Meta tags:

Headings (most frequently used words):

monday, 2023, 2022, the, wednesday, 15, august, blog, night, editor, 1946, 1956, noirworthwatching, 28, june, may, 10, april, 13, february, september, 24, followers, search, this, about, me, films, list, hot, cars, strange, bargain, 1949, classic, noir, last, gasp, scarlet, hour, 1957, inside, detroit, look, in, any, window, 1961, forbidden, 1948, report, abuse,

Text of the page (most frequently used words):
the (298), and (172), for (62), that (55), with (47), her (46), his (45), noir (37), was (37), film (36), who (32), she (29), not (27), one (25), but (25), share (23), like (22), him (20), had (20), its (20), you (19), out (19), this (18), are (18), from (18), also (18), though (17), what (17), only (16), night (15), more (15), have (15), their (15), ago (14), they (14), has (14), all (14), however (14), time (14), good (14), little (14), paulie (14), 2023 (13), been (13), any (13), would (13), hour (13), 1956 (13), hot (13), years (12), 2022 (12), never (12), girl (12), movie (12), which (12), look (12), #editor (11), gary (11), deane (11), than (11), when (11), some (11), cars (11), crime (11), about (10), just (10), while (10), something (10), well (10), window (10), scarlet (10), now (9), later (9), found (9), can (9), 1955 (9), vickers (9), dunn (9), 2015 (8), films (8), hollywood (8), down (8), things (8), there (8), after (8), made (8), late (8), want (8), detroit (8), 1957 (8), marsh (8), cochrane (8), day (7), august (7), 2016 (7), sam (7), director (7), pinterest (7), facebook (7), blogthis (7), email (7), place (7), 1948 (7), actress (7), much (7), character (7), too (7), don (7), without (7), classic (7), career (7), might (7), actor (7), does (7), will (7), into (7), ohmart (7), most (7), man (7), carter (7), where (6), didn (6), life (6), british (6), 2014 (6), april (6), june (6), levin (6), 1947 (6), forbidden (6), along (6), enough (6), get (6), back (6), four (6), always (6), end (6), john (6), comments (6), series (6), screen (6), both (6), titles (6), inside (6), including (6), linden (6), way (6), 1949 (6), merrill (6), dark (5), american (5), list (5), september (5), january (5), long (5), part (5), own (5), other (5), hand (5), diana (5), montgomery (5), kind (5), find (5), femme (5), least (5), husband (5), such (5), many (5), worth (5), could (5), monday (5), low (5), until (5), craig (5), police (5), self (5), hard (5), family (5), them (5), work (5), through (5), period (5), against (5), see (5), style (5), bromfield (5), lansing (5), pictures (4), high (4), november (4), february (4), 2017 (4), 2021 (4), 1946 (4), home (4), able (4), william (4), daughter (4), fast (4), told (4), george (4), 1950 (4), two (4), working (4), over (4), once (4), doesn (4), harding (4), ready (4), yet (4), whom (4), compelling (4), tells (4), jim (4), control (4), then (4), body (4), fatale (4), taken (4), give (4), better (4), married (4), starring (4), did (4), were (4), characters (4), stories (4), done (4), included (4), first (4), picture (4), young (4), next (4), door (4), looks (4), gareth (4), performances (4), teenage (4), job (4), tom (4), side (4), here (4), street (4), before (4), death (4), story (4), another (4), last (4), plot (4), several (4), union (4), boss (4), great (4), curtiz (4), scene (4), double (4), phyllis (4), love (4), comedies (4), ralph (4), being (4), murder (4), released (4), detective (4), himself (4), ride (4), straight (4), bad (4), car (4), months (3), criminal (3), writer (3), july (3), october (3), 2020 (3), may (3), fiction (3), ever (3), richard (3), perhaps (3), johnny (3), far (3), best (3), court (3), burke (3), affecting (3), class (3), says (3), looking (3), know (3), every (3), turn (3), play (3), playing (3), affair (3), jeannie (3), why (3), stick (3), decides (3), uses (3), background (3), kill (3), wife (3), still (3), stage (3), same (3), having (3), thompson (3), involvement (3), los (3), angeles (3), featured (3), become (3), make (3), often (3), soon (3), start (3), add (3), noirs (3), keefe (3), cassavetes (3), new (3), equally (3), alland (3), screenwriter (3), television (3), producer (3), budget (3), westerns (3), needs (3), gets (3), role (3), cassidy (3), real (3), came (3), off (3), neighborhood (3), going (3), money (3), watch (3), early (3), 1961 (3), america (3), taking (3), cycle (3), brien (3), carver (3), minor (3), roles (3), those (3), fall (3), line (3), away (3), already (3), parts (3), carol (3), nearly (3), century (3), script (3), turned (3), indemnity (3), lawrance (3), marriages (3), tryon (3), tashlin (3), known (3), company (3), result (3), few (3), gone (3), framed (3), alluring (3), woman (3), 1958 (3), three (3), strange (3), bargain (3), programmer (3), surprise (3), nick (3), big (3), got (3), markel (3), rod (3), clear (3), report (2), danger (2), lives (2), shot (2), board (2), days (2), blog (2), december (2), view (2), search (2), tried (2), jackie (2), laurence (2), harvey (2), mother (2), thought (2), living (2), brit (2), henry (2), met (2), genre (2), accurately (2), posts (2), unsettling (2), takes (2), mostly (2), natural (2), buck (2), men (2), flashback (2), directed (2), entertainment (2), past (2), shop (2), sly (2), corner (2), house (2), female (2), hazel (2), patricia (2), study (2), knows (2), backyard (2), fine (2), plainly (2), dressed (2), should (2), compromised (2), maybe (2), victim (2), persuades (2), plight (2), rather (2), our (2), manages (2), local (2), saying (2), your (2), pay (2), run (2), aware (2), plan (2), dead (2), under (2), beginning (2), females (2), help (2), provides (2), choice (2), took (2), cast (2), canadian (2), emotionally (2), sexually (2), apart (2), girls (2), begins (2), feature (2), thriller (2), born (2), raised (2), war (2), presence (2), sense (2), around (2), themselves (2), foreign (2), actors (2), hope (2), adding (2), productions (2), raft (2), dennis (2), alex (2), nichol (2), barbara (2), others (2), moment (2), engaging (2), respect (2), above (2), plays (2), beach (2), california (2), piece (2), david (2), observed (2), basic (2), unhappily (2), successful (2), shunned (2), friend (2), radio (2), theater (2), contemporaries (2), science (2), programmers (2), title (2), black (2), acting (2), adults (2), sympathetic (2), paul (2), anka (2), couple (2), confident (2), perfect (2), comes (2), pool (2), party (2), played (2), roman (2), mathews (2), smart (2), move (2), betty (2), together (2), figure (2), shows (2), either (2), hopes (2), buy (2), happiness (2), today (2), feels (2), meanwhile (2), problem (2), bring (2), officers (2), assigned (2), boozing (2), affairs (2), eventually (2), come (2), wrong (2), stained (2), among (2), lust (2), built (2), kids (2), father (2), fired (2), jack (2), goes (2), tawdry (2), between (2), wednesday (2), workers (2), sears (2), handed (2), top (2), whose (2), credits (2), 1954 (2), miami (2), direction (2), tina (2), mistress (2), familiar (2), beaten (2), road (2), evidence (2), harder (2), further (2), although (2), notion (2), isn (2), blast (2), store (2), labor (2), city (2), wealth (2), sweat (2), human (2), success (2), making (2), these (2), elements (2), 40s (2), present (2), unfortunately (2), combination (2), velocity (2), manage (2), quite (2), fit (2), how (2), attempt (2), verge (2), chance (2), very (2), sexual (2), arc (2), true (2), close (2), return (2), earlier (2), sum (2), clearly (2), across (2), easily (2), walter (2), neff (2), boiled (2), nevins (2), blonde (2), columbia (2), james (2), gregory (2), jewel (2), heist (2), marshall (2), investigating (2), stritch (2), happy (2), mix (2), model (2), beauty (2), limited (2), performer (2), frank (2), attuned (2), desire (2), hunter (2), planned (2), lovers (2), lane (2), drab (2), tale (2), generic (2), seem (2), robbery (2), certain (2), else (2), studio (2), paramount (2), endpoint (2), visually (2), 1940s (2), 50s (2), protagonist (2), obsessed (2), camerawork (2), case (2), moral (2), touch (2), evil (2), head (2), price (2), lynn (2), situation (2), take (2), needing (2), jeffrey (2), cool (2), drive (2), said (2), conventional (2), bother (2), karen (2), winter (2), fails (2), ultimately (2), total (2), places (2), sisters (2), joe (2), usual (2), footing (2), appearances (2), joi (2), martin (2), decades (2), thrillers (2), pulp (2), sales (2), figures (2), moves (2), likes (2), joy (2), crazy (2), sell (2), intended (2), 1952 (2), sure (2), musicals (2), stardom (2), lasting (2), thing (2), dramas (2), tony (2), sick (2), worse (2), cover (2), killer (2), jill (2), noirworthwatching (2), simple, theme, powered, blogger, abuse, sentence, file, shadowsandsatin, weeks, riding, country, noirish, filmsnoir, net, foundation, archive, der, hours, element, com, 60s, cinema, brian, greene, march, complete, profile, followers, struggled, capture, essence, elmore, leonard, truly, alth, brown, 1997, houston, boone, col, travis, room, bottom, daft, seemed, mad, pleasures, latest, mov, susan, shaw, tragic, sweetheart, subscribe, atom, older, comment, atmospheric, vicinity, funfair, gathering, artists, con, grifters, wide, boys, amusement, parks, recurrent, locations, arenas, frequently, portrayed, threatening, amusing, crisply, king, 1940, cinematography, hone, glendinning, odeon, collection, shadow, noose, crimes, leads, provide, fascinating, contrasts, doll, radiance, decent, fence, suits, hardened, hateful, convinced, deserving, elsewhere, mutton, lamb, complacent, sympathize, basehart, keep, distance, render, walked, spiv, kenneth, griffin, specialized, lowlifes, weasels, hunts, confronting, calling, fairground, slut, hears, thyroid, pills, weight, chemistry, calculates, increase, dosage, raising, suspicion, sticking, returns, buries, slate, tiles, lab, course, entirely, venomous, desperate, revive, failed, sleeping, punter, thinks, boards, refuses, divorce, degree, financial, security, gives, fortunately, affable, promising, research, chemist, estranged, vocation, peddling, patent, medicine, hair, restorer, blackpool, promenade, becomes, attracted, carny, spins, candy, floss, nearby, stall, telling, blamed, notably, strengthened, stylish, douglass, throughout, 1930s, opposite, actresses, joan, crawford, katherine, hepburn, overseas, during, forces, yesterday, news, harm, became, evident, imports, created, cultural, uncertainty, underscored, conviction, movies, hadn, effort, carpeting, bathrooms, curry, chips, sport, cricket, travel, numbers, cheaply, post, ferried, box, office, allure, dane, clark, dan, duryea, arlene, dahl, ginger, rogers, derek, payton, dana, wynter, jayne, mansfield, dozens, screens, intimately, showing, peek, rise, rent, origins, unexpected, ways, conspires, native, yorker, conjured, ersatz, neo, realism, critic, filmmaker, looked, inspiration, unenlightened, people, rarity, rigorously, describe, staccato, lawrence, mascott, episodes, resume, spent, york, orson, welles, mercury, joseph, cotton, norman, lloyd, agnes, moorehead, outing, worked, primarily, landmark, era, creature, lagoon, serve, 1962, shortcomings, ill, fated, doofus, longest, hapless, troubles, probably, virginity, parents, arrest, ear, matinee, suave, evinces, preening, arrogance, ego, unchecked, tilted, toward, theatrical, backs, gas, pair, dominant, homemakers, organizers, carole, attractive, libidinous, 30s, beyond, everyday, existences, material, handmaidens, louts, especially, works, keeping, sake, increasingly, drawn, neighbor, courtly, italian, widower, dolenz, appreciative, curiosity, intelligence, philandering, regard, eileen, gigi, perreau, jerk, leave, shrugs, heart, despite, cheesy, taglines, say, ringing, truer, rebel, cause, célèbre, ridiculously, overwrought, peeping, prowl, folks, panic, complaints, plainclothes, profiling, experience, lookout, wait, witness, chronic, flagrant, domestic, upheaval, caught, unmasked, cops, conclusions, forages, drama, southern, burgeoning, suburbs, newly, affluent, middle, flashy, color, televisions, swimming, pools, barbeques, lifestyle, anyone, happier, husbands, bacon, enjoying, wives, sit, drinks, whatever, poor, fowler, jay, pitying, drunk, aircraft, mechanic, ruth, fed, begun, trading, sideways, glances, skirt, chaser, lowell, meantime, sixteen, year, old, skulking, rubber, mask, peeking, bedroom, windows, seeing, behind, closed, doors, stuff, 1960s, since, crossed, seamier, sensations, nothing, secrets, except, pane, glass, postscript, wish, thank, united, auto, cooperation, practiced, storyteller, drink, knack, lemons, studios, turning, lemonade, near, refreshing, thirst, quenchers, expose, wave, cell, 