cult film freak: barbara payton

Showing posts with label barbara payton. Show all posts

Written by James M. Tate / 3/07/2024 / No comments / action , barbara payton , escape , film noir or melodrama , heist , john hoyt , lloyd bridges , richard fleischer

RICHARD FLEISCHER'S T-MEN HEIST FILM NOIR OF 'TRAPPED'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCUStevh1W1gt55njlib2n66MQrsISLXKHCGk9v6e-h2vuqck8xbNDuclbv2Ob4k9wpZc2amwmrXPip-gkezWMvFIUgW-lizueH24mOwX6qY7kPDyK3tBPB-yGhYYQRrdWGKeME0YF4Tyn9cGYzS4_B_0xhG8YP3XbCtnI108KBBeGX_2QizFpbrxAxDR/s2138/ORIG%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1198" data-original-width="2138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxCUStevh1W1gt55njlib2n66MQrsISLXKHCGk9v6e-h2vuqck8xbNDuclbv2Ob4k9wpZc2amwmrXPip-gkezWMvFIUgW-lizueH24mOwX6qY7kPDyK3tBPB-yGhYYQRrdWGKeME0YF4Tyn9cGYzS4_B_0xhG8YP3XbCtnI108KBBeGX_2QizFpbrxAxDR/s16000/ORIG%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: TRAPPED Year: 1949 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's a shame that director Richard Fleischer didn't realize how good the usual good guy Lloyd Bridges was at playing bad... in this case a counterfeiter in prison, given a deal to get out but only if he rats on past associates for the cops...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>After which the best moments occur, leading to the first 30-minutes of the T-MEN style noir of TRAPPED in which several twists occur that makes Bridges a free man, quickly holed-up with former girlfriend Barbara Payton, a dive bar waitress with the potential of a femme fatale but playing a rather pathetic lovelorn starlet... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, barbara payton, escape, film noir or melodrama, heist, john hoyt, lloyd bridges, richard fleischer

RICHARD FLEISCHER'S T-MEN HEIST FILM NOIR OF 'TRAPPED'

Title: TRAPPED Year: 1949 Rating: ** It's a shame that director Richard Fleischer didn't realize how good the usual good guy Lloyd B...

BARBARA PAYTON IN HAMMER'S 'THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GIjwOyNWVbxwxV3p5N2-GpGAhb5rEy0C3wNJCp3bmfeapoC4HZhyphenhyphen2z9FQ7jR7Mlpwd9IAKKu2knh9RTGpsMhP8DZpbyQNOA4wQi9fb4qQO2UtXbTGETFo91ezQHbDlCvXjgSZYAEToxv62WLAt60YHOqRkd-OLLUzH1uqa2d-kLxEX6dg6AsO3cUMVGA/s2148/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%202.14.20%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1286" data-original-width="2148" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-GIjwOyNWVbxwxV3p5N2-GpGAhb5rEy0C3wNJCp3bmfeapoC4HZhyphenhyphen2z9FQ7jR7Mlpwd9IAKKu2knh9RTGpsMhP8DZpbyQNOA4wQi9fb4qQO2UtXbTGETFo91ezQHbDlCvXjgSZYAEToxv62WLAt60YHOqRkd-OLLUzH1uqa2d-kLxEX6dg6AsO3cUMVGA/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-02-27%20at%202.14.20%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE (Spanish Translation: OF THE EVIL GENIUS) Year: 1953 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before Hammer's Golden Age of Victorian Horror, from DRACULA to FRANKENSTEIN, primary director Terence Fisher got prepared for the latter, involving an ultimately mad-scientist creating the duplicate of lead actress Barbara Payton within a familiar kind of dark laboratory, filled with sizzling electrical wires when the right buttons are pressed... <br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The catch is that Payton's Lena has been in love with central inventor Bill's best friend Robin since childhood, beginning with a prelude of that era where she literally chooses one over the other, and, cut to the present where both grown men are absent of their companion (momentarily back in America), they invent a machine also reminiscent of what would be in THE FLY, placing an object on one enclosure as its copy's created miraculously inside the other, initially tested with a pocket watch and signed check...</p><p><span></span></p>

barbara payton, british, fifties, hammer films, james hayter, john van eyssen, science-fiction, stephen murray, thriller

BARBARA PAYTON IN HAMMER'S 'THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE'

Title: THE FOUR SIDED TRIANGLE (Spanish Translation: OF THE EVIL GENIUS) Year: 1953 Rating: **** Before Hammer's Golden Age of Victorian...

