PAUL CARPENTER AND HAZEL COURT IN 'THE NARROWING CIRCLE'

<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/AVvXsEh1RIjKAfW4lCqAZI9QFMO2lYpDhUQKFTO4PR57fTgxmuXwTO2AuoZJ4-A2jUB3-6xVKMgDcQJvsIe1SVZy8s7yMjhtyjS6f9IEoSwU1Ex4qgIN5mN5q13RJB087xi4yU0Bhc8TPjE9JwyqfzlqWiD47oJV8xRw2-MTG8q7JRPBTIlcHxxLPtXd_GwuHpPI/s1560/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-28%20at%2010.02.01%20PM-1%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1028" data-original-width="1560" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1RIjKAfW4lCqAZI9QFMO2lYpDhUQKFTO4PR57fTgxmuXwTO2AuoZJ4-A2jUB3-6xVKMgDcQJvsIe1SVZy8s7yMjhtyjS6f9IEoSwU1Ex4qgIN5mN5q13RJB087xi4yU0Bhc8TPjE9JwyqfzlqWiD47oJV8xRw2-MTG8q7JRPBTIlcHxxLPtXd_GwuHpPI/s1600/Screen%20Shot%202026-09-28%20at%2010.02.01%20PM-1%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Hazel Court and Paul Carpenter in THE NARROWING CIRCLE  Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p></p><p>Canadian actor Paul Carpenter, when he's not providing his smooth voice for the usual roles as announcers or broadcasters, has a charmingly affable manner in which, for 1950's British Noirs <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2025/05/stockcar.html">STOCK CAR</a> and THE NARROWING CIRCLE, he seems to be a replacement for what aspires to be a more standard-leading-man type of picture...<br><br>But he's still fairly intriguing: here as a true crime journalist falling into the usual wrong-man trope of not only being falsely accused for one murder... of a fellow writer who took both his job and his fiance... but he's always around when random dead bodies keep turning up...</p><p><span></span></p>

british film noir, charles saunders, ferdy mayne, fifties, hazel court, hugh latimer, michael standing, paul carpenter, wrong man

PAUL CARPENTER AND HAZEL COURT IN 'THE NARROWING CIRCLE'

Hazel Court and Paul Carpenter in THE NARROWING CIRCLE  Year: 1957 Rating: ***1/2 Canadian actor Paul Carpenter, when he's not providing...

RICARDO MONTALBAN WITH BRUCE BENNETT IN 'MYSTERY STREET'

<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/AVvXsEgQPxLjvir6Sq6o-SK6TtFlXAyg6AL1rdpHl7Zo5xOMnKwmBn9cTLtF2R8EwI7ghp96FLx_efNt822exRJePQntBGQTzP2KiYCEHDEnWFYmyUIyVIGTsN-PZ6j4eVMUfGFkQ28syTGj1bDxMqSFqs-WuKZJUSmOlU3kSD7YAzBg0xvaG8ozXHnRf1T2imPt/s2078/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-18%20at%201.15.28%20PM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="2078" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQPxLjvir6Sq6o-SK6TtFlXAyg6AL1rdpHl7Zo5xOMnKwmBn9cTLtF2R8EwI7ghp96FLx_efNt822exRJePQntBGQTzP2KiYCEHDEnWFYmyUIyVIGTsN-PZ6j4eVMUfGFkQ28syTGj1bDxMqSFqs-WuKZJUSmOlU3kSD7YAzBg0xvaG8ozXHnRf1T2imPt/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-18%20at%201.15.28%20PM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1950 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>When debt-ridden Jan Sterling... in an apartment complex where lovely single ladies exist under the bickering rule of middle-aged Elsa Lanchester... walks down the stairs to make an enigmatic phone call, not only does MYSTERY STREET begin, but it could have been another movie entirely...<br><br>After Sterling meets up with drunken married Marshall Thompson, driving him through rural back-roads before stealing the car and getting murdered, what follows is tighter and meticulously by-the-book...</p><p><span></span></p>

besty blair, bruce bennett, cop, edmon ryan, elsa lanchester, fifties, film noir or melodrama, jan sterling, marshall thompson, ricardo montalban, sally forrest, wrong man

RICARDO MONTALBAN WITH BRUCE BENNETT IN 'MYSTERY STREET'

Year: 1950 Rating: **** When debt-ridden Jan Sterling... in an apartment complex where lovely single ladies exist under the bickering rule o...

ROBERT MITCHUM, JANE GREER & WILLIAM BENDIX 'THE BIG STEAL'

<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/AVvXsEj3fcUyEfvqI1EwtS8me7iMjiKICH4cp6mAYgy1LiQmGPPR4uHIqtpGX9OGe38WnYMOQ_QBM310XuLI6eNtVi3URa7ru5aBA_HJ0sqCirSPzbkqk_X93eWO3FNogj3LFocvwTewMH4CTBKfdgLBSrZCvAuxdCgWWAhyphenhyphenGybAYmQoPDSrIMGE0drABk2wG5XB/s2070/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-12%20at%203.06.46%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1330" data-original-width="2070" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3fcUyEfvqI1EwtS8me7iMjiKICH4cp6mAYgy1LiQmGPPR4uHIqtpGX9OGe38WnYMOQ_QBM310XuLI6eNtVi3URa7ru5aBA_HJ0sqCirSPzbkqk_X93eWO3FNogj3LFocvwTewMH4CTBKfdgLBSrZCvAuxdCgWWAhyphenhyphenGybAYmQoPDSrIMGE0drABk2wG5XB/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-06-12%20at%203.06.46%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Year: 1949 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In one scene towards the end of director Don Siegel's THE BIG STEAL, Robert Mitchum and reunited OUT OF THE PAST starlet Jane Greer are pulled over in their Mexico-traipsing vehicle, and have some involving dialogue with some Spanish locales... and there's finally some chemistry between the two leads... <br><br>Otherwise it's more of an action crime caper that, while semi-decently flowing from one fast-paced scene to the next... and featuring William Bendix as a cop following Mitchum's cop... there's way too many distracting (and cheap-looking) rear-projected scenes during perpetual car chases... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

action, don siegel, film noir or melodrama, forties, howard hughes, jane greer, patric knowles, ramon navarro, robert mitchum, william bendix, wrong man

