Posted by Dan in the MW on 2/24/2022, 6:30 am, in reply to "NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955) written by Gary Deane"

I watched this film years ago and it was rather good.

My sole complaint was that the VHS tape that I borrowed from the public library was sourced from a print was less than pristine. I believe the film's copyright had lapsed and it was in the public domain as a result. If a better print was available, the film might warrant inclusion on a festival program.

Dirk Bogarde's character ("Teddy" Bare) had more than a few skeletons in his closet other than his deceased dowager wife. His seedy financial backer, who expected a handsome return on his loan once Teddy's next bride was dispatched, referenced a taboo incident involving an adolescent male that needed to be quietly covered up so as to avoid a police inquiry as to Teddy's predilections. Another subtle hint is that Bare enjoys viewing pictorials in men's muscle magazines.

Given Dirk Bogarde's own sexuality, this seemed to be to be a risky if somewhat opaque plot point that nonetheless slipped by the British film censors in 1955. A few years later, Bogarde came out.

Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955) written by Gary Deane
Posted by Carl on 2/24/2022, 3:37 pm, in reply to "Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955) written by Gary Deane"

They did a Bogarde retrospective on Criterion about six months ago and I think I watched every film. The print of Cast A Dark Shadow was terrific. Victim and The Servant were highlights, but the series was so good it made me scurry to YouTube to view Once A Jolly Swagman, one of his earliest where he plays an ultra-daring race-car driver. You can't really go wrong with Bogarde.

More on Bogarde [was: Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955)...]
Posted by Don Malcolm on 2/24/2022, 4:20 pm, in reply to "Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955) written by Gary Deane"

With you 100% on this, Carl. I think the Mostly British series in SF should consider devoting a major chunk of their program to him. I don't think he received the type of centennial he deserved last year (born in 1921) due to the pandemic; someone would do well to take that idea to heart sometime this year.

Meanwhile, here's another of Bogarde's truly astonishing work--a film that cries out for a slot on the big screen but never seems to get it:





Re: More on Bogarde [was: Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955)...]
Posted by Dan in the MW on 2/26/2022, 6:40 am, in reply to "More on Bogarde [was: Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955)...] "

Dirk Bogarde had a supporting role in "The Woman in Question" (alternate title "Five Angles on Murder"). It was his first important acting role after a few bit parts that could have been filled by extras.

"The Woman in Question" had a plot structure similar to "Rashomon" that was released during the same year. It was an intriguing film directed by no less than Anthony Asquith.

The film is worth seeking out.

THE WOMAN IN QUESTION [was: Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955)...]
Posted by Don Malcolm on 2/27/2022, 10:14 am, in reply to "Re: More on Bogarde [was: Re: NOTW returns thanks to Steve-O! CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955)...] "

Absolutely true, Dan. Back in 2011 I commissioned Guy Savage to write an essay about "evil dames" (she, more appropriately, referred to them as "trangressive women") in 1950s British noir. The result was a nearly 12,000 word essay that's probably the longest essay even published in the NC e-zine (and there was some squawking about it from the publisher, which inspired yours truly to get creative and create longer pieces by harnessing a team of writers to cover the parts of an overall whole, as was done later on with a favorite film--THE BREAKING POINT--or a favorite actor--Robert Ryan).

That essay was reprinted in the fourth NC annual, but is long out of print and the powers that be seem determined to keep that chapter of their history firmly closed, so here is an excerpt from Savage's essay that provides an overview of THE WOMAN IN QUESTION, a film that would be a wonderful follow-up for CAST A CROOKED SHADOW:

The Woman in Question (British title Five Angles of Murder), a 1950 film from director Anthony Asquith, is a complex character study of Agnes (Jean Kent), a seaside fortune-teller known as Madame Astra. The film begins with the discovery of the body of Agnes, and then the film moves into a police procedural as Superintendent Lodge (Duncan Macrae) begins an investigation. Lodge’s investigation is predicated on understanding the victim, but the investigation is complicated by the various views he receives of Agnes:

—According to snoopy neighbour and charwoman Mrs. Finch (Hermione Baddeley), Agnes was a kind, genteel lady living in straitened circumstances.
—According to Agnes’s younger sister Catherine (Susan Shaw), Agnes was a slovenly drunk who thought of no-one but herself, neglected her invalid husband and had designs on vaudeville artist Bob Baker (Dirk Bogarde).
—Bob, who is waiting for a divorce in order to marry Catherine, confirms that Agnes was manipulative, vindictive and jealous.
—Yet to mild-mannered pet shop owner, Albert Pollard (Charles Victor), Agnes was a delicate creature who needed his protection.
—Finally, to Irish sailor Murray (John McCallum). Agnes was a warm, loving, yet fickle, promiscuous woman.

As the police investigate Agnes’s murder, conflicting views of Agnes merge to create a portrait of a complex woman. Which view is true?

If we scrape away gossip and snobbiness, rivalry between siblings, anger and jealousy, what it left underneath--the “real” Agnes--still isn’t pleasant. Agnes is a spiteful woman who has abandoned her terminally ill husband, bleeds her admirers for what she can get from them, and causes trouble simply because she can. She inspires murderous thoughts, and at the same time, there’s something about her that causes those in her social sphere to read various meanings into her actions. Agnes appears to have a curious, fractured identity which reflects the images various people in her life want to see. As a result, Albert sees Agnes as a better human being than she is, and others see her as far worse.