Tonight's Movie: Front Page Woman (1935)

FRONT PAGE WOMAN is a light comedy-drama with a newspaper setting, teaming frequent costars George Brent and Bette Davis.

Brent and Davis play reporters for competing newspapers who are also in love. They talk marriage, but Davis rebels against Brent's desire that she quit the business when they marry, disputing his belief that women "are bad newspapermen." The battle of the sexes continues throughout a murder trial as they attempt to outdo each other with the best scoops.

Some of the dated attitudes toward working women are either charmingly amusing or outrageous, depending on how seriously one chooses to take it. For me, that kind of thing is simply an interesting reflection of the era, and while I was horrified by Davis's furs (those little faces!), I simply smiled at the casually expressed notions that now seem so quaint. Besides which, Brent has to admit in the end that Davis is a darn good newspaperman, at that!

I particularly enjoy Brent in his younger, "pre-mustache" days, and he's charming in this, even when he's tricking Davis or talking down her career aspirations; he's simply so good-natured and lovable that it's hard to be annoyed by him.

Davis was quite the glam young beauty in this, one of several films she appeared in in 1935.

Roscoe Karns plays Brent's photographer, with Gordon Westcott and Wini Shaw key figures in a crime story. The cast also includes J. Carroll Naish, Dorothy Dare, Walter Walker, Joseph Crehan, and J. Farrell MacDonald.

Good old George Chandler floats by the camera as a newspaper reporter in a single scene -- one of 14 credits he had that year, and that was a slow year for him! In 1937, for example, he was in 27 movies.

FRONT PAGE WOMAN was directed by Michael Curtiz. It runs 82 minutes.

I saw this film thanks to Turner Classic Movies, which aired it last week. TCM has the trailer on its website.

This movie was just released on DVD by the Warner Archive.

FRONT PAGE WOMAN is one more title in what's becoming a long list of "newspaper" movies seen this year! It joins THE LAWLESS (1950), TRY AND GET ME (1950), HIGH TIDE (1947), PICTURE SNATCHER (1933), JOHNNY COME LATELY (1943), APPOINTMENT WITH A SHADOW (1957), THE SELLOUT (1952), and IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934).

Tonight's Movie: Legion of the Lawless (1940)

LEGION OF THE LAWLESS is another enjoyable RKO Western starring George O'Brien.

O'Brien plays Jeff Toland, an attorney who arrives to set up a law practice in a town where the railroad is expected to pass through.

Jeff ends up in the middle of a battle between some poor townspeople and a group of self-styled "vigilantes" who are actually crooks who want to take over the town land themselves and make a fortune when the railroad arrives.

Jeff also finds romance in the person of Ellen Ives (Virginia Vale), whose father started the original vigilante group.

While not quite at the same level as O'Brien's creative and well-written THE MARSHAL OF MESA CITY (1939), LEGION OF THE LAWLESS is still a very good, entertaining "B" Western which I found fun to watch. The plot may sound standard issue, but O'Brien's intelligence and attitude raise the film to a higher level.

It's not simply that O'Brien is playing a lawyer who also happens to be strong and good with a gun, but it's O'Brien's thoughtful approach to the material that makes the difference. He comes across as a smart man who is always strategizing a step ahead. He is slow to anger, tolerantly amused by villains' idiocy for a time, yet ready to be the first to step in and act to correct injustice.

O'Brien also seems to be having a very good time; the laughter he shares with his frequent costar, Virginia Vale, is infectious. The viewer feels that both the character and O'Brien the actor are enjoying life, and that's a very attractive quality.

LEGION OF THE LAWLESS was directed by David Howard. The cinematography was by Harry J. Wild, whose credits included titles such as STATION WEST (1948) and PITFALL (1948).

The supporting cast includes Herbert Haywood, Norman Willis, Hugh Sothern, Mary Field, and Delmar Watson. The film runs 59 minutes.

LEGION OF THE LAWLESS is available in a three-film DVD set from the Warner Archive along with THE MARSHAL OF MESA CITY (1939) and TRIPLE JUSTICE (1940).

