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| Kansas City Confidential | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 18 2011, 04:28 PM (538 Views) | |
| panzer the great & terrible | Jan 18 2011, 04:28 PM Post #1 |
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Mouth Breather
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You'd think this Phil Karlson noir would be even better than 99 River Street because in addition to John Payne it has Neville Brand, Jack Elam and Lee Van Cleef all stealing scenes like crazy, but things don't always work out as they should. Payne is a flower delivery man who briefly takes the rap for a bank robbery committed by four guys in masks who drive a truck identical to his'n. Payne gets turned loose, but he's already lost his job and reputation, so he decides to catch the four guys. He gets a clue as to Jack Elam's whereabouts (Tiajuana, where else?), and catches up to him. I can't go any further without major spoilers, but we wind up in a hot little resort town where the script goes more or less to pieces with coincidence piled on coincidence. Karlson keeps a firm hand on the helm though, and you hardly notice how silly things get. There's a nice girl who doesn't come near fitting into this movie, and Karlson can't do a friggin' thing with her. It's entertaining, though, not bad by any means, say three stars on the Panzometer. |
| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| Frank Hale | Jan 20 2011, 10:39 AM Post #2 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Colleen Gray was the girl John Wayne ditched at the start of Red River. She always seemed to overdo it a bit in roles that weren’t quite right. Maybe she needed a better agent. I assume this and 99 River Street were on TCM together recently, or something, because a day or two ago I heard a local radio fellow making the case that John Payne had reinvented himself à la Dick Powell. But it seems like Mr. Powell was totally at a dead end, and Mr. Payne simply evolved. Both of them did OK in this sort of stuff, certainly. |
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| panzer the great & terrible | Jan 22 2011, 08:31 AM Post #3 |
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Mouth Breather
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Gray also showed up years later in El Dorado. She was pretty, sexy, and still 100% unconvincing. Yeah, Frank, TCM did a Phil Karlson evening. It felt like a sleazy actor festival; afterwards, you felt dirty. This was the first time I ever appreciated his work. It took a special sort of mind to make films in the Forties and Fifties that showed an even seamier side to America than film noir did, and his technical skills speak for themselves. As for Payne reinventing himself: he was Fox's second-string Tyrone Power and got tired of accepting the less juicy roles. Unlike most actors, he was an astute businessman and had saved money all along, enough to strike out on his own. He set up his own company, made profitable small pictures, and bought real estate, ending up a rich man. He endowed a scholarship at my school. Edited by panzer the great & terrible, Jan 23 2011, 04:30 PM.
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| Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious... | |
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| JazzGuyy | Feb 9 2011, 01:43 AM Post #4 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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The Blu-Ray version of this that just came out is apparently pretty bad and should be avoided. See this review: http://www.dvdbeaver.com/film/DVDCompare3/kansascityconfidential.htm |
| TANSTAAFL! | |
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| mort bakaprevski | Mar 9 2011, 12:52 PM Post #5 |
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Balcony Gang, Foist Class
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Based on this thread, rented the film & enjoyed it. Wouldn't call it noir, however. I mean, where's the bad girl?? And things end a bit too happily for a real noir. Seemed like it had a lotta pulpish elements (master criminal, full-face masks, etc.). Really don't know how to classifiy it. Besides, never really like piegeon-holing films anyway. Bottom line, despite the HUGE plot holes, a real fun romp!!! |
| "Nov Shmoz Ka Pop." | |
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10:55 AM Jul 11