L'esclave du gang

For me, the best part about this film was the exceptional lighting which made this a great movie to see on DVD. The great black-and-white photography reminded of films like The Sweet Smell Of Success and To Kill A Mockingbird. The camera-work in this movie does not take a backseat to those great films, believe me.

Story-wise, it's a somewhat-familiar Joan Crawford movie with a bit more emphasis on the melodrama than the film noir, a la Mildred Pierce. That's a compliment because "Mildred" was a well-crafted story and so is this. It's an effective mixture of drama and noir. However, unlike "Mildred," this Crawford character ("Ethel" aka "Mrs. Forvbes") has a worldly edge to her with a chip on her big shoulders. It's tough to sympathize with her in this story, frankly.

Kent Smith plays her naive, wimpy dupe for much of the film but when David Brian enters the scene, the movie really picks up. Gangster Brian is nobody's patsy and he's fascinating, portraying the most intense character in the story.

This is another one of the fine classic movies that never got a VHS showing but finally got a break with a recent DVD release, which is all the better since the camera-work is deserving of the nice look this transfer gives it. Once more, another impressive movie from 1950, one of the better years Hollywood ever had.

Joan Crawford stars in this film noir employing the homme fatale (thanks to Eddie Muller for the knowledge drop) or fatal man in this tale of rags, riches & death. Crawford is a hard working woman involved in a loveless marriage & when the only bright spot of their lives, their son, dies in a senseless tragedy she decides to better her station in life by becoming a permanent arm fixture to some gangsters. Supposedly modeled on the life of Virginia Hill, Bugsy Siegel's squeeze, Crawford plays her part w/the proper amount of pathos & nerve which she excelled at through much of her career & she enlivens & betters this vehicle just by being in it.

Absolutely love film-noir/melodrama, have done for a long time, though my main reason for seeing 'The Damned Don't Cry' was Joan Crawford. Not ever the most subtle of actresses, being prone at times to excess, but always an incredibly magnetic one who commanded the screen to transfixing effect in a vast majority of her films. 'Mildred Pierce', one of my favourite films of hers and a contender for her best performance, being a prime example of this.

'The Damned Don't Cry' turned out to be very enjoyable and well worth the time. There are better Crawford films and performances, but she is still in a role that plays to her strengths as an actress, perfect for her actually and like it was made for her, and 'The Damned Don't Cry' itself does nothing to squander her talent or over-stretch her. Crawford is wonderful and basically is the film, intense, deeply felt and played to the hilt with utter commitment, even if subtlety is not always there. She is effortlessly commanding while not over-balancing the film too much, with it not feeling too much like the Joan Crawford Show.

It's not just Crawford that's good. The rest of the cast fare quite well too, with Steve Cochran and especially David Brian exuding nastiness without over-doing it. Selena Royle is similarly good. 'The Damned Don't Cry' looks great too. Especially the noir-ish lighting, It's beautifully and atmospherically shot and the sets are similarly atmospheric. Crawford's clothes are stunning and like characters of their own. The music avoids being intrusive yet has presence with a haunting edge.

One of 'The Damned Don't Cry's' most notable elements is the script, which positively crackles and has tautness, mostly not being overwrought. The story is always compelling with its fair share of surprises and suspense, surprising steaminess too. The more melodramatic element has a lot of edge and emotion. It's non stop slickness and entertainment and the pacing never lets up.

Credulity is strained towards the end and Vincent Sherman's direction, while mostly more than competent, could have done with more restraint in places.

Faring weakest of all is Kent Smith, the character is not an interesting one to begin with but Smith plays him incredibly colourlessly and gets practically lost amongst everything else.

Overall, very well done with Crawford rightly dominating. 8/10

Loosely based on Virginia Hill (Bugsy Seigel's moll), Director Vincent Sherman's film gives it a melodramatic gloss adapting it for star Joan Crawford. Enough of the essential underworld nastiness survives to edge it into Noir territory. Crawford plays Ethel, an unhappy housewife to an oil worker (Richard Egan). Fed up, Ethel moves to the big apple to start her life anew. She ends up as model for a fashion house, earning extra "tips" by wining and dining the firm's clients after hours. Along with the company's accountant Martin (Kent Smith), the pair end up meeting the head honcho for a crime syndicate, the oily George Castleman (David Brian). The pair finagle their way into Castleman's graces through Martin's ease with figures and Ethel's figure* (and her clawing to the top, wiles). On 'assignment' to the West Coast to keep tabs on a renegade operative in Castleman's organization, Nick Prenta (Steve Cochran), Ethel becomes further entangled. The screenplay and production are very slick. The acting smooth. DAMNED is a well done and smoothly entertaining film. Crawford gives a standout performance as the social climber who seemingly will stop on nothing to get what she wants, no matter who she has to hurt along the way. Cochran is charismatic as the Bugsy Siegel stand-in. The casting of the ultimate milquetoast Kent Smith is a master-stroke, perfectly setting up the character's story arc. David Brian has an icy frightening glare which Cinematographer Ted McCord amplifies, at one point making his eyes glow like something out of VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED! DAMNED DON'T CRY is a fine example of sunlit Noir (although there are plenty of dark scenes) and an interesting cross-over with gangster crime pictures. Using Frank Sinatra's real Palm Springs pad as Prenta's hang gives it that much extra verisimilitude. Keeping all the other superlatives in mind, this is still Crawford's picture. Her avaricious Ethel is Noir classic. Of course, any similarity to the actresses real life persona is strictly intentional!

* P.S. One aspect of the film that is the elephant in the room is that the viewer has to accept that Crawford's physical beauty is such that it makes every man she meets melt in front of her. She was an attractive woman, particularly in her earlier years, but, by the time of DAMNED she was hitting her mid-40s. Watching men drool as if Gene Tierney, Ava Gardner or Rita Hayworth had strided into the room is a bit much.

'The Damned Don't Cry' is an obvious attempt to capitalize on Joan Crawford's success with 'Mildred Pierce' (also made with Warner Bros.) Both films are melodrama tinged with noir, although I would certainly hesitate to classify 'Damned...' as a noir. It has a few of the noir trademarks, but is not executed particularly well enough to be considered as a true film noir.

Like 'Mildred Pierce' it begins with a murder, and is then told via Joan's (her character's name - don't laugh - is Ethel)flashback. We're then treated to some vintage down home Joan, again like her character in 'Mildred Pierce' she is a struggling mother trying to please her child. Instead of tryng to buy a dress for Veda, in 'The Damned Don't Cry' she is trying to purchase a bike for her pathetic son.

The morality of the 50s is in full effect here, again like 'Mildred Pierce'. In the latter film, when the woman leaves the family home and has desires for a professional life, chaos and misery begins. The same is true for 'The Damned...'. Ethel wants a life better than her near-poverty existence, having to leave her husband and child. Therefore, she must be punished in the eyes of the narrative. Ethel then gets mixed up in some gangster situations. There's one amusing scene where in a restaurant her date (a poor accountant) orders 'a chicken salad and a coffee' and Joan nearly has a seizure. The mise en scene changes when Ethel is involved with the criminal activities: a gothic mansion is used and the lighting begins to contrast between light and dark. But, again, not really enough to make a convincing case for this being a noir.

Joan gives a good performance as Ethel/Lorna. Certainly not one of her best, but she is particularly good in the final scenes. If you enjoyed 'Mildred Pierce' or 'Flamingo Road', this is one to watch.