#291
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#292
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Pickup on South Street (1953) A pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring. A solid noir-thriller from Fuller which blends gritty violence with a criminally-entwined romance. The dialogue really adds a lot to the plot here with plenty of slang that will have you reaching for your Noir Thesaurus. The cast are all believable in their various roles and Jean Peters simmers as the femme fatale caught in between Widmark's pickpocket and the Commies who hired her. As Noir goes, this is upper tier and one of my viewing high-lights of the year so far. 81/100 |
#293
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Glad you enjoyed it. I've banged on about it so much. Didn't you just feel for Thelma Ritter? |
#294
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#295
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M (1951) - Finally caught Losey's version of M and it didn't disappoint - whereas Lang's original had it's roots in silent cinema and expressionism, this one is pure noir. There's some amazing imagery - one scene of the killer (superbly anonymous) writhing on his bed, his head completely black with dense shadow is worthy of the original. The chase sequence involves a trip to a mannequin store, the sexless dolls an effective visualisation of the predators mindset. Couple of noir regs pop up - Raymond Burr and Steve Brodie. Scenes of child hunting are really chilling and, yes, that balloon puts in an appearance. Only jarring note for me - the trial scene feels a little forced - I know it had to be there but it stretches credibility these hard nosed hoods would let it happen, a pitfall of adaptation I guess. Original is a masterpiece, this is a solid movie with flashes of genius - here's hoping for a cleaned up official release at some point.
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#296
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#297
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D.O.A 1950
Doa (1950) In 2006 Alexander Litvinenko was killed by radioactive polonium-210, believed to have been administered in a cup of tea,by a couple of KGB agents .Now this in itself would make a great thriller,it has all the hallmarks of the start of a great cold war spy thriller,well it would of been,if it had not already been done some 46 years previously in the film D.O.A. (1950). Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien) has been poisoned by some luminous "luminous toxin" substance that has been put into a drink at a nightclub.The clever angle is that Bigelow knows that he's been poisoned after visiting two doctors,and the diagnose is that he has been murdered.Now the trick is to find out who and why this has happened to Bigelow before he dies. DOA is a pretty sombre affair,which makes some of the earlier scenes abit odd,Bieglow decides to go on vacation in San Francisco,leaving his girlfriend Paula Gibson (Pamela Britton) behind,which does not go down to well with her,while in San Francisco every time Bieglow see's an attractive lady,there was this cheesy wolf whistle on the soundtrack,at first I thought it was my hearing playing up,but when I re-watched the scenes again it was still there,kind of whimsical for such a down beat movie.The reason for the poisoning is all abit long winded and a little bit hard to believe,but I suppose people have been murdered for less.Edmond O'Brien who I fondly remember as Freddie Sykes in Sam Peckinpahs absolutely dynamite The Wild Bunch,is ok here,but doesn't really convey allot of emotion considering he has been poisoned and is dieing.The real star of the film is the story,you wonder why no one had thought of it before (perhaps they had) its a cool gripping tale,it kind of reminded of an EC comic story,and would make a good horror story if filmed the right way.I would give the film higher praise but the print I watched was a little on the soft side picture quality wise,reason being it languishes in public domain hell at the moment,so hopefully we will see a better print one day.Also look out for earlier screen role for that alligator loving Neville Brand as a rather nasty heavy.
__________________ Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.. |
#298
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I haven't seen the original DOA but the remake is perfectly watchable.
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#299
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The Big Combo
__________________ Always forgive your enemies, nothing annoys them so much.. |
#300
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Never seen it and don't know it, but i think i ate one at Burger King last year.
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