The contest for bleakest film noir is one wrought with contention. Robert Aldrich’s Kiss Me Deadly is often named as a favorite for the prize, but there are several lesser contenders also worthy of consideration. Shot on the streets of New York in 1959 and released roughly two years later, Allen Baron’s Blast of Silence sits well within that select number. Baron’s film centers on Frankie Bono, a mob hit man with a back-story as clichéd as they come: an orphan and sociopath who always works alone, Bono is good at his job precisely because of the hate he harbors for other human beings. Based in Cleveland with New York roots, he accepts a contract in the Big Apple to take out a middle tier boss named Troiano at Christmas time.
Baron stocks the film with numerous noir and existentialist tropes starting with a title sequence that likens a hurdling trip through a subway tunnel to the disorienting trauma of birth. Blacklisted screenwriter Waldo Salt (operating under a pseudonym) scripts a heavy-handed second-person voiceover as a further means of eroding ambiquity. Read in an alternatingly sarcastic and menacing tone, the narration intrudes to the point of distraction and it’s hard not to imagine a better film sans its portentous presence. Where Baron does strike gold is in the many location shoots around the city. Vintage storefronts and nightclubs abound, captured in a visceral and grainy monochrome that accentuates the starkness of their geometries. There’s even a vicarious visit to the Village Gate, though the conga-led jazz combo entertaining the clientele elicits winces rather than applause.
Baron’s decision to play the part of the brooding conflicted Bono is also questionable. Peter Falk was purportedly cast prior, but jumped ship to star in a more lucrative film production. Wooden, Ed Wood-worthy acting is the norm, but there are standouts amongst the cardboard. In particular there’s Larry Tucker who plays the part of Fat Ralphie a particularly odious blackmarketeer who Bono must rely on to obtain his murder weapon. Tucker’s role is ripe with winsome touches, from a flop house residence populated with pet rats, to a vaguely effeminate demeanor that directly recalls his controversial work in Advise and Consentseveral years later, though far more nuanced.
Bono’s odyssey is one of methodical purpose. Baron exerts great care in documenting his preparatory activities without clouding them in concessions to morality. There’s an extended sequence where Bono cleans and readies his gun, set to the strains of a solo jazz trumpet, which is particularly effective in this regard. Elsewhere, the vibraphone-dominant soundtrack, feels somewhat dated and intrusive. A Bohemian party where Bono attempts to connect with old friends is similarly time-locked, couples waltzing and carousing politely while in another corner of the room a hipster palms and awkward bongo beat. A comical peanut-pushing race serves as quixotic culmination.
The film’s violence, though sporadic, is surprisingly brutal and bloody. The film’s dénouement is predictable, telegraphed well in advance by the ham-fisted narration, but the minutes leading up to it are still tense and well-choreographed. Again, Baron earns considerable points for location authenticity and flavor; it’s in the recreation of realistic interaction and dialogue where the production falters. His professional background was in commercial art and comics with film craft largely self-taught. That chemistry catalyzes in his sharp camera angles and astute use of shadow, but fizzles when it comes to the human element. Two weeks tardy for Cannes consideration, but the French press did offer up mystifying conjecture as to whether Baron might be the next Orson Welles. It’s a stretch beyond measure, but his film still stands up as an interesting early Sixties experiment in pushing the boundaries of noir to grim extremes.
~ Derek Taylor
Posted by derek on July 29, 2008 10:18 AMBleakest? Does Chinatown count, with its promise of further offscreen incest/child rape and general corruption?
Or what about Night and The City? That's pretty damn unredeeming.
Five Top Favorite Noirs In All the Freaking Universe, Excluding The Bogart Ones Because They Are In A Universe Of Noir All By Themselves, Measured By An Algorithm Worked Out By Michael Anton Monk:
The Killing
Kansas City Confidential
Thieves' Highway
Kiss Me Deadly
Double Indemnity
The Big Clock
Pick-Up On South Street
D.O.A.
The Killers
Angel Face
Sorry, Wrong Number
Gun Crazy
Criss Cross
I know, it's more than five, but you didn't expect me to stop at five, didja sucka? Also these are just the American-made ones, weighted toward the B-pitchas.
Watching any of these blindfolded is more fun than listening to improvised music, btw.
Posted by: djll at July 31, 2008 10:46 AMNice list, Tom, I’ve seen all ‘cept Angel Face & have added that one to the list. ‘Course Chinatown counts, but I always seem to forget about it when it comes to noir consideration. The Long Goodbye too.
