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appledoreman
Reviews
Classe tous risques (1960)
Routine Noir
Ruthless, cold-hearted individuals killing randomly then going on the run does not, of itself, make for authentic Film Noir, in my opinion. Dark, yes, violent, certainly, but where is the characterisation, the inbuilt conscience that would give the excessive violence some sort of moral standpoint? Unfortunately, this approach is all too typical of French Noir. Perhaps the movie needed a Jean Gabin to inject some reality into the action. Lino Ventura, for all his screen presence, is no substitute.
Ultimately, despite everyone trying very hard, this movie is no more than routine.
The Midnight Story (1957)
Terrific Film Noir!
Noir films don't come much better than this modest little 'B' thriller from 1957. Every department is in top form - casting, direction, acting, locations, photography - even the music. A youthful-looking Tony Curtis plays an (ex-)cop on the trail of the killer of his boyhood-idol priest, with Gilbert Roland (outwardly, a calm, assured typical San Franciscan Italian family member) his chief suspect. Curtis moves in with the family, then spends almost the entire film veering wildly between believing Roland totally innocent or guilty, producing all sorts of wild mood swings & unstable behaviour in him (Curtis). The final dramatic scene in Roland's store-hut will have you riveted to your seat! Like other reviewers, I recommend this movie wholeheartedly, although currently (January, 2015), it is not officially available on DVD.
Pay Day (1922)
Chaplin's finest 'Short.'
For me, this, Chaplin's final short, is also his finest. It has a good 'vibe' & everyone seems 'in the groove' from the word go. It also has excellent picture quality & even the best music score (composed by the man himself). Much has been made in previous reviews of the 2nd half (Chaplin 'on the town') failing to match the standard of the 1st (at work). True, the humour is different, but then it features Charlie relaxing after a day's work, &, in fact, provides a nice contrast to the hectic activity of earlier. And there are many funny moments contained therein - the two men putting on their coats haphazardly, Charlie missing the first two trolley-cars, then clambering desperately over the queue to ensure he is first on the next one, only to get squeezed out the other end (predictably, I suppose, but brilliantly done), mistaking the pie-stall for another trolley-car, trying to pretend to his wife he's up & ready for work when, in fact, he has just arrived home, etc. Just a mention for 'heavy' Mack Swain: I think he's more effective (if almost unrecognisable) as the mean, unsmiling foreman - without the moustache & eye make-up - than when he hams it up (as in 'The Movie Star', for example), though he's good in that, too.