on 7/3/2023, 9:12 am, in reply to "Re: Strong month of programming at Criterion Channel for July features British noir"
There are some great UK noirs here, but there are a number of other titles that , imo, are more worthy of inclusion. Night and The City has always been one of my top 10-12 noirs, with Widmark’s manic Harry Fabian and Max Greene’s camera work, and let’s not forget one of the most malignant couples in noir, Francis L. Sullivan and Googie Withers. There is that great scene between them when Withers has her club license, and physically repulsed by Sullivan, decides to leave him. As she takes a powder, Sullivan says in a tone of self abnegation “You’ll come back, and I’ll want to take you back”. As much as Widmark and Greene’s camera make the film, Odd Man Out is a perfect companion. The sensational James Mason running through the night streets of Belfast, all photographed by Robert Krasker in Altonesque manner. I’m surprised that Brighton Rock or The Long Memory didn’t make the cut, nor did They Made Me a Fugitive a tough as nails noir in the 30s Warner Bros. tradition with the craggy-faced Trevor Howard.
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