Noirvember!

I watch film noir year round, but Noirvember was a great time rewatch or discover some gems of the genre. I’ve listed some favorites below in honor of Noirvember.

Now, Eddie Muller has a list of his favorite noir films on his website, and I highly encourage you to take a peek. For those of you who aren’t aware of Eddie Muller, he’s been coined the “Czar of Noir” by my good friend, James Ellroy (I hope you know who he is, if you don’t, go read Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential, and everything else he’s ever written!). Back to Eddie: he’s the host of TCM’s Noir Alley and leads the charge for the Film Noir Foundation and the preservation of film noir. I had the pleasure of meeting Eddie at a Film Noir Festival held in Colorado—what a great time and what a great bunch of movies they screened.

So, after reading Eddie’s list of favorite noir films, why should you care about mine? I have some crossover with his list (how could I not?), but these are some favorites from the classic film noir era that socked me in the gut. Some of these films will be obvious and well-known, while others have be new to you. I’m also not hung up on what is pure film noir, and maybe some of these don’t check the noir box for you.

What you’ll notice is the crossover with actors and directors with these films. You’ll see actors and actresses like Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott, Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Ann Sheridan, Ray Milland, Dan Duryea, and others show up quite often, but I don’t mention them below—even if they’re in the films I listed!

I know I probably left off quite a few, but this is just a quick list off the top of my head. Let me know some of your favorites!

• He Walked By Night, T-Men, Raw Deal - any time you have John Alton’s lighting (also see The Big Combo), and Anthony Mann’s directing (even if uncredited as in He Walked By Night), you have instant film noir.

• The Big Sleep, Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, Murder, My Sweet, Dead Reckoning - okay, a couple of these have Bogart, and they’re close to noir. The books were written by Hammett, Chandler (Farewell, My Lovely was filmed as Murder, My Sweet), and Goodis - all hardboiled or noir-like. They may not be pure noir, but they come close.

• Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce - With James M. Cain’s novels as the inspiration—the man wrote dark and flawed characters as good as anyone—it’s film noir. Double Indemnity is right at the top of my list of the all-time best films period.

• In A Lonely Place, Ride The Pink Horse - These are great films, and the novels were written by Dorothy B. Hughes—she wrote noir as well as anyone. Dark, disturbing characters, especially in the Bogart film with Gloria Grahame (a film noir fixture) of the same name. While the film differs a little from the novel, this is one of those few instances where the film and the novel are of equal greatness.

• D.O.A. - Edmund O’Brien. A great premise, which I won’t spoil. O’Brien was in a few others like 711 Ocean Drive (and he’s in The Killers, listed below).

• The Killers, Criss Cross, Phantom Lady - Robert Siodmak is another great film noir director, and two of these films star Burt Lancaster. The Killers was based on the Ernest Hemingway short story, but don’t miss Criss Cross—it has Yvonne deCarlo who is absolutely wonderful.

• Sunset Boulevard, Lost Weekend, Double Indemnity, Ace In The Hole - yes, Double Indemnity is listed twice, this time because it’s directed by Billy Wilder—a versatile director who did screwball comedies just as well as directing film noir. All those films are classics. You won’t be disappointed in any of those films, and they’re all so different, yet still noir!

• The Big Heat, The Blue Gardenia, Scarlet Street, The Woman in the Window, Clash By Night, Ministry of Fear, Human Desire - Fritz Lang. Anything directed by Fritz Lang is going to be disturbing. He casts Lee Marvin, Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Barbara Stanwyck to name a few—all known for their noir roles. His earlier stuff helped film noir become a thing: Metropolis and M—Peter Lorre in his creepiest of his many creepy roles.

• Gilda - directed by Charles Vidor and with Rita Hayworth in what I think is her signature role. Also has Glenn Ford, another film noir staple (see The Big Heat).

• Night And The City, Pickup on South Street - Richard Widmark’s in these, and he’s great.

• Asphalt Jungle - directed by John Huston (also on this list with Maltese Falcon), with a young Marilyn Monroe along with Sterling Hayden—another film noir regular, what a great tough guy.

• Sweet Smell of Success, Brute Force, Criss Cross, The Killers - Burt Lancaster is menacing and overbearing in Success. You could do worse than explore some of these Burt Lancaster roles. Pure noir.

• Laura - the novel was written by Vera Caspary (as was the Blue Gardenia), they are worth reading as well as watching. This is a haunting film with some cool twists and has a great cast: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb, and Vincent Price. It’s directed by Otto Preminger, who also directed The Man With The Golden Arm, starring Frank Sinatra—a noir film depicting drug addiction.

