Getting Cagey in PRIMAL

PRIMAL (2019)

Starring Nicholas Cage, Famke Janssen, Kevin Durand, Michael Imperioli, Lamonica Garret. Directed by Nicholas Powell. (97 min)

ON BLU-RAY FROM LIONSGATE

Review by Tiger the Terrible😸

National treasure Nicholas Cage squares-off against a deadly jungle cat and a vicious assassin on-board a cargo ship. Man, I don’t see how anyone could pass that up. It’s a concept as wonderfully bonkers as Samuel L. Jackson battling Snakes on a Plane. Primal doesn’t milk its premise to the campy heights of that kitschy classic, but it’s a lot more fun than the average Nick Cage Movie of the Week.

Cage plays Frank Walsh, a grizzled, grumpy game hunter who traps wild animals to sell to zoos. His latest haul includes birds, angry monkeys, poisonous snakes and – his biggest prize – a rare white jaguar. Sharing the boat ride home, however, is rogue assassin Richard Loffler (Kevin Durand), who’s been captured by U.S. forces and being returned in chains to stand trial for his crimes. Naturally, he manages to escape and frees all the animals. So now it’s man vs. man and man vs. nature, with Loffler and the cat picking off the supporting cast one by one.

"BOY FOR SALE!"

Primal has less actual animal action than I hoped. Not that the conflict involving Loffler isn’t enjoyable. Durand does a decent job playing your standard over-confident bad guy, but watching nature get even is a lot more entertaining, especially in an unusual setting. Still, the beasties manage to get-in their licks here and there. Those scenes are the goofiest, therefore the liveliest, even if the CGI-rendered jaguar is laughably unconvincing.

"I thought I paid this."

Cage attacks his role with his inimitable brand of gusto, tongue planted firmly in-cheek, which is always enjoyable. Less vital is Famke Janssen as Ellen Taylor. She plays a Navy doctor tasked with monitoring Loffler’s health, but mostly exists to bicker with Cage and place herself in peril. The remaining cast – including Michael Imperioli – are essentially cannon fodder (or cat food).

Well made on a relatively limited budget, Primal won’t win any Oscars, but it’s hardly Razzie-worthy, either. Fast-paced and enjoyably silly, this features Nick Cage in prime any-role-to-pay-off-my-debts mode. And that isn’t always a bad thing, especially once he breaks-out his trusty blowgun.

EXTRA KIBBLES

FEATURETTE - “The Making of Primal”

DIGITAL COPY

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.

THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY 3-Disc Limited Edition: Lucio Does Lovecraft (sort of)

THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY (1981)

Starring Catriona MacColl, Paolo Malco, Ania Pieroni, Giovanni Prezza, Silvia Collatina, Dagmar Lassander. Directed by Lucio Fulci. (86 min)

ON BLU-RAY FROM BLUE UNDERGROUND

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat😾

Some films are deserving of reassessment. I once wrote a pretty scathing review of The House By the Cemetery for another website, mostly attacking Lucio Fulci himself over his penchant for using audacity and gore to mask a perceived lack of directorial skill. I still think he’s overpraised in horror circles and doesn’t deserved to be mentioned alongside such Italian masters as Bava and Argento, but have to admit I kind-of enjoyed it this time around, for reasons other than the violence that endeared him to gorehounds.

The third and final chapter in Fulci’s tenuously-linked “Gates of Hell” trilogy, The House By the Cemetery is less ambiguous than The Beyond, not as over-the-top as City of the Living Dead, but arguably better-crafted than both.

Why I don't go to Supercuts.

The film still has some of the usual issues typical of Fulci...lapses in logic, questionable performances, some atrocious dubbing and shallow characters. From a story standpoint, however, this is also his most accomplished effort since Zombie, a Lovecraftian tale trimmed of the isolated set-pieces created to amp-up the gore but don’t really advance the narrative.

