This is one of the films I point to for any student of film who is unsure of which side to come down on the debate 'is Film Noir a style, or is it a genre?'

Directed by one of the best and most versatile directors of the 20th Century, Robert Wise, Blood on the Moon was released in 1948 at the zenith of the American film noir movement. This film is a Western all the way. Set in the American West in the late 19th Century, the film is about a range war and has horses, saddles, cowboy hats, Winchesters, Peacemakers, the whole magilla. So, the genre is Western, and this Western happens to be made in the film noir style. Photographed by my favorite cinematographer of all time, Nicholas Musuraca, you'll find few if any Westerns which have more night scenes and cavernous black shadows. Gorgeously photographed, really. The film also has noir icon Robert Mitchum.
If you're at least somewhat familiar with film noir, take a look at this film. The style will become apparent PDQ. Mitchum's relation to the villain of the film is pure noir, and get a load of those henchmen. If you replaced the cowboy hats and boots and all with pin stripe double breasted suits and fedoras, we'd have ourselves a minor gangster film.

This film is well worth your time, both as film noir and as a Western. Set your DVR. Airing on TCM this Wednesday, 8/28 @ 4:30 am EST.

Thanks for the heads up.

thanks. i'll stream this.

Thank you for the info. I glanced at the info on the film posted on TCM's website, and passed up recording it as it seemed boring. You changed my mind and I set the DVR. Looking forward to watching it later at a more decent hour.

Bob

This message has been edited. Last edited by: straightshooter1,

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quote:

Originally posted by f2:
thanks. i'll stream this.

I can't vouch for the quality of the print they have, but the print TCM has is gorgeous.

Robert Preston, too. Long before he had 76 trombones or turned gay in Paris!
I enjoy all Prestons early roles.
Go, you chicken fat, go!

Preston makes a great bad guy in this film because he's so amiable and so confident that the things he's doing are perfectly rational and ethical.

The banality of evil, and all that.

If you want to see another example of a Western done in the film noir style, check out Anthony Mann's Devil's Doorway from 1950, starring Robert Taylor and photographed by the incomparable John Alton.

There's also Raoul Walsh's Colorado Territory, which is a Western remake of High Sierra.

Robert Mitchum=Must watch!

Got it, thanks

Thanks for the heads up. DVR is set.

This is a timely topic for me as I just finished watching two excellent Noir films, director Joseph L. Mankiewicz' No Way Out and director Sam Fuller's Forty Guns.

Until watching Forty Guns I didn't even realize that Western Noir was a thing. This film is part of Criterion's restored collection. I have no idea how much work they had to put into restoring it but the current version's cinematography struck me from the very first opening scene with an angled overhead shot looking down to the ground and the shadow of a huge cloud moving toward a distant horse drawn wagon. Absolutely magnificent! With an energetic film opening sequence before the opening credits Forty Guns had all the trappings you would expect in a Western film, but it also included some complicated characters that explored themes not common in the genre, a couple surprising twists in the story, some unexpectedly funny sexual double entendre dialogue (despite its 1957 release) between the characters, some excellent horsemanship, and surprisingly a focus on actual guns. A gunsmith that builds custom rifles is a small part of the storyline.

No Way Out was another surprise with a controversial racially based story line that included some unexpected language and themes in the storyline. I make it a point to watch whatever commentaries or Special Features included on films like this and the marketing material for this movie repeatedly warned viewers that this was an "adult film", although they didn't mean it in the way that it is used today. The acting, especially Richard Widmark and Sydney Poitier was just superb. This film is part of the Fox Noir collection.

The No Way Out DVD Special Features included a tab that, if you liked the movie, they recommended others in the Noir style. Para, interestingly, two of the films they recommended are the same ones you do as well, Blood on the Moon and Devil's Doorway.

Honestly I didn't expect to like either No Way Out the or Forty Guns and so I find myself pleasantly surprised by both...but for very different reasons.

After my experience with these other Noir films I'm eager to check out Blood on the Moon.

Although I love Fuller's films, I couldn't tell you if Forty Guns qualifies as film noir or not because I've not seen more than a few minutes of it. From the title, to the forty riders all galloping around together, it all seems much too campy to me. I'll wager that Tarantino loves this film. Sounds like it's right up his alley.
The film was released in 1957, when the American Film Noir movement was in its death throes, which mitigates against this film being noir, but, it's Fuller, so anything is possible.

No Way Out is difficult to classify. Great film, though.

Film critic Imogen Sara Smith was interviewed as one of the commentaries included in the Special Edition Features for Forty Guns. I don't know the first thing about her other than being an attractive lady, but apparently she wrote the reference book Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City.

I don't recall all the comments she made, but I do recall that she noted Fuller's deliberate decision to film the movie in black and white when color film was the new and exciting medium of the time. Also, she pointed out to two of the main character's loneliness and isolation, despite being surrounded by others.

Para I'll defer to your expertise on the topic of Noir. If you ever do decide to watch it I'd be interested in both how you would classify it as well as your overall take on it.

Without spoiling the film for those who haven't seen it I can only say that I found it both entertaining and surprising as a Western. Not Oscar-worthy performances, but enjoyable nonetheless...certainly not a typical Western from the genre.

You know this just occurred to me but one thing that might count against Forty Guns qualifying as a Noir film is that it has not one but two featured songs sung by a side character in the storyline.

Para, has there ever been a film in the Noir style that included featured songs?

I think it was Paul Schrader rwho said that Film Noir is every film buff's favorite subject (he may have said 'genre', I don't recall, but you know where I come down in that debate.)
He was only half-kidding, I think. The subject is nebulous, and trying to distill the noir style to its essential element(s) is like, well, like this.

I think my effort to get at the core of the noir style only confused matters for some, and it most certainly was not what anyone reading that thread expected, but read the post of mine that I linked to in that thread, and you'll see that defining what constitutes a film noir is like tantamount to trying to grab smoke clouds.

Or, perhaps a cat chasing the ever-illusive red dot.

I do think, though, that I managed to distill its nature, assuming you give sufficient weight to the views of Borde and Chaumeton.

quote:

Originally posted by parabellum:
I think it was Paul Schrader rwho said that Film Noir is every film buff's favorite subject (he may have said 'genre', I don't recall, but you know where I come down in that debate.)
He was only half-kidding, I think. The subject is nebulous, and trying to distill the noir style to its essential element(s) is like, well, like this.

I think my effort to get at the core of the noir style only confused matters for some, and it most certainly was not what anyone reading that thread expected, but read the post of mine that I linked to in that thread, and you'll see that defining what constitutes a film noir is like tantamount to trying to grab smoke clouds.

Or, perhaps a cat chasing the ever-illusive red dot.

I do think, though, that I managed to distill its nature, assuming you give sufficient weight to the views of Borde and Chaumeton.

Wow. Ok...so I thought I had an inkling of understanding of what Film Noir is. After reading your excellent dissertation on it, I think some of the elements I assigned to it were correct, but others were not. I'm especially blown away by the concept that a Technicolor film could possibly be considered Film Noir.

I'm going to take some time to read through that thread and try to gain a better understanding of Film Noir...but honestly I think I'm going to need to view more films from the style if I'm going to be able to calibrate my understanding of it.

Based on your comments in that thread I see Forty Guns as having some of the elements of Film Noir, but lacking others.

thanks for another great film recommendation.

“He who thinks he knows, doesn't know. He who knows that he doesn't know, knows.” - Joseph Campbell

Time to go to bed. Where's my cott damn banky?

Speaking of Mitchum, you can see him in what I think may be his best role: Max Cady in the original Cape Fear.
8PM this Sunday on TCM