Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir, by Eddie Muller (Revised and Expanded Edition, 2021, Running Press, 448p.--E-BOOK VERSION)
EACH BLOG POST REPRESENTS A CHAPTER IN THE BOOK.
FILM ANNOTATIONS ARE IN THE ORDER OF THEIR DISCUSSION IN THE BOOK.
CLICK ON ANY T.O.C. LINK (COLOR AND UNDERLINE) TO LINK TO THE ANNOTATIONS FOR THAT CHAPTER.
CHAPTERS THAT HAVE LINKS HAVE BEEN COMPLETED OR ARE IN PROCESS.
CHAPTERS IN LARGE TYPE WITHOUT LINKS ARE THE CHAPTER YOU ARE LOOKING AT.
CHAPTERS THAT ARE NOT LINKED ARE CHAPTERS THAT HAVE NOT YET BEEN ANNOTATED
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
C 2: "Sinister Heights: Exclusive enclave of the criminally corrupt"
C 6: "Shamus Flats: Lost someone? Gumshoes for hire"
C 7: "Vixenville: Fiefdom of the femme fatale"
C 8: "Blind Alley: Crossroads of coincidence and Fate"
C 9: "The Psych Ward: Where vexed veterans are quarantined"
C 10: "Knockover Square: Deluxe district of heists and holdups"
C 11: "Losers Lane: Street of sorry psychopaths"
C 12: "The Big House: Last stop on a wayward course"
C 13: "Thieves Highway: The risky road out of town"
C 14: "The Stage Door: Enjoy a show... before it's too late
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Chapter 2: "Sinister Heights: Exclusive enclave of the criminally corrupt"
*=Blacklisted. For further information see the Introduction.
**=Trailer Available at Internet Movie Database (IMDb).
For other source notes, see the Introduction.
11. I Walk Alone (Paramount, 1947) ( Director: Byron Haskin)
American Film Institute (AFI)
Internet Movie Database (IMDb)**
Rotten Tomatoes (RT)
Wikipedia (WIK)
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12. Force of Evil (MGM, 1948) (Abraham Polonsky*)
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Films with a professional boxing or wrestling motif
13. Body and Soul (United Artists, 1947) (Robert Rossen)
Pressbook: (Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research via Internet Archive)
Note: Cinematographer James Wong Howe (Los Angeles Times) was one of the most prolific and innovative Cinematographers in the history of Hollywood Film. Between 1923 and 1975 he has 124 AFI credits as Photographer or Director of Photography. He earned 10 Cinematography Academy Award nominations and won twice: The Rose Tattoo (1955, Daniel Mann) and Hud (1963, Martin Ritt). He is credited with the following cinematic innovations:
A method for showing blue eyes on early silent film stock.
Dramatic lighting and shadow, especially used in his and other Noir films.
"Use of unusual lenses, film stocks, and shooting techniques" (WIK)
Early use of deep focus (Howe used it 10 years before Gregg Toland, usually associated with its development (Citizen Kane, 1941 Orson Welles) (European Federation of Cinematographers
All this while dealing with anti-Asian racism (He didn't attain US citizenship until the repeal the the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1943, in spite of having lived in the states since 1904; his marriage to Sonora Babb* (WIK) in 1937 was not recognized as legal in California until 1948 when the California anti-miscegenation law was abolished, he was credited as "James Howe" in 30 of his first 36 films, and was not consistently credited with his Chinese name until 1933, etc.) Again, we see a pattern of systemic racism in Hollywood, and it is difficult to imagine the heights he might have reached in a more "enlightened" culture.
Note: Body and Soul was tied for 45th on the American Society of Cinematographers [ASC] 1894-1949 Best Shot Films list.
Note: Body and Soul was the 28th Top Grossing US Film in 1947. For a complete list of all films that grossed over $2,000,000 see Variety (January 1948, P. 63) (Internet Archive).