2455, row, energetic, fred, committed, headliners, player, notable, claire, trevor, sister, mink, trip, broken, dreams, won, chain, cry, bullet, joey, weighted, somewhat, separated, birth, sworn, task, ensuring, justice, semi, documentary, proper, lift, joni, calvin, dragged, complicates, friends, sweet, margaret, field, accepted, villain, personal, endangers, gangster, pursues, takeover, coming, opening, bomb, hidden, pinball, machine, headquarters, survives, brother, afterward, rally, revenge, retake, testimony, put, five, opens, blair, upright, official, pat, gus, corrupt, fabulous, untold, muscle, culture, endeavor, symbolic, pushing, towering, smokestacks, industry, sky, conceded, arsenal, gangsters, organized, strong, bid, gain, unions, rule, destiny, million, unionized, courage, honest, officials, political, regime, integrity, faith, fortitude, combat, menace, notch, framework, satisfying, weaker, lead, ultimate, lack, final, reel, means, component, categorical, celluloid, supposed, operate, unquestionably, honorable, build, recipe, seen, extinction, offered, embodiment, portrayal, icy, cunning, brings, revisited, 1981, quarter, heat, embellished, virtually, invented, embroidered, textbook, example, foster, hirsch, italicized, visual, moments, finally, synthesized, extent, factors, couldn, overcome, complicated, choreography, visuals, actorly, meshed, greater, breaking, point, unsuspected, mildred, pierce, shy, indebtedness, pays, furtively, meet, aisle, record, troubled, tryst, jerry, market, melrose, liners, lines, function, voiceover, frames, memorably, resonance, wanted, try, brush, jody, secretary, kathy, stevens, pines, virginia, huston, bottle, incarnation, begs, comparison, jan, sterling, arresting, rebound, aborted, launch, faded, vengeful, lewis, mastermind, makes, memorable, reappearance, via, bravura, twist, binns, fixtures, small, brash, stealer, challenges, stand, responds, juices, anywhere, replies, appears, damaged, sad, regret, toasts, slightly, sozzled, heaven, elaine, rycker, confidante, retired, reformed, arms, blue, collar, hedonist, history, exchanges, learn, motivates, former, queen, complex, stereotypical, prepared, betray, jealousy, malice, actions, betrayals, straightforward, unusually, reflexive, goads, herself, act, seeking, nether, region, dietrichson, combined, wintery, affect, smoky, voice, harkens, fire, ice, sirens, seeming, derivative, potential, hampered, range, leaves, leeway, connect, dots, virtue, temptation, adroit, connection, hangdog, haplessness, pleasure, tales, triangulation, treachery, details, supplied, association, palpable, undercurrent, desperation, curator, dave, kehr, betrays, spoil, rock, lieutenant, wore, skirts, protégé, land, developer, wants, affords, hijack, jewelry, overhear, parked, thickens, darkens, eyes, deeply, obsession, duplicity, dense, underpinnings, saturated, types, contemporary, anachronistic, half, established, reputations, unlikely, achieve, combines, unsavory, triangle, achieved, amount, suspense, unseen, produced, michael, backing, fanfare, receiving, wider, distribution, languished, obscurity, fifty, reference, existence, harsh, assessments, press, times, argued, exactly, exemplifies, thematically, narratively, resonant, motifs, male, dutiful, urban, setting, lived, lurid, convoluted, plotline, conveyed, urgency, shadowland, expressive, each, represents, defining, shift, doing, extends, frame, utter, desolation, silence, 1960, narrative, dislocations, psycho, 1959, modernist, tonal, shifts, odds, tomorrow, baroque, inflections, trying, nail, generally, gasp, ambition, call, pretty, convincing, crossroads, attempts, hopeless, partly, blame, martha, scott, nominated, academy, award, domesticated, charge, spouse, harry, morgan, sardonic, tense, rko, packs, lot, eight, minutes, nicely, imagined, storyline, ending, actually, cash, reluctantly, agrees, hoping, seldom, confides, planning, asks, suicide, forcing, insurance, claim, promises, large, front, wilson, assistant, bookkeeper, struggles, month, turns, business, failing, bankruptcy, none, impacts, performance, rockets, monkey, zip, propelled, vibrant, hipster, jazz, track, bandleader, les, baxter, totally, definitely, feel, constructs, decade, different, categorized, itself, moody, atmospherics, damage, destroy, neither, doomed, patsy, device, trap, started, encouragingly, tryout, settle, assortment, cheap, horror, exuberantly, trashy, capable, interesting, evincing, charisma, intensity, handsome, rugged, shooter, suited, bluff, rope, sand, sorry, number, leading, solid, tall, athletic, warm, bench, hunks, rory, calhoun, ray, danton, brad, dexter, steve, egan, campbell, vince, edwards, russell, terrible, memory, admission, alone, spirited, arrow, screwed, nor, encouraged, given, famously, pout, purpose, bit, landing, supporting, plus, regular, stints, beverly, hillbillies, bob, cummings, show, klondike, location, offering, tantalizing, sightings, mid, iconic, restaurant, lounge, stroking, bus, pulled, moved, host, suspects, mickey, rooney, sinatra, runs, smooth, tuned, extended, scripted, original, releases, contributed, novel, filmed, lost, alpha, media, outfit, shed, tears, violent, armed, confession, jeopardy, shakedown, destination, hatbox, mystery, lighthouse, falcon, trim, release, bel, air, joint, venture, 