Book Review: “From the Moment They Met It Was Murder: Double Indemnity and the Rise of Film Noir”

Title: From the Moment They Met It Was Murder: Double Indemnity and the Rise of Film Noir

By: Alain Silver and James Ursini

Publisher: Running Press – Turner Classic Movies

ISBN: 978-07624-8493-5 (hardcover)

ISBN: 978-0-7624-8495-9 (ebook)

 

The new book by Alain Silver and James Ursini is a detailed account of how the classic film noir Double Indemnity came to be. The authors take a look at the real-life crime that influenced James M. Cain’s novel on which the film is based. The thesis of the book is that Double Indemnity is the definitive film noir and its influence is still felt today.

Just when you thought you knew all there was to know about Double Indemnity and film noir, the authors begin their book with the case of Ruth May Snyder and Henry Judd Gray. Snyder and Gray came up with a plot to murder her husband. They tried to make it look like robbery and murder but weren’t as slick as Phyllis Dietrichson and Walter Neff.

Once the authors start talking about the development of Double Indemnity, the book really moves along. The consensus was that Cain’s dialogue in the novel sounded stilted and phony when read aloud. That’s where Raymond Chandler came in. Chandler’s novels were known for their snappy, realistic dialogue. Chandler worked with director Billy Wilder on the script. A contentious relationship at best but somehow it all worked out in the end.

The casting was interesting. Dick Powell campaigned hard to play Neff, but this was before his dramatic turn in Murder, My Sweet (1944). Powell was a musical comedy star during the 1930s at Warner Bros. and wasn’t seriously consider by Wilder. Fred MacMurray was known for light comedy and musicals as well, but Wilder saw something. Casting MacMurray against type turned out to be a brilliant move. He’s convincing and believable as Neff. For Phyllis Dietrichson, it doesn’t look like Wilder wanted anyone but Barbara Stanwyck.

Billy Wilder (right in front of policemen) directs Stanwyck and MacMurray
in the supermarket scene.

When Ball of Fire (1941) starring Gary Cooper and Stanwyck went into production, Wilder, still a screenwriter, decided he wanted to direct so he shadowed director Howard Hawks. Wilder and Charles Brackett wrote the screenplay for Ball of Fire. He was impressed with Stanwyck’s performance and the rest is history.

There has always been a fascination with why Wilder had Stanwyck wear that cheap blonde wig. The truth is the wig was the same one worn by Marlene Dietrich in Manpower (1941). Wilder wanted Stanwyck to look cheap but he ultimately admitted it was a mistake. He decided this after a few weeks of filming but he decided he couldn’t scrap what was already printed and start from scratch so he just kept going. Paramount file executive Buddy DeSylva said, “We paid for Barbara Stanwyck, and we got George Washington.”

One bit of information that I had never heard before was that Mona Freeman was originally cast as Lola Dietrichson. When Wilder saw her on film, she looked twelve years old. She was eventually replaced with Jean Heather. Heather also had a role in Going My Way, the film that beat Double Indemnity for Best Picture. Its director Leo McCarey also beat Wilder in the Best Director category.

The gas chamber scene that was filmed but cut from the final film

Dressing Stanwyck—done by the legendary Edith Head—to look cheap was expensive. Some of Stanwyck’s outfits cost $7000 in today’s dollars. Stanwyck’s bath towel and pair of slippers cost $40 in 1943 or $700 today.

The book delves into the films Double Indemnity has influenced during the peak noir era and more contemporary or neo-noir films like Body Heat (1981).

And you can’t ignore the foreboding score by Miklos Rozsa. The feeling of dread is apparent from the opening credits and is carried through to the very last frame.

If you’re a fan of Double Indemnity and/or film noir, this book is a must.

Some quick facts:

• Fred MacMurray worked 61 days
• Barbara Stanwyck worked 35 days
• Edward G. Robinson worked 37 days

Book Review: "Must-See Musicals: 50 Show-Stopping Movies We Can’t Forget"

Author Richard Barrios has chronicled the movie musical from the beginning of the sound era, starting with the very first one, The Broadway Melody (1929) and ending with La La Land (2016). In between there are 48 other movie musicals profiled for readers to enjoy (and argue about).