KNOCKOUT BARBARA PAYTON IN THE BOXING NOIR 'BAD BLONDE'

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzKta2A-BlWWJG_2fkYH5QuPRyeXO0zkrej8A1W1h0Y_1QYXcjit3JS70MdEoekUf1fBJrIzAwHOvJary-DfxuI20NJPnpfPqwqmrg5HKFeqj6hGR0hiR-co9Dt0qzvY5K1BOKKLm7Ubx/s1600/Screen+Shot+2020-01-08+at+10.55.58+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="564" data-original-width="842" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjzKta2A-BlWWJG_2fkYH5QuPRyeXO0zkrej8A1W1h0Y_1QYXcjit3JS70MdEoekUf1fBJrIzAwHOvJary-DfxuI20NJPnpfPqwqmrg5HKFeqj6hGR0hiR-co9Dt0qzvY5K1BOKKLm7Ubx/s400/Screen+Shot+2020-01-08+at+10.55.58+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Barbara Payton is Hammer's BAD BLONDE Year: 1953</u></td></tr>
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In the Hammer British Film Noir BAD BLONDE originally titled THE FLANAGAN BOY, a bulky and not altogether brilliant English boxer gets a shot when his 
trainer connects with a rich Italian promoter who can make it all 
happen...<br>
<br>But first, everyone has to
 live at a rural lakeside estate where the fighter, Charlie Sullivan (Tony Wright), 
will prepare for future moneymaking matches... Second and most important, Charlie needs to 
get along with the rich man’s baby-faced, perpetually pursed-lipped wife Lorna, played by goading, manipulating, voluptuous Barbara Payton. Basically, the
 first moment Charlie sets his smitten eyes on the sullen temptress, his edge is gone… As is his common sense and sanity, much to his trainer's chagrin...

barbara payton, boxing, british film noir/melodrama, british new wave, hammer films, hammer noir, john slater, love triangle, sport, thriller

KNOCKOUT BARBARA PAYTON IN THE BOXING NOIR 'BAD BLONDE'

Barbara Payton is Hammer's BAD BLONDE Year: 1953 In the Hammer British Film Noir BAD BLONDE originally titled THE FLANAGAN BOY, a bu...

JAMES CAGNEY BRUTAL FILM NOIR OF 'KISS TOMMORROW GOODBYE'

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixCWm1fcnIr9-AbUjFg6MQoDKY8HhbCU31_2n2jrAKmjEILl0PC6H4JfGVqtOGoKH5STrZPQxmmUe8ElxhV8OvjY4EzWZA5cgU5czTYpSexyNZfP1ly2tFDNtdzvtI74rPwqbqjCDMDgWzOtskkHdc_l9e-rhfrav1KToN_pWAKETTsBBHdnXzU1HgEQ=s785" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="430" data-original-width="785" height="219" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEixCWm1fcnIr9-AbUjFg6MQoDKY8HhbCU31_2n2jrAKmjEILl0PC6H4JfGVqtOGoKH5STrZPQxmmUe8ElxhV8OvjY4EzWZA5cgU5czTYpSexyNZfP1ly2tFDNtdzvtI74rPwqbqjCDMDgWzOtskkHdc_l9e-rhfrav1KToN_pWAKETTsBBHdnXzU1HgEQ=w400-h219" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Year: 1950 Rates: ***1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table>After the peak of James Cagney crime cinema, wildly popular during the programmers of the 1930's where his characters are crooked yet charming and fun...<br>
<br>Blasting off in PUBLIC ENEMY and ending the Depression Era as a much 
nicer though still lethal and established rum-runner in the Raoul Walsh 
semi-epic ROARING TWENTIES and as a more idealistic yet equally street savvy boxer in CITY FOR CONQUEST and then, following patriotic films during the 
Wartime 1940's, at the crest of that decade he was "Top of the World, 
Ma" in the prison classic WHITE HEAT, at which point, to move forward, 
he could only go underneath...

