MARLON BRANDO INVADES 'THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY'

<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><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><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/AVvXsEhYz3-V8gOl8aW_N-3G3CEI4cplBiXx1y8xNaLeI9zNefFeRttq7sBssofE_XdqW0g4PF0AbpFG9vFGwJuXrI8cjZEIxYbMV9KM-6vz5ZH8ibT_w4M2S-ADshzPtDKg2lSL0CajL7wKR_BTn8lU9GEEMMoXp1NWjH2_n-9RHMKUH8aMa2vhqSdRdavDnBHQ/s2004/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-03%20at%207.45.39%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1074" data-original-width="2004" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYz3-V8gOl8aW_N-3G3CEI4cplBiXx1y8xNaLeI9zNefFeRttq7sBssofE_XdqW0g4PF0AbpFG9vFGwJuXrI8cjZEIxYbMV9KM-6vz5ZH8ibT_w4M2S-ADshzPtDKg2lSL0CajL7wKR_BTn8lU9GEEMMoXp1NWjH2_n-9RHMKUH8aMa2vhqSdRdavDnBHQ/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-04-03%20at%207.45.39%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Marlon Brando in The Night of the Following Day 1969 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>There are two things that <i>must be </i>intentional about THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY: One is fortyish Marlon Brando was proving to <i>still </i>be fit and great looking (and he did); the other is this kidnap-thriller's not one bit thrilling, and director Hubert Cornfield deliberately made a character-driven film more about edgy criminals than the edgy situation they're involved in... </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></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></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>And kidnapped Pamela Franklin is hardly shown, especially once inside the main location, a French beach house where even a literally fishing cop — flirting with Brando's junky girlfriend (and the passive leader's sister) Rita Moreno — doesn't  evoke suspense...</p><p><span></span></p>

al lettieri, hubert cornfield, jazz score, jess hahn, kidnapping, marlon brando, neo noir, pamela franklin, richard boone, rita moreno, sixties, suspense, thriller

MARLON BRANDO INVADES 'THE NIGHT OF THE FOLLOWING DAY'

Marlon Brando in The Night of the Following Day 1969 Rating: ***1/2 There are two things that must be intentional about THE NIGHT OF THE FOL...

HUBERT CORNFIELD'S TRUCKER HEIST FILM NOIR 'PLUNDER ROAD'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><table align="center" 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/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDVeiUeDCi8ZN3C_rgEeBgoNJA4Y-8e0whAkUoq3OjrhWkPaRnJMUqEVl8GVRmTumYgRVj0n-N3zMH1T-wEqoIUjeMQXDgfAEqmHGr3N2rGwkdLSU_C9vCuERa6E22h1VqxVjlwBNfVRl-2x-7eXhjqUv2fpnO8rGtP0xRJeHUHo5brnZFqWdAXHong/s878/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-31%20at%202.10.32%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="650" data-original-width="878" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFDVeiUeDCi8ZN3C_rgEeBgoNJA4Y-8e0whAkUoq3OjrhWkPaRnJMUqEVl8GVRmTumYgRVj0n-N3zMH1T-wEqoIUjeMQXDgfAEqmHGr3N2rGwkdLSU_C9vCuERa6E22h1VqxVjlwBNfVRl-2x-7eXhjqUv2fpnO8rGtP0xRJeHUHo5brnZFqWdAXHong/w400-h296/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-31%20at%202.10.32%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: PLUNDER ROAD Year: 1957 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Hubert Cornfield's PLUNDER ROAD is more of a <i>post</i> heist<i> </i>thriller than a heist centered b-movie as the intro has a nifty ten-minute train robbery with three trucks, five men and a load of nitroglycerin: a hybrid of WHITE HEAT and WAGES OF FEAR and during which, each character has their own foreboding self-narration ("If we hit a bump, we're all angels!"): Yet things really kick into gear once the men have that <i>900 mile slog </i>for the border... <br></p><p>Led by Gene Raymond paired with the least famous but most memorable and effective character, an edgy ex race-car driver played by Steven Ritch (also the writer), whose sullen <i>I could have been a contender</i> style monologue not only sets his own stage but orchestrates their particular ride's cadence, full of jittery nerves, like anything can happen, most likely bad, contrasting with Raymond's cool lead: And truck number two holds the token Noir born-losers in Wayne Morris as a soft-spoken yet ultimately lethal Hollywood stuntman, and a daydreaming "here's what I'll do with my share" Elisha Cook Jr. while the last ride's gum-chewing Stafford Repp is so optimistic and likeable he's just bound to die first...</p>

action, elisha cook jr., fifties, film noir or melodrama, gene raymond, heist, hubert cornfield, jeanne cooper, nora hayden, road movie, stafford repp, steven ritch, thriller, wayne morris