Not that The House By the Cemetery isn’t violent. There’s still plenty of brutal bloodletting – most of it pretty well done – but relatively restrained by Fulci’s sickly standards. Especially memorable is the murder which opens the film, where a young woman is knifed through the back of the head, ending with the tip of the blade protruding from her mouth. While still gleefully gratuitous, these scenes actually serve the narrative, not vise-versa. Even if you took Fulci’s bag o’ tricks away from him, there’s still a fairly engaging story here. At the very least, there’s enough substance between the gore scenes to maintain interest.

The Adventures of Snotman.

The emphasis on atmosphere helps immensely. For the most part, the film features impressive cinematography and haunting imagery, both of which are enhanced by a moody score from Walter Rizzati, whose sonic palate is more varied than Fulci’s usual collaborator, Fabio Frizzi.

Speaking of which, that score is one of many bonus features included in this beautifully-packaged 3-disc set. Like recent similar 4K restorations from Blue Underground, The House By the Cemetery is accompanied by extensive supplemental material, both new and carried-over from previous releases (outlined below). From a technical standpoint, the movie has never looked or sounded better. As the third Fulci film to get such royal treatment in less than two years, it’s a must-own for his fans.

While I wouldn’t go as far as to say The House By the Cemetery is a great film, it approaches good more often than my original review suggested. It still suffers from some of the trappings that have torpedoed most Lucio Fulci films, but a decent story and suitably moody tone go a long way in glossing over the rough spots, including child character Bob’s daffy dubbing (which I’m glad they retained, because it’s hilarious).

EXTRA KIBBLES

NEW: “HOUSE QUAKE” - An amusing, if somewhat rambling, interview with co-writer Giogio Mariuzzo.

NEW: CATRIONA MACCOLL Q&A – Filmed in 2014, this is an entertaining interview with the film’s star before a live audience. She has quite a few amusing anecdotes about her work in Fulci’s films.

NEW: “CALLING DR. FREUDSTEIN” - As with Blue Underground’s recent Zombie re-issue, Fulci biographer Stephen Thrower discusses the director and the film’s history.

NEW: AUDIO COMMENTARY – By author Troy Howarth.

NEW: LENTICULAR SLIPCASE & REVERSIBLE COVER ART

NEW: SUPPLEMENTARY BOOKLET – Includes photos, promotional art, cart, crew & CD credits and a lengthy essay by Michael Gingold.

NEW: CD SOUNDTRACK – Walter Rizzati’s atmospheric score (31 tracks).

"MEET THE BOYLES” - Interviews with actors Catriona MacColl & Paolo Malco.

"CHILDREN OF THE NIGHT” - Interviews with actors Giovanni Frezza & Silvia Collatina. Amusingly, Frezza begins by apologizing for the famously shitty dub of his voice in the film.

"TALES OF LAURA GITTLESON” - Interview with actor Dagmar Lassander.

"MY TIME WITH TERROR” - Interview with actor Carlo De Mejo.

"A HAUNTED HOUSE STORY” - Interviews with co-writers Dardano Sacchetti & Elisa Briganti.

"TO BUILD A BETTER DEATH TRAP” - Interviews with cinematographer Sergio Salavati, make-up effects artist Marizio Trani, effects artist Gino De Rossi and actor Giovanni De Nava (you know...Snotman).

DELETED SCENE

2 TRAILERS & A TV SPOT

IMAGE GALLERIES – Chock full of international promo materials

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS.

THE POOP SCOOP: Oscar Contenders Edition

VIEW THE TRAILER

PARASITE Available Now on Digital, on Blu-ray and DVD 1/28

A volatile, symbiotic relationship between the uber-wealthy and the have-nots comes into full display in PARASITE, from Universal Pictures Home Entertainment and NEON. Proclaimed as “wickedly clever” (GQ) and “the definition of a must-see experience” (The Atlantic), PARASITE is a riveting, genre-bending thriller that combines masterful filmmaking with a fresh look at class discrimination, making it “a flat-out masterpiece” (Deadline). Hailed as “the best work yet from master filmmaker Bong Joon Ho (Okja, Snowpiercer)” (Awards Circuit), who directed and co-wrote the film alongside Han Jin Won (Okja), fans can now delve deep into the mind of Bong, and the symbolism behind PARASITE with an exclusive Q&A bonus feature with the acclaimed director. The captivating PARASITE has made history as the first Korean film to be nominated for an Oscar.  It has garnered six Oscar nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best International Film, Best Production Design and Best Editing, a 2020 SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture and was the winner of the 2020 Golden Globe for Best Foreign Film.  Additionally, the film has racked up over an astonishing 100 award nominations to date. 

