Robert Siodmak’s first film noir is a visually expressive masterpiece in the lush romantic tradition that imposes a dreamlike mood on a nightmarish story. Ella Raines goes to extreme lengths to break the conspiracy that’s sending her boss to Death Row, aided by the Kafka-like indifference of modern Manhattanites. Franchot Tone is the man with the weird hands, but Woody Bredell’s chiaroscuro cinematography is what puts this proto-feminist tale in the top tier.
Phantom Lady
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1944 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 87 min. / Street Date March 5, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95
Starring: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, Aurora Miranda, Thomas Gomez, Fay Helm, Elisha Cook Jr., Andrew Tombes, Regis Toomey, Joseph Crehan, Doris Lloyd, Virginia Brissac, Milburn Stone.
Cinematography: Woody Bredell
Film Editor: Arthur Hilton
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld, based on the novel by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich)
Produced by Joan Harrison
Directed by Robert Siodmak
1944’s...
Phantom Lady
Blu-ray
Arrow Academy
1944 / B&W / 1:37 Academy / 87 min. / Street Date March 5, 2019 / Available from Arrow Video / 39.95
Starring: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, Aurora Miranda, Thomas Gomez, Fay Helm, Elisha Cook Jr., Andrew Tombes, Regis Toomey, Joseph Crehan, Doris Lloyd, Virginia Brissac, Milburn Stone.
Cinematography: Woody Bredell
Film Editor: Arthur Hilton
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld, based on the novel by William Irish (Cornell Woolrich)
Produced by Joan Harrison
Directed by Robert Siodmak
1944’s...
- 3/5/2019
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
“It’s under the Big ‘W’!” A smart cop show goes all ‘Dragnet’ on a trio of criminal cases in the good old City of the Angels. To figure out who gunned down a top detective, rough tough FBI agent Broderick Crawford must get to the bottom of three separate dramas, each involving a beautiful woman. The producers know how to get attention for their show — the climactic shootout takes place under the Hollywood Sign.
Down 3 Dark Streets
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1954 / B&W / 1:75 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date April 24, 2018 / 29.99
Starring: Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, Martha Hyer, Marisa Pavan, Max Showalter, Kenneth Tobey, Gene Reynolds, William Johnstone, Harlan Warde, Jay Adler, Claude Akins, Suzanne Alexander, Joe Bassett, Michael Fox, John Indrisano, Milton Parsons, Stafford Repp, William Schallert, Charles Tannen.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editor: Grant Whytock
Production Design: Edward (Ted) Haworth
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld, ‘The Gordons...
Down 3 Dark Streets
Blu-ray
ClassicFlix
1954 / B&W / 1:75 widescreen / 86 min. / Street Date April 24, 2018 / 29.99
Starring: Broderick Crawford, Ruth Roman, Martha Hyer, Marisa Pavan, Max Showalter, Kenneth Tobey, Gene Reynolds, William Johnstone, Harlan Warde, Jay Adler, Claude Akins, Suzanne Alexander, Joe Bassett, Michael Fox, John Indrisano, Milton Parsons, Stafford Repp, William Schallert, Charles Tannen.
Cinematography: Joseph Biroc
Film Editor: Grant Whytock
Production Design: Edward (Ted) Haworth
Original Music: Paul Sawtell
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld, ‘The Gordons...
- 4/28/2018
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Phantom Lady
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld
Directed by Robert Siodmak
U.S.A., 1944
Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis), owner of a small engineering company in New York, is already experiencing a poor evening as he enters a neighborhood bar and grill. His luck with an unknown woman has proven sour, the latter having stood him up. Stuck with a pair of tickets to a musical, he invites a lavishly dressed if visibly unhappy looking stranger (Fay Helm) to accompany him. The evening goes well enough although Scott’s lady companion, reserved and nervous, never shares her name before leaving for the night. Scott returns home to find the police, led by inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez), who accuse him of murdering his wife, whose body lies stone cold in the bedroom. Unable to produce his strongest alibi, the ‘phantom lady’ with the exotic hat, it is up to Scott’s personal...
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld
Directed by Robert Siodmak
U.S.A., 1944
Scott Henderson (Alan Curtis), owner of a small engineering company in New York, is already experiencing a poor evening as he enters a neighborhood bar and grill. His luck with an unknown woman has proven sour, the latter having stood him up. Stuck with a pair of tickets to a musical, he invites a lavishly dressed if visibly unhappy looking stranger (Fay Helm) to accompany him. The evening goes well enough although Scott’s lady companion, reserved and nervous, never shares her name before leaving for the night. Scott returns home to find the police, led by inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez), who accuse him of murdering his wife, whose body lies stone cold in the bedroom. Unable to produce his strongest alibi, the ‘phantom lady’ with the exotic hat, it is up to Scott’s personal...
- 3/14/2014
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Dark Corner
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld and Jay Dratler
Directed by Henry Hathaway
USA, 1946
Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) is a private investigator with a modest office in Manhattan. His only help is in the shape of his trusty and charismatic receptionist Kathleen (Lucille Ball). One evening after a day’s work, Brad convinces Kathleen to spend the evening with him, not too difficult a feat given that she fancies her employer. When perusing the games at a carnival, it comes to their attention that a tough-looking man dressed in a shiny white suit (William Bendix) is tailing them. One thing leads to another (including an attempt on Brad’s life) until the private dick gets his tail to fess up his employer. It turns out Brad’s former partner and now lawyer Tony Jardine (Kurt Kreuger) is keeping tabs on him. What neither Brad nor Tony know, however, is...
Written by Bernard C. Schoenfeld and Jay Dratler
Directed by Henry Hathaway
USA, 1946
Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) is a private investigator with a modest office in Manhattan. His only help is in the shape of his trusty and charismatic receptionist Kathleen (Lucille Ball). One evening after a day’s work, Brad convinces Kathleen to spend the evening with him, not too difficult a feat given that she fancies her employer. When perusing the games at a carnival, it comes to their attention that a tough-looking man dressed in a shiny white suit (William Bendix) is tailing them. One thing leads to another (including an attempt on Brad’s life) until the private dick gets his tail to fess up his employer. It turns out Brad’s former partner and now lawyer Tony Jardine (Kurt Kreuger) is keeping tabs on him. What neither Brad nor Tony know, however, is...
- 3/7/2014
- by Edgar Chaput
- SoundOnSight
Fred MacMurray movies: ‘Double Indemnity,’ ‘There’s Always Tomorrow’ Fred MacMurray is Turner Classic Movies’ "Summer Under the Stars" today, Thursday, August 7, 2013. Although perhaps best remembered as the insufferable All-American Dad on the long-running TV show My Three Sons and in several highly popular Disney movies from 1959 to 1967, e.g., The Absent-Minded Professor, Son of Flubber, Boy Voyage!, MacMurray was immeasurably more interesting as the All-American Jerk. (Photo: Fred MacMurray ca. 1940.) Someone once wrote that Fred MacMurray would have been an ideal choice to star in a biopic of disgraced Republican president Richard Nixon. Who knows, the (coincidentally Republican) MacMurray might have given Anthony Hopkins a run for his Best Actor Academy Award nomination. After all, MacMurray’s most admired movie performances are those in which he plays a scheming, conniving asshole: Billy Wilder’s classic film noir Double Indemnity (1944), in which he’s seduced by Barbara Stanwyck, and Wilder...
- 8/8/2013
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
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