ENGLISH STARLET JOY WEBSTER CHANNELS 'STORMY CROSSING'

<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/AVvXsEjWeQaFYGo17HmDJN4lLTjUTcOjwWtHeDHB-8LxOeWWx85NzJPcWJOUd_Tzd5ZXxBncSmV1ROnEruywQDQc0k4pNBsq6hIyYFMHbvcK8MvrJXb_4o38SKT7CZinFCkvkOIca51YAviuGm0_/s1339/Screen+Shot+2021-09-04+at+5.14.23+AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="1339" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWeQaFYGo17HmDJN4lLTjUTcOjwWtHeDHB-8LxOeWWx85NzJPcWJOUd_Tzd5ZXxBncSmV1ROnEruywQDQc0k4pNBsq6hIyYFMHbvcK8MvrJXb_4o38SKT7CZinFCkvkOIca51YAviuGm0_/s16000/Screen+Shot+2021-09-04+at+5.14.23+AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Joy Webster and John Ireland in BLACK TIDE/STORMY CROSSING 1958 Rates: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It's been a joy discovering British starlet <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/joy%20webster">Joy Webster</a> who, throughout the <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/british%20new%20wave">British New Wave</a>, specialized in flirtatiously rejected skanks: twice in Hammer Films... <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/07/2F.html">THE TWO FACES OF DR. JEKYLL</a> as pimpish Oliver Reed's shunned nightclub girl while she's not even good enough for him in a <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/03/reedwolf.html">CURSE OF THE WEREWOLF</a> brothel. And in-between she's shunned in a strip joint by both Brian Weske and David McCallum in <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2020/09/jungle.html">JUNGLE STREET</a>...</p><p></p><p></p><p>But before all that she was taken seriously, and admired... for a little while... as a fashion model turned amateur swimmer set to cross the English Channel with an American jock whose brother, played by American Import <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/03/only-the.html">John Ireland</a>... who sporadically stares onto the gorgeous Channel stock footage... has second thoughts about the entire idea...<br></p><span></span>

british film noir, fifties, john ireland, joy webster, leslie dwyer, maureen connell, perfect murder, sport, thriller

ENGLISH STARLET JOY WEBSTER CHANNELS 'STORMY CROSSING'

Joy Webster and John Ireland in BLACK TIDE/STORMY CROSSING 1958 Rates: *** It's been a joy discovering British starlet Joy Webster who,...

BILL ELLIOTT IN 'CHAIN OF EVIDENCE' WITH TIMOTHY CAREY

<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/AVvXsEip7_GX8sM-OxWqVYhSnD9hyPa1lEcjIjEjGfW8KzyVSfr_kiex436g-oV2mSGJdhQa2vkWTS9adm0JMX4IeguZgFqCBGUtLZkWAJHX6zqh9HJFE_aI3V91ZtEGQ86qGBiDU2AOWOcQLEkX/s805/Screen+Shot+2021-04-28+at+4.41.47+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="563" data-original-width="805" height="280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip7_GX8sM-OxWqVYhSnD9hyPa1lEcjIjEjGfW8KzyVSfr_kiex436g-oV2mSGJdhQa2vkWTS9adm0JMX4IeguZgFqCBGUtLZkWAJHX6zqh9HJFE_aI3V91ZtEGQ86qGBiDU2AOWOcQLEkX/w400-h280/Screen+Shot+2021-04-28+at+4.41.47+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Bill Elliott in Chain of Evidence Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The low-budget, room-to-room, television-like direction aside, CHAIN OF EVIDENCE — the penultimate thriller with former cowboy actor Bill Elliott as friendly cop <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/01/blindfaith.html">Lt. Andy Doyle</a> — is intriguing enough, featuring Jimmy Lydon as an ex-convict with amnesia,  a favorite Film Noir disease allowing the plot to fall into two other Noir staples: a wife and lover kills her rich husband, and poor Jimmy Lydon becomes the <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/wrong%20man">Wrong Man</a>...</p><p></p><p>Why he'd gone to jail in the first place has to do with cult actor Timothy Carey, who once again clenches his teeth while talking as yet another clenched-teeth lowlife... this one a victim of getting beat up for flirting with the otherwise nice guy's girlfriend (Tina Carver); the latter whining through the more melodramatic sequences as her man goes through accusations that seem impossible to clear: he'd fought with the husband right before the wife's lover finished the job. And while these kind of cuckold stories spend most of the time building a "perfect murder," the quick pull-off is a letdown for the audience yet allows main star Elliott a chance to wander around, ask a lot of questions and chain-smoke, like movie-cops do — providing scheming wife Polly Gunther a suburban femme fatale role that deserved a better platform; yet her input here makes EVIDENCE better than it would've been otherwise. </p><p><span></span></p>

bill elliott, cop, don haggerty, fifties, film noir or melodrama, franchise, jimmy lydon, perfect murder, polly gunther, ross elliott, sequel, thriller, timothy carey, tina carver, wrong man

BILL ELLIOTT IN 'CHAIN OF EVIDENCE' WITH TIMOTHY CAREY

Bill Elliott in Chain of Evidence Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2 The low-budget, room-to-room, television-like direction aside, CHAIN OF EVIDENCE...

