Notícias

Perhaps more than most genres, Westerns are a genre driven by star power. Certain movie stars possess the ideal qualities needed to properly portray Western heroes and villains. During Hollywood's Golden Era, actors such as John Wayne, James Stewart, and Randolph Scott encompassed the quintessential Western star. The latter half of the twentieth century saw the likes of Clint Eastwood, Jeff Bridges, and Kevin Costner emerge as part of the next generation of iconic Western movie stars.

An often overlooked aspect of the Western is the array of female stars that cemented their legacies through the genre. Actresses such as Barbara Stanwyck, Maureen O'Hara, and Jane Russell enjoyed immense success in the Western genre through their starring roles. Character actresses like Jane Darwell, Joanne Dru, and Katy Jurado became staple figures in dozens of Westerns during Hollywood's Golden Era. These phenomenal actresses played an integral role in shaping the history of the Western genre.

Viavision’s second deluxe Film Noir boxed finds real variety in the film style, with entries that range from low-budget efforts to a picture filmed on location in Mexico. Richard Conte solves a notorious movie studio murder in Hollywood Story, Gig Young is a cop who considers going crooked in City that Never Sleeps, Glenn Ford dodges murderous treasure hunters in Plunder of the Sun and Steve Cochran’s cop really does go rogue in Private Hell 36.

Essential Film Noir Collection 1

Blu-ray (Region-Free)

Viavision [Imprint] 18, 19, 20, 21

1947-1957 / B&w / 1:37 Academy / 327 min. / Street Date October 28, 2020 / Available from Viavision [Imprint] / 149.99

Starring: Richard Conte, Julia Adams; Gig Young, Mala Powers, Marie Windsor; Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina; Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff.

Directed by William Castle, John H. Auer, John Farrow, Don Siegel

Viavision’s noir series throws a wide net, with two debuts on Blu-ray and one full debut on home video.

“You know, it’s wonderful when guys like you lose out. Makes guys like me think maybe we got a chance in this world.”

Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in Dark Passage screens at Webster University Tuesday February 12th. The screening will be at 7:30 at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium (470 East Lockwood). A Facebook invite for the event can be found Here. This is the third of four Humphrey Bogart/Lauren Bacall collaborations screening at Webster in February. The final film will be Key Largo Feb 26th. Look for more coverage of this great Bogey and Bacall film series here at We Are Movie Geeks in the coming weeks.

Dark Passage (1947) was the third of the four Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall pairings of the 40s. It’s the least remembered, but it’s great entertainment and Bacall and Bogart really steam up the screen. The movie starts off brilliantly,...

“You know, it’s wonderful when guys like you lose out. Makes guys like me think maybe we got a chance in this world.”

Dark Passage (1947) screens Wednesday April 19th at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in ‘The Loop’) as part of their new ‘Classics in the Loop’ Crime & Noir film series. The movie starts at 7pm and admission is $7. It will be on The Tivoli’s big screen.

Dark Passage (1947) was the third of the four Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall pairings of the 40s. It’s the least remembered, but it’s great entertainment and Bacall and Bogart really steam up the screen. The movie starts off brilliantly, shown from the P.O.V. of Vincnet Parry (Bogart), a prison escapee, who has been wrongly incarcerated for his wife’s murder. While on the run he is picked up by a beautiful woman who has been following his case...

“You know, it’s wonderful when guys like you lose out. Makes guys like me think maybe we got a chance in this world.”

Dark Passage (1947) screens Wednesday April 19th at The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar in ‘The Loop’) as part of their new ‘Classics in the Loop’ Crime & Noir film series. The movie starts at 7pm and admission is $7. It will be on The Tivoli’s big screen.

Dark Passage (1947) was the third of the four Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall pairings of the 40s. It’s the least remembered, but it’s great entertainment and Bacall and Bogart really steam up the screen. The movie starts off brilliantly, shown from the P.O.V. of Vincnet Parry (Bogart), a prison escapee, who has been wrongly incarcerated for his wife’s murder. While on the run he is picked up by a beautiful woman who has been following his case...

