Category Archives: Film Noir Friday

Film Noir Friday — Holiday Edition: The Crooked Way [1949]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Because it is Memorial Day, today’s film, THE CROOKED WAY, features a tale about a WWII war hero suffering from amnesia.  The film stars John Payne, Sonny Tufts and Ellen Drew.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

Eddie Rice, a veteran suffering from amnesia, returns to Los Angeles from a San Francisco veterans hospital hoping to learn who he is and discovers that he is a gangster named Eddie Riccardi and has a police record. Although he does not know it, five years earlier, Eddie was acquitted of murder after turning state’s evidence for homicide detective Lieutenant Joe Williams. His partner, Vince Alexander, took the “rap” and spent two years in prison. On a Los Angeles street, a woman recognizes Eddie and reports him to Vince, who sends his thugs to beat up Eddie.

 

https://youtu.be/JOc3uuppEHE

Film Noir Friday — On Sunday: To The Ends of the Earth [1948]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is TO THE ENDS OF THE EARTH starring Dick Powell, Signe Hasso, Ludwig Donath, Vladimir Sokoloff, Edgar Barrier and Maylia. Directed by Robert Stevenson.

Yesterday’s post, HOP HEADS, was about opium addiction and tonight’s film is about a crackdown on the opium trade. I’m sensing a theme.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

In the year 1935, following a United Nations-sponsored meeting of the World Narcotics Commission, the U.S. Treasury Department, Bureau of Narcotics undertakes a crackdown on the worldwide opium trade. Assigned to the investigation is Treasury Department agent Mike Barrows, who is head of the department’s San Francisco bureau. Mike is familiar with the ruthless ways of the drug traffickers, having witnessed an unmarked Japanese freighter jettison one hundred Chinese slaves off the San Francisco coast to gain enough speed to outrun a U.S. Coast Guard patrol. A life preserver bearing the name Kira Maru , and a view of the offending captain, as seen through binoculars, are the only clues Mike has to go on as he begins his investigation in Shanghai.

 

Film Noir Friday: Take One False Step [1949]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is TAKE ONE FALSE STEP starring William Powell, Shelley Winters, Marsha Hunt and James Gleason.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

Prof. Andrew Gentling, in Los Angeles to help found a new college, is inveigled by old flame Catherine Sykes into a midnight drive. Next day Catherine is missing, believed killed; friend Martha convinces Andrew that he’s a prime suspect and should investigate before he’s arrested. But this only puts Andrew in a more deadly kind of danger.

 

https://youtu.be/2k6hf7Rwb58

Film Noir Friday on Sunday Evening: The Kiss Before the Mirror [1933]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is The Kiss Before the Mirror starring Gloria Stuart (you may recall her as Rose, the old woman in the movie TITANIC), Nancy Carroll, Paul Lukas. Frank Morgan and Walter Pidgeon.

This pre-code mystery was directed by James Whale. Some of his other films include Frankenstein, The Old Dark House and The Invisible Man.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

Paul Held, a noted attorney in Vienna, defends his best friend, Walter Bernsdorf, who is on trial for the murder of his wife Lucy. After hearing Walter’s impassioned description of Lucy’s infidelity and the events leading up to the murder, Paul returns home to his wife Maria. While she puts on her make-up in front of her vanity mirror, Paul recognizes a similarity to the events Walter had described in court, and notices that his wife appears to pay special attention to her make-up for reasons unconnected with her love for him. Paul kisses Maria, and she angrily repulses him, claiming he has ruined her make-up; then she casually goes out. Like Walter before him, Paul follows her and watches as she meets clandestinely with her lover.

https://youtu.be/zv-oC4glJ8w

Film Noir Friday: When Gangland Strikes [1956]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is WHEN GANGLAND STRIKES starring Raymond Greenleaf, Marjie Millar and John Hudson.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

Gangster Duke Martella, accompanied by his lawyer, Leo Fansler, goes to pick up his girl friend, Hazel Worley, upon her release after serving a one-year prison sentence. Martella is accused of killing a key witness in the district attorney’s murder case against him and worries about his upcoming trial. On the ride to town, Hazel explains that she promised her recently deceased cellmate that she would deliver a letter to a man named Luke Ellis, who lives in the sleepy town of Lawndale. In Lawndale, meanwhile, Luke, the county prosecutor who believes “in squeezing human understanding into the law,” reluctantly cross-examines Jerry Ames, a young Korean War veteran who has been accused of stealing $27.50 from his employer, Walter Pritchard, the owner of the local hardware store. When Luke argues that Jerry only borrowed the money to buy his wife an anniversary present, the jury finds him innocent and the courtroom erupts in applause, much to the chagrin of Pritchard, who believes that Luke is far too lenient to be a prosecutor.

