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WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS
(Fox Home Entertainment) 1950. 96 mins.
Commentary track by Eddie Muller.
Still Photo Gallery.
Produced and Directed by Otto Preminger.
Screenplay by Ben Hecht.
Director of Photographer David LaShelle.
With Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill, Tom Tully, Ruth Donnelly, Karl Malden.

“She slipped out of the gowns and started modeling straight jackets instead.” So notes Eddie Muller in comfy faux noir prose about gorgeous-if-cipher-like actress Gene Tierney, as part of a most enjoyable commentary track. He navigates the film with a relaxed, charming style, taking pains to disavow any pretentiousness in his analysis – when he inadvertently uses the word ‘canon’, he jokes “Next I’ll be saying ‘oeuvre.’” Playfully cynical, Muller kids the genre, though never at the expense of the film (perhaps maybe a little at the expense of Tierney). I found it one of the most articulate and enjoyable alternate tracks of the year, with lots of ancillary information, such as thorough coverage about writer Ben Hecht.

I somehow had missed this film in my noir travels, and was thrilled to catch up with it. I had never warmed to Dana Andrews with the exception of CURSE OF THE DEMON. Well, I can add another to my ‘like’ list for the stiff actor. He’s very effective here, even though he looks a bit like FIR writer Bob Policastro, which was at times distracting. Playing a sullen cop who murders a suspect by accident, then proceeds to dig himself deeper into the sewer by covering up the job and reassigning the blame, Andrews is perfectly suited to director Preminger’s style: both are cool and understated.

Otto Preminger has that fascinatingly elusive narrative style that keeps his presence out of our eye-line, yet makes the film appear stylish. I think it’s a mixture of intelligence, confidence, and the love of things that are powerful yet not overtly showy, like beautifully thought-out camera moves and framed compositions. He also has good taste in scripts. Watching the motivations work themselves out logically through physical action as well as through dialogue is one of the film’s great pleasures.

I’m closing with another Eddie Muller commentary track line: “Can a movie be film noir if it doesn’t have Venetian blinds’ shadows?” Piqued by this aside, I kept my eyes out for telltale shadows in the next noir I watched, THE DARK CORNER. Sure enough, there they were. For more about Muller, check out “Camp David’, June ‘05. Seems our David Del Valle is smitten with him as well. Muller’s website is www.noircity.com.

THE DARK CORNER
(Fox Home Entertainment) 1946. 99 mins.
Commentary by Alain Silver & James Ursini.
Directed by Henry Hathaway.
Screenplay by Jay Dratler and Bernard Schoenfeld. Based on a story by Leo Rosten. Cinematography by Joseph MacDonald.
With: Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix, Mark Stevens.

This is a strange film, primarily because of Lucille Ball’s presence. She’s got range and charm, but kept reminding me of a woman named Lucy Ricardo, and that tends to get in the way…

The editing is good, but the continuity is weak. The script is good, plot-wise, but some lines fall flat or feel unclear. There’s a reflexive reference made to The THIN MAN series which was enjoyable. William Bendix, who I’ve disliked in serious roles, is effective here. And Clifton Webb is urbane, mean-spirited perfection. Mark Stevens as a private eye trying to stay on the straight and narrow following a run-in with the law in another city, is shrewdly cast; he’s no pretty boy, nor is he from the charm school, yet his secretary falls for him. You can’t help wondering if she’s the kind who falls for losers, and you’re worried about their fate, this being the genre it is. The solution of the protagonist’s plight, unfortunately, seems a bit of a stretch in the logic department.

But the transfer is beautiful, there’s a commentary track to savor, and if you’re a noir nut, this could be just the odd condiment for your palate.

Other recent Noir releases include:

KISS OF DEATH
(Fox Home Entertainment) 1947. 99 mins. Commentary by Ursini & Silver.
THE HOUSE BY THE RIVER (KINO on video) 1950. 88 mins.

And there’s a book:

L.A. NOIR: The city as Character
(Santa Monica Press) 2005. 176 pages.

From practically ubiquitous partners Alain Silver & James Ursini comes this kind of sequel, more a follow up, to Santa Monica Press’ lovely Alfred Hitchcock tour a year or so ago, presented in the same horizontal format, resembling a 1.85:1 frame, although that made more sense with VERTIGO, whose VistaVision frame was 1.85:1, than it does for the noir genre as a whole, which predominantly predated attempts at standardizing WideScreen film projection.

The authors take us on a tour of L.A. noir haunts by discussing many of the genre’s favorite titles, often – as with KISS ME DEADLY – enjoying acquainting us with the substance of the film more than the locales. The book is heartily stuffed with stills from the movies covered, and with additional stills of various locations used by photographer Elizabeth Ward. We read about films as recent as LA CONFIDENTIAL, and as offbeat as HICKEY AND BOGGS. So it’s a fun idea, and a good gift for the noir-head in your life.

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