“You need more than luck in Shanghai.”The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1947)
Aug
9

Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth) and husband Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane) in the dizzying modernist finale. DP: Charles Lawton Jr..
– Elsa Bannister
“You need more than luck in Shanghai.”The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1947)
Aug
9

Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth) and husband Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane) in the dizzying modernist finale. DP: Charles Lawton Jr..
– Elsa Bannister
“I'd become a sort of a reverse zombie. I was living in a world already dead, and I alone knowing it.”Night Has a Thousand Eyes (John Farrow, 1948)
Aug
3

Mentalist John Triton (Edward G. Robinson, middle) and two of his conspirators. DP: John F. Seitz.
A continuity error later on in the movie makes it August 4.
– John Triton
“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. And not just games.
Black Friday (Arthur Lubin, 1940)
Jun
13

DP: Elwood Bredell.