ROBERT MITCHUM, JANE GREER & WILLIAM BENDIX 'THE BIG STEAL'

Year: 1949 Rating: **1/2 In one scene towards the end of director Don Siegel's THE BIG STEAL, Robert Mitchum and reunited OUT OF THE PAS...

AUDREY TOTTER, RICHARD BASEHART & CYD CHARISSE IN 'TENSION'

<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/AVvXsEgLx2WjshVV94IxKn-JNceGoHr43zVWAjpoN3opKSPCFsjIwdMjGpXhpd11cP_AtdpfNTiAyFQm5MT0xvSxDfUyv1mIf1YwUN0qGqQJgijhSysddtTl4ovyrYbODWTnjaSYow1l6qllj6pl6BxeE6bnS-fFTevXmhmaw7qhvuDJIlYwXuU4YrqLpxDrIAAb/s2104/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1194" data-original-width="2104" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLx2WjshVV94IxKn-JNceGoHr43zVWAjpoN3opKSPCFsjIwdMjGpXhpd11cP_AtdpfNTiAyFQm5MT0xvSxDfUyv1mIf1YwUN0qGqQJgijhSysddtTl4ovyrYbODWTnjaSYow1l6qllj6pl6BxeE6bnS-fFTevXmhmaw7qhvuDJIlYwXuU4YrqLpxDrIAAb/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Audrey Totter in TENSION Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>From low-budget film noir to big-budget spectaculars, in Golden Age Hollywood there are rarely not-perfect-looking actresses, like in the case of secondary/good girl Cyd Charisse, countering scene-stealing cheating fatale Audrey Totter in the murder mystery thriller TENSION, centering on the mousiest of mousy drug store clerks who Totter replaces with alpha-male Lloyd Gough...<br><br>It's impossible to believe that Richard Basehart would remain in the kind of vengefully lustful state of murdering his wife when, only hours after Totter splits, Charisse... looking like a brunette supermodel straight from a fashion magazine... appears instantly smitten outside a new bachelor pad: where he'd assumed a fake identity to surreptitiously off both his wife and her lover...<span></span></p>

audrey totter, barry sullivan, cyd charisse, fifties, film noir or melodrama, lloyd gough, richard basehart, william conrad, wrong man

AUDREY TOTTER, RICHARD BASEHART & CYD CHARISSE IN 'TENSION'

Audrey Totter in TENSION Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2 From low-budget film noir to big-budget spectaculars, in Golden Age Hollywood there are r...

INNER SANCTUM WITH LON CHANEY JR IN 'CALLING DR. DEATH'

<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/AVvXsEiCzeMaQmaZWiWUUxLfaAq7jvj-5pldaw1K6QBlAyJDQA0N76M-3VbgAxfl87l61YYinLGEexWQi-rsgK5AtwN-25WuoFpvNjYKfyFfBZx0cbSVAjoxONO1jzlp6ttL7QE1ACWtVfnmwgb5d6h91cchae_VM7AdaanFFPaP5WQ1dYdKzaEgeao5xsyn-XVk/s1916/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-21%20at%201.48.09%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1916" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCzeMaQmaZWiWUUxLfaAq7jvj-5pldaw1K6QBlAyJDQA0N76M-3VbgAxfl87l61YYinLGEexWQi-rsgK5AtwN-25WuoFpvNjYKfyFfBZx0cbSVAjoxONO1jzlp6ttL7QE1ACWtVfnmwgb5d6h91cchae_VM7AdaanFFPaP5WQ1dYdKzaEgeao5xsyn-XVk/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-21%20at%201.48.09%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: CALLING DR. DEATH Year: 1943 Rating: **1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Judging by the name alone, Universal's INNER SANCTUM movies seems perfect for a kind of horror/thriller that's not much different than their tightly-wound, atmospheric monster movies... <br><br>Including THE WOLF MAN starring Lon Chaney Jr himself, a clunky big lug of an actor who's horribly miscast here as a high-class shrink whose cheating wife (with a BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN hairstyle) gets mysteriously murdered... <br></p><p><span class="duration-200" lang="en-US"><span><span></span></span></span></p>

film noir or melodrama, inner sanctum, j. carrol naish, lon chaney jr., patricia morrison, ramsay ames, thriller, wrong man

INNER SANCTUM WITH LON CHANEY JR IN 'CALLING DR. DEATH'

Title: CALLING DR. DEATH Year: 1943 Rating: **1/2 Judging by the name alone, Universal's INNER SANCTUM movies seems perfect for a kind o...

