It’s hard to pinpoint precisely when film noir began and ended. Its antecedents lie in the silent era, in German Expressionism and in the Warner Brothers crime dramas of the 30’s. Our teacher Elliot Lavine offers a specific starting point – 1940’s Stranger on the Third Floor (which I discussed here) – and will rattle off a title or … Continue reading THE EVIL THAT MEN DO: Kiss Me Deadly and The Big Combo
Film Noir
TWO Bs OR NOT TWO Bs: 99 River Street and Crime Wave
There’s a moment toward the climax of 99 River Street when Evelyn Keyes dances up to psychopath Victor Rawlins (Brad Dexter) and lights her cigarette with his. It’s the dirtiest moment in a 50’s film I can remember, and I wondered how it got past the censors. The New York Times reviewer latched onto moments like this … Continue reading TWO Bs OR NOT TWO Bs: 99 River Street and Crime Wave
NE PLUS ULTRA-VIOLENT: Two Noirs from 1953
Revenge is sweet! Just ask Liam Neeson as he plows down the mobster clan/spy organization/terrorist cell when his cousin’s great niece’s best friend’s neighbor is . . . TAKEN! But do you remember when revenge was not sweet? When it was more sweet and sour? Ask Antigone. Ask Hamlet. And, by all means, ask Fritz Lang. In … Continue reading NE PLUS ULTRA-VIOLENT: Two Noirs from 1953
BLACKLIST BLUES: Two by Losey, One by Dassin
We’re almost halfway through my 50’s film noir class, and one major theme has emerged, that of the great number of directors and screenwriters, their Hollywood careers shut down by the Communist blacklist, who flocked to noir as an outlet to both make money and vent their feelings about our troubled country. Some of them, like writer Dalton Trumbo, … Continue reading BLACKLIST BLUES: Two by Losey, One by Dassin
LES FEMMES FORTES: Caged and The Hitchhiker
For my second week in Elliot Lavine's 50's film noir class, we're presented with a dynamic double-bill: a film full of women where few hold any power, and a film with only men - and, for once, a woman in charge. Marie Allen (Eleanor Parker) enters prison Before the “women in prison” film devolved into … Continue reading LES FEMMES FORTES: Caged and The Hitchhiker
COOKIES FULL OF ARSENIC: Film Noir of the 50’s, Week One
“I was born when she kissed me. I died when she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me . . . “ No, my friends, I haven’t forsaken books on this blog about them. It’s just that January has been a month for movies and TV. Maybe it’s the rain. Maybe … Continue reading COOKIES FULL OF ARSENIC: Film Noir of the 50’s, Week One
BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
Here it comes – the moment when all the bloggers you visit try and entice you to keep coming back with our promises of things to come. Some of my plans are rather amorphous: I hope to do some spiffing up of the site itself so that Ah Sweet Mystery will be better organized, sport … Continue reading BITING OFF MORE . . . (My 2022 Resolutions)
A CUT ABOVE: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
I can just imagine the Hollywood studios in 1959 watching North by Northwest and heaving a great big sigh of relief! At last - they thought – the Master of Suspense has finally gotten the message!! NO more art films, NO more experiments. Just good old fashioned exciting-but-wholesome entertainment. Certainly they had cause for hope: Alfred Hitchcock had come this close to … Continue reading A CUT ABOVE: Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho
A KISS BEFORE DYING: Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo
Throughout most of his life, Alfred Hitchcock was both appreciated and dismissed as a maker of entertaining mystery thrillers. After his first American film Rebecca won the Academy Award, Hitchcock’s critics got wise and considered him first and foremost a genre filmmaker; the best of his movies might get nominated for Sound Design or Art Direction and … Continue reading A KISS BEFORE DYING: Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo
NUCLEAR REACTOR: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window
You know you’re in “favorite film” territory when you try and write a blog post, arrive at the million-word point, and realize you’ve only scratched the surface of what you want to say. You start over, go in completely different directions . . . and the same thing happens. This is the challenge for me … Continue reading NUCLEAR REACTOR: Alfred Hitchcock’s Rear Window