 

VIEW THE TRAILER

FORD v FERRARI on Digital 1/28 and 4K, Blu-ray and DVD 2/11

Matt Damon and Golden Globe Nominee Christian Bale star in this “thunderously exciting” (Peter Travers, Rolling Stone) film based on the remarkable true story about Ford Motor Company’s attempt to create the world’s fastest car. American car designer Carroll Shelby (Damon) and the fearless British-born driver Ken Miles (Bale), together battled corporate interference and the laws of physics to build a revolutionary race car and take on Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. Certified-Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, critics and fans alike have raved about this epic underdog tale that will keep your heart pounding from start to finish. Add FORD V FERRARI to your digital collection on Movies Anywhere January 28 and buy it on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray and DVD February 11 to add a piece of history to your film collection.

PAIN AND GLORY on Digital 1/14 and Blu-ray & DVD 1/21

PAIN AND GLORY tells of a series of re-encounters experienced by Salvador Mallo (Antonio Banderas), a film director in his physical decline. Some of them in the flesh, others remembered: his childhood in the 60s, when he emigrated with his parents to a village in Valencia in search of prosperity, the first desire, his first adult love in the Madrid of the 80s, the pain of the breakup of that love while it was still alive and intense, writing as the only therapy to forget the unforgettable, the early discovery of cinema, and the void, the infinite void that creates the incapacity to keep on making films.

BEVERLY HILLS COP 3-MOVIE COLLECTION: A Career in Three Acts

BEVERLY HILLS COP 3-MOVIE COLLECTION

BEVERLY HILLS COP (1984) Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Lisa Eilbacher, Steven Berkoff. Directed by Martin Brest. (105 min)

BEVERLY HILLS COP II (1987) Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, John Ashton, Ronny Cox, Brigitte Nielsen, Jurgen Prochnow. Directed by Tony Scott. (102 min)

BEVERLY HILLS COP III (1994) Starring Eddie Murphy, Judge Reinhold, Hector Elizondo, Timothy Carhart, John Saxon, Alan Young. Directed by John Landis. (104 min)

ON BLU-RAY FROM PARAMOUNT

Review by Tiger the Terrible😽

In a way, this new Blu-ray collection offers a fascinating chronicle of a cutting-edge comedian’s slow descent into mediocrity.

Some of you reading this are too young to remember when Eddie Murphy was not-only the biggest movie star in the world, but really damn funny. Much of that was due to 1984’s Beverly Hills Cop, where his effortless charisma and gift for improvisation elevated a standard cop thriller into a modern classic. Even today, it remains the quintessential Eddie Murphy movie (only Harold Faltermeyer’s archaic synth score really dates it).

But if you are of a certain age, you might concur that the Law of Diminishing Returns definitely applies to this franchise. Beverly Hills Cop II, while still enjoyable, lacks the freshness of the original. Most of the main cast returns and Murphy has his share of amusing moments, but he's a brand name by now, meeting audience expectations without ever really exceeding them. With Tony Scott directing, there’s an increased emphasis on big, loud action over clever comedy, so the film sometimes plays more like a music video or Lethal Weapon sequel. Still, it’s worth revisiting from time to time.

The less said about Beverly Hills Cop III, the better, its mediocrity typical of other films Murphy was making at the time and a strong candidate for one of the most pointless sequels ever made. The film is a complete misfire from top to bottom, starting with the fatal decision to hire John Landis as director. With his penchant for gratuitous cameos and in-jokes, he’s completely ill-suited to helm a franchise like this. Murphy sleepwalks through the film on autopilot, content to collect a paycheck without trying to give Axel Foley the same wise-ass charm that endeared him to us in the first place.  

