“Don't ask a dying man to lie his soul into Hell.”The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946)
Jul
20
1940
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The July 21 headline. DP: Elwood Bredell.
– Lt. Sam Lubinsky
“Don't ask a dying man to lie his soul into Hell.”The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946)
Jul
20
1940
spoiler warning: click to toggle image
The July 21 headline. DP: Elwood Bredell.
– Lt. Sam Lubinsky
“You knew who I was when I came here today. But you were surprised to see me alive, weren't you? But I'm not alive, Mrs. Philips. Sure, I can stand here and talk to you. I can breathe and I can move. But I'm not alive. Because I did take that poison, and nothing can save me.”D.O.A. [Dead on Arrival] (Rudolph Maté, 1949)
Jul
18
A man's hand signs a car rental contract dated July 18. DP: Ernest Laszlo.
– Frank Bigelow
The Life Magazine displayed at the San Francisco newspaper stand where Frank Bigelow stops is the issue of September 12, 1949, with Yugoslavia's leader Marshal Josip Broz Tito on the cover.
“On the bus, the air was so thick, he felt woozy. A wailing infant shook with tears and the woman beside him reeked with the stink of cheap perfume.” 野良犬 [Nora inu / Stray Dog] (Akira Kurosawa, 1949)
Jul
14
A sweaty man in uniform drinks from a water fountain like a dog (via). DP: Asakazu Nakai.
Someone enjoys a drink or beverage*
– narrator
On a sweltering summer day, Detective's Murakami's Colt gets stolen on a crowded bus. He must delve deep into the sticky sweaty seedy underbelly of Tokyo to retrieve it.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.
“Nobody shoves dirty money in my mouth.”The Naked Kiss (Samuel Fuller, 1964)
Jul
4
1961
A desk calendar reading July 4, 1961, with dirty, crumpled dollar bills thrown on top of it. DP: Stanley Cortez.
– Candy
“Have you seen Mr Tavernier tonight?”Ascenseur pour l'échafaud [Elevator to the Gallows] (Louis Malle, 1958)
Jun
18
International Panic Day
M Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) seated in an elevator, calmly smoking. Around him several items speak of less calm moments. DP: Henri Decaë.
A character in panic mode on International Panic Day
Julien Tavernier has a plan about how to run off with his boss' wife. There's just this one snag. No time to panic, c'est cool c'est cool.
– I saw you the other morning, eating frites. – I like frites.Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Jun
13
frites
Anne (Isabelle Corey), a cute blonde with a beret, eats a fry (French, obviously) while giving us a side glance. It's all very proto-Vague. DP: Henri Decaë.
“I'd even lose at hopscotch these days.”Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)
Jun
13
Friday
Bob (Roger Duchesne) at the tables, gambling. DP: Henri Decaë.
An unlucky character on Friday the 13th
– Bob Montagné
Bob gambles, and always wins. But then he starts losing. Not just games, also his friends.
Black Friday (Arthur Lubin, 1940)
Jun
13
DP: Elwood Bredell.
“It's a weird, crazy idea, but that's the reason it intrigues me.”Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Fritz Lang, 1956)
May
7
Susan Spencer (Joan Fontaine) lighting Tom Garrett's (Dana Andrews) cigarette. DP: William E. Snyder.
– Tom Garrett
Krakatit (Otakar Vávra, 1948)
Apr
26
International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day
A man on a darkened, concrete runway, running towards a man-made structure, a mirage. DP: Václav Hanuš.
Something nuclear on International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day
In a state of delirium, engineer Prokop chases his stolen chemical formula, worried it may be used for mass destruction
With the experience of yet another world war, and two devastating applications of science biggest terror, Karel Čapek's 1922 novel Krakatit [“Krakatoa”] anticipated and moulded the decades to come.
And R.U.R. is now, just around the corner.