The DVD can be rented from ClassicFlix.

LEGION OF THE LAWLESS is also shown from time to time on Turner Classic Movies.

Around the Blogosphere This Week

Miscellaneous bits of news and fun stuff from around the Internet...

...I'm very excited about the new, revised version of JOEL MCCREA: A FILM HISTORY. This book by Tony Thomas, originally published over two decades ago, has a new forward by Joel McCrea's grandson Wyatt, who has also added many new photos. The book looks to be excellent, based on a preview via Amazon's "Look Inside" feature. This is a "must" purchase for fans of Joel McCrea and Westerns.

...Speaking of film books, Raquel is celebrating her 6th Bloggiversary by hosting a "Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge" at Out of the Past. The challenge is to read and post reviews of six film-related books by mid-September. I hope to participate and read and review more film books this summer, even if I don't end up making it to six! We'll see how I do. :) Visit Raquel's blog for details. And heartiest congratulations to someone who is not only a wonderful classic film blogger but a lovely person inside and out.

...Aubyn of The Girl With the White Parasol is hosting a Barbara Stanwyck Blogathon next month. She already has a very impressive list of contributors signed up! Visit her blog for all the details. I've had such a busy spring, I regret not being able to be as active with blogathons so far this year, but hopefully in the months to come!

...Java's Journey suggested 13 films suitable for watching on Father's Day. A good list to bookmark and save for next year -- or watch them anytime!

...Earlier today Ben Mankiewicz teamed with his father Frank to host a Father's Day lineup on Turner Classic Movies. Atlanta Magazine published an enjoyable interview with the two men about the event.

...Paul reviews the new Superman movie MAN OF STEEL (2013) at Lasso the Movies. Some of my family members saw this today and liked it, though their reaction seemed fairly muted. I'm intrigued by the cast, including Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, and Russell Crowe; I'll probably Netflix it down the road.

...Here's the latest Watch List at Greenbriar Picture Shows. I loved this review of the Rock Hudson-Julie Adams-Anne Baxter Universal film ONE DESIRE (1955): "You near-expect to see commissary-bound Jeff Chandler or Mara Corday pass Rock and Julie emoting on the backlot, or maybe John Agar in adjacent pursuit of oversize Tarantula."

...Toby's started a new occasional series, "Character Actor of the Day," at 50 Westerns From the 50s. First up: the great Frank Ferguson.

...Royalty Watch: The Daily Mail has marvelous photographs of yesterday's Trooping the Color ceremony, which officially celebrates the Queen's birthday. There are some wonderful shots of London.

...Amazon is expanding its grocery delivery service in the Los Angeles area. (Does anyone else miss Home Grocer? That was a great online delivery service which was sadly short-lived.)

...The recent Warner Archive release THE BOY FROM OKLAHOMA (1954) sounds like my kind of movie. Matt Hinrichs has reviewed it at DVD Talk. It's a Western starring Will Rogers Jr. and the always-delightful Nancy Olson, directed by Michael Curtiz.

...Great photos of a different sort: There are some delightful shots of Esther Williams and furry friends over the years posted at Noir and Chick Flicks.

...At Movie Star Makeover, Kay muses on using Esther Williams as a role model for living a more active life. Her post is illustrated with more wonderful photos of Esther.

...And John DiLeo pays tribute to Esther at Screen Savers. He refers to one of my favorite Esther Williams movies, DUCHESS OF IDAHO (1950), as "a quintessential Esther Williams picture."

...This new book might be interesting: THE ASTRONAUT WIVES CLUB by Lily Koppel. Yahoo posted a story on the book last week.

...Vienna recently had the chance to see REPEAT PERFORMANCE (1947), a film I very much enjoyed this spring thanks to screenings at UCLA and the Noir City Festival. The movie has a marvelous cast and a well-constructed, atmospheric story. Like Vienna, I'd love to see it come out on DVD!

...Kevin recounted his experience seeing Maureen O'Hara at last month's John Wayne Birthday Celebration in Winterset, Iowa. Head over to Kevin's Movie Corner for his report.

