Books Written by Classic Film Bloggers

Classic film bloggers are a talented bunch. Did you know that several of them have written books? Below is a collection of their published works. If I missed any that you think should be included, please let me know and I'll add them to the list. Enjoy!

Missing Reels: A Novel

Farran Smith Nehme of A Self-Styled Siren

Film Noir 101: The 101 Best Film Noir Posters from the 1940s-1950s

by Mark Fertig of Where Danger Lives

Showmen, Sell it Hot!

Movies as Merchandise in Golden Era Hollywood

John McElwee of Greenbriar Picture Shows

Movies in Our Time:

Hollywood Mirrors and Mimics the Twentieth Century

by Jacqueline T. Lynch of Another Old Movie Blog

Television: Rare & Well Done: 18 Essays on the Medium

by Terence Towles Canote of A Shroud of Thoughts

11 Pre-Code Hollywood Movie Histories:

Early Depression Era Melodramas, Adaptations and Headline Stories

by Cliff Aliperti of Immortal Ephemera

Beyond Casablanca: 100 Classic Movies Worth Watching

Beyond Casablanca II: 101 Classic Movies Worth Watching

Jennifer Garlen of Virtual Virago

A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Film Noir: The Essential Reference Guide

by John Grant of Noirish

Rudolph Valentino: The Silent Idol

Donna of Strictly Vintage Hollywood

Classic Film Books at Book Expo America

A recent business trip took me to New York City for Book Expo America, the largest and most well-known book industry convention. Although my work schedule was packed, I was lucky enough to have some time to meet two very wonderful ladies.

On the first day of the show, I headed over to The Overlook Press booth at the Javits Convention Center to meet Farran Smith Nehme, better known as the Siren of the acclaimed classic film blog The Self-Styled Siren. I've been wanting to meet her for a long time and was pinching myself that the moment had finally arrived. Farran wrote a novel called Missing Reels which The Overlook Press is publishing in November of this year.

Here's a summary of the book from the publisher:

New York in the late 1980s. Ceinwen Reilly has just moved from Yazoo City, Mississippi, and she’s never going back, minimum wage job (vintage store salesgirl) and shabby apartment (Avenue C walkup) be damned. Who cares about earthly matters when Ceinwen can spend her days and her nights at fading movie houses—and most of the time that’s left trying to look like Jean Harlow?

One day, Ceinwen discovers that her downstairs neighbor may have—just possibly—starred in a forgotten silent film that hasn’t been seen for ages. So naturally, it’s time for a quest. She will track down the missing reels, she will impress her neighbor, and she will become a part of movie history: the archivist as ingénue. 

As she embarks on her grand mission, Ceinwen meets a somewhat bumbling, very charming, 100 percent English math professor named Matthew, who is as rational as she is dreamy. Together, they will or will not discover the reels, will or will not fall in love, and will or will not encounter the obsessives that make up the New York silent film nut underworld.

A novel as winning and energetic as the grand Hollywood films that inspired it, Missing Reels is an irresistible, alchemical mix of Nora Ephron and David Nicholls that will charm and delight

Farran was just as friendly as I thought she would be. I got to chat with her quickly at her signing and again when she stopped by my work's booth too. I really look forward to reading her novel and will treasure my signed and personalized copy.

On the last day of the show, I headed over to Hal Leonard' booth to meet Sheana Ochoa
who was signing copies of her book Stella! Mother of Modern Acting. I was very excited to meet Sheana. She's a tireless promoter and has a true passion for theater and for all things Stella Adler. Her enthusiasm is infectious and I always adore meeting intelligent and passionate people like herself.

Here's a summary of the book from the publisher:

Arthur Miller decided to become a playwright after seeing her perform with the Group Theater. Marlon Brando attributed his acting to her genius as a teacher. Theater critic Robert Brustein calls her the greatest acting teacher in America. At the turn of the 20th century by which time acting had hardly evolved since classical Greece Stella Adler became a child star of the Yiddish stage in New York, where she was being groomed to refine acting craft and eventually help pioneer its modern gold standard: method acting. Stella's emphasis on experiencing a role through the actions in the given circumstances of the work directs actors toward a deep sociological understanding of the imagined characters: their social class, geographic upbringing, biography, which enlarges the actor's creative choices. 

