Noir Watch: The Locket (1946) - recommended

Watched:  09/11/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's

The Locket (1946) gets name dropped a lot in noir circles, but not always with a lot of context.  It starred no particular favorites aside from Mitchum, and didn't happen to cross my path til it aired on Noir Alley, so I'd not made a tremendous effort to watch it.  Turns out, The Locket is a hell of a movie with some terrific qualities, from the performances to the direction and cinematography, but it starts with a story and script that - while maybe a bit rudimentary in applying psychology as a science (a common trope of this era) - tells a unique, engaging, tragic story via unconventional techniques - and puts a new spin on the "femme fatale" (if that's accurate here, and I'll say it is) that's fascinating to watch unfold.

Audrey Watch: The Beginning or The End (1947)

Watched :  08/28/2018
Format:  DVR/ TCM
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's
Audrey Quotient:  Nowhere near enough Audrey!

This isn't a noir film!  Nope.  This one is an historical drama about the creation of the atomic bomb.  So, you know, fun stuff.

Audrey Watch! The Cockeyed Miracle (1946)

Watched:  08/16/2018
Format:  TCM on DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's
Audrey Quotient:  mid-range.  A tad low.  She plays "the daughter" in an ensemble comedy.

Noir Watch: Scene of the Crime (1949)

Watched:  08/05/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM/ DVR
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's

Noir Watch: Pitfall (1948)

Watched:  06/21/2018
Format:  TCM Noir Alley on the DVR
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  1940's

This was the second time I'd watched Pitfall (1948), an indie produced noir starring Dick Powell, Raymond Burr and Lizabeth Scott.

Noir Watch: The Clay Pigeon (1949)

Watched:  06/12/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM (DVR)
Viewing:  First
Decade:  1940's

Noir City Austin: The Unsuspected (1947) & The Threat (1949) - Sunday shows

Watched:  05/20/2018
Format:   Noir City Austin at Alamo Ritz in 35mm
Viewing:  fourth/ first
Decade:  1940's

We attended two films on the final day of Noir City Austin, The Unsuspected (1947) and The Threat (1949).  Two extremely different movies, but both a real treat.  The Film Noir Foundation isn't just Eddie Muller, and as he had to depart, we were lucky to have author Alan K. Rode in attendance to introduce the films.

Noir City Austin: The Accused (1949) & The Underworld Story (1950)

Watched:  05/19/2018
Viewing:  First/ First
Format:  Noir City Austin at the Alamo Ritz
Decade:  1940's/ 1950's

Both films were shown as part of Noir City Austin, hosted by TCM Noir Alley host, Eddie Muller and presented in 35mm. 

Noir City Austin: I Wake Up Screaming (1941) and Quiet Please: Murder (1942)

Watched:  05/18/2018
Format:  Noir City Austin at Alamo Ritz
Viewing:  Second/ First
Decade:  1940's

It's Noir City Austin 2018 down at The Alamo Ritz!  As in prior years, Eddie Muller - the Czar of Noir and host of TCM's Noir Alley series is in attendance.  As he does so well for Noir Alley, Eddie introduces each film, providing Hollywood history and necessary context, as well as any anecdotes he's dug up over the years, often from first-hand interviews.

I can't make it to all the movies this year, but I am trying to make it out to see a few.  Friday night SimonUK and I took in the first two films, I Wake Up Screaming (1941) and Quiet Please: Murder (1942).

Noir Watch: Hollow Triumph/ The Scar/ The Man Who Murdered Himself (1948)

Watched:  05/06/2018
Viewing:  First
Format:  TCM Noir Alley on the DVR
Decade:  1940's

If you're wondering why I have three names listed for this movie, it's because this movie was released under three different names at three different times - but I think it was first released under Hollow Triumph (1948).  However, I can't find a poster I like better than the one for The Scar, so.. behold!

This movie was a *lot* of fun.  It's not a glossy studio movie, but acting talent, direction and cinematography carry you really far in a picture.

Melodrama Watch: The Hard Way (1943)

Watched:  04/26/2018
Format:  TCM on DVR
Viewing:  first
Decade:  1940's (wartime)

The Hard Way (1943) is a wartime melodrama and probably counts as a "Women's Picture", which was a thing, as it starred women, had them front and center as career-centered ladies with romance as a conflict.

