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Humphrey Bogart, Primo Carnera, and The Harder They Fall
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Feb 4, 2014
Bogart with co-stars Jan Sterling and Mike Lane The final film of Humphrey Bogart’s career was The Harder They Fall (1956). In this saga of the seedy side of the boxing world, Bogart is Eddie Willis, an unemployed sportswriter who is hired as a press agent by an unscrupulous promoter, Nick Benko (th read more
Happy birthday, Clark Gable!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Feb 1, 2014
Warning: Pre-Code Gable may cause your eyes to cross! Clark Gable may be best-known for his performance as Rhett Butler in Gone With the Wind, but for my money, he gave us some of his most memorable characters during the pre-Code era. In celebration of his birth, 113 years ago today, I offer you my read more
Top 10 Reasons Why I Love Mildred Pierce
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 22, 2014
Along with Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, and Sudden Fear, Mildred Pierce is one of the few films noirs that I have had the pleasure of seeing on the big screen. Because of this, it’s a sentimental favorite of mine, but I also love it on its own merit – and there’s so much to read more
The Oscars: From Pre-Code to Film Noir
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 22, 2014
These guys might not be too happy, but The Big House was good to writer Frances Marion! Now that this year’s Oscar nominations have been announced, I am firmly and happily in the grips of my annual Oscar fever – between now and March 2nd, I will be immersing myself in all things Oscar, including read more
Pre-Code Pick of the Month
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 8, 2014
Don’t miss Helen, Lilyan, and Joan in “Millie.” Omigosh, y’all – you do NOT want to miss all the pre-Code goodness that’s fairly spilling over the sides of TCM on Thursday, January 9th. It’s pre-Code-tastic! Pre-Code-errific! A veritable pre-Code-arama! Here’s what’s read more
TCM Pick of the Month: Film Noir (3)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Jan 5, 2014
Lana Turner and John Garfield practically set the screen on fire in “Postman.” TCM is fairly bursting at the seams with first-rate films noirs and pre-Codes in January – so many, in fact, that I just can’t select a single film of the month! Instead, I’m selecting two days on which read more
Neo-Noir Spotlight: L.A. Confidential (1997)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Dec 23, 2013
Up to now, all of the noir films I’ve discussed on this blog have been from the classic era of the 1940s and 1950s. But last night, I watched a noir from the “neo” era, and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. It’s L.A. Confidential, and if you’ve never seen it, you don’t know what read more
The CMBA Film Passion 101 Blogathon: Jean Harlow in Red Dust (1932)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Dec 3, 2013
The first movie where I saw Jean Harlow was Red Dust (1932). I’d heard of Harlow, certainly, and knew of her reputation as a platinum blonde, but I’d never seen a single performance. And what an introduction this was. For the first five minutes of the movie, it’s all rugged male and jungle, complete read more
Please Don’t Call My Husband A Clown: The Awesomeness of New York Nights (1929)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 30, 2013
The movie starts off with a gunshot victim being taken to the hospital. The officers have to awaken the doctor on duty, who yawns, sees by his watch that it’s five in the morning, and remarks, “Why can’t these losers get shot at a decent hour?” That’s New York Nights. We next see the guy who’s read more
Loretta Young: Pre-Code Paragon
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 29, 2013
As I mentioned here recently, I’m not overly enamored of Loretta Young post-1934. She was just a little too goody-goody for my taste, a little too square, a little too close to the perfect side. Plus, she lost that adorable girlishly sexy look that she had during the pre-Code era, and looked more read more
Happy Thanksgiving from Shadows and Satin — and Mary Doran!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 28, 2013
Happy Thanksgiving! I first noticed Mary Doran in The Divorcee (1930), where she plays the small but crucial role of the “other woman” in the marriage of Jerry (Norma Shearer) and Ted (Chester Morris). I had no idea who she was, and didn’t think much about her until I started having “Doran sightings read more
The Men of Brute Force (1947)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 27, 2013
Brute Force (1947) takes place in a men’s penetentiary and focuses on a group of cellmates who plan and execute a prison break, driven primarily by their desire to escape the torturous treatment of a sadistic guard. The cellmates, who are continuously tormented and dehumanized, find solace only read more
These Three: The Noirs I’ve Seen the Most
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 26, 2013
Now that I’ve reconciled myself to the relationship between my “favorite” movies and the ones that I watch most often, I decided to turn my sights to the film noir features that so frequently find themselves popped into my VCR. Each of these is the kind of movie that I just HAVE to see every time read more
Quotes in Noir: The Killing (1956)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 25, 2013
Who says we can’t learn from the movies? One of my favorite noirs is The Killing (1956), Stanley Kubrick’s time-bending masterpiece about an intricately designed heist that goes terribly, terribly wrong. If you’ve never seen it, do yourself a solid and hunt down a copy, pronto. Notwithst read more
Soup’s On! My Favorite Pre-Code Dinner Guests
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 24, 2013
Last week, you may recall, I listed 10 characters from the classic film noir era that I would most like to invite to a dinner party. I had such a good time planning my guest list, and even more fun reading your suggestions, that I decided to throw another soiree, this time inviting characters from p read more
Obscure Noir: Plunder Road (1957)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 23, 2013
For the first 13 minutes of Plunder Road, not one of the characters speaks a word. We can only hear their thoughts. It’s a fascinating beginning to one of the best obscure noirs around. In a nutshell, Plunder Road centers on – in the tradition of The Asphalt Jungle (1950), Rififi (1955), and The read more
Bad Boys: The Men of Pre-Code
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 21, 2013
I admit it. I’m guilty of ignoring the pre-Code fellas. I’m so fond of gals like Norma Shearer and Joan Crawford, Carole Lombard and Loretta Young, Dorothy Mackaill and Joan Blondell (and I could go on and on and on) that I’m afraid I’ve given little attention to the manly side of these fascinating read more
Remembering Evelyn Keyes . . .
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 20, 2013
November 20th is a banner day in the film noir world – it marks the birth date of film noir veteran Evelyn Keyes. This feisty femme appeared in four films noirs during her career, including one of my favorites, The Prowler (1951), and was also featured in such non-noir favorites as Here Comes Mr. read more
Quotes in Noir: The Damned Don’t Cry (1950)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 19, 2013
“Don’t talk to me about self-respect.” Among the many noirs of which I’m most fond is The Damned Don’t Cry (1950), starring my girl Joan Crawford, David Brian, Steve Cochran, and Kent Smith. In the film, Joanie plays Lorna Hansen Forbes, a Texas oil heiress and the darling of café read more
If you don’t have anything nice to say . . .
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 18, 2013
A few years ago, at a local book fair, I picked up a book called If you don’t have anything nice to say . . . come sit next to me. What a find! Compiled by Coral Amende, this 1994 book is fairly bursting at the binding with catty comments, snarky sayings, and acerbic asides. Reading through the sect read more