 

https://youtu.be/JrimMWQViT4

Film Noir Friday: Shadow of the Thin Man [1941]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Today’s feature is SHADOW OF THE THIN MAN starring Myrna Loy, William Powell, Donna Reed, Barry Nelson and Asta (his real name was Skippy).

Imagine my delight when I found this on YouTube today.  The person(s) providing the film say they couldn’t find a copyright for it.  I believe they may be mistaken — so watch this immediately!  The Thin Man series always makes me smile, and this particular entry in the series is one I absolutely adore (especially Myrna’s hat!)

If you miss this showing for any reason you’ll be pleased to know that TCM is showing it on December 31st.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

In San Francisco, former private detective Nick Charles enjoys a peaceful retirement with his attractive wife Nora, their young son Nick, Jr., and their wire-haired terrier, Asta. One afternoon, when Nick and Nora go to the races, they learn from Nick’s old friend, Lieutenant Abrams, that a jockey named Gomez has just been fatally shot. In the jockey room, Nick’s police and reporter friends think that he is on the case, but he insists that his detective days are over, even when one of the jockeys piques his curiosity by saying that Gomez was killed because he refused to throw a race.

https://youtu.be/JRbj7urKAqU

Film Noir Friday — Sunday Matinee: Kiss of Death [1947]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Today’s feature is KISS OF DEATH starring Richard Widmark, Victor Mature and Coleen Gray.  This is one of my favorites.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

On Christmas Eve, down-on-his-luck Nick Bianco, an ex-convict, and his three cohorts rob a jewelry store located on the top floor of a New York skyscraper. Before they can exit the building, however, the proprietor sets off his alarm, and Nick is apprehended by the police. Later, Assistant District Attorney Louis D’Angelo tries to persuade Nick, who has two young daughters and a wife, to name his accomplices in exchange for a light sentence. Sure that his lawyer, Earl Howser, and cohorts will look after his family while he is incarcerated, Nick refuses and is given a twenty-year sentence.

Film Noir Friday — Saturday Matinee: No Man’s Woman [1955]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Today’s feature is NO MAN’S WOMAN starring Marie Windsor, John Archer, Patric Knowles and Nancy Gates.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

In Beverly Hills, California, gold digger Carolyn Grant has been estranged from husband Harlow Grant for two years. When Harlow falls in love with Louise Nelson, Carolyn refuses to grant him a divorce, unless he gives her a large percentage of his chemical company plus $300,000. Knowing that Harlow does not have that much, she suggests that he sell his father Philip’s half of the company, which Philip spent his life building. Harlow is unsuccessful in talking Carolyn into a reasonable settlement.

https://youtu.be/-S8KptvXwMQ

Film Noir Friday: The Miami Story [1954]

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miami story poster

Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is THE MIAMI STORY starring Barry Sullivan, Luther Adler, John Baer and Adele Jergens.

Before the main feature I’ve added a special short subject, courtesy of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Please don’t try these shooting stunts at home!

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

In post-World War II America, a rise in gangster activity prompts the formation of an investigative committee by the U.S. Senate, forcing many criminals to flee to the safety of the tourist-filled and ineffectually policed Miami. When two Cuban gangsters are gunned down upon arrival at Miami’s airport by gangster boss Tony Brill’s right-hand man, Ted Delacorte, and police chief Martin Belman is unable to secure an indictment, journalist Charles Earnshaw summons several prominent Miami businessmen for assistance. The men are dubious about stopping Brill’s ruthless criminal machine, until attorney Frank Alton suggests a plan.

 

 

https://youtu.be/ddMprH1IBCQ

Film Noir Friday, on Saturday: Wiretapper [1955]

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Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is WIRETAPPER starring Bill Williams and Georgia Lee.

Mark Twain succinctly summed up my love of true crime with this wonderful quote: “Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; truth isn’t.”  This film is based on a true story with an ending that could only happen in real life.  Jim Vaus was associated with Los Angeles mobster Mickey Cohen, but his life took many unexpected turns–which explains why you see Reverend Billy Graham in the poster.  If you are interested in learning more about Jim Vaus you may want to read MY FATHER WAS A GANGSTER by Will Vaus — it’s available on Kindle!

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

During World War II, Jim Vaus, an army electronics specialist, is serving a prison sentence for having stolen equipment from the army. Because Jim has arranged for released prisoners to mail letters he has written to his girl friend, Alice, Alice thinks that he is still on active duty. When the war ends, the prison chaplain informs Jim that the President has reviewed his, and others’ cases, and that he is to be released. The chaplain, aware of Jim’s letters to Alice, strongly advises him to tell her about his past. However, when Jim returns to Los Angeles, he buys a captain’s uniform and some medals, then goes to visit Alice, her mother and younger sister Helen and lies that he has just finished active service.