The Heist

"Timing is everything."

In all heist films, time is the key factor in pulling off a successful heist. However, NOTHING ever goes according to plan as is evident not only in heist films but also in life. I teach literature at a local college. I have mapped out everything for myself and students. Of course, there are always changes as the quarter progresses, and I find that my plans are always crossed out, reorganized, rescheduled, etc. So when going into a heist film, expect failure.

 Someone mentioned that the heist itself is a MacGuffin. I couldn't agree more. It's not so much the time that is important, but human frailties. Usually the most minute act is the one domino that pushes all others and advances the plot into a tailspin. Other times it's just a bad decision. Additionally, it's the planning and the character backgrounds that makes the plot that more interesting. These criminals are not your street thieves; they have families, live normal lives, they're highly intelligent. They just prefer to work outside the scope of the law. They also have a moral code. Generally, they don't take innocent lives. I keep thinking about Reservoir Dogs when Mr. Pink and Mr. White converse about killing people

• Mr. Pink: Did you kill anybody?
• Mr. White: A few cops.
• Mr. Pink: No real people?
• Mr. White: Just cops.

I also consider Heat when DeNiro and his crew are irate at the one psychopath (Slick) who needlessly killed an armor truck driver. Contrast this with law enforcement, they are usually portrayed as careless with very little moral values. I think most of the time, how films noir negatively portray law enforcement is usually quite accurate. I may be a little bias here, but I have a high distrust of law enforcement (even my uncles who were corrections officers and a sheriff who lived across the street from me had nothing but disdain for city police). But I digress... Generally, the heist film is more a look at the human condition than the heist act itself. It's also an observation of human response when nothing goes according to plan.

To be continued...

I Wake Up Dreaming Night 4

Due to my having an interview at one of the Bay Area's fine universities (keep those fingers crossed for a hire), I wasn't able to make the August 27th showing of I Wake Up Dreaming. However, I did watch one of the featured films that was available on Netflix.

This was a rather good film, but it definitely had a strong resemblance to another film released that same year. None other than Alfred Hitchcock's (and my all time favorite Hitch film) Rear Window. As a consequence, this film noir probably didn't receive the accolades it deserves.

Just like James Stewart's character, Jeffries.

As in most films noir, there is no slow build up to the action. It happens right away as Barbara Stanwyck (Cheryl) wakes to shut her windows on a windy night only to witness a murder in progress. Before the police arrive to investigate, the murderer hides the body and later convinces the police that he had been in bed all night. The police return to Cheryl's apartment and convince her that what she witnessed was in fact a dream. The rest of the film is her convincing the authorities that she is telling the truth all the while being told that she could be experiencing some type of psychosis. The irony is that the police believe and accept the word of an ex-Nazi over an upstanding citizen.

Witness has a good storyline but I can't help but be peeved with the belief that women's intuition is nothing but a myth (also a similarity found in Rear Window) and no matter how intelligent and independent a woman is, it only takes the word of a man to discredit her. Of course, the film is expressing a hard truth. Even today, men can be intimidated by independent women. But this type of storytelling fits noir style:

• Urban Location - Los Angeles
• Investigators  and Sleuths
• Alienation
• Murder

Witness to Murder  has all the technical elements of a film noir. The cinematography is outstanding with its:

Chiaroscuro

Deep Focus, Imbalanced

Strong Diagonals

Smoking and Extreme Close-ups

High Angles

Despite its status as a B-movie, had Rear Window not been released within weeks of this film's opening, it may have done better especially with Barbara Stanwyck's incredible acting.

Next Thursday is the final night of the I Wake Up Dreaming noir festival. Unfortunately, I will not be in attendance since it is Labor Day Weekend, and I will be in Los Angeles for the Camp Hollywood Swing Dance festival. The festival's selections were enjoyable and I look forward to next year's showcase.

I Wake Up Dreaming Night 3

This week's selection was billed as a Sex and Violence Double Feature.