Some of the choices are suspect to me, but the author makes a good case for each musical by giving us background information on what made them unique for the time or, in his opinion, timeless. For example, Singin’ in the Rain (1952), considered a classic now, barely made back its investment upon first release, nor was it a big critical success. Today it is considered, by many, to be the greatest movie musical of all time.

The book is lavishly illustrated with many images in full color. Even if you don’t agree with all of Barrios’s choices, you will definitely find many of your favorites between the covers; I surely did.

Like other recent movie books released by Running Press and Turner Classic Movies, the book’s design and layout is superior. Page layouts are just creative enough to be attractive, but not overly cluttered with display fonts that make it unreadable.

The book includes a foreword by Michael Feinstein, the singer, pianist, and musical archivist.

Must-See Musicals: 50 Show-Stopping Movies We Can’t Forget
Paperback: 264 pages
Publisher: Running Press (October 10, 2017)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0762463163
ISBN-13: 978-0762463169
Product Dimensions: 7.5 x 1 x 9.2 inches
Price: 23.86

Robert Osborne, film historian and host of Turner Classic Movies is dead at 84

Chicago Film Club field trip: “Singin' n the Rain” January 15 at ShowPlace ICON at Roosevelt Road

Where: ShowPlace ICON, 150W Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60605
When: January 15, 2017
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald
Run Time: 2 hours (approximate)

Ticketing: Tickets are available by clicking on the “Buy Tickets” button. If online ticketing is not available for your location, you can purchase your tickets by visiting the box office at your local participating cinema.

Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Warner Bros. Entertainment are thrilled to present Singin’ in the Rain 65th Anniversary, in select cinemas nationwide on Sunday, January 15. The event also includes exclusive commentary from Turner Classic Movies host Ben Mankiewicz, who will give insight into this classic film. 

Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor star in one of the greatest musicals ever filmed. Musician Don Lockwood (Kelly) rises to stardom during Hollywood's silent-movie era--paired with the beautiful, jealous and dumb Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen). When Lockwood becomes attracted to young studio singer Kathy Selden (Reynolds), Lamont has her fired. But with the introduction of talking pictures, audiences laugh when they hear Lockwood speak for the first time--and the studio uses Selden to dub her voice.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion
Twice a month we screen a classic film and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

I’ll be holding up a Meetup sign by the concessions near the theater entrance (TCM/Fathom Events movies are usually in first theater south of the concessions). Let’s try and meet at 1:45 p.m.

This film will be shown in the same aspect ratio as when it was originally released in cinemas.

Debbie Reynolds made me love the movies

I grew up going to the movies. I’m old enough to remember a time when movies didn’t have ratings. When I was young, it was completely acceptable for a group of grade-school-age kids to go the movies without any adult supervision. Often on the weekends, our whole family would go to the movies. My sister, who is 8 years older than I, also took me to the movies on a regular basis. We probably saw every Disney movie released between 1963 and 1970. But the movie I most remember seeing from my childhood is How the West Was Won, which was released in the U.S. on February 20, 1963.*

How the West Was Won was the epic story of four generations of the Prescott family as they migrated from New York to the west. The film took place between 1839 and 1889 and was shot in the curved wide-screen Cinerama process, using three cameras filming simultaneously, with each camera capturing a third of the action. When shown in theaters, three projectors were required and they had to be synchronized exactly so that the three panels would match. Although this process was technically cumbersome and had its drawbacks, for a big sprawling production like How the West Was Won, it was perfect. The screen was so big and wide that it was almost overwhelming. I was six years old when I first saw it. The film’s scope and the story of the Prescott family mesmerized me. I remember being taken by both Carroll Baker and Debbie Reynolds who played Eve and Lilith Prescott respectively. But I was especially taken by Reynolds’s character. She was the rebellious sister who was funny and cute.