It's not a genre with which I have a lot of experience, and I'm not a huge follower of soapy melodrama.  "So, The League," you say, "Why did you watch it?"

Noir Watch: Crossfire (1947)

Watched:  03/23/2018
Format:  Noir Alley on TCM/ DVR
Viewing:  Third
Decade:  1940's

Noir Watch: Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

Watched: 03/15/2017
Format: TCM on DVR (Noir Alley)
Viewing: First
Decade: 1940's

Classics Watch: Sullivan's Travels (1941)

Watched:  01/30/2018
Format:  Alamo Drafthouse Village (for free!)
Viewing:  Second
Decade:  1940's

Writing about Sullivan's Travels (1941), one of the most cited, most referenced movies in Hollywood history, is something that's unnecessary and probably foolish at this point.  But here we go!  (I'll keep it brief)

Noir Watch: Act of Violence (1949)

Watched: 01/29/2018
Format: TCM/ Noir Alley
Viewing: first
Decade: 1940's

It's Just not Christmas Until Audrey Totter is Looking Right Into the Lens

Through not-so-mysterious means, the 1947 film Lady in the Lake has become a perennial holiday favorite for me.  Philip Marlowe detecting, Christmas time and Audrey Totter sorta looking you in the face.

This is the movie directed by (and kinda starring) Robert Montgomery as Marlowe and shot almost entirely from his POV.  Pretty amazing work for the era and size of cameras in 1947.  The book is darker and more grisly than the movie, and not set at Christmas, if memory serves.  The plot is complicated by the fact the movie never visits the key location from the book, keeping everything in the city and refusing much in the way of exterior shooting.

But, hey, Audrey Totter is terrific.  And they actually make Christmas kind of key to the adaptation, so that's fun.

Halloween Watch 2017: Theatre of Blood, Altered States, House of Dracula

Well, it's that time of the year, and we're watching movies about monsters and murders and transdimensional-psychotic states brought on by a rich cocktail of hallucinogens.

Nolan Watch: Dunkirk (2017)

These days, I'm not writing up every movie I've seen.  And I'm not going to write up this one.  But I'm suggesting you catch this one while it's still in theaters.

TL;DR: We Discuss Our Love of Wonder Woman as Character, Icon and Hero

This isn't a review of the movie, which I'm slated to see in a few hours.  But with the arrival of Wonder Woman in cinemas, I wanted to reflect on Wonder Woman as a character and my road with Diana.

Like most kids of my generation, I grew up with Wonder Woman as the default "superhero for girls".  Sure, DC had a wide array of female characters, but a lot of "team" concepts aimed at boys included 1 or maybe 2 girls on the team no matter how big the roster got (see: GI Joe).  And on Super Friends, Wonder Woman was the all-purpose female character who was not Jayna of The Wonder Twins of Wendy of Super Marv and Wendy (ahhh, the 70's).

but at least they gave WW two villains from her rogues gallery

Noir Watch: Tension (1949)

This is likely the fourth time I've watched Tension, the 1949 pulp-tastic noir I was first introduced to by JSwift during a trip to SF a few years back.  It aired this last Sunday during Turner Classic Movies' new segment, Noir Alley, hosted by Eddie Muller.*

Muller does what he does so well - introduce the movie, give some history and context and talk about the players in unpolished terms.  This screening included an appreciation of co-star Audrey Totter, whom we at The Signal Watch think is absolutely tops, and a closer discussing the complicated life of director John Berry.

In addition to Totter, the movie also stars Richard Basehart, William Conrad, Lloyd Gough, Barry Sullivan - and, oddly, Cyd Charisse in a role where there is not a single step of dance.  I mean, she's terrific - she's got some straight acting ability, but it's an odd fit for someone who appeared in roles with not a single line but a lot of dancing.  That's sort of her deal.

It's a bit of a small-scale production, a tight cast working with a rat-a-tat script by Alan Rivkin, and good, twisty fun with some severely dated bits that don't seem aware they've inverted the Superman paradigm.