TYRONE POWER & MARLENE DIETRICH IN 'WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION'

<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/AVvXsEhPPMS_i-C4IstWm33doZ9MehhOAHwiTnWY4jP67SCOnUiY4eejDksmWYaTQwNvtBKG1-AO3IK9jOJh9FnjAInk-yIMtj9a6oLEp3vFZbVPHWhGT925QZBq7HdCPhjOgX6SiW99Lx4KQgpk/s1600/Screen+Shot+2019-03-02+at+7.11.09+AM.jpeg" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1420" data-original-width="1600" height="353" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPPMS_i-C4IstWm33doZ9MehhOAHwiTnWY4jP67SCOnUiY4eejDksmWYaTQwNvtBKG1-AO3IK9jOJh9FnjAInk-yIMtj9a6oLEp3vFZbVPHWhGT925QZBq7HdCPhjOgX6SiW99Lx4KQgpk/w400-h353/Screen+Shot+2019-03-02+at+7.11.09+AM.jpeg" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Ruta Lee & Tyrone Power WITNESS Rates: ***</u></td></tr> </tbody></table><p>While the often compared-to courtroom drama ANATOMY OF A MURDER is an existential courtroom drama about a man who's entirely guilty of murder, in WITNESS TO THE PROSECUTION it's obvious someone's not telling the truth. Either a horribly aged once-perfect-looking Tyrone Power (with a gorgeous trophy in the wings played by Ruta Lee, pictured)...<br> <br>He's accused of killing a rich old lady befriended for need of a loan on an egg-beating invention (?), or the title character in Marlene Dietrich...</p><p>She gives the best performance overall, especially having to do with a twist that really only works in repose. Meanwhile, the always great acting team of Charles Laughton, as the flawed defense consul of the English Court, and real-life (contrived) wife Elsa Lanchester, are only pretty good here, going back and forth more like another kind of stage play. Comedy, perhaps. Which simply doesn't fit here, and with everything mounting to the last five minutes, like mysteries do, this isn't one for rewatching.  </p><p><span></span></p>

charles laughton, courtroom drama, elsa lanchester, mystery, perfect murder, ruta lee, tyrone power

TYRONE POWER & MARLENE DIETRICH IN 'WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION'

Ruta Lee & Tyrone Power WITNESS Rates: *** While the often compared-to courtroom drama ANATOMY OF A MURDER is an existential courtro...

LANCE COMFORT DIRECTS WILLIAM SYLVESTER IN 'BLIND CORNER'

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQpI0GP3xuq4UNUZWd3xLDhskYCtKWgPkndGAfsWMPzrt0IMbGimK6k1yo3BChBjFCoCqzPmDMkqwTunXF_k80KqamFZWsWa0OKxPbcQC1HL2BsQpJ41E2GJv7HPPFPmyZrhTE6ew9Cvp/s1600/11111.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="984" data-original-width="1600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVQpI0GP3xuq4UNUZWd3xLDhskYCtKWgPkndGAfsWMPzrt0IMbGimK6k1yo3BChBjFCoCqzPmDMkqwTunXF_k80KqamFZWsWa0OKxPbcQC1HL2BsQpJ41E2GJv7HPPFPmyZrhTE6ew9Cvp/s1600/11111.jpeg"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Barbara Shelley (the cheater) and William Sylvester (the cheated) in BLIND CORNER Year: 1964</u></td></tr> </tbody></table> Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY is known for its outer space special effects, prehistoric monkeys and a nefarious computer. As for humans there are two British actors (Keir Dullea and Gary Lockwood) and one American as that pair of astronauts' chief. But William Sylvester, though born in Oakland, California, is as much a British actor as they are, trained in RADA and a fixture of England's cinema since after World War II...<br> <br> Though known mostly for the Godzilla/King Kong homage GORGA (that is, before 2001), Sylvester's best performance is the main character from MAN IN THE DARK, actually titled BLIND CORNER, which sounds more like the Noir that it is, one of many low budget 1960's crime flicks from the British New Wave. <br>

alexander davion, barbara shelley, british neo noir, british new wave, elizabeth sheperd, lance comfort, mark eden, perfect murder, sixties, thriller, william sylvester

LANCE COMFORT DIRECTS WILLIAM SYLVESTER IN 'BLIND CORNER'

Barbara Shelley (the cheater) and William Sylvester (the cheated) in BLIND CORNER Year: 1964 Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY...