JOHN BROMFIELD WITH JULIE LONDON IN 'CRIME AGAINST JOE'

<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/AVvXsEjnAdNr4YMc61lurgEKTtzUxdLNz2iWQnvzS0D3jxRNbVOx2yrz7pYONiaFLwO_C-UgH5VcmpDNnES9QbAf40LjMDiG3hkwcOqKG9oULriEJTj_llFnAFuLDsXO91XXPIAZKQI8-ETZLbuE2ihg2C-RazCv-RwbrBg2eihRYkTfVIfyIex_WYC3iXtUZeOY/s1282/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="856" data-original-width="1282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnAdNr4YMc61lurgEKTtzUxdLNz2iWQnvzS0D3jxRNbVOx2yrz7pYONiaFLwO_C-UgH5VcmpDNnES9QbAf40LjMDiG3hkwcOqKG9oULriEJTj_llFnAFuLDsXO91XXPIAZKQI8-ETZLbuE2ihg2C-RazCv-RwbrBg2eihRYkTfVIfyIex_WYC3iXtUZeOY/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>John Bromfield and Julie London in CRIME AGAINST JOE Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>In 1956, handsome, muscular, square-jawed yet still somehow affable/relatable-everyman actor John Bromfield starred in three features by low-budget studio Bel Air Productions...<br><br>In their best remembered and best in quality, HOT CARS, he's a beguiled used car salesman reluctantly working for criminals; in THREE BAD SISTERS an idealistic pilot trying to save the only good sibling; and in CRIME AGAINST JOE the titular wrong-man character... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

bel air productions, film noir or melodrama, henry calvin, john bromfield, julie london, morgan jones, patricia blair, rhodes reason, thriller, wrong man

JOHN BROMFIELD WITH JULIE LONDON IN 'CRIME AGAINST JOE'

John Bromfield and Julie London in CRIME AGAINST JOE Year: 1956 Rating: ***1/2 In 1956, handsome, muscular, square-jawed yet still somehow a...

MARÍA ELENA APRÓN SLASHING 'THE FISH WITH THE EYES OF GOLD'

<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/AVvXsEj5k0jnWkbVqEmzA2VEOxAtQAsv1zF-YVrXDbt1JXS-St1H7J_nJNJKFZat_BkM6STLoNKqwp3ma4T4Un8RO829wXhWik0-nrLYEMgpg51Eh92OxfvTH2cU9_oYqwgw1jRWNkiVYlP4qmaXEvNYe8UnAZyB0j4nrhBx3S1bwb0sNhIAc8qPXoYNFCgu0QU7/s2088/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1438" data-original-width="2088" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5k0jnWkbVqEmzA2VEOxAtQAsv1zF-YVrXDbt1JXS-St1H7J_nJNJKFZat_BkM6STLoNKqwp3ma4T4Un8RO829wXhWik0-nrLYEMgpg51Eh92OxfvTH2cU9_oYqwgw1jRWNkiVYlP4qmaXEvNYe8UnAZyB0j4nrhBx3S1bwb0sNhIAc8qPXoYNFCgu0QU7/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>María Elena Arpón in The Fish With The Eyes Of Gold/ El pez de los ojos de oro Year: 1974 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The primary cover art for Pedro L. Ramírez's Spanish Giallo THE FISH WITH THE EYES OF GOLD is a composite of two actresses, one killed in the opening, the other towards the conclusion: both by an unseen/unknown man with very large knife, and right on the beach... as he has an obsession with those titular fish... <br><br>The gorgeous round face with full lips belong to Spanish Scream Queen María Elena Arpón, the scene-stealing vampire girl from TOMBS OF THE BLIND DEAD, making her final acting appearance here... and the hair-length/color's for longer-faced Susana Taber, violently kickstarting what's both Thriller and Mystery while using one of the most popular universal Neo-Noir tropes...</p><p><span></span></p>

ada tauler, maría elena arpón, montserrat prous, mystery, neo noir, norma kastel, seventies, slasher, spanish horror, susana taber, thriller, wal davis, wrong man

MARÍA ELENA APRÓN SLASHING 'THE FISH WITH THE EYES OF GOLD'

María Elena Arpón in The Fish With The Eyes Of Gold/ El pez de los ojos de oro Year: 1974 Rates: ***1/2 The primary cover art for Pedro L. R...

WILLIAM LUCAS, ZENA WALKER & DAVID GREGORY 'THE MARKED ONE'

<p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/william%20lucas"></a></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/AVvXsEgqWlqhNBW53SMywUPaBGKvTAAm0GE3XnFuRr6zJRwAEYeVj_a4oFBaQIyMugN5mN7vmUppaAJq8u4E0Nf0LalB_uk8lue3B91c6PhFC8qK332_8ANut387eW_2PsGXrHNvIrSK3G7wQCsqrqNve-9Z63T2VvHfKdtZAIO7TWk9tu8JA3cZLe7WBJIjmWc3/s1774/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-08%20at%2012.13.09%20AM.png" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1774" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqWlqhNBW53SMywUPaBGKvTAAm0GE3XnFuRr6zJRwAEYeVj_a4oFBaQIyMugN5mN7vmUppaAJq8u4E0Nf0LalB_uk8lue3B91c6PhFC8qK332_8ANut387eW_2PsGXrHNvIrSK3G7wQCsqrqNve-9Z63T2VvHfKdtZAIO7TWk9tu8JA3cZLe7WBJIjmWc3/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-06-08%20at%2012.13.09%20AM.png"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE MARKED ONE Year: 1963 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Obscure British actor <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/search/label/william%20lucas">William Lucas</a> gained niche fame as the father from the 1970's BLACK BEAUTY, no longer the Bogart-looking tough guy from a string of early-1960's b-crimes as leading bad guys (<a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/02/gimme-a.html">THE BREAK</a>), sketchy middlemen (<a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/03/payrollers.html">PAYROLL</a>) or criminals in-between (CALCULATED RISK, <a href="http://www.cultfilmfreaks.com/2021/03/breakOUT.html">BREAKOUT</a>)...<br><br>And THE MARKED ONE also leans to that midpoint... an ex convict who, with a divorced wife, young daughter, dotting landlady (Laurie Leigh) and a factory job, is threatened by enigmatic goons to retrieve forgery plates that he might or might not have, providing more mystery to the character than his dire circumstance...</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><span></span></p>

british neo noir, british new wave, crime, david gregory, gillian watt, kidnapping, kim tracy, laura leigh, marianne stone, post-heist, sixties, thriller, william lucas, wrong man, zena walker

WILLIAM LUCAS, ZENA WALKER & DAVID GREGORY 'THE MARKED ONE'

Title: THE MARKED ONE Year: 1963 Rating: ***1/2 Obscure British actor William Lucas gained niche fame as the father from the 1970's BLA...

