Escape and Suspense!

Back from Noir City

The Noir City Film Festival is just about over, but I was able to catch Night Has a Thousand Eyes, D.O.A., and The Story of Molly X.

Arriving early for Night Has a Thousand Eyes, it didn't appear that this Cornell Woolrich film was much of a draw, but the crowd quickly grew. One guy even cut in front of me in the line to get in! The movie is interesting enough, but different from the book. A lot of the screen time focuses on Gail Russell's hypnotic eyes. (For a half-hour radio version of this movie, go to the end of this post.)

D.O.A. was a crowd favorite, not only because it is noir classic, but because there are quite a few scenes that are impossible to watch without chuckling. It is a weird film with a complicated plot, but the crowd enjoyed it thoroughly. D.O.A. played on a double feature with The Story of Molly X. Though it was a cold and rainy Thursday night, more than 900 people attended!

For fans of Suspense, The Story of Molly X is a treat. June Havoc stars as Molly, the lady-boss of a gang of criminals. She is caught after a heist and sentenced to several years in a women's prison.  (Note: The correctional facility in this movie is more like a sorority house than a prison.) When Molly arrives at the prison, we come across some familiar voices... Sandra Gould, who can be heard in the commercials for U.S. Savings Bonds in Suspense episodes from the late 1950's, plays the inmate who welcomes Molly to prison life. Then, there is Suspense regular Cathy Lewis, who plays Molly's cell-mate! Other Suspense regulars who turn up in this film are Wally Maher and Elliott Lewis. One of the film's co-stars, Dorothy Hart,  made one appearance on the television show Suspense in the episode "Vacancy for Death."

The Story of Molly X is a short film, but a good one. Let's hope they put it out on DVD one of these days.

The Noir City Film Festival is held annually at the historic Castro Theatre.

If you are interested in the movie Night Has a Thousand Eyes, there is a half-hour radio version that was done for The Screen Director's Playhouse. It will give you the quick version of the movie's plot-line. Director John Farrow and two of the film's stars, Edward G. Robinson and William Demarest appeared. This episode aired on February 27, 1949. 

. Download sdph.1949.02.27_NightHasAThousandEyes.mp3 

Noir City 6

Here in San Francisco, it is just about time for Noir City, the annual film festival  presented by the Film Noir Foundation. This year, the festival runs from January 25 to February 3rd. Even if you can't attend, a quick look at the Noir City program guide may be of interest. Ida Lupino, Van Heflin, June Havoc, and other familiar Suspense performers are all on the line-up.

Cornell Woolrich fans should take note that there will be a screening of a new 35 mm print of the film Night Has a Thousand Eyes on January 27th.

Another film of interest is Dangerous Crossing, which was written by Suspense's John Dickson Carr.

The film Hangover Square features the music of Suspense composer Bernard Herrmann.

(If you can't make it to the festival, Dangerous Crossing and Hangover Square are available on DVD.)

For more information visit the websites for Noir City and the Film Noir Foundation.

Suspense - Angel Face

Suspense's "Angel Face" is a radio noir set in New York City and narrated in the first person by Jerry Wheeler, a girl with an angelic face and a hard life as a nightclub performer. She does it all for her kid brother, Chick, whom she wants to see rise above their circumstances.

Chick gets himself into a serious mess when he hooks up with Ruby Rose Reading, the girlfriend of a mobster named Milt Militis.  Over his sister's objections, Chick plans to go with Ruby on a trip to Chicago. When Ruby is murdered that evening, Chick takes the fall. Jerry knows her kid brother didn't commit the murder and she sets out, with the help of one of the detectives, to prove his innocence.  As Chick heads for the electric chair, she has to work fast to find the real killer.

This episode was based on Cornell Woolrich's short story "Face Work" which was first published in the October 1937 issue of Black Mask magazine.  Columbia Pictures bought the rights shortly after it was published and turned it into the 1938 B-movie Convicted starring Rita Hayworth.

Suspense's version of "Angel Face" retains portions of the original text in the dialogue but changes the story, particularly at the end. Their version does keep the quick pace and the basic plot, but it was reduced in a number of ways to accomodate a half-hour radio format. Not surprisingly, Suspense' s version skips over the scene where Jerry is branded on the hip with a hot poker by Milt Militis.

Although the announcer states that this episode was "an original play written for radio by Cornell Woolrich," it was not. It is generally believed that Woolrich did not write the adaptations of his stories that appeared on radio.

"Angel Face" stars "Queen of Film Noir" Claire Trevor and Joseph Kearns. It was produced, edited and probably adapted for radio by William Spier. (The obvious problem with this recording is that it seems to run a bit fast, particularly at the beginning. After checking a few other OTR repositories, a better recording was not to be found.)

This episode aired on May 18, 1950.

