Film Noir Friday–Sunday Matinee: Dishonored Lady [1947]



Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:


In the Line of Duty, Conclusion










Jeanne Trude and Elyse Pearl Brown

Jeanne Trude and Elyse Pearl Brown


















Certainly luckier than Steve Sodel and his family.




Film Noir Friday: Railroaded [1947]


Welcome! The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open! Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat. Tonight’s feature is RAILROADED  directed by Anthony Mann who also directed such film noir greats as: Raw Deal, T-Men, Border Incident, and Side Street. The film stars John Ireland, Sheila Ryan, Hugh Beaumont, Jane Randolph. Enjoy the film!

TCM says:

As New York beautician Clara Calhoun, whose shop is a front for a bookmaking operation, closes up for the night, she gives a silent signal to two masked gunmen lurking outside. The gunmen then burst into the shop and start to rob Clara and her unsuspecting assistant, Marie Westin, of their betting money. When a policeman happens by and interrupts the robbery, one of the robbers, Duke Martin, shoots him in cold blood. Before dying, the officer shoots and wounds the other robber, “Cowie” Kowalski. After fleeing in a laundry truck, Duke leaves Cowie at a doctor’s house, reminding him of their plan to implicate Steve Ryan in the crime. Later, when Clara and Marie are questioned by detectives Mickey Ferguson and Jim Chubb, Marie describes both robbers as black-haired, while Clara insists that the “shooter” had sandy hair. Clara’s version is believed, and soon the sandy-haired Steve Ryan, who routinely drives the laundry truck and whose Navy scarf was found at the shop, is brought in for questioning.

The Maladjusted Black Sheep, Part 1

Pasadena police were stunned when, early on the morning of April 19, 1947, 18-year-old Gerald Snow Welch arrived with the dead body of a girl in his car. He coolly announced to officers his “purpose in life has been completed.” What in the hell was he talking about? Who was the girl and how had she died?

doloresGerald identified the girl as his 16-year-old sweetheart Dolores Fewkes. He claimed that he and Dolores had planned to die together but he survived due to a miscalculation on his part. He had brought only two bullets with him to the deserted picnic grounds in the San Gabriel Mountains where the couple planned to leave this world behind. He thought two rounds would be enough, but when Dolores failed to die immediately after the first bullet entered her head, he fired again. The second round entered her skull about a half an inch from the first, but it didn’t kill her either. She started to scream and wouldn’t stop. He told police that he “finished her off” by battering her to death with the stock and barrel of the .22. “If only I had taken more bullets…” he told police. Once Dolores was dead he put her bloody body into his car and drove her to the police station where he confessed.

He told investigators that he felt “no sorrow, no regrets” about the slaying and was convinced that Dolores was surely in heaven awaiting his arrival. “There won’t ever be any change in my feelings. I loved her and she wanted to go with me into the next world. It will be much happier and better there.” Then he explained that he’d rather let the State kill him but: “…I would kill myself if I got the chance.” Gerald appeared to be in no hurry to make good on his threat, he sat on the bunk in his jail cell and stared at the ceiling.

gerald jailHe admitted that when he originally contemplated suicide he had no intention of taking Dolores with him but: “She said she couldn’t stand to be left behind and we decided to go together.”

What had driven the teenagers to consider such drastic action? Were teenage angst or raging hormones to blame? Gerald explained that his suicidal thoughts were the result of a crisis of faith coinciding with his medical discharge from the Navy where he had served “three unhappy months.”

no regrets headline

“I began to doubt a lot of things which had been told me in Sunday School and church and I began to do some investigations. I went to the library and I read philosophers–lots of them–Plato, and Schopenhauer and Emerson. I found in Schopenhauer a positive justification for suicide.”

Strange as they were Gerald had given his reasons for wanting to die, but his contention that Dolores couldn’t bear to be left behind needed further examination. Everyone who knew the Montebello High School student said that she was a happy girl with a lot to live for. Did she have a secret dark side that she had revealed only to Gerald? Had she willingly entered into a suicide pact with him, or was he lying?

NEXT TIME: Dolores’ family disputes Gerald’s story that she wanted to die with him and accuses him of cold-blooded murder.

Film Noir Friday: Out of the Past [1947]

Poster - Out of the Past (1947)_03


 I was trolling the internet for a film for a film for tonight and I found OUT OF THE PAST, one of my all-time favorites! I’m not sure why it is suddenly available, but I plan to take full advantage of it.  This film is a perfect example of film noir–great script, incredible cast (Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas) and fabulous director, Jacques Tourneur.  If you have never seen this before I suggest that you drop everything and spend approximately 97 minutes in film noir heaven (or perhaps more appropriately, hell).

