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Re: Re: Re: On Charles Laughton: (Reply to this comment)
by Stephen_Murray,  in Movies
I have (on vinyl) the Laughton et al. "Don Juan in Hell," which I gather was read by the formidable cast rather than enacted (not that Shaw provided any action, but quite an entertaining flood of words.
Laughton was almost always fun to watch, if often very hammy. But he seems lost as Inspector Maigret, a role in which others have triumphed. (I think Laughton would have made a great Macbeth. Your man Orson did quite well in his version of it.)
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Aug 16 '06
9:31 am PDT
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Re: Re: On Charles Laughton: (Reply to this comment)
by macresarf1
Must have missed RIFIFI the first time through.
Yes, Laughton directed only one film, but a number of stage plays and theater pieces. He did at some of the First Drama Quartet productions, and a production of Mr. Roberts, but his legendary triumph was the American premiere of Galileo.
Glad I came back here.
My comment alert still doesn't work, and they don't seem able to fix it.
Alex
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Aug 15 '06
11:27 pm PDT
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Re: This should be Required reading (Reply to this comment)
by Stephen_Murray, in Movies
I prefer the heist in "Topkapi" to the one in "Rififi" (as I thought I made clear). I find Mme. Dassin in it quite unsettling. And I said that I have to watch "Bob" again to see why I was underwhelmed by it. I saw "The Good Thief" recently and thought it pretty dull, despite its serpentine twisting plot.
Have you seen "Le Deuxième souffle"? Why doesn't NetFlix have it?
I got this posted after something like 50 rejections for HTML errors.
"Greed" is a great movie, but was it known to anyone making noirs in either France or the US? "Citizen Kane" is a great movie I don't especially like, but it was more likely influenced by Carné and Lang than to have influenced them.
"Pépe le Moko" is on the list (though I prefer to Hollywood remake, "Algiers" a year later).
zen Kane as a direct noir influence for a whole bunch of reasons.
To get French again, Julien Duvivier's Pepe Le Moko (1937), is definitely important to noir's development.
And, much as I adore "The Maltese Falcon" (which is a lot), I think that "Satan Met a Lady" was as shadowy and amoral, albeit without Bogart—but then Bogart was not morally ambiguous enough or hopelessly doomed enough to be a full noir protagonist.
"Noir" seems an irremedialy subjective and fuzzily bounded category!
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Jul 15 '06
2:01 pm PDT
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More agreements (Reply to this comment)
by ChrisJarmick
If only all of Un Flic was as good as the first 15 minutes of so. Do see it.
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Jul 15 '06
10:34 am PDT
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This should be Required reading (Reply to this comment)
by ChrisJarmick
You've got to tell me about your illogical aversion for Bob and Good Thief at some point. Superb films both. And Topkapi over Rififi? Well I suspect there's childhood nostalgia at work giving Topkapi the edge.
Confusion in the essay regarding un cercle rouge and le cercle rouge. And while your fixing that might clear up some of the other several little mistakes throughout.
Definitely agree Noir in terms of look and lighting wa directly influence by German cinema and that has to include the silent Cabinet, Fritz Lang, and I'd add Greed to the list too.
Then there's the classic 30s Gangster flicks. You mentioned Scarface, and there's Little Ceasar and Public Enemy etc.
Several folks cite Boris Ingster's Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) as the first full-featured film noir. It starred Peter Lorre as the sinister 'stranger' (which will remind you of his performance from 1931's M of course).
I'd say you have include Orson Welles' Citizen Kane as a direct noir influence for a whole bunch of reasons.
To get French again, Julien Duvivier's Pepe Le Moko (1937), is definitely important to noir's development.
You can also look at some of the horror films of the late 20s and early 30s as contributing to Noir (and this is rarely considered). Tod Browning and James Whale predominately--Whale in particular strongly influenced by the German and encompassing shadows and very dark 'doomed' narratives as well.
Huston put it together very well for the Detective Noir sub genre in 1940s Maltese Falcon (which had been filmed earlier but not with the kind of shadowy lighting or performances Huston had with Bogard and company.) Bogarts cool and persona of course a direct influence on many many to follow including Delon and Belmondo.
Great essay Stephen !!!
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Jul 15 '06
10:31 am PDT
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Re: Your parting shot? (Reply to this comment)
by Stephen_Murray, in Movies
It's been fun and a (self-set) challenge to stay on track.
"Le cercle rouge" is even better than "Un flic" and its bonus disc has fascinating interviews of Melville.
And your library is likely to have "Drole de drame," which it's hard for me to imagine you not enjoying.
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Jul 15 '06
9:18 am PDT
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Your parting shot? (Reply to this comment)
by ifif1938
Oh No.....:(
I have to get my hands on Un Flic, though I'm not sure if I've seen it or not...I did find Lacombe Lucien in my library yesterday, I can't believe the selection they have now of foreign movies, and for free!!
I want to thank you once again for all your excellent and informative reviews...And don't forget, you can always come back and add more if you like..
Best always
Barbara
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Jul 15 '06
7:32 am PDT
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Re: On Charles Laughton: (Reply to this comment)
by Stephen_Murray, in Movies
Rififi is definitely there (three times, in fact).
Didn't Laughton direct some stage productions?
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Jul 14 '06
10:22 pm PDT
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On Charles Laughton: (Reply to this comment)
by macresarf1
I have just been reading Simon Callow's examination of the enigmatic NIGHT OF THE HUNTER. He makes the point that the fact Producer Burgess Meredith had creative differences with his director and cameraman led to Laughton's filling in at times directing Meredith's scenes in MAN ON THE EIFFEL TOWER. Problems with Ansco Color prompted Meredith to bring in Cinematographer Stanley Cortez as a consultant. The creative collaboration was Laughton's only technical preparation to direct a film or to work directly with a lighting cameraman, which be responsible for much of the curious quality exuded by NIGHT OF THE HUNTER.
So MAN ON THE EIFFEL TOWER was possibly good for something!
Enjoyed your list, but did I miss RIFIFI?
Regards.
Alex
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Jul 14 '06
9:34 pm PDT
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