How movie theaters were set up for Cinerama

During one scene, the Prescott family is taken in by river pirates headed by Jeb Hawkins played by Walter Brennan (Amos from The Real McCoys!). With some help from fur trader Linus Rawlings (James Stewart), the Prescott family is saved. But the Prescotts don’t just sit around and wait to be rescued. Oh, no. And Lillith is not afraid to fight for her family. There is one memorable scene where Hawkins’s daughter, Dora (Brigid Bazlen), tries to escape with the Prescott family’s money, but is spied by Lilith. Lilith takes the sack of money from Dora and proceeds to smack her in the head with it! What a brave girl! From that moment on I was smitten with Reynolds’s character.

After the encounter with the river pirates, Older sister Eve ends up marrying Linus and the two homestead in Ohio, where Mr. and Mrs. Prescott died in the river rapids on their journey west.

The Prescott family sing a song with some other travelers west.
Debbie Reynolds is second from right next to her screen sister, Carroll Baker

Lilith decides to continue moving west and ends up in St. Louis as a dance hall girl where she meets gambler Cleve Van Valen (Gregory Peck). When he discovers that Lilith has inherited a California gold mine, he follows her on a wagon train taking her there. The two eventually marry and settle in San Francisco.

Publicity shot with (from left to right) Carroll Baker (Eve Prescott), James Stewart (Linus Rawlings),
and Debbie Reynolds (Lilith Prescott)

The story then turns to the Civil War, where Linus Rawlings is killed in battle. Eve and Linus’s oldest son Zeb (George Peppard) wants to enlist and join the fight, but once he does and sees the horrors of war, he has second thoughts. But he endures and after the war he meets one of his father’s fur trapping buddies Jethro Stuart (Henry Fonda). Zeb a lieutenant in the U.S. Calvary, is in charge of keeping the peace while the Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroads are racing to join the east and the west. Jethro is in charge of supplying the railroad crew with meat, as well as being a go-between with the Indians. When railroad man Mike King (Richard Widmark) breaks a treaty with the Indians, who retaliate by sending a stampede of buffalo through his camp, killing many women and children, Zeb resigns in disgust and moves to Arizona.

Reynolds and Gregory Peck who played her husband, Cleve Van Valen

We go back to Lilith who is now a widow forced to sell her home and possessions in San Francisco to pay off her debts. She travels to Arizona to meet her nephew Zeb and his wife Julie (Carolyn Jones) and their two sons Prescott (Stanley Livingston from My Three Sons) and Zeke (Bryan Russell) and their daughter, Eve. Lilith wants Zeb to manage her ranch, which is her one remaining asset. But before they can get to the ranch, Zeb, a marshall, has to do battle with the outlaw Charlie Gant (Eli Wallach). Zeb killed Gant’s brother in a gunfight and Gant has threatened Zeb and his family with revenge. An exciting fight takes place on a train with a large gold shipment. A shootout between Zeb and his men against Gant and his gang results in a fantastic train wreck. Gant and his men are all dead. Zeb and his family, along with his Aunt Lilith begin their journey to Arizona to start a new life.

George Peppard (Zeb Prescott), Reynolds, unidentified little girl, Carolyn Jones (Julie Prescott)

How the West Was Won was the first movie that I can remember being able to follow the narrative. For the first time it hit me that movies weren’t just images on a big screen. Movies could reach a person on an emotional level. I was able to relate to the Prescott family and their struggles and I was pulling for them. Debbie Reynolds’s character, fought with bandits, survived the rapids in Ohio, a wagon train Indian attack, had some success as a showgirl in St. Louis, made and lost a fortune in California, and eventually retires with her nephew and his family on a ranch. She was in the first and closing scenes, which tied all the generations together.

Seeing the film as an adult I find it still resonates with me. Reynolds’s performance holds up and is really quite remarkable. A very young looking 30 years old when she made How the West Was Won, Reynolds effectively portrays the young teenage Lilith, developing into the older and wiser showgirl and businesswoman. She is the film’s emotional anchor, holding her own with some of the biggest movie stars of all time.