...Jessica celebrated Father's Day with a tribute to her dad at Comet Over Hollywood.

Have a great week!

Tonight's Movie: Pushover (1954)

It's been a weekend of highly enjoyable '50s Columbia noir, starting with NIGHTFALL (1957) and then moving on to 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE (1955) and THE BROTHERS RICO (1957).

Tonight I watched PUSHOVER, a very entertaining film with brand-new star Kim Novak, billed as "Introducing..." Novak plays a femme fatale who entices a cop (Fred MacMurray) to go bad.

Novak plays Lona, a bank robber's girlfriend. She's initially contacted by Detective Paul Sheridan (MacMurray) while the police are looking for the robber, but Sheridan soon finds himself falling for Lona, hard. (Shortly after they meet he asks "Your place or mine?" and she purrs "Surprise me.") Lona suggests that when her boyfriend turns up, maybe she and Paul could take off with his bag of money themselves instead of turning it over to the police. Paul tries to put the idea out of his mind but can't resist Lona...in other words, he's a PUSHOVER.

MacMurray is back in DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944) territory as a fatalistic sap who falls so hard for a woman that he's willing to do the wrong thing, no matter how bad things get, and they get pretty bad, with a body count starting to pile up.

Things go from bad to worse for Paul when the cute nurse, Ann (Dorothy Malone), who lives next door to Lona sees Paul in the wrong place at the wrong time, endangering his entire plan.

MacMurray is convincing as the increasingly desperate and sweaty Paul, who's in deeper and deeper, as his colleagues, including Police Lt. Eckstrom (E.G. Marshall), start to grow a bit suspicious of his odd behavior. Novak is likewise perfect as the woman luring Paul to his doom.

With Lona and Paul apparently headed for the slammer, or worse, the viewer instead roots for Ann and the tall, handsome police detective Rick McAllister (Phil Carey), who comes to her rescue when she's hit on by a masher (Paul Picerni) who won't go home. Rick announces early on in the film that he'd like to get married if he can find an honest woman, and as he stakes out Lona he also can't help repeatedly noticing Ann. Rick and Ann are a cute couple; if I were Ann, I'd fall for Rick too! He gets a chance to be Ann's knight in shining armor again at film's end.

The good screenplay was by Roy Huggins of MAVERICK and THE ROCKFORD FILES fame. The movie was directed by actor-turned-director Richard Quine, with black and white cinematography by Lester White. The film runs 88 minutes.

PUSHOVER is available on DVD in the Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II Collection. PUSHOVER can be rented from Netflix or ClassicFlix.

It also had a release on VHS.

PUSHOVER was another enjoyable movie in a very good movie viewing weekend. Recommended as solid entertainment.

Tonight's Movie: The Brothers Rico (1957)

THE BROTHERS RICO is an engrossing mob drama directed by Phil Karlson. It stars one of the great kings of film noir, Richard Conte.

THE BROTHERS RICO was based on a novel of the same name by Georges Simenon. It tells the story of Eddie Rico (Conte), a one-time mob accountant who has spent a decade living a clean life as a Florida businessman. Eddie and his adoring young wife, Alice (Dianne Foster), are making plans to adopt a baby.

Things go south for Eddie when his brother Gino (Paul Picerni) shows up in town with two pieces of bad news: Gino had carried out a mob hit and is now a murderer, and Gino also fears the mob is out to get him and their youngest brother, Johnny (James Darren).

Eddie has trouble believing the mob would want to kill his own brothers, and, to his ultimate regret, he trusts top mafioso Sid Kubik (Larry Gates) when Kubik tells Eddie he wants him to find Johnny and get him out of the country for his own safety.

This is a terrific drama, with Conte in virtually every scene. The movie initially sells the viewer that Eddie is truly a good man, with charming and steamy love scenes with his beautiful, trusting wife. Just as the movie starts, Eddie receives an unwelcome call from his past, and the movie follows Eddie along on the journey as he learns the painful lesson that the man he has always trusted -- a man whose life was saved by Eddie's own mother (Argentina Brunetti) -- has turned on the Rico family. Conte, as always, is outstanding.

Modern-day filmmakers could learn a lot from this film. There's no skin shown, yet some of the moments with Eddie and his wife are undeniably hot, as the actors and director manage to communicate quite a lot to the audience about the couple's romantic relationship.

Likewise, there's no blood, other than a beating, yet the film contains moments which are both terrifying and disturbing. (Spoiler alert.) Eddie's kid brother walking out to his doom in order to save his wife (Kathryn Grant) and child, while Eddie is forced to wait in a hotel room with a pair of hoods (Harry Bellaver and Rudy Bond), is a sequence that's not easily forgotten. Filmmakers who want to show everything too often mistake laziness for frankness, taking the easy way out instead of being creative. One more body lying in a pool of blood is easily forgotten, while Johnny's brave, agonizing walk to his death is not.

Some reviewers find the film's ending too upbeat, but honestly, there's enough tragedy in the film as it is. I don't think I would have felt as good about the movie if it had ended on a downer note, and the ending is believable and makes sense. Indeed, there's some wonderful poetic justice as Mama Rico plays a significant role in Eddie's final battle with Kubik.

The film was shot in a stark black and white by Burnett Guffey. The film lacks the gleaming black and white noir beauty of a film like Guffey's own NIGHTFALL (1957), released the same year. There's an interesting introduction by director Martin Scorsese on the DVD in which he discusses the rather dull, flat black and white look of some late '50s films and the possible reasons behind it, including the filmmakers anticipating future TV runs.

The supporting cast also includes Lamont Johnson, perhaps better known as a director, and child actress Mimi Gibson (THE OKLAHOMAN, HOUSEBOAT). The film runs 92 minutes.

This movie is available on DVD in the Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II collection. It can be rented from ClassicFlix or Netflix.

THE BROTHERS RICO is an interesting, satisfying film. Recommended.

A Visit to Monument Valley: Part Two

Time for another look back at our recent visit to Goulding's Lodge and Monument Valley! For those who missed it, Part One is here.

One of my all-time favorite movies, John Ford's SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949), was filmed at Goulding's Lodge, along with the beautiful valley itself.

Here's one of my favorite publicity shots of the YELLOW RIBBON cast, with John Wayne, Harry Carey Jr., Ben Johnson, George O'Brien, and John Agar:

Wayne plays Captain Nathan Brittles, who is about to retire from the U.S. Army. For the exterior shots of Captain Brittles' rough-hewn quarters at a Western fort, Goulding's "potato cellar" was used. Vegetables for the lodge restaurant were stored in this small, dark facility.

Today an identifying sign has been added to the door, but otherwise the building remains pretty much as it was seen in the movie:

Here's a screen shot for comparison:

The above shot was borrowed from an excellent post on Monument Valley at The Terrible Catsafterme, which I encourage my readers to visit.

The Brittles cabin interiors were shot in Hollywood, but a mockup of what the inside might have looked like fills a portion of the room:

There's also a gallery of photos from the movie inside the cabin, including these:

 

Click any photo to enlarge for a closer look.

Goulding's Museum is in the original trading post building:

The museum contains many stills and posters, along with some memorabilia, such as Joanne Dru's costume from SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON:

And a call sheet for CHEYENNE AUTUMN (1964):

This is a photograph of the original dining room, which doubled as the saloon in SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON:

This building no longer exists. A photograph of the exterior of the present-day dining room is in Part One.

Below is a scene-by-scene breakdown sheet planning the locations for MGM's BILLY THE KID (1941), which starred Robert Taylor:

The museum is a fairly short but important stop for anyone visiting Monument Valley.

One more shot of the YELLOW RIBBON cast!

A final post, in the near future, will focus on the valley's beautiful scenery.

Previously: A Visit to Monument Valley: Part One.

Tonight's Movie: 5 Against the House (1955)

5 AGAINST THE HOUSE is an enjoyable caper film directed by Phil Karlson. I particularly liked Guy Madison, Kim Novak, and the movie's interesting locations, but a plot which increasingly strained credulity left the movie limping along to its conclusion.

