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The Web (1947) is in effect a Private Investigator film noir (P.I. Noir) although the character played by Edmond O'Brien is supposed to be a lawyer, although he functions entirely as a P.I,. being hired to be a bodyguard, carrying and using a gun, hanging with his coat collars up in alleyways, and more and more traditional and common P.I. behaviours.
He doesn't get down to none legal work, that is for sure. Other than the top and tail styling back of his maligned blue collar character, played by Tito Vuolo, with typical Vuoloism.
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Historical classical and purest high period Golden Age film noir does have a slight craze for mid century small town mill-centred drama. There are more than a few mill-town noirs. Among The Living (1941) is a classic mill-town noir, as is the amazing Bette Davis noir Beyond The Forest (1949). Purely classic mill town film noir
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry (1945) and any article about it, or discussion of its noir propensities must always come with an extra spoiler warning, extra to the universal spoiler warning of this website, and your every day moment of film exploration will be shattered if you have not seen this film noir and continue reading this.
The film opens with a title card reading Rachel Field's Time Out of Mind and begins with an offscreen narration by the character Kate Fernald, who recounts the return of Chris Fortune from his first sea voyage.
The production of this film is notable for its behind-the-scenes developments, as detailed in various news items. It's also notable for a certain lack of popularity among the guardians of noirish good taste, which makes it perennially ripe for reappraisal.
The tough loners of film noir are always waiting for a new case in the city of crime, whether they be detective or heel, or in this case a bail bondsman, something of the perfect cinematic loner.
Some of them are waiting for the return of the woman that burned them, and George Raft plays both, with his usual stillness and impassive stone hard cinematic stare.
In the game of sucker moves, this loner works his broken relationships with broken noir charm, the grimaces of both his current partner and his former police partner testify to this.
Brute Force is one of these.
Directed by Jules Dassin, it’s a story from stir ― strong
men beat it out of each other as they go crazy behind prison walls. The
manliness is multitudinous and the cruelty drives them to the end of their
tethers.
Interests collide in a story that is both one man against the system, but also an indictment of the system itself. The cons are grim and the guard is grimmer. The result is a simmering and boiling mass of machismo, acted to within an inch of its life by a cast of glowering guys, who will do anything to survive amid the harsh conditions imposed on them.
Even outside of the canon, this is one of the greatest action, social and thrilling films of its day, with so much to commend the casual viewer, the film noir fanatic, and those generally interested in film.
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The result ― is MURDER.
At least that is the conclusion of the police force, in The
Suspect (1944), a faintly suspect film noir in its own right, and a movie which
relies heavily on the talents of the two leads, Charles Laughton and Ella
Raines.
It is in fact difficult to see what might be left to enjoy, were these two high quality talents were to be removed form The Suspect, and replaced with lesser mortals.
Charles Laughton was always a star, and enlivened any
production he appeared in, even if it were as pedestrian as this one. And Ella
Raines has her own star quality ― not just her grace and beauty, but
communicative skills which shine across the decades, giving her a uniquely
compelling quality ― unique because it is not based on either sex appeal, or
some lurking maternal quality.
And that is unique, and perhaps something to be celebrated.
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