Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 23, 2011

Today at Shadows and Satin, some miscellaneous tidbits of noirish trivia . . . Broderick Crawford: Dapper appearance. Voice like a caribou crossed with a streamliner. The distinctive voice of Broderick Crawford (The Mob, Human Desire) was once likened to a cross between “the love call of a caribou a   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 21, 2011

Ever wonder how some of the stars of noir got their big breaks on the big screen? Read on! John Dall, in disguise with his partner in crime, Peggy Cummins, in Gun Crazy. When John Dall (Gun Crazy, The Man Who Cheated Himself) was 10 years old, his father’s work...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 17, 2011

Employees’ Entrance (1933) stars the dashing and delightfully bad Warren William, Loretta Young and Wallace Ford. It’s one of the first pre-Code movies I ever owned, part of the Turner/MGM/UA “Forbidden Hollywood” series, and it’s a gem. The film’s principal characters are Kurt Anderson (William), t   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 15, 2011

Jean Simmons – perhaps best known for her portrayals of pious biblical women, as in The Robe or Spartacus – was an excellent choice for the title role in Angel Face (1952) – a murderous she-wolf in deceptively refined sheep’s clothing. Her polished English accent and velvety eyes combine to...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 11, 2011

Faithless, directed by Harry Beaumont and released by MGM in 1932, has one thing going for it right off the bat:  it stars Robert Montgomery who, for me, is one of the best things about the pre-Code era. Here, Montgomery is teamed with Tallulah Bankhead, on loan from Paramount in...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 11, 2011

There are no rain-swept streets in Detective Story (1951). Most of the film’s action takes place on a single set, on a single day, in a New York City precinct. There are no blinking neon signs that intermittently illuminate darkened rooms. The film depicts no mercenary femme fatale who transforms...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 6, 2011

The Set-Up takes place in real-time, during a single night at the Paradise City boxing arena. One of the films that I included on my recent list of Top 10 films noirs was The Set-Up, starring Robert Ryan and Audrey Totter. To me, both Ryan and Totter are quintessential noir...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 4, 2011

The following post is Shadows and Satin’s contribution to the Nicholas Ray Blogathon, which is being hosted September 5-8, 2011, by Cinema Viewfinder. (Watch out for spoilers: you’ve been warned.) An acclaimed, Oscar-nominated director, Nicholas Ray was perhaps best known for his film Rebel Without   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on September 3, 2011

Sunset Boulevard tells the ill-fated story of Norma Desmond, an aging silent film star, and Joe Gillis, a down-on-his luck screenwriter. Although Joe’s chance meeting with the more-than-eccentric Norma appears initially to be his salvation, in due course, it turns out to be his doom. Check out the l   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 30, 2011

In response to a request from a Shadows and Satin subscriber, I decided to sit down and come up with my top 10 films from the classic noir era (Thanks, Jörn!). It was a far, far more difficult undertaking than I thought it would be; in fact, on my first...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 28, 2011

Ellen Berent's obsession for her husband is clear, even in color. Recently on Twitter, I was asked if classic film noir can be in color. I answered, definitively, that it can. For me, noir is more about tone and mood than any other characteristics common to films of the era....   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 24, 2011

I find that I frequently write about this movie being one of my “favorite” noirs, or that line being my “favorite” quote, or this actress being among my “favorite” femme fatales. But don’t be too hard on me. There is so much to love about so many noirs – I...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 17, 2011

Janis Carter and William Gargan, in one of their lighter moments in "Night Editor." Night Editor (1946) is another one of those seldom-seen, rarely discussed, low-budget noirs that is worth a look-see. (I’m giving fair warning that spoilers abound!) The film was based on the long-run   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 13, 2011

So many scary dudes . . . so little space. Would you let this guy in your car? Would you let this guy in your car? Polished and urbane. And scary, to boot. Polished and urbane. And scary, to boot. Yikes. Yikes. Honorable mention in this final round of scary...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 9, 2011

The happiest month of the year for classic film lovers is August – because that’s the month that Turner Classic Movies offers up its great series, “Summer Under the Stars,” with each day featuring back to back to back films focusing on a single performer from the Golden Age of...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 5, 2011

Shadows and Satin is pleased and privileged to present our very first guest blog post, by none other than Senior Writer for The Dark Pages film noir newsletter, Kristina Dijan! Kristina also writes regularly for Landmark Report (www.landmarkreport.com/kdijan) and hosts her own blog, Kristina’s Kinem   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on August 1, 2011

Ida Lupino: Not a "poor man's" anything. As an actress, Ida Lupino referred to herself as “a poor man’s Bette Davis,” and as a director, she called herself “the poor man’s Don Siegel,” but for me, she wasn’t the poor man’s anything.  For me, Ida personified the hard-boiled, scotch-dri   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on July 28, 2011

Sterling Hayden led an adventurous, unconventional life that rivaled any cinematic role he played. An actor, author, and seafarer, Hayden extolled the virtues of marijuana, named fellow actors in the Communist witch-hunt of the 1950s, and waged a nasty, highly publicized custody battle for his child   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on July 27, 2011

I love Norma Shearer. Let me be more specific. I love pre-Code Norma Shearer. My first Norma Shearer movie was The Women, made in that great year for film, 1939 – five years after the establishment of the Production Code Administration. The Women is one of my favorite movies –...   read more

Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on July 24, 2011

One of the many unsung actresses of film noir is Helen Walker, who was seen in several features from the era, including Call Northside 777 (1948) and The Big Combo (1955). Although, sadly, Walker’s life off screen (including struggles with alcoholism, a car accident that resulted in the death of...   read more