It was my connection to Reynolds’s characterization of Lilith in How the West Was Won which led me to love the movies and appreciate the power of visual storytelling. Whenever How the West Was Won is on Turner Classic Movies, it’s hard for me to resist watching it, even though I have it on DVD (two copies actually!). The story, the stars, the musical score, all hold a special place in my heart and I have Debbie Reynolds, in part, to thank for that.

*How the West Was Won was released in U.K. November 1, 1962.

Robert Osborne won't be at 2016 Turner Classic Movies Film Festival

Turner Classic Movies host Robert Osborne won’t be attending this year’s TCMFF due to health reasons. TCM issued a press release (see below) announcing this today. No details were given as to his ailment and/or illness.

Osborne didn’t attend the 2015 TCMFF for undisclosed health reasons.

Judy Garland is Turner Classic Movies's April Star of the Month

Film icon Judy Garland (1922-1969) is Turner Classic Movies’s April Star of the Month. TCM will be screening Garland’s films every Friday. Garland was one of Hollywood’s top movie musical talents during the 1930s and 1940s.

The Wizard of Oz (1939) made Garland a star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer where she reigned as the studio’s top musical star. At her home studio she starred in For Me and My Gal (1942), Presenting Lily Mars (1943), Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), The Harvey Girls (1946), Till The Clouds Roll By (1946), Easter Parade (1948), In the Good Old Summertime (1949), and Summer Stock (1950).

Margaret O'Brien and Judy Garland in Meet Me in St. Louis

Garland also excelled in dramatic roles like The Clock (1945), but the studio loved Garland and musicals because they were big business. Meet Me in St. Louis was M-G-M’s biggest hit since Gone With the Wind* (1939). In 1950 Garland and M-G-M parted ways. She appeared on television in the 1950s and started performing in live concerts that were very popular. In 1954 Garland starred in a musical remake of A Star is Born (1954). The film was a hit with the public and critics, but it lost money due to its huge budget. In spite of this Garland was nominated for Best Actress. Many thought Garland was the favorite to win, but Grace Kelly bested her for her performance in The Country Girl.

Garland in The Harvey Girls

Garland had a dramatic success in the 1961 film Judgment at Nuremberg for which she was Golden Globe and Oscar- nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She starred alongside Burt Lancaster in A Child is Waiting (1963), and with Dirk Bogarde in I Could Go On Singing (1963), which was her last film. In 1967, Garland was cast as Helen Lawson in the movie version of Valley of the Dolls. Garland was fired for missing rehearsals and was replaced by Susan Hayward.

Garland died on June 22, 1969 of an overdose of barbiturates.

*GWTW was co-produced with Selznick International Studios

Turner Classic Movies Schedule for March 2016

Preview the films scheduled Turner Classic Movies (TCM) has for March, including films featuring star of the month, Merle Oberon.

Oberon was a major Hollywood star during the 1930s and 1940s. Her most famous film role was as Cathy in the Samuel Goldwyn production of Wuthering Heights (1939), directed by William Wyler and costarring Laurence Olivier and David Niven.

Merle Oberon: TCM Star of the Month

Chicago Film Club field trip: “Roman Holiday” November 29 at The AMC East

Where: AMC East 21, 322 East Illinois, Chicago, IL
When: November 29, 2015
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Hosted by Stephen Reginald

Special Fathom Feature: Enjoy a specially produced introduction from Turner Classic Movies that will give insight into William Wyler’s classic.

Fathom Events, Turner Classic Movies and Paramount Pictures are delighted to bring the 1953 American romantic-comedy classic, Roman Holiday, back to the big screen in cinemas nationwide on Sunday, November 29.

Starring Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn and directed by William Wyler, Roman Holiday won three Academy Awards® for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Costume Design and Best Writing. In this timeless classic, Hepburn is at her transcendent best as a sheltered princess who falls for an American newsman in Rome.

This film will be shown in the same aspect ratio as when it was originally released in cinemas.

The purchase tickets in advance click here.

