Film Noir #31

 

Noir: Crashout, Crack-Up, City of Shadows, and The Glass Web in 3D

CRASHOUT (1955) --- The Filmmakers Releasing Organization, a noble try at independent production and distribution, stuck mostly with exploitable product, none more so than this nasty streak of prison-breaking and quest for stolen loot. Toward covering their Crashout bet, Filmmakers took extraordinary measure of a Variety ad inviting exhibitors to bid for, and commit to, playing time. Sort of a showman's subscription service. This was done ahead of Crashout going into production, as had been case with Private Hell 36, also fronted with exhibition promises to play and pay. Hell had gathered a hellacious 1,000 signatures "on the basis of its story and cast names," said Variety, and made news for being "the first indie-produced, indie-distributed film to play a Broadway showcase" (New York's Paramount theatre). Tempting too were lower terms Filmmakers offered to subscribers, 25-40% rather then average 50% demanded by majors as of September 1954 when PH36 opened. Success of this made Filmmakers more ambitious, with announcement of six features for 1955. The company's plan would require speed to meet terms of advance bookings. Filmmakers partners Collier Young and wife/director Ida Lupino wanted to branch out to at least partly finance outside producers, one of whom, Hal Chester, came to them with the concept for Crashout, which looked to be a safe commercial bet and so went into production with Chester-raised cash and Filmmakers participation.

Subscribed playdates set in advance would pit Crashout against the clock. Producer Chester and writing/directing Lewis R. Foster were sprint runners after quick completion, as would be others like American-International's Nicholson and Arkoff who would follow Filmmakers' example of committing films to opener dates before cameras turned. Crashout cast was known for bare-knuckle work, among them Gene Evans, who'd credit television for getting the Crashout gig. Seems Evans had been out of work for five months, till 1950's The Steel Helmet turned up on '54 freevee schedules around LA, this resulting in calls for him to star in a whopping three features. "TV is a boon to movie people," the actor said. Filmmakers acknowledged that Crashout was aimed at an "action market" made up of 16-30 year olds, and costs for it as well as other company projects were being held to $300,000 or below. Terms to exhibitors had to be generous ... after all, it was they who enabled pics being made ... so 25% minimum was starter scale and maybe graduated to more depending on the venue. Based on this formula, Filmmakers "was snaring 800 dates per picture," said Variety, which went long way toward getting modest costs back. Crashout was their most ambitious yet, headed for early 1955 combo release with Mad at the World and eventual 1000 bookings. This would mark both the peak and beginning of the end for Filmmakers, for despite modest success, the little company still had to compete with leviathans that were major distribs, these being tough and ruthless nuts to crack. In the end, Filmmaker jaws weren't strong enough, Collier and Lupino over and done by mid-1955.

CRACK-UP (1946) --- A mystery that is really mysterious, at least to start, and maybe the movies' first crack at fine art put to noir purpose. Early in proceedings comes a lecture by Pat O’ Brien where he explains forgeries, canvas restoration, the modern movement vs. traditional, a real insider view of museum doings and politics that attend them. Will desperate enough collectors commit murder to own a masterpiece or two? Crack-Up says sure they will, and having collected myself, I can believe it. Frustration of an art thief, or ultimate owner of knowingly stolen art, must be in having to hide your pride and joy and trusting no one to know what you have for fear of being ratted to true owners. There’s plenty You Tube videos about art in illicit circulation. Crack-Up killer collector explains that great paintings are merely wasted on hoi polloi trekked in and out of museums, that only those like himself should have possession of a masterpiece. Crack-Up is very much a curve ball among Classic Era noirs. Time is taken to explain how fakes can be detected (X-Ray), and if modern galleries aren’t using Crack-Up for modern day instruction, they are missing a bet. Commerce of copies go handsy with insurance swindling all in a gallery day’s work, and again, I wonder how true this remains in current clime where art sells for tens of millions rather than mere thousands such commanded when Crack-Up was new. There are expected swipes at modern art, read radical, or better put, too radical so far as lecturer O’Brien sees it. Wonder what he’d say to toilet seats tendered as fine art not many years after 1946. Much of art appreciation is expressed by phonies and poseurs, some depicted, then poof and they’re gone, mere straw men and women to make the casual point. Crack-Up wanted to appeal to common clay that was watching, and plain folk was known not to like modernist art. Crack-Up in this sense is quite conservative, if admirable for taking the topic of art seriously at all. Bravo to RKO for going a fresh route, if unrewarded by customers, of which there were too few to put Crack-Up in profit ($732K in negative cost toward $846K in worldwide rentals and resulting loss of $265K). Pat O’Brien seems an unlikely noir lead, but he could convey intellect, and that was what the part needed. He’s an ex-wartime investigator of phony hordes gathered by the Axis and so knows plenty of bogus art. Occurs to me that postwar noir had a leg up for protagonists coming from service background. They're experienced with weaponry and have seen dying, so we believe in them, these among myriad of reasons we won’t see authentic noir again. Crack-Up is available on DVD from Warner Archive.

