Noir Watch: Deep Valley (1947)

Watch:  07/04/2023

Format:  TCM

Viewing:  First

Director:  Jean Negulesco

This one felt like it had pieces of noir mixed in with American Gothic melodrama more than what you think of when you start searching the shelves for a noir.  And that's fine.  It's not like people in 1947 were setting out to make "noir".  

As a movie featuring Ida Lupino, I was pre-inclined to give it a shot.  And she's great!  Maybe not as good as in other things, but she and Fay Bainter - who plays her mother - are both terrific in this movie.  

But I'm not sure the movie quite sticks the landing, and it's probably 15 minutes too long at an hour and 44 minutes.  It also really does echo High Sierra, which Lupino had starred in back in 1941, and it almost feels like she should have played the young naive woman of this film in 1941 and the more mature woman of High Sierra in '47.  But that's not how it worked out, and I don't have a time machine to tell them what to do.

Lupino plays a 22 year old (she's 28ish here) who has been the middle-man for her parents who have been at a stalemate for years since her father struck her mother.  Now, the two don't talk as their once grand house falls apart around them.  The mother hasn't left her room in *years* (don't ask me the logistics) having Lupino wait on her hand and foot, and the father lives downstairs and tends to the farm.  Sort of.  The entire house is falling apart and Lupino is a nervous mess, complete with a crippling stutter.

Meanwhile, a highway (the PCH, maybe?) is coming along the other side of the hill where she lives in a Deep Valley.  The road is being built with prison labor*, and each day Lupino sneaks off to watch shirtless men labor in the sun.  No, really.  It's incredibly horny.  

Anyway, she has a favorite in  Dane Clark.  One day the crew comes to the farmhouse to fill up some water buckets and while there, Clark gets in an altercation with a guard and gets sent to a shed awaiting a return to San Quentin.  A landslide occurs, and Clark escapes in the chaos. Meanwhile, Lupino sees the walls closing in on her (relating to the prisoners) and makes good her own escape into the woods.  

The pair come across each other and fall in love/ make it off camera.  

Turns our Clark has a bit of a temper, and is known to basically go into rages and deck people, which is how he ended up in jail.  But he's convinced the love of a good Lupino will fix all this.  

Lupino runs home to grab some supplies so the two can make good their escape, but first realizes in her absence, her parents figured their shit out, and also she's somewhat trapped by the posse using her house and not wanting to draw suspicion.

The movie walks some fine lines.  Clearly Lupino's naive virgin has never really known a man before and is throwing herself at the first guy to really take her fancy.  Similarly, Clark is putting way too much on Lupino as an angel who will save him from himself.  And the movie never really does anything to de-romanticize all of that.  Or address that Clark "doesn't mean it", but he sure has homicidal impulses and if Lupino were to leave with him, sure seems like she'd be dead within a year.

I *do* think the movie wants to say something about this, but it's left to a brief bit of dialog from her mother to put the seed of doubt in the audience's mind.  And I'm not sure the movie (and 1947) is aware of what it's setting up.  But like many movies of young couples caught in an impossible situation (see: They Live By Night), it's all Romeo and Juliet star-crossed romance.  People are gonna wind up dead before things are over.

According to show-notes presented by Eddie Muller, this could have been a John Garfield movie, and we might have had a marginally different picture if that had occurred.  We have to buy a lot in a short amount of time, and the movie doesn't always sell it.  I don't know how that looks with Garfield.

But, also, the movie wants us to believe Lupino doesn't look great in a blouse and jeans and that makes the movie a liar.

Still, it's an interesting movie if not a great one.  Not all of these are grand slams.  

*no, this is never addressed

Friday Night Watch: Confess, Fletch (2022)

I saw both of the Chevy Chase Fletch films in the theater, and was part of a generation of people who wanted desperately to be able to quip somewhere between Fletch and Peter Venkman from Ghostbusters, making for a bunch of horrible kids who said the worst thing at the worst time all the time.

But those Chevy Chase movies were both pretty solid, even if the first is definitely better than the second.  That said, I also remember my seventh grade Language Arts teacher informing us that the movies weren't a patch on the novels, and that Fletch was fundamentally different in the movies than what a coked-up Chevy Chase was delivering.  This did not convince me to check out the books because I was a fan of the movies and felt comfortable in my ignorance.  I have not lifted one of the 11 novels.

In the intervening years, I have no idea if anyone else attempted to make a Fletch movie.  Just wasn't on my radar.  And then in late 2022, I recall ads for a John Hamm movie that was, in fact a new Fletch installment.  

Hamm made his bones as Don Draper on Mad Men, but in subsequent years has shown great talent as a comedic actor as well as dramatic.  He's puzzlingly not quite caught on as a leading man in giant movies, but he has found a happy home in mid-budget films that wind up on streaming fairly quickly.  That said, his brand of comedy has rarely felt much like the persona Chase had made famous, so when I saw he was taking on Fletch, I had no idea how this would go.  

