The Two Mrs. Carroll's
The Two Mrs. Carrolls, 1947
Directed by Peter Godfrey
Key Largo, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Dark Passage, Knock on Any Door, Dead Reckoning, The Big Sleep. Bogie was really cranking out the hits for Warners in the late forties. He also managed to sandwich in epic benders and brawls with wifey #3, Mayo Methot; a notorious affair and marriage to teen dream Lauren Bacall; and a few weeks shooting for The Two Mrs. Carrolls’.
Unfairly considered a piece of crap at the time, The Two Mrs. Carrolls’ is worth watching. In The Two Mrs. Carrolls’ Bogie plays a painter that gets to menace, sneer and romance la la Picasso in an uber gothic mansion. Picasso of course, wreaked more havoc than this guy, but no matter.
High Sierra by W.R. Burnett
Actually got some work done this summer.
Came across a treasure trove of collectable books at an estate sale in June. Lots of naughty gossip books. Dishy star bios. A few first editions. . . .and this beauty. Don’t know if this was ever read. Barely any shelf wear. High Sierra was the second novel of W.R. Burnett’s to be made three times*. Besides the idolized Huston/Bogart version, High Sierra was made into a western in 1949, Colorado Territory . Jack Palance and Shelley Winters starred in the darker and grittier I Died a Thousand Times in 1955. The third version also ups the sleaze factor with gang boy performances by Lee Marvin, Earl Holliman and Dennis Hopper. More on this film, like later, since it is in my poster stash.
The Original, first edition of this novel in Primo condition (published by Alfred. A. Knopt in 1940) sells for several hundred bucks. This version looks very similar, but it is published by Sun Dial Press in 1943. And it is so much cheaper.
Condition:
Fine in Very Fine jacket. First edition thus. Book is fine, no markings or bookplates. The dust jakcet if very good plus to near fine. Exceptional in this condition..
Please email editor@morenoirposters.com for price information
*Iron Man was filmed three times.
On Dangerous Ground, Original Half Sheet
On Dangerous Ground, 1952 Directed by Nicholas Ray, Produced by John Houseman
Continued from Ida Lupino, Part I:
Lupino was a multi-generation vaudeville brat. Instead of the 3 R’s, Lupino learned acting, scriptwriting, and tumbling. At 13 Ida’s early stint at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art was cut short when she snagged her first part as a “hooker”* in 1933′s Her First Affaire.
As a teenager her hair was dyed blond and she continued to specialize in slatternly roles earning the nickname, the “Jean Harlow of England”. The dye wasn’t necessary. Even later as a brunette, Lupino was never destined to be the girl next door– like Gloria Grahame she shined when her motives were shady.
The Enforcer, Original Half Sheet(click here to enlarge)
This is the first of my “Bogart” postings. But, tease that I am, I’m going to wait to talk about this dandy dude. Instead, let’s talk about Murder, Inc.– the inspiration for The Enforcer.
The Enforcer is the probably the first Mafia movie, literally. Prior to The Enforcer*, no one knew about hits, whacks, the finger, contracts, capos, dons, and especially Cosa Nostra. Why? In the olden days this was all super secret gumba stuff .
In the late 20′s and 30′s the major mafia gangs organized together to form The Syndicate (kind of like K.A.O.S. or ENRON ). By the 1930′s The Syndicate had hooked up with a gang of expert killers, “The Collection” gang. The gang carried out “contracts” for the Syndicate in secrect to enforce discipline among rank and file mobsters and anyone else that got in their way. The secrecy made it very difficult for the police to eavesdrop and pin the hits on anyone and stop the growing violence.
I'll Get You, 1952 Half Sheet
George Raft is the featured star in this 1952 British film. By this time he was way past his prime and pretty much mumbling his way through the few parts he snagged. In the past decade he had blown his chance to reign forever in Noir Aristocrisy in film classics such as High Sierra (1941), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Casablanca (1942) and Double Indemnity (1944).There are whole treatsies devoted to how Raft’s dumb choices made Bogart a star. So we’ll move on. Raft’s life post-Hollywood is so much more Gangster-dish! In fact, the great Mr. Martin Scorcese and the equally devine Mr. Robert De Niro are rumored to be coming out with a film based on the life of Dino Cellini, a major Buddy/Employer/Associate of Raft’s after he left Hollywood.