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14. The Set-Up (RKO, 1949) (Robert Wise)
DVD Commentary Track by Robert Wise and Martin Scorsese
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15. Champion (United Artists, 1949) (Mark Robson)
Pressbook: (Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research via Internet Archive)
17. Night and the City (Fox, 1950) (Jules Dassin*)
IMDb**
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18. 711 Ocean Drive (Columbia, 1950) (Joseph M. Newman)
IMDb**
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19. Under the Gun (Universal, 1951) (Ted Tetzlaff)
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20. Black Angel (Universal, 1946) (Roy William Neill)
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21. The Man I Love (Warner Brothers, 1946) (Raoul Walsh)
Pressbook: (Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research via Internet Archive)
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22. Dead Reckoning (Columbia, 1947) (John Cromwell*)
IMDb**
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23. Whiplash (Warner Brothers, 1948) (Lewis Seiler)
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24. Criss Cross (Universal, 1949) (Robert Siodmak) (Senses of Cinema--Chris Justice)
Robert Siodmak has been called the quintessential Noir Director. Depending on the source, he directed 11 or 12 Noirs. In 1946, three of his films (The Spiral Staircase, The Killers, and Dark Mirror, in total earned 6 Academy Award nominations.
IMDb**
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25. The Racket (RKO, 1951) (John Cromwell*; Nicholas Ray)
DVD Commentary Track by Eddie Muller
IMDb**
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26. The Gangster (Monogram, 1947) (Gordon Wiles)
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27. The Big Combo (Allied Artists, 1955) (Joseph H. Lewis)
Cinematographer John Alton (American Cinematographer--American Society of Cinematographers [ASC]--Gary Gatch) has 85 AFI credits in a career that spanned 22 years (1938-1960).He earned 1 Academy Award (1951, An American in Paris--Ballet Cinematography, Vincente Minnelli).
John Alton was one of the keystone cinematographers in the Classic Noir era. He was the Cinematographer on 5 Anthony Mann films. He was also cinematographer on such films as Singin' in the Rain, 1951, Harold Rossen), and worked on 5 films with Vincente Minnelli. Film Historian Philip Kemp said of Alton "...in the hands of a master like Alton, cinematography can on occasion take precedence over script, acting, and possibly even directing, in determining the key quality of the creative mix."
IMDb**
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Side Bar: John Garfield*
28. They Made Me a Criminal (Warner Brothers, 1939) (Busby Berkeley)
Complete Film (the film is in the Public Domain)
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29. Out of the Fog (Warner Brothers, 1941) (Anatole Litvak)
Pressbook: (Wisconsin Center for Film and Theater Research via Internet Archive)
IMDb**
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30. The Fallen Sparrow (RKO, 1943) (Richard Wallace)
IMDb**
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31. The Breaking Point (Warner Brothers, 1950) (Michael Curtiz)
Note: this was Garfield's favorite performance. Hemingway said it was the best adaptation of any of his works. Best and most accurate adaptation of To Have and Have Not.
IMDb**
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32. He Ran All the Way (United Artists, 1951) (John Berry*)
This was Garfield's final performance. He passed in 1952 at the age of 39. One of the credited screen writers, Guy Endore, was the "front" for blacklisted Dalton Trumbo.
IMDb**
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Directed by Samuel Fuller
33. Underworld U.S.A. (Columbia 1961)
IMDb**
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C 2: "Sinister Heights: Exclusive enclave of the criminally corrupt"
C 6: "Shamus Flats: Lost someone? Gumshoes for hire"
C 7: "Vixenville: Fiefdom of the femme fatale"
C 8: "Blind Alley: Crossroads of coincidence and Fate"
C 9: "The Psych Ward: Where vexed veterans are quarantined"
C 10: "Knockover Square: Deluxe district of heists and holdups"
C 11: "Losers Lane: Street of sorry psychopaths"
C 12: "The Big House: Last stop on a wayward course"
C 13: "Thieves Highway: The risky road out of town"
C 14: "The Stage Door: Enjoy a show... before it's too late
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