tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post5615238820788177231..comments2023-05-21T03:16:13.000-07:00Comments on Down These Mean Streets: Double Indemnity (1944)Margot Shelbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comBlogger58125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-73358832988972709142019-09-25T07:33:19.041-07:002019-09-25T07:33:19.041-07:00Magnificent write-up about the greatest noir of th...Magnificent write-up about the greatest noir of them all.<br /><br />Carol, The Old Hollywood GardenCarolhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18032537281784285890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-81938482159789461092019-02-17T09:10:46.394-08:002019-02-17T09:10:46.394-08:00Yes! but at least Margot had an excuse due to her ...Yes! but at least Margot had an excuse due to her childhood spent in the grinding poverty of a<br />Lancashire Mill Town....We didn't expect that to crop up in a Monogram B Noir but then again the<br />script was by Ned (Nedrick) Young.<br />The great Patricia Morison certainly gives Margot a run for her money in Persons In Hiding....<br />cripes! she even tries to roast poor Lynne Overman alive!...I don't think even Margot went that far.john khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07080168531365446977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-43704573486188278802019-02-16T10:33:59.452-08:002019-02-16T10:33:59.452-08:00Thank you so much, Vienna.
I think something had b...Thank you so much, Vienna.<br />I think something had been eating away at Walter for years, as he says in his dictaphone confession. I don't think he consciously realized it until he met Phyllis. What mostly surprised me about him, and I'm sure it surprised him too, how easily he too to the idea of murder. That's why I used the word monster.<br /><br />I think he wasn't the first casting choice because up till then he had only been in lightweight comedies. It seems nobody trusted in his ability to portray a bad character. It is certainly my favorite MacMurray role.<br /><br />Liz Scott in Too Late For Tears is definitely one of Noir's best femmes fatales. But let's not forget - cough, cough - Margot Shelby. Evil I tells you.Margot Shelbyhttps://downthesemeanstreetsblog.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-47566958121381421532019-02-16T04:47:37.546-08:002019-02-16T04:47:37.546-08:00What a wonderful review of an oft reviewed film. Y...What a wonderful review of an oft reviewed film. You are such a good writer. Love your summation about trouble knocking at the door , and in noir this knock is never ignored.<br />Not sure I agree that a monster has always been lurking ,or maybe MacMurray’s acting didn’t convince me of that. And, although Keyes was very close to Neff, would he be so unaware of Neff’s real self after many years of working together. <br />Regarding MacMurray’s casting, it’s known he wasn’t the first choice. Would love to know why such a good part was turned down by others. I wonder if Paramount simply said to Wilder why not test Fred who was under contract.<br />If ever there was a sublime piece of surprise casting, this is it. I don’t think MacMurray ever did better. <br /> He was believable as an insurance salesman. <br />On a side note, I’d put up Lizabeth Scott’s name for Too Late For Tears. Anyone who can get the better of Dan Duryea has to be among the top femme fatales! <br />Viennahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06907591161822012949noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-88676472039166723002019-02-13T13:04:57.581-08:002019-02-13T13:04:57.581-08:00It's OK. I used to post on the now-defunct imd...It's OK. I used to post on the now-defunct imdb boards where this really became a problem.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-20559090896226677902019-02-13T12:44:37.686-08:002019-02-13T12:44:37.686-08:00I thought about that, but went ahead, because it i...I thought about that, but went ahead, because it is exactly where the conversation has been taken.barrylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507827607600595861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-35841902568053857582019-02-13T12:32:21.280-08:002019-02-13T12:32:21.280-08:00Hi Barry, I'd rather not get too much into pol...Hi Barry, I'd rather not get too much into politics here. Things like that can get out of hand very quickly. :)Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-42631587137493355892019-02-13T09:10:59.313-08:002019-02-13T09:10:59.313-08:00Yes he did. :)
Glad you can comment again.Yes he did. :) <br />Glad you can comment again.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-42735369956471156252019-02-13T09:10:04.177-08:002019-02-13T09:10:04.177-08:00Wow Colin, you wrote one hell of a comment! Thanks...Wow Colin, you wrote one hell of a comment! Thanks for such a thoughtful response.<br /><br />I would put Billy Wilder (probably) as my favorite director. As you say, he was a real cynic and didn't go in for the feel good stuff. The only one of his movies that lacks heart is Ace in the Hole. I wrote about that too. It was a complete failure with both critics and the public simply because it lacked humanity. Its vision is uncompromising but as we can see now, he hit the bullseye.<br /><br />One Two Three is a personal favorite and as you say, he makes fun of everybody. And frankly, he absolutely nails it.<br /><br />I couldn't agree more about your outsider theory, and I do believe Hollywood benefitted immensely from the European emigre directors who came to its shore.<br /><br />Thanks again. Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-28105915457502712052019-02-13T08:50:58.464-08:002019-02-13T08:50:58.464-08:00The only democrat I have ever voted for was Presi...The only democrat I have ever voted for was President Kennedy, who posited at his inauguration this concept: 'Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.' I stand by that then and now. Ripping our country apart in t he guise of entertainment, is still destructive, though somewhat pou8lar in our era, and this does not only go to Donald Trump, but the 'Occupy' movement, defecated on business and Wall Sreet ineffectively (but with substantial noise) during the Obama era.barrylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507827607600595861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-41607341015364560892019-02-13T05:01:31.547-08:002019-02-13T05:01:31.547-08:00Margot, I think Colin hit it out of the ballpark.
