Movie Magazine International - Movie Reviews & More

"Black picture" is the literal meanin...

2012-05-05T09:44:01.716-07:00
"Black picture" is the literal meaning of film noir.

Actually, it really means "black film", but the literal meaning of the two words isn't terribly helpful (and more than the literal meanings of "slap" and "stick" when describing comedy). The term was actually coined by a pair of French critics in (if memory serves) the mid-1950s by extension from the name of the book series, Serie Noire.

perhaps secondary sources can be consulted ...

2012-05-05T09:38:15.215-07:00
perhaps secondary sources can be consulted

I would have thought so too, but that's not the policy he adopted. Of course, secondary sources in cinema studies are extraordinarily unreliable, even down to plot outlines, so he may have felt that in all conscience he didn't feel easy about discussing anything he hadn't seen for himself.

My major criticism of the book (apart from its errors) is that Keaney chucked in all sorts of stuff that I don't think by any stretch of the imagination can be called film noir. (There are also quite a few movies whose absence seems curious, but that's less a criticism than an observation.)

I appreciate the fact that Mr. Keaney wrote the &q...

2012-05-04T22:39:44.977-07:00
I appreciate the fact that Mr. Keaney wrote the "British Film Noir Guide." Still, if you're going to include titles that are available (I have seen them) but unseen by the author, perhaps secondary sources can be consulted (contemporary reviews or a brief interview with someone who saw the movie when it first came out, or cast and crew members who worked on it.) A guide can be an invaluable sourve to bring films to life again for 21st century viewers. Thank you for writing.

"Black picture" is the literal meaning o...

2012-05-04T22:34:58.440-07:00
"Black picture" is the literal meaning of film noir. The terms "film noir" or "screwball comedies" or "kitchen sink dramas", etc. are after-the fact descriptions by writers trying to make sense of the genres. The many US noir films prior to 1945 were not seen in France until after the war, ditto the pulp noir magazines originating in America. The French movies and pulps had their own counterparts but the classification "film noir" came long afterwards. Thank you for writing.

Michael Keaney likes the movies he likes and le...

2012-05-03T10:52:12.936-07:00
Michael Keaney likes the movies he likes and lets the other ones go, sometimes with just one sentence. His dislikes are described in such a cursory fashion that I wondered why he bothered to include them at all.

Those aren't his dislikes: they're the (relatively few) movies he wasn't able to watch.

I'm actually reading this book at the moment -- hence my discovery of this review.

The words, meaning “black pictures” In fac...

2012-05-03T10:47:24.151-07:00
The words, meaning “black pictures”

In fact, the term "film noir" derived from Serie Noire, the name of a French series of reprints of hardboiled/pulp novels, which had black (noir) covers.

Shari, you are absolutely right. Most film books (...

2011-02-04T16:20:12.311-08:00
Shari, you are absolutely right. Most film books (Not just Jim McKay'a) contain factual errors. One of the standard noir books not only gets plot lines wrong (by Silver and Ward) but then analyses movies based on these wrong plots. But I still have the book, fallible as it is. It is good to have as many film noir books out there as possible because noir are so much fun to watch and so fascinating to think about afterwards. Thanks for writing and long live Dana Andrews.

2011-02-04T16:16:22.008-08:00
This comment has been removed by the author.

I love the first two paragraphs of your piece. &qu...

2011-02-02T14:38:55.291-08:00
I love the first two paragraphs of your piece.
"When you fall in love with Dana Andrews, it's forever". So true. Also your comments about his performance in "Best Years" are my thoughts exactly. For me he was the emotional center in that film, and that he was overlooked for even an nomination for an Oscar, unbelievable.

I must take exception with your comments on James MacKay's book. He did say that it was a tribute book, and I took that to mean that he was a big fan of Dana Andrews. Since there is so little out here on Dana Andrews, I enjoyed the book but I did notice quite a few errors.
Even in the plot lines of the movies there were errors, and since he had most of the movies he could have double checked quite easily. At the price of $45.00, I think it is important for readers to be forewarned.

I am looking forward to Carl Rollyson's book because of the family's cooperation, and the various source information that he has access to regarding Dana Andrews.

I look forward to reading your book. However, I f...

2011-01-29T17:23:41.467-08:00
I look forward to reading your book. However, I feel that McKay's coverage of Dana Andrews’ career was thoughtful and informative. More people might be interested in your forthcoming volume if you stress the virtues of your work rather than knocking the work of other hard working writers. McKay’s book never claimed to be an in depth intimate look at Dana Andrews’ personal life.

You're right about Dana Andrews's acting b...

2011-01-29T07:37:22.172-08:00
You're right about Dana Andrews's acting but wrong about McKay's book, which is full of errors and lacks any real insight into Andrews's acting. McKay's book is not a biography and is not well researched. He relies on dubious secondary sources. I am writing the first biography of Dana Andrews, to be published by the University Press of Mississippi. I have full access to Andrews's letters, his diary, and to all of his remaining family. There are valuable items in McKay's book, but over all it is the performance of a rather clumsy amateur--as I pointed out in my review published in CHOICE, a publication of the American Library Association.

I just view a movie called "The Pagan" s...

2010-09-10T21:40:10.588-07:00
I just view a movie called "The Pagan" starring
Ramon Navarro that was made in 1929 long before
I was born, he was just beautiful. What a tragic
ending to someone who was so handsome and so talented. Here it is over 50 years later and
gay people are still being persecuted.

We would love to cross-post this review. If you...

2010-06-30T09:28:42.586-07:00
We would love to cross-post this review. If you're interested, let me know. infoATfeministreviewDOTorg

Love your comment, Monica, one of the few thinking...

2010-05-31T16:20:03.033-07:00
Love your comment, Monica, one of the few thinking articles I've come across in all this witch hunt mire chasing after Polanski since in fact forty years now, right after Tate's death.

Here's someone who has analysed and chronicled the case and then some from the start, and it's an eye-opener to all those idiots who have no first clues about what really happened in 1977. Or ever since. It's very long, but worth a read to be thoroughly educated.

http://novalislore.wordpress.com/2009/12/10/roman-polanski-he-said-she-said-they-said-an-op-end-case-analysis-part-one/

http://novalislore.wordpress.com/2010/01/10/roman-polanski-he-said-she-said-they-said-an-op-end-case-analysis-part-two/

And actually, Geimer never said Polanski 'hurt' her, not once. Read this to find out 'why'. Geimer said only some years back: "He had sex with me, he wasn't forceful or hurting me or mean or anything." So that's NO hurting or 'rape' to me either way, just 'sex'.

Movie Magazine International - Movie Reviews & More

"Black picture" is the literal meanin...

perhaps secondary sources can be consulted ...

I appreciate the fact that Mr. Keaney wrote the &q...

"Black picture" is the literal meaning o...

Michael Keaney likes the movies he likes and le...

The words, meaning “black pictures” In fac...

Shari, you are absolutely right. Most film books (...

I love the first two paragraphs of your piece. &qu...

I look forward to reading your book. However, I f...

You're right about Dana Andrews's acting b...

I just view a movie called "The Pagan" s...

We would love to cross-post this review. If you...

Love your comment, Monica, one of the few thinking...