Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 16, 2015

Film noir is not the easiest era of moviemaking to describe or define. It disdains absolute definitions, flaunts exceptions, and welcomes interpretations. Interestingly, as difficult as noir is to clarify, one can glean an understanding of the period by examining the titles of the films themselves.   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 16, 2015

Tom Neal’s life was like a movie. A tragic one. He was born with the proverbial “silver spoon,” received a quality education at the nation’s finest schools – he was the All-American boy. When he decided to pursue an acting career, he had little trouble getting started, and while his...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 14, 2015

There’s a whole lot to love about film noir. The oh-so-quotable dialogue. The shadowy urban locales. The edge-of-your-seat plot twists. But one of the best things about noir is the femmes fatales. Beautiful, mercenary, conniving, intelligent, sexy, and always out for number one, the femmes of   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 13, 2015

Ann Sheridan was known during her career as the “Oomph Girl.” It was a label that she reportedly despised, but one look at this sultry dame certainly lends an understanding to the designation. Sheridan demonstrated her comedic chops in films like I Was a Male War Bride (1949) opposite Cary...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 12, 2015

It’s a typical noir storyline – a regular Joe gets in dutch with the law, a gang of hoods, or both, and before you can say “Bob’s your uncle,” he’s in over his head. Way over. That’s the basic premise of Desperate (1947), starring Steve Brodie, Audrey Long, and Raymond...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 11, 2015

Based in part on a short story by Ernest Hemingway, The Killers is about a former boxer known as “The Swede” (Burt Lancaster) who is murdered by two hitmen because, in his words, he “did something once.” The rest of the film shows the efforts of an insurance investigator to...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 10, 2015

(NOTE: My Day 9 Noirvember post was delayed by real life – for nearly 24 hours, I was stranded at the airport in Atlanta, suffering the ignominious, rather noirish experience of having my flight delayed six times and cancelled twice. The post-that-should-have-been is below.) “The biggest mistake I m   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 10, 2015

Robert Siodmak (pronounced See-ODD-mack) was one of the most prolific directors in film noir, helming no fewer than eight features from the era. He also directed what were, arguably, some of film noir’s best, including Phantom Lady (1944), The Killers (1946), and Criss Cross (1949). Without question   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 8, 2015

Everybody’s heard of – and most classic film lovers have seen – such noir staples as Out of the Past, Double Indemnity, and The Postman Always Rings Twice. But what about those great, unheralded noirs? There are countless first-rate pictures from this dark and shadowy era that fly so far...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 8, 2015

Lawrence Tierney was once likened to the renowned fictional character Dr. Jekyll-Mr. Hyde. “When he’s sober, he serious, thoughtful, ambitious,” the 1951 newspaper account revealed. “When he’s drunk, he’s close to crazy.” With his portrayal of Depression-era gangster John Dillinger in the late 1940s   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 7, 2015

Like many a Hollywood glamour girl, Gene Tierney was beloved by fans and praised by critics more for her radiant green eyes and luminescent skin than for her dramatic talents. But no amount of glamour could cloak Tierney’s failed marriages, the tragedy of her first-born daughter, and the mental illn   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 5, 2015

Joan Bennett was the youngest child of a family renowned for its dramatic accomplishments. She began her lengthy career in the shadow of her famous father and her flamboyant sister, Constance, but she would ultimately emerge to become a star in her own right. While she is perhaps best remembered...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 4, 2015

A petite brunette with soulful blue eyes and a wide, genuine smile, Ann Blyth enjoyed a performing career that spanned more than a half century. During the height of her fame, she held her own opposite such stars as Joan Crawford, Mickey Rooney, Claudette Colbert, and William Powell, and she...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 3, 2015

My Pre-Code Crazy pick for the month of November is Private Lives (1931), starring the totally awesome Norma Shearer and the always fantastic Robert Montgomery. In the interest of full disclosure, I have already written about this film on my blog, and under normal circumstances, that fact would auto   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 3, 2015

Lancaster and Gardner in The Killers He began his career as a circus acrobat, became an Academy-Award winning star of the silver screen, and helped launch one of the most successful independent production companies of his time. And he was the star of seven first-rate examples of the classic noir...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 3, 2015

He ended up with exactly nothing. Without any fanfare, today I’m pleased to offer up some of my favorite noir lines from some of my favorite noir bad boys. Enjoy! “I got everything by talking fast in a world that goes for talking. And ended up with exactly nothing.”  Dana Andrews...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on November 1, 2015

What’s Noirvember? It’s a month-long celebration of all things noir, started by Marya over at Cinema-Fanatic.com. I had so much fun participating last year that I figured I’d give it another whirl! I hope you’ll join me as I offer up any and everything noir that I can think of...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on October 20, 2015

“You never know what’s in store for you when you hear the squeal of brakes.” That’s Detour (1945). A 67-minute advertisement for why hitchhiking is a bad idea, Detour is one of my favorite guilty pleasures from the classic film noir era. In a nutshell, the film centers on Al...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on October 7, 2015

My Pre-Code Crazy selection for October, Three on a Match (1932), holds a special place in my heart. It’s one of the first pre-Codes I ever saw. Its cast offers an embarrassment of riches:  Bette Davis, Joan Blondell, Warren William, Humphrey Bogart, Ann Dvorak, Lyle Talbot, Allen Jenkins, Edward Ar   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 10, 2015

Lilly Turner (1933) is one of those First National Pictures where the opening credits show each of the main characters in the film – you know what I’m talking about?  I always enjoy seeing these credits – there’s something about them that makes me feel like I’m about to experience...   read more