Crawdaddy's "Random Thoughts" about Home Video, Film & TV (4 Viewers)

[Robert Crawford]

This morning iTunes HD digital dropped to $4.99 and I immediately bought it then watched it. The video presentation is better than the Paramount DVD, but how did they allow this movie to fall into PD Hell. God, I love this movie which I try to watch every 2-3 years. Stanwyck at her cold hearted best.

This afternoon, I watched the following on the TCM app. A solid WWII film, but a little too long with the typical DeMille staged theatrics.

 

[cda1143]

Thanks for the tip Robert. Just grabbed Ivers.

 

[Robert Crawford]

This weekend's Noir Alley movie is "Danger Signal" (1945) starring Faye Emerson and Zachary Scott. My last viewing of this movie was in February. It's an okay movie with some really good moments. Zachary Scott was really good playing these type of roles which might have hurt his acting career. It's too bad, he couldn't cross over like Richard Widmark. I doubt I'll be watching it again, but will listen to Eddie's commentary.

Updated TCM's Noir Alley 2020 schedule:

03-07-20: Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
03-14-20: I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
03-21-20: Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
03-28-20: Crime Wave (1954)
04-04-20: Address Unknown (1944)
04-11-20: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
04-25-20: Wicked Woman (1954)
05-02-20: Fallen Angel (1945)
05-09-20: Mildred Pierce (1945)
05-16-20: The Crimson Kimono (1959)
05-23-20: Cornered (1945)
05-30-20: A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
06-06-20: The Underworld Story (1950)
06-13-20: Murder by Contract (1958)
06-20-20: Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
06-27-20: The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
07-04-20: The Sign of the Ram (1948)
07-11-20: Bodyguard (1948)
07-18-20: Three Strangers (1946)
07-25-20: The Breaking Point (1950)
09-06-20: Night Editor (1946) "Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Only"
09-12-20: Danger Signal (1945)
09-19-20: Gilda (1946)
09-26-20: They Won't Believe Me (1947)
10-03-20: Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
10-10-20: The Racket (1951)
10-17-20: Destination Murder (1950)
10-24-20: Macao (1952)
10-31-20: The Seventh Victim (1943)
11-07-20: Nightfall (1957)
11-14-20: Fear (1946)
11-21-20: Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
11-28-20: Suspense (1946)
12-05-20: Tomorrow is Another Day (1951)
12-12-20: The Burglar (1957)
12-19-20: The Unsuspected (1947)
12-26-20: Detour (1945)

 

[Matt Hough]

The title sounds familiar, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen it, so I'll definitely be recording and watching tomorrow at lunchtime.

 

[Robert Crawford]

The title sounds familiar, but I'm not sure if I've ever seen it, so I'll definitely be recording and watching tomorrow at lunchtime.

Eddie nailed my main issue with this movie. Freaking Production Code strikes again!

 

[Robert Crawford]

By the way, I hate to be the shallow pig that I am at times. I find Faye Emerson, one of the most unattractive lead actresses from that film era. Bette Davis wasn't a beauty either, but she had beautiful eyes and a style about her that made her more attractive on the big screen.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

Danger Signal. Okay, this screening belongs on the Lifetime channel more than Noir Alley. It's a woman's picture through and through with all the bite taken out of it. And yes, that's the most ridiculous and convenient ending just about ever in film. No, this plot is not even a shadow of a Shadow of a Doubt. Even the better title for this story was already taken, let alone the plot itself.

Spoiler

If she really had poisoned him, we might have had a genuine Noir.

Meanwhile, I recorded TCM's showing of Out of the Past from the night before. Of course I already had the Classic Noir DVD set with it, but I was contemplating ordering the blu-ray that just came out. But then, I have to ask myself, with any film, and at my freshly Medicare age... how many times, if ever, will I ever watch this film again? Once more on TCM in HD on DVR is enough. (He sighs as he looks at his stuffed library of discs).