HUBERT CORNFIELD'S TRUCKER HEIST FILM NOIR 'PLUNDER ROAD'

Title: PLUNDER ROAD Year: 1957 Rating: **** Hubert Cornfield's PLUNDER ROAD is more of a post heist thriller than a heist centered b-m...

HUBERT CORNFIELD DIRECTS SIDNEY POITIER IN 'PRESSURE POINT'

<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/a/AVvXsEhURBLAEmK6BbxuezifbDlPGTDN1nbWHt8V9gCAxHk83Fh35MouB9hwhGY7X-m6sVRFS_B9slg3NjZq6q3uMRmfSq375uciK2OxFwpiURw6_4Oqu4DQiakVj25OQsgTl2Ii0pM0udsfyDAF6TKQWPt36RUq7l1NPQgrwZsxBLMutxSEjP2qRpNzWUxyGg=s903" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="473" data-original-width="903" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhURBLAEmK6BbxuezifbDlPGTDN1nbWHt8V9gCAxHk83Fh35MouB9hwhGY7X-m6sVRFS_B9slg3NjZq6q3uMRmfSq375uciK2OxFwpiURw6_4Oqu4DQiakVj25OQsgTl2Ii0pM0udsfyDAF6TKQWPt36RUq7l1NPQgrwZsxBLMutxSEjP2qRpNzWUxyGg=s16000"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Sidney Poitier in PRESSURE POINT Year: 1962 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Produced by Stanley Kramer and directed by Hubert Cornfield, the recently-departed acting legend Sidney Poitier starred in this psychological drama about a prison shrink batting heads with a full-blown Nazi sympathizer... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>An unapologetic self-proclaimed Anti-Semitic/White Supremacist who right off the bat considers President Roosevelt (neither Jewish or black) a no-good cripple during a flashback taking up most of the screen-time, so he's... well, opposite of a registered democrat... but made in 1961 what comes across as preachy-bias now was fairly new then, and part of Kramer's usual progressive teachable-moment forte...</p><p><span></span></p>

barry gordon, bobby darin, hubert cornfield, melodrama, mental ward, noir noir, peter falk, prison, sidney poitier, sixties, stanley kramer

HUBERT CORNFIELD DIRECTS SIDNEY POITIER IN 'PRESSURE POINT'

Sidney Poitier in PRESSURE POINT Year: 1962 Rating: *** Produced by Stanley Kramer and directed by Hubert Cornfield, the recently-departed a...

HUBERT CORNFIELD'S FILM NOIR PROGRAMMER 'SUDDEN DANGER'

<p></p><p></p><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/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV372bRTDqO8ZBzh4iLeXOBgbJo1HQ9BOjnmEz1AzWI7VtHiZ-hLXdV2HFIdQuV-5MzvEBkVKo-92N_Wbue_9L2WdVSKpH0GdkNxpc0vtirEHqedF8vsYfBlFlaTamlw0OeazXibA2Sak5A3t4JVjhwJHyowX9pNWtnx1V_L47Sap-nQd_wq1Tf6s-aA/s1769/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-31%20at%202.59.01%20AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1150" data-original-width="1769" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjV372bRTDqO8ZBzh4iLeXOBgbJo1HQ9BOjnmEz1AzWI7VtHiZ-hLXdV2HFIdQuV-5MzvEBkVKo-92N_Wbue_9L2WdVSKpH0GdkNxpc0vtirEHqedF8vsYfBlFlaTamlw0OeazXibA2Sak5A3t4JVjhwJHyowX9pNWtnx1V_L47Sap-nQd_wq1Tf6s-aA/w400-h260/Screen%20Shot%202021-01-31%20at%202.59.01%20AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: Sudden Danger Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>All of Film Noir turned Neo Noir director Hubert Cornfield's thrillers start out with an illegal act followed by the characters dealing with the consequences... </p><p></p><p></p><p>And this, being his first picture, marks the biggest difference in that it's a partial mystery... especially since you <i>just know</i> blind Tom Drake can't afford a cure... until his mother's apparent suicide provides him the exact amount for a top surgeon... isn't what the badgering cop Bill Elliott (the second of five movies) thinks he is: guilty of murder...</p><p></p><p>Let's forget the men: the best character is also the prettiest, and there are two contrasting dames including the outright bombshell Helene Stanton, oblivious moll of a sneaky rich guy... But it's Beverly Garland as the blind man's faithful girl-next-door girlfriend who steals the show, particularly in scenes where the cop, trying to wear her down while learning she's not as weak as she seems, gets worn out in the process, thus making SUDDEN DANGER stand above the typical poverty row programmer that, like our blind Wrong Man, deserves another <i>look</i>. </p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