Always "onstage," Stella's flamboyant personality disguised a deep sense of not belonging. Her unrealized dream of becoming a movie star chafed against an unflagging commitment to the transformative power of art. From her Depression-era plays with the Group Theatre to freedom fighting during WWII, Stella used her notoriety as a tool for change. For this book, Sheana Ochoa worked alongside Irene Gilbert, Stella's friend of 30 years, who provided Ochoa with a trove of Stella's personal and pedagogical materials, and Ochoa interviewed Stella's entire living family, including her daughter Ellen; her colleagues and friends, from Arthur Miller to Karl Malden; and her students from Robert De Niro to Mark Ruffalo. Unearthing countless unpublished letters and interviews, private audio recordings, Stella's extensive FBI file, class videos and private audio recordings, Ochoa's biography introduces one of the most under recognized, yet most influential luminaries of the 20th century.

Sheana signed the book for me with a lovely personalized inscription. It was a finished hardcover too which was an extra treat! I had an egalley from the publisher but was struggling to make it work for my Nook device. So I was extra happy to get the book into my hands and I immediately started reading it on my way home. It's a wonderful book and my review of it will be up shortly.

Thank you so much to Farran Smith Nehme and Sheana Ochoa for taking the time to chat with me and pose for photos.

TCM Classic Film Festival Day One Recap

Wednesday was the start of my TCM Classic Film Festival activities. Carlos and I headed over to the Warner Bros. lot to meet up with Robby from Dear Old Hollywood. Robby was just as kind, friendly, generous and easy-going as I thought he would be. Robby works for Warner Bros. and offered to give us a tour of the lot. Carlos and I had done the VIP Tour last year but having a one-on-one tour with a friend who is as well-informed about the lot and about Hollywood as Robby is made it all that more special. I plan to do a dedicated post on our time with him soon!

Carlos, Robby and me

Robby and me

Here I am with my long lost son Matt Patterson

Before we left the Warner Bros. lot, I stopped by the Warner Home Video building to say hi to Matt Patterson from Warner Archive. We had a blast chatting with him last year and I was glad I got another chance to pick his brain. Matt and I chatted about WonderCon, the Warner Archive podcast, Mickey Rooney, commodity history books and more. I could talk to him for hours. And speaking of the Warner Archive podcast, my letter was read on this week's edition! It's not on the Warner Archive Tumblr yet but once it is I'll post it here. Once you listen to it you'll understand the meaning behind the caption above.

Matt hooked me up with some serious Warner Archive swag. These should all be future Warner Archive Wednesday posts!

Next up, I took a taxi from the Warner Bros. lot and headed to Larry Edmund's Bookshop on Hollywood Blvd. There I met up with Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings, her husband Doug (who is my new hero) and I met K.C. of a Classic Movie Blog for the first time. I bought a copy of Swanson on Swanson, Gloria Swanson's autobiography. It's my number two most wanted book. My #1, Memoirs of a Professional Cad by George Sanders, wasn't in the shop but I hope they'll contact me once it's in. I also bought a book for my friend Frank. He recently did a Warner Archive Wednesday post for this blog. You should check it out.

As I was walking back to my hotel, I saw this wreath of flowers by one of Mickey Rooney's stars on the Hollywood fame. He came up in conversation several times today and he's been on my mind since his passing. I stood at this spot and had a moment of silence for him.

I picked up Casey from Noir Girl at her hotel and we walked over to Sadie's Kitchen and Lounge for a special TCM Classic Film Festival Tweet-up. About 50 bloggers and journalists were there. It was a really fun time. I got to see some folks I had met at last year's festival and meet some new faces too. As an added bonus Ben Mankiewicz, Scott McGee and Illeana Douglas from TCM were there! There was a trivia game and some roundtable discussions but the best part really was socializing, talking about the festival and tweeting the event!

We got this TCM pin for tweeting. At the festival this year you can get pins for Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Vine, for having the Watch TCM app on your phone and more.

Casey, me, Laura, Ben Mankiewicz, Marya, Illeana Douglas and Kellee

Nora of TCM. She handles the @tcm Twitter and organized the Tweet-up.

Paula and Trevor from @TCMParty and Fan Guest Programmers Tiffany and Peter

Laura, Jessica, me and Aurora

Lindsay, Jessica, Kellee and Me

After the TCM Tweet-up, a lot of us headed over to another Tweet-up at Formosa. It was organized by Marya (@oldfilmsflicker) and Warner Archive joined as well. It was a great time! Stay tuned. I'll add to this post the list of people I got to hang out with last night.

