I had the chance to catch a movie I had not seen with Joan Crawford, “The Damned Don’t Cry” (1950) The movie done right after she did “Mildred Pierce,” is pretty much similar, only this time Mildred is a little tougher, or as I put it, on steroids. Joan plays Ethel Whitehead, a woman stuck in an unhappy marriage, and in a poverty stricken state of mind. Although she is unhappy, she sticks it out for the sake...

I’ve met many a fem fatales in film noir, but I think I met the absolute worst one on record. The film noir is titled,  “Too Late for Tears,” (1949). Lizabeth Scott and Arthur Kennedy play Jane and Alan Palmer a middle class couple who don’t make much money, just enough money to “get by.” As Jane put it, they are not exactly “poor,” but they are, “white collar poor.” The movie starts with the couple...

Turner Classic Movies kicks off its “Summer under the Stars” tonight starting at 8:00 PM. And what a way to start, tonight’s movie star is none other than Henry Fonda. TCM’s Summer… is when movie stars have their very own day to show their stuff. A whole 24 hours of one particular star each day in August. Tonight we will see gems like, “Grapes of Wrath,”  “The Farmer takes a Wife,”...

The story of classic movie start Frances Farmer is one you rarely hear about, but it is one that is sad and interesting. Her story is well documented in her book, “Will there ever be morning?” The movie “Frances,” where Jessica Lange played Frances, sparked an interest and I decided to read the book. Because frankly I just couldn’t believe that something like that had happened to a beautiful, glamorous, Hollywood star. Farmer’s...

This is news to me…. a 1981 remake of “Double Indemnity.” Read how the 1981 “Body Heat,” with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner used shadows, lighting , femme fatal, schnook and all to give the full film noir effect. Supposedly the “best film noir ever.” Read it here

Round up the usual film noir suspects: melancholy, alienation, bleakness, disillusionment, disenchantment, pessimism, ambiguity, moral corruption, evil, guilt, desperation and paranoia. Film History Snippet: Film noir developed during and after World War II. After the war, an ambiance of anxiety, paranoia, suspicion, lingered in society. Soldiers, businessmen, factory workers, housewives were disillusioned. Film Noir reflected these...