Re: What movies have you seen recently?
Slightly Scarlet (1956)
This....was an AWESOME movie! Out of all the color "noirs" i've been watching lately this one has just about everything you need in a noir and ranks up there with Body Heat (1981) as the best of the color noirs i've seen. Now this isn't a perfect movie as there are some flaws but it's pretty damn good.
Plot Summary:
That's a pretty good non spoiler summary and I don't want to give too much away as this movie is available to buy (though probably easiest to get through TCM rather than Amazon) however there are some things I want to talk about.
First of all this movie is wonderfully shot by John Alton who did a bang up job with the cinematography as you'd often see characters in full shadow and the male characters would wear darker clothes while the two leading ladies are in very bright clothing and their home is lit up with garish reds and whites. Hell, even the design of the home has phallic symbols which ties into one of the aspects of the movie which i'll get into in a second. It's all very masterfully done to the point that even if you don't like the plot of the movie it's still something to see just for the cinematography and technique.
As for the phallic symbols tying into an aspect of the movie well Dorothy is pretty much unhinged as she's loco but she mixes her insanity and kleptomania with nymphomania as she wants Ben to herself and even goes after Sol towards the end of the film. This is something that's not really explored much which is understandable given when the film was made but the relationship between her need to steal and her sick mind with the need for sex is something that is worth following through. I daresay a writer like Joe Eszterhas (of Basic Instinct fame) would have a field day exploring that relationship.
The acting is quite good in this but herein lies another missed opportunity as the love triangles aren't developed much between June, Janssen and Ben as well as the June, Ben, Dorothy triangle. The latter does get more play than the former. Rhonda Fleming aside from being a pretty good actress was DAMN easy on the eyes:
(low grade screen grab Dahl, Payne and Fleming)
The dialogue in this movie works well with the male actors spouting tough lines of dialogue in the darkness and the violence in this is more lurid and blatant than most movies of the time including a scene where a woman is basically slapped around.
This is an excellent movie worth watching and I give it *** stars.
Slightly Scarlet (1956)
This....was an AWESOME movie! Out of all the color "noirs" i've been watching lately this one has just about everything you need in a noir and ranks up there with Body Heat (1981) as the best of the color noirs i've seen. Now this isn't a perfect movie as there are some flaws but it's pretty damn good.
Plot Summary:
Kleptomaniac Dorothy Lyons (Arlene Dahl) is paroled from prison in custody of her sister June, (Rhonda Fleming) secretary to "reform" political candidate Frank Jansen. (Kent Taylor) Ben Grace, (John Payne) associate of crime boss Sol Caspar, (Ted De Corsia) sees this as a way to smear Jansen's campaign. But after falling out with Caspar, Ben tries to help June, who he begins to fall for. Sexy Dorothy also has a yen for Ben. June is reluctantly forced to go along with Ben's schemes, but there may be more to these than meets the eye...
First of all this movie is wonderfully shot by John Alton who did a bang up job with the cinematography as you'd often see characters in full shadow and the male characters would wear darker clothes while the two leading ladies are in very bright clothing and their home is lit up with garish reds and whites. Hell, even the design of the home has phallic symbols which ties into one of the aspects of the movie which i'll get into in a second. It's all very masterfully done to the point that even if you don't like the plot of the movie it's still something to see just for the cinematography and technique.
As for the phallic symbols tying into an aspect of the movie well Dorothy is pretty much unhinged as she's loco but she mixes her insanity and kleptomania with nymphomania as she wants Ben to herself and even goes after Sol towards the end of the film. This is something that's not really explored much which is understandable given when the film was made but the relationship between her need to steal and her sick mind with the need for sex is something that is worth following through. I daresay a writer like Joe Eszterhas (of Basic Instinct fame) would have a field day exploring that relationship.
The acting is quite good in this but herein lies another missed opportunity as the love triangles aren't developed much between June, Janssen and Ben as well as the June, Ben, Dorothy triangle. The latter does get more play than the former. Rhonda Fleming aside from being a pretty good actress was DAMN easy on the eyes:
(low grade screen grab Dahl, Payne and Fleming)
The dialogue in this movie works well with the male actors spouting tough lines of dialogue in the darkness and the violence in this is more lurid and blatant than most movies of the time including a scene where a woman is basically slapped around.
This is an excellent movie worth watching and I give it *** stars.
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