Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 15, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on one unlucky fella, Dan Brady in Quicksand (1950). WHAT’S QUICKSAND ABOUT? Garage mechanic Dan Brady (Mickey Rooney) wrangles a date with the sexy new cashier down at the local coffeeshop, but he discovers that he’s flat broke. He borrows $20 from the c   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 14, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on a dame who’s not very nice, and that’s putting it mildly: Sherry Peatty in The Killing (1956). WHAT’S THE KILLING ABOUT? Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden), recently released from prison, marshals a motley crew of men to carry out an intricately designed ra   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 13, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on another cop who’s not exactly on the up and up – Webb Garwood in The Prowler (1951). WHAT’S THE PROWLER ABOUT? Beat cop Webb Garwood (Van Heflin) investigates the report of a prowler at the home of Susan Gilvray (Evelyn Keyes). Although Susan...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 12, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on the unfaithful, unpleasant, unlucky Pauline Driscoll in 99 River Street (1953). WHAT’S 99 RIVER STREET ABOUT? When boxer-turned-taxi driver Ernie Driscoll (John Payne) finds his wife’s dead body in the back of his cab, he works with a local actress (Ev   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 11, 2021

Today we’re looking at a cop who’s so dirty you can barely see him in the Noirvember spotlight – Barney Nolan in Shield for Murder (1954). WHAT’S SHIELD FOR MURDER ABOUT? For a noir, the story of Shield for Murder is a fairly straightforward one. Veteran police detective Barney Nolan...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 10, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on one determined sister – Jane Palmer in Too Late for Tears (1949). WHAT’S TOO LATE FOR TEARS ABOUT? A California housewife, Jane Palmer (Lizabeth Scott), is unhappy with her station in life. She wants what she can’t have, she envies the trappings of...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 9, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on one unlucky dude – Al Roberts in Detour (1945). WHAT’S DETOUR ABOUT? New York piano player Al Roberts (Tom Neal) hitch-hikes his way across the country to reunite with his singer-girlfriend, who made the trek to the Golden State to try her hand...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 8, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on one of my favorite Joan Crawford characters (and that’s saying something!): Ethel Whitehead – also known as Lorna Hansen Forbes – in The Damned Don’t Cry (1950). WHAT’S THE DAMNED DON’T CRY ABOUT? When unhappily married housewife Ethel Whitehead (Crawf   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 7, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on a rather pathetic figure in the shadowy noir world, Joe McClure in The Big Combo (1955). WHAT’S THE BIG COMBO ABOUT? The Big Combo focuses on Mr. Brown (Richard Conte), a ruthless, big-time mobster, and Leonard Diamond (Cornel Wilde), the world-weary d   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 6, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on a real stand-up noir dame – Lily Stevens in Road House (1948). WHAT’S ROAD HOUSE ABOUT? The title establishment is owned by one Jefferson “Jefty” Robbins (Richard Widmark), who falls for a singer from Chicago, Lily Stevens (Ida Lupino), and hires her t   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 5, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on the skeevy, slimy, but unforgettable Charlie Borg in Wicked Woman (1953). WHAT’S WICKED WOMAN ABOUT? The “Wicked Woman” of the film’s title is Billie Nash (Beverly Michaels), a kind of distaff drifter who, at the film’s beginning, is arriving by bus in   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 4, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on one bad-ass sister, Irene Neves in Sudden Fear (1952). WHAT’S SUDDEN FEAR ABOUT? Successful playwright and San Francisco heiress Myra Hudson (Joan Crawford) meets actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance) and marries him after a whirlwind romance. Their marri   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 3, 2021

Keep your eyes open. Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on the ever-so creepy Emmett Myers of The Hitch-Hiker (1953). WHAT’S THE HITCH-HIKER ABOUT? Two buddies – Roy Collins (Edmond O’Brien) and Gilbert Bowen (Frank Lovejoy) – on a weekend fishing trip, catch more than they intended when t   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 2, 2021

Today’s Noirvember post shines the spotlight on Helen Trent of Born to Kill (1947). And a more depraved femme you’ll never want to meet. WHAT’S BORN TO KILL ABOUT? Described by one critic as a “sexy, suggestive yarn of crime with punishment,” Born to Kill primarily focuses on two characters:...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 1, 2021

Greetings and salutations, all you noir lovers out there! According to the old calendar on the wall, it’s about that time – time for Noirvember! The brainchild of Marya E. Gates over at Cinema Fanatic, Noirvember is a month-long celebration of all things noir, from the performers and the directors,   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on October 31, 2021

It’s been years (YEARS!) since I’ve received a Blogger Award nomination. So I was pleased as punch when Debbi from I Found it at the Movies nominated me for a Sunshine! My humble and most sincere thanks to Debbi for this honor! The rules for accepting this award are below:...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on October 25, 2021

In her 1930s features, Una Merkel portrayed a variety of standout roles, including the shrill and frequently sobbing Sibyl in Private Lives (1931), the wronged girlfriend of David Manners in Man Wanted (1931), Jean Harlow’s scheming secretary in Bombshell (1932), and a wisecracking chorus girl   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on October 3, 2021

October is the cruelest month . . . for me trying to pick out a pre-Code to recommend on TCM! You see, TCM’s schedule every October features lots of horror movies, from the famous to the obscure, and if you know me at all, you know that horror movies are...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 15, 2021

As a wise man once said, “Better late than really, really late.” Or words to that effect. For seven consecutive years, beginning in 2013, I was a participant in the Summer Classic Movie Book Challenge, the brainchild of Raquel Stecher over at Out of the Past. To join the event,...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 11, 2021

After recently reading a 2004 book called The Idiot’s Guide to Classic Movies, I identified a whole slew of interesting-sounding films that I’d never seen before (and some that I’d never even heard of!). This week’s rather ambitious list consists of these films. How many have   read more