"My check has more zeroes!"

But for what it’s worth, this is the first time BHC II & III have ever been released on Blu-ray. They are unavailable separately, making this three-disc set essential for completists. Only the first film comes with supplemental material, most of it carried over from the 2011 release. However, a few new features are tossed in to encourage double-dipping, such as a couple of deleted scenes and some interviews from 1984. Additionally, the overall audio and video quality is definite improvement over the previous disc, a nice transfer that’s repeated for both sequels.

Watching these films back-to-back is an interesting experience and could be viewed as a microcosm of Eddie Murphy’s entire career during that era. The original Beverly Hills Cop is the only essential film in the collection, but the second isn’t without its merits. BHC III may be a cynically-assembled trainwreck and indicative of the overall drop in quality of his films, but makes a nifty coaster.

EXTRA KIBBLES

Beverly Hills Cop is the only film with any bonus features.

FEATURETTES - “Beverly Hills Cop: The Phenomenon Begins” (retrospective doc); “A Glimpse Inside the Casting Process”; “The Music of Beverly Hills Cop”

LOCATION MAP – An interactive feature in which production designer Angelo Graham talks about some of the various shooting locations.

AUDIO COMMENTARY – By director Martin Brest

TRAILER

2 DELETED SCENES – These are actually pretty interesting, though it’s understandable why they were removed.

INTERVIEWS FROM 1984

BHC MIXTAPE ‘84 – Clips from the film where its hit songs are featured.

KITTY CONSENSUS:

PURR-R-R...LIKE A GOOD SCRATCH BEHIND THE EARS

GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR and the Repair Job from Hell

GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR (2019)

Starring Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk), Trieste Kelly Dunn, Sarah Brooks, Elissa Dowling, Travis Delgado. Directed by Travis Stevens. (93 min)

ON BLU-RAY FROM DARK SKY FILMS

Review by Josey, the Sudden Cat😼

For a while, I really empathized with Don Koch (Phil Brooks). Here’s a guy trying to get a fresh start by renovating the old suburban house he just purchased, so it’s all ready when his wife arrives. However, he ain’t much of a handyman. And I can relate. Hell, it takes me a half-dozen bent nails and a repeatedly-hammered thumb just to put up a picture which will inevitably end up hanging crooked. It’s therefore my philosophy that if something can’t be fixed with duct tape, it is irreparable.

Still, Don is persistent, even though he generally ends up making things worse. It seems as if the whole house is working against him. Which it is, of course, spitting slime, goo & occasional marbles from every pipe, crack and socket. It turns out Don bought an old whorehouse that happens to be haunted by its former occupants, so I can hazard a guess what the white goo is supposed to be.

But by then, my empathy for Don had dissipated. It turns out he’s kind of an asshole, taking a break to cheat on his pregnant wife with Sarah (Sarah Brooks), a mysterious woman who he shuns after their initial tryst. But she’s got a sinister agenda and it doesn’t take a slide rule to figure out she’s part of the house’s dark past, which tends to bring out the worst in those who are inherently awful people. And the more we learn about Don’s past, the more we’re convinced he deserves what’s coming to him, and probably why the narrative focus wisely shifts to his wife, Liz (Trieste Kelly Dunn), during the second half.

Extreme product placement.

But we don’t necessarily have to like a main character to be engaged in his predicament. While Girl on the Third Floor doesn’t offer too many surprises, it’s a fairly enjoyable entry in the haunted house subgenre, checking off the usual tropes with economic flare and throwing in a few enjoyably nasty scenes along the way (such as Don’s unfortunate encounter with a wayward marble). Phil Brooks (“CM Punk” to WWE/MMA fans) sort-of has the mannerisms of a young Bruce Campbell and does a decent job in his first feature film, suggesting a possible B-movie career if he ever decides to give up his day job.

Girl on the Third Floor doesn’t quite sustain its premise to the end, with a final act & denouement that descends into predictability. But until then, writer-director Travis Stevens has put together a fun little time killer, one that might also make those who don’t know a claw hammer from a toilet plunger feel better about themelves.

