“I'm gonna be happy for a change.”
The Sniper (Edward Dmytryk, 1952)
Oct
4
Man's hands, one bandaged, holding a rifle. DP: Burnett Guffey.
– Edward Miller
Wśród nocnej ciszy [Quiet Is the Night] (Tadeusz Chmielewski, 1978)
Sep
14
A young student sits on the ledge of a barge, looking up at another man. DP: Jerzy Szurowski.
Le vampire de Düsseldorf [The Vampire of Dusseldorf] (Robert Hossein, 1965)
Sep
5
Robert Hossein as Peter Kuerten [sic]. DP: Alain Levent.
“With bar hostesses, there's a type who are likely to be murdered.”
みな殺しの霊歌 [Minagoroshi no reika / I, the Executioner] (Tai Katō, 1968)
Apr
3
1968
A newspaper headline for April 3, 1968: “COMPANY DIRECTOR'S WIFE NEWEST VICTIM”. DP: Keiji Maruyama.
“Only a child can kill the monster.”
Si muero antes de despertar [If I Should Die Before I Wake] (Carlos Hugo Christensen, 1952)
Dec
19
National Hard Candy Day
Lucio (Néstor Zavarce) and his new friend sharing one of her fancy 10¢ lollipops. DP: Pablo Tabernero.
Eating hard candy on National Hard Candy Day.
Lucio is the class clown, a ne'er-do-well relying on his police-dad's rank and classmates' homework. One of these classmates, a smart little girl, promises him fancy lollipops in exchange for protection. And she has a secret for him too, about the origin of the candy, and the nice man giving her those and other nice things. Under oath, she tells Lucio everything and then promptly disappears. With his friend gone, killed as he later finds out, and an oath weighing on his heart, what can Lucio do when another girl goes missing?
– narrator
Cornell Woolrich's haunting tales of childhood lost leaped from Ireland to Argentina. With some similarities with Fritz Lang's M (1931), this fairy-tale feels more oppressive; due to the helplessness of a boy's power in an adult world and his understanding of grown-up responsibilities. A restored version in wider circulation is long overdue.
Si muero antes de despertar [If I Should Die Before I Wake] (Carlos Hugo Christensen, 1952)
Nov
28
soup
Lucio (Néstor Zavarce) having dinner with his mother (Blanca del Prado) and strict father. DP: Pablo Tabernero.
みな殺しの霊歌 [Minagoroshi no reika / I, the Executioner] (Tai Katō, 1968)
Oct
26
A claustrophobically framed black-and-white shot of a man (Makoto Satō) handling chopsticks close to his face. DP: Keiji Maruyama.
“Just you wait, it won't be long,
The man in black will soon be here,
With his cleaver's blade so true,
He'll make mincemeat out of you!”
M [M – Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder] (Fritz Lang, 1931)
Sep
5
Jury Rights Day
Schränker (Gustaf Gründgens) and his kangaroo court. Under his clenched fist a photograph of one of the murdered girls. DP: Fritz Arno Wagner.
– children singing
“You know how much coffee I've had today? 17 cups. The Brazilians ought to give me a medal.”
The Sniper (Edward Dmytryk, 1952)
Jul
21
chow mein
Dr. James G. Kent (Richard Kiley) discussing the case during lunch at a Chinese restaurant. After scratching his temple with his chopsticks, he attempts to eat his noodles with the utensils' grip. DP: Burnett Guffey.
– ER doctor