The movie itself completely flopped at the box office.  I have no idea what the plan was, but the domestic gross was about $540,000.  It wasn't a critical darling, but did have a decent RT and Metacritic score.  Still, it's telling that this just isn't the sort of thing people will leave the house to go see in 2023.

The first two Fletch films manage to have intensely convoluted plots, but it doesn't matter, because the plots are there as a vehicle for Chase to do his thing, and if he resolves the mystery, that's terrific.  He wears disguises and is constantly in motion, and that's enough.  This film has a similar and deeply convoluted plot, but Hamm's Fletch doesn't wear disguises, he barely puts on an act when he needs to and he adopts a name (if he can remember it), and I assume it's closer to the books.  But you do start to look at the seams of the mystery a lot more, and I'm not sure I entirely get why the murder occurs that Fletch was supposed to confess to that sets up the movie, or why the cops think Fletch knows the victim or would want to kill her (motive, means, etc...).  It's entirely random and circumstantial to outside eyes.

But the movie moves along at a good clip, Hamm is actually very funny and stays not quite a step ahead of everyone else unlike Chase's Fletch you thought was 5 steps ahead.  

The movie is helped along by a solid cast, including Kyle MacLachlan as an art broker, Marcia Gay Harden playing an Italian Contessa to the hilt, Roy Wood Jr. as a detective/ new father, Ayden Mayeri as Wood Jr's partner, and Annie Mumolo as a wacky neighbor.  And John Slattery briefly as Fletch's old boss, now in Boston.

It's kind of an ideal end-of-the-week movie that's not too much of anything, but also not... dumb.  

Mostly, I kind of think this should have been just a movie straight to Apple+ or Paramount (where I watched it), and it's fine.  It's the sort of thing we all paid to see a lot of in the 1990's.  But the fact the movie didn't make any money is probably much more of an indicator now of what people will just wait for than genuine disinterest in the movie.  I, for one, blocked time on my calendar to watch it when I saw it was on Paramount.  

Would I watch more installments on Hamm as Fletch?  I think I would.  He's enjoyable, the movie is light and fun, and his version of Fletch's persona in the face of chaos is actually pretty enjoyable.  But it's far less broad.  That's left to pretty much all the supporting characters.  So seeing them do this Knives Out style every two years or so would be welcome.  But, I suspect, that ain't happening.

Alan Arkin Merges With the Infinite

Alan Arkin, prolific and wildly talented actor, has passed at 89.

Arkin was a staple of media I consumed particularly in the 1990's, and was still a draw to this very day.  His roles were not often those of the lead or leading man, but he was always terrific and often the highlight of the films in which he appeared.  

For many of us, he was an avatar or the personification of our inner monologue through a well-crafted persona he brought to comedies (watch The In-Laws.  Brilliant.).  But there was no persona or genre or kind of film he didn't make better.

We were lucky to have him for so long and enjoy his work, which he was still doing through last year.

PodCast 247: "Ted Lasso: Season 3" Therapy Session w/ Mrshl, Maxwell and Ryan

Format:  Apple+

Decade:  2020's

For more ways to listen

MRSHL, Maxwell and Ryan have heard the final whistle on Season 3 of everyone's favorite show about a very well adjusted soccer team. After two wildly popular seasons, this season drew a wide range of opinions. Join us as we line up for a set-piece and see if we can't get it in the goal.

SoundCloud 

The Signal Watch PodCast · 247: "Ted Lasso: Season 3" Therapy Session w/ Mrshl, Maxwell and Ryan

YouTube

Part 1:

Part 2:

Music:

Ted Lasso Main Theme - Marcus Mumford and Tom Howe 

Fight Test - Flaming Lips

Doc Watch: Deepsea Challenge (2014)

Watched:  06/23/2023

Format:  YouTube

Viewing:  First

Director(s):  John Bruno, Ray Quint, Andrew Wight

Like everyone else, I spent last week keeping up with the story of the Titan, the submersible that was designed by a California firm who seemed to play pretty fast and loose with fairly common knowledge about the ways in which one usually plans and develops a vehicle intended for use 3800 meters below the ocean's surface.  As details about the Titan came out, as well as photos, my eyebrows were raised as I saw how the vehicle worked and how it looked.

