Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 26, 2018

When they nicknamed Adele Jergens “The Eyeful,” they weren’t just whistlin’ Dixie. Born on November 17, 1917, in Brooklyn, New York, Adele Louisa Jurgens didn’t start out with her sights set on the big screen. The tomboyish Adele was the youngest of four children and the only girl, and was...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 25, 2018

Today’s Noirvember post is the second in my series of favorite femme fatales – those deliciously devious dames that I just can’t get enough of. My top femme was Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity (1944). Number two on my hit parade of deadly dames is none other than Kathie Moffat...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 25, 2018

Nancy Olson during her appearance at TCMFF 2018. For today’s post, I’m doing double duty – my daily Noirvember celebration and the next installment of my year-long coverage of the 2018 Turner Classic Movies film festival! I was delighted this year to have the opportunity to see and hear the...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 23, 2018

Earlier this month, as part of my campaign to point out first-rate noirs released in years other than the typically touted 1947, I spotlighted my top five film noir features from 1945. I’m continuing this effort for today’s Noirvember post, with my top three from 1953. It was a fun...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 22, 2018

Joan Crawford served up a strong noir presence in such first-rate features as Mildred Pierce (1945), Possessed (1947), The Damned Don’t Cry (1950) and Sudden Fear (1952). She also served up a mean turkey. Happy Thanksgiving! And join me tomorrow on Day 23 (seriously, where is the time going!?!   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 21, 2018

“She was a charming, middle-aged lady with a face like a bucket of mud. I gave her a drink. She was a gal who’d take a drink if she had to knock you down to get to the bottle.” Dick Powell in Murder, My Sweet (1944). ~ by shadowsandsatin on...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 20, 2018

Larry Parks testifying before HUAC. In 1947, the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) launched an investigation into Communism in the motion picture industry, throwing Tinseltown into a paranoid panic and ruining the lives of countless artists. During secret testimony before HUAC in 1951, a   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 19, 2018

When you think of first-rate noir actresses, the really talented ones, who do you think of? Stanwyck? Claire Trevor? Audrey Totter? What about Gene Tierney? Is she even on your list? Because of her striking beauty and innate elegance, I think that Tierney’s acting prowess is often overlooked, but sh   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 18, 2018

Stanwyck as Phyllis Dietrichson I love a lot (obviously) about film noir. And one of the things I love best about these films is the deadly, duplicitous dames commonly known as femme fatales. You know – the ones who use their wiles to get their way. The ones who have...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 18, 2018

Mikhail Mazurkiewicz and Doris Bernice Jensen in Nightmare Alley (1947) On last week’s Trivia Thursday, one of my entries was the given name of actor Robert Taylor: Spangler Arlington Brugh (which just happens to be my favorite name of all time). Today’s Noirvember post serves up 10 more   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 16, 2018

She goes where she wants to. It’s a Noirvember tradition – a celebration of the memorable words of film noir. Enjoy! “You’re trying to make me go soft. Well, you can save your oil. I don’t go soft for anybody.” Alan Ladd in This Gun For Hire (1942) “If you...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 15, 2018

Lana Turner and Spangler Arlington Brugh. A Thursday without trivia is like a day without sunshine. (Or something like that.) Join me in diving into a pool full of trivial tidbits about the stars of some of my favorite noirs . . . Robert Taylor’s given name was Spangler Arlington...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 14, 2018

The Phenix City Story is a 1955 noir directed by Phil Karlson and starring John McIntire, Richard Kiley, and Kathryn Grant. The title location is a lawless town in Alabama where the crooks are running the show and the cops are ineffectual at best, and on the payroll of the...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 13, 2018

Detour (1945) is 68 minutes of cracking good lines, an edge-of-your-seat plot, and a perfect noir ending. And then there’s Ann Savage. In the film, Savage plays Vera, a hitch-hiker picked up on the side of the road by Al Roberts (Tom Neal), who’s on his way from New York...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 12, 2018

It’s Love and Murder at First Sight! I love movie taglines — especially the taglines for noir features. They crack me up. They’re so EMPHATIC! And so DRAMATIC! This week’s list features some of my favorites. Do you have any? Double Indemnity (1944): It’s Love And Murder   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 11, 2018

Of all the noir femmes I can think of, Gail Russell had the saddest eyes. There was a reason for that. Russell appeared in four noirs during her career – Calcutta (1947), opposite Alan Ladd; Moonrise (1948), with Dane Clark and Lloyd Bridges; Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948), starring...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 11, 2018

The Locket (1946) is a fascinating film noir that tells the story of Nancy, a beautiful and accomplished young woman who, at the start of the picture, is about to marry the love of her life, John Willis. Shortly before the start of the ceremony, however, John is visited by...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 9, 2018

“Young woman, either you have been raised in some incredibly rustic community, where good manners are unknown, or you suffer from the common feminine delusion that the mere fact of being a woman exempts you from the rules of civilized conduct. Or possibly both.” — Clifton Webb in L   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 8, 2018

What a difference a meal makes. If you know anything about me, you know I love trivia! Today’s Noirvember post offers a few tidbits about some of my favorite noir films and performers . . . This Gun for Hire (1942), starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake, was remade in...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 7, 2018

During last year’s Noirvember observance, one of my posts focused on the scandal rag called Confidential and three film noir femmes – Joan Crawford, Rita Hayworth, and Ava Gardner — who received the “star treatment.” This year, I flipped the pages of my Confidential magazine collection a   read more