Enjoy the film!

 TCM says:

In the small town of Bridgeport, California, gas station owner Jeff Bailey is tracked down by Joe Stefanos, a former business associate, who tells him that his boss, Whit Sterling, wants to see him the next morning in nearby Lake Tahoe. After he reluctantly agrees to meet with Whit, Jeff reveals to his trusting girl friend, Ann Miller, his recent past: Three years earlier, while working as a private detective in New York, Jeff, whose real name is Markham, and his partner, Jack Fisher, are hired by gambler Whit to find Whit’s girl friend, Kathie Moffat. According to Whit, Kathie shot him and then disappeared with $40,000 of his money. Assured by Whit that Kathie will not be harmed, Jeff locates her in Acapulco and immediately falls in love with her.

And that, my friends, is when the shit hits the fan.

Film Noir Friday: The Guilty [1947]



Tonight’s feature is THE GUILTY [1947],  directed by John Reinhardt and based on a story by Cornell Woolrich; the film stars Bonita Granville, Don Castle, Regis Toomey, John Litel, and Wally Cassell.

Enjoy the movie!

TCM says:

In New York City, Mike Carr goes into Tim McGinniss’ bar to wait for Estelle Mitchell, whom he hasn’t seen since Estelle’s twin sister Linda was murdered six months earlier. He then recounts for Tim the story of Linda’s death: Mike’s roommate, Johnny Dixon, who was in the Army with him, frequently suffers spells in which his nerves collapse. Linda and Johnny are very much in love, but Estelle, a vamp, is determined to have Johnny for herself.

Film Noir Friday: The Web [1947]

Film Noir Poster - Web, The_01


Tonight’s feature is THE WEB starring Edmond O’Brien, Ella Raines, William Bendiz and Vincent Price.

Enjoy the film!

TCM Says:

At a big city train station, Martha Kroner greets her father Leopold after his release from prison, where he served a five-year term for counterfeiting bonds. Kroner is disappointed that his former associate, wealthy businessman Andrew Colby, has not come to welcome him home. Unknown to Kroner, Colby’s henchman, Charles Murdock, watches him from the shadows.

Film Noir Friday: Framed [1947]



Tonight’s feature is FRAMED [1947] starring Glenn Ford, Janis Carter, Barry Sullivan and Edgar Buchanan.

Enjoy the film!


Mike Lambert, unemployed mining engineer, arrives in a small town with a bang when the brakes fail on the truck he’s driving. After meeting seductive Paula at the La Paloma Cafe, he finds himself in trouble with the law. On the basis of a few burning glances, Paula pays his fine and finds him a room, but her motives are not what they seem. Mike lucks into a job with miner Jeff Cunningham, but against his will he’s drawn ever deeper into Paula’s schemes.

Film Noir Friday: Shoot to Kill [1947]


Welcome!  The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open. Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat.  Tonight’s feature is SHOOT TO KILL [1947] starring Russell Wade and Susan Walters. Enjoy the film!

TCM says:

During a high-speed car chase with the police, Marian Langdon Dale, her husband Lawrence, the newly elected district attorney, and Dixie Logan, an escaped murderer and crime boss, crash, and Larry and Logan are killed. Later, reporter George “Mitch” Mitchell visits Marian at the hospital and asks her to explain how she and Larry ended up in Logan’s car.


And therein lies the tale…


Tune in tomorrow for the conclusion of the deranged tale: A DEATH ON MULHOLLAND DRIVE!

Film Noir Friday: Fear in the Night [1947]


Welcome!  The lobby of the Deranged L.A. Crimes theater is open! Grab a bucket of popcorn, some Milk Duds and a Coke and find a seat.  Tonight’s feature is Fear In The Night and stars Paul Kelly, DeForest Kelley, Ann Dorn, and Kay Scott. The movie is based on a story Cornell Woolrich (under the pseudonym of William Irish). Cornell Woolrich’s stories and novels have made terrific films: Rear Window,The Bride Wore Black, and Phantom Lady. Fear In The Night was directed by Maxwell Shane.

 TCM Says:

Bank teller Vince Grayson wakes from a nightmare in which he and an unknown woman murdered a man in a strange, mirrored room. Only a dream…but Vince finds that he has physical objects and bruises from his “dream.” His cop brother-in-law dismisses his story…until the family, on a picnic, takes shelter from a thunderstorm in a deserted mansion containing that mirrored room. Is doom closing in on Vince?