Down These Mean Streets A Man Must Go - The Film Noir Thread

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Mr. Dennings Drives North (1951)

Beautifully gripping British psychological thriller about a wealthy aerospace boss, Tom Denning (John Mills) who accidentally kills the man he tries to bribe to stop from marrying his daughter.

This Hitchcockian, Noir suspenser creates tension almost immediately and becomes tauter and more complex as the plot starts to entangle and Dennings actions begin to unravel. As well as Mills the cast includes Phyllis Calvert, Herbert Lom, Bernard Lee and American Sam Wanamaker who all ensure the script from Alec Coppel (Vertigo) plays out as a fast moving drama full of intrigue with an ending that really caught me offguard.

Mr Dennings Drives North looks lovely on Network's dvd and was a film i really enjoyed.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Experiment in Terror (1962)

I only saw this for the first time a couple of years ago. It wasn't what i expected at all. I was expecting more sleaze for some reason.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Klute (1971)

As with so many great films (Klute is a great film) of the time, Klute is as much if not more about the relationship of it's two central characters as it is the actual storyline itself. See also Easy Rider (1969), Midnight Cowboy (1969) and Don't Look Now (1973) as three more examples.

In the case of Klute ,the central plotline of a high class prostitute helping a private detective solve a missing person case is almost secondary to what is going on between the characters as played by Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland. Playing a hooker often brings out the best in Hollywood actresses who can adapt their performances to suit the role - witness Elizabeth Taylor in BUtterfield 8 (1960) and the more recent Elizabeth Shue in Leaving Las Vegas (1995) and Klute definitely brings out the best in Fonda. She's at times lonely and lost and at others manipulative, self obsessed and confident yet always sexy in the extreme and it's her performance as Bree Daniels and her many one on one scenes with Donald Sutherland's John Klute that make this film all the more memorable with situations and dialogue you could easily imagine spoken by Bogart and Bacall in The Big Sleep (1946). She couldn't do it alone though, Sutherland's cool and precise detective is the opposite of Fonda as he only wants to see his case through...at least for a while. But it's the believability in both performances that makes Klute the classic that it is.

Director Alan J Pakula sets his film in the shadows. With entire scenes often dimly lit perhaps to suggest the world of the high class hooker is a shadowy world, although it is when people or clients begin to go missing. Set in New York, this isn't a 'Sights of Times Square' neon lit spectacle, the city is seedy, the streets are litter strewn, there's a sense of social and moral decay everywhere but as with the performances it makes the film what it is. As does the striking tinkling music from Michael Small which surely influenced Claudio Simonetti in his giallo work.

That's not to say Klute is a perfect cinematic experience. It isn't. In fact it's far from it. The central plot is slight and lacking in the suspense stakes. It perhaps tries too hard to be neo-Noir but forgets to be thrilling. In fact remove Sutherland and Fonda from the film and replace them with actors less suited to the roles and it could be an uninspired mess. However we do have Fonda and Sutherland and what we see is actually quite inspired making Klute an oft mentioned but seemingly little seen piece of vital 70's cinema.

[Susan Foreman]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Klute (1971)

That looks similar to Zoe's outfit from 'The Mind Robber'!



Strange! How on earth did that second picture get there!!

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Murder by Contract (1958)



Noir with an injection of new-wave, Murder by Contract is a captivating thriller depicting the story of a rookie hitman as he wrestles with complications when he takes his on latest hit - a dame about to turn state's evidence against his new boss.

A great performance by Vince Edwards, an off-kilter score and a witty script all add to the film's compelling charm.

Stylish, cool, calculating and told with a minimalist sometimes light-hearted flair, this one turned out to be a very different (and by extension unique) end-of-era Noir and a very pleasant surprise too.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Murder by Contract (1958)



Noir with an injection of new-wave, Murder by Contract is a captivating thriller depicting the story of a rookie hitman as he wrestles with complications when he takes his on latest hit - a dame about to turn state's evidence against his new boss.

A great performance by Vince Edwards, an off-kilter score and a witty script all add to the film's compelling charm.

Stylish, cool, calculating and told with a minimalist sometimes light-hearted flair, this one turned out to be a very different (and by extension unique) end-of-era Noir and a very pleasant surprise too.

Is that available on dvd, B_E?

[bizarre_eye@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

Is that available on dvd, B_E?

Only as part of the Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics 1 set I believe, unfortunately.



A prime candidate for Powerhouse to pick up as part of their Sony deal though.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by bizarre_eye@Cult Labs

Only as part of the Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics 1 set I believe, unfortunately.



A prime candidate for Powerhouse to pick up as part of their Sony deal though.

Pity.

[Demdike@Cult Labs]

The Frightened City (1961)

Classic British Noir starring Sean Connery as a low level criminal who becomes embroiled in a dangerous racketeering syndicate formed by the six most ruthless mobsters in London in order to control the city.

A year before he took on a certain role, Connery is all action in this, indeed both his look and fighting style owe quite a bit to a certain British agent. He broods about, smokes and drinks heavily all the while looking cool as a cucumber in sharp suits whilst romancing sexy nightclub singer Yvonne Romain on the side.

Filmed in stark black and white the film is both stylish and tough and hard bitten, there's even a few uses of 'bastard' in the dialogue which was quite rare even in 1961. The film directed by John Lemont, who made the abysmal Konga the very same year, certainly nods towards American classic Noir and even German Krimi films with Herbert Lom in one of the lead roles. Having said that, The Frightened City is a little on the slow side. There's a lot of talk and not an awful lot of violence until the final ten minutes, but on the whole the dialogue is well written and handled nicely by a strong cast.

Whilst The Frightened City isn't classic British Noir it's still well worth owning for any fan of the genre or of British film itself.

Sean Connery (seated) and Herbert Lom.

[Nosferatu@Cult Labs]

Originally Posted by Demdike@Cult Labs

The Frightened City (1961)

Network BD?