"High Sierra" came out in January of '41; "Falcon" in October. Wonder if the PR people were selling the latter as more action-oriented than it was, esp. with Bogey as a nominal "good guy" as Spade.

If you haven't seen "High Sierra," btw, please do. Bogart's in peak form, as is Ida Lupino. And there's a film noir aspect to its gangster-on-the-run plot, for sure.

PS: The dog in the picture was really Bogey's.


 

Yeah, have to agree that as great as Bogart is in the movie, he's far from being the only standout aspect to it. Greenstreet and Lorre are particularly outstanding and their roles in the Maltese Falcon have become almost as iconic in their way as Bogart's Spade. But the whole production is so well done that it'S easy to forget how good everything is - the writing for example: Huston was very smart to stick so closely to Hammett's book and the result is a tightly constructed film with great dialogue and set-pieces.

So my wife unexpectedly, and incredibly kindly, gave me half the day completely to myself, and I decided to turn it into a mini movie marathon, watching M (1931), Chinatown (1974), and The Big Sleep (1946), and I learned a lot about Noir and my Noir-related preferences from watching them in such close proximity to one another.

For one thing, I've got my own working definition of a Noir film now. I think it's a film set in (then) modern times, telling the story of a character outside of the law wading through a world of crime, but not the classy, elegant criminal underworld of a typical mafia or spy film; it's got to feel dirty, messy, and sleazy, and the character has to be willing to dirty himself as well, often unable to come out clean and/or victorious by the close. I figured this out largely after watching M because, as different as all the Noir films I've watched thus far have been, M is the only one that felt like it didn't fit, and it's because it doesn't meet the critera I just laid out. The criminal underworld in that film is very clean and well organized, our protagonist does not wade in their filth at all, operating entirely outside of it and in regular society until the end, and his cleanliness or lack thereof is an issue completely left unresolved/unaddressed at the close.

For another thing, I think I like the gumshoe sub-genre of Noir the most. It gives the protagonist the opportunity to be a hero of sorts, and I'm drawn to that, whereas other Noir protagonists tend to be just as dirty (or worse) as those who surround them. It's still why I couldn't get into Double Indemnity. Well made film, but I have to be able to connect with my protagonist, and cleverness without pathos isn't enough for me. I like a good anti-hero, but he still has to be heroic. Besides, gumshoe films tend to be clever and give off a particular kind of decrepit atmosphere that I could almost wallow around in comfortably.

Finally, Humphrey Bogart is my man. I hadn't watched much with him in it before (Return of Doctor X doesn't count), but watching The Big Sleep right after Chinatown was eye opening for me. As well done as Chinatown was, I couldn't get totally into it because Jack Nicholson's J.J. Gittes, while not wanting to be a bad guy, isn't a hero either. He's brilliant but, ultimately, too slimy and self-hating, as well as unable to be truly heroic in the close. I NEEDED him to shoot the bad guy in the end, or knock down those police officers with a little more resolve while they were firing at an innocent woman. Instead, he watched one innocent victim get killed and another resigned to a fate worse than death because he wasn't a hero. Chinatown's charm, I'm sure, is that surprise ending, as well as the overall misery, loathing, and decrepitude that pervades the film. I can admire that, but I can't enjoy it.

Bogie, on the other hand, is an absurd but fun feel-good fantasy, no different than a super powered guy running around in a cape and spandex. He rolls around in the filth and can comfortably live there for a time, but he shakes it off every time. The filth never sticks to his skin. He's a hero, through and through, no matter what he says about himself, or who he's kissed when he shouldn't have. Granted, I haven't seen his earlier films, but in Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and Key Largo, he plays very different characters who all share that undeniable heroic streak. They have all the integrity in the world when it matters, and never fail to act in pursuit of what's right, no matter how stupid a move it may prove to be. I can't get enough of that.

I really have to thank you for choosing this month's theme. Noir is not a genre that I would have gotten around to exploring anytime in the next ten years if you hadn't assigned it.

Squeezed in one more tonight: Stanley Kubrick's The Killing (1956).

This one blew me away. It had the criminal brilliance of Double Indemnity with a cast you could actually feel something for. And Kubrick's screenplay and cinematic style -- I count at least half a dozen films I've seen that borrow heavily from what he did here. Additionally, I've always liked Elisha Cook and was psyched to see him earn a leading role.

Really, I don't think I've ever seen a Kubrick film I didn't adore. I really need to see them all, eventually.

Already adore that one