The Postman Always Rings Twice

The Postman Always Rings Twice
Originally uploaded by Greenman 2008

I didn't think I liked Lana Turner until I saw this film. She was incredible in the film, and the direction, acting, lighting, storyline--everything worked beautifully. It is one film noir that I can watch over and over again. John Garfield is a sexy lout--very well matched with Lana's particular brand of incendiary blonde. And of course the inimitable Audrey Totter gives a memorable cameo performance in the film. Highly recommend the book Dark City Dames for a portrait of the real Audrey. I loved Cecil Kellaway's creepy portrayal of the husband, especially when he was singing and playing guitar--or was it a ukelele? Hume Cronyn was a young, snarky lawyer in this film. Great scenes with the car on curvy California roads--and I loved the opening scene at the gas station. Kinda the same feeling as the opening scene of Out of the Past.

Human Desire

Name that Film.
Originally uploaded by rattlingdjs

Yes, the ubiquitous cigarettes. You might want to drink whiskey just watching these characters from the days when cigarettes were considered desirable. Part of the innuendo that lies under the surface of all film noir. Femme fatales smoked--it's that simple. Or is it simple? The subtext had to do with sexuality at its most potent. These were not the women who were vacuuming in high heels and pearls. What is the cachet of the women of film noir? They were dangerous because they brought out the hidden aspect of American society: desire, decadence, and the underground thrill of bad habits!

Knitting things together

DSC03293
Originally uploaded by Andi B. Goode

Found this photo on Andi B. Goode Flickr site. She does a lot with vintage images, vintage clothes and film noir. Since I'm a huge fan of film noir, I love to check out other people who like the genre. Have also been doing quite a few new collages using vintage images. I love everything from the 40s and early 50s. Actually, I was surprised to learn that I loved The Postman Always Rings Twice with Lana Turner. I didn't like her nearly so much in later films, but she was amazing in this...it's one of those films I can watch over and over...great noir....

The curveilinear car

Yes, I've always been enamored of this shape in an automobile. Reminds me of the black Hudson Hornet that was parked across the street in my childhood neighborhood. Something terribly comforting about black, curveilinear cars. Think of the cloth upholstery (subject to moths), and large steering wheel. Look at the small back window and bumper. A black car like this looks wonderful in the rain! The arches above the car echo the shape of the car. A smell of smoke and leather
clings in the air. Makes a girl want to drink whiskey.

In the middle of the night

Clock.
Originally uploaded by rattlingdjs

This is a time I often wake up. Somehow in a noir film, the clock can be so glamorous. One of the things I love about noir films is that the industrial post Bauhaus design aspect of the 1940s is usually in evidence. How can you not love to look at this beautiful clock with perfect shadows? You can almost hear the loud ticking. What's happening just now? A mysterious phone call? Some of my favorite clocks appear in Trouble in Paradise directed by Ernst Lubitsch in 1932. A little early and not technically a noir, but the lighting foreshadows (so to speak) noir lighting. And it has one of my favorite lines in it. The brunette heroine Kay Francis says: "Marriage is a beautiful mistake that two people make together." Sweet!
Love Herbert Marshall's relaxed elegance, and the costumes and set design are flawless!

Omigosh Neon I am in love

Yes, a wet street and neon...two figures walking along a gritty sidewalk. Night...do we need to know who they are or where they are going? We only need to feel the mood, taste the moist rain on our tongue. Smell the damp wool of the overcoat, and know that something interesting is about to happen--and soon.

That Come Hither Look

NTF
Originally uploaded by rattlingdjs

I must say this is so much fun. Don't know which film this is but I love the shadows and the fire and the look in her eyes. Something very satisfying about the cozy little scene. Looks like I'll have to start watching noir all over again. One of my favorite noirs is "I Wake Up Screaming"..sounds sinister, but it is actually quite brilliant, especially the interrogation scene at the beginning. There is also a really weird scene by a swimming pool. I thought I hated Victor Mature before seeing that film...and Betty Grable! Sounds really crazy, I know, but one of my very favorite actors in noir is in it: Laird Cregar. Just watched Woody Allen's Crimes and Misdemeanors for the first time in years, and there was a B & W scene with Laird Cregar in it--bliss!

Film Noir Feet

ntf495-1
Originally uploaded by onibabah

They say it's Gloria Graham, in that film with HB...where she's holding on for dear life cause her man is driving fast. Gloria Graham is always amazing....I even love her in her ingenue role in It's a Wonderful Life (one of my all time favorite non-noir films). Why are movies so much better in black and white. I had Netflix for a couple of years until I ran out of Noir options....I could watch three noirs a day for five years straight.
Okay, hands and feet so far. Thanks you other noir fans for posting the stills. I'll do the same when I learn how. Tips?

Film Noir Hands

NTF
Originally uploaded by rattlingdjs

Don't have any idea whose hands these are, but the diamond sparkles wonderfully against the black background, don't you think? The light and shadow is always the key and why I love noir so much. Venetian blinds, neon, cup o' joe, nightclub scenes with tux and backless gown..or just the classic forties suits...newspaper offices, police stations, dark alley--love the feeling of noir. It's visually delicious...