settima

filmnoir

The Lady from Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1947)

Aug

9

The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

Elsa Bannister (Rita Hayworth) and husband Arthur Bannister (Everett Sloane) in the dizzying modernist finale. DP: Charles Lawton Jr..

“You need more than luck in Shanghai.”

– Elsa Bannister

Night Has a Thousand Eyes (John Farrow, 1948)

Aug

3

Night Has a Thousand Eyes (1948)

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.

“I'd become a sort of a reverse zombie. I was living in a world already dead, and I alone knowing it.”

– John Triton

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.

 

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. And not just games.

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.

野獣死すべし [Yajū shisubeshi / The Beast Shall Die] (Eizō Sugawa, 1959)

Feb

17

airline food

野獣死すべし (1959)

Kunihiko Date (Tatsuya Nakadai) enjoys an in-flight meal. DP: Fukuzō Koizumi.

暗黒街の美女 [Ankokugai no bijo / Underworld Beauty] (Seijun Suzuki, 1958)

Feb

3

oden

暗黒街の美女 (1958)

At a yatai specialised in oden, someone chops an ingredient (daikon?) in two with what looks like a nakiri. DP: Wataro Nakao.

Murder by Contract (Irving Lerner, 1958)

Nov

29

candy

Murder by Contract (1958)

In a small movie theatre, a guy in a suit (Phillip Pine) stuffs his face with something from a small brown paper bag. Behind him are the Hollywood idea of an “elderly” woman (Janet Brandt) and a man with a moustache (Albert Cavens), Right next to snack man, a fellow with his hat pulled deeply over his face (Herschel Bernardi) takes a nap.. DP: Lucien Ballard.

“The way i see it, Harry, everybody lives off everybody else.”

– Claude