What do you get when you mix a gaggle of expatriate Austro-Germanic cineasts with a gang of American pulp novelists writing about flawed men and conniving women, some Expressionist lighting to hide the fact they're on a two-bit soundstage, all in shades of gray in post-WWII Hollywood, California? Well, around here we call it Film Noir. Yeah, it's as defined as the morals of its characters, sure, but it's kinda like jazz or pornography, Junior...you'll know it when you see it. So, sit down and keep yer hands where I can see 'em and we'll talk about some of the greats, the losers and whatever else comes to mind while you're bleedin' out and she's spendin' all that insurance money.
I'm almost ashamed to admit it but until yesterday, I'd never seen this Hitchcock noir.
Stupid question: anybody else seen it? Thoughts? Opinions? Apparently Scorsese said it was an inspiration for his Taxi Driver (1976)…although I'm struggling to see the connection.
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Wow! Less of a stupid question than I thought! Nobody's seen it?
In any case… It's one of Hitchcock's lesser works: beautifully shot, the style is patent "Hitchcockian", but maybe because it's pre-Miranda, maybe even though it's based on a true story ("every word is true!" swears the master in his prologue) the portrayed willingness of all involved is next to implausible by today's standards…I don't know. There's something that just doesn't click the way, for example, Rear Window, Dial M for Murder or North by Northwest do. It's—as they say—Kafkaesque but almost frustratingly so.