PETER MAXWELL'S 'IMPACT' WITH CONRAD PHILLIPS & ANITA WEST

<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/AVvXsEg-JMpKxh-Kv9FaDfYljrsDLfF4qc1xyneZ8ummhF4U2O0yeIfd8bUgEP3nGDbOHQwaF7il-J0tlJfZHNa_iCd9xtoujAB0AXa_zay-mW-NEwtDJNJAlBwL-HSF_e8nVokFwyZcNGaCQqA3lISMq0-a6EwGbHik6-hqsWopuKJYiev0q6KooP68BflnNWrl/s1896/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-24%20at%2011.04.51%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1104" data-original-width="1896" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JMpKxh-Kv9FaDfYljrsDLfF4qc1xyneZ8ummhF4U2O0yeIfd8bUgEP3nGDbOHQwaF7il-J0tlJfZHNa_iCd9xtoujAB0AXa_zay-mW-NEwtDJNJAlBwL-HSF_e8nVokFwyZcNGaCQqA3lISMq0-a6EwGbHik6-hqsWopuKJYiev0q6KooP68BflnNWrl/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-10-24%20at%2011.04.51%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Conrad Phillips in IMPACT Year: 1963 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The low-budget British studio Butchers turned out film noir-type crime-dramas like they were television episodes, playing out like something more from the small screen than big...<br><br>And that's not a negative critique since they almost always pay off with good stories and great actors, in this case an equally edgy and severe wrong-man/good guy and nightclub-owning villain...</p><p><span></span></p>

anita west, ballard berkeley, british neo noir, conrad phillips, george pastell, john rees, linda marlowe, peter maxwell, sixties, wrong man

PETER MAXWELL'S 'IMPACT' WITH CONRAD PHILLIPS & ANITA WEST

Conrad Phillips in IMPACT Year: 1963 Rating: *** The low-budget British studio Butchers turned out film noir-type crime-dramas like they wer...

SUSAN SHAW & DONALD HOUSTON IN WOLF RILLA'S 'THE LARGE ROPE'

<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/AVvXsEgeGka0QbVYPZILYNZtnZ5zyUrMvMQiJUX6hRtZYD_5KmnvpnGtbj6WrO24sD0M9KuMlXpYX6BaFPVyEZ7PmAMIjhdbWmqfxtfsP6_vmvCIMSFQqYX3ikLjBUWv0hTS0SNShudzg7KTflM6kBU_-ougua4fRPSH6lByuig5aUmr7VHS7WtMhxKTUbOtProb/s1380/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="776" data-original-width="1380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGka0QbVYPZILYNZtnZ5zyUrMvMQiJUX6hRtZYD_5KmnvpnGtbj6WrO24sD0M9KuMlXpYX6BaFPVyEZ7PmAMIjhdbWmqfxtfsP6_vmvCIMSFQqYX3ikLjBUWv0hTS0SNShudzg7KTflM6kBU_-ougua4fRPSH6lByuig5aUmr7VHS7WtMhxKTUbOtProb/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Donald Houston and Peter Byrne in THE LARGE ROPE Year: 1953 Rating: ***1/2</u><br></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Before becoming known as THE LONG ROPE, director Wolf Rilla's THE LARGE ROPE meant that Donald Houston's central character, a young man released from jail and returning to his small hometown village, is basically caught right in the <i>thick</i> of it...</p><p></p><p>Not only does no one want him around, especially ex-girlfriend Susan Shaw and his former best friend she's marrying, but he winds up accused of murdering a flirtatious older woman played by an actress who made a living brilliantly playing them... </p><span></span>

british film noir, christine finn, donald houston, edward judd, fifties, mystery, robert brown, susan shaw, vanda godsell, wolf rilla, wrong man

SUSAN SHAW & DONALD HOUSTON IN WOLF RILLA'S 'THE LARGE ROPE'

Donald Houston and Peter Byrne in THE LARGE ROPE Year: 1953 Rating: ***1/2 Before becoming known as THE LONG ROPE, director Wolf Rilla's...

STEVE COCHRAN DRIVING ROBERT CUMMINGS IN 'THE CHASE'

<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/AVvXsEhMkoJJYm1_7oDh0HrN3zub7wlMlYSzYAAr7jRVcXfiXpWEdyTraVSab0nD1QFTwbaqzjkTk7YhXqPQl100BlaDOCJJdzFKExwo_q0h2GgTn1FmouwpDgZhAOxGaCR8sDbiuy_of3FtcPBz_85NhC_45BoSfkdvlDbo_4BK7x4XRLGI1h_IKSi7sSwUpp36/s1856/Screen%20Shot%202025-02-04%20at%2010.56.24%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="910" data-original-width="1856" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMkoJJYm1_7oDh0HrN3zub7wlMlYSzYAAr7jRVcXfiXpWEdyTraVSab0nD1QFTwbaqzjkTk7YhXqPQl100BlaDOCJJdzFKExwo_q0h2GgTn1FmouwpDgZhAOxGaCR8sDbiuy_of3FtcPBz_85NhC_45BoSfkdvlDbo_4BK7x4XRLGI1h_IKSi7sSwUpp36/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202025-02-04%20at%2010.56.24%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Robert Cummings and Michèle Morgan in THE CHASE Year: 1946 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Since  some 1940's film noirs are very surreal, it's not strange that one-third of THE CHASE is actually a dream by penniless war veteran turned mobster's chauffeur Robert Cummings suffering PTSD... </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The irony is how much weirder the real stuff is, and, literally driven by Steve Cochran with an accelerator in his limo's backseat while Cummings steers (after racing alongside) a moving train, both Cochan and henchman Peter Lorre get their kicks by cheating death... <br></p><p><span></span></p>

film noir or melodrama, forties, michèle morgan, peter lorre, robert cummings, steve cochran, wrong man