• Out Of The Past - Robert Mitchum in one of the definitive noir films with Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer. Talk about a man who could take over a film. Also check out Night of the Hunter, Crossfire, The Big Steal, Where Danger Lives, and The Racket.

• Kiss Me Deadly - Ralph Meeker was such a great Mike Hammer - Mickey Spillane was not a fan of this film, but it’s so much fun, and watching Mike Hammer get in over his head and opening Pandora’s Box is amazing and the inspiration for many many moments in subsequent films.

• The Narrow Margin - Dana Andrews and another film noir staple—Marie Windsor. Takes place mostly on a train! Trains appear in quite a few noir flicks, including a few on this list.

• The Third Man, Lady From Shanghai, Touch of Evil, Niagara, Shadow of a Doubt - okay, these are Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. The first three all with Orson Welles, and Niagara featuring Marilyn Monroe, while Shadow of a Doubt was directed by Hitchcock (not really a noir director, but a couple of his might qualify (such as Vertigo—though that one’s in color even if the overall tone qualifies). Like Gilda, it’s hard to not watch Rita Hayworth in any role!

• Gun Crazy - this is a 1950 Bonnie & Clyde or Natural Born Killers—only better! Too bad the production code got in the way of what could have been, though it makes for more creative choices.

• They Drive By Night, Private Hell 36, High Sierra, The Hitch-Hiker, The Big Knife - all of these have Ida Lupino in them. Lupino was a Hollywood pioneer, a female director in the studio system. She’s great as an actress of director. A couple of these also have Bogart.

• The Killing - great cast, caper film directed by Kubrick.

• Detour - ugly from start to finish. Horrible people doing horrible things.

• One more: Nightmare Alley - carnival noir with Tyrone Powers in, to me, his best performance.

Turner Classic Movies

I recently dumped my satellite television service, and the channel I watched the most was TCM.  This isn't a post about satellite or cable or even TCM the cable channel (which is the only reason I was even holding on to my satellite for so long).

Have you ever wanted to see Jaws on the big screen? How about Gone With The Wind or Casablanca? How about Grease? Hitchcock films?

Guess what? You can.

Turner Classic Movies has been bringing classic films back to the big screen. These films usually only play for two days, but if you follow TCM's schedule you'll be in for a treat.  Last year, we enjoyed Casablanca, Gone With The Wind, and Rear Window. If you haven't seen those, go watch them immediately, you're missing out. All three of those are in the top 50 films of all time.

This year, TCM's schedule is full of great films:

Jaws 40th Anniversary – Sunday, June 21 and Wednesday, June 24
Double Indemnity – Sunday, July 19 and Monday, July 20
Grease Sing-A-Long – Sunday, August 16 and Wednesday, August 19 
Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho – Sunday, September 20 and Wednesday, September 23
Dracula (1931)/Drácula (1931) Double Feature – Sunday, October 25 and Wednesday, October 28
Roman Holiday – Sunday, November 29 and Tuesday, December 1
Miracle on 34th Street – Sunday, December 20 and Wednesday, December 23

We missed Jaws, which I would have loved to have seen in the theater (I was 5 when that came out, but I remember being terrified of the movie poster and ads). I didn't want anything to do with water at that point and I hadn't even seen the picture!

However, we did see Double Indemnity--not only one of the all-time great film noir films, but one of the all-time great films. Read the short novel by James M. Cain, then watch the film starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, and Edward G. Robinson. The movie was directed by Billy Wilder (now go and watch every single film this man directed--want a sample? Some Like It Hot, Hollywood Boulevard, Stalag 17, The Apartment).

You can sit home and watch these films, but there is something to be said for heading to the theater and experiencing them on a big screen, surrounded by others who also appreciate these movies. I'm looking forward to Psycho--not my favorite Hitchcock film, but it will be amazing on the big screen. During the original release, theater owners would not allow people in once the film began.

I almost forgot Ghostbusters. In 2014, TCM also re-released Ghostbusters for the film's 30th anniversary. What I loved about the release was that a bunch of high school kids showed up and had fun. I remember seeing the movie with a bunch of friends when it came out in 1984--I was 14. To see modern teenagers laughing and enjoying the movie made me smile and think that perhaps these final gasp Millennials/tip of the spear Generation Z kids aren't all that bad--boy do I sound like an old and curmudgeonly Gen-X'er right now.

Check out the website for TCM's film lineup and go see an old movie!

