Knock on Any Door (1949)
Actor Humphrey Bogart and director Nicholas Ray apparently enjoyed working - and drinking - together so much on "Knock on Any Door" that they reunited only one year later for the stunning "In a Lonely Place." For that reason, and that reason only, this is historically one of the most important films ever made.
Bogart plays a lawyer who is represents a former juvenile delinquent (John Derek) accused of killing a cop.
It doesn't help, though, that Bogie is relegated to a supporting role in his own movie for much of its running time - as he regales the court with his client's history, which we're shown in an overlong series of silly flashbacks. Instead of the realistic and gritty portrait of hardscrabble street life Ray presumably intended to capture, these scenes play like a half-baked "Afterschool Special."
Mismatched casting is also an issue. While Humphrey Bogart is still a titan of the silver screen here, John Derek feels like he walked off the set of a fluffy teen show. According to IMDb, Bogart tried to get Marlon Brando for the role instead. Imagine what a huge difference that would have made. Casting is everything. (Also, Nicholas Ray admitted he "would have made a hell of a lot better movie" if Luis Buñuel had made "Los Olvidados" first.)
Like 1997's "The Devil's Advocate" with Al Pacino and Keanu Reeves (in itself a similar case of inconsistent casting), "Knock on Any Door" is primarily memorable for one powerful monologue. In this case, it's a dramatic courtroom speech by Bogie near the end that gives this movie its name.
Of all the Bogie films I've seen to date, "In a Lonely Place" ranks firmly at the top of the list and "Knock on Any Door" is firmly at the bottom. (Ditto for Nicholas Ray, whose 1950 masterpiece stands in stark contrast to both this and the plodding "Macao.") Still, anything with solid Bogart acting and nice Ray direction can't help but have some merit - at least for diehard fans of either or both. (Subtitles/Captons: Yes!)
Well Go USA’s Raging Fire, the latest from martial arts superstar Donnie Yen (Big Brother) and co-star Nicholas Tse (As the Light Goes Out), will be streaming exclusively on Hi-YAH! on October 22nd, followed by a Blu-ray/DVD release on November 23rd.
Details: https://cityonfire.com/donnie-yen-finds-himself-in-benny-chans-crossfire/
https://preview.redd.it/ypl7ykib7ir71.png?width=864&format=png&auto=webp&s=1ff7eb130d5627fcd957ecd06714d494c05ebda7
An aspiring actress in Hollywood begins to have suspicions that her new boyfriend, a hot-tempered screenwriter, may also be a murderer.
From a surface level, this is already an intriguing premise. But upon watching the film, I was greeted to something entirely different, much deeper, and much more fulfilling than I could have anticipated. In A Lonely Place is not a mystery/thriller as the logline might suggest. This is a film noir, but one unlike any other.Instead, director Nicholas Ray's adaptation of Dorothy Hughes' original novel is a complex, somber, and tragic story about a healthy relationship gradually becoming an abusive one. One of the film's biggest accomplishments was being able to tell a story like this in very much a classic Hollywood style, but with a genuine amount of respect and emotional nuance. There truly were no other films like this in its own time, and many films about domestic violence made in the following years don't handle the topic with nearly as much sensitivity as In A Lonely Place.
Hollywood legend Humphrey Bogart plays Dixon Steele, a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who hasn't had a well-received picture since before the war. Gloria Grahame plays Laurel Gray, the actress (and next-door neighbor) who falls in love with Dixon.
Dixon is hired to write an adaptation of a novel, and is approached by a hat-check girl named Mildred Atkinson, who comes home with him to explain the plot. Dixon believes the book is trash but still goes through with it, he sends Mildred home in a cab immediately after. The next morning Dixon is brought in for questioning by the police hours after Mildred is found strangled to death and left on the side of the highway. Being one of the last people to see her alive and evident through his penchant for violent outbursts, Dixon is made a suspect in the murder. His next door neighbor Laurel Gray, testifies that he is innocent, and that she "likes his face." This eventually leads to the two of them formally meeting, falling in love, and slowly falling apart.
This is undoubtedly Humphrey Bogart's best performance, and I stand by that opinion. There was a certain level of maturity and emotional fortitude that came with a role like this, and Bogart delivers a performance that was equal parts layered and heartfelt as it was sophisticated and even witty in his typical style. His portrayal of Dixon Steele was that of an angry, repressed man who clings desperately on to love when he believes its all he has l
... keep reading on reddit ➡Blank Check hasn't covered a classic Hollywood director yet. Classic Hollywood directors tend to have more films made in a shorter period of time compared to modern directors, but if there's one that could make for a great miniseries it's Nicholas Ray, held up by Martin Scorsese and many of the French New Wave critics, as well as teaching Jim Jarmusch. Big fan of the Ray Man, Jean-Luc Godard once famousy said that "the cinema is Nicholas Ray". And while the studio system of the 1950s was quite a different time for the directors to work in, Ray's style can be seen in even his studio potboilers, just as much as his canonical masterpieces.
He made a lot of films during his prime run in the 1950s, but with some combining it could be boiled down to a length comparable to other directors the pod has covered.
- They Live By Night
- Knock On Any Door/A Woman's Secret
- In A Lonely Place
- Born To Be Bad/The Flying Leathernecks
- On Dangerous Ground
- The Lusty Men
- Johnny Guitar
- Run For Cover
- Rebel Without A Cause
- Hot Blood
- Bigger Than Life
- The True Story Of Jesse James
- Bitter Victory
- Wind Across The Everglades
- Party Girl
- The Savage Innocents
- King Of Kings
- 55 Days At Peking
Patreon/Bonus Episodes: We Can't Go Home Again, Lightning Over Water
Both titans but who do you prefer and why?
The past few Nicholas Ray movies I've seen have involved the exploration of how a competition of masculinity wears down a relationship, and ends up driving or exacerbating the violence of their occupation, and pushing away the women in their lives. The Lusty Men from 1952 explored this idea among rodeo hands, and Bitter Victory explores it among the British military in Northern Africa in WWII.
Story goes: A military unit is given commands to infiltrate a German base in Bengazi and recover documents. Leading them is a Captain, played by Richard Burton, and a Major, played by Curt Jurgens. Before they leave, it's made clear to each man that the major's wife was once the lover of the captain. This dynamic is explored as the unit carries out their mission.
The movie has a distinct, isolated atmosphere with the men traversing the North African desert. There's a sort of emptiness to the proceedings, the clear sky and open terrain forcing you to focus on the main conflict between two men who feel the need to prove their manliness to each other, and to the rest of the unit, with disastrous results.
Definitely recommended, another excellent Nicholas Ray movie.
Neat fact: Christopher Lee has a supporting role as a Sargent.
Has anyone taken the course with him? The syllabus seems interesting but I haven't heard of this prof before.
How was it in terms of workload? Were lectures interesting? Thanks!
