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 3/10 Fair --- killthesnark.blogspot.com http://killthesnark.blogspot.com/feeds/posts/default?alt=rss
Monday, March 24, 2008 --- 123 days ago http://killthesnark.blogspot.com/2008/03/burglar.html
| The Burglar (U.S., 1957) * * * D: Paul Wendkos The UW Cinematheque is screening recent Columbia Pictures restorations throughout the spring semester, and the series launched last night with an overlooked late film noir from the director of Gidget, of all people. While the screening had some sound issues in the last half of the film, the picture itself was gorgeous: just about the only clue that the opening newsreel was not real but a part of the film itself was the fact that it looked so crisp and clean. It's a wry opening, with factoids about "belles lifting barbells" "every hour to keep that hourglass shape," eventually settling on an occult spiritualist and her obscene wealth--a great mansion, a big pool, and an emerald necklace which--as the camera pans back out of the newsreel into the theater--catches the eye of Nathaniel (character actor Dan Duryea), a professional burglar. As he exits the theater, and lets his gravelly face tower above the camera, we're treated to the kind of jazzy opening credits sequence that was the hallmark of a lot of great noirs. If the opening reminds one of Orson Welles (the use of newsreel harkens back to Citizen Kane), so does The Burglar's punchy editing, overheated character acting, and inventive camera angles (one humorous shot depicts the discovery of the missing loot from the point of view of the open safe); even the climax pays homage to The Lady from Shanghai, although that might hav ... |
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