Not too many noirs feature actual fireworks (as opposed to what occurs in crime and amour fou...) so when it comes time to acknowledge the USA's beleaguered birthday celebration, it's a no-brainer to knee-jerk right back to THE BRIBE, which ends in a frenzy of nocturnal emissions!

Sadly, a full-length version of THE BRIBE isn't available online, so the snippet above will have to suffice…

Dr. Gangrene's visual essay (focusing more on Vincent Price) gives us some more things to look at, even if it's a bit too camp. (The good doctor also has lengthier presentations on Price's career available if you are so inclined.)

We will see more of Eddie M. on TCM tonight when he hosts a reprise screening of ANGEL FACE, but he too recognized that THE BRIBE (which brings forth a wise-ass ambivalence in him, save for some too-little-too-late lust for Ava Gardner) was clearly a specimen of what Elliot Lavine calls "hot summer noir." (Appropriately, Eddie screened it at TCM on 7/11/2021.) True, it's a rather sluggish specimen of that sub-subgenre, but the final scene is worth a look.

For Eddie's old hair-do, and for Noir Alley's longer, more languorous intro, here's what he had to say about THE BRIBE...

Intro

Outro