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The Top 10 in Film Noir — Part 2: The Lesser-Known Gems
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 11, 2011
At long last, in response to a request from a Shadows and Satin subscriber (Hello, Jörn!), I’ve finally managed to compile another list of Top 10 films noirs – not the better-known features like the ones I covered here, but the lesser-known gems. These are the movies that are not often mentioned read more
Happy birthday, Claude Rains!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Nov 9, 2011
In "Mr. Skeffington." Talented, suave, and distinguished, the great Claude Rains was born 122 years ago, on November 10, 1889. He was seen in a wide variety of classic films, from Mr. Smith Goes to Washington and Now Voyager, to The Sea Hawk and Lawrence of Arabia. Rains also starred in read more
Happy Noir Day — November 1st on TCM!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 29, 2011
I started this post with grand plans to outline some of the films noirs and pre-Code features coming in November on Turner Classic Movies, but after I opened my trusty Now Playing movie guide and prepared my yellow highlighter for business, I stopped short. For there, listed on the very first day of read more
Scandalous Scenes in Pre-Code: Beauty and the Boss (1932)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 26, 2011
Every now and then I come across a scene in a pre-Code film that literally leaves me with my mouth open. Beauty and the Boss (1932), starring Warren William, David Manners, Mary Doran, and the lovely Marian Marsh, contains such a scene. I haven’t yet seen the entire movie, but from what I’ve been read more
Happy 94th Birthday, Joan Fontaine!
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 22, 2011
Joan Fontaine: Happy birthday! One of our last living cinema legends from Hollywood’s Golden Age, Joan Fontaine, celebrates her 94th birthday on October 22, 2011! Born Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland in Tokyo, Japan, Fontaine is the baby sister of actress Olivia de Havilland, and enjoyed a screen care read more
From Heroes to Heels: My Favorite Noir Quotes, Part 1
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 16, 2011
Film noir, arguably, offers some of the best quotes in all cinema. Along with noir’s distinctive characters, shadowy presentations, labyrinthine plot tangles, and cynical, hopeless tone, it is the hard-boiled dialogue that makes it such a fascinating era of filmmaking. Here’s Part 1 of m read more
Things I Love About The Big Heat (1953)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Oct 10, 2011
Our film begins. I find it hard to believe that, as much as I love The Big Heat, and as many times as I’ve seen it this year alone, I’ve yet to write about it (except to fittingly include it in my list of top 10 films noir). This great movie aired again recently on Turner Classic Movies and, as read more
Things I Love About Baby Face (1933)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 27, 2011
Baby Face (1933) is one of the first pre-Code movies that I saw after I learned what pre-Code was. And it turned out to be a perfect example of these wonderful, fascinating, oh-so-scandalous films. Starring Barbara Stanwyck (who, I believe, comes just after Bette Davis and Joan Crawford in my list read more
The Heel with Charm: Zachary Scott
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 25, 2011
The cad you love to hate. Smooth-talking, darkly handsome and effortlessly sophisticated, Zachary Scott excelled at roles that depicted him as the charming cad you love to hate. In most of his nearly 40 Hollywood features, Scott was cast as the villain who achieved his nefarious ends through the use read more
Tidbits of Trivia
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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 read more
Homme Noir Discoveries . . . or, How I Got My Big Break
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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 took the family to Panama, where the read more
Forbidden Pleasures: Employees’ Entrance (1933)
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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 read more
Femme Dissection: Angel Face
Shadows and Satin Posted by shadowsandsatin on Sep 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
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