The brusque and harebrained Illegal

Posted on October 23, 2011 by Bill Wren

Edward G. Robinson was one helluva a good actor. He even makes this exercise in the absurd and perfunctory a crime drama you can watch, even enjoy at moments. Often found in film noir collections, it isn’t noir. In a … Read more →

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Can a film noir be too perfectly noir?

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Bill Wren

I think I’m one of the few people who doesn’t care much for Out of the Past. It may be that for me the closer a movie gets to film noir, the less it appeals to me. I can’t argue … Read more →

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Out of the Past (1947)

Posted on July 9, 2011 by Bill Wren

Directed by Jacques Tourneur Often regarded as one of the quintessential film noirs, if not the film noir, Out of the Past is a movie I have a difficult time watching despite its bona fides. Perhaps it is because of … Read more →

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When style beats the pants off of story

Posted on May 23, 2011 by Bill Wren

Among the many fascinating and, in this case, amazing things about The Maltese Falcon is that it was the first film for Sydney Greenstreet who was 62 years old at the time. Can you imagine any actor today getting a … Read more →

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The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Posted on May 22, 2011 by Bill Wren

Directed by John Huston Has any movie ever produced as many imitations, and such an array of imitations, as The Maltese Falcon? * The movie itself has been imitated both in live action and animation. The characters have been imitated … Read more →

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High Sierra (1941)

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Bill Wren

Directed by Raoul Walsh The movie High Sierra is notable and highly watchable for a number of things not the least of which is its status as Humphrey Bogart’s first starring role. It’s the one that placed him pretty firmly … Read more →

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High Sierra: When the bad guy is the good guy

Posted on May 21, 2011 by Bill Wren

I recently finished reading Stefan Kanfer’s Tough Without a Gun: The Life and Extraordinary Afterlife of Humphrey Bogart. (The title is from something Raymond Chandler said of Bogart.) So of course, I’m back to watching Bogart movies, at least for … Read more →

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