beverly garland, bill elliott, cop, fifties, film noir or melodrama, helene stanton, hubert cornfield, mystery, thriller, tom drake, wrong man

HUBERT CORNFIELD'S FILM NOIR PROGRAMMER 'SUDDEN DANGER'

Title: Sudden Danger Year: 1955 Rating: ***1/2 All of Film Noir turned Neo Noir director Hubert Cornfield's thrillers start out with an ...

HUBERT CORNFIELD DIRECTS EDMOND O'BRIEN IN 'THE 3RD VOICE'

<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/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjcKVLfpzFDJ0k15RmIEXPFAhya1QQplchZ5cLCK3HnMC3Fwx0FdUX4mf9QxV1IEWhK__BullFOkCBfBYuo8WmBzfvJxbcV3Wqg97Szeck8CRormJgUW0TVzm96RPR5LTVohwMA7iRsBB/s517/3RDVOICE1SHHRws.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="515" data-original-width="517" height="399" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqjcKVLfpzFDJ0k15RmIEXPFAhya1QQplchZ5cLCK3HnMC3Fwx0FdUX4mf9QxV1IEWhK__BullFOkCBfBYuo8WmBzfvJxbcV3Wqg97Szeck8CRormJgUW0TVzm96RPR5LTVohwMA7iRsBB/w400-h399/3RDVOICE1SHHRws.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: The 3rd Voice Year: 1960 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/01/thetameone.html">THE NIGHT AND THE FOLLOWING DAY</a>, the infamous Neo Noir with a troubled production and problems with star Marlon Brando that ended the Hollywood career of director Hubert Cornfield, it's important to go back and see how Cornfield made his few genuine film noir vehicles, or in this case, post noir, the period before anyone knew exactly what noir was to realize it had ended...<br></p><p></p><p>Enter THE 3RD VOICE, a B&W thriller (produced by Maury Dexter) that plays out like one right up to the casting of Edmond O'Brien as a hired con artist who works very hard to impersonate the voice of a blowhard rich man, hired by his disgruntled secretary, another veteran in an effectively sassy, snarky Lorraine Day, and the set-up about O'Brien learning the man's voice and dealings is covered with more expository polish than the rest of an intriguing yet sporadically unfocused thriller... </p><p>Taking place in Mexico, where O'Brien, now solo, maintains the impersonation, mostly during a string of nervous phone calls (that include Noirish self-narration), and where the typical human "close call" occurs, almost meeting one of the real man's old friends. And it's all suspenseful enough. But how exactly he's decided to get all the money (as the actual con plays out) is confusing... Yet everything becomes more clear when the big twist is revealed, and it's a pretty damn good one. But besides sexy ingenue Julie London and the well-shot wheeling & dealing, this is Edmond O'Brien's energetic one-man-show, playing the hell out of two people at once! <br></p><p><span></span></p>

con man, edmond o'brien, hubert cornfield, julie london, laraine day, maury dexter, mexico, neo noir, sixties, thriller

HUBERT CORNFIELD DIRECTS EDMOND O'BRIEN IN 'THE 3RD VOICE'

Title: The 3rd Voice Year: 1960 Rating: ***1/2 Before THE NIGHT AND THE FOLLOWING DAY , the infamous Neo Noir with a troubled production and...