Madison and Brian Keith play Al and Brick, Korean War vets attending "Midwestern University." While the more mature Al is planning to graduate from law school and marry his beautiful girlfriend Kay (Kim Novak), Brick has mental issues as a result of his wartime service.

Al and Brick's friend Ronnie (Kerwin Matthews) seems to have psychological issues himself; a spoiled rich kid, the only thing he can think of to assuage his boredom is to plan a heist of Harolds Club in Reno! Since Ronnie doesn't need the money, he plans to give it back, somehow figuring that then there will have been no crime committed (?!).

Smartaleck Roy (Alvy Moore of SUSAN SLEPT HERE) goes along with Ronnie to get along, while Brick makes plans to go through with the holdup for real. Al is kept in the dark; he thinks he and Kay are going to Reno to get married, not realizing that Brick and Ronnie are going to attempt to force his cooperation in the plot.

There's quite a bit I liked about this movie. Madison and Novak generate real heat as the lovebirds, and the locations were fun. Midwestern University was actually the University of Nevada at Reno, the location of several other movies previously reviewed here, including MARGIE (1946), APARTMENT FOR PEGGY (1948), and MOTHER IS A FRESHMAN (1949).

I also enjoyed the shots of downtown Reno, which I visited in 2008. I was particularly fascinated by what I later learned was known as the "pigeonhole parking" for Harolds Club, where an elevator lifts cars up to various levels and rolls them into slots. There's more information about both the parking garage and the Reno college campus in this article.

The movie ultimately had too many weaknesses for me to buy into the storyline. (Spoiler alert, those who don't want details should stop reading here.) It was understandable Al was loyal to Brick, who saved his life during the war, but it got a bit hard to believe the mature Al had the patience to deal with Ronnie and Roy on a daily basis; for instance, Roy delights in tormenting a freshman, played by Jack Dimond.

William Conrad does a good job as the nervous money man at the casino, but the guys using a tape recorder to make him believe there's a man with a gun inside the money cart? Okaaaay.

I also found it hard to believe that Al couldn't manage to make a run from the crime scene, since Kay wasn't in danger there, and had trouble believing he was just trying to keep people from being hurt by Brick. I think Al had alternatives, but if he'd taken them there would have been a lot less story! Fortunately Kay had her wits about her and did the right thing.

And most strangely, the police seemed unbelievably forgiving...

Complaints aside, there was enough in the movie I liked that I was glad I saw it, and it certainly wasn't boring, just a little silly.

Among the coauthors of the 5 AGAINST THE HOUSE screenplay were Stirling Silliphant, who wrote last night's movie NIGHTFALL (1957), and William Bowers, who wrote sharp dialogue for numerous films including CRY DANGER (1951).

The cast includes Jean Willes (wasted in a small role as a casino patron who flirts with Brian Keith) and Kathryn Grant, later Mrs. Bing Crosby.

Kim Novak's singing was dubbed by Jo Ann Greer. In an interesting twist, just two years later Greer dubbed Rita Hayworth in PAL JOEY (1957), while Novak's singing in that same film was dubbed by Trudy Stevens.

5 AGAINST THE HOUSE is on DVD as part of the five-film Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics I Collection. It can also be purchased as a single title from the Sony Choice "MOD" program.

This film can be rented from Netflix or ClassicFlix.

5 AGAINST THE HOUSE will next be shown on Turner Classic Movies on July 31, 2013. The trailer is available on the TCM website.

Book Review: Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond

Over the past month I've had the pleasure of reading the new film history THREE BAD MEN: JOHN FORD, JOHN WAYNE, WARD BOND. This book by Scott Allen Nollen is an engaging and informative look at the intersecting lives and careers of three closely linked movie greats.

A quick glance at my bookshelves leads me to guess that more film books have been written on John Ford than any other director. Nollen thus had an enormous amount of previous history to wade through, and in THREE BAD MEN he does an excellent job synthesizing his considerable original research -- which is particularly informative on Ward Bond -- with information gleaned from previously published histories such as Dobe Carey's important record COMPANY OF HEROES. In addition to his primary source research on Ward Bond, Nollen interviewed or corresponded with Ford actors such as Anna Lee and Henry Brandon.

