![]() And the finale (Figure 3) recalls the more well-known Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947), although it was released earlier in the same year. Also recalling The Big Sleep are aspects of the plot revolving around a gambling house and its boss. And Lizabeth Scott as the female lead bares an uncanny resemblance to Lauren Bacall, Bogart's co-star in the later. There are actually lines taken almost directly from the former, in a manner reminiscent of a recent neo-noir like Brick (Rian Johnson, 2006). ![]() Bogart seems to be referencing his former roles as a detective in films such as The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941) and The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946). It is so blatant and obvious that it feels like a postmodern noir reworking rather than a film made before the term itself had gained any widespread popularity. This is such a hyperbolic expression of the usual noir anxiety over female sexuality that it reminded me of R. He gives a speech early in the narrative about wanting to shrink a woman down to pocket-size so he can control her, only having her become full-size when he wants (presumably, when he wants her physically, although the dialogue is only implicit about this). Bogart's character, however, does not trust women as easily as his duped friend. As in many noirs, this investigation focuses on a woman, his friend's former lover who Bogart quickly falls for as well. It stars Humphrey Bogart as a returning veteran who investigates a pre-war murder case involving his war buddy. Although made in 1947, it comes across almost as a pastiche of noir. Dead Reckoning is one of the oddest films I can remember seeing. Part of the difficulty may be with the film itself. Krutnik's book is one of the better studies of noir, but, perhaps because I had not seen the film, I found the last chapter difficult to follow. ![]() I was familiar with the film from the last chapter of Frank Krutnik's great study of noir and masculinity, In a Lonely Street: Film Noir, Genre, Masculinity (1991), "A Problem in 'Algebra': Dead Reckoning and the Regimentation of the Masculine". This allowed me to view a film noir I've always been interested in seeing, Dead Reckoning. One of the many positive aspects of film culture here is the availability of very affordable DVDs of Classical Hollywood and art cinema releases. ![]()
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