The Marx Brothers: A Night At The Opera

I tell people at work they need to give the Marx Brothers a chance. However, I usually get the same responses from them:  "Black and white movies are boring!" or "I don't get that sort of humor." or "Who are the Marx Brothers?"

Boring? Not the Marx Brothers. Not at all. And who are the Marx Brothers? Groucho? Harpo? Chico? Zeppo? Gummo?  Okay, I'll give people Gummo and Zeppo (Gummo didn't appear in any of the films, but Zeppo appeared in all the Paramount films). But everyone should know Groucho, Chico, and Harpo.

Two of the Marx Brothers' films are in AFI's top 100 movies of all time:  Duck Soup at #60 and A Night At The Opera at #85. They also have five of the top 100 comedies of all time according to AFI--not too shabby.

If you were interested in getting into the Marx Brothers, I recommend beginning with A Night At The Opera.

Why Opera and not Duck Soup, or Animal Crackers, or A Day At the Races? Or [insert any Marx Brothers film here]?

A Night At The Opera was their first film with MGM after the contract with Paramount ended. What most fans enjoy about the Paramount films is the anarchic chaos and when the brothers went over to MGM, Zeppo left (he was usually the straight man), leaving Groucho, Chico, and Harpo. Gummo never appeared in the films and never really developed an onstage persona like the rest of his brothers. It's my opinion that A Night At The Opera serves as a great way to bridge the gap between the anarchic Paramount films and the slightly less anarchic MGM films.

MGM wanted more of a plot and a story where the brothers were clearly against a villain, or at least an antagonist.  In their earlier films, they were more ambiguously good and unpredictable.  A Night At The Opera maintains much of their anarchic behavior, but also casts them as good guys trying to right some wrong. Opera has the brothers fighting high society and attempting to bring two young lovers together, which then brings chaos to an ocean liner as well as a production of the opera Il Trovatore in New York City.

A warning though: if you're actually going to watch the Marx Brothers--pay attention!  You have to watch and listen to these films. The word play and the gags are almost non-stop and the results aren't always immediately apparent. If you look at the Three Stooges, they can be funny, but are more of a one-trick pony in that they rely mainly on slapstick (basically finding new ways to hurt each other), but the Marx Brothers have it all--slapstick, witty wordplay, and clever situations that allow for great gags (a packed stateroom aboard an ocean liner or a two bedroom apartment where they switch all the furniture right under the nose of a cop making him believe he's going mad).

Groucho's characters usually direct the chaos, but with sharp wit and occasionally breaking the 4th wall.  He begins most of the films having a position of some sort or a person of standing, even if it's been entirely fabricated or it's a sham.

Chico's (pronounced Chick-O) characters are often a partner or friend of Harpo's characters. Chico usually has a scheme of some sort.  Most of the films have a sequence where he plays the piano--he's very entertaining to watch play, as his fingers dance upon the keys in unusual ways--he'll make you laugh just watching him play.  Chico and Groucho often have a long exchange (over a contract for instance), but from what I've read, they ad-libbed  quite a bit during the routines one-upping each other.

Harpo's characters never speak (well, there was one time where he sang from inside a barrel, but it was brief), and he's the most unpredictable and chaotic of the three.  His coat is packed with an odd array of items and he's often relieving people of their possessions and toying with them. Like Chico with the piano, Harpo is usually given a sequence where he plays the harp. His playing is magical and engaging--he doesn't play the harp in a way to make you laugh like Chico with the piano, but it's enjoyable and easy on the ears.

Start with A Night At The Opera, and if you enjoy that one, try A Day At The Races.  If you're still curious and want more, I'd say go with Duck Soup.  At this point, you've been warmed up to the Marx Brothers and will enjoy Duck Soup--it's also the final Paramount film and last film in which Zeppo appeared. Many fans of the brothers cite Duck Soup as their favorite (it's my second favorite, after Opera, of course).

What makes the Marx Brothers so special is the variety and range they display--they could do it all. Music, singing, dancing, wordplay, physical comedy were all a result of their stage careers as vaudeville performers. I can't think of anyone today who could pull off what the Marx Brothers did so effortlessly, and at a time when talkies were new and special effects didn't drive films. Modern comedies simply cannot stand up to the Marx Brothers at their best (maybe even at their worst).

There are a few collections out there, a Paramount set as well as an MGM set.  Turner Classic Movies sells them as does Amazon and Barnes & Noble.  You may even be able to stream them (since I own all the films I haven't investigated that option).