Given my love for Bond -- who I listed along with Wayne as one of my 20 Favorite Actors a few years ago -- THREE BAD MEN is particularly valuable for its chronicle of the evolution of Bond's career, as well as providing insights into his personal life.

I especially enjoyed the quotes from letters Bond wrote to his parents early in his film career, when he was juggling work in "pictures" with his studies and football at the University of Southern California. (The wealth of quotes from correspondence in the book caused me to wonder about the history we are losing due to the disappearance of the letter!) Following Bond's journey through countless bit parts and character roles to become a highly respected acting professional, as well as understanding how the Ford/Wayne films fit in the context of his career, is one of the book's biggest pleasures.

Nollen simultaneously juggles the history of Wayne and Ford's lives and careers, and for the most part he does this successfully, though occasionally I found myself having a bit of trouble following the timeline as it jumped forward and backward and between the three men. For instance, a quote by Bill Clinton on Wayne might have been better left to a closing chapter, as it seems dropped out of nowhere in an early chapter on Wayne's evolving career and the film persona he created.

Along these lines, I think the sprawling story could have been tightened up if the author had let the facts speak for themselves and steered away from framing topics such as politics from his own point of view, instead allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. The facts in Nollen's exhaustively researched volume stand on their own as immensely interesting reading and important film history.

The three men profiled in the book were, like everyone else, flawed human beings, leading Nollen to reuse one of Ford's movie titles as the title of his book. Indeed, it's a miracle Ford's liver, in particular, survived as long as it did. At the same time, of course, these were fascinating men of genius and immense talent, who understandably led the author to devote years to research and writing, with the end result being a most valuable volume which presents rounded portraits of its subjects.

There are many great stories recounted in the book; my already considerable estimation of Robert Montgomery grew when I learned that during the making of THEY WERE EXPENDABLE (1945) he refused to put up with Ford's usual insulting of Wayne, walking over and telling Ford "Don't you ever speak like that to anyone again." Ford teared up and backed down -- and promoted Montgomery to serve as director when he was hospitalized. It makes one wonder what might have happened if more cast and crew members hadn't enabled Ford's legendary obnoxious behavior, but such was the price many were willing to pay to appear in Ford's films.

As an aside, I was glad that Nollen appreciated one of my favorite relatively little-known Westerns, A MAN ALONE (1955), in which Bond had a major role. Nollen praises actor-director Ray Milland in his brief comments, and the book includes a fantastic photo of the movie's cast and crew which I'd never seen before.

Since I'm someone who revels in details, I really appreciated the book's appendixes, including a listing of all Ford's films with either Wayne or Bond, and another list of all Bond's film and TV credits. I especially appreciated the inclusion of production dates.

This softcover book is 398 pages including all of the appendixes and the index. It contains numerous well-reproduced photographs.

THREE BAD MEN is available from the website of the publisher, McFarland, or at their phone order line (800-253-2187).

Additional sellers include Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Amazon also sells THREE BAD MEN in a Kindle edition.

For additional reviews of this book from two experts on Western films, please visit Toby at 50 Westerns From the 50s and Colin at Riding the High Country.

THREE BAD MEN is a "must" addition to the library for anyone interested in Ford, Wayne, and Bond. My thanks to Scott Nollen and McFarland for providing a review copy of this very enjoyable and interesting book.

Tonight's Movie: Nightfall (1957)

NIGHTFALL (1957) was one of the movies introduced by the Film Noir Foundation's Eddie Muller while hosting TCM's Friday Night Spotlight series this evening.

I'd never seen NIGHTFALL before, and it was a hit with me starting with the gorgeous opening credits, especially as the film unexpectedly proved to be a treasure trove of familiar locations.

