Thursday Movie Picks: Femme Fatales
For the 38th week of 2021 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks. We go into the subject of femme fatales as women who will make men do anything as well as get them into all sorts of trouble. It’s common in the world of film noir as well as in other modern-day films. Here are my three picks:
1. Out of the Past
Jane Greer’s performance as Kathie Moffat is definitely the archetype of what a femme fatale is as she is someone that Robert Mitchum’s character is asked to find yet he ends up falling in love with her as she ends up being more trouble than he realizes. Notably as she is someone who plays innocent and make claims about her boyfriend in Kirk Douglas who eventually realizes that he is being played for a fool. It is a film that is filled with a lot of twists and turns as it is a must for anyone wanting to discover film noir.
2. The Long Goodbye
3. Brick
© thevoid99 2021
7 comments:
Jane Greer is such a great pick. She is the quintessential femme fatale along with Barbara Stanwyck in Double Indemnity. That said, if you haven't seen Leave Her to Heaven, track it down. It's not a traditional noir, but it's very close to a character study of what a femme fatale should be and Gene Tierney is flawless in that role.
Great picks! This is the second time I've seen Brick. I really should watch it.
Hey we match on Brick! I didn't think anyone else would pick that.
Out of the Past is a great film and Jane Greer, along with Mitchum and Douglas, is perfection in it! All the elements just came together in exactly the right way. She should have had a bigger career but she ran afoul of Howard Hughes because Hughes hated her husband so refused to let her work for a long period. By the time he started to relent her momentum was gone.
I liked but didn't love The Long Goodbye though Elliott Gould was unexpectedly convincing in it.
Brick is a wonderfully stylized film, it gets a bit out of hand at times on the believability front but thanks to a strong lead performance by JGL and a decent story it certainly holds the audience's interest.
I took a deep dive into classic noirs this time out since they are rife with femme fatales.
Murder, My Sweet (1944)-Private dick Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) is hired by lumbering Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki) fresh from the slammer to track down his former girlfriend Velma. Simultaneously he's commissioned to accompany flashy playboy Lindsay Marriott (Douglas Walton) to buy back a stolen necklace. When the exchange goes wrong and the playboy is murdered Marlowe can't leave the case alone, and soon discovers it's related to Malloy's. As he pursues answers he is drawn deeper into a complex web of intrigue by the sweet Ann Grayle (Anne Shirley in her final film) and her detested stepmother, the mysterious and potentially lethal Helen (Claire Trevor). Suddenly the detective finds his own life in increasing jeopardy. A seminal film in the noir canon which turned the already famous Claire Trevor into the acknowledged Queen of Noir.
Hangover Square (1945)-In Victorian London composer George Bone (Laird Cregar) is struggling to complete his concerto, the stress of which is causing periods of blackouts where he fears he is committing unspeakable acts. Instructed by his doctor (George Sanders) to relax Bone begins to frequent a dance hall and becomes obsessed with the beautiful but duplicitous saloon singer Netta (Linda Darnell). Netta leeches onto the hapless musician manipulating him with false promises to extract songs to further her career. When George realizes he’s being played for a fool destruction is eminent for all. This was famed villain Cregar’s shot at leading man stardom which he desperately craved. A big man who tipped the scale at over 300 lbs. he went on a crash diet to lose 100 of those before production began leading to a heart attack and his death at 29 shortly after the film’s completion.
Too Late for Tears (1949)-With the cops in hot pursuit fleeing robber Danny Fuller (Dan Duryea) frantically tosses a valise full of cash from his car with it fortuitously landing in the passing car of Jane and Alan Palmer (Lizabeth Scott & Arthur Kennedy). The Palmers at first plan to return the money but then Jane realizes she can escape her humdrum life and transforms into a rapacious and ruthless schemer who will do whatever is necessary to keep the loot no matter the cost or who will have to pay.
Human Desire (1954)-After instigating a fight brutish Carl Buckley (Broderick Crawford) is canned from his railroad job. Bitter and frenzied he coerces his young wife Vicki (Gloria Grahame) to use her wiles on her former paramour Mr. Owens (Grandon Rhodes) now Carl’s boss to try to gain his job back. It works, but Carl in a jealous rage convinces himself that Vicki and Owens are involved romantically and murders the man, forcing Vicki to become his accomplice. Sick of her husband's violent ways, Vicki seduces Jeff (Glenn Ford), one of Carl’s coworkers, and ensnares him in a plot to murder her husband but that path may lead to doom for them all.
Brick sounds amazing! I really need to check that one out.
Brick, that's a fresh pick.
I have not seen the 3rd film but I like JGL a lot so I will watch for this film. We match with the first one! Jane Greer is excellent as the nasty gal who keeps men thinking with their "other" head. It is really well done. I like the Long Goodbye with Elliot Gould who was convincing in the role strangely. I have to watch it again to remember the girl, believe it or not.
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