CITY OF SHADOWS (1955) --- a Victor McLaglen starring vehicle … from 1955. Seems late for him to headline, the more so in what amounts to a Wallace Beery part for Republic on rapid way toward shutting doors. City of Shadows at 70 minutes sees McLaglen raise a kid inclined toward petty crime who grows up to be John Baer, a crumb on 50’s plate of The Mississippi Gambler, We’re No Angels, and later television, his eventual move to real estate undoubtedly a wise one. Baer had a good voice, was sneery, and not to be trusted. He starts out me-first here, a law student top of his class for figuring ways to frustrate law and achieve ends for future crook clients, befriending professors and vet attorneys to learn tricks of their trade. He turns legit after meeting Kathleen Crowley and ultimately breaks with lowlife repped by McLaglen plus thuggish Anthony Caruso and Richard Reeves. Small pictures like this are where type casting saved much time and exposition by letting known faces get on with conduct we expect of them, a good thing for short span devoted to City of Shadows and such like it. Directing is William Witney. There is a western street dressed to look contemporary, but cars don’t fool me where it’s hosses I expect to trot up, with maybe Roy Barcroft or Phyllis Coates astride. Engaging is Baer practicing law on mentor McLaglen behalf while still a student, masterminding strategy then handing off result to Vic’s shyster. Noose tightens for a snowbound showdown done with chairlifts that had to take time and money untypical of budget observed by Republic. There couldn’t have been much potential for City of Shadows to bring back more than a sliver’s profit. Maybe Yates liked the property and told them to go ahead and shoot the works. Kino offers a Blu-Ray of this in one of their noir boxes.

THE GLASS WEB (1953) --- Film noir in three dimensions, a rarity as the process did not often go in that direction, except wait … there was Second Chance, Dangerous Mission, Inferno, maybe others I’m not recalling. Two of these are inaccessible on home 3-D, at least on a legitimate basis. The Glass Web however is out and splendid via auspices of the 3-D Film Archive and distributing Kino Lorber. The Universal thriller was merely a title to most for many years: who’d seen it flat or deep? Not me. This was among supposed B’s Edward G. Robinson felt himself consigned to after political hounds began nipping, but I don't regard The Glass Web as B at all, and certainly U-I did not at the time. Eddie’s a developer of true-life murder mysteries, a “Crime of the Week” for local L.A. television, the latest victim close to home that is staff members of the broadcast station including him. I liked prospect of E.G. reprising his Barton Keyes character, which to some extent he does, but there’s a mystery killer angle and I’ll admit wishing Richard Denning would be the surprise reveal, since I don’t tend to fully trust Denning even where he’s a supposed straight arrow. There’s a cute scene where Eddie shows off his art collection to a date, a gag worked into several Robinson performances during the 50’s, him by then well-identified as a big-league accumulator. All of Universal-International earmarks are here, direction (Jack Arnold), cast (Kathleen Hughes late of struggle with spacemen). Depth effects are mostly staged on sets, that is interiors where lamps, chairs, etc. can figure as foreground between us and enactors. Hitchcock went a same direction for Dial M for Murder, which used similar devices with expected Hitchcock flair, but Jack Arnold was no slouch re the process, having done It Came from Outer Space and Creature from the Black Lagoon, both effectively.

Not sure how many 3-D bookings The Glass Web had, it being late 1953 and maybe by then we were cooling off on the novelty. Of cast there also is John Forsythe, who I understand trained with the Actor’s Studio. So here was a presumed Method man who seems anything but Method. In fact, he was one of the founders of the Studio, and taught Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, others as well, or so it is said. I hope that’s true. The Glass Web is a highly recommended 3-D find and an entertaining 81 minutes with or without the gimmick. Also new from 3-D Film Archive is Domo Arigato, unknown to me till now and presumably a first time anyone has seen it deep, assuming they did even when new in 1972. Shot in Japan, Domo Arigato is a travelogue romance to ideally pair with any one of that country’s homegrown features, Arch Oboler the writer-director. This according to box info was his last feature. Oboler among previous movies and much radio did an odd drama called Strange Holiday which starred Claude Rains with support cast including my band teacher Priscilla Lyon. Had I but known she worked once with Rains. I’d have been thrown out of band even sooner than I was. Extras on the Blu-Ray are alone worth the price of purchase, an Ed Wood 3-D subject, Cleopatra Follies (aka Flame of Islam), and Skid Row Holdup, a 3-D burlesque short from 1953. 3-D Film Archive deserves much credit for unearthing such treasure, as who’d have thought any of this material would survive the long intervening years.