WOODY ALLEN DIRECTS JOAQUIN PHOENIX IN IRRATIONAL MAN

<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-M9nWZ9j05tfFM0gzMiF5cGuQd4qRs2ewOY7hnvdSsZYHrQdEpTbZN6ywTJiHztgO7vltV_Inc8B5ap6obQBKoY3mIbx7tF1SjSPcQ3bTm5hW1fkDdJ_aCZmVM3cfN7cL8R84PUHVB50/s1600/Screen+shot+2015-08-08+at+3.58.53+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-M9nWZ9j05tfFM0gzMiF5cGuQd4qRs2ewOY7hnvdSsZYHrQdEpTbZN6ywTJiHztgO7vltV_Inc8B5ap6obQBKoY3mIbx7tF1SjSPcQ3bTm5hW1fkDdJ_aCZmVM3cfN7cL8R84PUHVB50/s400/Screen+shot+2015-08-08+at+3.58.53+PM.png" width="161" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015 rating: **</td></tr> </tbody></table> Taking THE out of IRRATIONAL MAN is perhaps Woody Allen's way of saying all men are this way. If so, he's created plenty of them. From the thoroughly classic CRIMES AND MISDEMEANORS to the popular MATCH POINT to the obscure CASSANDRA'S DREAM, the "Perfect Murder" sub-genre of Film Noir has been used, again and again and again...<br /> <br /> But this MAN begins as a character-study on Joaquin Phoenix's troubled college professor, Abe. His trade is existential philosophy and, with a weight jarring his already tortured soul, one might feel like having walked into a movie halfway through.<br /> <br /> Despite the dream of an Allen/Phoenix collaborative, the offbeat actor is so beyond subdued, even the pontificating advances from pretty young student Emma Stone, as Jill, means very little. So during their perpetual near-romance, the story trudges along without purpose until our flawed hero finds an agenda in... that dark subject Woody Allen adores...<br /> <br /> And in just about every venture of the past decade, it feels like he's been adapting clever-twisty short stories into films rather than letting his tales pan out naturally. In this particular case, more shapes are carved into the dull bookends than the one (and only) thing that matters. But by the conclusion, like Allen's own core philosophy, everything turns out pretty much meaningless... and unlike his older stuff, not very satisfying.

2015, emma watson, joaquin phoenix, neo noir, perfect murder, woody allen

WOODY ALLEN DIRECTS JOAQUIN PHOENIX IN IRRATIONAL MAN

2015 rating: ** Taking THE out of IRRATIONAL MAN is perhaps Woody Allen's way of saying all men are this way. If so, he's create...

DIAL M FOR MURDER

<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody> <tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRb3rcptmgIX0Up4G1xR5wZ4OC5PEtaDtoyAzYUQpkBgMFOyJlTvzSuEnifxlWPi-e3f8f6dxn2F_WaBPIDigltcRk0NvRDzxFG9tb_b40AyLaMJDOYoySTbgnodinkXljXdysuZZ-jKN/s1600/dial+m+for+murder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhRb3rcptmgIX0Up4G1xR5wZ4OC5PEtaDtoyAzYUQpkBgMFOyJlTvzSuEnifxlWPi-e3f8f6dxn2F_WaBPIDigltcRk0NvRDzxFG9tb_b40AyLaMJDOYoySTbgnodinkXljXdysuZZ-jKN/s640/dial+m+for+murder.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>year: </b>1954 <b> rating: </b>***</td></tr> </tbody></table> Perhaps it's Alfred Hitchcock's fault. He made his villain so likable that the third act of this classic melodrama becomes a let-down when the somewhat one-dimensional good guys, including a cop and a crime novelist, hone in on the wrathfully delightful Ray Milland...<br /> <br /> The always-intense actor deliciously plots a "perfect murder" of his rich wife during a gloriously long scene (with Anthony Dawson) in that sublimely <i>executed</i> second act, thus leading to the pivotal "homocide" that still packs a wallop.<br /> <br /> What Hitchcock and his actors do with few locations, and tons of dialogue, is amazing.<br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> </div>

alfred hitchcock, anthony dawson, crime, fifties, film noir or melodrama, grace kelly, perfect murder, ray milland, robert cummings, suspense

DIAL M FOR MURDER

year: 1954  rating: *** Perhaps it's Alfred Hitchcock's fault. He made his villain so likable that the third act of this classi...