A great example of B director James M Newman at his short lived feature film peak (1949-1953).
Newman (1909-) had a steady Hollywood career being an assistant director on 17 mostly mainstream musicals and dramas whilst in his twenties.
These included Americana such as "Another Language" (1933); musicals such as "Going Hollywood" (1933) and "Rose Marie (1936); comedy such as "Riptide" (1934)and classic dramas "Dinner at Eight" (1933) and "David Copperfield" (1935) for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the short lived category of Best Assistant Director.
However, it was directing shorts in the "Crime Does Not Pay" series where Newman really cut his teeth in the noir game.
His "Buyer Beware" installment from 1940 is pretty well the best short noir from the period.
Checkout the hugely underrated B noir "Abandoned" (1949) where Newman elicits an incredible performance from a young Raymond Burr.
Also worth seeking are the horse-racing drama "The Great Dan Patch" (1949) and the crime noir "711 Ocean Drive" (1950)starring Edmond O'Brien.
"Dangerous Crossing" is up there with the best of the low budget B noir classics. It possesses all the required elements. Characters in shadows and shadowy characters! Femme Fatales-but we keep having to guess which femme is the fatale! Newman later moved to television and became a director for the early "The Twilight Zone" (1959) and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1962) and finished his career with an episode of "The Big Valley (1965).
Newman (1909-) had a steady Hollywood career being an assistant director on 17 mostly mainstream musicals and dramas whilst in his twenties.
These included Americana such as "Another Language" (1933); musicals such as "Going Hollywood" (1933) and "Rose Marie (1936); comedy such as "Riptide" (1934)and classic dramas "Dinner at Eight" (1933) and "David Copperfield" (1935) for which he was nominated for an Oscar in the short lived category of Best Assistant Director.
However, it was directing shorts in the "Crime Does Not Pay" series where Newman really cut his teeth in the noir game.
His "Buyer Beware" installment from 1940 is pretty well the best short noir from the period.
Checkout the hugely underrated B noir "Abandoned" (1949) where Newman elicits an incredible performance from a young Raymond Burr.
Also worth seeking are the horse-racing drama "The Great Dan Patch" (1949) and the crime noir "711 Ocean Drive" (1950)starring Edmond O'Brien.
"Dangerous Crossing" is up there with the best of the low budget B noir classics. It possesses all the required elements. Characters in shadows and shadowy characters! Femme Fatales-but we keep having to guess which femme is the fatale! Newman later moved to television and became a director for the early "The Twilight Zone" (1959) and "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour" (1962) and finished his career with an episode of "The Big Valley (1965).