The tweet-up got crowded fast!

Matt Patterson talking to Casey

The Kitty Corner Interview

The lovely Carley of The Kitty Packard Pictorial has a series called The Kitty Corner in which she interviews classic film bloggers. She asked me to participate and I was absolutely thrilled to do so. It was such a fun interview and Carley was a gracious interviewer.

Check out the interview here.

2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge: First Roundup

We are past the first month mark so I'm sharing some entries for the 2013 Summer Reading Classic Film Book Challenge.

Everyone can chose to read up to 6 books but if you read a total 6 and review them by September 15th, you are eligible to win a prize. The prize in question is your choice of any single disc movie from the Warner Archive and up to $30 worth of books from Barnes & Noble or your favorite Independent Bookstore (or a gift certificate). The prize can be modified if the winner is from outside the U.S.!

If you haven't read or reviewed a book yet, don't worry. There is still plenty of time. Grab a book and get crackin'.

Here are the reviews!

Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings
Three Bad Men: John Ford, John Wayne, Ward Bond by Scott Allen Nollen
When Hollywood Came to Town: A History of Moviemaking in Utah

Lê of Vintage Classic Scrapbook
Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier

Lindsay of Lindsay's Movie Musings
Wide-Eyed in Babylon: An Autobiography by Ray Milland

Margaret of The Great Katharine Hepburn
Knowing Hepburn and Other Curious Experiences by James Prideaux

Raquel of Out of the Past
A Song in the Dark: The Birth of Musical Film by Richard Barrios

Rich of Wide Screen World
For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway

Sara on Goodreads
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof by Tennessee Williams

Sebina on Goodreads
Bride of Golden Images by Eve Golden
Pieces of My Heart by Robert J. Wagner

Travis of Cinemalacrum
Shadows of Doubt: Negotiations of Masculinity in American Genre Films by Barry Keith Grant

(Editor's Note: If I'm missing your review, let me know in the comment section below and I'll add it above.)

Who I met, Who I saw and My Thoughts on the TCM Classic Film Festival

One of the best things about the TCM Classic Film Festival was getting to meet so many of the great classic film bloggers who I talk to on a regular basis online but hadn't met in real life. Here are some I subjected to my iPhone selfies.

Me and Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings

Me and Jill of Sittin' on a Backyard Fence

Me and Aurora of Once upon a screen...

Me and Carley of The Kitty Packard Pictorial

Me and Jessica of Comet Over Hollywood

Me and Raquel of Now Watching (Two Raquels together!)

Me and Trevor of A Modern Musketeer and TCM Party

Me and Matt from Warner Archive (blogger, tweeter and podcaster extraordinaire!)

Me and Paula of Paula's Cinema Club and TCM Party 

(with Laura of Laura's Miscellaneous Musings)

Me and Ariel of Sinamatic Salve-ation 

(picture by Matt from Warner Archive)

I met a whole lot more including Kristen from Sales on Film, Diane from Classic Movie Blog, Drew from Cultural Transmogrification Magazine, Karen of Shadows and Satin, Marya of Diary of a Film History Fanatic and many more.

In addition to these wonderful bloggers, I got to see TCM hosts Robert Osborne and Ben Mankiewicz several times as well as Leonard Maltin (I got to shake his hand!). And then there were the classic film stars, directors and producers:

Theodore Bikel - TCM promo taping
Ann Blyth - TCM promo taping and Mildred Pierce screening
Barrie Chase - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World screening and on my way to the bathroom
Jane Fonda - Handprint Footprint Ceremony (from very far away)
Mitzi Gaynor - Poolside South Pacific Screening
Tippi Hedren - On my way to the bathroom
Kathleen Hughes - River of No Return screening
Marvin Kaplan - TCM promo taping, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World screening and The Lady Vanishes screening
Karen Sharpe Kramer - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World screening and on my way to the bathroom
Norman Lloyd - So You Think You Know the Movies Trivia and The Lady Vanishes screening
Walter Mirisch - On my way to the bathroom and The Great Escape screening
France Nuyen - Poolside South Pacific Screening
Mickey Rooney - It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World screening and on my way to the bathroom
Stanley Rubin - River of No Return screening
Eva Marie Saint -  Eva Marie Saint: Live from the TCM Classic Film Festival
Max von Sydow - Conversation with Max von Sydow and Three Days of Condo Screening
Jane Withers - TCM promo taping

TCM Photo

Here I am at the Ann Blyth TCM Promo taping trying not to freak out because OMG Ann Blyth was right there.

