HOME VIDEO,REVIEWS FOR 2024
JANUARY
FILM NOIR THE DARK SIDE OF CINEMA
V
BECAUSE OF YOU
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BECAUSE OF YOU 〰️
BECAUSE OF YOU
(Universal, b & w, 1952, 95 minutes)
The night before their wedding, racketeer Mike Monroe (Alex Nichols) sends Christine Carroll (Loretta Young) out to his car with an envelope full of drug money. She is arrested, and while in prison, works hard to earn her high school diploma and learn nursing. Released, she becomes a nurse's aide in a veteran's hospital, where she meets wounded pilot Steve Kimberly (Jeff Chandler). Melodramatic complications arise, people make silly decisions, and the lovers separate. But this is a Hollywood romance, which means it must have a happy ending.
The original title of this film was ‘The Magic Lady.” There is no magic here. The film’s strengths are fine photography and a haunting score, which includes the song ‘Because of You.’
While the film is included in Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema V, it is no film noir. It is romantic claptrap. In his review for the New York Times (D 4, 1952), Bosley Crowther wrote: “The acting and direction are as soggy and artless as the script, and the whole has the torpid limpness of movie drama on the lowest mental plane.”
Extras: Trailers plus audio commentary by Film Historian Samm Deighan
Final Thoughts: A poor script, dated acting, and unconvincing dialogue makes this a movie to miss.
Grade: D-
OUTSIDE THE LAW
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OUTSIDE THE LAW 〰️
OUTSIDE THE LAW
(Universal, b & w, 1956, 81 minutes)
A government agent's son (Ray Danton), an ex-juvenile delinquent, has proven himself a hero during WW II. Now he has the chance to have his prison record expunged, but he must work with his father (Onslow Stevens), a treasury agent, to break an international counterfeiting ring involving an ex-Army friend. He has to woo his friend's girl (Leigh Snowden) and extract information from her.
This is a ‘B’ film directed by Jack Arnold, who helmed such features as It Came From Outer Space, Creature from the Black Lagoon, and the Incredible Shrinking Man. While Outside the Law is not one of its best, it moves at a nice pace at a brisk 81 minutes. Ray Danton as the protagonist gives an acceptable performance, Leigh Snowden is adequate as his love interest, but the real acting honors go to Onslow Stevens, who starred in old time serials for Universal. The reviewer for Home Theater Forum said : “So, while it has some positive attributes, Outside the Law is still a minor entry in Jack Arnold’s noir output and his larger canon as a whole.”
Extras: Trailers plus audio commentary by Film Historian Richard Harland Smith
Final Thoughts: A decent film for its budget, but T-Men (1947), which covers much the same territory, is a far better film.
Grade: C
THE MIDNIGHT STORY
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THE MIDNIGHT STORY 〰️
THE MIDNIGHT STORY
(Universal, b & w, 1957, 90 minutes)
When beloved priest Father Thomasino is murdered in a San Francisco alley, young traffic cop Joe Martini (Tony Curtis) pledges to find the killer. He suspects Sylvio Malatesta (Gilbert Roland). The higher ups order him off the case, but Joe turns in his badge to investigates alone. Soon, he is friends with the Malatesta family, including a cousin, Anna (Marisa Pavan), with whom he develops a romantic relationship. Soon, Joe is torn between old and new loyalties.
Gilbert Roland chews up the scenery, although he had plenty of help from various character actors such as Herb Vigran and Rose Freeman as a bickering married couple. Marisa Pavan as Curtis’s love interest seems a bit out of her depth. Tony Curtis gives the one restrained performance in the film.
Director Joseph Pevney never gains control of his actors. He also directed Because of You (1952), reviewed above. His best film may be Man of a Thousand Faces (1957), a biography of Lon Chaney. Most of his work after 1961 was in television.
Despite its faults, the plot of The Midnight Story keeps the viewer guessing until the end. Is Sylvio guilty or innocent of the murder of the priest? Without giving away a spoiler, I will say I found the conclusion satisfying, if not altogether believable. The reviewer for The New York Times called the film a “workmanlike and interesting little fiction.”
Extras: Trailers plus audio commentary by Professor and Film Scholar Jason A. Ney
Final Thoughts: Good performance from Curtis, over-the-top acting by Roland, amateurish work by Marisa Pavan, yet the film has enough forward movement to keep me watching.
Grade: C+