Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 20, 2023

Elisha Cook, Jr. is one of my favorite noir actors – whenever he shows up, I know I’m in for a shadowy good time. Today’s Noirvember post is devoted to the life and times of this diminutive performer, so treat yourself to a heaping helping of Elisha Cook trivia ....   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 19, 2023

What is a femme fatale? She’s described in several ways on ye olde World Wide Web. The first definition I encountered stated that a femme fatale is an attractive and seductive woman, especially one who is likely to cause distress or disaster to a man who becomes involved with her. Another...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 18, 2023

Ten years ago on this blog, I served up a post about the 10 noir characters I would have for dinner. To mark this anniversary, I thought I’d have another dream dinner party, just for Noirvember, and invite 10 more noir folks. So come on in, grab a canape and...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 17, 2023

Time for another test of your shadowy know-how, y’all! Try your hand at today’s Dark Quiz! Find the answers scrolling past the poster of In a Lonely Place, at the bottom of the post. And join me tomorrow for Day 18 of Noirvember! 1. In how many films noirs did...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 16, 2023

I’ve been waiting for this day all month long – on November 17th, TCM is going film noir nutty, and I am here for every bit of it! Starting in the early morning hours of the 17th and continuing all day long, TCM is airing 10 – count ‘em, 10!!!...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 15, 2023

Several months ago, I started writing for the Film Masters blog, which is affiliated with the Film Masters YouTube channel. My essays for the blog include a “Noir or Not” series, where I explore whether or not certain films are indeed, in my opinion, film noir. The first movie I...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 14, 2023

Name your top 25 films noirs. Sounds easy, doesn’t it? I thought it would be a breeze. A piece of cake. A walk in the park. But, no. To whittle my favorites down to 25, I had to leave off so many films that I love – it was agonizing!...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 13, 2023

It’s about that time . . . time for some more of those awesome film noir lines. Dig in! “Perhaps you don’t realize. It’s painful being killed – a piece of metal sliding into your body, finding its way to your heart. It takes a while to die, too. Sometimes...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 12, 2023

One of my favorite things about Noirvember is shining the spotlight on those films noirs that are not necessarily well-known, but are certainly worthy of your time. Today’s post focuses on two Columbia Pictures features from the 1950s that will put you on the edge of your seat and keep...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 11, 2023

Are you ready for some trivia? Dive in! RKO was on the verge of bankruptcy when it signed aging crooner Dick Powell to make a series of musicals. Powell agreed on one condition: that he could play a straight dramatic role first. This agreement led to his casting as Philip...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 10, 2023

Today’s Noirvember post is offered in conjunction with Blogathon & the Beast, a blog event hosted by the Classic Movie Blog Association that focuses on characters who are “caught in a struggle with their primal inclinations.” For my entry in the blogathon, I’m taking a look at the “beasts&   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 9, 2023

For today’s Noirvember post, I thought I’d try something different and, hopefully, a little fun. Here’s a quiz with titles of film noir features, but with one word missing from each. To play, just fill in the missing word. The answers can be found by scrolling past the poster of...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 8, 2023

It’s become somewhat of a tradition for me during Noirvember to comb through my copies of Confidential magazine for stories on noir vets. Luckily, I added another issue to my collection this past year, so here I go again! If you’re unfamiliar with Confidential, it was a notorious gossip magazine...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 7, 2023

During a recent session of the weekly movie meetup group I’m in, we got on the topic of classic movie stars who’d changed their birth names. It was a practice that was not uncommon – Doris Kappelhoff became Doris Day, Alice Jean Leppert became Alice Faye, and so on. Happened...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 6, 2023

For some, actor Vince Edwards is best known as the title character on TV’s Ben Casey, which ran for five years on ABC in the 1960s. Others remember him as Maj. Cliff Bricker in the 1968 war film The Devil’s Brigade, starring William Holden and Cliff Robertson. But I know...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 5, 2023

There are noirs that I like. There are noirs that I love. And then there are the noirs that I’ve seen the most. Today’s Noirvember post is looking at the top three noirs that I’ve seen more often than any others – the ones that I watch over and over...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 4, 2023

I can’t get enough of what I like to call “Dame Name” noirs – Mildred Pierce, Laura, Nora Prentiss and, of course, Gilda. And you know what else I can’t get enough of? TRIVIA! So, in today’s Noirvember post, I’m combining these two loves of mine, taking a deep dive...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 3, 2023

How many times have you been watching a noir and spotted a actor that you’ve seen before, but you don’t know his name? In fact, you’ve never heard his name – but that face! You know that face! Today’s Noirvember post is taking a look at one of these actors,...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 2, 2023

If you love film noir – and, of course, you do! – then I know you love those awesome lines that the characters toss off like so much confetti. Some of my favorite lines are the memorable threats and put-downs, and that’s the focus of today’s Noirvember post. Enjoy! “Joe,...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 1, 2023

It’s November 1st, y’all, and you know what that means: it’s the start of Noirvember! The brainchild of Marya Gates, who now blogs via her Substack newslettter, Noirvember is a month-long celebration of all things noir. And here at Shadows and Satin, I celebrate by posting every day of the...   read more