The Woman in the Window - Is it a Beautiful Picture or a Dark Reflection?

It's been a while since I've watched Film Noir. As a person who likes film, I know I shouldn't have any problem watching movies in black and white. I have all these older movies in queue, but I usually have a hard time pressing play because I have some inner voice telling the movie is going to be boring since it's not in color. However, once I start the film, I'm instantly mesmerized by the story and have no idea why I was hesitant beforehand. This once again happened to me in Fritz Lang's 1944 mystery, The Woman in the Window.

Starring Edward G. Gibson, Professor Richard Wanley notices a beautiful portrait of a woman in a store window. After discussing how wonderful it would be to meet the woman behind the painting, his dreams come true when he sees the woman's reflection in the storefront window. After striking a conversation with the actual woman (played by Joan Bennett), she invites him back home to look through her other paintings. But as the two are sitting on the couch examining her art portfolio, a man walks into the house with a jealous rage and starts to strangle the professor. In self defense, the professor stabs the man with a pair of scissors, leaving a dead corpse in the center of the room. After deciding they shouldn't inform the authorities, the professor and woman have to dispose of the body.

When trying to get rid of a dead body, there are two parties you have to worry about: The Police and Blackmailers. Lang shows how to handle both using Gibson's character. Since the professor is friends with the district attorney, he tags along to observe the process of uncovering the "killer's" trail. Using this knowledge to his advantage, he is able to tie up loose ends he forgot to conceal. But at the same time, he must deal the man trying to blackmail both him and the woman.

Even though the professor devises a plan to poison and quiet the blackmailer, he remains a likable character. Overall, he is an innocent man put into a seedy situation. By doing the dirty work of disposing the body, he takes control of the situation yet maintains his charm.

As for the femme fatale, you can look at Joan Bennett in two ways. She may be the beautiful painting of an innocent woman trapped in an abusive relationship. Or, she may be the dark reflection in the window, using the "cute little old man" as a payoff to get rid of her dirty baggage. I have mixed views as she did hand the professor scissors when he was being choked. Was she doing it for the professor's benefit or was she wanting the other man dead? By the end of the film, I feel she was pushed into the situation rather than commanding it. However, seeing the beauty of Bennett, she could be easily pulling the strings of the professor (and even myself).

As for most films of this time, no one ever gets away with the crime. However, even though Gibson becomes a part of the lawlessness, the film is able to preserve Gibson's morality with a sweet and comedic ending.

Once again, my inner voice has been hushed that black and white films are boring. Fritz Lang proves he is a master of his craft, beautifully telling the story. Even though I am watching these older movies for my own appreciation, I will make it a goal to share them with others so they too can enjoy countless hours of black and white cinema.

So on Death List Five, The Woman in the Window ranks #4.

The Killers - Is it Ava Gardner's Looks or the Hitmen?

Not to be confused with the rock band, The Killers is a 1946 film noir directed by Robert Siodmak. The story follows insurance investigator Jim Reardon (played by Edmond O'Brien) as he is researching the murder of Ole Anderson, also known as "The Swede" (played by Burt Lancaster). Finding it perplexing Swede made his beneficiary a random hotel maid, Reardon pieces together a mystery through a series of interviews. Upon his discoveries, Reardon determines Swede's murder is linked to an unsolved robbery. Things start to get dangerous when Reardon is introduced to the beautiful femme fatale Kitty Collins (played by Ava Gardner) and crime boss Big Jim Colfax (played by Albert Dekker). As Reardon starts to correlate a streak of double crosses, can he survive the men who killed Swede?

As another movie I can check off my film noir journey, this is a solid film adapted from the short story by Ernest Hemingway. This film allows the audience to piece together the mystery along with Reardon. As he interviews people, the movie shows their stories through flashback sequences. Each flashback has strong noir elements, some including:

• A Boxing Fight - The Swede was a boxer who ended his career after breaking his hand during his last fight. After Swede leaves the ring, he doesn't turn back and enters the underworld of crime.
• The Hideouts - When segments are shown of the gangsters planning their heist, the crew are typically seen playing cards and smoking cigars in small rundown places.
• The Heist - When the payroll robbery takes place, each man puts a scarf around their face as a disguise. When they leave with the money, the crew fights their way out with firearms and escape in a classic getaway car.

The strongest noir element featured in this film is the femme fatale. Kitty Collins is a very enticing woman who is able to manipulate men to do whatever she wants. Not only did she make The Swede cross his crew, but she double crossed him by taking his money and breaking his heart. After she left Swede, he no longer valued life and put up no fight when the hitmen came to kill him. Although she deceived Swede, Kitty was loyal to her original man, Big Jim Colfax. She was the tool Jim used to get all the stolen money solely for himself. This is my first exposure to her, but Ava Gardner definitely plays her role well. Armed with her good looks, Ava is a woman men will fall head over heels for, as she has been married to real life celebrities like Mickey Rooney, Artie Shaw, and Frank Sinatra.

Finally, we have to talk about the subject of the movie's title - The Killers. Although they make very little appearance, the two hitmen are bookends of the film. One being tall and strong, the other short and stocky, they both carry a demeanor of intimidation. When they make a presence on screen, they are cued with the same brassy musical tones which eventually become the theme music for Dragnet. When The Killers make their first appearance, they take hostage of a diner and demand to know where The Swede can be found. They are violent, rude, and not to be questioned. When they make their second appearance at the end of the film, even though they are killed, they still command the situation. Although they are not as charismatic as Jules and Vincent of Pulp Fiction, they are men to be feared. If I were to watch this film again, I'm sure The Killers will send shivers up my spine.

So on Death List Five, The Killers ranks #3

The Street With No Name - Noir or Documentary?

The Street With No Name is a film noir directed by William Keighley in 1948. The story follows FBI agent Richard Atkins (played by Mark Stevens), as he dives into the criminal underworld. By picking up a fake identity, agent Atkins draws the attention of the local gang by winning a boxing match. After they frame him for robbery, the crime boss Alec Stiles (played by Richard Widmark), checks out Atkins' fake criminal credentials and deems him worthy to run with the gang. Feeding gathered evidence to a singe point of contact outside the seedy underbelly, Atkins helps the feds close in on Stiles. However, Stiles discovers Atkins is a traitor from an inside source and decides to have him killed. But at the end of the day, a final shootout occurs, the inside man gets arrested, and Atkins lives to save the day.

This movie proves to be awesome with some very noirish trademarks:

• A lot of time is spent around the boxing ring. Boxing is definitely associated with betting, bookies, fixers, and loan sharks.
• Atkins stays in a crumby motel with leaky facets, broken mirrors, and creaky floor boards.
• The crime boss has a beautiful dame that he slaps around to show his power.
• The final shootout takes place in an abandoned factory. As the hero chases the gangster through a labyrinth of staircases and catwalks, dark shadows and gritty textures are brilliantly displayed on the screen.

So the movie has an intriguing plot with lots of twists and turns. It reminds me of an older version of The Departed (a movie that ranks in my current Top 5). But in addition to the crime story, the film acts as an educational documentary featuring the FBI. Narrated in a similar fashion to Troy McClure from the Simpsons, the viewers are shown basic forensic processes and field agent training. To add to the scholarly feel, very astute and collegiate music is played in the background. However, as the movie progresses, it moves further away from the documentary style and gets closer to the styling of film noir. Although I'd much rather see an entire movie filled with grim crime fiction, it is still fun to watch as it historically documents America's support for J. Edgar Hoover and his G-Men.

So on Death List Five, The Street With No Name ranks #4.

The Killing - Kubrick Did Film Noir?

Stanley Kubrick is a well known film director, making monumental movies such as The Shining, A Clockwork Orange, and 2001: A Space Odyssey. However, little did I know as I was searching for Film Noir on NetFlix, Kubrick made a black-and-white 1956 masterpiece known as The Killing.

Johnny Clay, played by Sterling Hayden (the guy who broke Al Pacino's jaw in The Godfather), is a criminal mastermind who wants to score one last heist before retiring and running away with his beautiful gal. The goal is to steal $2,000,000 from a horse-racing-track. In order to conduct the heist, Clay ensembles his team of merry men, each with a specific job:


This movie has everything: Action, drama, comedy, romance, and suspense. And like all classic noir, the scenery is covered with dark shadows and has a plot twisted by a back-stabbing Beauty. However, it's the continuity that sets this film apart from others. The story is told in a linear fashion, but when it comes to the time of the heist, the perspective of each heist member is told in a parallel fashion. For instance, when the Wrestler is causing a distraction, you see Johnny being let into a locked room. After this perspective is finished, the camera switches to the Window Teller: We see him let Johnny into the locked room, while the Wrestler can be seen fighting police officers through the doorway. Without watching every character's point of view, you won't know how Johnny escaped with the money.

We can tell this movie was told in the 1950's as the final message of the film is that crime doesn't pay. Most of the crew's fate was death. However, if you were lucky enough to get away with the money, eventually all of your cash would be chaotically blowing across an airport landing strip with authorities waiting to take you in.

I enjoyed this movie so much, that it makes my top 10. I even enjoyed small things such as Johhny Clay's disguise, as it resembles the clown masks used at the beginning of the Dark Knight. I'm also sure this movie influenced Tarantino in some fashion, as he used the same type of storytelling during the money exchange in Jackie Brown. As much as I like horrowshow ultra-violence and the old-in-and-out, this movie proves you can still tell a great story without it.

So on Death List Five, The Killing ranks #5.