Richard Widmark

  • Samuel Fuller – Pickup on South Street (1953)

    1951-1960CrimeFilm NoirSamuel FullerUSA

    Quote:

    Pickup on South Street opens with a striking omission of dialogue and score, heightening our awareness of the film’s pared images and the diamond-hard editing rhythms. On a subway, a beautiful woman, Candy (Jean Peters), is scrutinized by two men who are obviously tailing her. Everything about Candy’s pose is intensely erotic, from the crook of her arm that’s holding the subway railing to the sweat on her skin, to the way she’s cramped up against the other passengers. Soon saddling up to her is Skip McCoy (Richard Widmark), who approaches her as the prey she clearly represents to his hunter. Hovering over Candy, Skip makes a show of folding a newspaper, opening her purse, rifling through it, and snatching the contents of interest to him.Read More »

  • Robert Parrish – My Pal Gus (1952)

    1951-1960ClassicsComedyRobert ParrishUSA

    Plot:
    Gus (George Winslow) is the young son of divorced industrialist Dave Jennings (Richard Widmark). Unable to cope with Gus’ mischievous streak, Jennings places the boy in a day-care center. Gus’ teacher Lydia Marble (Joanne Dru) manages to curb the boy’s prankishness, and along the way falls in love with Jennings. Enter the villainess of the piece: Jennings’ ex-wife Joyce (Audrey Totter), who claims that the divorce is invalid and demands a huge sum from Jennings, lest she claim custody of Gus. In the end, it comes down to priorities: does Jennings value his son over his money, or vice versa? My Pal Gus is no Kramer vs. Kramer, but it does pass the time in an agreeable manner.Read More »

  • William Keighley – The Street with No Name [+extra] (1948)

    1941-1950CrimeFilm NoirUSAWilliam Keighley

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    Quote:
    In Center City, a housewife is murdered in a night-club by a gang of thieves. When a security guard of a bank is killed by the same gun during a heist, the crime becomes a federal offense under FBI jurisdiction. When the prime suspect is released and executed in the same night, FBI Inspector George Briggs recruits the rookie agent Gene Cordell to follow the last paths of the victim undercover in the identity of George Manly. Gene meets the powerful gangster Alec Stiles in a gymnasium, and later he is invited to join his gang. Working with his also undercover liaison Cy Gordon, Gene finds evidences to incriminate Stiles. However, he discovers also that somebody from the precinct is feeding Stiles with classified information.Read More »

  • Otto Preminger – Saint Joan (1957)

    Drama1951-1960Otto PremingerUSA

    Synopsis (possible spoilers):
    “Twenty-five years after having been burnt at the stake for heresy, Joan of Arc returns to King Charles VII of France as a ghost and taunts him for having betrayed her. They recall the time when Joan, driven by divine messages, persuaded Charles, then Dauphin, to allow her to lead an army to attack the English at Orleans. Did Charles show gratitude when Joan defeated the English, a victory that enabled him to be crowned king at Reims? No, he only wanted her to return to her village and resume the life of an anonymous peasant girl. When she failed in her attempt to take Paris from the English, who came to Joan’s aid when she was arrested and tried by the Catholic Church for heresy? No one…”
    – Films de FranceRead More »

  • Stanley Kramer – Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)

    1961-1970ClassicsDramaStanley KramerUSA


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    This movie is a fictionalized account of the war crimes trial of judges and prosecutors who served the Nazis.
    “Judgment at Nuremberg” depicts a watershed event: the first trials, based on principles of justice and international law, of the leaders of a country that waged aggressive war and committed crimes against humanity. The film is a gripping, searching and provocative look at the moral issues surrounding both the actions of the accused and the process of bringing them to justice. The film also explores the issue of whether ordinary Germans bore responsibility for the Holocaust.Read More »

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