Download Suspense.1950.05.18.Angel_ Face.mp3

(Image by Clayton Lord from Word for Word Theater's current production of Angel Face in San Francisco. Pictured above are Paul Finochiarrio and Laura Lowry as Milt and Jerry. )

Best or Worst? - Lady in Distress

Suspense's "Lady in Distress" showcases Ava Gardner. The radio-play was written by John Michael Hayes, who also wrote the screenplays for the Alfred Hitchcock films Rear Window, The Trouble With Harry, and The Man Who Knew Too Much. So why isn't this episode better? It could have been a neatly packaged radio noir but it isn't.

"Lady in Distress" begins with a hitch-hiker, which is always a good start, but then Ava Gardner's character, Mrs. Harris, and the hitch-hiker named Sullivan start talking while she is driving. We find out that he is an escaped criminal, and that now she is in danger. They keep talking and driving, driving, driving. The humm of the motor, the sound of rain, the endless dialogue...zzzz. Suddenly, they stop in a diner for hamburgers and coffee in a completely unnecessary scene. Then there is more talking, driving...motor humming...rain sounds...zzz...zzzz.

When we wake up again we find out that the escaped convict wants revenge on the policeman who put him in prison. That man just happens to be the husband of Mrs. Harris! Of course, that's no accident. She hates her mean, crabby husband and wants to help Sullivan accomplish his revenge. They arrange to put a bomb in her husband's car but things don't go as planned.  It would be a surprise if they did because neither of these two seems that bright. In the end, the bad people get their come-uppance through their own evil work.

So, that's that.

You really have to listen closely to this story to appreciate it but due to the somnolent sound effects, this is hard to do. "Lady in Distress" was Ava Gardner's only appearance on Suspense. The previous year she had starred in the film noir The Killers by Ernest Hemingway. Also featured in this episode were Howard Duff as Sullivan and Wally Maher as the husband. It was produced and directed by William Spier, who later worked with Gardner on the film Tam Lin. "Lady in Distress" aired on May 1, 1947.

.  Download Suspense.1947-05-01_Lady_In_Distress.mp3

Suspense - The Blue Hour

Claire Trevor, the Academy Award winning actress and "Queen of Film Noir," made one of her five appearances on Suspense in the drama "The Blue Hour." Here she plays Lois LaPaul, a Chicago dancer who becomes a media darling when her wealthy paramour is murdered. Instantly in demand, she accepts an offer to perform at an "extremely chic" nightclub called the The Blue Hour in New York City. At the airport she meets Alec Mahoney, a reporter with whom she shares some saucy banter.

When she arrives at the sparkling blue nightclub she soon discovers that the owner, Anthony LaCada, has no real interest in her dancing talents. His icy interest is in her murdered boyfriend, Jason White.

Not knowing what to do, she turns to Mahoney for help. Together they discover the blue diamond worth half a million dollars that Jason White was hiding.

"The Blue Hour Diamond" at the center of this story was probably based on the Hope Diamond, pictured to the right. This episode was written by Marty Schwartz and includes a number of moments of entertaining dialogue.

"The Blue Hour" was produced edited and directed by William Spier. The music, more prominent and detailed than usual in this episode, was composed by Lucien Moraweck and conducted by Lud Gluskin. At the time Claire Trevor appeared on this episode she was promoting the movie The Velvet Touch. Also featured were Hans Conried, Wally Maher and Sydney Miller.  This broadcast aired on September 25, 1947.

.  Download Suspense_1947.09.25_The_Blue_Hour.mp3

(Photo of the Hope Diamond from Morguefile.com)

Suspense - Deadline at Dawn

"Deadline at Dawn", the last of the 19 episodes of Suspense made in 1948 for an hour-long format, was based on the 1944 novel by William Irish (aka Cornell Woolrich). There is also a 1946 film noir of the same name, but the radio version and the movie differ. Francis M. Nevins, in his 1988 book Cornell Woolrich: First You Dream, Then You Die, described Suspense's adaptation of Woolrich's story this way: "Deadline at Dawn, as adapted by Irving Ravetch, stayed reasonably close to Woolrich's 1944 novel and avoided all resemblences to the eccentric 1946 movie version. ...It was a workmanlike episode, emphasizing romance rather than the noir coloration of the novel, and doesn't rank with the series finest Woolrich adaptations."

"Deadline at Dawn" was one of four Woolrich stories that were expanded into hour-long episodes in 1948. It may or may not be one of Suspense's finest, but once the story gets going it is worth the time.

This episode, Suspense's last one-hour show, aired on May 15, 1948. It stars Helen Walker as Bricky and John Beal as Quinn. Also appearing are Lillian Buyeff, William Johnstone, Buddy Gray, Edith Tackner, and Rye Billsbury.

Download deadline_at_dawn.5.15.1948. (last 1 hour show).mp3

Noir City Film Festival

If you are in San Francisco this week be sure to check out the 5th annual Noir City Film Festival at the Castro Theater. The Festival runs from January 26 - February 4th.

For more information check out the festival web site for shows and times.

For more information about the Film Noir Foundation click here.