Look, I'm no engineer, but you couldn't have gotten me in that thing for love or money.  I'm modestly aware of how submarines look, the need for redundancy and failsafe systems that are as robust as possible when one is not going to be in a position to be rescued should something go wrong.  And while I agree that Playstation controllers are a marvel, I also don't want to lose connectivity to my controller whilst being pulled by ocean currents.  And, really, those game paddles were seen as a sign of the clear hubris suggested by the ship's design and thumbing of the nose at well-established standards of engineering, and, in fact, physics, that I think some of us were responding to.  It was less a lack of respect for other engineers and more of a lack of respect for the danger.*

PodCast 246: "Out Of Sight" (1998) - A Social Bobcat / Neo-Noir Episode w/ Ryan

Watched:  06/16/2023

Format:  BluRay

Viewing:  Third?  Fourth?

Director:  Soderbergh

For more ways to listen

The Social Bobcat is back to dig deep into this 1990's classic of cool. Join us as we take a look at what forces were at play in the 1990's, what works in this movie that makes it okay to be cool, and that putting Clooney and JLo in your movie is not a bad idea.

SoundCloud 

The Signal Watch PodCast · 246: "Out Of Sight" (1998) - A Social Bobcat / Neo-Noir Episode w/ Ryan

YouTube

Music:

Fight the Power, Pt. 1 - The Isley Bros. 

Foley, Pt. 2 - David Holmes, Out of Sight OST 

Noir and Neo-Noir Playlist

The Signal Watch PodCast · Noir Watch

Happy Birthday to Jane Russell and Erica Durance

 

Today happens to mark the birthdays of both Erica Durance and Jane Russell.  

Durance is most famous around this site for her portrayal of Lois Lane on TV's Smallville, where she was an absolute highlight of the show.  She's currently doing a lot of TV and TV/Film work, so who knows what she'll be in this year, but I think we can guarantee a couple of Hallmark films.

Russell is a star of the studio-era of Hollywood, and there's many books and articles about her, and you can do your own research, but you should absolutely see Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.  

And, pondering Durance's early starring role, I do wonder what an A-List Superman of the 1940's and 50's would have looked like with Russell as Lois.  There's any number of actors who could have put on the cape, and I always think of Ruth Roman for Lois, but Russell would have been a fascinating choice.  

Anyway, keep your eyes peeled for Durance, who it looks like may have a mystery-movie series now on Hallmark.

Art House NSFW Watch: Singapore Sling (1990)

Watched:  06/19/2023

Format:  Criterion

Viewing:  First

Director:  Niklos Nikloidas

Sometimes JAL pitches a movie and, knowing nothing about it, I say "sure.  This will surely be different from my usual fare."  And, indeed, such is the case with 1990's Singapore Sling, a Greek-made film in English and French, that was part of a movement I'd never heard of before, that being a Greek-based Shock Cinema.  I am unsure this is a real movement, but this is maybe the second Greek film I've ever seen, and I know no one who is Greek, so, why not?

Firstly, I'm not sure I actually think you should watch this movie.  It's a real YMMV bit of cinema that is intended to deliberately provoke and upset and make you laugh.  In the US we'd call it exploitation cinema for lack of a better label, but I'd argue that label is on the wrong jar in this case.  

In general, I don't ask the question:  what is this movie for?

New Movie Watch: Ghosted (2023)

Watched:  06/17/2023

Format:  Apple+

Viewing:  First

Director:  Dexter Fletcher

What's funny about Ghosted (2023) is that if it came out 25 years ago, this movie would have been a fairly big theatrical hit.  Now it's dumped on Apple+, who immediately cease advertising any movie they own two days after the movie is released.  So, you probably already forgot to watch this one - if you ever considered it - and it's more than likely you forgot it exists.

It's also the sort of thing people used to go see, but now just shrug at, because we've seen a lot of stuff like this since True Lies (in my experience).  If you did see the trailer and thought "I know exactly what this is, so I'm good", you aren't wrong.  It's a movie that feels generated by AI at the script level, and relies entirely on the charm of stars Chris Evans and Ana de Armas - who are both charming as hell.  

Ape Watch: King Kong (1933)

Watched:  06/11/2023

Format:  BluRay

Viewing:  Unknown

Director:  Merian C. Cooper / Ernest B. Schoedsack

So, last week Stuart sent me a link to a doc on YouTube to watch.  It was, roughly, a 3-part series on King Kong (1933) and the impact of the film over decades.  I texted him 15 minutes in to the first part and said "there's no way I don't wind up watching Kong this weekend", and, indeed, I'm a man of my word.

We all have our foundational films, and King Kong, in it's very roundabout way, is one of mine.  

Growing up in the 1970's and 80's, and in the wake of the 70's monster craze, Kong was more or less a household name, concept, etc...  Everyone had an idea of King Kong as a giant ape liberated from an island who winds up in Manhattan and wreaks havoc, winding up atop the Empire State Building.  

My first exposure to Kong's full story was in a hard-back book my dad read to me (and, I assume, my brother) when I was about 5.  Only later would I learn it was an official novelization worked on by no less than Merian C. Cooper, director of the film.