“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
“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
“I'll tell you what though, Mac. There'll be no more games from now on.”Figures in a Landscape (Joseph Losey, 1970)
Jul
17
MacConnachie (Robert Shaw, standing and peering upwards) and Ansell (Malcolm McDowell, squatting and facing away) in a barren landscape. Both have their hands tied behind their back. DPs: Henri Alekan, Peter Suschitzky & Guy Tabary.
– Ansell
La dame dans l'auto avec des lunettes et un fusil [The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun] (Anatole Litvak, 1970)
Jul
10
Vendredi
A man with a lot of swagger and rolled up blueprints is about to enter a room with a prominent Coca-Cola machine and a jazzy leather swivel chair on display. An electronic flip clock tells the time and date. It's 17:52. DP: Claude Renoir.
“My job allows me to read about strange incidents, but what I see here is often even stranger. And the strangest thing of all happened one day after midday prayer.” باب الحديد [Bab el-Hadid / Cairo Station / The Iron Gate] (Youssef Chahine, 1958)
Jul
8
Abu-Sri (Farid Shawqi) with Hannumah (Hind Rostom) perched on top of a large wooden crate. DP: Alevise Orfanelli.
Luggage, a trunk, or a suitcase*
– Madbouli, newspaper salesman
Among the hustle and bustle of Cairo's travellers, there are those making a living. The pitiful Qenawi (Youssef Chahine) peddles newspapers, unioniser Abu-Sri moves said travellers' luggage, and Hannumah (Hind Rostom), all hips and bosom and Abu-Sri's, sells cold drinks. Qenawi wants her.
* the Bales 2025 Film Challenge for July is, for unknown reasons, mostly not date-related and follows some sort of vacation narrative.
“You've won a doll and a kiss. I'll give you the doll and your girl can give you the kiss!”Lonesome (Pál Fejős, 1928)
Jul
3
Sat
An alarm clock informs us it's 7:15 while the calendar adds that it's the 3rd on a Saturday. Next to the alarm a crumpled up ladies' magazine. DP: Gilbert Warrenton.
– Coney Island barker
Black Friday (Arthur Lubin, 1940)
Jun
13
DP: Elwood Bredell.
Point de chute [Falling Point] (Robert Hossein, 1970)
Jun
4
Global Running Day
Catherine (Pascale Rivault) running. DP: Daniel Diot.
A character who is running on Global Running Day
“The fear in her eyes and the knife in the chest. That's my last memory of my mother. That's why I had to go to prison for four years, even though she survived.”Angst [Fear] (Gerald Kargl, 1983)
May
23
National Title Track Day
1: K. Out. Out. DP: Zbigniew Rybczynski.
2: Klaus Schulze at work in 1983 (via)
A killer title track for National Title Track Day (USA)
– opening lines
What stabs you harder in the chest than Klaus Schulze's synth-driven killing spree?
“Subject, Sandy Fremont. The last positive sighting of the child was on her way home from a school orchestra rehearsal. This was on Tuesday May 14th at approximately 6:30 in the evening.”The Appointment (Lindsey C. Vickers, 1982)
May
14
Tue
A schoolgirl with long brown hair seen from the back. She's taking the popular shortcut through the fields. DP: Brian West.
– You haven't forgotten us again, have you, Marion? – You know perfectly well I'm Julia Ross!My Name Is Julia Ross (Joseph H. Lewis, 1945)
May
5
Nina Foch as Julia Ross… or is she… Julia's lying on a made bed, looking over her shoulder at two middle-aged men and an elderly woman standing in the doorway to her room. DP: Burnett Guffey.