Well this is it, Faustketeers. Another year, another stellar Noir City festival in the books. Also another year of exile in the Pacific Northwest for me, but who’s counting? Will I ever go back to Hollywood, or is this just how life is now?
But hey, that’s a me-problem, not a you-problem, so forget about all that existential bullshit. Let’s eat pie and talk about the movies.
Make it key lime, because we’re off to Mi-amuh for some sweaty, gator-infested Florida Noir!
It’s always cause for celebration at the Fausthaus when I get a chance to write up a flick I’ve never seen. This one is a bare-bones prison farm potboiler featuring brunette Audrey Totter (!) and Richard Conte trying to beat Edward G. Robinson in BLACK TUESDAY for the anti-est antihero of this year’s line up. He doesn’t quite make it, but A for effort, kid!
When a sexy songbird (Totter) gets an offer she can’t refuse from a gangster regular (Conte) who wants to take her north and make her a star, she winds up witnessing a murder. She drops a dime on the gangster and sends him up the river, promptly disappearing from the narrative for the majority of the film. We’re left following the gangster as he becomes a trusty in prison and foments his various sleazy, ruthless machinations. Lucky for us, but not so lucky for her, he just can’t leave the songbird alone and I guess I don’t have to tell you how that works out for him.
This is a fun little flick, nasty, brutish and short, but we’ve seen some top tier Prison Noir from around the world this year, and it just doesn’t hold up against them. That being said, it’s still worth tracking down for noir completists and Tawdry Otter enthusiasts.
Now let’s head up the coast for NEW YORK CONFIDENTIAL.
Richard Conte is back as a hit man who falls for his boss’ daughter.
The crackerjack cast is rounded out by Broderick Crawford, Mike Mazurki and sultry Anne Bancroft, and I’ve already written it up. (Scroll down!)
Side note: brunette slapping double bill!
Closing the show this year was LE SAMOURAÏ, which deserves its own write up, coming later today.