20th, fox, howard, koch, independent, aubrey, schenck, bunch, quick, features, fans, hell, bound, stockings, realizes, owner, arthur, clanton, fronting, calls, refrigeration, plant, brought, customers, nowhere, infant, son, davy, operation, even, hiring, dealer, hip, knockout, named, bait, hook, duped, size, fits, chump, rest, easy, sight, deluxe, production, coupes, sports, jobs, because, stolen, jockey, string, used, lots, sinsational, teens, wild, pic, dangerous, speed, gang, thunder, dragstrip, demonstrate, pilot, veteran, beat, reporters, happened, terms, similarly, deranged, impulses, hardly, frankly, unruly, wastes, thanks, ball, supple, burnett, guffey, latter, stylists, sniper, reckless, knock, tightspot, scandal, brothers, rico, nightfall, lonely, recognition, bifurcated, persona, personification, calendar, pin, ups, edward, runci, star, sophistication, spirits, playfulness, rights, opera, aloof, willful, calculating, path, seediest, streets, joyously, acted, inner, eluded, certainly, status, exuberant, deadliest, fatales, audiences, janis, strikingly, beautiful, vivacious, multi, talented, bigger, thirty, odd, achieving, 1944, sadly, forgotten, whistler, pier, missing, juror, trouble, hear, talk, think, crawling, need, right, tootsie, wootsie, loves, stupid, peasant, zero, whole, mess, games, blood, poisoning, rotten, rick, served, ritz, laying, sun, lumpen, unless, python, pants, glamourpuss, sex, notorious, scenes, lifts, rocket, shouting, rattled, frenzied, voyeurism, understand, tries, ditch, exchange, ripe, starts, arrested, sentenced, remorse, events, seat, shock, tire, iron, instinctively, holds, pursue, culprit, finds, tracks, figuratively, key, based, weekly, newspaper, listening, audience, recounted, reporter, foolishly, dogging, neglecting, cautionary, unwinding, focuses, gargan, dour, charmless, cop, faithless, society, babe, janice, happens, hitched, tightly, wound, chiller, earliest, assignments, demonstrates, brisk, personable, directorial, mark

Text of the page (random words):
heist mastermind who makes a memorable reappearance via the film s bravura plot twist and e g marshall and ed binns as the investigating police officers were ready made for film noir the four would all go on to become fixtures on the small screen jody lawrance playing nevins secretary kathy stevens is the good girl who pines for marsh a la virginia huston in out of the past lawrance does what she can with her role but in her bottle blonde incarnation begs comparison with jan sterling a more arresting actress on the rebound from an aborted launch at columbia at the time lawrance faded from view in 1961 clearly the scarlet hour doesn t shy away from its indebtedness to double indemnity curtiz pays further respect in a scene where marsh and paulie furtively meet up across the aisle in a record store their troubled tryst could easily have taken place just down the street at jerry s market on melrose the script also has its share of well turned one liners most of them handed to paulie many of the lines function in the way walter neff s voiceover frames double indemnity not only are they memorably hard boiled but they also add resonance to the characters such as when paulie says to marsh don t try to brush me off marsh when i stick i stick hard and i never thought about the things i wanted only the things i didn t want curtiz s attempt to return to the more embellished noir style one that he d virtually invented in mildred pierce embroidered in the unsuspected a textbook example of foster hirsch s notion of italicized visual moments and finally synthesized in the breaking point was compromised to some extent by a combination of factors he couldn t overcome in those earlier films the complicated choreography of plot visuals and actorly presence meshed into something greater than the sum of