Run Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes (approximate). Let's try to meet at 1:45 p.m. by the concessions, theater level.

Join the Chicago Film club; join the discussion

Once a month we screen a classic film and have a brief discussion afterward. For more information, including how to join (it’s free), click here. The Venue 1550 is easily accessible by the CTA. Please visit Transit Chicago for more information on transportation options.

Remembering James Garner

Turner Classic Movies Remembers as only they can

“Play it Again, Sam”: Screen classic “Casablanca” has an encore screening this Thursday

Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Cassablanca

Due to the success of last month’s one-night-only screening of Casablanca, Turner Classic Movies and Warner Brothers have added another special showing this Thursday, April 26, 2012, at theaters around Chicago.

TCM and Warner Brothers are celebrating the 70th anniversary of the 1943 Best Picture Academy Award winner. Released in 1942, Casablanca stars Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, and Paul Henreid. Produced during the height of World War II, the film has endured, making it one of the most beloved American films ever made. The themes of love, loyalty, and self-determination still resonate.

Although Humphey Bogart never uttered the line “Play it again, Sam,” (He actually said, “Play it, Sam”) the film is jam-packed with memorable lines—“This is the beginning of a beautiful friendship”—that have become part of the American lexicon.

The film has been completely restored. If you’ve seen the movie before, you’ll be amazed at what this new restoration reveals. Viewers will experience the classic in a whole new way.

For information on locations and showings near you, click here.

Angela Lansbury: TCM Star of the Month and so much more

An early studio glamor shot of Angela Lansbury

Angela Brigid Lansbury was born October 16, 1925 in Poplar, London. One of the most versatile talents to come out of Hollywood, Lansbury, now in her late 80s, has had a remarkable career that has spanned eight decades. Besides her film work, Lansbury has starred on the stage and was mystery-writing sleuth, Jessica Fletcher on TV’s Murder She Wrote for 12 years.

A Star a 18!
Lansbury’s first movie role came to her at the age of 18. She played saucy maid Nancy Oliver with Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer in Gaslight. For her performance, Lansbury received an Academy Award nomination (first of three) for Best Supporting Actress. She didn’t win the award, but her movie career was on its way.

Contract Player
As a contract player at movie studio M-G-M, she was cast in a variety of roles, often in supporting roles or second leads. During the height of the studio system, movie players were often typecast and at M-G-M, Lansbury was typed as a supporting player, never the first choice as glamorous leading lady in spite of her beautiful leading-lady looks.

Stage, Film, and TV Successes
Perhaps not being given the top roles in Hollywood helped Lansbury develop into the wonderful character and stage actress she is today. Had she been a glamorous movie star, say like Lana Turner, her career might not have been as long. Who can forget Lansbury’s turns as disturbed mothers in both The Manchurian Candidate and All Fall Down, both released in 1962? And what about her award-winning stage performances in Mame and Gypsy? In spite of five Tony Award wins (a record she shares with Julie Harris) and numerous other awards, audiences around the world will probably remember Lansbury for her long-running role in TV’s Murder She Wrote. As the mystery writer from Cabot Cove, Maine, Landsbury became an icon of the genre. Not too shabby!

To learn more about Lansbury’s incredible movie career and to purchase some of her films on DVD, check out the Turner Classic Movies online shop. Lansbury is TCM’s January star of the month.

Turner Classic Movies Remembers: 2010

Some major movie talent passed from this life into the next. This is TCM's tribute to those many greats who recently left us, including Tony Curtis and Patricia Neal.


TCM Remembers 2010 from TCMOnAir on Vimeo.

Turner Classic Movies to air four films starring Jennifer Jones in January

Turner Classic Movies (TCM) will honor the career of Jennifer Jones by airing four of her films January 7, 2010. They are

Duel in the Sun costarring Joseph Cotten and Gregory Peck
Beat the Devil costarring Humphrey Bogart
Madame Bovary costarring James Mason, Van Heflin, and Louis Jordan
Indiscretion of an American Wife costarring Montgomery Clift

Check listings in your area for show times.