Month: September 2019

Two very different interpretations of Woolrich stories can be found in the work of two unlikely directors. The first, Deadline at Dawn, is the only film directed by well known theatrical director, Harold Clurman. The second, The Bride Wore Black, directed by one of the leaders of the French New Wave, Francois Truffaut. Truffaut was tipping his hat to Hitchcock with Bride, but the reasons for Clurman’s venture into the world of Noir is unclear. To further confound reason, the screenplay was written by Clifford Odets!

Deadline at Dawn (1946) RKO Pictures

Not Rated/82 minutes

Directed by Harold Clurman & William Cameron Menzies (uncredited).

Screenplay by Clifford Odets based on the Novel by William Irish (AKA/Cornell Woolrich).

CAST: Susan Hayward (June Goffe), Paul Lukas (Gus Hoffman), Bill Williams (Alex Winkler), Joseph Calleia (Val Bartelli), Osa Massen (Helen Robinson), Lola Lane (Edna Bartelli), Jerome Cowan (Lester Brady), Marvin Miller (Sleepy Parsons).

Under the name William Irish, Cornell Woolrich published Deadline at Dawn. The book is a nightmarish journey through the darkness of the city made by a paranoid sailor due to the death of a woman he meets while on leave. He feels he has to find the killer by dawn or he will be blamed for the murder. Helping him come to that conclusion are the cabby, Gus (Paul Lukas) and the Taxi dancer, June (Susan Hayward).

Harold Clurman was a theatrical director and this was his only feature film. The playwright, Clifford Odets had collaborated with Clurman on the stage and wrote the screenplay based on the William Irish novel. Odets’ treatment surely would be unique. His previous screenplays included: The General Died at Dawn (1936), None But the Lonely Heart (1944), and Rhapsody in Blue (1945/uncredited). Noir was not exactly his niche. Between that and Clurman’s feeling that he was slumming, it is astonishing that the film came out as well as it did. The final result has been credited to William Cameron Menzies who was uncredited as a co-director.

Above: Bill Williams, Susan Hayworth & Paul Lukas in Deadline at Dawn

The film showcases Susan Hayward in glorious black and white by cinematographer, Nicholas Musuraca whose prior credits include the atmospheric photography for Val Lewton’s Cat People (1942), and The Seventh Victim (1943). Atmosphere is what he brings to Deadline at Dawn as well. Hayward’s performance is the center of the film with the vitality that moves the characters through the shadows and into–well–more shadows.

The Bride Wore Black/La marie etait en noir (1968) UA

Not Rated/107 minutes

Directed by Francois Truffaut.

Screenplay by Francois Truffaut and Jean-Louis Richard based on the Novel by Cornell Woolrich.

CAST: Jeanne Moreau (Julie Kohler), Michel Bouquet (Coral), Jean-Claude Brialy (Corey), Claude Rich (Bliss), Alexandra Stewart (Mlle Becker), Michael Lonsdale (Rene Morane).

In 1968 Francois Truffaut released a film that was his tribute to Alfred Hitchcock, and he even went so far as to hire Bernard Herrmann to write the score. For that alone this film is a unique treasure.

The film stars the talented Jeanne Moreau (Jules et Jim) as the bride, Julie Kohler in a performance that enthralls the viewer in her role as the vengeful widow. Her husband is assassinated at their wedding. It is an accident, but that does not seem to matter to the Julie as she takes out the killers one by one.

Truffaut takes Woolrich’s tale and makes it his own, perhaps that is the greatest tribute he could bestow on Hitchcock. Truffaut’s style seems antithetical to Noir and yet, the film works in the same way that Truffaut’s second film, Shoot the Piano Player (1962) became a classic of the genre.

Both of these films are must sees not because of how they fit into the Noir mold, but because of how they don’t.

NEXT

Chandler: The Blue Dahlia & Murder, My Sweet

The Thing from Another World (1951) RKO Pictures

Directed by Christian Nyby, and Howard Hawks (uncredited).

Screenplay by Charles Lederer based on the story, Who Goes There by John W. Campbell, and Howard Hawks (uncredited), and Ben Hecht (uncredited).

CAST: Margaret Sheridan (Nikki Nicholson), Kenneth Tobey (Captain Patrick Hendry), Robert Cornthwaite (Dr. Arthur Carrington), Douglas Spencer (Ned Scott), James Young (Lt. Eddie Dykes), Robert Nichols (Lt. Ken MacPherson), Dewey Martin (Crew Chief Bob), William Self (Cpl. Barnes), Eduard Franz (Dr. Stern), Sally Creighton (Mrs. Chapman), and James Arness (The Thing)

Co-written and Co-Directed by Hollywood A lister, Howard Hawks (uncredited) The Thing from Another World is the dark mirror version of The Day the Earth Stood Still. Howard Hawks was the credited producer of this creature feature that paints aliens as monsters of destruction. The Thing from Another World remains one of the classics of Science Fiction and Horror even if we are viewing through the wrong end of the telescope. All of our worst fears are confirmed: the aliens are coming and they are possessed by a mindless evil, or is it just a superior intelligence trying to survive? The second classic science fiction film of the fifties is as much horror as science fiction. It is as though Frankenstein’s Monster has fallen from the stars (and in fact when Hawks was trying to get the make-up for the film’s monster to his liking after many tries, he told make-up artist Lee Greenway to put a Frankenstein type of head on Arness). Instead of a village of frightened peasants, we have a group of military men, scientists, and a journalist, but the results are pretty much the same.