Here are some of my thoughts on the festival:

What I Liked

• The lines for events and screenings were well managed by TCM volunteers. Good job!
• We got really close to the stars but they were protected at all times by various staff members. This made for an intimate experience while also keeping the stars safe from crazies.
• Almost everything started on time. TCM was very punctual, there were very few delays.
• All the lovely surprises. Seeing Ann Blyth at the TCM promo taping was by far my favorite surprise.
• All the classic film stars I got to see!
• Seeing Robert Osborne, Ben Mankiewicz and Leonard Maltin numerous times. 
• Meeting people who have read my blog (woah)
• The variety of classic films, the decades and genres covered. There was literally something for everyone. You could easily customize your schedule
• The quality of the interviews before the screenings. They were only 15 minutes (a few were a bit longer) but they were always top notch.
• The TCM Festival iPhone app. It was a bit buggy to start but I loved that it sent me reminders before each of the films I had chosen.
• The Info desk was amazing! The staff there was super helpful and friendly. They gave me buttons to reward me for all my social media activity.
• The TCM Classic Film Festival tote bag, my favorite new accessory.
• Getting press photos after the events because some of my pictures didn't come out so good.
• Being on TV and having my mom call me because she saw me on TCM.

What I Didn't Like

• Not enough places to charge my iPhone
• Crazy lady who seemed to haunt the Roosevelt Hotel bathroom
• All the walking I had to do. I'm not against walking but I brought the wrong shoes! Next time I'll bring sneakers.
• L.A. Cab drivers
• Having to leave screenings to get into other ones. Can they please have shuttles for the far away venues next time?
• Opening Night Party crowdedness 
• Not knowing I had to RSVP to the Jane Fonda Handprint Footprint Event. I probably misread an email.
• There was breakfast at Club TCM? How did I not know this?!
• Not having enough access to food in general and healthy food specifically. I hope TCM will consider food trucks or some kind of concession stand for Club TCM in the future.

My favorite moments:

• River of No Return (1954) screening with Stanley Rubin, I cried
• Ann Blyth TCM promo taping, I cried
• Chatting with Matt from Warner Archive, I cried (just kidding)
• Playing a trivia game hosted by Alex Trebek
• Shaking Leonard Maltin's hand
• The Lady Vanishes (1938) screening with Norman Lloyd
• Meeting classic film bloggers galore

Bear with me. Up next are some more detailed posts about some of the events I attended.

Full Disclosure and Reviewing Products

Attention all Classic Film Bloggers!

You may have noticed that in the past year or so several classic film bloggers, including myself, have been getting free books and DVDs for review (or giveaway). I work in the book industry and we are no strangers to blogger reviews. And because I work with some bloggers in my day job I know a lot about process of product reviews on blogs. I just want to relay some important information to those of you who are classic film bloggers and are either already reviewing products or want to review products in the future.

If you receive a product for free from a company and you review it on your blog, no matter what it is, you are obligated BY LAW to reveal the source.

As of 10/15/2009, the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) published updated guidelines concerning endorsements and testimonials. The update reads:

Bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service.

It is really important that when you write a review about a product that you must reveal where the product came from. It can be as simple as thanking the company or person that sent it to you. Or you can include a standard disclaimer in your post that is always the same except for the source. I know some book bloggers who will go as far as to reveal where they got every book even if they bought it themselves, borrow it from the library or a friend, or got it in a swap. Just note this is for product reviews. There is a difference between reviewing a movie versus reviewing the DVD/Blu-Ray and package it came in.

I have made sure that any of my reviews after October 2009 include Full Disclosure and I highly recommend for bloggers out there to do the same. It's being fair to your readers. For more information about the FTC guidelines on Full Disclosure, make sure you visit this page: http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2009/10/endortest.shtm

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So how does one get free products for review in the first place?

1) They'll contact you. Warner Bros. has been doing extensive blogger outreach. While you can't contact them for reviews, if you know someone who has a contact at the company ask them to recommend you.

2) Contact them! I really wanted to review a couple of titles from Northwestern University Press so I asked them if they could send me a book. And they did! It doesn't hurt to ask.

