Three Little Noir Gems

Here are the brief reviews of three little noir gems I saw recently. All of them are rare to find, fortunately, the net has made it easy (and legal) to download them all. Just visit www.archive.org and search and download them, if you get excited by what you read or click on the Amazon links.

1. Kansas City Confidential (1952)

Set not in the usual New York, LA or San Francisco, but Kansas City, Missouri, this classic noir crime drama narrates the incidents after a million dollar heist. A seemingly perfect crime, committed by a person who sports a strange mask along with three other cons, goes pretty bad as the cops arrest an ex-con trying to go straight. Joe, played to perfection by John Payne, is expectedly miffed at being treated like dirt by the cops, for a crime he did not commit. The real robbers actually do not know each other, they are hired by a former head of detectives for the Kansas City Police, who being bitter about forced into retirement plans the heist. The three low-lives were to reunite after six months in a resort in Mexico to share the spoils. Joe somehow manages to find out about this plan as he gets acquitted. The rest of the movie is about how Joe manages to chase them all down for a heady final showdown in Mexico. Highlights include the terrific opening shot when the masked man hires three goons one after one and schemes his robbery. Also, notable are the scenes in the Mexican resort, which reminded me of some of the Bond movies actually, for some reason. All in all, a terrific, unsung addition to my noir collection. You have been recommended.

2. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

I was unprepared for this movie. Having never heard of it, I plunged into it without even reading the plot. And I was pretty much shocked. The movie has terrific star cast, with Barbara Stanwyck (dont miss her in Sorry-Wrong Number, an equally enthralling movie) playing Martha Ivers, Lizabeth Scott, Van Heflin and finally one of my favorite stars of this era, Kirk Douglas. Its directed by Lewis Milestone, who made the original Ocean's Eleven (1960). This is the first movie for Kirk.

Martha Ivers is a troubled/feisty and ruthless woman with a abnormal childhood. She has a great secret from her past that only 3 other people know. One of them is dead, the other has ran away to a different place and the she is married to the third. Sam, the boy who ran away, returns to her town after 18 or 19 years because as he says "the road curved, but I did not". Martha, who loved Sam when they were kids, is excited to see him but her husband Walter is not. Sam always bullied Walter, who grew up having self-esteem issues. A sub-plot of love develops as Toni enters the town. The turning point of the movie is in the second half as it comes alive with some strange denouements. The climax is a unpredictable and memorable. The movie features pretty jarring background music, which was annoying but still, its just a minor complaint. The last scene when Sam tells Toni "Never look back, never ever look back baby" is another classic.

3. Impact (1949)

This strange little movie could have been big. Maybe if it had featured more known names in the star cast. This film reminded me a few classic noir like The Killers, The Postman Always Rings Twice and Too Late For Tears. The last two share the femme fetal with this movie while the fist share the protagonist with a troubling past working as a mechanic in a strange town. The film is about a successful San Francisco businessman Walter Williams played really well by Brian Donlevy) who dotes on his wife but she has another man in her life. Together, they try to take him out and the result is pretty shocking to all of them. There is a lot of investigative work involved and the police are hard at heels to find what's going on. Marsha, Walter's wife, is as true-blue evil as the femme fetals in Too Late For Tears. Walter luckily survives his assassination attempt and ends up in Larkspur, Idaho. There he meets a charming Irene (played by the beautiful Helen Walker) who puts the life back in our beaten/broken boy who has to come to terms with the fact that his wife tried to get him murdered. He spends an idyllic three months at Larkspur realizing the wonders of country life. Walter musters strength to get back to San Francisco and deal with his wife. The ensuing courtroom drama seals the fate of Marsha. Very exciting and well made film and a must watch for any mature noir audience.