her mentor (Maureen O’Hara) confesses to the deed… but did she really do it, and if so, why?  A little bit Mildred Pierce and a little bit All About Eve and not nearly as memorable as either.  Oh, it’s not a bad film, but it’s too low-key to work up much excitement for (and only the tiniest bit noir).  Grahame, although blatantly overdubbed in her singing parts, is a joy to watch as always… but the role really doesn’t give her much room to shine (as a sidenote, this was the film where she met future spouse Nicholas Ray).  O’Hara again doesn’t do much for me, but co-star Melvyn Douglas is mildly enjoyable.  The real treat is Jay C. Flippen and Mary Philips as the inspector and his crafty wife, who get the lion’s share of the script’s funniest and most clever moments.  As you would expect from Ray, the direction is well done, although lacking the moody atmosphere of his superior They Live By Night from the previous year.  Overall the movie is enjoyable but too lightweight to be worth a second look.  Rating: Good

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Whistle Stop

A beautiful gal returns to her small town and has to choose between the local big shot and an old flame loser.  I’ve been a little down in the dumps today (not the best time to watch noir) so you’ll have to forgive me if I don’t feel like writing much.  The film is a little on the dull side, but has a gentle, poetic mood to it that reminded me of Borzage, a sort of lush but doomed romanticism.  Gardner, Raft and McLaglen are all pretty good, Conway perhaps a little too obviously slimy.  I feel like this is on the borderline between “Fair” and “Good” but I’ll give it the benefit of the doubt since I’m feeling blue.  Rating: Good

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Over-Exposed

A young woman learns the craft of photography, and uses her skills (and her wits) to fulfill her glamorous ambitions.  This is part of a set called “Bad Girls of Film Noir” but that’s a double misnomer.  Lila isn’t truly bad, just mildly manipulative and although the film is superficially a feminine version of Shakedown it lacks any real edge.  I like my noir to be noir through and through, not just in the last 7 minutes.  Cleo Moore is the only noteworthy performer in the cast (though Raymond Greenleaf is enjoyable as her mentor) and she’s pretty good.  It’s interesting that one of the things that drives her character is a chip on her shoulder about being ogled, yet the film doesn’t hesitate to objectify her, rarely passing up an opportunity to show off her shapely assets.  Not bad as a time-killer and the script has some tasty lines, but overall it’s forgettable.  Rating: Fair

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Women’s Prison

Your standard babes behind bars flick with the usual assortment of scenarios.  This one is slightly different in that the men and women share a prison, separated only by a wall.  This leads to an unusual scenario where a fella sneaks in to the other side and impregnates his wife, which eventually provides the film with its inmates-take-over-the-prison climax.  Most notable is the star-studded cast.  Ida Lupino is the sadistic warden, hamming it up delightfully.  Howard Duff is the sympathetic doctor.  Among the more memorable inmates are Cleo Moore, Audrey Totter, Phyllis Thaxter, Juanita Moore (introduced in the painfully undignified position of scrubbing floors while singing “Swing Low, Sweet Chariot”), Jan Sterling and Vivian Marshall.  The movie is kind of fun and moves swiftly, but is too formulaic and lacking in nuance.  Caged is a far better option.  Rating: Fair

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The Beat Generation

An obsessed cop tries to track down the “Aspirin Kid,” a beatnik serial rapist.  As I said before, MGM was not a noir studio, and I don’t really know if you could call this noir but if it is, it’s one of the most insane noirs I’ve ever seen.  Like crazy, man.  I hardly know where to begin.  Dig this groovy cast, Daddy-O… Vampira, Mamie Van Doren (who steals the show) and real-life husband Ray Anthony, Charles Chaplin Jr., James Mitchum (a dead ringer for the old man), Jackie Coogan and performances by Cathy Crosby and Louis Armstrong.  I think I can safely say it’s the only noir that climaxes at a beat “hootenanny” where a guy randomly tries to wrestle the hero, who later chases the bad guy underwater while dodging harpoons.  Yeah, this shit is nuts.  The portrayal of beatniks is the standard Hollywood ridicule and parody.  Has there ever been a positive image of beatniks in an American film?  Even Funny Face is pretty condescending.  Steve Cochran (looking quite Clooney-esque at this stage in his career) is practically psychotic, setting up an interesting parallel with the villain (Ray Danton, turning the sleaze up to 11) as both are portrayed as misogynistic creeps.  Being a late-period noir, there’s more freedom to openly address subjects like rape and abortion.  Although there is no graphic imagery, the screams of the victims are harrowing enough.  The film is campy and trashy and yet also has a moral center… one which backfired for me when it came to the vile anti-choice message.  It’s hard to make a case against hatred towards women while also telling them they need to keep their rape-spawned babies.  It was a pre-Roe v. Wade world, though.  The Van Doren character sends mixed messages about the film’s stance as well.

This review is rambling because frankly I don’t know what to make of this movie.  It’s all over the place.  In most respects it’s pretty bad but also weirdly compelling, and sometimes even hilarious, whether intentionally or not.  I can’t honestly say I liked it, but I sure as hell couldn’t stop watching it.  Rating: Good…?

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Convicted

The trials and tribulations of a man sentenced to five years for an accidental murder from a mild fist fight.  Very middle-of-the-road, routine prison drama, watchable but brings nothing new or exciting to the table.  Despite having Burnett Guffey behind the camera, the photography is nothing special at all.  However, it does feature an array of good performances.  Glenn Ford is sort of dull (as usual) and once again Dorothy Malone is underutilized.  But Broderick Crawford is almost always a blast to watch, even when playing an absurdly liberal warden (I know prisons sometimes have trusties, but allowing one to freely drive your daughter around the city, completely unsupervised?).  And a lot of the great character actors show up, many of them classic noir faces: Whit Bissell, Ed Begley, Frank Faylen and especially Millard Mitchell.  Rating: Fair

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I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes

A dancer chucks his tap shoes out the window at a noisy cat and ends up facing a murder charge.  I could make a comparison to a certain other film noir (actually a film noir and its remake) but that would be giving away its surprising twist.  Given the era, you know the innocent man will get a last minute reprieve, the trick is how we get to that point.  When the realization dawned on me – about 30 seconds before the first real clue – it was one of those magic “How did I not see this coming?” moments.  Certain plot points that at first seemed very contrived clicked into place (although to be totally honest, a lot of it is still kinda contrived… goofy coincidences and twists are something of a trademark for Cornell Woolrich).  The film is clearly a shoestring budget production, but even if the performances aren’t great, they are at least sincere.  The “wrong man” scenario provides the usual (justified) paranoia concerning the authorities charged with protecting us, and the tight running time makes this a worthwhile picture, even if not exactly an undiscovered classic.  Rating: Good

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