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Faithless (1932) (2)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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 what would be her read more
Detective Story: Noir, or Not?
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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
I’m Just One Punch Away: The Set-Up
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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 performers – Ryan was unf read more
They Live By Night: The Nicholas Ray Blogathon
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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
Inside Sunset Boulevard: Part 3
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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 read more
The Top 10 in Film Noir — Part 1
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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 try, I came up with not 10 films, but 35! But read more
Leave Her to Heaven: Noir, or Not?
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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. Some of the color f read more
Things I Love About “Born to Kill”
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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 simply can’t help myself. read more
Obscure Noir: Night Editor (1946)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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
The Scariest Men in Film Noir: Part 4
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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 noir fellas goes to Robert Ryan, who demon read more
Film Noir on TCM’s “Summer Under the Stars”
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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 Film. In addition read more
June Vincent: Not Just Another Pretty Face — by Guest Blogger Kristina Dijan
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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
The Ida Lupino Blog-a-thon: Don’t Mess with this Dame
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Aug 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, read more
Sterling Hayden: An Unconventional Life
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 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
Scenes from Private Lives (1931)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 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 – I think I’ve seen read more
Helen Walker: My Favorite Helens
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 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 a read more
Park Circus Film Noir Blogathon — Obscure Noir: New York Confidential (1955)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 21, 2011
In 1955, five years after they penned the first-rate noir D.O.A., writers Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse offered up another winner with New York Confidential. This seldom-seen noir features a truly stellar cast – including Broderick Crawford, Richard Conte, Anne Bancroft, J. Carroll Naish, Mike read more
The Scariest Men in Film Noir: Part 3
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 18, 2011
So many scary dudes . . . so little space. Turnabout is fair play, so they say. (More coffee, Vince?) Even in the tub, Johnny Rocco makes you shiver. Even in the tub, Johnny Rocco makes you shiver. Quoth Arthur: "Killing you is killing myself. But, you know, I'm pretty tired of both of us. read more
The Criminal Code (1931) and Convicted (1950): When Worlds Collide
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 17, 2011
Every now and then, the worlds of Pre-Code and film noir have more in common than we might think. The films The Criminal Code and Convicted are a prime example. Here’s more about these two features: The 1950 film noir Convicted, starring Glenn Ford as a brokerage-firm worker imprisoned after acciden read more
Things I Love About The Divorcee (1930)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jul 16, 2011
I could watch The Divorcee over and over again (and I do)! Starring three of my favorite Pre-Code performers – Norma Shearer, Chester Morris and Robert Montgomery – this film has it all. Great story, acting, set design, costumes, dialogue – I just love it. Here are some of the reasons why: Chester read more