its many parts in the scarlet hour all the elements of a top notch 40s noir are present as is the framework for a great and satisfying movie unfortunately the combination of a weaker lead actor and the ultimate lack of velocity in the film s final reel means the component parts manage to not quite fit however what we do have is a categorical study on celluloid of how classic noir was supposed to operate the scarlet hour unquestionably is the last honorable attempt to build a noir from the classic recipe the film also can be seen as a look into the what if career of carol ohmart in every sense a compelling actress who was made for a style of film style on the verge of extinction just as she was offered the chance to be the very embodiment of it ohmart s portrayal of icy sexual cunning brings the arc of the true noir cycle to a close an arc that would not be revisited until body heat 1981 nearly a quarter century later at february 13 2023 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest monday 5 september 2022 inside detroit 1956 by gary deane this is detroit fabulous city of untold wealth of might and muscle of culture and the sweat of human endeavor and success this is detroit symbolic of america pushing its towering smokestacks of industry against the sky a city conceded to be the arsenal of america but now gangsters and organized crime are making a strong bid to gain control of the labor unions so that they can rule the destiny of some 17 million unionized workers but for the courage of honest union officials the police and a political regime of integrity these criminal elements would already be in control in detroit the film you are about to see inside detroit shows what has been done and what can be done by men of faith and fortitude to combat this menace and so opens inside detroit starring dennis o keefe as blair vickers an upright union official and pat o brien as gus linden a labor boss as corrupt as they come linden had been put away for five years on the testimony of vickers but is now out and looking for revenge his plan is to retake control of the union and to see vickers dead although vickers has a notion of what s coming he isn t ready for linden s opening move against him a bomb hidden in a pinball machine at union headquarters vickers survives the blast though not his brother tom afterward vickers manages to rally but linden has more in store for him meanwhile linden s family as well as his mistress joni calvin tina carver get dragged into it which complicates things not only for him but also vickers at one time vickers had been good friends with linden and sweet on his daughter barbara margaret field who s never accepted that her father s a villain vickers personal involvement endangers him further as the gangster pursues his takeover of the local though inside detroit is weighted down somewhat by its separated at birth plot line and its sworn task of ensuring justice will be done several things give this late period semi documentary noir a proper lift one is the committed performances of its headliners o keefe and o brien along with that of tina carver as o brien s mistress a minor player in a series of notable film noirs including a bullet for joey 1955 the harder they fall 1956 a cry in the night 1957 and chain of evidence 1957 carver was often cast in roles equally familiar to claire trevor those as a beaten down sister under the mink who can only hope that her next trip down the road of broken dreams won t be her last another is the energetic direction of fred f sears a practiced storyteller whose credits included the miami story 1954 cell 2455 death row 1955 teenage crime wave 1955 and miami expose 1956 sears had a knack for taking lemons handed to him by the studios and turning them into lemonade all the titles above with inside detroit near the top of the list are refreshing little late cycle thirst quenchers drink up postscript we wish to thank the united auto workers of america for their cooperation without which this picture could not have been made at september 05 2022 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest wednesday 24 august 2022 look in any window 1961 by gary deane nothing between their secrets and the neighborhood except a pane of glass adults who want new sensations out of life before it s too late kids who want to find out what it s all