Bitten by the list bug, my top American Five (using “noir” loosely) would probably rate thusly:
Kiss Me Deadly
Night of the Hunter
Out of the Past
Border Incident
Detour
Killer’s Kiss would’ve made the cut if not for its cement-mixer script.
Posted by: derek at July 31, 2008 11:15 AMDerek,
Angel Face is fantastic! Jean Simmons makes such a great psycho. See it asap.
Kiss Me Deadly has so much going for it -- low budget, edgy acting (Cloris Leachman! Jack Elam!), and that bizarre sci-fi twist.
I cited Thieves' Highway partly because of all the great SF location filming, plus locations in my back yard, Watsonville.
I purposefully left Night of the Hunter off. Perhaps too much build-up before viewing, but it was a big disappointment to me. Something about it seemed cheesy to me, but I don't remember what. Sorry, Wrong Number is pretty cheesy, too, but I can't resist Stanwyck in a nightgown.
Just the cast of The Killing shoulders aside that of Killer's Kiss so easily. No-brainer. Any noir list should include at least one flick with Elisha Cook, Jr.
I would have included Out of The Past, but my list hit the ceiling at 13.
Forgot about Touch of Evil, too...
Blah, blah... busy day at work today.
Posted by: djll at July 31, 2008 12:44 PMThough the scene in the mannequin factory does quite a bit to redeem Killer's Kiss in my eyes.
Posted by: Sarah Lockhart at July 31, 2008 1:33 PMI agree, the cast of The Killing kills that of Killer’s Kiss. On the other hand Kubrick’s cinematography in latter handily trumps Ballard’s the former, IMO.
Don’t forget Meeker re: Kiss Me Deadly. His Mike Hammer is pitch perfect, IMO, the perfect mix of amusing egotism and borderline sociopathy.
And I hear you on Night of the Hunter, but the pervasive artificiality/“cheesiness” is one of the things I love about it and purely intentional on Laughton part. The preachiness is great too & Mitchum is awesome. It’s a noir fairytale if ever there was one.
Posted by: derek at July 31, 2008 2:00 PMYeah. Fairytale. That's the word.
For preaching and preachiness, dunno if Burt Lancaster can be beat, tho (pace Welles in Moby Dick) -- check Elmer Gantry and The Rainmaker.
Posted by: djll at July 31, 2008 4:19 PMLove Elmer Gantry, but haven’t seen The Rainmaker. Hey, speaking of Mr. Lancaster, Brute Force just arrived from Netflix. Looking forward to the team-up of Burt & Jules Dassin in a penitentiary setting.
Anyone else seen Blast of Silence and care to comment? A good friend of mine gave it a hearty thumbs down.
Aw, Djll, I'm sad to see you don't include Joseph H. Lewis' "The Big Combo" which I happen to think is better than "Gun Crazy."
A big big favorite of mine, and has a fine David Raksin soundtrack.
Hmm. I thought The Big Combo was a funny polkacore group that did an album with Tiny Tim.
D'oh! I'll have to get my series of tubes up and running the Googles properly, so I can put the correct info on a handy index card.
Posted by: djll at August 1, 2008 4:22 PMSorry, Derek, I can't comment on Blast of Silence. Maybe it's that title -- it's not really in the old Bags spirit now, is it?
I just traded for a brand-spankin' new copy of Criterion'$ "High and Low," (Kurosawa) which - to try to make it relevant in some way to this thread - is based on an Ed McBain crime novel. But not very much. Can't wait to watch it!
Posted by: djll at August 2, 2008 9:09 PMActually, I think the title could double as a decent tagline these days what w/ the sporadic activity. Okay, not so much of late, & hopefully but a memory when the spiffy site relaunch launches.
High and Low is a good ‘un, IMO. Mifune broods w/ gusto.
I've seen Blast of Silence a few times and totally love the grim worldview and grainy, cold feel of the whole film. The acting is a bit wooden, true, but I think that adds to the realism a bit, its pretty stark. Hammier acting may have been over the top, hard to say. I definitely enjoy it, but then I have been known to enjoy some pretty cheeseball movies.
For what its worth, I never really though of Night of the Hunter as a noir film, more of an updated brothers Grimm type of story - a dark cautionary tale, so, yeah, a fairy tale. Great movie though, I don't find it too cheesy and I think Mitchum is incredible, as is Shelly Winters as the widow who is so desparate to land a man that she falls for the creepy preacher. Lillian Gish is great too as the strong grandmotherly type, although a few of her lines the cheesiest.
Double Indemnity, Thieves Highway, Kiss Me Deadly all are totally great. I also love The Hitchhicker , The Bigamist and On Dangerous Ground. OK, I really love Ida Lupino. Even in Junior Bonner.
Rob
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