STEVE COCHRAN DRIVING ROBERT CUMMINGS IN 'THE CHASE'

Robert Cummings and Michèle Morgan in THE CHASE Year: 1946 Rating: *** Since  some 1940's film noirs are very surreal, it's not stra...

JOHN MILLS IN THE BRITISH WRONG MAN NOIR 'THE VICIOUS CIRCLE'

<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/AVvXsEhd3VCnxmJJHW07F0G8ZP28yXFta892oN3E3gHI3KVXEIaog1tjPpXViHZHRFPN6j592tSzqLxG_vLwIIBHL1rVqMKfTDV6XAQwV19qPQrAQjKOti9lv7mQnbEhK4vOXk7Td8XWejQxKHJ3Vro8IwXLZJgDAnOWwP3Grw-cxTKqSjd07jEUqHH57p88r8ha/s1894/Screen%20Shot%202024-08-21%20at%2011.44.21%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1146" data-original-width="1894" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd3VCnxmJJHW07F0G8ZP28yXFta892oN3E3gHI3KVXEIaog1tjPpXViHZHRFPN6j592tSzqLxG_vLwIIBHL1rVqMKfTDV6XAQwV19qPQrAQjKOti9lv7mQnbEhK4vOXk7Td8XWejQxKHJ3Vro8IwXLZJgDAnOWwP3Grw-cxTKqSjd07jEUqHH57p88r8ha/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-08-21%20at%2011.44.21%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: THE VICIOUS CIRCLE Year: 1957 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>At one point in the middle of THE VICIOUS CIRCLE, starring John Mills as a doctor falsely accused of murdering gorgeous actress Lisa Daniely, he winds up playing an idyllic round of golf with best friend Derek Farr...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Strangely enough, during an otherwise suspenseful daylight-to-nighttime journey... from back alleyways to random offices to immense concert halls... the audience and main character are actually allowed to cut <i>from </i>the chase... </p><p><span></span></p>

action, british film noir, fifties, john mills, lionel jeffries, lisa daniely, noelle middleton, wilfrid hyde-white, wrong man

JOHN MILLS IN THE BRITISH WRONG MAN NOIR 'THE VICIOUS CIRCLE'

Title: THE VICIOUS CIRCLE Year: 1957 Rating: **** At one point in the middle of THE VICIOUS CIRCLE, starring John Mills as a doctor falsely ...

NOVA PILBEAM IN ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S 'YOUNG AND INNOCENT'

<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/AVvXsEhLGF_I_tuNznfmkxhtRp-xh9pruIZP4a1NMTNCRFaLEgeT0vVBYj3H-mJBoH8Kd29p1iZf17WBNrl1EZZMWOT4Ds0R3TGrGizZ_SReiG676_naoJL3X6eURkD6zp5mL6UW3GPops6-kfCDqy3OSXXwymqBlsUIptCExUxX_sSmpAQ-u64X-QzjFuEQca5K/s823/1.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="505" data-original-width="823" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLGF_I_tuNznfmkxhtRp-xh9pruIZP4a1NMTNCRFaLEgeT0vVBYj3H-mJBoH8Kd29p1iZf17WBNrl1EZZMWOT4Ds0R3TGrGizZ_SReiG676_naoJL3X6eURkD6zp5mL6UW3GPops6-kfCDqy3OSXXwymqBlsUIptCExUxX_sSmpAQ-u64X-QzjFuEQca5K/s16000/1.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney in YOUNG AND INNOCENT Year: 1937 Rating: ***</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense — <i>and</i> the master of teaming up a wrong-man with a good girl in an espionage-driven adventure, which began with THE 39 STEPS and peaked with NORTH BY NORTHWEST with SABOTEUR and FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT in-between...<br><br>Then there's the least known, YOUNG AND INNOCENT, starring the McGuffin/kidnapped daughter from his original THE MAN WHO KNEW TOO MUCH in lovely girl-next-door Nova Pilbeam — here the local constable's daughter who takes to falsely-accused scriptwriter Derrick De Marney, having had an affair with a slain actress, part of an opening scene so wispy and melodramatic it almost seems like a parody...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

adventure, alfred hitchcock, british film noir, john longden, nova pilbeam, road movie, romance, thirties, wrong man

NOVA PILBEAM IN ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S 'YOUNG AND INNOCENT'

Nova Pilbeam and Derrick De Marney in YOUNG AND INNOCENT Year: 1937 Rating: *** Alfred Hitchcock was the master of suspense — and the maste...