...Margot, I think Colin hit it out of the ballpark.<br /><br />P.S. I forgot and used Google Chrome and my comment went into oblivion. Used Explorer and got through.Walter S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02507750468123235383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-64822888321884569462019-02-13T03:03:12.168-08:002019-02-13T03:03:12.168-08:00Colin,your passionate response here is outstanding...Colin,your passionate response here is outstanding.....superb post.john khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07080168531365446977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-46470242512196833262019-02-13T01:19:40.298-08:002019-02-13T01:19:40.298-08:00This is a very good write-up indeed, a top analysi...This is a very good write-up indeed, a top analysis of a highly regarded film, and that's never pull off. <br /><br />Much of the discussion here has focused on Wilder and his merits as a director, which is fair enough as this is one of his better known movies. I don't know whether it's his best simply because that would bee a tough call and there really s so much competition. <br /><br />Personally, I'm a big fan of the director's work and maintain there really isn't any such thing as a bad Wilder film - sure he weakened right at the end of his career and there were a few indifferent efforts right at the beginning but overall we're talking about remarkably consistent body of work. <br /><br />I think too that the comments suggesting Wilder was something of an anti-American provocateur are off the mark. He could do sour and cynical as well as any, and maybe better than most, but his movies all retain a huge amount of heart, and his swipes at or criticism of his adopted homeland (and the fact he did adopt it so wholeheartedly is highly significant, I think) are the kind that tend to characterize those who come to care deeply for the places they have migrated to. He does cast a hard eye at certain human flaws but I'd argue these are by no means fueled by a desire to kick any particular nationality - A Foreign Affair, One, Two, Three and Avanti alone indicate an international satirist if anything. And is there really any other kind of successful satirist anyway?<br /><br />I initiated a discussion some years ago on my site positing the theory that it takes an essential outsider to see through the veils of romanticism we tend to wrap our views of homeland in - that the shift in perspective achieved by those who have voluntarily come to a land affords what is perhaps a clearer insight, and that doesn't mean that the frank acknowledgement of inherent flaws are attacking jabs. Unless and until one acknowledges the weaknesses, then the strengths are never wholly apparent. <br /><br />There are many reasons why mid-20th Century Hollywood was and remains such a popular cultural high point, but one of them is surely the infusion of new blood and talent via the wave of European filmmakers who made their homes there. The sensibility they brought and that take on America, one both stripped of the domestic, store-bought patriotism we can find in any nation, and the half cynical/half sentimental admiration for the land that offered them a fresh start was key. Wilder possibly attained greater lasting success but all of these people, most notably via the medium of film noir, had everyone looking at the familiar in a different way, and it's, in my opinion at least, too facile to characterize that as some kind of national snub. <br /><br />So no, there's darkness in Wilder's work, and bitterness and cynicism, but that's his dissatisfaction with aspects of the human condition channeled through the artistic mind. And don't the best of his films represent the journey so many of his characters embark upon to reach the coveted status of "mensch" - which has to rate as a pretty positive outcome in my book. Colinhttp://livius1.wordpress.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-41736068227807845822019-02-13T00:26:22.895-08:002019-02-13T00:26:22.895-08:00Margot, I think I may be back in. I've contin...Margot, I think I may be back in. I've continued to read your really good write-ups. I think you got Walter Neff(Fred MacMurray) right down to a T. Walter S.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02507750468123235383noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-65008815071249905582019-02-11T06:39:46.346-08:002019-02-11T06:39:46.346-08:00Good line, John. Better than that.Good line, John. Better than that.barrylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507827607600595861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-5651122099033408502019-02-10T08:32:16.848-08:002019-02-10T08:32:16.848-08:00Gee,thanks Margot....directing you to something I ...Gee,thanks Margot....directing you to something I have written is rather like a pavement artist<br />asking Picasso to view his etchings :)john khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07080168531365446977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-85059677790824406612019-02-10T08:18:32.256-08:002019-02-10T08:18:32.256-08:00I liked your writeup. I haven't seen Blackmail...I liked your writeup. I haven't seen Blackmail, I'd like to track it down.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-15577027466175541312019-02-09T11:29:54.456-08:002019-02-09T11:29:54.456-08:00Margot may be bemused about the Selander name-drop...Margot may be bemused about the Selander name-drop-she maybe interested in a thing I wrote several<br />years back regarding a rare Selander Noir entry.<br />It can be found here www.thehannibal8-wordpress.com-lesleyselander<br />I only mention this because it's about the only essay of mine that I quiet liked.<br />The film in question was a Republic quickie called Blackmail and it's rather good.