CT Million
@ctmillion
Emmy-winning Cameraman, Filmmaker, Musician, Writer, Dog Valet. Student of history, language, film, trivia, and film trivia. Curator of #NoirChecklist for #NoirAlley, #TCMParty. Your dog will probably like me.
🚨Noirista alert: although featured today on #TCM, Eddie G also pops up in the Pre-Code crime film TWO SECONDS on Friday, directed by Mervyn LeRoy with ace Warners DP Sol Polito on camera. Its flashback, sappy guy, and boozy floozy make it a Depression-era #noir ancestor. #TCMParty #TheNoirCollective
Not your fault! I think Bluesky was being wonky and I didn't realize it. Do we need to send Mike Mazurki over to Threads to pound, er, talk some "sense" into your stalker?
It was a rather oblique reference to the silly kerfuffle when this happened...
#NoirChecklist for #TheyWontBelieveMe: -Entire story is flashbacks -Scheming protagonist narration -Trial scene -Faithful wife -Faithful side piece -Faithful gold-digging floozy -Unfaithful heel -Awful animal death -Masseur named Gus -Shocking twist! -Marcus Weaselly, MD! #TCMParty #NoirAlley
Well, two were regional PBS broadcasts from years ago, and are probably not still available. But the other one was TO BE TAKEI, about the life (and childhood incarceration) of Star Trek's George Takei. I think it's available on Roku, Amazon Prime, and on Kanopy, if your local library has that.
#NoirChecklist for #TheKilling: -Terse unseen narrator -Crooked cop in debt -Two-timing Marie Windsor -Weaselly Elisha Cook -Loyal gal pal -Daring heist with disguises -The great Lucien Ballard providing the shadows -Sterling Hayden, Vince Edwards, and every plug-ugly in Hollywood! #TCMParty
#TheKilling cinematographer Lucien Ballard is one of a handful of lensmen who have shot both several classic noirs AND several classic westerns. #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness
The racetrack scenes for #TheKilling were shot at Bay Meadows, the home track of the legendary Seabiscuit. It was torn down a few years ago; now it's office space and a Whole Foods. I bought some blueberries there last week. #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness
#NoirChecklist for #TheProwler: -Crooked cop -Cuckold hubby, two-timing wife, murder… -but it’s not her idea! -Evelyn Keyes AND Van Heflin -Wait, Van’s the homme-fatale?! -Quickie inquest -Gabby brother-in-law -Oversharing diner lady -Whoops, a baby! -Umm… Ghost Town Noir? #TheProwler #TCMParty
When John Huston and Evelyn Keyes got divorced– after getting married on a drunken whim 4 years before– they agreed to flip a coin for Huston's priceless pre-Columbian art collection, which he had amassed on his various travels over the years. Evelyn won. #TheProwler #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness
Not the greatest version, but it's this shot! #SunsetBoulevard #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness
When listing the main people responsible for the greatness of #SunsetBoulevard, no mention by Eddie on the #SummerOfDarkness of cinematographer John F. Seitz? The man only shot the best films of both Preston Sturges and Billy Wilder, including 5 or 6 of the greatest noirs of all time! 🤷♂️ #TCMParty
Notice how in the murder discovery scene, Sailor Boy– who might have done it– is in the shadows, while June is lit brightly by the practical lamp on the table. Mr. Nicola Musuraca at work. #TheNoirCollective #DeadlineAtDawn
There are some pretty bonkers "singers as actors" films happening late night on #TCM, culminating in Johnny Cash in the colorfully named neo-noir #DoorToDoorManiac, AKA #FiveMinutesToLive. The Man in Black is game with the wacky low-budget plot, but he wasn't winning any Oscars. #TCMParty
Mineral oil? I thought that’s something Hope Emerson uses to give you a rubdown!
Francis L. Sullivan's jowls in #NightAndTheCity make Winnie Churchill look like a bloody piker. #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness
It's evident even in this trailer, but rarely mentioned: Max Steiner's score for The Treasure of the Sierra Madre is one of his best, with separate themes for each of the three main characters that contribute to the storyline. #TCMParty
#NoirChecklist for #GunCrazy: -Protagonist(s) with fatal flaw -Youthful flashbacks -Star-crossed lovers on the run -Nightclub AND carnival scenes -Gabby guy picks up a hitchhiker, to his regret -Crooks hole up with reluctant relative -Femme fatale more hard-boiled than a 12-minute egg #TCMParty
#GunCrazy cinematographer Russell Harlan rigged up a special camera mount on a jockey's saddle that slid back and forth on a 2x4 in order to shoot the famous backseat bank heist sequence. He went on to earn six Oscar nominations while becoming Howard Hawk's favorite DP. #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness
Noiristas, #NoirAlley fans, and #TheNoirCollective; overnight noir alert on #TCM: Cry of the Hunted, which I know absolutely nothing about, but is directed by Joseph H. Lewis and features noir stalwart Barry Sullivan chasing #TheGlassWall dreamboat Vittorio Gassman through a swamp. #TCMParty
Yes, at first I was like, why did they set up this shot like this, until I saw the camera shake! And Joe LaShelle even managed to sneak in a little mini-key light on the elevator. #TheNoirCollective #WhereTheSidewalkEnds
He is kind of the Britney Spears of noir, isn't he? #TheNoirCollective #WhereTheSidewalkEnds
Cinematographer Harry Stradling didn't shoot many noirs, but he was coming off his fourth Oscar nomination (and one win) before #AngelFace. He later became know for big splashy musicals, including Barbra Streisand's first few films. #NoirAlley #TCMParty
I've been wracking my brain to figure out where I've seen the forensic expert in #AngelFace before... he was Hal, the genial Assistant Director of #TheBandWagon, even appearing in the finale of "That's Entertainment". #NoirAlley #TCMParty
I'm warming up the #NoirChecklist machine for another bonkers Howard Hughes RKO noir on #NoirAlley with #AngelFace. #TCMParty
The naturalistic, handheld black and white cinematography of #AHardDaysNight by Gilbert Taylor echoes that being done at the same time across the channel in French New Wave films. Taylor would go on to shoot Dr. Strangelove, Hitchcock's Frenzy, The Omen, and a little film called Star Wars. #TCMParty
You don't really want to get on the wrong side of vengeful Richard Conte... #ThievesHighway #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness
#NoirChecklist for #CrissCross: -Obsessed (sap) protagonist -Flashbacks -1940’s LA locations -Skeevy Dan Duryea -Two-timing moll -Gabby bartender -Gabby boozy floozy -Gabby nurse -Burt in a tank top -Heist gone wrong -More double crossing than an amnesiac border guard #TCMParty #SummerOfDarkness