Samson And Delilah - 1949 - USA

Samson And Delilah - 1949 - 6/10 

 
The strongest man on Earth makes an impact on a fiery beauty.
Even though he desires to marry the older sister, young Delilah maneuvers to get the proposal.
Which he snubs!  Oh, the fool man, ignorant of the “woman scorned” and such.
She seeks vengeance, while Samson becomes a bitter foe to the Philistines.
Lavish sets, glorious Technicolor, and Mature I always found enjoyable.
Cecil B. DeMille Biblical hokum is spectacle throughout.  Not must see, but great popcorn.

The Man On The Eiffel Tower - 1949 - USA

The Man On The Eiffel Tower - 1949 - 6/10

 
Inspector Miagret and the #1 suspect in a stabbing, the impoverished knife sharpener.
The slain was rich, the heir impatient with two grasping females on either arm.
Then there is the pompous intellectual, Life’s failure, who taunts the Gendarmes.
Scrappy, minor Noir features flashy turns by Charles Laughton and Franchot Tone.
In addition to beautiful Paris locations (must have been dazzling at the time).
The color has deteriorated badly into a sepia tone.

Knock On Any Door - 1949 - USA

Knock On Any Door - 1949 - 6/10

 
Lawyer Morton takes the case of defending a police killer (newcomer John Derek).
The story flips back and forth between courtroom dramatics and flashbacks.
Narrative remains stodgy, and Derek, while distractedly pretty, is a poor foil to Bogart.
And the defense tactics?  Please.
“Killers are the product of their environment,”  says the attorney.  “Who’s at fault?  Us, society.”
Becomes predictable, perhaps sadly so.

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon - 1949 - USA

She Wore A Yellow Ribbon - 1949 - 7/10

 
Similar to “one last bank job”, here a cavalry officer is on the eve of retirement.
When Custer and his men are massacred at Little Big Horn, and it appears a range war is imminent.
Commander Brittles is assigned to “sort matters”, hopefully as peacefully as possible.
Large scale Western benefits from Monument Valley locations, as well as a convoluted narrative.
Instead of events leading inexorably to a huge crescendo, there are more feints and skirmishes.
A good Western, and good John Wayne role.
Too often, I feel he plays a version of himself.  Here, he resembles a tired, wise commander.

Abandoned - 1949 - USA

Abandoned - 1949 - 6/10

Small town Paula arrives in big bad Lost Angeles looking for her lost sister.
She is soon befriended by a newspaperman, sniffing a story.
As well as a shifty private eye, who had been hired by the lost girl’s father.
The lost girl, they discover, was ensnared in the baby racket.
Selling unwanted infants to the desperate for large money.

 
So-so Noir one watches just for the actors.
Solid cast includes Dennis O’Keefe, Raymond Burr, Jeff Chandler, Gale Storm.
Yet it is the villains, dominated by Marjorie Rambeau, who hold your interest.
Cool, calculating, cynical, ever prepared, ever greedy.
English subtitles = https://sub-scene.com/subtitle/3356245

Rimfire - 1949 - USA

Rimfire - 1949 - 5/10

 
Army gold has been hijacked, and an incognito officer is dispatched.
Around the one-horse town somewhere, and the town ain’t nothing but lowlifes.
Saloon, cardsharp, brawls, a half drunk judge, shady cowpunchers.
Somehow marked as a Western Noir, this is just a B-oater.
Final feature by Breezy Eason, and the wild opening has his trademarks all over it.
Nobody could shoot charging horses like he could.
Reed Hadley is in this, but underutilized.
For an hour film, this has a pile of cold-blooded murders, close to a dozen.

Haunted Palace - 1949 - UK

Haunted Palace - 1949 - 5/10

Shaw Desmond presents a handful of reenacted hauntings.
A remorseful priest, waiting 200 years for forgiveness.
The evening arrival of spirits to a long past gathering.
Interspersed with a ballerina, gracing the proceedings with interludes.
Hauntings, not horror, catching sight of lingering presences.
Note Desmond’s circular bookcase in the background.