Adding insult to injury, Nikki left a note taped to the Captain referring to his legs. We see that Nikki is enjoying stringing Captain Hendry along. Kenneth Tobey plays the lead straight and is good humored as Sheridan uses her wry whimsy to bait him.

The group of military men have been assigned to assist the scientists in investigating an object that has landed in the arctic. They find what appears to be a large saucer shaped object buried in the ice. The decision to blast it out with Thermite explosives turns out to be an error, because the blast indirectly destroys the object. It should have just melted the ice, but the heat generated by the blaze sets off something in the craft that causes the explosion, “that was the engine,” shouts one of the men.

As they start to investigate the cause, they find that something was thrown from the ship and frozen just beneath the surface. Having learned their lesson with the loss of the ship, they decide to cut the figure out of the ice. They then take the block of ice back to their base and into a large storage room.

ABOVE: Robert Cornthwaite, Eduard Franz, Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Douglas Spencer, Kenneth Tobey, and James Young.

Unable to control the temperature of the room, the Captain orders the window in the room to be broken, he defies Dr. Carrington’s demand to be allowed to thaw the being for immediate scientific investigation. The Captain is trying to get orders on how to proceed, but they cannot get through on the radio. Tension builds between the scientists and the military over the handling of the creature.

ABOVE: Dewey Martin & Kenneth Tobey.

Dewey Martin, Robert Nichols, William Self, Margaret Sheridan, Douglas Spencer, Kenneth Tobey, & James Young.

Meanwhile, Lt. Ken MacPherson, who is on first watch over the creature, is getting creeped out because the ice is clearing and he can better what is in the ice. He is especially bothered by the creature’s eyes. This and the dropping temperature cause the Captain to shorten the shifts on the watch to two hours apiece.

When the watch changes and the replacement throws an electric blanket over the block of ice (presumably so he won’t have to look at the Thing in the ice), and of course, the ice begins melting. Suddenly, the Thing is loose. The guard escapes to alert the others. They sound the alarm and dash to the storage room to try to contain the creature.

ABOVE: Dewey Martin, Kenneth Tobey, & James Young.

When they arrive in the storage room, the Thing has already gone outside. It is being attacked by the dogs and escapes when the men come out, but leaves behind an arm that has been torn off. While the scientists discuss what they are learning from the limb–the hand begins to move. This broadens their understanding of the creature. They have surmised that the creature is of vegetable matter and now they realize it feeds on blood. The blood of the dogs giving life to the detached limb is ominous and it reverberates in the men’s reactions. Seeing that the creature is a threat, they set off after it in earnest.

The film is still one of the best of the early Science Fiction/Horror films and it is a terrific monster movie. The cinematography is excellent, the script is well paced, and all of the players are on point giving a realistic feel to the base which enhances the horror of the situation. There is a good deal of action and the fact that you don’t get to see the Thing up close until nearly the very end, adds to the suspense of the movie.

The film was remade in 1982 as The Thing by John Carpenter who stayed truer to the original story with the Thing being a shape shifter. The effects are horrific and Ken Russell and the rest of the cast are in for a hell of a ride.

Facts, Rumors, & Hearsay

Directors John Frankenheimer, Ridley Scott, Tobe Hooper, & John Carpenter all credit the film as an influence on their own work.

James Arness complained that the Thing make-up and costume made him look like a giant carrot.

Hawks was turned down by a number of insurance companies when trying to insure the production due to the fact that the Thing was to be set on fire, ravaged by dogs, frozen in a block of ice, set on fire, & electrocuted.

The film was made at a cost of only $40,000.00 which is still low budget by today’s standards equating to about $380,000.00.

There is a possibility that Ben Hecht and William Faulkner, both friends of Hawks, contributed to the script.

Available on DVD, Blu-Ray and streaming.

NEXT

The Good, the Bad, & the Absurd

Halloween is right around the corner and on this dreary Friday the 13th at F&TVR, I am planning on recommendations for Halloween viewing. As the lightning flashes and the thunder echoes and I’m thinking of the upcoming full moon, I am inspired to do two short early Halloween picks posts. This first one is general and the full moon post will be themed. So here goes. The first two are favorites of mine, the second of which has spawned an FX series. The third, the obligatory chiller! This is just a warm-up–more will follow.

ABOVE: Carol Kane, Iggy Pop, & Steve Buscemi

The Dead Don’t Die (2019) Written & Directed by Jim Jarmusch.

A departure for the director boasting a stellar cast including Steve Buscemi, Danny Glover, Bill Murray, Chole Sevigny, Carol Kane, Tilda Swinton, Iggy Pop, & Tom Waits among others that have worked with Jarmusch on prior projects. Jarmusch decapitates the genre in his own unique style.

What We Do in the Shadows (2014) Written & Directed by Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi.

Again, more comedy than horror in this mock documentary about vampires that inspired the 2019 FX show of the same name. This is a great Halloween film that can be followed up with episodes from the FX series for an extended Halloween recalling good times along the Carpathian Mountains.

Silent House (2011) Directed by Chris Kentis & Laura Lau. Screenplay by Laura Lau based on the original screenplay The Silent House (2010) by Oscar Estevez

ABOVE: Elizabeth Olsen in Silent House (2011)

For those looking for a less humorous and more frightening Halloween, Silent House is claustrophobic creepy. A remake of Gustavo Hernandez’s The Silent House, Kentis & Lau’s Silent House is carried by the virtuoso performance of Elizabeth Olsen in a single shot tour de force.

NEXT: Full Moon Halloween Movie Madness