Not quite sure why this film hasn't got more attention.
The dialogue/acting/plot/direction are superb!
Brillant film noir and a classic IMO.
Hopefully a good restoration copy surfaces one day.
I am watching it as I write (noon, Feb. 8, 2015) and the print is impeccable, with sharp blacks and subtle greys, no pops or projector marks.
shareBig noir fan and this one works for me. Got the sharp b/w, dialogue, lighting, closeups, hints of what's ahead. Even the title adds to it. "Everything's a fake!" Gotta love that book novel language as if for adult market.
Agree this one is overlooked by the critics & general audience. Maybe will get more exposure.
And do like the way the principals seemed to enjoy making the film.
I'm no noir expert, but this one did seem better overall than others I've seen and I look forward to watching this one again.
Also, I was relieved to see instant chemistry between Dick Powell and Evelyn Keyes, because in a previous film of his I saw, there was none.
Mag, Darling, you're being a bore.
If you have been waiting for a confusing story, with confusing dialogue, this film is for you (not for me).
The acting, direction, and noir sets are perfect here. The print quality is excellent.
But, the almost unintelligible story of who is doing what to whom, and why, and when made this a difficult - and not enjoyable - slog for me, and I suspect for a few other viewers. Even the liner notes on the Columbia Pictures DVD admit that this will be a tough go for many. There are many more noir out there.
E pluribus unum
Just as he did in Murder, My Sweet and Cry Danger, Dick Powell demonstrates here, too, that he can bounce around the snappy hard-boiled dialogue with the best of them - and there are plenty of good lines left for other characters as well. And this is the film's strongest suit, really, the factor that makes this otherwise unevenly paced, unremarkably directed movie worth the while.
"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan
I thought it was pretty good - apart from the last few minutes which seemed a bit rushed and trite.
Dick Powell is very good at these roles and the women are beautiful and beautifully filmed and the relationships well developed and mature. I particularly like Thomas Gomez who always hits the mark as a supporting character but had a bigger role that usual in this film.
Well as long as the women are beautiful that’s all that matters on the female side, am I right?
shareOK, you got me, it's a slightly blokish comment, however, no - it helps if they can act. I can think of several actors and actresses who have beauty but little ability.
But it also has to be admitted it usually doesn't do any harm and the leads, Evelyn Keyes, Ellen Drew and a very young and vulnerable Nina Foch, look particularly lovely in this B&W film.
I’ll look them up. I love noir.
“Blokish comment..”
I’m wondering about the meaning of that. It suggests that bloks automatically reduce women to their appearances.
I could be wrong. Am I?
I don't think you're wrong - though it sounds harsher than I meant it to be when I used it. To be honest I can't think of a simple way to define 'being a bloke'. It's one of those words you use to describe some guy or group or bit of behaviour but if you start thinking about it could expand in to a long list of attributes.
Anyway, in this post, I meant it was a little rude of me to just comment that the women in the film were beautiful and at the same time being too lazy to type their names.
I found the film on YouTube if you're interested. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU6ohziMv3M&list=PLEIoG0NcCGkgqlLCycQugWUfjJDMG_rX8&index=2&t=0s
Thanks huwdj for explaining that - very civil of you!
I will check out the movie, thank you!