Noir Alley on TCM (1 Viewer)

[Robert Crawford]

I forgot to set my DVR for this today. Didn't Eddie have a guest in the studio? Those are my least favorite outings since he always spends less time giving valuable, interesting background on the film when someone else is on the set with him.

Robert’s son Jim Mitchum.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

I actually enjoyed the interview more this time since Mitchum spoke up more and told some good stories. But yeah, I still prefer the non-interview intros.

 

[Rodney]

If you take a walk down Noir Alley on Sunday, I wouldn't be surprised if you see an...

 

[Matt Hough]

Will definitely be setting the DVR for this one.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Great noir film, but I forgot I already had it in a collection. No matter, the Mueller notes are always worth precipitating another viewing. So the movie was a bomb at the box office when it came out in 1948. No wonder. A mere three years after WWII, you're going to be dealing with this type of psychic and physical pain from the experience? Plus a hero that's an

Spoiler

informer to the Nazis

to boot? What were they thinking? (They were probably thinking Gregory Peck and Humphrey Bogart, but then the ending would never have flown with Peck as Frank).

The best part of this whole story is the surprise hero of the piece in the end. You have to question who you're rooting for. But that's why we like noir in the first place - it doesn't follow the expected pattern. And if you've written 50 screenplays as I have, you know all the plots, formats and tricks and can appreciate when films divert using a different set.

 

[Rodney]

Not just another day, tomorrow is Noir Alley Day.

 

[Matt Hough]

Another one I've never seen, so I'll definitely be setting the DVR.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

This series has really changed my usually lazy anyway Sunday routine, where I now sit down in the afternoon to watch the latest noir installment just DVR'ed. It beats trimming bushes or mowing the lawn. But I still think it's an awkward time to schedule noir. And I don't have a pitch black dedicated home theater, so the room is a little bit bright for stuff so dark.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Okay, that wasn't much of a noir, but more like a melodrama. Not just for the ending, but for the slow pace and the gooey sentiment. And that title Tomorrow is Another Day. Isn't that the last line of Gone With the Wind?

It was still a good film, and I particularly enjoyed the camera angles on some of the shots and the car carrier sequence was unique, but don't call this noir. (Even Muller doesn't at the end)

 

[Matt Hough]

I really enjoyed it, and I was completely surprised by the ending and found it satisfying. I was expecting the worst, and it didn't happen!

As usual, Eddie Muller's comments were terrific. I had next to no knowledge of Steve Cochran except in his many film appearances, so all that was eye-opening to say the least!

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Yeah, it sounds like Cochran's life is ripe for a noir film version itself. Dying mysteriously at 48 on a yacht with three women (who had zero navigational skills, ahem) after swinging his... lance through a phone book of actresses in Hollywood.