“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.
filmnoir
– This guy's got a lot of class. – Yeah? If he's got so much class, what's he doin' with you?Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (Fritz Lang, 1956)
Dec
18
late late night dinner
Dolly Moore (Barbara Nichols) and girlfriends amuse themselves over late late-night dinner. DP: William E. Snyder.
“Have you seen Mr Tavernier tonight?”Ascenseur pour l'échafaud [Elevator to the Gallows] (Louis Malle, 1958)
Dec
13
croissants
Mr Tavernier (Maurice Ronet) taking a bite out of a croissant while dialling a number in a lively French café. A blonde behind him shows an interest. DP: Henri Decaë.
“I don't use a pen. I write with a goose quill dipped in venom.”Laura (Otto Preminger + Rouben Mamoulian, 1944)
Dec
11
Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) interrupts arsine newspaper columnist Waldo Lydecker (a delicious Clifton Webb) with her designs during his lunch. DPs: Joseph LaShelle & Lucien Ballard.
– Waldo Lydecker
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.
The Medium (Gian Carlo Menotti, 1951)
Sep
18
Madame Flora (Marie Powers) by herself at a small table in a shady bar. DP: Enzo Serafin.
“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
“And now for the benefit of the folks who tuned in late, I should like to say that this is the most traumatic spectacle I have ever had the GOOD fortune to witness.”Dial 1119 [The Violent Hour] (Gerald Mayer, 1950)
Aug
28
Sherry Flips
Dr. John Faron (Sam Levene) and barfly Freddy (Virginia Field) drinking at the counter. Freddy is enjoying her sherry flip with what appear to be olives instead of cherries. Two more glasses are waiting for her. DP: Paul Vogel.
– TV announcer
Hell Bound (William J. Hole Jr., 1957)
Aug
20
milk
Stanley Thomas (George E. Mather) and Daddy (Dehl Berti) in a sleazy nightclub. Daddy raises his glass of milk to someone offscreen. DP: Carl E. Guthrie.
Hell Bound (William J. Hole Jr., 1957)
Aug
20
International Day Of Medical Transporters
Paula (June Blair) and Eddie (Stuart Whitman) in nurses' uniforms taking care of an injured child on the street. Behind them, two cops unload a stretcher from an ambulance. DP: Carl E. Guthrie.
The boss' girlfriend falls for an ambulance driver, derailing her man's gang's carefully planned narcotics heist.