EXTRA KIBBLES

AUDIO COMMENTARY – By writer-director Travis Stevens

TRAILERS

REVERSIBLE COVER

KITTY CONSENSUS:

NOT BAD. LIKE CAT CHOW.

Rest in Peace, Neil Peart

Though never really associated with cinema, the late, great Neil Peart (as well as the rest of Rush) has always had a special place in our hearts at Free Kittens Movie Guide. Thanks for all the great words and music.

Neil Peart (1952-2020)

Rest in Peace, Ivan Passer

Ivan Passer (1933-2020)

LOST NOIR: Overlooked Film Noir Thrillers

LOST NOIR: 10 Overlooked Film Noir Thrillers from the Classic Era (with one exception)

Essay by D.M. ANDERSON💀

I'm relatively late to the party when it comes to film noir. Sure, I've seen the indisputable classics, but wasn't until doing Blu-ray reviews that I've come to love this dark new world. Well, new to me anyway.

Part of my growing appreciation for the genre comes from the good films that, for one reason or another, have somehow fallen into relative obscurity compared to, say, Double Indemnity. The following essay is a round-up of some noteworthy, lesser-known examples of film noir released during the genre’s heyday (with one more modern exception). So while you won’t find any Mitchums, Stanwicks or elusive falcons, these films are worth checking out by noir fans looking for something beyond the classics. And fortunately, all have recently been given new life on home video, making them easy to find.

THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1950)

Edward Cullen (Lee J. Cobb) is a hardnosed San Francisco cop whose married girlfriend, Lois (Jane Wyatt), shoots and kills her estranged husband. Accidentally? Hmm...that's debatable, but Cullen dumps the body near the airport, making it look like a mugging before tossing the gun into the bay. Ironically, his younger brother Andy (John Dall) is assigned the case. New to the force and eager to make a good impression, Andy looks to Edward for assistance and advice. This sets up a wonderfully complicated quandary for Edward: mentoring his brother through the investigation of a crime he took part in. Naturally, circumstances begin to spiral wildly out of control.

Lean, mean and economically made, The Man Who Cheated Himself is a solid example of classic film noir on a limited budget. The casting is interesting, as well. Cobb displays an outward cynicism that's perfect for the character; even as his plan begins to unravel, it's almost as though part of him expected them to. I've always admired John Dall's work in Rope and Gun Crazy and he's equally interesting here, playing against-type as someone who's actually likable and sympathetic. However, I do concur with the general consensus that Jane Wyatt is out of her element. Fortunately, most of the film focuses on the Cullen brothers' increasingly adversarial relationship.

Seldom mentioned among the great noir classics of the era, The Man Who Cheated Himself is nevertheless a lot of seedy fun, with a perfect final shot that speaks volumes about the genre's enduring appeal without using a single word.

SO DARK THE NIGHT (1946)

Though largely unheralded, Joseph H. Lewis created some wonderful films with limited budgets. He was a B-movie master in a variety of genres, though film noir was where he excelled. Granted, I haven't seen many movies on his resume, but thought 1950's Gun Crazy was a quirky little gem. So Dark the Night, on the other hand, is a lot more perplexing, since it certainly doesn't appear to fit the textbook definition of film noir...at least initially.

In fact, the tone is almost whimsical at first. When we first meet our overly-congenial protagonist, Henri Cassin (Steven Geray), he's strolling down a Paris street with a grin on his face, giving friendly greetings to children and shopkeepers. Hell, I have-expected him to break-out into song while skipping down the sidewalk.

Cassin is France's most famous detective who decides to take a break from police work to vacation in the country, where he meets Nanette (Micheline Cheirel), the young daughter of an innkeeper. She's half his age and, complicating things further, already engaged to hunky, hot-headed young farmer Leon (Paul Marion). Everything's still bubbly at this point, though Nanette's manipulation of both men suggests she could turn out to be some sort of femme fatale.