ALAD LADD, SUSAN GORDON & CAROLYN JONES 'THE MAN IN THE NET'

<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/AVvXsEi7p2Yri8YomHVFZhSkmBwXSQ5dzilM9txxqaAQyvpYXSUGhE7iWY9LEQj3zGdbXAdqQP9p-jMovPteoywkGCiyCPRobK0TDflH0UOyi7Kvz5IgXeFSQps66T6SuZM6hwHFEof0PBwMflSLYNhOlbeJ2T_G5essAsR1KKI6YRIAFJ6i9a1TJDapESl3qKKo/s1190/Screen%20Shot%202024-08-06%20at%2012.03.27%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7p2Yri8YomHVFZhSkmBwXSQ5dzilM9txxqaAQyvpYXSUGhE7iWY9LEQj3zGdbXAdqQP9p-jMovPteoywkGCiyCPRobK0TDflH0UOyi7Kvz5IgXeFSQps66T6SuZM6hwHFEof0PBwMflSLYNhOlbeJ2T_G5essAsR1KKI6YRIAFJ6i9a1TJDapESl3qKKo/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-08-06%20at%2012.03.27%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Charles McGraw, Edward Binns & Alan Ladd pictured from THE MAN IN THE NET Year: 1959 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>By 1959, Film Noir had ended, but not officially since it was never an official genre or a categorized style of films... at least not yet... that is, the French had yet to coin the Dark Film into the term that would grow throughout the years... but the template that makes these kind of dark crime melodramas still remained, and in Michael Curtiz's A MAN IN A NET, two of the most specific and popular tropes are well at hand...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>First off, the Wrong Man aspect as an aged, sluggish, loser artist Alan Ladd (looking as if he had a facelift to resemble a miniature Robert Mitchum) as the only logical culprit to have killed his boozing/cheating, no-good wife... and the second aspect's just been mentioned, and in that, Carolyn Jones, on the verge of THE ADDAMS FAMILY and having been in a handful of noirs ranging from THE BIG HEAT to SHIELD FOR MURDER, is the best thing going...</p><p><span></span></p>

alan ladd, carolyn jones, charles mcgraw, diane brewster, edward binns, fifties, michael mcgreevy, mystery, neo noir, susan gordon, wrong man

ALAD LADD, SUSAN GORDON & CAROLYN JONES 'THE MAN IN THE NET'

Charles McGraw, Edward Binns & Alan Ladd pictured from THE MAN IN THE NET Year: 1959 Rating: ** By 1959, Film Noir had ended, but not of...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY & ANNE JEFFREYS RETURN FOR 'STEP BY STEP'

<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/AVvXsEhZD_bUZjUuD2SlQNPoky1T_bGXQkbgZ5mzjZ022JxnZAF1e8Cn1cbgGSaExmEy5cWmlxb83ZqHSQdshQ_xIZOfOSdBqNEs0DURmKbg72649XjZLBnlCFTiZjbljqVfeukpik0WQForOyomAheW6bebESxD-IOoNZvlT_caJ8ZKmvW1u8cdJz90ZwSiX2bj/s1433/0%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="864" data-original-width="1433" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZD_bUZjUuD2SlQNPoky1T_bGXQkbgZ5mzjZ022JxnZAF1e8Cn1cbgGSaExmEy5cWmlxb83ZqHSQdshQ_xIZOfOSdBqNEs0DURmKbg72649XjZLBnlCFTiZjbljqVfeukpik0WQForOyomAheW6bebESxD-IOoNZvlT_caJ8ZKmvW1u8cdJz90ZwSiX2bj/s16000/0%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Lawrence Tierney and Anne Jeffreys in STEP BY STEP Year: 1946 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Lawrence Tierney with Anne Jeffreys, the gangster and moll from DILLINGER, return for STEP BY STEP, a programmer that involves crime yet is only partially film noir and, with an endearing mascot dog liken to (but a different breed than) THE THIN MAN franchise, it's a breezy ride...<br></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Jeffreys is the newly-hired secretary for a politician working from a beachfront mansion and, in-between top-secret office work, she meets a shirtless Tierney on the beach... after his dog breaks the ice (why most men own them)... and from that point, Tierney has her number...</p><p><span></span></p>

adventure, anne jeffreys, chase, cold war, film noir or melodrama, forties, james flavin, jason robarts sr., lawrence tierney, myrna dell, mystery, romance, wrong man

LAWRENCE TIERNEY & ANNE JEFFREYS RETURN FOR 'STEP BY STEP'

Lawrence Tierney and Anne Jeffreys in STEP BY STEP Year: 1946 Rating: **** Lawrence Tierney with Anne Jeffreys, the gangster and moll from D...

LAWRENCE TIERNEY PLAYS THE WRONG MAN IN 'KILL OR BE KILLED'

<div style="text-align: right;"> </div> <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/AVvXsEgWJAjSveZ2niVEmpIVqT6BoIRgPdEc5wJEpp6ysTU-_2KQ-IGB9mXuOZbUUozE9PmjqARohYSO3TVCOOoHc2rtQWRiL4yhEgjFZBgaAzq2tsYx1aSB3URXDHJlu5o-XMB37eKw7Aq77BM/s1600/Screen+Shot+2016-06-19+at+4.54.31+AM.png" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWJAjSveZ2niVEmpIVqT6BoIRgPdEc5wJEpp6ysTU-_2KQ-IGB9mXuOZbUUozE9PmjqARohYSO3TVCOOoHc2rtQWRiL4yhEgjFZBgaAzq2tsYx1aSB3URXDHJlu5o-XMB37eKw7Aq77BM/s400/Screen+Shot+2016-06-19+at+4.54.31+AM.png" width="400"></a></td></tr> <tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: KILL OR BE KILLED Year: 1950 Rates: ***1/2</u></td></tr> </tbody></table><p>The epitome of a crime programmer with a beginning, middle and end, and plenty in-between which includes deadly piranha, mistreated jungle labor, the beautiful yet put-upon wife of an eccentric German land developer and one of the few things befitting the Noir template...</p><p>Though this is more an action-packed adventure where our hero, Lawrence Tierney, is not his usual DILLINGER vicious (also directed by Max Nosseck), BORN TO KILL sneaky, DEVIL THUMBS A RIDE sociopathic or THE HOODLUM dangerously lethal villain... but in this particular case, as the epitome of a Wrong Man, he's not only wronged but not as angry or cunning as usual: Even after returning to an Opening Soon Nightclub after installing a complicated air conditioning system throughout the two-story joint: which was a bragged-about three month task. He even gets to sing and dance with gorgeous Spanish blonde Leonor Maia, until he learns he ain't getting paid. Of course a loud argument arises – and soon enough the boss is killed by a wraithlike stranger who makes out the window in seconds flat, and it sure seems like  Tierney's Robert Warren is the killer...</p><span></span>

