Posts tagged with "film noir"
Top 7 Underrated Film Noir Performances
Known for its German Expressionist-inspired visual style, film noir is a hybrid of gangster flick and detective mystery with an often pessimistic look at the greater social problems. Noirs are usually set in dark, crime-riddled cities — places that come alive in the night; crawling with gangsters, con men and double-crossing dames. The central figures [...]
Review: The Narrow Margin (1952)
The Narrow Margin airs on TCM Friday March 8, 2013. Check local listings for time. The Narrow Margin is one of the great film noirs that takes giddy joy in reveling in its genre. From the very opening title sequence, it brazenly telegraphs exactly what you’re about to enjoy. Made on a paltry (even by [...]
Review: Pursued (1947)
Funny story. I made plans to see Raoul Walsh’s 1947 psychological western Pursued with a friend a month in advance. For some reason, I wrote only Pursued! on the date box in question, leading to a one weird day where I wondered – Am I being pursued? Am I pursuing someone? Should I be worried? [...]
Watch It: The Hitchhiker (1953)
Now that you’ve got a few hours to kill ’til Oscar time, I present to you The Hitchhiker, a 1953 crime drama directed by none other than Miss Ida Lupino. In the comments section of The Top 5 Film Noir Bad Guys, Grand Old Movies posted: I would add William Talman in the title role of [...]
Top 5 Film Noir Bad Guys
Film noir is famously murky when it comes to good versus evil. These are no westerns where the good guy wears a white hat and the bad guy wears a black hat. But is films noir, the good guy usually deeply flawed and the line between him and the bad guy. However, sometimes there comes [...]
Existentialism, Howard Hawks, and “Only Angels Have Wings”
Only Angels Have Wings airs February 22, 2013 on TCM at 5:45 pm EST. Howard Hawks is considered one of the great classic film directors. His contemporaries defined him as a “man’s man,” both in his attitude, demeanor and the ethos his characters displayed over his six decade long career span. Much of his tough [...]
Film Friday Weekly Roundup
Well, hey now, it’s Friday. Thanks to the magic of the interwebs, Pretty Clever Film Gal appears to be feverishly working at PCF Headquarters and she isn’t. Ha! Currently, she’s in an undisclosed location, playing gin rummy with Dick Cheney. Ok, not really, but I’m really not here. However, because of my abiding love and [...]
Film Friday | Weekly Roundup
Pretty Clever Film Gal is still struggling with the plague but crawling along the road to recovery. Thankfully, there was much to entertain and divert this week, what with the return of Bobby O. to TCM and the silent film bonanza sparked by Hugo and The Artists. It feels like a fine time to care [...]
Death for Sale
My TIFF experience marched on with Wednesday’s screening of the Moroccan film Death for Sale. I approached this movie with some apprehension because what I know about Morrocco… well, frankly what I know about Morroco I learned from Casablanca. I don’t often watch contemporary foreign films for that very reason. I always have the sneaking [...]
Today on TCM: The Big Heat
TCM is airing The Big Heat today at 1 p.m. Set your DVR because this one is a keeper. In the meantime, follow the links for some thoughtful writing on this 1953 Fritz Lang classic, starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Lee Marvin. “Percolating Paranoia: Fritz Lang’s The Big Heat” “The Big Heat (1953): [...]
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