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Writer-Director Sam Fuller often began his movies with indelible imagery that would jump out from the screen and this film has one of the best examples as we witness a call girl named Kelly (Constance Towers) beating up her pimp. As she hits him repeatedly with her shoe he grabs for her wig, pulling it off revealing…a bald head! Kelly, who now looks like a true psycho, knocks him out [read...] 
Arthur Hamilton (John Randolph) is a middle aged banker who has become dissatisfied and lost his way in life. One day he is contacted by an old friend Charlie Evans (Murray Hamilton) he had believed to be dead. Charlie explains that he knows just how he feels and that he can assist him with his problem. The message directs him to “The Company” an organization that helps people restart their [read...] 
An old fashioned sepia toned Paramount Pictures logo at the start of Roman Polanski’s 1974 Neo Noir masterpiece Chinatown acts as a cinematic portal that sends us back into the past. The romantic horns of “Love Theme From Chinatown (The Main Title) by composer Jerry Goldsmith are enchanting as the opening credits roll. Los Angeles, 1937: A blue collar guy named Curly (Burt Young) sees photos of his wife with [read...] 
Before Robert Altman’s Neo Noir The Long Goodbye (1973) which revolves around the character of private detective Philip Marlowe, another film was made called Marlowe (1969) starring James Garner in the title role. If you watch both these films back to back you can clearly see the differences. One is a traditional story while the other is more of a post-modern deconstruction of the hardboiled detective archetype. We are introduced [read...] 
To celebrate the month of Noirvember I wanted to delve into the first wave of film noir and its post-modern form that is every bit as exciting. Neo Noir is the (usually) colorized counterpart to the classical black and white films of the 40s-late 50s. They often feature the same stylized chiaroscuro lighting, twisted storylines and shady characters and range from traditional private eye films (The Long Goodbye, Chinatown) to [read...] 
Above a jazz club in New Orleans a poker game run by Blackie (Jack Palance) is being held. One of the players, a foreigner named Kochak (Lewis Charles) who has become ill forces his way out of the apartment. A couple of the other guys, his cousin Poldi (Guy Thomajan) and Fitch (Zero Mostel) are ordered by Blackie to retrieve some money he owes. Kochak slowly staggers through the night [read...] 
A mysterious masked man (Preston Foster) planning a robbery is putting together a special trio of underworld thugs to help him pull it off. First on his list is Pete Harris (Jack Elam) a murderer on the lam who he promises $300,000 dollars. Tony Romano (Lee Van Cleef) is his next pick, a getaway driver who should be in prison for life but is on the run. The third and [read...] 
The lightning speed of a commuter train racing along behind the bold opening credits of Cry Danger (1951) lets us know right away we’re in store for one helluva ride. When the train comes to a stop in Los Angeles a man gets off, he is Rocky Malloy (Dick Powell) an infamous criminal who has just been released from prison after five years. Two men nearby immediately follow him then [read...] 
In the opening moments of Rudolph Mate’s suspense heavy film noir masterpiece D.O.A. (1950) star Edmond O’Brien is filmed in a tracking shot as composer Dimitri Tiompkin’s barreling percussion and tension filled strings accompany the images on the screen. As O’Brien’s character walks into police headquarters his motivation for doing so is unknown until the credits end and he opens the Homicide Division’s office door. He is introduced to us [read...] 
In Anthony Mann’s semi-documentary, procedural film noir T-Men (1947) we get a first hand account of how the U.S. Treasury Department operates with a tale referred to as the “Shanghai Paper Case” (based on true events). Following a brief introduction to the background of the Treasury, the story begins with an undercover T-man set to meet an informant named Shorty in connection with a counterfeiting ring but before it occurs, [read...] |
    
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