House by the River, Murder by the River, Too

This European set Film Noir film was filmed in the U.S. Fritz Lang escaped Germany when the Nazis reared their ugly heads, and made it over here to continue a brilliant career.  This Lang film is a gritty and sad one.  From the outset we know it won't end well. An almost Cain and Abel type story, this murder yarn will play havoc with a beautiful dame who will continue to be soiled after her demise.  Let us look at 1950's "House by the River."

Struggling, and all but failed, novelist Stephen Byrne (Louis Hayward) lives on a mighty river in the U.K. His manuscripts are summarily rejected and his creative juices dry up. Frustrated, when his wife is away for the day, he enters his house after trying to write at the riverside. His beautiful maid, Emily (Dorothy Patrick), has just got out of a bath and put perfume on. He can't resist and makes a pass at Emily who screams. Panicked, Stephen tries to quiet her but accidentally strangles her to death.  The evil Stephen then uses his brother John (Lee Bowman) to get rid of the body. John doesn't want to, but John also loves Stephen's wife Marjorie (Jane Wyatt). Stephen lies and tells John Marjorie is pregnant and for her sake, he must help get rid of the corpse. They put Emily in a sack and dump her in the river.

John feels awful. Stephen feels giddy.  When Emily is found in the river, Stephen capitalizes on the publicity to sell books...it works.  Uh oh...the coroner's inquest is approaching and investigation suggests John murdered Emily. Marjorie sees Stephen change.  He's vicious and ill tempered.  Marjorie is now frightened of her husband.  John keeps the secret and tries to comfort his sister-in-law. He finds out Marjorie is not pregnant and Stephen has been lying about a lot. As subsequent investigation points more to John, Stephen relishes in the publicity and begins writing a novel inspired by his murder of Emily...names changed, of course.  Stephen has also found out that the first murder is hard...but after that, well...you know the score here. 

Will John hang for the murder that his brother, Stephen, has committed?  Will John pull off a miracle and end up with Marjorie?  Will Stephen's book, inspired by his murder of Emily, ever see the presses? We see where this is going from the outset and it won't be good.  Getting-rid-of-the-corpse films all seem to have the same theme...the bodies always come back and tell stories.  See this Fritz Lang thriller, "House by the River," and then go read Genesis (the story of Cain and Abel) again and see that these old classic themes are still good cinema today.     

Nora Prentiss, Glamour vs. Routine

Ann Sheridan!  In our film today, many critics herald it as the magnum opus for the sultry actress. Sure, her role in "The Man Who Came to Dinner" was stellar, but in today's film, she is the lead. Uh oh...this is a Film Noir movie and she plays a nightclub singer.  Yep, we know what that means. Murder.  The sultry singer will seduce and also find the meaning of life and love, all while ending the lives of so many around her.  Let us look at 1947's "Nora Prentiss," directed by Vincent Sherman.

Set in San Francisco before it became a total shithole, Dr. Richard Talbot (Kent Smits) has it made.  A beautiful family and a loving wife (well, maybe not that loving), Lucy (Rosemary DeCamp).  He has a simple routine, breakfast with the family, go to work, come home and hear his wife drone on and on about her day. His medical practice is a successful one and his partner is the handsome bachelor, Dr. Merriam (Bruce Bennett), a wild bachelor. Uh oh, alone at the office, Richard treats a sultry dame who got hit by a car outside his office. She's out cold and has a leg injury.  The dame, Nora (Sheridan) comes to and finds Richard tending to her leg.  She has a sense of humor, and Richard is all nerves as he is a bit shy around dames. Nora gets him to loosen up, bats her eyelashes at him, and plays on his insecurities. Nora's quite the flirt, but in no time she is in love with this stable man with a routine and a boyish shyness.

Soon, our rigid and anal doctor is fantasizing about Nora. When Lucy and the kids leave for the weekend, Richard finds himself at the nightclub.  Dressed in slinky gowns, Nora sings away and seduces. Nightclub owner, Phil (Robert Alda) is in love with Nora, but Nora now wants Richard.  Richard promises to divorce his wife and go away with her.  Uh oh...none of this goes well.  People will die.  Richard comes up with a plan that would be genius if it wasn't so stupid.  Now Richard and Nora may be cursed by getting exactly what they want.  Lies and deceit masquerading as good intentions threaten to ruin the whole deal.  Then an unbelievable twist in a murder case. 

Can an upstanding doctor in the city really just leave his wife and kids?  Does Nora have some Svengali-type power over the drooling Richard?  Will Phil just sit there and allow Nora to run off with this dweeb she has only known for a week or two?  What happens here will be vicious and be so wrong on many levels.  Be ready to gasp at the depravity both Nora and Richard are seduced to fall into.  Also, as a warning, middle-aged couples should see this film as a warning of what may happen if routine and comfort replace passion in marriage. For a weird and twisted Film Noir thriller, highlighting the glamorous Ann  Sheridan, see "Nora Prentiss." 