action, adventure, fifties, film noir or melodrama, george coulouris, helga liné, lawrence tierney, leonor maia, max nosseck, piranha, romance, rudolph anders, wrong man

LAWRENCE TIERNEY PLAYS THE WRONG MAN IN 'KILL OR BE KILLED'

Title: KILL OR BE KILLED Year: 1950 Rates: ***1/2 The epitome of a crime programmer with a beginning, middle and end, and plenty in-bet...

SCOTT BRADY WITH PEGGY DOW IN WILLIAM CASTLE'S 'UNDERTOW'

<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-J3q75LFNa53fALU8VzAUXvZcM_BH6XF5fAijIMTMIwvUF7SEdvZATYN8GHFIzUdjWeHJNfnD28pFr_7Hzy5qyOZ2105qmjtj9lNUn7XplZEWoJM2e7C962B7Y-um79Ob3K_YD2DrdE8YKTXw4T2Q2UFxCFzzc4QBkcmxz2MN0SrwopBsnIuUDo6v2gFU/s2090/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-04%20at%203.36.09%20PM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="2090" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-J3q75LFNa53fALU8VzAUXvZcM_BH6XF5fAijIMTMIwvUF7SEdvZATYN8GHFIzUdjWeHJNfnD28pFr_7Hzy5qyOZ2105qmjtj9lNUn7XplZEWoJM2e7C962B7Y-um79Ob3K_YD2DrdE8YKTXw4T2Q2UFxCFzzc4QBkcmxz2MN0SrwopBsnIuUDo6v2gFU/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202026-05-04%20at%203.36.09%20PM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Scott Brady and Peggy Dow in UNDERTOW Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Scott Brady, younger brother of tough guy legend Lawrence Tierney, is thrust into a wrong man noir before he even realizes where his feet are planted for director William Castle's UNDERTOW...<br><br>After talking about purchasing a rural lodge, he meets lovely good-girl Peggy Dow at a casino and then an airplane on the way to Chicago to pick up fiance Dorothy Hart: only the cops know he's an ex-con hated by a casino-owner named Big Jim... who we never actually meet and who he's eventually blamed for killing... as Scott  becomes desperate enough to break into lead cop Bruce Bennett's home, pull out a gun and beg for help...</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p><span></span></p>

action, dorothy hart, film noir or melodrama, forties, john russell, peggy dow, scott brady, william castle, wrong man

SCOTT BRADY WITH PEGGY DOW IN WILLIAM CASTLE'S 'UNDERTOW'

Scott Brady and Peggy Dow in UNDERTOW Year: 1949 Rating: ***1/2 Scott Brady, younger brother of tough guy legend Lawrence Tierney, is thrust...

OLIVER REED AND FABIO TESTI ITALIAN CRIME FLICK 'REVOLVER'

<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/AVvXsEgbzqe3e5SbKoh58txrGN4L0xsHCOtALR1aIYXNLU7hNapc8XK1P8W14ayo8YB7a6bOogcWpyrgG-XXpxxRb04OS7inTDGXkU-b3KNc2gSnwGGnZM3Nk6-i2GVmlpt5BPmy8HQbNuJB-f8g4uTbgxsNjr2QgAo_khMfoU8hH7OXUX7MzT90Qld4ZOmh0-Go/s1904/22.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1904" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbzqe3e5SbKoh58txrGN4L0xsHCOtALR1aIYXNLU7hNapc8XK1P8W14ayo8YB7a6bOogcWpyrgG-XXpxxRb04OS7inTDGXkU-b3KNc2gSnwGGnZM3Nk6-i2GVmlpt5BPmy8HQbNuJB-f8g4uTbgxsNjr2QgAo_khMfoU8hH7OXUX7MzT90Qld4ZOmh0-Go/s16000/22.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: REVOLVER Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Clever premise of a prison warden in genuine tough guy and here, promoted ex-cop Oliver Reed... who surreptitiously allows a prisoner to escape before abducting him in exchange for his (own) kidnapped wife between steely, intentionally claustrophobic scenes in dingy offices harboring dingier jail sells... </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>The best moments involves uptight lawman Reed (described as "a stray dog without a home") and co-star Fabio Testi's initially reluctant, affable criminal teamed-up on the run — in the latter's rogue territory... </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/AVvXsEh4yVlmqaOZn283UyaZ2FQuwo8kDKWoY_IEbmdXoPafZNByQ_LTg7X9oEDmkIluud2R0Fo1z5MUfrbTtPe7Q1c5QYqHe_OnlSHf9SOQKjYvv_B_UHd9pbAh28tdCndKV7h0idbLX1uNJlS6d4Sm1xJYg2oiB6Ec27dHHsAyj04gEVtvZNzxn0jJ_7p4DLdP/s2134/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-17%20at%202.13.50%20AM.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="2134" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4yVlmqaOZn283UyaZ2FQuwo8kDKWoY_IEbmdXoPafZNByQ_LTg7X9oEDmkIluud2R0Fo1z5MUfrbTtPe7Q1c5QYqHe_OnlSHf9SOQKjYvv_B_UHd9pbAh28tdCndKV7h0idbLX1uNJlS6d4Sm1xJYg2oiB6Ec27dHHsAyj04gEVtvZNzxn0jJ_7p4DLdP/s16000/Screen%20Shot%202024-01-17%20at%202.13.50%20AM.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Oliver Reed in REVOLVER</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>As the petty thief teaching the strict, timid lawman to steal a car a standout, and there needed more of this kind of Film Noir-inspired ambiguity beyond a meandering subplot involving a flaky musician connected to a powerful politician — while an uncompromising Reed, with an overly-pronounced American accent he's previously used satirically, doesn't overact to show the love for his wife (an insanely gorgeous Agostina Belli), or the needed desperation to cut corners... </p><p>But if only Fabio Testi were given half his partner's infectious intensity and overall motivation instead of coolly underplaying a glib character meant to fit within the buddy-plot plot-line, REVOLVER... with a surging Ennio Morricone score and the usual dose of melodramatic vocal-dubbing... would be more a time-killer than time-filler. </p><p><span></span></p>

