Wednesday, July 17, 2024

Noir Must Be Shot in Black and White, Right? Guess Again

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Marilyn Monroe, "Niagara" (1953). Raw Emotions Sizzle When Noir is in Color By Paul Parcellin I can already hear the howls of prot...
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Friday, June 28, 2024

Feverish Dreams, Persecution Fantasies, Tormented Anti-Heroes: There’s Something About Cornell Woolrich’s Stories that Pulls Us in Like a Magnet — You’d Think it Would Do Just the Opposite

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Kevin McCarthy, Gage Clarke, "Nightmare" (1956). He Murders as He Sleeps! Contains spoilers By Paul Parcellin When it comes to cra...
Saturday, June 8, 2024

Peter Lorre: His first starring role was a massive hit and one of the most influential works of art in the history of film — and that was the problem

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Peter Lorre, "M" (1931). An unforgettable psychological portrait. By Paul Parcellin Renowned character actor Peter Lorre created ...
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Tuesday, May 14, 2024

Scrapped: The Original Opening Sequence of “Sunset Boulevard” was Even Stranger than the Final Cut, and Audiences had a Peculiar Reaction to It

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Erich von Stroheim, William Holden, Gloria Swanson, "Sunset Boulevard" (1950). Test Audiences Were Stunned, Amused and Confused Jo...
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Sunday, April 21, 2024

Pop! Goes the Flashbulb: In Noir, Photographers Did It the Old Fashioned Way, and their Pictures Usually Turned the Town, and Crime Investigations, Upside Down

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Howard Duff snaps a candid shot in "Shakedown" (1950). Contains Spoilers By Paul Parcellin Lighting and photographic style play a...
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Monday, April 8, 2024

Kings of the Road: Alienated, Disenchanted Drifters May Think They’re Heading Toward their Destination, but They’re Really on Course to a Tragic End

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Ann Savage, Tom Neal, "Detour" (1945). Contains Spoilers By Paul Parcellin Film noir is full of cheap hotel rooms, train stations...