Double Indemnity (1944)

opinion:  According some crime expertises there are two types of violent homicide: -Expressive violence (unplanned): acts that vent rage, anger, or frustration; And -Instrumental violence (planned): acts designed to improve the financial or social position of the criminal or to achieve a goal or a girl... Normally greed, money, stupidity and love triangles are involved …

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

opinion: When the intelligent criminal Erwin "Doc" Riedenschneider is released from prison, he seeks a fifty-thousand-dollar investment from the bookmaker Cobby to recruit a small gang of specialists for a million-dollar heist of jewels from a jewelry. Doc is introduced to the lawyer Alonzo D. Emmerich that offers to finance the whole operation and buy the …

The Killers (1946)

opinion: What Mark Hellinger, a Hollywood producer, expected from a movie, top billing one unknown but good looking Circus acrobat, an obscure but beautiful secondary n0-dramatic actress and directed by a German expat expressionist? On top of that the lead actor should be killed five minutes after the start, revealing the killers and the whole story should be presented backward on …

Born To Be Bad (1950)

opinion:  The title, the director and the genre all indicates a film-noir, but it´s not according my opinion. You have greed, double-cross, lies, love triangles, redemption,  a perfect photography, but the plot elements are for a good melodrama entertainment... with two different ends 😦  the American and the European! Baby-face and gold-digger Christabel (Fontaine) is an orphan country …

711 Ocean Drive (1950)

opinion: This semi-documentary gangster movie narrated in voice over, plots the rise and fall of a bookmaker boss, from being an honest and poor phone company repairman to a powerful and rich dead body on the sidewalk. Greed, corruption, double-cross and desire was the reason for his disgrace; For the first time on a movie, crime syndicate was …

Stray Dog / Nora Inu (1949)

opinion: Toshiro Mifune the great Japanese star has always been connected to Kurosawa. "Stray Dog" it´s their third movie together, from a totally of 16 produced between 1948 and 1965. Kurosawa movies have been the inspiration for several remakes produced in the west (and westerns) movie world. This one has been the inspiration for movies like "Pickup on South Street (1953)"! …

Pickup on South Street (1953)

opinion: 1953.McCarthyism was in the middle of period known as the "Second Red Scare", lasting roughly from 1950 to 1956 and characterised by heightened political repression against supposed communists as well as a campaign spreading fear of their influence on American institutions and of espionage by Soviet agents. Hollywood was a boiling place! Everyone pointing fingers in every direction …

Mildred Pierce (1945)

opinion: It starts in a rainy Californian night with the sound of 6 gun shots, emptying the barrel. A man drops dead on the floor. Mildred... was the last words he said. It's also the first line in the movie, before camera shows a car starting and driving away from the crime site. After a few minutes into the movie you …

Human Desire (1954)

opinion: Watching Jean Renoir´s version yesterday (La Bete Humaine-1938), inspired me to watch Lang´s version, done 16 years later. Compare and observe some of the main differences on both movies, while my memory is fresh. There are much more differences then just the type of locomotives used in both movies: steam on Renoir and electric on Lang  🙂 Lang …

Thieves’ Highway (1949)

opinion: It´s a sunny day in California. Nico (Conte) a working class hero, a nice and friendly guy, have just returned from the war with a lot of money in his pocket. He plans do get marriage with the rich, blond and sweet girl-friend Polly (Lawrence) and partner his future father-in-law in business, keeping the money inside …