barbara payton, fifties, film noir or melodrama, gangster, gordon douglas, helena carter, james cagney, luther adler, william frawley

JAMES CAGNEY BRUTAL FILM NOIR OF 'KISS TOMMORROW GOODBYE'

Title: Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Year: 1950 Rates: ***1/2 After the peak of James Cagney crime cinema, wildly popular during the programmers of...

A THIRD BLOODY BAGFUL OF FILM NOIR

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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLAjcgQ0WZyxyNokHxjP_YxJuz6gqeMduDsnwkaYu2rr03gHY6uNtCfFKdYMFZ-Rww2HnhkyY2XxhXSUgUqLP10RC8iy0zkaycioFodlQxu5zStSgrDu1bH73c7Qf_flk1Fyl6RGnquU/s1600/32db5d43-4247-4e80-bba1-1b36ab98ee3c_zps38b8e64e.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGLAjcgQ0WZyxyNokHxjP_YxJuz6gqeMduDsnwkaYu2rr03gHY6uNtCfFKdYMFZ-Rww2HnhkyY2XxhXSUgUqLP10RC8iy0zkaycioFodlQxu5zStSgrDu1bH73c7Qf_flk1Fyl6RGnquU/s320/32db5d43-4247-4e80-bba1-1b36ab98ee3c_zps38b8e64e.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1948 rating: ****</td></tr>
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<i>More Noir, spanning from darkened urban alleyways and bleak country roads of America to the shrouded, misty avenues of England...</i><br />
<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE STREET WITH NO NAME</b></span><b>:</b> Like James Cagney's more mainstream, action-driven G-MEN, this underrated, slowburn Noir begins as sort
 of an FBI propaganda film, showing the inner workings of the Bureau
 with a monotone "facts only" narration... Yet soon 
enough it settles darkly into a mean and lean, intriguingly no-nonsense mobster melodrama as we follow 
intrepid agent Mark Stevens undercover along a crime-ridden urban street (with<i> </i>"no name" since there are so many like it)... And here's where the narration tapers off and the good stuff beings... <br />
<br />
Stevens plays Gene Cordell, going by the bogus name of George Manly, then coasts into a 
boxing syndicate led by the dependably-vile and always-wonderful Richard Widmark as Alec 
Stiles, who has solo time on screen, becoming an equal match of mobster surreptitiously
verses undercover agent. Although Steven's Manly is a bit too 
square-jawed and cop-looking to realistically pass as a thug, he's one 
helluva boxer and one particular fight sequence is fast and ferocious, 
earning him a place within the den of thieves.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Widmark runnin' things</td></tr>
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Sublimely
 filmed and acted, this is an underrated Fox Film Noir with suspense 
that never lets up: both for Widmark, as he tries figuring out who the 
plant is, and the audience, anticipating what will become of our hero 
when he does. And while Widmark's Stiles isn't as 
endearingly vile as his sinister giggling KISS OF DEATH icon Tommy Udo, 
he's more of a blunt bottom line: a short fuse with his lackey goons and
 an exploding bomb to a discontented trophy moll.<br />
<br />
A 
standout of the thugs is a short switchblade-wielding Donald Buka (pictured above) as Shivvy, who in one scene tales Stevens through the shadowy night and then, later 
on, meets him inside the cheap motel room with a veiled threat, 
asserting himself as an edgier menace than even Widmark: one of those 
rare crime flicks where the henchman's not only tougher, as per usual, 
