The Noir Chronicles

Highlights from the Guild Cinema's annual summer Festival of Film Noir:

• Brute Force (1947) (B) - A prison film from noir auteur Jules Dassin, it stars Burt Lancaster as an inmate determined to escape and a smug Hume Cronyn as a deputy warden looking to foil him. Cronyn's Capt. Munsey is a nasty little man who, two years after the war's end, gives off a heavy Nazi vibe, as Dassin lays on the concentration-camp vibe heavy by the end. Look for the wonderful Yvonne De Carlo in a bit part and one of my mom's favorites, Howard Duff, as one of Lancaster's cellmates. Complete with a one man Greek chorus -- a performer named Sir Lancelot as inmate Calypso. This one is powerful in spots, but it tries a little too hard to be a major classic.
• Cafe Hostess (1940) (C) - A forgettable effort from B-movie and TV director Sidney Salkow. Jo (Ann Dvorak) is a gal working as a thinly veiled prostitute and grifter working the seedy Club 46 under the glare of Eddie, the violent house piano player.  A sailor, Dan (Preston Foster), comes along to rescue her and give her a respectable life, but Eddie says not so fast. Several barroom brawls ensue.
  
• Girls Under 21 (1940) (B) - Another early "pre-noir" hack job gives us the female answer to the Bowery Boys, a bunch of girls on the brink of reform school. They cause trouble and hope to follow in the footsteps of grown-up Francis, who lives in high style as the gal of a local gangster, Smiley, whom she did time for. But when she gets out, she wants to go straight and set a better example for her little sister and her wild pals. Meantime, their kindly teacher defies the school principal and refuses to rain punishment on the girls, insisting that they'll come around if he's patient and trusting. The girls are devilishly foul-mouthed, and there's as much face-slapping as in a Three Stooges short. When a classmate dies while fleeing a crime scene with the gang of girls, everyone is tested. Enhanced by great street scenes of a crowded neighborhood filled with old ethnic stereotypes.
• The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) (B+) - A brilliant cast spins a tawdry tale of murder and blackmail in small-town America. Barbara Stanwyck is an heiress and industrial bigwig caught in a love triangle with the two men who know the real story behind the death of Stanwyck's rich aunt back when they were kids. Van Heflin is the ruggedly handsome gambler Sam Masterson, who finds himself back in the small town, where little Martha Ivers is now the money and brains behind grownup pal, Walter O'Neil, now the D.A. and perhaps future governor, played by Kirk Douglas in his film debut. Peroxided Lizabeth Scott pouts like a pro as Toni Marachek, the troubled dame who hooks up with Masterson and stirs the sturm and drang nagging at the trio. I always thought Matthew McConaughey was our generation's Paul Newman, but watching this film, I saw a strong connection between McConaughey and the fresh-faced Douglas. This film, which helped close out the fest, ran a little too long but hits you with a hell of an ending.

The fest also featured Dassin's "Riffifi," which we've seen several times. That one truly is a major achievement and probably would earn an A upon a fresh screening.

Bonus Track/Coming Attraction

We're saving the best film of the half-dozen we saw at the fest for a separate post about its star, Beverly Michaels. "Wicked Woman" was paired with a less-effective earlier film of hers, "Pickup."  We'll serve that post up shortly.  Meantime, as a tease, Michaels' flat, smart-ass affectation reminded me of this chick in a clip from a classic '50s film: