Just in case it was not already clear from these pages, I LOVE old black and white movies - the older, the better. It sure has to do something with all those Sunday afternoons of my childhood when I was glued to TV adventures of whoever was performing back than and curiously the new, ultra modern technology leaves me cold while these old dreamy black and white movies suck me in even now immediately. From the start, from the very introduction when title appears over some foggy city panoramic view, I purr with pleasure.
My first choice this time was 1950. "Where danger lives" by John Farrow (Mia's father).
It is actually not earth-shattering as I expected - the main reason to watch this is Robert Mitchum in curious role of a doctor but he had such charisma and presence that I would enjoy watching him in anything.Mitchum and Sean Connery are men I want to be when I grow up. He is somehow drawn into affair with wealthy young woman who naturally is not what she appears to be and in fact she almost destroys him until the end of the movie, but I'm not here to explain or tell the plot. There is very interesting role play between them as strong, silent Mitchum slowly becomes a puppet in hands of initially soft and unprotected woman who (in memorable scene set in a shabby hotel room) turns into tiger. There is a very good cameo by Claude Rains who should have more space because he was excellent and lots of interesting small roles of strangers who more or less dwarf any plan couple has to escape the country. Somehow the final results are not really that brilliant and it turns into two-people stage play but thanks to Mitchum it somehow stands the test of time.
If previous movie was comforting-but-not-essential experiment in "film noir" genre, "Act of violence" (1948) was gripping and really exciting. I don't know why it took me so long to finally check this movie,probably because I disliked silly title but once I started to watch it I simply couldn't believe my eyes what an excellent jewel this is.
Fred Zinneman directed this and apparently it was forgotten and impossible to find for decades but I can whole heartedly recommend it to anybody who love "film noir" genre - instead of being just another, nice old black and white movie, this turned out to be such a good, strong thriller that I ended up fully alert and awake until the very end. Zinneman weaves excellent story where the all american good guy is haunted by some mysterious limping man but as the movie progresses we suddenly realize that roles are changing and viewer can't help but start questioning some really important moral issues here - contrary to simply passive watching, we started to THINK " hey, who is really a bad guy here?" - there is not much to talk about female characters here (wives and girlfriends are terribly one-dimensional in their "goodness" and meekness) until in the second part of the movie story proceeds into a criminal underworld where we meet elderly, tired prostitute played by brilliant Mary Astor (previously known for her elegance and aristocratic poise) who almost steals the whole movie with her realistic, powerful acting. Her character "Pat" is worlds away from all these wives and girlfriends who live protected from anything unpleasant, here is a woman living on her own by her own wits and still possessing far more humanity than anybody around her. Excellent, excellent movie.
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