The Big Day - 1949 - France

The Big Day - 1949 - 6/10  
AKA - Jour de Fête

 
Well-liked, but bungling postman works tirelessly in rural France.
Still, bicycle delivery is so slow.  Especially compared with the efficiency of the US Postal system.
An arriving fair promises distractions for everyone.
Near wordless comedy borders on farce throughout.
Jacques Tati as the mailman is close to a buffoon and the punch to many jokes.
One element I picked up on during a rewatch was the quiet contrast between the leisurely countryside and the encroachment of the hectic, nervous metropolitan era.
Enjoyable, if silly, to be followed by the Hulot films.

Holiday Affair - 1949 - USA

Holiday Affair - 1949 - 6/10

 
WWII vet Steve works at a big department store.
Connie is an early “industrial spy”, meaning she buys goods, gets the price and returns items.
(Why she can’t just look at shelf tags or prices on the box is beyond me.)
Anyway, he tags her, then cuts some slack which gets him fired.
What should he do?  How about, let’s go on a date?
Forced RomCom, guilty pleasure for many (me included) have major limitations.
Janet Leigh and Robert Mitchum display no chemistry (Mitchum has more with child actor Gordon Gebert).
Leigh is, as ever, comes across as brittle, on edge, never relaxed.  Simmering anxiety.  Mind you, this film came after Mitchum’s notorious reefer bust, and most actors were afraid to be seen with him.
Mitchum fans, yeah, he’s coasting.  OK Christmas fare when you want an alternative.

Stray Dog - 1949 - Japan

Stray Dog - 1949 - 7/10
AKA - Nora inu  //  野良犬

 
Rookie detective Murakami has his pocket picked.
Not his wallet, either, but his Colt pistol!
Police procedural evolves into a buddy film as Murakami is paired with the more seasoned Sato, who is less emotional, less sympathetic than the younger partner.
Set during a sweltering heatwave, through back alleys and seedy underbelly.
Prostitutes, petty thieves, starving children inhabit a Tokyo still reeling from World War II.

Impact - 1949 - USA

Impact - 1949 - 6/10

 
Tycoon plans business trip with his wife, whom he adores.
She catches a headache, gets hubby to take her “cousin” (spelled l-o-v-e-r) instead.
Wife and boyfriend intend sending hubby to the Reaper, except when the plan goes wrong it goes terribly wrong.
From that point, until the last couple minutes, the narrative curves and haripins in often unusual directions.
Sometimes it is predictable, other turns come straight outta nowhere.
Solid Noir-ish mystery with good San Francisco locations and period creampuff cars.

 
Charles Coburn steals every scene he’s in as sharp Irish detective.
For old school buffs, Silent actress Mae Marsh has a key role during the idyllic sequence.
Anna May Wong, in one of her final roles, is likewise given a pivotal character.

Alimony - 1949 - USA

Alimony - 1949 - 5/10

 
Beware those innocent eyes.
Kitty leaves the Midwest for the wicked city.
Unable to find work, she freelances for a shyster lawyer, playing the badger game.
Trapping soon-to-be divorced husbands into compromising photo shots.
That is good, and Martha Vickers is scrumptious.
Secondary story of struggling, weak willed composer is blah.
Cheapie has its moments but is too moralizing to qualify as exploitation or tawdry.

Trapped - 1949 - USA

Trapped - 1949 - 6/10

 
Counterfeiters vs. the Secret Service.
This starts off as a docu-drama of G-men and their efforts protecting the great American way.
Then settles down to business, as the Feds spring a convict they think they can control.
Ha!  Nobody pulls the strings on this guy (an ice cold Lloyd Bridges).
He wants his gang back, he wants his old flame (smoldering Barbara Payton), and he wants the plates.
The deck is stacked in this Noir, and you suspect how events are going to roll.
Yet you watch and root for the bad guys.
Because life ain’t fair for none of us, especially for those who take their chances.

The Big Steal - 1949 - USA

The Big Steal - 1949 - 6/10

 
Confusing Noir set in sunny Mexico.
A military detective hounds Robert Mitchum, thinking he stole a military payroll.
Mitchum teams with Jane Greer, and the pair pursue con-man / ex-boyfriend who actually did the theft.
Film roars across the desert with high speed chases, fistfights, and treacherous alliances.
Logic disappears at times, but Mitchum's easy nonchalance makes this enjoyable.

