Three Odd Film Noir

By definition all film noir are odd, but we have recently watched three that are Odd (note capitalization).  In January the Criterion streaming channel has a whole bunch of films we would like to see, so we have now watched 6 films in a row leaving January 31st.  Most recently have been three "B" pictures worth noting, all in beautiful b & w.  Most recent came The Man I Love, a 1946 film directed by Raoul Walsh and starring Ida Lupino.  Though it has some soap opera moments, this drama jumps all over the place, telling three stories during the course of the movie.  What is most interesting about this film, however, is how strong a woman Lupino is.  The film centres on her, and she handles the part with a solid type of acting seldom seen in female characters, especially in the noir genre.  She is tough and tender, smart and talented, as she sings her way into top nightclubs.  She falls for a down and out jazz pianist, and they almost make a go of it.  By the end it appears as if they are not totally washed up, but still might manage to get together later.  Robert Alda plays the owner of the nightclub where Lupino sings, and manages to create one of the creepiest creeps who ever crept into a movie.  A dizzy blonde, mother of twin babies and wife to husband Johnny, also manages to upset audiences with her lifestyle.  An unusual film, and worth a peek for Lupino's performance.

Leaving Criterion January 31st. 

 

Before that came Pickup Alley, a 1956 film starring Victor Mature as a globetrotting cop on the trail of bad guy Trevor Howard, who is being assisted by Anita Ekberg.  A few things make this film unusual for a film noir.  First of all, it is filmed in Cinemascope.  Secondly, we get to travel the world, instead of only staying in New York or LA.  The sleazy film title has nothing to do with this film, made fun because the police are looking for Trevor Howard but don't know what he looks like.  London, Paris, Rome, and Athens all feature somewhere in this fairly fast paced thriller.  Sadly, Mature hardly makes it as a hero cop.  He seems to do very little acting in this film, going through his lines like an amateur.  Ekberg is, of course, rather cute, though her part is not very demanding.  Can she act?  We would hardly know for sure from this film.

 

Leaving Criterion January 31st.

Earliest of the three came Human Desire, an American Fritz Lang directed remake from 1954 of La Bete Humaine, from a story by Emil Zola.  Glenn Ford stars as a passenger train engineer who runs headlong into trouble when he falls for a married woman, played by Gloria Grahame.  Her overbearing husband, played by Broderick Crawford, is a jealous man, and an alcoholic who lets off too much steam and is fired from his job at the railroad yard.  The film, especially at the very beginning, features some of the worst background matting this viewer has ever seen.  Glenn Ford guides his train through the mountains, across bridges, and into tunnels, though when the camera pans to him we see Midwest flat farmland in behind him out his cab window.  Weird.  Ford is mostly emotionless in this picture, hardly acting at all.  Grahame is okay as she goes through the motions of loving Ford to help her get rid of her husband.  We learn that her past is a sordid one, beginning when she was 16.  Will Ford, freshly back from Korea, kill her husband for her?  Good tension is built up to this climax.  I much prefer the earlier French film starring Jean Gabin, but this one has its moments.

Leaving Criterion January 31st. 

 

In local news, I did some fun things this week.  Last Sunday I went ice skating for the first time in 14 years.  Public skating at the local arena is on Sunday at 5 pm.   I managed to skate for 30 minutes without falling or crashing into someone (It was rather crowded).  Seniors can skate on Wednesday afternoons, but our schedule is currently too filled with medical appointments, so I will stick to Sundays for now.  On Tuesday morning I dropped Deb off at her physio appointment (for TMJ) in Amherstburg, then went on to walk a segment of the local rails to trails path.  It was a very cold day (about 25 F) with a nasty little breeze, but once I was into the forest it was okay.  It was strange to be walking here in January, but we had had no snow.  The marsh was frozen over and could have been travelled on skates.  We haven't gone above 30 F for nine days now, and some of the nights have been bitter.  Then on Thursday morning I went over to Dr. Seski's home and put in an hour on his incredible 7' Fazioli piano.  I was able to run through my entire program, and it went pretty well.  He played a Brahms Intermezzo for me.  I may be back into the piano group on occasions when they have smaller gatherings.  Last time there were only three of them.

 

From my trail walk on Tuesday morning.  The marsh is frozen solid.

 

Tonight (Friday) it is snowing, our first real snow event this season.  We might get 2" or a bit more, so we should awaken to a white winter wonderland.  If so I will take some pics tomorrow morning and add them here. 

 

Mapman Mike

 

Home Heating

Our house seems cozier this year, no doubt due to our new front door.  We are slowly getting all the worst spots of air leakage sealed.  The door makes things quieter, too.  Even on the windiest and coldest day of the year a few weeks back, only the upstairs bedroom above the garage was suffering.  Our thermostat in winter is set at 68 F during the day, and 66 F at night.  Our ancient gas boiler keeps cranking out the hot water on demand.  We should really throw a party for it.  We have a humidifier running in the living room, and another one inside the piano.  Our wood pellet stove is still out of commission.  A guy was supposed to come and look at it, but then he got Covid, and he hasn't called back.  As long as the power stays on, we are good to go.

Last night was a full moon, so we baked a cake (apple, round), listened to an opera (Das Rheingold), and enjoyed a wood fire.  While Deb was in Kingsville visiting her mother in the afternoon, I went across the road to the river to take a few photos. There was a bone gnawing wind blowing onshore, and I nearly froze to death in the fifteen minutes I was outside.

It was a raw day at the Detroit River.

Shipping season is nearly over, and most ships are heading to winter berths.  Some of the final destinations listed on my shipping website include "The Batcave," "Somewhere Warm," and, still my favourite, "Hotel Toledofornia."

The A. M. Anderson heads south for the winter.  She will dock east of Cleveland at a safe harbour along Lake Erie.  Her bow sports giant icicles.  Grosse Ile, MI lies across the river from us.

A view of Lone Mountain Homestead from the small cemetery across the road. 

 

Deb's main movie choice last weekend was called Radio On, billed as a rare British road movie.  produced by Wim Wenders and filmed in b & w, it is the antithesis of the 60s angry young man movie.  It could be billed as the late 70s emotionless young man movie.  It's frustrating at times because of its lack of anything or anyone to grab hold of, but it eventually works a kind of hapless charm on the viewer.  Some of the photography is very good, both interiors and exteriors, and the unique combination of both that is used.  There is very little plot, and no character development.  The main character is as lifeless as his surroundings.  While not quite a zombie, he does appear to sleepwalk through much of his life.  A mostly quiet film, and certainly unique.  There is a lovely scene featuring Sting at a gas station.

Now showing on Criterion. 

 

Her going away choice was called Scandal Sheet, from 1952.  Broderick Crawford is superb as the editor of a big New York newspaper.  Since he took it over it has become a scandal sheet, but the circulation has improved wildly.  His cub reporter keeps bringing him good stories, usually gained unscrupulously at crime scenes.  He is looking for a big story, one that will make him famous.  By the end of the movie he has found his story, though not one he was ever expecting.  The supporting actors are top notch, including Donna Reed.  Easily classified as a pulp noir film, it's pretty good.  Definitely a sleeper.

 

 

Mapman Mike