Inside Detroit opened as a type of documentary focusing on the violence, corruption and labor racketeering within workers unions. Filmed on location in Motor City, two men square off to take control of the United Auto Workers union; one of them an honest, law abiding auto worker and the other a wealthy ex-con fresh out of prison for corruption. Inside Detroit reminded me a bit of On the Waterfront with its focus on union organization.

Had I seen this film three months ago, I would've doubted its noir credentials. However, after taking the investigating film noir course, I can see the elements that justify it as a true film noir. This film is an example of cinematic realism as it begins with a news commentator John Cameron Swayze (a real news journalist playing himself) introducing the story. The film then cuts to an aerial view of downtown Detroit as Swayze continues his commentary as voice over.

The archetypal noir plot devices are there: The hard-boiled hero (Vickers), mob boss (Gus), femme fatale (Joni) and the good girl (Barbara). In the case of the femme fatale, Joni carried on two love affairs; one with Gus and the other his son, Gregg. I thought that was kind of gross. Bleh. Most of the story focused on Vickers avenging his brother's murder and persuading Gus's adult children to see that their father truly was a bad guy. It wasn't until Barbara was in a near fatal car accident when she accepts the truth. Nice little fact: the actress who plays Barbara is Sally Field's mother.

At times, the film had its amusing elements particularly when the narrator kept commenting about how great Detroit is and how it could never fall to corruption or deteriorate. Of course today we know the truth.

Now, who wouldn't love a B-movie called Guns Girls and Gangsters? I knew this would be a fun treat. Mamie Van Doren was our femme fatale with a conscience. She was quite talented as both singer and dancer and far more beautiful than Marilyn Monroe. 

This is your typical heist film that focuses most on the research and planning to pull of a successful score. But remember, things don't always go according to plan. Something always gets thrown in the gears resulting in catastrophic results. This was actually a well acted, well made film. This was a technically sound film noir with shadows, chiaroscuro and off-setting POV shots. The short scenes and quick takes create the tension particularly during the heist itself.

I thought it was better than some A list films in the film noir movement. But this film was made/released at the end of its reign in 1959 and it somewhat borders on exploitation. 

Until next week...

I Wake Up Dreaming Night 2

This week's programming showcased a triple-feature. Chinatown at Midnight, Dangerous Blondes and Mysterious Intruder. Unfortunately, due to my teaching schedule, I was unable to make the first film. I would have loved to have seen it as it was set in San Francisco's Chinatown. I always enjoying watching classic films set in San Francisco. Nonetheless, I was entertained by the remaining two films.

Dangerous Blondes was billed as a 1943 Film Noir Comedy. That's quite a contradiction considering the serious/dramatic mood of a film noir where as comedy tends to be lighter. I didn't view this as a noir comedy as much I thought of it more as satire. The film noir style was definitely present as though the director was attempting (successfully) to include every technical noir nuance such as:

• High Contrast Chiaroscuro
• Shadows
• Frames
• Mirror/Reflections
• Choker Close-ups
• Angled Shots
• Imbalanced Composition

As for its plot and characterization, the archetypes were there:

• Mounting Body Count
• Investigator
• Thugs
• Dames
• Urban location
• Rain
• Smoking and Drinking

The acting was lighthearted as well as the music composition. The female lead, Evelyn Keyes, exhibited wit and sarcasm to balance her character with her somewhat dimwitted husband.

The highlight for me was Ann Savage's presence. Known best for her femme fatale role in Detour, it was refreshing seeing her in a more campy role even though her character was trying to take herself seriously. Good acting. You just have to love her mourning hat.

Mysterious Intruder: The evening's final film. Now this was a strange one. The film begins with a walking shadow who narrates the film. At first, I thought he was part of the story whose identification would emerge by film's end. Instead, the shadow was just a whistling, omniscient narrator. My friend Annabelle (who met me and another mutual friend at Castro Theatre) were puzzled by this. We felt it unnecessary. Upon research, however, I learned this was part of the "Whistler" series of films (eight total) based off an original radio broadcast. Hence the poster's tagline: "A Whistler Picture".

