1950s

Luc De Heusch – Les gestes du repas (1958)
1958. 35 mm., black and white, 23′.

Les Gestes du repas (Mealtime Gestures),
This ethnographic film shows us the image of man at his table. An acute view of Belgium.Read More »

Synopsis:
Uncouth, loud-mouth junkyard tycoon Harry Brock descends upon Washington D.C. to buy himself a congressman or two, bringing with him his mistress, ex-showgirl Billie Dawn. Brock hires newspaperman Paul Verrall to see if he can soften her rough edges and make her more presentable in capital society. But Harry gets more than he bargained for as Billie absorbs Verall’s lessons in U.S. history and not only comes to the realization that Harry is nothing but a two-bit, corrupt crook, but in the process also falls in love with her handsome tutor.Read More »

by Steve-O of Film Noir of the Week
After getting a Dear John letter from her boyfriend overseas, a young girl goes out on a blind date with a heel. She blacks out after drinking half-a-dozen mixed drinks but remembers fighting off the man with a poker. She goes into a panic when a police manhunt begins for her. A Los Angeles reporter tracks the mystery woman down before the police can get to her. But is she innocent?Read More »

Having previously played Billy the Kid, Audie Murphy assumes the role of Jesse James in Kansas Raiders. The plot finds Jesse and his brother Frank, together with the Younger Brothers joining Quantrell’s Raiders. Idolizing Quantrell, Jesse believes that his hero’s mission — to save the Confederacy by sacking Kansas — is just. Only when it is too late does Jesse discover that Quantrell is little more than a bloodthirsty mercenary. The James and Younger Brothers are depicted as innocent dupes of a madman, which isn’t surprising considering how often Hollywood has whitewashed Jesse and Frank in other films.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie GuideRead More »

Synopsis:
The 1870s, New Mexico territory: T.C. Jeffords is a cattle baron who built his ranch, the Furies, from scratch. He borrows from banks, pays hired hands with his own script (“T.C.’s”), and carries on low-level warfare with the Mexicans who settled the land but are now considered squatters. He has enemies, including Rip Darrow, a saloon owner who’s father T.C. took land from. His headstrong daughter, Vance, has a life-long friend in one of the Mexicans, her heart set on Rip, and dad’s promise she’ll run the Furies someday. Her hopes are smashed by Rip’s revenge, a gold-digger who turns T.C.’s head, and T.C.’s own murderous imperialism. Is Vance to be cursed by fury and hatred?Read More »

Quote:
Poor Susan Gilvray. One night she sees a peeping tom watching her through her bathroom window, so she does the sensible thing and calls the cops. But that prowler was but a fleeting invasion of her privacy. The cop who comes to her rescue brings a more sustained intrusion into her life. She has made a mistake in inviting this emotional vampire into her home. He sizes up what he sees–a huge suburban mansion, and a shapely blonde within-and decides he wants it all. The prowler scampers off into the night, never to be seen again. The cop, however, stays.Read More »

Set on an Army base during World War II, Pfc. Alvin Korwin (Lewis) and 1st Sgt. Vic Puccinelli (Martin) were friends before the war and had a nightclub act. Private Korwin wants to go home to see his newly born baby and Sgt. Puccinelli wants to be transferred overseas. Confusion ensues when a pregnant old girlfriend arrives to visit Sgt. Vic PuccinelliRead More »

by Hans J. Wollstein
Touching on both the film noir style of the 1940s and the “just the facts, ma’am” approach popular in the early television era, and incorporating both shadowy alleys and bright, almost flat sunlit street scenes, Richard Fleischer’s plebeian, no-nonsense Armored Car Robbery remains the quintessential low-budget heist melodrama. Starring tight-lipped Charles McGraw as the tough, unyielding police detective, the potboiler also benefited from a downright vicious performance by an unredeemable William Talman as the brains behind the ill-fated caper, as well as the presence of luscious B-movie icon Adele Jergens as one of those hardboiled dames seemingly born to destroy gullible dime-store gangsters like Benny McBride (Douglas Fowley).Read More »

Synopsis:
Henri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable – and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection – or destroy it. Only… the Police is following his every step! Is Henri what he says he is, or an undercover detective from the French police?Read More »