 

[Matt Hough]

[Spoiler Alert]

I had never seen Danger Signal before today, and like everyone else, the ending made me curse at the television. I didn't expect her to use the poison (Rosemary deCamp had already proclaimed her incapable of committing murder even though she does so in the book), so I kind of figured out the little switch up there, but that detective materializing from nowhere at the beach house? And that slip and fall, even though it was a great stunt, made my eyes roll into the back of my head. I remembered Faye Emerson as a frequent panelist on game shows of the 1950s rather than an actress that I saw very often.

Other nitpicks: why in the world wouldn't the mother believe what her older, level-headed and bread-winning daughter would tell her about the tenant? I could MAYBE understand the younger, smitten sister not wanting to listen (and she had been battling health issues which would also leave her vulnerable), but it's inexcusable that the mother wouldn't support getting rid of the lodger.

Also, it always rubs me the wrong way when actors are pretending to type or play an instrument, and it's obvious they don't know how. Scott was clearly typing in his writing scenes, but Faye Emerson was repeatedly hitting a single key with her right hand finger with an occasional use of a left hand finger. That kind of sloppy miming takes me right out of the movie.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yeah, the ending kind of ruin the movie in which it could've been a 3.5 instead of a 2.5 film score. With that said, I did enjoy the great stunt.

 

[Hollywoodaholic]

You know you're not watching the most compelling movie when all you can think while they are driving in a convertible on the Pacific Coast Highway is why doesn't Zachary Scott's hat blow off?

 

[Robert Crawford]

It's been sad these two actors were bed buddies/lovers for many years.

Glenn Ford photographs Rita Hayworth on set of GILDA ('46). This was Ford's second pairing with Hayworth; like the first it was directed by Charles Vidor.

See it Saturday and Sunday on #NoirAlley hosted by Eddie Muller.

 

[Robert Crawford]

You know you're not watching the most compelling movie when all you can think while they are driving in a convertible on the Pacific Coast Highway is why doesn't Zachary Scott's hat blow off?

Despite the bad ending, I guess I liked the movie more than some of you did. Perhaps because I'm a big fan of Zachary Scott especially when he's playing baddies.

 

[Matt Hough]

Yeah, I'll record for Eddie's comments, not to watch this very entertaining movie another time. I reviewed the Blu-ray release.

 

[Robert Crawford]

Yeah, I'll record for Eddie's comments, not to watch this very entertaining movie another time. I reviewed the Blu-ray release.

I kind of feel the same way, but the Criterion BD came out 4.5 years ago so I might watch it again.

 

[bujaki]

Despite the bad ending, I guess I liked the movie more than some of you did. Perhaps because I'm a big fan of Zachary Scott especially when he's playing baddies.

I liked it because it's good to see hommes fatals instead of femmes fatales for a change. And Scott played one so well here enhanced by Howe's lighting. Plot holes and incongruities? Sure. The aggrieved widower who had disappeared from the action showing up deus ex machina to exact retribution...not likely...and so on.

 

[bujaki]

Lon Chaney's The Phantom of the Opera: some additional color footage from the film, the ballet. Courtesy of the eye Museum, The Netherlands

 

[Robert Crawford]

This weekend's Noir Alley movie is "Gilda" (1946) starring Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, George Macready and his little friend, Joseph Calleia and Steven Geray. One of the better known film noirs and a movie I've seen more times than I can remember.