When Nanette later turns up dead, Cassin must put his renowned detective skills to work. He initially suspects Leon, at least until his body is discovered later. For the first time in his illustrious career, Cassin has no leads and is completely baffled. So are we...right up until the killer's identity is finally revealed.

So Dark the Night doesn't play by the rules. It unfolds like a whodunit yet offers no clues. The final revelation is nearly a red herring, a narrative suckerpunch with no overt foreshadowing. Yet at the same time, this is definitely what puts the film in noir territory, because in the end, all of Cassin's questionable decisions and subsequent problems are due to the love of a woman. Isn't that the narrative which drives so many movies of this genre?

THE BIG CLOCK (1948)

As noir goes, The Big Clock isn’t a perfect fit – there’s too much breezy humor present for that – but has enough of the same inherent aesthetic and narrative stamps to draw favorable comparisons to the best the genre has to offer. It also happens to be a hell of an entertaining film.

Ray Milland is George Stroud. As the editor-in-chief of Crimeways magazine, he’s an expert at using clues and evidence to track-down suspects who’ve eluded the police. The publication is run by ruthless, time-obsessed mogul Earl Janoth (a wonderfully-repellent Charles Laughton), who expects George to yet-again postpone an oft-delayed honeymoon with his wife, Georgette (Maureen O’Sullivan). When George refuses, he’s fired. Stopping at a bar before he meets his wife for their honeymoon, he meets Pauline (Rita Sullivan), Janoth’s former mistress who suggests a blackmail scheme as payback. Unfortunately, George loses track of time and Georgette leaves without him. Angry that she wouldn’t wait, George spends the rest of the night drinking with Pauline, acquiring a sundial from a local dive bar along the way.

He awakens at Pauline’s apartment the next morning and makes a hasty exit just before Janoth shows up to speak with her. During a heated argument in the apartment, Janoth kills Pauline with the sundial. Rather than go to the police, he turns to his lawyer, Steve (George Macready), who suggests they re-enlist George and his staff to lead an investigation, hoping to frame Pauline’s ‘mysterious’ visitor. It’s a brilliant set-up for an intriguing plot in which George and his staff are investigating his own actions that night, interviewing witnesses and following leads which threaten to expose him. George has no choice but to play along, trying to cover his own tracks while attempting to find the real killer himself.

The Big Clock is everything a good thriller should be: intelligent, suspenseful and engaging right from the opening scene. It’s often very funny, some of the best bits coming from Elsa Lanchester as a wonderfully eccentric artist. In fact, most of the characters are well-rounded and perfectly cast.

GUN CRAZY (1950)

True to fashion, Bart Tare (John Dall) is a troubled sort whose life spirals out of control due to piss-poor choices for the sake of a woman.

He’s been a gun lover his entire life. As much as he loves shooting them, Bart detests the thought of actually taking a life. As a teen, his obsession leads him to actually steal a gun, resulting in four years at a reform school.

Following a stint in the military, Bart returns home and reunites with childhood friends, Dave and Clyde. He also meets his soulmate, Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummins), a sharpshooter performing with a traveling carnival run by her sleazy & jealous boss, Packett (Barry Kroeger). The two venture off and get married, but soon they are broke. At Annie's urging, they embark on a cross-country crimewave, robbing stores, banks and eventually a company's payroll, which gets the FBI involved. Though Bart doesn't want to hurt anyone, Annie has no qualms about killing anyone who gets in their way.

It's a timeless story told with a lot of flare and Gun Crazy is a superior example of modestly-budgeted film-noir. But even the most stylish film-noir is nothing without its morally questionable characters, and Dall is especially effective. Bart's no saint - nor the brightest crayon in the box - but Dall instills the character with an increasing sense of remorse over the couple's escalating actions, making it difficult not to feel sorry for this poor rube, doomed from the moment he lays eyes on Annie. Sure, he ultimately brings all this misery on himself, but Dall's performance assures us Bart was never a truly bad man...just a conflicted one.

PHANTOM LADY (1944)

Who says you can't find good help these days?