about too early poor craig fowler his father jay alex nichol is a self pitying drunk who s just been fired from his job as an aircraft mechanic his mother jackie ruth roman is fed up to here and has begun trading sideways glances with the neighborhood skirt chaser gareth lowell jack cassidy meantime craig played by a sixteen year old paul anka has taken to skulking around at night in a rubber mask peeking through bedroom windows in hopes of seeing what goes on behind closed doors it s tawdry stuff but then by the early 1960s classic noir had long since crossed over to the seamier side of the street look in any window forages for its noir stained drama among southern california s burgeoning suburbs and newly affluent middle class who lust after the good things in life flashy cars color televisions backyard swimming pools built in barbeques and the lifestyle to go with not that anyone looks to be any the happier husbands work late to bring home the bacon while enjoying a little something on the side while the wives sit by the pool all day drinks in hand as for the kids they do whatever they want meanwhile there is the problem of a peeping tom on the prowl folks are in a panic and their complaints to the police bring out a couple of plainclothes officers one of them with profiling experience who are assigned to a 24 hour lookout while they watch and wait the two witness the chronic boozing the flagrant affairs and the domestic upheaval eventually craig will be caught and unmasked but by that time the cops have come to their own conclusions about what s wrong with the picture despite the cheesy taglines look in any window is a movie with something to say it also does a good job of saying it ringing truer than rebel without a cause 1955 a once film célèbre that today looks and feels ridiculously overwrought at the heart of look in any window are the neighborhood s pair of dominant homemakers and pool party organizers played by roman and carole mathews both of whom give compelling performances their characters are smart attractive and libidinous females in their late 30s who married young and now want to move beyond their everyday existences as material girls and handmaidens to louts mathews is especially affecting as betty who works hard at keeping her family together if only for her daughter s sake at the same time she s increasingly drawn to her next door neighbor a courtly italian widower george dolenz who is as appreciative of her curiosity and intelligence as he is of her figure in a one piece on the other hand the philandering husband gareth shows little regard for either her or their teenage daughter eileen gigi perreau gareth is a jerk and when betty tells him she s going to leave him and that she hopes his money will buy him happiness he shrugs and says with money who needs happiness cassidy was an actor with matinee good looks as suave and self confident in real life as he was on the screen perfect for the part he evinces the kind of preening arrogance that comes with an ego as unchecked as gareth s cassidy came to hollywood from the stage and his acting often tilted toward the theatrical in look in any window he backs off the gas a little it s one of his more natural screen performances and one of his best as for the hapless craig all he needs is a girl with whom he can share his troubles and probably his virginity also for his parents to start acting like adults after his arrest craig at least gets a sympathetic ear from the police and later the girl next door paul anka in his first starring role was not yet the actor he d become only a couple of years later in the longest day 1962 however his shortcomings as the young and ill fated doofus in look in any window serve the picture well look in any window was also william alland s first and only outing as a screen director up until then he had worked primarily as a producer on low budget westerns and science fiction programmers such as the creature of the black lagoon a landmark science fiction title of the era however alland s resume also included time spent in new york as a stage and radio actor with orson welles mercury theater along with contemporaries joseph cotton norman lloyd and agnes moorehead alland also was a friend of look in any window s screenwriter lawrence e mascott who d done episodes for the television series johnny staccato