The film was actually quite good plot wise though incredibly complex. It's the story of a corrupt private investigator hired to find a missing woman who stands to inherit a lost fortune. The elderly gentleman who hired him finally gets a visit from the woman he was searching for before getting 86'd. Then things get weird. The woman was an imposter hired by the investigator. What?

Like the previous film, it had all the technical elements though far darker. The women were quite angular; I'll go so far as to say they were hatchet faces. And those clothes! Their shoulder pads can put out an eye!

The plot continues on a treasure hunt to find this mysterious lost treasure which, of course, results in more murders. The real missing woman finally turns up for a few scenes only to disappear and never to be heard from again. She was more the MacGuffin of this film than the treasure. Despite some of the confusing elements, it was worth watching for the benefit of analyzing the film.

Until next week...

The Dress

When examining the wardrobe of a femme fatale, the most oft picked color is black. 

Consider the following:

Ava Gardner - The Killers

Rita Hayworth - Gilda

Joan Bennet - Scarlet Street

Ann Savage - Detour

Lizbeth Scott - Too Late for Tears

The femme fatale is the antithesis of the damsel in distress or "good woman". She is not without sin but without remorse in her role as man's ruin. Her sexuality is her weapon. Black, then, would be the most appropriate shade for her wardrobe.

Why, then, would costume designers throw the audience for a loop by dressing the femme fatale in white?

Lana Turner - The Postman Always Rings Twice

Jane Greer - Out of the Past

Barbara Stanwyck - Double Indemnity

Yvonne DeCarlo - Criss Cross

With so much focus on the black dresses of femme fatales (or female characters in general), the audience comes to expect the dangerous female as black widow. She can wear no other color, especially not white. White is meant as innocence and purity; certainly not the characteristics of a femme fatale. However, they were once virtuous women who have been scorned. Once those virtues are lost the associative color is black. We see this in Lana Turner's character in Postman

After murdering her husband, she wears black. In Out of the Past, it is the same ideal. Jane Greer's character becomes more volatile and murderous and her wardrobe darkens. In Criss Cross, Yvonne DeCarlo wears both colors throughout the film. On one level she is ruthless, yet there are moments where she can be more damsel in distress. Her character, herself, can't decide which path is the right one.

Femmes Fatale are the most fascinating because their characters are so complex. You want to hate her but you can't help but empathize with her.

Noir Fiction: Nobody Move

Discovery

I have a monthly root touch-up (surprise surprise, I'm not a natural redhead) by this amazing colorist, Rosa. I've been her loyal client for four years. What I love about her (in addition to her talent) is her expansive knowledge of literature and film which we often discuss during the coloring process. She, too, has a love of the classics and will often give me suggestions on what to watch and read. When I informed her of my plans to pursue my PhD in literature with a study on crime/detective fiction and film noir, she suggested that I read Nobody Move.

Original Publication

Author, Denis Johnson originally published this novel as a four part series for Playboy Magazine. Upon my research of the publication, I came across the artwork that accompanied the features. The artist, Jeffrey Smith, accurately depicts the art of noir with his use of chiaroscuro, shadows, depth, angles, and mood.

The Novel

When I first heard the title, I imagined its plot would be law enforcement related with a focus on police procedure and investigation. How wrong I was. The title is taken from a song lyric as mentioned in the novel:

He tried the FM Band. Jamaican rhythms. Somebody sang

Nobody move

Nobody get hurt

-- and he listed carefully to the rest of the song before turning off the radio.

                                                                                               (Johnson 30)

The lyrical reference is a foreshadow of events to come. The novel is in constant movement leaving a trail of blood and bodies.

The plot itself is archetypical noir: Gangsters, Money & Greed, Femme Fatales, Joe Shmoe, Double Crossing, Search & Discovery, Escapes & Hideouts, Murder and the ever present diner scene so often prevalent in many films noir. The question is who will be walking away with their lives and purse strings intact? The setting is unique in that it is away from the big cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco. Rather this story is set in small California towns along highway 99.

