Film Noir Friday: Where the Sidewalk Ends [1950]

where_the_sidewalk_ends_ver5Welcome! 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 WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS, directed by Otto Preminger and starring Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney and Gary Merrill.

Enjoy the film!

 TCM says:

New York City police detective Mark Dixon and his partner Klein return to the 16th precinct where Inspector Nicholas Foley introduces them to their new commander, Lt. Thomas. Later, Foley meets with Dixon to inform him that more battery complaints have been filed against him, but Dixon is unrepentant.

Gladys Witherell is Missing! — Case Wrap-up

witherell_operatorsIt’s time for a postmortem on the Witherell case.

The two men who kidnapped Gladys Witherell, Floyd and Arthur “Jack” Carr, were sentenced to from 10 years to life in prison. Gladys was returned to her family. But what about the reward?

The reward money was divided among the seven telephone operators who played a significant role in the capture of the Carrs: Bessie Shaeffer, Georgia Pond, Lillian Clark, Bessie Sullivan, Alma Bryant, Lillian Moore and Bertha Heere. The operators kept Arthur on the phone while simultaneously conveying the address of the phone booth he was calling from to the police.

On the evening of February 10, 1921 a ceremony to honor the women was held at Grauman’s Theater. A special film about the case was shown (where is it now, I wonder). Detective Sergeants King and Oaks, and Deputy Sheriff Anderson were introduced as the men who captured the kidnappers. They would also receive rewards.

Nick Harris (owner of the private investigation agency bearing his name) represented Gladys at the theater because her physician said that she was still far too nervous and fatigued to appear in public. On her behalf he handed each of the operators a check for approximately $215–equivalent to $2875 in current dollars.

operator_picsGladys’ father-in-law heaped praise on the women: “Had these girls not been on the job, nobody can tell what might have happened to Gladys. They are the most splendid examples of young American womanhood–alert, quick-witted, sympathetic and instantaneously responsive to the call of need.”

I agree.

The First with the Latest! Aggie Underwood, the Los Angeles Herald, and the Sordid Crimes of a City

The First with the Latest! Exhibit Screen Saver“The First with the Latest! Aggie Underwood, the Los Angeles Herald, and the Sordid Crimes of a City,” explores some of the most deranged L.A. stories that were covered by Agness “Aggie” Underwood, a local reporter who rose through the ranks to become the first woman city editor for a major metropolitan newspaper. Curated by yours truly, Joan Renner (Author/Editrix/Publisher of the Deranged L.A. Crimes website, Board Member of Photo Friends), and featuring photos from the Los Angeles Public Library’s Herald Examiner collection.

Join us for light refreshments and brief remarks as we celebrate the reporter who helped the Los Angeles Herald be “The First with the Latest.” An exhibit catalog featuring many never-before-published images from the Herald’s files will be available for purchase.

The reception is on Thursday, August 13, 2015, 6pm-8pm at the Central Library in downtown Los Angeles. Christina Rice,Senior Librarian, Los Angeles Public Library Photo Collection; Stephanie Bluestein, Assistant Professor of Journalism at California State University, Northridge, and I  will be making remarks at about 7pm.

I hope to see you there!

Buy the companion book from my Recommendations in the sidebar. 

Film Noir Friday: The Most Dangerous Game [1932]

Poster-Most-Dangerous-Game-The_01

 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, THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, isn’t a film noir but it is a fascinating film starring Joel McCrea, Fay Wray, Leslie Banks, and Robert Armstrong. The premise calls to mind real life serial killer Richard Hansen who, from 1973-1983, abducted women (prostitutes, topless dancers, etc.) turned them loose in the Alaskan wilderness and then hunted them down with his rifle. It is estimated that he murdered between 17 and 21 women.

TCM says:

While sailing through treacherous shark-infested channels, the yacht carrying Bob Rainsford, a noted big game hunter, strikes a coral reef and sinks. Bob swims to the shore of a tiny island, the only survivor of the wreck, and locates a mysterious fortress, which is owned by the Russian Count Zaroff. A gracious if intense host, Zaroff introduces Bob to Eve Trowbridge and her brother Martin, who are also recent shipwreck survivors. Zaroff, finding Bob a kindred spirit, reveals his obsessive passion for hunting and refers obtusely to his favorite island pastime, the pursuit of “the most dangerous game.” As the evening progresses, Martin becomes more intoxicated, while his sister tries to warn Bob to be wary of Zaroff. Later that night, Zaroff invites Martin to his “trophy room,” which boasts several mounted human heads, and informs him that his head will soon be joining the others on the wall.

https://youtu.be/iC_OvUS8TJo

Film Noir Friday: Caught [1949]

caught_1949_poster+01Welcome! 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 CAUGHT [1949] starring James Mason (in his first American motion picture), Barbara Bel Geddes, and Robert Ryan.

Enjoy the film!

 TCM says:

Leonora Eames, a young woman from Denver, and her roommate Maxine, a gold-digging model, share a modest Los Angeles apartment and the determination to move up in the world. To that end, Leonora, who works as a carhop, has enrolled in Dorothy Dale’s charm school. After graduating from the school, Leonora gets a well-paying job modeling fur coats at a department store. One day, while modeling a coat, a man named Franzi Kartos introduces himself to Leonora and invites her to a party aboard millionaire Smith Ohlrig’s yacht. Leonora rejects the invitation because she does not approve of rich men sending scouts to find pretty young women to attend their parties. Maxine, however, convinces Leonora to attend the party, calling it an “investment” in her future.

https://youtu.be/XWYuEf2loOs

Film Noir Friday–Saturday Matinee: Shack Out on 101 [1955]

SHACK ON 101Welcome! 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.

It’s time for a Saturday Matinee.  Today’s feature is SHACK OUT ON 101 starring Terry Moore, Frank Lovejoy, Keenan Wynn and Lee Marvin. I’ll watch pretty much anything with Lee Marvin in it.

Enjoy the film!.

 

TCM says:

George Bater owns a diner located near the 101 highway in California, and although he enjoys his somewhat isolated existence, he tires of the bickering between his staff, waitress Kotty and cook Slob. Kotty, who is dating Professor Sam Bastion, a nuclear physicist at a nearby laboratory, is irritated by Slob’s constant harassment. George, who secretly loves Kotty, reprimands Slob, a slovenly man who resents George for never calling him by his real name, Leo. Their latest quarrel is interrupted by the arrival of Sam, after which Kotty announces that she has been studying for the civil service exam. Kotty hopes to better herself in order to make Sam proud, although he tells her that he loves her as she is. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, Slob receives a shipment from commercial fisherman Perch, who sells him a small film canister, which Slob hides. George is cheered by the arrival of his pal, Eddie Miller, with whom he fought in World War II. Eddie, who has never recovered from the bloodshed he and George experienced during D-Day, is a traveling salesman. Although Sam presses Eddie to seek psychiatric help for his aversion to violence, Eddie protests that he has recovered from a minor nervous breakdown and is anticipating his upcoming vacation to Acapulco with George.

 

 

https://youtu.be/4p13ozSx1e0