action, crime, ennio morricone, escape, fabio testi, frédéric de pasquale, italian, jailbreak, kidnapping, oliver reed, paola pitagora, sergio sollima, seventies, teamup, thriller, wrong man

OLIVER REED AND FABIO TESTI ITALIAN CRIME FLICK 'REVOLVER'

Title: REVOLVER Year: 1973 Rating: ***1/2 Clever premise of a prison warden in genuine tough guy and here, promoted ex-cop Oliver Reed... wh...

VICTOR MATURE AND LAIRD CREGAR IN 'I WAKE UP SCREAMING'

<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/AVvXsEjCWO1np82hbOR9gz4aPJLN1NWqdG5WHRLwMNGPfj9odQY8ab0VlU-jmV_BnIGrwfCgZsv77PRBYZWdvxpV-wZgu6KO6iX6vNuM0c7W7vqyKhvyqRqhijgi_9ENm_M6a-JAFZBywLNCOvYqytinJLH6fIXRnA2UYP5F_MbEp-qEGPxLVdLUfnEPtIeaG2j_/s1957/gggggg.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1360" data-original-width="1957" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCWO1np82hbOR9gz4aPJLN1NWqdG5WHRLwMNGPfj9odQY8ab0VlU-jmV_BnIGrwfCgZsv77PRBYZWdvxpV-wZgu6KO6iX6vNuM0c7W7vqyKhvyqRqhijgi_9ENm_M6a-JAFZBywLNCOvYqytinJLH6fIXRnA2UYP5F_MbEp-qEGPxLVdLUfnEPtIeaG2j_/s16000/gggggg.jpg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: I WAKE UP SCREAMING Year: 1941 Rating: ****</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Originally named HOT SPOT since we begin with Victor Mature, noisily and rudely interrogated by detectives and, with that bright light in his eyes, this title describes anyone being heatedly interrogated... </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 while the source novel I WAKE UP SCREAMING might have fit the pulpy page, it has nothing to do with this story involving Mature as a talent promoter who, after attempting to turn a beautiful nowhere waitress into an overnight sensation, is blamed for her murder...</p><p><span></span></p>

betty grable, carole landis, cop, film noir or melodrama, forties, laird cregar, mystery, thriller, victor mature, wrong man

VICTOR MATURE AND LAIRD CREGAR IN 'I WAKE UP SCREAMING'

Title: I WAKE UP SCREAMING Year: 1941 Rating: **** Originally named HOT SPOT since we begin with Victor Mature, noisily and rudely interroga...

RICHARD FLEISCHER DIRECTS LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'BODYGUARD'

<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/AVvXsEgWcpapHYse1HHKzLsgXpfXkMUCwfApkulW8SGvujmVLBL3QQLvIYTtpXMkXUVHTzXDMg1pJvaV_ax3__3-5aXVkAqgvbDUvyad6ZYYlwG5Bn8krT-maYHBLlvyNSVz_LYR52hpLqr4Lc_lIcwcE91aBh4ApY80-E5kjxmR5Te9VHG-Ci641tDX_C0XGA/s2114/0%202.jpeg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="994" data-original-width="2114" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWcpapHYse1HHKzLsgXpfXkMUCwfApkulW8SGvujmVLBL3QQLvIYTtpXMkXUVHTzXDMg1pJvaV_ax3__3-5aXVkAqgvbDUvyad6ZYYlwG5Bn8krT-maYHBLlvyNSVz_LYR52hpLqr4Lc_lIcwcE91aBh4ApY80-E5kjxmR5Te9VHG-Ci641tDX_C0XGA/s16000/0%202.jpeg"></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><u>Title: BODYGUARD Year: 1948 Rating: **</u></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Famously-capable director Richard Fleischer could turn out b-movie noirs and most were pretty good while actor Lawrence Tierney had the same appeal as either a leading villain or grimacing good guy... </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 latter here playing a tough maverick cop who punches the captain and loses his job in BODYGUARD, written by young future auteur Robert Altman and involving the owner of a meat-packing-plant (a strange concept in itself) having Tierney be her own personal... well... the title says it all...</p><p><span></span></p>

action, cop, film noir or melodrama, forties, lawrence tierney, priscilla lane, richard fleischer, robert altman, thriller, wrong man

RICHARD FLEISCHER DIRECTS LAWRENCE TIERNEY IN 'BODYGUARD'

Title: BODYGUARD Year: 1948 Rating: ** Famously-capable director Richard Fleischer could turn out b-movie noirs and most were pretty good wh...