Unhappily married engineer Scott Henderson has a fight with his wife and goes to a bar to drown his sorrows, where he meets a mysterious woman. She seems morbidly depressed, too, so he suggests they attend a show he already has tickets for. She agrees, so long as they remain anonymous. Afterwards, Scott goes home, only to find wife murdered - strangled by one of his own neckties - and he's the police’s number one suspect.

Since Scott’s only alibi is a woman whose name he doesn't know, Inspector Burgess (Thomas Gomez) has a hard time believing his story, especially since potential witnesses claim they never saw Scott with a woman that night. But his dedicated secretary, Carol (Ella Raines), is convinced of his innocence. With 18 days left until he's executed, she goes out on her own to find this mysterious woman and clear his name.

If you ask me, that level of dedication makes Carol a shoo-in for Employee of the Month. Well, she is secretly in love with Scott, which I suppose is good motivation. She eventually gets help from Burgess and, almost too conveniently, Jack Marlow (Franchot Tone), a friend of Scott's who later flies into town upon hearing about his conviction.

A minor and obscure entry in the film noir genre, this crime caper moves along at a brisk enough pace that we don't question most of the story implausibilities until it's over. Despite the billing order, Raines is the real star of the film and she's quite engaging. So while we ain't talking Hitchcock or Huston here, Phantom Lady is no classic, nor does anything about it doesn't resonate much afterwards, but certainly entertaining in the moment.

TRAPPED (1949)

While hardly the most stylish thriller ever made, Trapped has some nifty surprises along the way.

Many of those surprises are found in the plot itself, particularly during the first half. Incarcerated counterfeiter Tris Stewart (Lloyd Bridges) is offered a reduced sentence if he helps the Treasury Department track down the same engraving plates he once used to print fake bills. Agents plot a staged escape, but Stewart double-crosses them, which they actually expected to happen, having already bugged girlfriend Meg’s (Barbara Dixon) apartment and planted uncover agent John Downey (John Hoyt) as a low-level gangster in anticipation of Tris returning to his old ways. But the plot twists don’t end there.

For me, the biggest surprise was in the casting. Predating his days as an underwater man-of-action or glue-sniffing buffoon, Bridges is tough, cold-blooded and menacing as Stewart. Conversely, Hoyt – mostly known playing arrogant bad guys – makes a formidable adversary, ultimately becoming the story’s main protagonist. Their roles could have been reversed and the film would have been fine, but watching them play against type adds an extra layer of fun.

Economically directed by Richard Fleischer, Trapped is entertaining and unpredictable, with interesting characters bolstered by solid performances. For film noir lovers, Trapped is worth rediscovering.

THE SET-UP (1949)

Film noir and boxing go together like cops & doughnuts, and for my money, there isn’t a more effective example than The Set-Up. More so than The Killers or The Harder They Fall, we really feel like we’re examining the underside of a rock.

Robert Ryan is terrific as “Stoker” Thompson, an aging boxer who never hit the big time. Still, he clings to the hope that he’ll win again someday. And he’s just one of a dozen-or-so others who fight each weekend at the seedy Paradise City Arena. Some are young hopefuls, others are as worn-out and weary as Stoker. Though it’s never spoken, most of these men seem aware they’re destined to serve as cannon fodder for up-and-coming boxers bankrolled by crooked gamblers.

Thompson’s manager, Tiny (George Tobias) arranges for him to take a dive during his next match, but since Stoker has lost his last 27 fights, neglects to inform him. Meanwhile, Stoker gears-up for the match, confident he can win this time. However, his wife, Julie (Audrey Totter), refuses to watch him take another beating. In fact, she wants him to quit so the two of them can start a new life.

Primarily a character study, The Set-Up is presented almost in real time, from the deal Tiny makes with local mobster Little Boy (Alan Baxter), through the revealing, introspective locker room moments and culminating in Stoker’s match. By this time, his quiet desperation not-only has us rooting for him, but fearing for his life since he’s completely unaware he’s supposed to lose.

Director Robert Wise has made a slew of iconic classics in a variety of genres, which tends to overshadow how skillfully he could put together a comparatively small, visceral piece of film noir, particularly in his early years. The Set-Up is a prime example of the genre, full of intriguing character-driven moments, a bruising climax and a bittersweet resolution.

