A genuine ‘sleeper’ hit, this ‘all in the family’ noir pits innocent childhood against cold blooded murderers. Little Bobby Driscoll witnesses Paul Stewart and Ruth Roman committing a murder, and can’t get Mom and Dad to believe him because of a habit of crying Wolf. But the killers believe him … and they live right upstairs. The beautifully made film evokes a rough, broken-down block in New York City in great detail. Rko’s new boss Howard Hughes did what he always did with a hot feature ready to release: he shelved it for more than a year. The Wac’s restoration is eye-opening.
The Window
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 73 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date September 21, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman, Anthony Ross, Richard Benedict.
Cinematography: Robert De Grasse, William O. Steiner
Art Directors: Sam Corso, Albert D’Agostino,...
The Window
Blu-ray
Warner Archive Collection
1949 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 73 min. / Available at Amazon.com / Street Date September 21, 2021 / 21.99
Starring: Bobby Driscoll, Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman, Anthony Ross, Richard Benedict.
Cinematography: Robert De Grasse, William O. Steiner
Art Directors: Sam Corso, Albert D’Agostino,...
- 11/9/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“Killer Writer”
By Raymond Benson
The likely apocryphal story Fritz Lang told folks was that in 1933, after enjoying a successful career with German silent films and a couple of talkies, he was invited to a meeting with Joseph Goebbels. The job offer was to be in charge of the Nazis’ propaganda filmmaking. Lang, a Jew, nodded enthusiastically, went straight to the train station without going home to pack a bag, and fled the country. He left behind his wife (who was a member of the Nazi party), spent some time in France, and then came to Hollywood. The rest, as they say, is history.
Lang worked in all genres but specialized in crime pictures (some of the best examples of film noir). Most of his work in any of the genres are dark, pessimistic, and have a bite. His 1950 noir, House by the River, which was based on a novel by A.
By Raymond Benson
The likely apocryphal story Fritz Lang told folks was that in 1933, after enjoying a successful career with German silent films and a couple of talkies, he was invited to a meeting with Joseph Goebbels. The job offer was to be in charge of the Nazis’ propaganda filmmaking. Lang, a Jew, nodded enthusiastically, went straight to the train station without going home to pack a bag, and fled the country. He left behind his wife (who was a member of the Nazi party), spent some time in France, and then came to Hollywood. The rest, as they say, is history.
Lang worked in all genres but specialized in crime pictures (some of the best examples of film noir). Most of his work in any of the genres are dark, pessimistic, and have a bite. His 1950 noir, House by the River, which was based on a novel by A.
- 4/4/2020
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
One of Fritz Lang’s least-known thrillers had aspects that appealed to him, and he certainly applied his personal viewpoint and visual talents. It’s a period Gothic with women in corsets, about a deranged writer who lets his desires get out of hand. It may be actor Louis Hayward’s best work. Jane Wyatt is the suffering wife, but the real honors go to Dorothy Patrick, in an all-too brief appearance.
House by the River
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date January 14, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Louis Hayward, Lee Bowman, Jane Wyatt, Dorothy Patrick, Ann Shoemaker, Jody Gilbert, Peter Brocco, Howland Chamberlain, Sarah Padden, Kathleen Freeman, Will Wright, Carl Switzer.
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager
Film Editor: Arthur D. Hilton
Original Music: George Antheil
Art Direction: Boris Leven
Written by Mel Dinelli from a novel by A.P. Herbert
Produced by Howard Welsch
Directed by...
House by the River
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1950 / B&w / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date January 14, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Louis Hayward, Lee Bowman, Jane Wyatt, Dorothy Patrick, Ann Shoemaker, Jody Gilbert, Peter Brocco, Howland Chamberlain, Sarah Padden, Kathleen Freeman, Will Wright, Carl Switzer.
Cinematography: Edward Cronjager
Film Editor: Arthur D. Hilton
Original Music: George Antheil
Art Direction: Boris Leven
Written by Mel Dinelli from a novel by A.P. Herbert
Produced by Howard Welsch
Directed by...