but is actually smarter and sharper than the boss himself.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2Rz4HZ7fU9iYiPiO_k5Xn2Xbkyt-JS2G0oESAm_5nbF0k74V0yB3NWKCwLxXBwiSzX31zXBxjYkQwMwykLZwsHoIwpHPwjwp_XinZj2vCWYbq_d8A2Xy4cc55e922PaDmkLh7QjibgE/s1600/mysterystreet006qj9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2Rz4HZ7fU9iYiPiO_k5Xn2Xbkyt-JS2G0oESAm_5nbF0k74V0yB3NWKCwLxXBwiSzX31zXBxjYkQwMwykLZwsHoIwpHPwjwp_XinZj2vCWYbq_d8A2Xy4cc55e922PaDmkLh7QjibgE/s200/mysterystreet006qj9.jpg" width="193" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1950 rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>MYSTERY STREET:</b></span> A top-notch mystery/suspense about a woman murdered by an 
unseen gunman (she sees him but we don't). This occurs during the first 
fifteen minutes, which is all <i>shot </i>wonderfully.<br />
<br />
Her
 skeleton is discovered and it's up to detective Ricardo Mantobaun, 
joining with Harvard coroner Bruce Bennett, first figuring out how the 
death occurred and then who-done-it, which isn't so easy: even when the 
cops find the <i>supposed </i>killer it all seems too easy somehow, and the questions are answered fitfully along the way, keeping 
things from getting too complicated or plot-heavy like Noir 
mysteries can, yet the suspense holds the viewer's complete attention 
even after we, unlike the law, know the real killer... And Elsa Lanchester 
provides terrific moments as a blackmailing tart.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcfvG2H5j-sHztR65sr-sFB-zMDVM1qbuO05Vuavzh9MLnZDhqyQFGcPNTjPsTBv97XwXx1BAHd1MaNTjZDnWddmBx6IfjTIiMMUP3IdlseQmtbysXjhx1vjQYePS25EjQxFD0UHESAk/s1600/racket.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxcfvG2H5j-sHztR65sr-sFB-zMDVM1qbuO05Vuavzh9MLnZDhqyQFGcPNTjPsTBv97XwXx1BAHd1MaNTjZDnWddmBx6IfjTIiMMUP3IdlseQmtbysXjhx1vjQYePS25EjQxFD0UHESAk/s1600/racket.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1951 rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE RACKET:</b></span> While primarily focusing on the two leads, Robert Mitchum as a 
determined cop named McQuigg and Robert Ryan as criminal kingpin Nick 
Scanlon (in cahoots with crooked politician Ray Collins)... it's William
 Tallman's heroic yet idealistically naive rookie cop, ready 
to take on all things villainous, that really drives things along.<br />
<br />
Bookending the literally explosive mid-section is an involving buildup: 
nothing can touch Robert Ryan and his old-school way of running things. 
Then, during the last half, he realizes his particular kind of shady 
doesn't quite work in the world of ever-growing politics. But he's not 
going down easy and it takes Mitchum's slowburn patience to wear him 
down. Throw in sexy Lizbeth Scott as the dame caught in the middle and 
you really have something.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrJWFm3UgUA5QgHeZ0gjNMqKeUdRfLk9KWg69Yt1tLWLnJr_1It0NoGJTKdtKUksq2Me3DNi56VjSmgZPU7bNdsMtaVOYkDELpItXfdEBEPwVW8I1fiN6O8YVxc7J433igce3vCq3mOo/s1600/rico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzrJWFm3UgUA5QgHeZ0gjNMqKeUdRfLk9KWg69Yt1tLWLnJr_1It0NoGJTKdtKUksq2Me3DNi56VjSmgZPU7bNdsMtaVOYkDELpItXfdEBEPwVW8I1fiN6O8YVxc7J433igce3vCq3mOo/s1600/rico.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1957 rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE BROTHERS RICO:</b></span> So here's a perfect movie that's far from perfect...<br />
<br />
A crime melodrama centering on the oldest brother Rico who, after 
being warned by his middle brother, seeks out his baby brother on the run from
 a mobster that all three worked for. <br />
<br />
The scant<i> execution</i> doesn't waste time or energy on 
anything but what needs to happen: and it's a very creative premise with
 plenty of twists and turns with Richard Conte (who would later play Barzini in THE GODFATHER), a fervently determined 
shark throughout, balancing desperation and machismo in a film that 