Bogie's back and Bacall's got him! Or, at least she's got his voice, and a bundle of bandages. A David Goodis hardboiled crime tale becomes an absurd pile of coincidences and accidental relationships, all wrapped up (literally) in a giant plastic-surgery gimmick. Bogart and his new bride Bacall are charming, but there's a show -stealer at large: the great Agnes Moorehead plays the most entertainingly horrible harpy in film history. Dark Passage Blu-ray Warner Archive Collection 1947 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 106 min. / Street Date May 17, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 16.59 Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Agnes Moorehead, Bruce Bennett, Tom D'Andrea, Clifton Young, Douglas Kennedy, Rory Mallinson, Houseley Stevenson Cinematography Sid Hickox Art Direction Charles H. Clarke Film Editor David Weisbart Original Music Franz Waxman Written by Delmer Daves from a novel by David Goodis Produced by Jerry Wald, Jack L. Warner Directed by Delmer Daves

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

Dark Passage...

Remember Charlie Chaplin's 'The Killer with a Heart?' You too will be frustrated by this well-produced story of a slum kid who commits an unpardonable crime... except that a do-gooder priest wants to pardon him. Dana Andrews and Farley Granger star but the good work is in the smaller roles of this urban tragedy. Edge of Doom DVD-r The Warner Archive Collection 1950 / B&W / 1:37 flat Academy / 97 min. / Street Date February 9, 2016 / available through the WBshop / 18.59 Starring Dana Andrews, Farley Granger, Joan Evans, Robert Keith, Paul Stewart, Mala Powers, Adele Jergens, Harold Vermilyea, John Ridgely, Douglas Fowley, Mabel Paige, Howland Chamberlain, Houseley Stevenson Sr., Jean Inness, Ellen Corby, Ray Teal. Cinematography Harry Stradling Film Editor Daniel Mandell Original Music Hugo Friedhofer Written by Philip Yordan Produced by Samuel Goldwyn Directed by Mark Robson

Reviewed by Glenn Erickson

What's the most hopeless, depressing, feel-bad film noir on the charts? How about Detour,...

Unbridled Passion by Howard Hughes

Following the release in March of ‘A Man Called Gannon’ (1968), Simply Media in the UK continue to release more Universal-International westerns, this time of 1940s and ‘50s vintage. The new releases, out on 18 April, are ‘Calamity Jane & Sam Bass’ (1949), ‘Cattle Drive’ (1951) and ‘Black Horse Canyon’ (1954). This trio of films are literally ‘Horse Operas’, with the accent on thoroughbred steeds and their importance and role in the working west. Be they cattle drovers, stock breeders or outlaws, where would any of them be without the horse? The answer, of course, is walking.

I’ll review the DVDs in the order I watched them. First up is ‘Cattle Drive’, a 1951 western directed by Kurt Neumann. Chester Graham Jnr (Dean Stockwell), the spoilt, arrogant son of railroad magnet Chester Graham Snr (Leon Ames), is accidentally left behind when the train he is travelling on makes a water stop.

Dark Passage

Written by Delmer Daves

Directed by Delmer Daves

U.S.A., 1947

As a pickup truck transporting a collection of large sized barrels leaves San Quentin prison, one of its shipments topples over and rolls down a roadside hill. From it sprouts recently convicted convict Vincent Parry who then perilously makes his way to San Francisco where he plans to uncover the truth about his wife’s murder for which he claims to have been wrongfully accused. It is in San Francisco that Vincent luckily makes the acquaintance of one Irene Jansen (Lauren Bacall), a lonesome woman who, through a few degrees of separation, has ties to Vincent and hopes to assist him in his plight, particularly when a common foe, Madge Rapf (Agnes Moorehead) visits Irene, claiming that Vincent is on the loose and will surely find and kill her as well. With so much heat on his tail,...