<br />Selander mainly known for B and programmer Westerns did lots of other genres as well-<br />Swashbucklers,Colonial Adventures,Horror, J.D. Movies,Sci Fi,War and lots more besides.<br />Thanks again Barry for bringing him into the mix....my oh my didn't we digress.<br />BTW, Margot totally agree regarding In Cold Blood and Rillington Place-further to all that nothing,<br />and I mean nothing could make me sit through Tod Browning's Freaks again!john khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07080168531365446977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-62985980610068082432019-02-08T10:52:06.333-08:002019-02-08T10:52:06.333-08:00Revival theaters are a wonderful thing. I used to ...Revival theaters are a wonderful thing. I used to live in New York and there were a few good ones.<br /><br />On a different note, I've seen the movie 10 Rillington Place. It's a great movie but one that - together with In Cold Blood - I'm in no hurry ever to see again.Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-5181550234029714902019-02-08T10:04:38.879-08:002019-02-08T10:04:38.879-08:00Well, I hoped you would understand, and you have....Well, I hoped you would understand, and you have. Missing among the above actors, Cary Grant, Fred and Ginger, John Payne, Rhonda Fleming, Wild Bill Elliott and Gene Autry, who invented the genre in which he excelled.barrylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507827607600595861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-63833477042849263222019-02-08T10:00:09.041-08:002019-02-08T10:00:09.041-08:00A wonderful list Barry,thanks so much for sharing....A wonderful list Barry,thanks so much for sharing.<br />Totally agree regarding Preminger,very well stated I feel.<br />Heartening to see people like Kane and Selander included in the mix.john khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07080168531365446977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-82895278765493554472019-02-08T09:31:37.621-08:002019-02-08T09:31:37.621-08:00John, I removed the comment because I had made an ...John, I removed the comment because I had made an error, nothing mysterious. Now about great directors, first and foremost, John Ford, Clarence Brown, Woody Van Dyke, Howard Hawks, Leo McCarey, Michael Curtiz, William Wyler, Joseph Kane (at least in the forties, Lesley Selander, whenever he had a chance, George Roy Hill, Victor Fleming, Alfred Hitchcock, Otto Preminger (prior to Exodus, phooey after that), but beyond that, I am a movie star kind of guy. Gable, Wayne, Randolph Scott, Louis Hayward (my friend, associate and boyhood hero, Kirk and Burt, Dick Powell, Orson Welles, belongs in this category and the preceding, Claudette Colbert, George Brent, Myrna Loy, and Irene Dunne. barrylanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09507827607600595861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-38338827415648569142019-02-08T09:06:32.066-08:002019-02-08T09:06:32.066-08:00Margot-
As you will see from their website The Ele...Margot-<br />As you will see from their website The Electric used to be the notorious Imperial Portobello Road,<br />it had a bizarre history-serial killer John Christie (10 Rillington Place) was said to have worked<br />there at one time.The Imperial was a great place to catch films that you had missed or were made<br />before one was born.The Imperial changed it's programme 3 times a week.<br />In one of the vintage photos on the site you can just about see the details of the films showing<br />circa mid 50's-Bomba And The Elephant Stampede supported by Son Of Belle Starr.<br />Yes I did live near The Imperial in the late 60's and also worked in Notting Hill Gate in the early<br />70's.When The Imperial morphed into The Electric it was a haven for people who loved vintage films<br />as most of the old "flea pits" were long gone by then.<br />One of my most memorable visits to The Imperial in the mid 60's was when they showed Jacques<br />Tourneur's wonderful 1946 Western Canyon Passage in a lovely print.At that time it was a very rare<br />showing indeed. Sorry that Barry has withdrawn his last comment-I do hope he carries on the dialog.<br />It would be most interesting to know the directors Barry really admires.john khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07080168531365446977noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-35069617042047205872019-02-07T12:41:56.139-08:002019-02-07T12:41:56.139-08:00From what I can find out, yes Billy didn't hav...From what I can find out, yes Billy didn't have too much time for his brother Lee. I agree that sacred cows should be deconstructed, I just don't think that Wilder falls into that category.<br /><br />Did you or do you live anywhere near the Electric Cinema?Margot Shelbyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06580855468061590981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4797087968104121636.post-24385252536055413112019-02-07T10:54:09.465-08:002019-02-07T10:54:09.465-08:00Thanks Margot.
I only provided the link because Wi...Thanks Margot.<br />I only provided the link because Wilder was a favourite at the Electric; along with Nick Ray and<br />Sam Fuller-the "flea pit" from hell as far as our Barry is concerned.<br />I do however love the way Barry deconstructs sacred cows-it makes for really good reading.<br />I understand Billy had little time for his brother W Lee.<br />Yes,The Pretender is pretty good,it certainly proves how the great John Alton can make even a hack<br />director look pretty good.<br />I guess W Lee Wilder's best film was Bluebeard's Ten Honeymoons-certainly the cast was the classiest<br />that he ever worked with.<br /><br />john khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07080168531365446977noreply@blogger.com