3) Sign up for a PR service. There are numerous PR services on the web that allow media outlets to contact publishers (including bloggers). You chose which category of pitches best suits your blog and you'll start to receive pitches via e-mail. Depending on the service you chose you may get a trickle or a flood. Just don't feel obligated to jump on every opportunity. Be selective.

4) Sign up for giveaways. For example, Goodreads, a booklovers social networking site, runs giveaways daily. Recently they had copies of the new bios on Frank Sinatra and Sal Mineo up for grabs. Also, Warner Archive runs several giveaways on Facebook and Twitter.

I've been very overwhelmed with pitches and products for review and have decided to scale back. There are so many pitches I pass over on a regular basis. I've decided to start sharing those pitches with other classic film bloggers who want more opportunities to review products. I'll pitch the pitches on my Twitter account @QuelleLove or you can contact me via e-mail if you want me to look out for something in particular for you.

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Reviewing products is not as glamorous as it seems. Yes you do get  the products for free and that itself is a great thing. I'm relatively poor and still trying to pay off student loans from Grad school (I can't even afford TCM) so it's nice to receive a book or DVD boxed set that I wouldn't have been able to purchase otherwise. However, when you get a product to review you have a deadline. Publishers and Distributors want reviews up around the time of the products release to the public. If you take too long to review a product or don't review it at all, they'll keep that in mind and pass you over next time. If you have too many products to review, then you don't have time to read or watch what you want. It will eat into your leisure time. It's basically like blog homework. However, as classic film bloggers, our opinion about these products count. A lot. So it's really good to get your opinion and voice out there because a good or bad review really does matter.

As always, please feel free to contact me with any questions or inquiries. I'm always happy to help out a fellow blogger.

*apologies for disallowing comments for a while. I was getting some opportunists leave shout outs. I'm allowing comments for now but I will be deleting any ones I feel are inappropriate.

Norma Shearer Week was a success!

I just wanted to thank everyone for their support and encouragement with Norma Shearer week. I'm really happy with the results and the feedback. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank a few folks in particular.

Jennifer Z. ~ For being the ultimate Norma Shearer fan!

Jonas @ All Talking! All Singing! All Dancing! ~ For supporting this and all my other crazy ideas.

Kate Gabrielle @ Silents and Talkies ~ For her superb Norma Shearer painting and allowing me to do a guest post for Norma Shearer week on her site.

Carrie @ Classic Montgomery - For helping me with info on Robert Montgomery and his relationship with Norma Shearer. She also posted an ad for A Free Soul on her site.

Laura @ Laura's Miscellaneous Musings - She plugged Norma Shearer Week in her review of Lowell Sherman's Bachelor Apartment (1931).


Thank you goes out to these folks for their encouragement on Twitter and elsewhere:

Wendymoon @ Movie Viewing Girl
Casey @ Noir Girl
Operator 99 @ Allure
Tommy @ Pluck You Too
Cliff @ Vintage Meld -> who Tweeted every post!
Nicole @ Classic Hollywood Nerd
Mercurie @ A Shroud of Thoughts

... and everyone who commented!

Norma Shearer week got some links:

Fox News & Chicago Sun-Times ~ Posted my From Montreal to Hollywood: Norma Shearer's Story.
Large Association of Movie Blogs (L.A.M.B.) ~ My fellow LAMBs (baa) helped me plug Norma Shearer week.
Deliberate Pixel ~ The editor thought Norma Shearer week was going to be on TCM. Oops!
Turner Classic Movies ~ With Norma Shearer week I have a lot more Norma content on this blog, so I submitted my label link Queen Norma Shearer as a fan site for her TCM page and got accepted!

I leave you now with an anecdote from Gavin Lambert's Norma Shearer biography. Enjoy.

Saturday, January 23, 1936. The annual Mayfair Club Ball... It took place in the Garden Room at the Victor Hugo restaurant, a supreme example of Beverly Hills posh, designed like a Roman atrium with a rounded glass roof, fake Appian Way statuary, genuine flowering vines, and an oval carpet of grass-green wool. The official hostess, Carole Lombard, had asked all the ladies to come dressed in white. Fairly late, two couples arrived together, Norma and Irving and Merle (Oberon) and David Niven. Merle looked decorous in protocol white, but Norma was a study in strapless and backless scarlet.

