Ep 3: Film noir beyond femme fatales and beyond the city, with Imogen Sara Smith

Our guest this month is film critic and historian Imogen Sara Smith. We start by discussing her background as a film writer and how she started writing about noir in particular (1:40). Then we discuss her commentary track for the new DVD/Blu-ray release of The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph), including the central role of star/producer/director Paul Henreid (5:30), the movie's theme of people not noticing things right in front of them and how that relates to film noir in general (10:25), the great cinematography by John Alton and expressionism in noir (13:40), and one quote from the movie that sums up film noir all in one phrase (18:35). Then we discuss Imogen's NOIR CITY e-magazine article "Wanted Man: The Fugitive" from the Fall 2016 issue about noir transitioning to TV in the 1960s: how The Fugitive exemplified themes and style common to film noir (20:20), older TV shows not being designed for binge-watching (28:50), and the influence of the show's creator Roy Huggins in designing TV concepts that sustain suspense and interest from one episode to the next (31:05). Next up is Imogen's article "A Light In The Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noir's Working Girls" from the Fall 2015 issue of NOIR CITY. We talk about the background and career of 1940s leading lady Ella Raines (35:40) and how she epitomized the working girl character that briefly flourished in film noir, a positive companion to the more widely known femme fatale character (40:00). Then we play a game of hypotheticals: Raines was discovered and groomed by Howard Hawks, but she never appeared in any movies he directed, so which "Hawksian women" would have been good parts for her? (45:35) We also talk about Imogen's book "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond The City." We discuss its overall theme of classic noir films taking place in settings outside cities, and how that reflected post-war trends in the US (56:15), plus just what is it that makes film noir so interesting: we all love the style and the iconography, but there's way more to it that keeps us coming back to these movies that still resonate today (59:55). We conclude with the film series that Imogen programmed in connection with her book (1:08:00). NOIR CITY Austin takes place from Friday May 19 through Sunday May 21 at Austin's Alamo Drafthouse Ritz, with FNF founder and president Eddie Muller introducing the movies. Schedule and tickets available here: https://drafthouse.com/austin/program/noir-city-austin-2017 The new Blu-ray release of The Scar (aka Hollow Triumph), with commentary track by Imogen Sara Smith, is available from Kino Lorber: https://www.kinolorber.com/product/view/id/4033 Imogen's article "Wanted Man: The Fugitive" is in the Fall 2016 issue of the NOIR CITY e-magazine. Subscribe with a donation to the Film Noir Foundation: http://www.filmnoirfoundation.org/noircityemag.html The article "A Light In The Dark: Ella Raines and Film Noir's Working Girls" is from the Women In Film Noir issue of NOIR CITY, available for back-order here: http://www.noircitymag.com/noir_city_16.html The book "In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond The City" is available here: https://www.amazon.com/Lonely-Places-Film-Noir-Beyond/dp/0786463058 Feedback: [email protected] Music: Themes from The Killers (by Miklos Rozsa) and On Dangerous Ground (Bernard Herrmann). "One For My Baby (and One More For The Road)" by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer, sung by Ida Lupino in Roadhouse. Dialogue from The Scar, with Paul Henreid and Joan Bennett. Opening credits from The Fugitive narrated by William Conrad.