knows its limitations and never exceeds them.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkk4uiEB4a6JKj1mIp8YpCvfkh5OLTat-0IitE10IJ8YyG9sVvRodv6oUjQ_t5cb8gUKUl2O6aAh7MowwNW-oiFr2oBdhUQxvDNQSgAe2KLianRybh3SIelJecSo0YGvLda4FI6fCi7qE/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-10-05+at+5.39.44+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkk4uiEB4a6JKj1mIp8YpCvfkh5OLTat-0IitE10IJ8YyG9sVvRodv6oUjQ_t5cb8gUKUl2O6aAh7MowwNW-oiFr2oBdhUQxvDNQSgAe2KLianRybh3SIelJecSo0YGvLda4FI6fCi7qE/s200/Screen+shot+2015-10-05+at+5.39.44+PM.png" width="125" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1953 rating: ****</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>JEOPARDY:</b></span> It's quite simple, really.... A strong/macho husband, Barry Sullivan... His strong-willed 
wife, Barbara Stanwyck... And their curious son take a trip to Mexico: to 
fish at a dilapidated pier. Dad gets stuck between wood as the tide 
approaches... And the ball starts rolling as mom goes for some rope at a closed-down gas station and 
instead finds Ralph Meeker, who seems friendly at first but turns out is a cold-blooded, escaped convict... and then the real
 fun happens.<br />
<br />
Cutting back and forth from the extremely odd couple to dad's 
apparent doom really heightens the suspense. But overall it's the 
callous, forced "relationship" between Stanwyck and Meeker that really 
counts, especially since she needs him and, deep down, actually seems to
 like the handsome devil.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PBE-SfvVnixLqX2aOyXk2hN10QbpDZghnj3B_CL9irUYsY3sK0Z2MO7QFpDSyyjmbIwb7wfih-nN3ueJjbgY6nyJsT8ewBRNwYw5lfWEsUSxWLeGEARTUCRi9pTcT9OxyfdPJoNFGO0/s1600/Picture+1.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0PBE-SfvVnixLqX2aOyXk2hN10QbpDZghnj3B_CL9irUYsY3sK0Z2MO7QFpDSyyjmbIwb7wfih-nN3ueJjbgY6nyJsT8ewBRNwYw5lfWEsUSxWLeGEARTUCRi9pTcT9OxyfdPJoNFGO0/s320/Picture+1.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1953 rating: ***</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>BAD BLONDE:</b></span> In this Hammer British Film Noir, a bulky and not altogether brilliant boxer gets a shot when his 
trainer connects with a rich Italian manager who can make it all 
happen.<br />
<br />
But there are a few catches... First, everyone has to
 live at an estate where the fighter, Charlie Sullivan (Tony Wright), 
will prepare for future moneymaking matches. Second, Charlie needs to 
get along with the rich man’s square-jawed wife Lorna, played by 
manipulating, voluptuous Barbara Payton. Basically, the
 first moment Charlie sets his eyes on the blonde temptress, his career 
is finished… As is his sanity. He can’t get his mind off her.<br />
<br />
In the usual Film Noir aspect of a naive rich man (the manager) naive enough 
to push his wife into the arms of a young, better looking man is, like 
always, completely unbelievable – but what makes BAD BLONDE work are the
 boxing scenes, filmed like you’re watching each bout from the first 
row. And the eventual murder attempt of Lorna’s husband is 
wickedly intense, but too much time wallows in soap operatic scenes 
between the boxer and the title character, whose villainy was better 
when she had a few more rungs to climb.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBomE4MjTnDMBXMZp2sHP0OjwW_sNTOhcJ8iWBPmTeOLO-Y13233GkF2SJJAV7itnPTCskDrHFuSYwIUGDHTw-fjqeiwuw8T5C6E_x6fbn21A44Wnpm-8-fhW2xJq45javOfSHON7upY/s1600/0.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSBomE4MjTnDMBXMZp2sHP0OjwW_sNTOhcJ8iWBPmTeOLO-Y13233GkF2SJJAV7itnPTCskDrHFuSYwIUGDHTw-fjqeiwuw8T5C6E_x6fbn21A44Wnpm-8-fhW2xJq45javOfSHON7upY/s200/0.png" width="168" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1952 rating: ***1/2</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>MAN BAIT:</b></span> Another Hammer British Film Noir dealing with a blonde: With beautiful Diana Dors, any 