Suspense, Noir on Ice

Belita! Euro-babe!  The sultry blonde figure skater competed at the Olympic Games in 1936. Prettier than Sonja Henie, this babe also began making pictures in Hollywood.  Many of her roles were as a figure skater or dancer.  Then in 1946, she was cast as the lead in the Film Noir suspense yarn... "Suspense." The film centers around her figure skating, murder, adultery, femme fatales, and she will be put in great danger of being shredded by a weird knife contraption as she graces an audience with her skating.  This grim and dark feature betrays her beauty and grace on the ice, but you will spend most of this film fixated on her legs.  Directed by Frank Tuttle, 1946's "Suspense."

A drifter hits town. He's tall, dark and handsome and needs a job. Joe (Barry Sullivan) is also dangerous.  We sense this but don't know why...yet. The head of a carnival, Frank (Albert Dekker) gives him a job selling peanuts at the carnival's main attraction, an ice show featuring Roberta Elva (Belita). Joe watches the show as he hocks peanuts and is entranced by Roberta's beauty...as are we.  He makes a move for her but cold water is thrown on it as he finds out Roberta is married to the wealthy Frank. Joe gets smart and smooth talks Frank to promoting him.  Soon, Joe is Frank's number one guy in running the show. He even comes up with a weird idea for Roberta on the ice.  Skate and jump through a hoop of long knives.  An inch off, either way, and Roberta will be shredded. Roberta, very confident, likes the idea and it is incorporated in her act.  Her routines are uber erotic and seduce anyone withing 100 miles of the ice arena.

Joe gets aggressive and plants kisses on Roberta.  She slaps him...at first.  Then she likes him.  Now Frank senses his wife and Joe are getting too close...he's right.  He takes his sultry blonde wife to the mountains and guess who follows? Yep, Joe...and three is a crowd.  Three also proves to be deadly as Joe believes he has cleared the path for him to snare Roberta. Now Roberta begins fearing Joe, but Joe has her.  Frank?  You'll see.  Uh oh...Joe's past comes knocking in the form of an ex-girlfriend, the sultry Ronnie (Bonita Granville).  She's hot and has the goods on Joe.  She will do anything to get Joe back and now knows about the lovely skater.  Ronnie gets more aggressive.  Joe gets more aggressive.  Roberta gets smart and imperiled even more. Murder abounds.  Oh, that knife contraption? You'll see.

Will Ronnie engage in a steamy catfight with the blonde figure skater?  Will Roberta be shredded in her performance prop? Does Joe have a shot at survival now that two hot blondes are looking at him in disfavor?  This is an erotic and vicious thriller. Belita's skating routines will cause you to sweat and want to buy tickets for "The Ice Capades."  By the way, "Ice Capades" was Belita's first film. See "Suspense" and be warned, hot blondes in these Film Noir films spell death!  

The Cruel Tower, Blonde Bombshell Corrupts He-Men

You ever wonder how those huge water towers are cleaned? No? Me neither. Or those big smokestacks that need repair? Yeah...me neither. Why not make a movie about it? To get people to watch it we stick in a blonde bombshell who does none of the climbing or cleaning! She merely corrupts the hunks that do all the work and climbing. Mari Blanchard! What a doll! Blonde bombshell, indeed. Together with some hunks she will introduce us to the world of steeplejacks. Our feature today is 1956's "The Cruel Tower," directed by Lew Landers.

Steeplejack? You had to ask. These are the men who climb up tall things, like water towers and industrial smokestacks, to do repairs. They spend their waking hours hundreds of feet up in the air. Unfortunately, gravity often ends their careers as they splat on the ground below. Tom (John Ericson), escaping from his life, is thrown off a freight train by irate hobos. We can all relate to this. He's picked up by half-wit Joss (Peter Whitney), brought back to a trailer, and nursed back to health by The Babe, or Mary (Blanchard). He's in love...and so are we! Uh oh, Mary is Stretch's (Charles McGraw) gal. Stretch is the boss of a steeplejack contacting outfit and his crew goes from one tall structure to the next. Now Stretch convinces Tom to join them. Stretch, who is married, seems like a good guy, but Mary is his girlfriend. Tom wants to run off with Mary...see what is happening?

Much of this film takes place hundreds of feet straight up with The Babe looking up from the ground. Casey (Steve Brodie) is a friend to everyone and Stretch's right-hand man...though he is also boinking Stretch's wife. Joss? A big galoot who was left a half-wit after a steeplejack accident. He's a religious fanatic and points out sin wherever it appears. He knows Mary is a floozie.  Eventually "the skipper" (Alan Hale, Jr.) joins the crew. Now Stretch figures out Tom wants Mary. He also figures out Casey is messing around with his wife. 200 feet straight up is prime territory for...accidents, and they begin happening. Ropes break. Scaffolding breaks. Gravity rears its ugly head. Mary kisses Tom. Now the happy steeplejack company may be the deadliest job a big strong hobo-wannabe can get.

Is there any chance Tom can end up with Mary and it all goes well?  Is Stretch responsible for the unfortunate "accidents" that occur atop huge water towers? Is Mary an angel of love, or the spawn of Satan? This is a good one and seeing men ruined by a pretty blonde with great big...er, a great big smile is a classic theme that never gets old.  See "The Cruel Tower" and admire the beauty of a blonde bombshell who actually answered all her fan mail, Mari Blanchard.