A beautiful odd little gem of the genre. The plot is true Noire: a single criminal act and their inner demons of greed (for power, for wealth, for an unrequited love) bind the central characters together for their whole lives (even if one of them is unaware of it for years!); society is corrupt and corrupting and only those living on the edges retain any of their humanity; coincidence piles up upon coincidence leading inevitably to the tragic end. The climactic scene is great: masks come off, there's a searing betrayal about every two minutes or so, and you're left in suspense right up until the last moment as to who's going to live and who's going to die. The end result is both surprising and, in retrospect, tragically inevitable
I say "odd little gem" for two reasons. One is that it's a fairly big budget film; at least in comparison to a lot of the other Noire films which were mostly from Poverty Row studios. As such the production values are at the same both time too high as far as stage settings go, and yet too unimaginative and factory-like, in that you won't see any of the innovative camera work that Noire is famous for. So it doesn't really seem like Noire. The other is that it's sort of hard to place as to sub-genre: sort of a cross between the "Hand of Fate" category, epitomized by the film "Detour" and the "Femme Fatale" category.
The Femme Fatale, of course, is Barbara Stanwyck. She is one sick puppy here! If you thought she was scary in "Double Indemnity" you ain't seen nothing yet! A fantastic performance in a part made to order for her. I haven't seen any Van Helfin before but am impressed by how he engages your sympathies from the beginning here. And what a debut for Kirk Douglas! His character is so bemused by the burning down of his whole life that he steals almost every scene that he's in: no mean feat with Stanwyck on the set. Sadly, although I am a big Scott fan, there's nothing much for her here. The character is a one-note, small town waif and the dialogue that she's given is wooden and woodenly delivered. Still, it's only her second film and her best performances are still in the future.
I say "odd little gem" for two reasons. One is that it's a fairly big budget film; at least in comparison to a lot of the other Noire films which were mostly from Poverty Row studios. As such the production values are at the same both time too high as far as stage settings go, and yet too unimaginative and factory-like, in that you won't see any of the innovative camera work that Noire is famous for. So it doesn't really seem like Noire. The other is that it's sort of hard to place as to sub-genre: sort of a cross between the "Hand of Fate" category, epitomized by the film "Detour" and the "Femme Fatale" category.
The Femme Fatale, of course, is Barbara Stanwyck. She is one sick puppy here! If you thought she was scary in "Double Indemnity" you ain't seen nothing yet! A fantastic performance in a part made to order for her. I haven't seen any Van Helfin before but am impressed by how he engages your sympathies from the beginning here. And what a debut for Kirk Douglas! His character is so bemused by the burning down of his whole life that he steals almost every scene that he's in: no mean feat with Stanwyck on the set. Sadly, although I am a big Scott fan, there's nothing much for her here. The character is a one-note, small town waif and the dialogue that she's given is wooden and woodenly delivered. Still, it's only her second film and her best performances are still in the future.
Tell Your Friends