Posted on Tuesday, 6 September 2011

ROAD HOUSE (Negulesco, 1948) - Calling this a noir is a bit strange, since it doesn’t really get noir-ish until the last half hour, and builds to a surprisingly abrupt (and not very noir) denouement, but the shadows are definitely there, and Widmark is a very noir-ish character, who only needs a stare and a sneer to convey his instability. Then, of course, there’s Ida Lupino, singing huskily wearing shimmering gowns it’s impossible not to look at. My favorite part of the movie was actually Celeste Holm as Susie, who provides a mirror image of Widmark, showing the healthy way to deal when the object of your affection falls for someone else: sadness and snarky remarks followed by resignation and, ultimately, acceptance. I loved that she isn’t just a bland alternative to Lupino’s sultriness: she’s fun, sarcastic, brave. The only thing I don’t understand is why these two great women can’t do better than Cornel Wilde, who I’ve always seen as a kind of poor man’s Dana Andrews - and even Andrews was kind of bland, especially in his earlier roles. My ideal film would just have Lupino and Holm run away together at the end, but I guess you can’t have everything

ROAD HOUSE (Negulesco, 1948) - Calling this a noir is a bit strange, since it doesn’t really get noir-ish until the last half hour, and builds to a surprisingly abrupt (and not very noir) denouement, but the shadows are definitely there, and Widmark is a very noir-ish character, who only needs a stare and a sneer to convey his instability. Then, of course, there’s Ida Lupino, singing huskily wearing shimmering gowns it’s impossible not to look at. My favorite part of the movie was actually Celeste Holm as Susie, who provides a mirror image of Widmark, showing the healthy way to deal when the object of your affection falls for someone else: sadness and snarky remarks followed by resignation and, ultimately, acceptance. I loved that she isn’t just a bland alternative to Lupino’s sultriness: she’s fun, sarcastic, brave. The only thing I don’t understand is why these two great women can’t do better than Cornel Wilde, who I’ve always seen as a kind of poor man’s Dana Andrews - and even Andrews was kind of bland, especially in his earlier roles. My ideal film would just have Lupino and Holm run away together at the end, but I guess you can’t have everything