The movie starts out with Jim Vanning (Aldo Ray) browsing at a newsstand and being startled as the lights of nearby businesses go on for the evening. The newsstand, at least from some angles, appears to be the newsstand which is located on Las Palmas next to the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood; the same newsstand is seen in GUN CRAZY (1950). The location would seem to be confirmed as the neon lights of Miceli's Italian Restaurant go on; Miceli's is located immediately across the street from the newsstand. Robby just wrote about Miceli's recently at Dear Old Hollywood.

Jim chats with a mysterious man (James Gregory), meets a brunette (Anne Bancroft) while sitting at a bar, and then is accosted by two scary-looking men (Brian Keith and Rudy Bond). The men drive Jim to a deserted oil field where they threaten him with torture and death if he doesn't tell them the location of a bag with $350,000. Gradually, via a series of flashbacks which alternate with current-day sequences, Jim's predicament becomes clear.

This was a terrific movie, directed by Jacques Tourneur of OUT OF THE PAST (1947). Early on I started musing that the film's Wyoming setting looked an awful lot like California's Eastern High Sierras; I should have made the Tourneur connection immediately, as that's where Tourneur shot OUT OF THE PAST a decade earlier.

Late in the film, when Jim talks with Ben (Gregory) near what is said to be a church, I thought, "I could swear that's the schoolhouse in Bridgeport back when it was located on School Street." The schoolhouse was moved to the town park in the '60s and is now the Mono County Museum.

Thanks to the fantastic movie location blog The Great Silence, my hunch was confirmed; this screen shot of the schoolhouse is taken from The Great Silence, and I highly recommend clicking over and visiting that blog. There's a whole series of posts there on NIGHTFALL locations; it turns out that the key murder in the film takes place at Upper Twin Lake outside of Bridgeport, where Robert Mitchum is seen fishing early in OUT OF THE PAST. (For more on the OUT OF THE PAST locations, please visit my photo post Out of the Past in Bridgeport, California, which was later adapted into an article for the Dark Pages film noir newsletter.) Given how much I love Bridgeport, seeing it onscreen really made the movie for me -- but beyond the locations, it's a darn good film.

The screenplay by Sterling Silliphant is based on a novel by David Goodiss, and it's very well constructed, sliding easily back and forth in time. The relationship between Jim and Marie (Bancroft) develops naturally and believably; he's such a lovable guy that it's easy to believe Marie would be more charmed than disturbed to find herself on the run with him. I really liked Aldo Ray in this; truth to tell, I've never cared for Anne Bancroft, but she does a good job in this and creates an appealing character.

Jim and Marie's story is nicely backstopped with tender home scenes between Ben, who turns out to be an insurance investigator, and his wife Laura (Jocelyn Brando), as he explains his take on the case to her. These scenes are also a clever way to fill in some story gaps and further explain Jim's character, and the narrative shortcuts help keep the film to a brisk 78 minutes.

The film's romance and humor are in stark contrast to a truly disturbing execution-style murder which lets the viewer know that the bad guys mean business and are playing for keeps. Yet despite that, one of the lightest scenes in the movie finds the two baddies stalking Marie at a Robinsons fashion show, a highlight of the movie.

NIGHTFALL ranks with CRIME WAVE (1954) as the most visually interesting and beautifully photographed film I've seen this year. Burnett Guffey's photography of snowy exteriors calls to mind the look of the great ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1952), and there's also wonderful photography around the Los Angeles area. This is one of those movies that is so good-looking that it would be interesting to watch even if the sound were off.

NIGHTFALL is available on DVD in the set Columbia Pictures Film Noir Classics II. It can be rented from Netflix or ClassicFlix.

It also had a release on VHS.

Jacques Tourneur films previously reviewed here at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: CAT PEOPLE (1942), I WALKED WITH A ZOMBIE (1943), THE LEOPARD MAN (1943), EXPERIMENT PERILOUS (1944), CANYON PASSAGE (1946), EASY LIVING (1949), CIRCLE OF DANGER (1951), and STRANGER ON HORSEBACK (1955).

I watch over a couple hundred films annually and enjoy the vast majority of them on various levels, but you just never know when you'll run into a real treat of a movie which is especially enjoyable and memorable. This was one of them.