dcole-2

Compact, tough little noir with Don Castle playing a dual role as the new D.A. and a criminal who impersonates him. Complications ensue when the good guy then has to impersonate the bad guy -- but the bad guy's wife shows up. Joe Sawyer is effective playing against his normal type as a corrupt cop. Edward Keane plays the main bad guy, wheelchair-bound but still able to be dastardly. Good to see Jeff Chandler (on the bad side) and James Arness (on the good side) in small but effective roles. It moves fast, the story's not bad and the cast acquits itself well. This one's a rarity that I saw at the American Cinematheque film noir festival. Very much worth your time.

Three stories ostensibly about New York, though really only the last one is -- the others could have been set anywhere. But the gimmick is that in each story the same three main actors play the three main parts. The stories are surprisingly good in an O. Henry-type of way. Sometimes the acting gets into that over-the-top histrionics you may dread in silent films, but frequently it seems quite modern and undated. First story's about the wife of a rich man who gets blackmailed by a mysterious person from her past. Second one is about a vamp who picks up a rich man in a club... and he happens to be married. Third one is set in the poverty-stricken East Side (with lots of great exteriors on the river) about a woman who marries a man she doesn't love and has to care for his paralyzed father. All very worthwhile, even if Charles Brabin's style is sometimes stodgy. Wish it were on DVD. Saw it at Cinecon 43 in Hollywood.

Just saw this at a screening at the American Cinematheque with director Tony Palmer present. For the record, interviews and performances include: Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, Cream, Frank Zappa, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Martin, Donovan, Jimi Hendrix, Manfred Mann, Lulu, The Who, Pete Townshend, Anthony Burgess and others. Great to see the fine performances; trenchant insight from Zappa. McCartney and Donovan seem like naive, starry-eyed idealists in hindsight. But a lot of what seems most dated is the whole "what's this pop music all about?" stuff from guys in suits doing experiments and such -- seems almost like a Monty Python parody of this kind of BBC documentary. Still, just as archival footage, it's a treat. Wish he'd shown some performance footage of Zappa and the Mothers, since all the other bands are well represented.