As for its literary style, Johnson creates the pace in short sentences during tense situations; for calmer scenes, the sentences are longer and more descriptive. I liken this style to another novelist James Ellroy (whose fiction I've enjoyed for years). The language is often blunt if not foul, but that's what creates the reality of the story. Crime is not pretty and often times, there are no happy endings. The reader must understand that to enjoy this type of fiction, don't expect all things to fall into place for the goodness of humanity. Life doesn't work that way.

I Wake Up Dreaming Night 1

Following the TCM Summer of Darkness festival, I learned about a new (to me) noir fest I Wake Up Dreaming (perhaps a play on the noir title I Wake Up Screaming). Apparently this has been an annual festival since 1991; far longer than the better known Noir City. How the two festivals differ is the selected titles. I Wake Up Dreaming showcases a repertoire of obscure titles where as Noir City presents a selection of A list or a B+ list of films; particularly those that have gone through the restoration process. I Wake Up Dreaming is without all the pomp and circumstance of most film festivals. There are no vendors, no special introductions, no evening galas. Just good films. This year, the festival will run for 5 consecutive Thursdays. Night one was a packed house! Surprising considering it's a Thursday night. On the bill for the evening...

Ride the Pink Horse directed by and starring Robert Montgomery. It's the story of a disillusioned G.I. looking to seek retribution for his friend Shorty's death. Set in a small New Mexico town, the location provides a less conventional noir setting, yet it works for the "out of place" feeling so evident in many films noir; unfamiliarity, claustrophobic crowds, strange faces.

So Dark the Night was cast with unknown actors. At only 71 minutes, this had to be one of those B films that opened for the headliner. It follows the noir aspects in that we have another displaced individual who finds himself in unusual circumstances. A Parisian detective on a long overdue holiday falls in love with the innkeeper's daughter, who later turns up dead. The plot was somewhat predictable and I was not the least bit surprised by the outcome. In fact, I had it figured out before the first clue. Still, though, it had great technical aspects of the chiaroscuro lighting, the panning, the close-ups. Good little film. Until next week...

Noir Style

Awww Gilda. My all-time favorite film and the very reason why I love film noir. Rita Hayworth is also my favorite actress; she is the very reason I became a redhead (like Rita, I'm a natural brunette). This performance in particular is also my favorite both as a dance/striptease routine and song. It never gets old for me. At the time of this film's release, this was a very risqué performance, but it defined Rita's status as a sex symbol.

Analysis:

Gilda was not necessarily a femme fatale in this film; she was more a woman scorned. I've always seen Johnny Farrell more as the male fatale who projected this onto Gilda. Hence the song choice, Put the Blame on Mame. While he is the one essentially making trouble in their relationship by his callous emotional abuse, she is the one punished for his misdeeds. So she willfully accepts this role, but in doing so, she will bring Johnny down with her. The performance is more about her embarrassing Johnny publicly. And on a deeper level, she is highlighting the fact that she is the fall guy for Johnny's problems. Later, when he slaps her, it's not necessarily because of her performance, it's because she made a mockery of him; a mockery that HE is responsible for.

During the Golden Age of Cinema, performance music was less a backdrop of a scene and more of an integral part of the film to pay close attention to as it was very revealing about characterization, theme and foreshadowing events. It advanced the story more than timed-out.

The first scene in The Killers has the Nighthawks vibe where we first observe the diner encounter from the outside just as in Hopper's painting. We then move inside to witness the interaction between service staff and customers. 

As we watch Nick run through the backlots to the Swede's apartment, we can see Lang's influence on some technical aspects of the shot. For example, the crane shot looking from an angle over Nick as he approaches the apartment. This mirrors the chase seen in M. At the Swede's apartment, the scene is nearly identical to Ministry of Fear. The only source of light comes from the hallway. The Swede's face remains covered much as Stephen's is before his release from the asylum. Both rooms are overtly dark to create the chiaroscuro and shadows. 

