Barbara Stanwyck stars as the wealthiest and most powerful woman in a Midwestern factory town. However, she shares a dark secret with her unhappy, alcoholic husband played by Kirk Douglas in his film debut. When an old acquaintance comes to town things fall apart. Directed by Lewis Milestone, this 1946 film also stars Van Heflin and Lizabeth Scott. 116 minutes.
This is a four star film. Barbara Stanwyck, whom some critics believe to be the best film actress ever, is at her best, and Kirk Douglas, in his film debut, shows why he would go on to be a huge star. Equally impressive are Van Heflin, and Lizabeth Scott, also in her film debut.
Behind the camera, the crew was also impressive. Director Lewis Milestone. not known for film noir, filmed a taut, suspenseful drama right to the last climactic scene.There is a fine screenplay by Robert Rossen that is matched by the musical score of Miklos Rozsa. Finally, there is the work by Edith Head, the famed costume designer who was Stanwyck's favorite. Eddie Muller's intro to the film shows how clothes can make the woman.
Two hit men drive into a small New Jersey town and gun down a gas station attendant for no apparent reason. An insurance investigator tries to get to the bottom of the story with tragic results. Robert Siodmak directed this 1946 classic based on a story by Ernest Hemingway. Burt Lancaster stars in his film debut along with Ava Gardner and Edmund O’Brien. Charles McGraw and William Conrad play the menacing killers. 103 minutes.
The Killers has been called the Citizen Kane of film noir not only because of its style and film techniques, but also because of its influence on subsequent films. Eddie Muller of Turner Classic Movies Noir Alley regards Robert Siodmak as the best of all noir directors, and cinematographer Woody Bredell as one of the great cameramen, especially in his use of light and shadow. Miklos Rozsa's musical score is also outstanding.
In his film debut Burt Lancaster became an immediate sensation and vaulted into stardom with his portrayal of the doomed boxer. After appearing in a number of mediocre films, the beautiful Ava Gardner also rose to stardom with her portrayal of the femme fatale. The rest of the cast was superb. Edmund O'Brien turned in a fine performance as an insurance investigator, as did Sam Levene as a police detective.
The beginning of this film is a film icon in itself. Charles McGraw and William Conrad are unforgettable as the killers, and their performances set the bar for all the hitmen to come. Here is a link to Eddie Muller's intro to The Killers. ###
The Asphalt Jungle. John Huston directed this 1950 classic heist drama that has often been copied but never equaled. Huston humanized all the characters in this great cast. They are all flawed human beings who in one way or another elicit our sympathy. It is hard for an audience not to hope they will succeed in pulling off the heist.
Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, and Louis Calhern star as the principals in a plot to steal a fortune in jewels. The film also features Jean Hagan and Marilyn Monroe in the role that launched her into stardom. The musical score is by Miklos Rozsa. 112 minutes. CC.
Sterling Hayden portrays one of the classic good bad guys in film history. He is a "hooligan", a menacing street tough barely eking out a living pulling off petty armed robberies, but he has a sense of honor. How can we not pull for him as mortally wounded he tries to make it back to the family horse farm?
Sam Jaffe gives an Oscar nominated performance as a criminal mastermind with an obsession for pretty young women. Louis Calhern is somehow sympathetic playing a crooked attorney who two times his bed ridden wife for an incredibly sexy young woman played stunningly by Marilyn Monroe.
Jean Hagan plays a down and out B-girl who remains faithful to her man right to the end. Two years later she would become immortal playing Lina Lamont, a blonde silent screen star in Singing in the Rain.
Here is a link to the movie trailer that highlights each of these characters. ###
Criss Cross: Burt Lancaster and Yvonne DeCarlo play star-crossed lovers in this 1949 heist drama that critics rank among the top three of all film noir. Robert Siodmak directed this film full of plot twists and turns, excellent cinematography, and a film score by Miklos Rozsa. 84 minutes. CC.
There is a tragic love triangle at the heart of the story. Lancaster is still in love with his beautiful ex-wife, played by DeCarlo, but she has taken up with a smarmy gangster played by Dan Duryea, one of Hollywood’s greatest film villains.
Lancaster gets involved with the gangster, and although the hatred between them is palpable, he agrees to participate in the robbery of an armored car bearing a company payroll. Lancaster, a driver for the armored car company, will be the inside man. As usual the gang members mistrust each other and plan to double cross each other once they get their hands on the loot.
The cast is superb. Lancaster’s character has his flaws, and is engaged in a criminal enterprise, but our hearts go out to him right to the tragic ending. He is tough but his innocence makes him a true tragic hero. Fate is against him.
Apparently, the producers wanted Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth for the female lead, but since neither was available, they settled on DeCarlo. It was a happy accident. I can think of no other actress that could have matched her passion and intensity in this film. Her fiery personality is especially evident in a beautifully photographed Latin dance number performed by her and an uncredited Tony Curtis on a crowded night club floor. No wonder Lancaster could not forget her. It is sad to think that this beautiful actress ended her career playing Mrs. Herman Munster on the TV comedy series, the Munsters.
As always, Dan Duryea is superb as a sleazy, vicious gangster.
In 2004, film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote, "Robert Siodmak ...directs this cynical film noir of obsessive love and betrayal. It's 1940s film noir at its most influential as far as style goes, that is further enhanced by the beautiful dark photography of Frank Planer, the tight script by Daniel Fuchs, and the taut pacing by Siodmak. It's based on a story by Don Tracy...Siodmak keeps the suspense at a feverish pitch, and the characterizations are well drawn out. Criss Cross is one of the great examples of 1940s film noir at its most tragic. A must see film for fans of the genre."
Eddie Muller of Turner Classic Movies (TCM) rated Robert Siodmak as the best director of Film Noir, and called Criss Cross his masterpiece. Clicl on this link for Muller's six minute introduction to the film, or watch the video below.
Note: I would just like to add one more word about the final scene. It seems to me that whoever designed this scene must have had Michelangelo’s famous Pieta in mind. There was a cultural heritage that filmmakers and viewers shared back in Hollywood’s Golden Age, that sadly is no more.