- 1/21/2020
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
One of Max Ophüls’ best American movies is this razor-sharp ‘domestic film noir’ with excellent acting and a premise that was probably too sordid-real for 1949: cheap crooks blackmail an ordinary housewife trying to protect her family. Joan Bennett confronts the crisis head-on, facing down James Mason’s unusually sympathetic ‘collector.’
The Reckless Moment
Region free Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1949 / B&W / 1:37 full frame Academy / 82 min. / / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £17.00
Starring: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O’Neill, Shepperd Strudwick, David Bair, Roy Roberts, William Schallert.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Gene Havlick
Original Music: Hans Salter
Written by Henry Garson, Robert Soderberg; Mel Dinelli, Robert E. Kent, from a story by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Produced by Walter Wanger
Directed by Max Ophüls
Nobody forgets Joan Bennett’s film noir appearances — she has a dark, moody quality that even Dario Argento appreciated. In The Woman in the Window...
The Reckless Moment
Region free Blu-ray
Powerhouse Indicator
1949 / B&W / 1:37 full frame Academy / 82 min. / / Street Date April 22, 2019 / available from Powerhouse Films UK / £17.00
Starring: James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks, Henry O’Neill, Shepperd Strudwick, David Bair, Roy Roberts, William Schallert.
Cinematography: Burnett Guffey
Film Editor: Gene Havlick
Original Music: Hans Salter
Written by Henry Garson, Robert Soderberg; Mel Dinelli, Robert E. Kent, from a story by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding
Produced by Walter Wanger
Directed by Max Ophüls
Nobody forgets Joan Bennett’s film noir appearances — she has a dark, moody quality that even Dario Argento appreciated. In The Woman in the Window...
- 4/13/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
There’s a storm outside, the cook has drunk herself to sleep, the other servants are gone, the old lady is an invalid — and the helpless mute maid is trapped indoors with a murderous maniac. No, it’s not a Reality Show about the White House, but Robert Siodmak’s superior ‘old house whodunnit’ that is equal parts Americana, film noir and proto- slasher horror.
The Spiral Staircase
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1946 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date October 2, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, Rhys Williams, James Bell, Ellen Corby, Erville Anderson, Myrna Dell.
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Film Editor: Harry Gerstad, Harry Marker
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by Mel Dinelli from a book by Ethel Lina White
Produced by Dore Schary
Directed by Robert Siodmak
The handsomely produced The Spiral Staircase...
The Spiral Staircase
Blu-ray
Kl Studio Classics
1946 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 83 min. / Street Date October 2, 2018 / available through Kino Lorber / 29.95
Starring: Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith, Rhonda Fleming, Gordon Oliver, Elsa Lanchester, Sara Allgood, Rhys Williams, James Bell, Ellen Corby, Erville Anderson, Myrna Dell.
Cinematography: Nicholas Musuraca
Film Editor: Harry Gerstad, Harry Marker
Original Music: Roy Webb
Written by Mel Dinelli from a book by Ethel Lina White
Produced by Dore Schary
Directed by Robert Siodmak
The handsomely produced The Spiral Staircase...
- 10/23/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Crime novel The Blank Wall by Elisabeth Sanxay Holding. While her husband is away during World War II, housewife Lucia Holley – the sort of “Everywoman” who looks great in a two-piece bathing suit – does whatever it takes to protect the feeling of “normality” in her bourgeois, suburban household. The Blank Wall is a classic depiction of an attempted cover-up being much more serious than the actual crime. Sound bites: Remembering the classic crime novel 'The Blank Wall' and its two movie adaptations – 'The Reckless Moment' & 'The Deep End' Crime novel writer Elisabeth Sanxay Holding (1889–1955) is not a name familiar to many, and yet Raymond Chandler described her as “the top suspense writer of them all. She doesn't pour it on and make you feel irritated. Her characters are wonderful; and she has a sort of inner calm which I find very attractive.” Holding has been identified as “The Godmother of Noir” and, more...
- 7/17/2017
- by Anthony Slide
- Alt Film Guide
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