Nick escapes a chaotic event in the diner to a more quiet and reflective setting at the apartment.The overall mood seems to be one of serenity and/or acceptance of the Swede's fate as he is very ho-hum about his impending doom.

Many films noir have the gangster narrative especially when a heist is pending. We see similar structures in films such as Asphalt Jungle, Du Rififi Chez le Hommes, Kansas City Confidential, Reservoir Dogs, Heat that utilize the same visual appeal as in this film particularly with a diner.

Summer of Darkness: King Brothers Production

This week's spotlight was the films by King Brothers Production. It was a small company that made its start as a manufacturer of film projectors before moving on to producing films. Their films tended to be low budget b-movie. It scored a hit in 1945's Dillinger starring Laurence Tierney; a biopic about the life and crimes of John Dillinger. The brothers produced a string of films noir in the years following until the early 60s. TCM aired The Gangster, Gun Crazy, and Tomorrow is Another Day.

Of the three King Brothers Production films, the ones that struck me most were Gun Crazy and Tomorrow is Another Day. I noticed similar themes between the two films that I wonder if it's more of a social commentary and/or exploration of the crime/punishment of juveniles. Both protagonists committed crimes and the iron fist of justice came down on hard on each of them with zero regard for mitigating factors or the character witness testimonies to support the accused. Punishment seemed to be in the interest of justice more than rehabilitation of criminals. Call me a liberal (I'm a card carrying Green Party member), but I do believe people make mistakes and not everyone who serves time is a cold and callous criminal. (Of course I do believe for the most heinous of crimes, a just punishment is warranted. I just don't believe in a one size fits all approach.) What drove each protagonist in both films had more to do with an ethical ambiguity of the justice system more than the moral ambiguity of the protagonist. 

In Gun Crazy, Bart Tare truly has a moral conscious having learned of the consequences of shooting at a young age. He doesn't want to harm anyone; he just enjoys shooting non-living objects. Yes, he committed robbery (and from the context of the film, it sounds more like a shoplifting account) and he should pay a consequence, but his background, character and remorse for committing the crime should have been considered for a lighter sentence that would rehabilitate Bart. Instead, the judge imposes a harsher sentence and Bart thus grows up in the system without being taught the skills that lead a more productive life. It is no surprise, then, that his choice in a life partner is questionable. He can judge actions as right/wrong, but he can't judge people correctly. He is also easily influenced by his femme fatale wife because what kinds of influence did he have growing up in the system? If anything, the system made him worse by denying rehabilitation and forcing punishment. He can only survive by his wits with a psychopath murderess. The system created an emotionally conflicted individual that resulted in more robbery crimes and the loss of two innocent lives.

In Tomorrow is Another Day, Bill Clark has been released from an 18 year stint for patricide. The circumstances of the murder were never revealed, but at 13 years of age, perhaps he was abused or it could have been self-defense. Regardless, Bill Clark doesn't seem the morally ambiguous type. He truly wants to lead an honest life. If mitigating factors were considered, perhaps he could have served a shorter sentence in a juvenile facility (they actually sent him to an adult prison at 13!) than have his formative years stunted by 18 years banished from society. 

How Bill differs from Bart is that at least he learns a trade and can go out prepared to work. However, 18 years behind prison walls limits his ability to interact with society and/or judge a person carefully. His first interaction with a person seemed genuine but I was very skeptical from the onset as this is an example of "too good to be true". But how would Bill understand this? He's had no exposure to the outside world. Only later he finds out this man's motivation for befriending him; a journalist seeking a high profile story by "outing" Bill in the only community he knows. This results in his inability to trust others which, on one hand, is good for his own self-preservation, but on the other, he is unable to determine who is friend or foe. This could have led to dire consequences had it not been for his quick thinking wife (who I thought would be another femme fatale, but she ended up redeeming herself later in the film).

When we ask what makes a film Noir, perhaps we should consider that the narrative goes beyond the conflicted, morally ambiguous protagonist. It can also be a social commentary on the justice system.