Fox Film Noir, Wave Four
The Dark Corner (January 11/06)
Though it boasts an opening half hour that's almost disastrously dull, The Dark Corner eventually transforms into a compelling, surprisingly suspenseful little film noir. The expectedly complex storyline follows tough-as-nails private detective Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) as he's forced to solve a murder after an old enemy is found dead in his office. Lucille Ball co-stars as Bradford's loyal secretary (and love interest), while Clifton Webb and William Bendix pop up as villainous adversaries. Director Henry Hathaway infuses The Dark Corner with a matter-of-fact sense of style that certainly mirrors the material, while screenwriters Jay Dratler and Bernard Schoenfeld pepper the proceedings with dialogue that's almost absurdly hard-boiled (ie "I'm clean as a peeled egg!") The surprisingly brutal nature of these characters - coupled with the inclusion of several genuinely shocking plot twists - ensures that The Dark Corner ultimately stands as one of the more memorable examples of this genre, although there's simply no denying the ineffectiveness of the egregiously talky first act.
out of
Kiss of Death (January 15/07)
While not quite as compelling as its premise might've indicated, Kiss of Death is nevertheless a solid, sporadically electrifying little thriller that boasts a scene-stealing performance from Richard Widmark. Victor Mature stars as Nick Bianco, a well-meaning criminal who finds himself pursued by the deadly thug (Widmark) he gave up to the cops. Directed by Henry Hathaway and written by Ben Hecht and Charles Lederer, Kiss of Death opens with an effective and extremely tense sequence in which Nick and a few cohorts rob a jewelry store; that the movie subsequently transforms into a slow-moving drama is admittedly a surprise, particularly given the sinister tendencies with which Widmark has infused his character. That being said, Kiss of Death benefits substantially from Hathaway's atmospheric direction and Mature's subtle yet engaging performance (this is in addition to the wildly entertaining and justifiably legendary sequence that features a wheelchair-bound old lady being pushed down the stairs by Widmark's Tommy Udo).
out of
Where the Sidewalk Ends (January 16/07)
Where the Sidewalk Ends casts Dana Andrews as Mark Dixon, a grizzled cop who accidentally kills a suspect during a routine interrogation and is subsequently forced to cover his tracks by inadvertently pinning the murder on someone else. That Mark finds himself falling for the dead man's estranged wife (Gene Tierney's Morgan Taylor) doesn't help matters, nor does the fact that his new Captain (Karl Malden) is convinced that Morgan's father is the killer. It's the sort of premise that's virtually impossible to foul up, and although the film does slow down as it progresses, Where the Sidewalk Ends generally moves at a fairly brisk pace and features several effective (and unexpected) plot twists. The melancholy tone that's been hard-wired into the latter half of the proceedings by screenwriter Ben Hecht is reflected in Andrews' superb performance, while director Otto Preminger does a nice job of infusing the film with an appropriately matter-of-fact sense of style. The only real misstep comes with the distractingly upbeat conclusion, although that's a relatively minor complaint for what is otherwise a solid little entry within the film noir canon.
out of