APPOINTMENT WITH CRIME (1956)

Leo Martin (William Hartnell) is a smash & grabber, hired by local boss Gus Loman (Raymond Lovell) to hit a downtown jewelry store. During the job, however, Leo’s wrists are broken and Loman leaves him behind to be apprehended by the police. After doing his time, Leo is released and plots revenge by framing Loman for a murder. But Loman answers to an even bigger crime boss, Gregory Lang (Herbert Lom), the actual owner of the gun Leo used. Meanwhile, Leo hooks up with local dancer Carol Dane (Joyce Howard) in order to provide an alibi and throw local police off his trail.

This is typical film-noir fodder with the usual tough-guys, femme fatales and overwrought performances, Hartnell’s in particular. Although Appointment with Crime offers nothing new (Leo still refers to the police as coppers), the story is told with enough panache to maintain interest. Old school Doctor Who fans will enjoy seeing Hartnell unleash his inner Cagney and it’s always a pleasure to check out the late, great Herbert Lom before he gained worldwide notoriety as Inspector Clouseau’s oft-suffering police commissioner.

WHILE THE CITY SLEEPS (1956)

There's a serial thrill-killer (John Drew Barrymore) who preys on young women in their apartments. At the scene of his latest kill, he scrawls a cryptic message, "Ask mother," on the wall with lipstick, prompting the press to dub him the Lipstick Killer.

Meanwhile, Kyne Inc., one of the city's media empires, is thrown into turmoil after its owner suddenly dies. Kyne's son and heir, Walter (Vincent Price), is an arrogant douchebag who uses the Lipstick Killer story to manipulate three of his greedy underlings into competing for second in command. One newsman who wants no part of this is Edward Mobley (Dana Andrews), who’s more concerned with catching the killer than getting a promotion and keeps abreast of the investigation through a friend on the force, Lt. Kaufman (Howard Duff).

Not much sleeping gets done in this city (though there's some sleeping around) as everyone undermines each other's attempts to be promoted, to the point where the film sometimes plays more like a soap opera than hardcore film noir. Still, the story and subplots are just interesting enough to keep our attention until this perpetually perspiring perve strikes again. Andrews' no-frills acting style serves his character well, while Rhonda Fleming & Ida Lupino make terrific temptresses who are as conniving as they are easy on the eyes.

A relatively minor late-career directorial effort from the great Fritz Lang, While the City Sleeps is nevertheless an engaging potboiler. Though not particularly memorable, it's efficiently-made, fast-paced and sometimes quite humorous.

NIGHT MOVES (1975)

Night Moves isn't from film noir's Golden Age, but like the rest on this list, it never really found an audience during its initial release. Is it a lost classic? Not quite, but it does showcase another great performance by Gene Hackman.

Despite a murder mystery thrown into the mix relatively late in the story, this is mostly about Harry Moseby (Hackman), an ex-football player, now a private detective who's been hired by a has-been starlet to locate her wayward, free-spirited daughter, Delly (Melanie Griffith, in her debut). Harry meets a variety of eccentric folks along the way, some who are in the movie business, others eking out a living on the Florida coast. But all of them have some sort of connection to Delly. Harry's also trying to come to terms with his cheating wife (Susan Clark) and her lover (Harris Yulin), which forces him to re-examine his own life.

It's a leisurely-but-enjoyable ride peppered with interesting characters, including a quirky early performance by James Woods (he hasn't changed much since). The movie belongs to Hackman, though. I don't know if the role was created for him, but he embodies Harry's world-weary cynicism perfectly.

Night Moves has grown in stature over the years, though it's hardly a cinema milestone compared to Hackman & Penn's previous collaboration, Bonnie and Clyde. Still, Hackman is compulsively watchable, as usual, and as a solid mid-70s' spin on classic noir, it's an interesting curiosity worth rediscovery. 

Rest in Peace, Buck Henry

Buck Henry (1930-2020)