expression wields a full-lipped pout. And it's a seductively vicious pout as the 
story, centering on blackmail at a high-end English bookstore, unfolds.<br />
<br />
Dors
 plays Ruby Bruce, whose stunning appearance alone turns men into jelly.
 Although her rich boss, with a lucrative insurance policy, is tougher 
than most “fish." So Ruby teams with ex-convict con man Jeffrey Hart to 
collect the money as the slow, meticulous nature in which the plot 
pans out is intriguing… As Jefferey coaches Ruby from the sidelines (at a
 posh bar), she becomes more and more guilt ridden and desperate, 
proving Dors, known as the “British Marilyn Monroe,” had more ability to
 carry a storyline than the American bombshell.<br />
<br />
But 
without her presence, MAN BAIT becomes your typical "wrong man" 
melodrama... Although the talented cast of Brits (including second tier 
ingénue Marguerite Chapman and Raymond Huntley as an uptight manager),
 and a few neat surprises, will keep your interest. Especially the last 
ten minutes when the antagonist gets <i>really</i> wicked.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsTlRtF5bJtVvJAYwWS6QfBlNFlpLrNfVvOVXCfZ_JED-wBlk9FYtf_WSPcEFy8KsTyD-sR3AlSY4rSzCMwpLSMB5SUjRyvfSMegyjM7FdUyicmt9_j6a9JXpyjIeiHw7PF53Z5bcEXk/s1600/CorneredPoster.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="140" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXsTlRtF5bJtVvJAYwWS6QfBlNFlpLrNfVvOVXCfZ_JED-wBlk9FYtf_WSPcEFy8KsTyD-sR3AlSY4rSzCMwpLSMB5SUjRyvfSMegyjM7FdUyicmt9_j6a9JXpyjIeiHw7PF53Z5bcEXk/s200/CorneredPoster.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1945 rating: **</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>CORNERED:</b></span> Another wordy melodrama where the main character hops from location to 
location gathering info to get him to the next place, to question
 the next person, and sometimes getting tricked, lied to, almost 
murdered, or all three at once.<br />
<br />
There's not enough intrigue-based action
 in this muddled odyssey as Dick Powell travels from France to South 
America to find out who killed his wife. And since the Nazis, who slaughtered 
millions in the war, are somehow involved in the initial murder, our 
hero's private mission seems selfishly desperate and, after so many red 
herrings, one forgets what, or who, he's after.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6DQgEd7sLHFvws0qZP87vwM80pxGDj-YVXEEAo0S4intILsCJhexTDPY28dzaFHdl5DynBa5JnQ7WbY6c21JdmCVciXAKmtnmstlA0bmoGkyYGhyphenhyphenfPw12HfnSXs3nsVVCX4ekdcRFLM/s1600/5-against-the-house-trailer-title-still.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV6DQgEd7sLHFvws0qZP87vwM80pxGDj-YVXEEAo0S4intILsCJhexTDPY28dzaFHdl5DynBa5JnQ7WbY6c21JdmCVciXAKmtnmstlA0bmoGkyYGhyphenhyphenfPw12HfnSXs3nsVVCX4ekdcRFLM/s200/5-against-the-house-trailer-title-still.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">year: 1955 rating: *1/2</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>5 AGAINST THE HOUSE:</b></span> If you thought casting high school or college students with grown men 
was something staple of the eighties, check out this melodrama centering
 on four college buddies who plan on overtaking a poker house...<br />
<br />
All 
the characters are played by good actors, including Brian Keith and Kerwin Matthews, who look 
forty years old and act accordingly. A young Keith is the only interesting 
character but breaks down way too soon, promising a psychotic side that 