Updated TCM's Noir Alley 2020 schedule:

03-07-20: Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
03-14-20: I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
03-21-20: Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
03-28-20: Crime Wave (1954)
04-04-20: Address Unknown (1944)
04-11-20: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
04-25-20: Wicked Woman (1954)
05-02-20: Fallen Angel (1945)
05-09-20: Mildred Pierce (1945)
05-16-20: The Crimson Kimono (1959)
05-23-20: Cornered (1945)
05-30-20: A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
06-06-20: The Underworld Story (1950)
06-13-20: Murder by Contract (1958)
06-20-20: Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
06-27-20: The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
07-04-20: The Sign of the Ram (1948)
07-11-20: Bodyguard (1948)
07-18-20: Three Strangers (1946)
07-25-20: The Breaking Point (1950)
09-06-20: Night Editor (1946) "Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Only"
09-12-20: Danger Signal (1945)
09-19-20: Gilda (1946)
09-26-20: They Won't Believe Me (1947)
10-03-20: Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
10-10-20: The Racket (1951)
10-17-20: Destination Murder (1950)
10-24-20: Macao (1952)
10-31-20: The Seventh Victim (1943)
11-07-20: Nightfall (1957)
11-14-20: Fear (1946)
11-21-20: Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
11-28-20: Suspense (1946)
12-05-20: Tomorrow is Another Day (1951)
12-12-20: The Burglar (1957)
12-19-20: The Unsuspected (1947)
12-26-20: Detour (1945)

 

[Robert Crawford]

Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford on the set of GILDA ('46).
See it tomorrow with an encore presentation Sunday on #NoirAlley hosted by Eddie Muller.

 

[Robin9]

This weekend's Noir Alley movie is "Gilda" (1946) starring Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, George Macready and his little friend, Joseph Calleia and Steven Geray. One of the better known film noirs and a movie I've seen more times than I can remember.

Updated TCM's Noir Alley 2020 schedule:

03-07-20: Ride the Pink Horse (1947)
03-14-20: I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
03-21-20: Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
03-28-20: Crime Wave (1954)
04-04-20: Address Unknown (1944)
04-11-20: Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
04-25-20: Wicked Woman (1954)
05-02-20: Fallen Angel (1945)
05-09-20: Mildred Pierce (1945)
05-16-20: The Crimson Kimono (1959)
05-23-20: Cornered (1945)
05-30-20: A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
06-06-20: The Underworld Story (1950)
06-13-20: Murder by Contract (1958)
06-20-20: Underworld U.S.A. (1961)
06-27-20: The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
07-04-20: The Sign of the Ram (1948)
07-11-20: Bodyguard (1948)
07-18-20: Three Strangers (1946)
07-25-20: The Breaking Point (1950)
09-06-20: Night Editor (1946) "Sunday at 10:00 a.m. Only"
09-12-20: Danger Signal (1945)
09-19-20: Gilda (1946)
09-26-20: They Won't Believe Me (1947)
10-03-20: Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
10-10-20: The Racket (1951)
10-17-20: Destination Murder (1950)
10-24-20: Macao (1952)
10-31-20: The Seventh Victim (1943)
11-07-20: Nightfall (1957)
11-14-20: Fear (1946)
11-21-20: Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
11-28-20: Suspense (1946)
12-05-20: Tomorrow is Another Day (1951)
12-12-20: The Burglar (1957)
12-19-20: The Unsuspected (1947)
12-26-20: Detour (1945)

Rita Hayworth is well worth seeing more times than you can remember! Time well spent! My congratulations sir!

 

[Cranston37+]

Eddie Muller just posted this. Good for him! I hope I can use his inspiration to follow his lead.



ADIOS, AMIGOS AND AMIGAS. This is the guy I need to see in the mirror more often. But I find smiles and laughs severely diminish in direct correlation to the amount of time spent on anti-social media, so I am excusing myself from these infernal networks of incivility and misinformation and returning exclusively to books, music, art, and film.

I'll still be involved with social media aspects of the Film Noir Foundation and TCM's Noir Alley, but I'm personally withdrawing from the crossfire. Better to invest energy in more creative pursuits and provide my mental, physical and neurological systems with better sources of nourishment.

Fond regards to the good people I've encountered here, friends and strangers alike.

In an effort to bolster the USPS, I've taken a P.O. Box, so if you want to contact me, feel free to write a letter.

What a concept.

P.O. Box 6153, Alameda CA 94501.

Cheers!
EM