settima

FilmNoir

The Killers (Robert Siodmak, 1946)

Jul

20

1940

spoiler warning: click to toggle image The Killers (1946)

The July 21 headline. DP: Elwood Bredell.

“Don't ask a dying man to lie his soul into Hell.”

– Lt. Sam Lubinsky

D.O.A. [Dead on Arrival] (Rudolph Maté, 1949)

Jul

18

D.O.A. (1949)

A man's hand signs a car rental contract dated July 18. DP: Ernest Laszlo.

“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.”

– 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.

野良犬 [Nora inu / Stray Dog] (Akira Kurosawa, 1949)

Jul

14

Nora inu (1949)

A sweaty man in uniform drinks from a water fountain like a dog (via). DP: Asakazu Nakai.

Someone enjoys a drink or beverage*

“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.”

– 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 Naked Kiss (Samuel Fuller, 1964)

Jul

4

1961

The Naked Kiss (1964)

A desk calendar reading July 4, 1961, with dirty, crumpled dollar bills thrown on top of it. DP: Stanley Cortez.

“Nobody shoves dirty money in my mouth.”

– Candy

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud [Elevator to the Gallows] (Louis Malle, 1958)

Jun

18

International Panic Day

Ascenseur pour l'échafaud (1958)

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

“Have you seen Mr Tavernier tonight?”

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.

Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)

Jun

13

frites

Bob le flambeur (1956)

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 saw you the other morning, eating frites.

– I like frites.

Bob le flambeur [Bob the Gambler] (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956)

Jun

13

Friday

Bob le flambeur (1956)

Bob (Roger Duchesne) at the tables, gambling. DP: Henri Decaë.

An unlucky character on Friday the 13th

“I'd even lose at hopscotch these days.”

– 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

Black Friday (1940)

DP: Elwood Bredell.

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Fritz Lang, 1956)

May

7

Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

Susan Spencer (Joan Fontaine) lighting Tom Garrett's (Dana Andrews) cigarette. DP: William E. Snyder.

“It's a weird, crazy idea, but that's the reason it intrigues me.”

– Tom Garrett

Krakatit (Otakar Vávra, 1948)

Apr

26

International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day

Krakatit (1948)

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.