Audio commentary, by historian Richard Jewell, is dry with frequent lulls.
Most of it details the troubled production, such as ---
- Howard Hughes had taken over RKO (which he would run into the ground).
- Robert Mitchum was busted for reefer and served 60 days during filming.
- Actresses declined to work with him, fearing their careers would be tainted.

Gun Crazy - 1949 - USA

Gun Crazy - 1949 - 8/10

 
After a stint in reform school, then a hitch in the Army, the local man returns home.
Bit aimless, only talent he possesses is marksmanship.  His love, guns.
Until the Brit cowgirl arrives with the carnival.  And man, can she shoot.
Their eyes lock, and from there on they ride the Noir highway into darkness.

There is the belief that a good person can redeem a borderline soul. (I could be an example there.)
By extension, a bad individual can corrupt the wayward one.
In Gun Crazy, the smoldering Peggy Cummins is not pure evil, but she is bad.
She truly loves her man, but she has a big empty inside, as well as a murderous streak.
Guns and sex propel this offbeat Noir, one of the absolute best.

Cover Up - 1949 - USA

Cover Up - 1949 - 6/10

 
More mystery than Noir.
During Christmas revels, an insurance investigator hits the small town where the most hated man has killed himself.
“Where’s the gun he shot himself with?”  – No idea.
‘What caliber of bullets were found?”  – Bullets, what bullets?
“Were there powder buns on his hands or clothes?”  – No, sir.
Smiling faces stonewall him the whole time.  
Meanwhile, a fetching young miss catches his eye.  So, add a dash of romance.
OTR buffs will recognize the template for Johnny Dollar.

Johnny Stool Pigeon - 1949 - USA

Johnny Stool Pigeon - 1949 - 5/10

 
Vintage cars, big fedoras, and black ‘n white film stock do not a classic Noir make.
Generic tale of Feds trying to take down a narcotics racket.
Helmed by Dan Duryea, rather subdued in this one, and Howard Duff, sharp as a bar of soap.
One the plus side, this predicts the later Nafta trade era, with locations in Canada, the States and Mexico.
Also, a great deal of this is set at a Tucson dude ranch, rather than rain soaked alleys.
Tony Curtis memorable as mute torpedo.

Siren Of Atlantis - 1949 - USA

Siren Of Atlantis - 1949 - 5/10
AKA - Atlantis, The Lost Continent

 
Fruity, cockeyed yarn about expedition searching for, and finding, fabled Atlantis.
The expedition is the French Foreign Legion.
Atlantis is in the middle of the Sahara!
Ruling the lost kingdom is a beautiful, ageless, sexually voracious queen.
Most of the citizenry act as guards or as dancers.  (No TV, no reading material, dancing is the main entertainment,)
The music score is intrusive and distracting, and bulk of the acting is histrionic.
Who cares?
Queen Antinea wears skin tight or sheer as can be outfits.  Plays chess with the men folk, leads them to her yawning conch shell bed, and drains their mojo, till their ain’t no wick in the stick.
Along with provocative costumes, is the $5.00 set design.  Cinematographer Karl Struss filled the flick with phallic imagery.   Candlesticks, chessmen, marble columns, even the omnipresent masked, turbaned guards.
Bad film but a fun one.

 

A Woman’s Secret - 1949 - USA

A Woman’s Secret - 1949 - 6/10

 
An argument, a gunshot, then the confession.  “I did it.”
Would cases all be so easy, declare police as the jail door slams shut.
Yet a skeptical detective and loyal boyfriend have doubts and begin to talk.
And so begins one flashback after another.
I watched because IMDB lists this a Noir, directed by Nicholas Ray, with Gloria Graham.
Rather, this is a mystery / woman’s drama with a Pygmalion trope.
Not bad, but not Noir.

Passport To Pimlico - 1949

Passport To Pimlico - 1949 - 6/10

 
Work crews cordon off a crater with an unexploded Luftwaffe bomb.
They underestimate local boys, who accidentally detonate it – with no fatalities.
And yet, this unearths documents that reveal Pimlico is actually part of Brittany.
Ration starved locals are soon at odds with Whitehall.
White-gloved war ensues, with feigned resentment and light hearted conflicts.
Amusing, though this feels dated.
The Blitz generation, who would have identified with shortages and rationing are gone.
Younger viewers might recognize want, but they may lack the older group’s grace and humor.