Lombard managed a polite greeting, then turned away and made the rounds of other guests, expressing her opinion of Mrs. Thalberg in her usual pungent, four-letter-word style. "Sheer ego" was Eleanor Boardman's verdict, but John Houseman had a different slant. He knew Norma only slightly at the time but later noticed "her occasional compulsion to assert herself publicly by refusing to conform." This seems close to the mark, for a photograph of the event shows Norma looking openly pleased with herself, as if enjoying the effect of not giving her expected, perfect social performance.

That's so Norma!

Ginger's Review ~ Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

Go check out Ginger's review of the Fritz Lang noir Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) (starring Dana Andrews of course) over at Steve-O's blog Noir of the Week. Yes I know, I'm a blogger, recommending you read another blogger's post on another blogger's blog. But hey this is my blog, I can do what I want.

Ginger's review is straightforward and ultimately reaches out and smacks you in the face. She doesn't like the film and she's not afraid to tell you that. However, after reading the review you may still want to watch the film anyways just because of all the fun stuff she points out. Cheesy come-ons, burlesque clubs and strippers circa 1956? Sign me up!

Here is the linky love:

Ginger's Blog ~ Asleep in New York

Steve-O's Blog ~ Noir of the Week

Ginger's Review ~ Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)

Three Great Film Noir You Never Heard Of by Steve-O

One of the coolest things about loving film noir is discovering lost, forgotten films. True, most lost films are forgotten for a reason. However, every now and then you find a film so amazing that it makes watching hours and hours of bad films worth while.

If you're new to classic film noir, I recommend you first check out all the great movies released on DVD over the past few years. Start off with big studio noirs like Out of the Past (1947), Criss Cross (1949) and Gilda (1946). Then work your way to the smaller budget films like Caged (1950) and D.O.A. (1950). If you're still a noir fan, step down to the Bs like Railroaded and Decoy.

There you have the three tiers of film noir. Don Miller, writing in "B" movies: An Informal Survey of the American Low-budget Film, notes that there were three classifications of movies during the 30s and 40s: “... the A, the B, and the programmers, sometimes alluded to as a 'nervous A' or 'gilt-edged B.' That hybrid would often play the top half of a double bill, have one or two fairly high-priced performers and, when a character walked into a room, the walls wouldn't shake as he shut the door; it looked reasonably opulent, but if a studio tried to palm it off as a big or A picture, you knew they were kidding.” The three films that I want to recommend fall into the B category. They're nearly impossible to find on television and I doubt they'll ever find their way to DVD. They are cheaply made without a movie star in sight. Nevertheless they're wonderful.

First is a film called Suspense. The 1946 film is – and I'm not kidding here – a figure-skating noir. Olympic figure skater Belita stars as a skater that dumps her mobster boyfriend for a peanut vendor (Barry Sullivan). The film is wonderfully strange with outstanding performances from Albert Dekker (The Killers) and Bonita Granville (her other noir role was The Guilty). The film is loaded with strange images (including Belita crashing through a giant Dali-like skull to begin a skating exhibition) and some true suspense.

Night Editor from the same year is based on a long-running radio series. The film begins, like the radio series, with a newspaper editor recounting a scandalous story from the past. Surprisingly, the story he tells is fatalistic and dark. A drunk cop spends his nights cheating on his wife with a sexy (and also married) society girl (a wicked performance by Janis Carter). The cheating couple witnesses the brutal murder of a woman on a dark street. The cop (William Gargan) doesn't stop the killer for fear that it would cause a scandal. He doesn't want it to get out that he was stepping out on his wife. To make matters worse, detective Cochrane – who has already been reprimanded for poor performance -- shows up to work hungover and is quickly assigned the murder. He has to investigate and at the same time find a way to cover up his role. His cars tire tracks at the scene makes him a potential suspect in the killing. 99-percent of the film is just perfect. The happy ending tacked on at the end is very annoying but not unexpected. However, this is a great little movie.




The third film I covered last week at the Noir of the Week blog. The Guilty (1948) is possibly the cheapest movie I have ever seen. The acting is wooden and the sets look like they just might fall down. However, it's a damned involving story of murder. A twin girl is killed in a dark, nameless city. The prime suspect is a WWII shell-shocked vet. A couple of other potential suspects include the “bad” sister's violent boyfriend and creepy middle-aged house member. Who did the killing? I found myself involved from beginning to end.






These three films are not easy to find. However, if you do get to see them you'll probably agree they're true black-and-white gems.