Saturday, 6 December 2008

Three examples of classic film noir


1.Laura (1944) Otto Preminger
New York police detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the murder of a beautiful advertising director named Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney). He interviews acerbic newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb), who relates how he met Laura. Lydecker became her mentor and used his considerable influence and fame to advance her career. McPherson also questions Laura's fiancé, Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price), her wealthy aunt, Ann Treadwell (Judith Anderson), and Laura's loyal housekeeper, Bessie Clary (Dorothy Adams).
Through the testimony of her friends and the reading of her letters, McPherson comes to know Laura and slowly falls in love with her. He becomes obsessed -- using the excuse of trying to solve the murder, he hangs around her apartment and is at one point accused by Lydecker of falling in love with a dead woman.
One night, he falls asleep under her portrait. He is awakened by the sound of someone entering the apartment. It is Laura. After recovering from the shock, McPherson determines that the murder victim was actually Diane Redfern, a model Laura had allowed to stay in her apartment.
McPherson is pleased to discover that Laura is as lovable as he had imagined. Now it becomes even more urgent to unmask the murderer. He suspects that Lydecker is also in love with her and that he fatally mistook Redfern for her in his determination to keep her to himself. McPherson warns Laura not to let anybody in after he leaves, but Lydecker gets in anyway. Lydecker is about to kill Laura when McPherson returns just in time.

the trailer from laura



2.Detour (1945) Edgar G. Ulmer
While in a highway restaurant, the bitter pianist Al Roberts listens to a song and recalls his recent past. In New York, he played piano in a dump night-club where his beloved girlfriend Sue Harvey was the singer. Sue decides to move to Los Angeles, expecting to have an opportunity in the cinema industry. She is not well succeeded and Al decides to travel to LA to meet her. Without money, he hitchhikes and he meets Charles Haskell Jr., who is heading directly to Los Angeles. When Charles unexpectedly dies, Al decides to assume his identity since the police would never believe in the truth about his death. In a gas station, he gives a lift to Vera, a woman that knew Charles and blackmails Al with tragic consequences.
the opening 10mins of detour

3. Double Indemnity (1944) Billy Wilder
A car swerves through downtown streets at night. The driver stumbles to the office of the Pacific All Risk Insurance Company and begins to record his confession about killing a man named Dietrichson. He flashes back to the beginning of the ordeal, when he first met the Dietrichsons.
He, Walter Neff, was an insurance salesman who renewed Mr. Dietrichson's policy at home. Walter was attracted to the man's wife Phyllis, although her manner was cold and sarcastic. She asked Walter about accident insurance for her wealthy husband. Walter accused her of trying to get him to kill her husband and refused. At his apartment, Phyllis told Walter how abusive her husband was, so Walter agreed to kill Dietrichson. Walter tricked Dietrichson into signing the accident insurance policy which insured Dietrichson's life for $50,000--an amount to be doubled in case he had a fatal accident on a train. Walter also gave Lola, Dietrichson's daughter from his late, first wife, a ride to town where she secretly met her boyfriend Nino Zachette.
Several weeks later, Dietrichson agreed to take the train to attend a college reunion. Walter killed Dietrichson and posed as as him and got on the train. Later, Walter jumped off the train and with Phyllis' help, placed Dietrichson's body on the tracks to make it look like Dietrichson had fallen off the train to his death.
Walter's boss Keyes told Walter that he suspected that Dietrichson's death was no accident, but a murder committed by Phyllis and her lover, Nino Zachette. Walter went to Phyllis' house and she shot him. He shot her dead and drove to the insurance office to record his confession.
Now Keyes watches him. Walter collapses.

the opening 2 mins of double indemnity

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