Crime Wave

Crime Wave. Sterling Hayden plays a hard-boiled cop who is sure that a parolee is not going straight after a series of hold-ups. Gene Nelson and Phyllis Kirk also star as the parolee and his wife in this 1954 drama set in the mean streets of LA. A young Charles Bronson, then acting under the name Charles Buchinsky, appears as one of the gang members. 74 minutes. CC. 

Andre de Toth directed this film in realistic fashion. Much of it was shot outdoors and it is hard to imagine the streets of mid-twentieth century LA depicted any better. He also avoided big name stars and the cast looks like ordinary Americans. Sterling Hayden played a criminal in noir classics like The Killing, and The Asphalt Jungle but here he is equally fine as a jaded police detective. Gene Nelson was a song and dance man who is best known for his appearance in the film version of Oklahoma. Phyllis Kirk had previously played only small roles in musicals and light comedies.

For a fine introduction here is a link to the intro by Eddie Muller of TCM's Noir Alley.

Phyllis Kirk and Gene Nelson

Witness to Murder

Barbara Stanwyck stars in this 1954 film noir as a woman fighting to convince police that one night she woke and saw a young woman being strangled in an apartment across the street. When a body cannot be found, the police suspect that she has either been dreaming or out of her mind. George Sanders and Gary Merrill co-star. 83 minutes. No subtitles.

Stanwyck could play a woman in danger as none other, and Sanders was one of the era's great villains. Made toward the end of the black and white film noir era, this film from it's start in a dark, windswept LA street to its exciting finale, provides a fine example of the lighting and cinematography of John Alton, one of the great masters of Hollywood's Golden Age. 

Here is a link to a fine intro by Eddie Muller of TCM's Noir alley. ###

Barbara Stanwyck

   

Drive a Crooked Road

Drive a Crooked Road. Mickey Rooney plays an innocent mechanic and amateur race car driver who gets involved with a gang of bank robbers in this 1954 film noir directed by his good friend, Richard Quine.

Late in his career Rooney turned to serious dramatic roles and this is one of his best performances. Diane Foster plays the irresistible femme fatale who lures him on. Kevin MacCarthy and Jack Kelly play the bad guys. 83 minutes. No captions.

During the late 1930s and early 1940s, the diminutive Mickey Rooney was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood. He is best remembered for playing teenager Andy Hardy in an extremely popular series of films, and for the MGM musicals where he was paired with MGM’s other great teen star, Judy Garland. In these light comedies and musicals Rooney, who had been in show business since early childhood, demonstrated that he was an extremely talented performer and musician. A good example can be seen in Strike Up the Band where Rooney appeared as a leader of a teen age band hoping to make it big. His “Drummer Boy” number where he plays both the drums, and a xylophone is truly iconic. Click on this link. 

Mickey Rooney and Diane Foster

Pushover

Pushover: Fred MacMurray plays a police detective who falls for the gangster’s moll that he has under surveillance. This 1954 film also features Kim Novak in her film debut. It is easy to see why Novak went on to be a big star. Phil Carey and Dorothy Malone also appear in supporting roles. CC. 88 minutes.

Richard Quine directed this film that critics call a "voyeur" film in which two policemen spy on two women living in separate apartments across a courtyard. Each of them falls in love with the object of their attention.

Fred MacMurray and Kim Novak

Coincidentally, Pushover was released August 1954, the same month as Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock's technicolor, voyeur classic. In both films people did not seem to bother with drawing their shades.  

Here is a link to Eddie Muller's introduction to Pushover on TCM's Noir Alley. Or view it below.

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Human Desire

Human Desire. Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame star in this powerful 1954 drama of love, lust, and greed. Ford plays a Korean war veteran who returns to his job on the railroad but gets involved with the boss’s wife, played by sultry Grahame. Broderick Crawford plays the boss. Directed by Fritz Lang and filmed in stark black and white by Burnett Guffey, the pace of the film never lets up.  

Maybe I just like trains but the opening credits featuring a speeding locomotive get you immediately into the film. Gloria Grahame gives one of her best performances. As in most of her film noir appearances she is more a victim than a femme fatale despite the lurid movie poster.

Grahame made her first big splash in 1946 playing Violet Biggs, Donna Reed's rival for Jimmy Stewart's affection, in Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life. She went on to star in classic film noirs like The Big Heat, also with Glenn Ford, and In a Lonely Place with Humphrey Bogart. She won an Oscar for her performance in The Bad and the Beautiful, and even played Ado Annie in the film version of Oklahoma.

Gloria Grahame and Glenn Ford

I could not find a good video review of this film, but the complete film, with the stunning opening, is available on Youtube.The film is based on a novel by nineteenth century French author Emile Zola. 91 minutes, CC. Click on this link for the opening credit sequence.

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