Blog Archives
Movie Quote of the Day – Odds Against Tomorrow, 1959 (dir. Robert Wise)
Helen: Would you do a thing like that?
Earle: Like what?
Helen: Leave me alone like he did.
Earle: Not for a minute.
Movie Quote of the Day – Born To Be Bad, 1950 (dir. Nicholas Ray)
Nick Bradley: I love you so much I wish I liked you.
Oscar Vault Monday – Crossfire, 1947 (dir. Edward Dmytryk)
As we continue with Noirvember, I bring one of my favorites from the era, Edward Dmytryk’s Crossfire. I read one critic who said it is more of a “message film” than a film noir and I think that is kind of a ridiculous statement, as it assumes the two are mutually exclusive. If you’ve seen The Celluloid Closet, then you know that originally the crime in this film was perpetrated out of homophobia, rather than anti-Semitism. Under the Hays Code, clearcut mention of homosexuality was prohibited because it was consider “sexual perversion.” I’m going to write a little more about the origins of the film after the cut. Crossfire was nominated for five Academy Awards, though it didn’t win any: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor Robert Ryan, Best Supporting Actress Gloria Grahame, Best Director and Best Picture. The other films nominated for Best picture that year were The Bishop’s Wife, Great Expectations, Miracle on 34th Street and winner Gentleman’s Agreement (which is also about anti-Semitism). Crossfire was one of the twenty highest-grossing films of 1947, along with three other noirs: Body and Soul, Possessed and Dark Passage.
Movie Quote of the Day – The Set-Up, 1949 (dir. Robert Wise)
Stoker: Yeah, top spot. And I’m just one punch away.
Julie: I remember the first time you told me that. You were just one punch away from the title shot then. Don’t you see, Bill, you’ll always be just one punch away.
From The Warner Archive: Born To Be Bad, 1950 (dir. Nicholas Ray)
Recently remastered and released by the Warner Archive, Born to Be Bad is an early, but important effort from landmark director Nicholas Ray. The film was released three months after Ray’s breakthrough masterpiece In A Lonely Place, starring Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame. While this film seems a lesser effort in comparison, I think much of the fault lies with the studio; Born To Be Bad had five writers and it feels like it. That said, this remaster is beautifully done and the disc comes with the original theatrical trailer, as well as a newly found and restored alternate ending. More on that after the cut.
From The Warner Archive: Fred Astaire vs. Gene Kelly
I’ve always been partial to Gene Kelly, myself. The Warner Archive asks you to choose between the two icons of dance on film with two new releases from the collection: Fred Astaire in the 1943 wartime dark comedy The Sky’s The Limit and Gene Kelly in the 1947 post-war musical comedy Living In A Big Way. Both films are little seen and essential for fans of the dancers, though I will admit as these reviews go on, my preference for Kelly will start to show.
the diary of a film history fanatic 