The Blue Dahlia (1946)

While it's no classic, and certainly a rung or two below The Glass Key (a film sharing many of the cast members), there's some easy fun to be had with The Blue Dahlia, a film written by Raymond Chandler and directed by George Marshall.

Alan Ladd plays Johnny Morrison, a man who gets home from military service to find that his wife (Doris Dowling) hasn't exactly been sitting at the window with a lamp on, awaiting his return. She's been living it up, particularly enjoying the company of Eddie Harwood (Howard Da Silva). The husband and wife argue, the husband storms out, and later that night there's a murder. It looks like Johnny is the man the police desperately want to get a hold of, but his friends, played by William Bendix and Hugh Beaumont, don't want to see him imprisoned. Even if they suspect that he may have done it. Johnny also finds an ally in the shape of a woman (Veronica Lake) he doesn't realise is actually Mrs. Harwood.

The Blue Dahlia may not have the best script or the most thrills, but it's an enjoyable enough watch, thanks mainly to the characters populating the onscreen world. Ladd has always been more of a stoic than charismatic lead, but that suits just fine in a film such as this. Lake is always captivating, Da Silva is enjoyably slippery and nobody does the big lug quite like Bendix. Will Wright, Tom Powers and others all help to keep boredom at bay.

There aren't any surprises here, no twists and turns beyond those that fans of crime flicks will see coming a mile away, but everything moves along well enough. There's a final scene that ties up any loose ends, without spending more time than necessary on each detail, and every element onscreen is at least competent and satisfying, despite being unspectacular and a bit lacking in excitement. Still worth a watch though, especially for anyone who enjoys the movie stars of this era.

6/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-Noir-Collection-Kirk-Douglas/dp/B000UWXM1C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384710199&sr=8-1&keywords=film+noir+collection

The Glass Key (1942)

Brian Donlevy plays the central character in this enjoyable film noir, but the movie really belongs to Alan Ladd, playing his smart, loyal, right hand man. And the fact that Veronica Lake is also in the cast means that she steals many scenes simply by being as beautiful as she is.

The story, by Dashiell Hammett, is all about a smooth criminal named Paul Madvig (Donlevy) who wants to straighten up his act and move forwards in life. This is due, in no small part, to his falling for Janet Henry (Lake). As Paul starts to ruffle some feathers, particularly those of a crook named Nick Varna (Joseph Calleia), he finds himself being set up for a big fall. A murder rap could be pinned on him, and it could be hard to beat. Thankfully, his friend, and star employee, Ed Beaumont (Ladd) is also hard to beat, and he keeps digging around to find out who the real murderer was and how everything is being laid at Paul's feet.

Directed by Stuart Heisler, this is an unspectacular film that eventually blossoms into a thing of subtle beauty. Early scenes make viewers prepare themselves for another standard crime flick, but as Ed starts to use his intelligence while so many other people use fists and/or bullets it goes from strength to strength.

Ladd may not be the most charismatic actor to have graced the silver screen, but in the latter half of the film he does perfectly fine as someone who won't give up, no matter how much others try to deter him with threats and beatings. Donlevy is wonderfully smooth, and often a step or two behind Ladd's character, in the role of Paul, making him a reformed criminal that's easy to root for when compared to the other bad guy. And Calleia is good enough as that other bad guy, he's suitably ruthless and brutal. William Bendix, as a big man who administers beatings when ordered, is also pretty brutal, and there's a middle section that's surprisingly gruelling to watch thanks to his involvement. Lake is lovely, it's all too easy to see why a man would change his ways to try to be with her.

The script, by Jonathan Latimer, is very good, even if it falls just short of the greatness of the truly classic noirs. Ladd gets most of the best lines, but any exchange of dialogue between himself and Donlevy or Bendix ends up being quite enjoyable.

I'm not sure if this is a generally well-liked film, but I certainly liked it, a lot, and I hope that others will at least give it a watch, to see whether or not they agree.

8/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-Noir-Collection-Kirk-Douglas/dp/B000UWXM1C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1384370873&sr=8-1&keywords=film+noir

The Big Steal (1949)

Film noir purists may shake their head at The Big Steal being in the same company as movies such as The Killers and Double Indemnity, but that doesn't make the movie itself any less enjoyable.

What The Big Steal lacks in darkness and grit, it more than makes up for with charisma (thanks to Robert Mitchum in the lead role) and a cracking script.

Mitchum is a man who has been accused of robbery. To clear his name he must capture the real thief (Patric Knowles), a man who is also being pursued by a woman named Joan Graham (Jane Greer). The two pursuers initially mistrust one another, but end up joining forces to get to their target. Meanwhile, William Bendix plays a man who is chasing Mitchum and Ramon Novarro is an Inspector General who suspects that something is going on right under his nose, but allows everyone to go about their business while he keeps tabs on them.

Directed by Don Siegel, this feels more in line with adventure movies than film noirs. It's worth noting, however, that the script (by Daniel Mainwaring and Gerald Drayson Adams) has some great twists and turns in there. The first scenes play around with the identities of the main characters while the third act mixes some tension with one or two fun reveals.

Mitchum, who began his career in the 1940s and seemed to spend the next two or three decades making up for lost time, gives a wonderful performance here. He's as tough as he needs to be, and also charming enough to keep Greer, who holds her own alongside him, on his side. Knowles and Bendiz are both just fine, but it's Novarro who steals a number of scenes as he hides his intelligence behind a fumbling exterior.

While it's unlikely to make any "best of..." lists, this is a fun time from start to finish, especially for fans of the main stars.

7/10

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Film-Noir-Collection-Kirk-Douglas/dp/B000UWXM1C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383568472&sr=8-1&keywords=film+noir+box+set

Who Done It? (1942)

Abbott & Costello play two soda jerks who are really just killing time until they can get a chance to impress their local radio station with one of their murder mystery radioplays. They get lucky and gain entrance to the station, just in time for a reading of an entertaining murder mystery, but are then unlucky enough to become suspects when a murder is committed. Our two leads try to solve the case to make their names but, more importantly, try to stay alive while doing so.

Who Done It? is a lot of fun. It's a great mix of comedy and murder mystery and certainly works a LOT better than the earlier Hold That Ghost. The two leads are on great form and the plot pauses now and again for a few fun routines (including Lou being scammed a number of times by Walter Tetley, a discussion about volts and watts and some fun with well-timed recordings).

The script is by Stanley Roberts, Edmund Joseph and John Grant and it moves along at a fairly brisk pace indeed, helped by the fact that there are no musical numbers padding out the runtime. Erle C. Kenton returns to direct the laughs and certainly confirms that he's well-suited to the job.

But the script and direction and leads make up only half the story. Who Done It? benefits from a supporting cast that are all great fun and just as watchable as the leads. William Gargan and William Bendix are standard cops taking no nonsense and it's fun to see the rare times when A & C manage to get the better of them. Walter Tetley, as previously mentioned, gets a few great moments and then we have Mary Wickes easily holding her own in the role of Juliet Collins, a great character brought to life by a great actress.

It's not quite as good as the previous outing but this is entertaining enough from start to finish and easily stays a few notches above the weaker movies in the A & C filmography.

7/10

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