starring actor and later director john cassavetes of cassavetes british writer critic david thompson observed that the filmmaker had always looked for inspiration in stories of basic unenlightened unhappily successful people a rarity and rigorously shunned in american films this would describe equally the characters in look in any window an ersatz piece of american neo realism that plays like something which cassavetes a native new yorker might have conjured had he been born and raised in long beach california look in any window conspires to rise above its low rent origins and does so in unexpected ways engaging intimately with its characters and showing respect for their stories well worth a peek at august 24 2022 no comments email this blogthis share to x share to facebook share to pinterest monday 15 august 2022 forbidden 1948 by gary deane like carpeting in bathrooms curry and chips and the sport of cricket some things british don t travel that well you could add to the list the numbers of cheaply made post war brit noirs which would feature hollywood actors ferried over in hope of adding some box office allure to the uk productions george raft dane clark dennis o keefe alex nichol dan duryea arlene dahl ginger rogers john derek barbara payton dana wynter jayne mansfield and dozens of others would all have their moment on british screens however the american presence did not always make for better pictures often it did more harm than good as it soon became evident that the imports were there just to be there it also created a sense of cultural uncertainty around the films themselves in the end the foreign involvement underscored the conviction that many of the movies hadn t been worth the effort to start with however one b feature notably strengthened by the involvement of an american was forbidden 1948 a stylish noir thriller starring douglass montgomery an actor born and raised in los angeles throughout the 1930s montgomery had featured opposite a list actresses such as joan crawford and katherine hepburn but after four years overseas during the war in the canadian forces he had become yesterday s news fortunately things later took a turn for the better for the good looking and affable montgomery when he was cast in forbidden as a once promising canadian research chemist jim harding who s now estranged from his vocation though married he s living emotionally and sexually apart from his wife and now is peddling patent medicine and hair restorer on a blackpool promenade there he becomes attracted to one of the carny girls jeannie thompson hazel court who spins candy floss at a nearby stall without telling her that he s married he begins an affair with jeannie something for which he might not be blamed while not entirely a femme fatale harding s wife diana patricia burke is still one of the more venomous females to be found in classic noir a stage actress who is desperate to revive a failed career diana s taken to sleeping with any punter she thinks might help her get back on the boards at the same time she refuses to give jim a divorce as he provides her with at least some degree of financial security as she tells it having a husband in the background at least gives me some choice when a local spiv johnny kenneth griffin who specialized in playing lowlifes and weasels tells diana of jim s affair she hunts down jeannie confronting and calling her a fairground slut and saying why don t you stick to your own kind or don t they pay enough when jim hears about the run in he decides that is enough aware that diana uses thyroid pills to control her weight and with his background in chemistry he calculates that he should be able to increase the dosage just enough to kill her without raising suspicion sticking to plan he later returns home to find her dead then buries her body under the slate tiles of his lab that of course is just the beginning harding is not a character we should like he s complacent compromised at every turn and maybe too ready to play the victim and yet montgomery persuades us to go along and to sympathize with harding and his plight like richard basehart in he walked by night 1948 montgomery takes a character from whom we d rather keep our distance and manages to render him compelling the film s two female leads hazel court and patricia burke provide a fascinating study in contrasts c...