never comes to fruition, making for a weak heavy in an ensemble lacking everything including style, plot and purpose.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2lR1YSHDRWPuYxUlhXP3ss_tJom1u-9u7T54NBZWqk7aLHVTNIOaFiyxyaD5Jmq6ProSeLBacqmpdZkyNSaenzGTJhTZPZiOJ-Dxu_QboY2HrRQrR1s2j0VkXBdIkF8yroX5eet0kFs/s1600/lineup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjG2lR1YSHDRWPuYxUlhXP3ss_tJom1u-9u7T54NBZWqk7aLHVTNIOaFiyxyaD5Jmq6ProSeLBacqmpdZkyNSaenzGTJhTZPZiOJ-Dxu_QboY2HrRQrR1s2j0VkXBdIkF8yroX5eet0kFs/s1600/lineup.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">1958 ****1/2</td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE LINEUP:</b></span> Crime melodrama perfectly mixing good and evil... Beginning with a police 
investigation of heroin smuggled through antiques, and then focusing on 
the criminals who collect the stuff for the mysterious big boss no one ever sees, or even dares to. <br />
<br />
Eli Wallach, playing the crazy, insecure, and 
sometimes charming lead thug, following subtle "orders" from his elder 
partner Robert Keith, make for one unique partnership: imagine if PSYCHO Norman Bates followed Martin Balsam's orders instead of his Mother.<br />
<br />
The best scenes have the strange duo going from each job. Wallach, as Dancer, is learning a bizarre form of sophistication through each grizzly murder while Keith writes down every victim's last words, shared by his young cutthroat protegee. All the while a novice, boozing Richard Jaekel remains the unpredictable wild card, so nervous in his getaway driving skills he's bound to screw up. Even after we're stuck with one situation involving a mother and daughter being kidnapped, and then literally race towards an inevitable conclusion after all the deathly fun is over, director Don 
Siegel keeps the suspense on par with the pulpy dialogue, especially 
memorable amongst the cops throughout most of the first act.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ECig8j7f4YvbYPlwWBI2cpKR5nGnXbdenypSYF-hl3OVe5nSBBU3GP_mgHwITF8VjgteVFBFcnoMlnd6n4TfoIreMo8kZ_j5avzrv8k5oK1ULdmOxcR_GcH9H_UTvHePe-4VRvBNctQ/s1600/glenn+anders.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="165" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2ECig8j7f4YvbYPlwWBI2cpKR5nGnXbdenypSYF-hl3OVe5nSBBU3GP_mgHwITF8VjgteVFBFcnoMlnd6n4TfoIreMo8kZ_j5avzrv8k5oK1ULdmOxcR_GcH9H_UTvHePe-4VRvBNctQ/s200/glenn+anders.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Glenn Anders as Grisby</u></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: white;"><b>THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI:</b></span> Sorry, fella, but the LADY FROM SHANGHAI review has been expanded and moved to another location, so <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2016/07/beyondMIRRORS.html">CLICK HERE</a> to read.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVj9dqSEdV898CPeh-Dwv5ktgUJcRCZMv7oA77_gk-gf7NaT7UOP65Dt-8O6TW5gHRG3n8FQhNESMx61P_hTg0QOtGibAb_iLvCmpm2nlxWbW29cALuiu0k_eouYOi4DmsHkKuZgsnWA/s1600/Welles.%252BLady%252Bfrom%252BShanghai.%252Bfinal%252Bmirror%252B14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="121" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRVj9dqSEdV898CPeh-Dwv5ktgUJcRCZMv7oA77_gk-gf7NaT7UOP65Dt-8O6TW5gHRG3n8FQhNESMx61P_hTg0QOtGibAb_iLvCmpm2nlxWbW29cALuiu0k_eouYOi4DmsHkKuZgsnWA/s320/Welles.%252BLady%252Bfrom%252BShanghai.%252Bfinal%252Bmirror%252B14.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>The most famous ending in the history of FILM (NOIR)</u></td></tr>
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bagful, barbara payton, fifties, film noir or melodrama, forties, wrong man