Noir November: Gun Crazy (1950)

It's fun, it's fast-paced, it rarely lets up on the excitement once it moves into a higher gear, but Gun Crazy is also no different from so many other movies that we've seen before it, or since.

Peggy Cummins and John Dall play the two lovebirds, Annie and Barton, who bond over a shared love of, and skill with, firearms. Building a relationship on such a combustible foundation would seem like a sign of some shaky times ahead and, sure enough, it's not long until Annie is convincing Barton that the life they really want is one that they should take, as opposed to working hard for. Leave the daily grind to the other chumps, that's her view. They can keep moving, committing robberies here and there to earn enough money until they plan that one big score that will set them up for the rest of their lives. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Written by MacKinlay Kantor and Dalton Trumbo (using Millard Kaufman's name during the period that saw him blacklisted), this starts off as a fairly standard, genteel even, tale of boy meets girl. Okay, there's an opening sequence that shows a young Barton already obsessed, and skilled, with guns, but as soon as he reappears in adult form he seems to be a well-adjusted young man hoping to keep on the straight and narrow. It only takes a few main scenes, however, to move the film from sweetness to harder, "Bonnie & Clyde" territory. The main problem when that happens is that you know exactly where things have to go by the final reel. Also, the character played by Cummins is, by necessity, not all that likable.

Despite being stuck with a slightly loathsome character, Cummins does well in her portrayal of the scheming, cold-blooded Annie. Dall isn't quite as good, but he's stuck playing the sap for the majority of the movie. Anabel Shaw is very sweet in her few scenes, playing Barton's sister, and both Harry Lewis and Nedrick Young fill out the sparse supporting cast nicely, both playing friends of Barton who realise that they may have to get him arrested, once his exploits become nationwide news.

Director Joseph H. Lewis keeps everything rattling along enjoyably enough, but it's a film that seems to fall in between two stools. Fans of hard-boiled crime flicks may well find this one a bit lighter than they're used to, while anyone suckered in by the opening scenes may be disappointed when the movie veers away from romance to crime (although, to be fair, the title of the film is a pretty big clue).

I still think that it's a film worth your time. It just won't ever be a top priority while there are so many other, better noirs to work your way through.

7/10

http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Collection-Asphalt-Jungle-Murder/dp/B000244F2S/ref=sr_1_2?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1416355286&sr=1-2&keywords=gun+crazy

Night Of The Demon (1957)

Rightly regarded as a classic of the horror genre by many, Night Of The Demon is directed by the great Jacques Tourneur and based on the short story "Casting The Runes" by the great M. R. James. So it's basically got a foundation of greatness. The cast, which includes Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Nial MacGinnis, is full of people just right for their characters and therefore the movie can't really fail.

But then there are those moments in which the titular demon is shown onscreen. We'll get to those scenes later.

The plot is all about Dr. John Holden (Dana Andrews) and his visit to England to expose the workings of cult leader Dr. Julian Karswell (Nial MacGinnis). When he arrives, Dr. Holden is upset to hear that a colleague he was collaborating with (Professor Harrington, played by Maurice Denham) is dead. He is determined to continue his work but also ends up being assisted by Harrington's niece, Joanne (Peggy Cummins), as he investigates the mysterious death of the Professor. Meanwhile, Dr. Karswell predicts another death and seems very confident in his powers. Initially dismissive of the paranormal, Dr. Holden starts to believe that there may be something more happening that can't be easily explained but he only has a few days left to get to the bottom of everything if he is to avoid his own premature death.

With so many scenes positively dripping with atmosphere and some wonderful exchanges between "rational minds" and those who believe in the paranormal, Night Of The Demon is both old-fashioned horror at its simplest and best and also intelligent and full of characters who are enjoyably sceptical of what they see as a load of hokum.

Impressively, that scepticism runs through most of the movie. There are times when things occur that could be just coincidence (such as the moment in which Dr. Karswell "conjures up" a strong wind) and the movie is almost as much about the way in which people only need to believe in something bad for their behaviour to change in such a way that brings about a self-fulfilling prophecy.

The script is by Charles Bennett and Hal E. Chester (who was also an executive producer and quite a meddlesome presence), with some uncredited work from Cy Endfield, and they deserve their credit but the fact is that the source material was superb. For that reason, even though it may seem slightly unfair, I give the most thanks to M. R. James and director Tourneur, who knew exactly how to make the best of every scene.

Oh, I've still to mention the moments when the demon itself appears onscreen. This has long been a bone of contention among many horror fans, with most claiming that those scenes spoil an otherwise perfect film. Tourneur claims that he never wanted the demon to be shown so directly and the blame is often heaped upon Chester for this major mis-step. Mind you, according to the excellent Beating The Devil: The Making Of Night Of The Demon by Tony Earnshaw, the offending, unambiguous shots were included in the early stages of production development.

I'm in agreement with the majority anyway, those scenes DO spoil an otherwise perfect film. On the other hand, this movie has that great mix of onscreen quality and offscreen turbulence that makes it just as enjoyable to watch and investigate further nowadays as it would have been over 50 years ago.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Night-Demon-DVD-Dana-Andrews/dp/B003WL825Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352567601&sr=8-1