Tonight's Movie: Roadblock (1951) at the Noir City Film Festival
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The double bill kicked off with a brand-new 35mm print of SOUTHSIDE 1-1000 (1950), a very enjoyable Allied Artists release with Don DeFore as a Secret Service agent working to break up a counterfeit ring. I reviewed the Warner Archive DVD in 2012 and enjoyed it all over again tonight. There are some great shots of L.A.; one of my favorite moments is when Don DeFore hops on the Angels Flight Railway.
The second film of the night was ROADBLOCK (1951) starring noir icon Charles McGraw.
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Joe meets avaricious Diane (Joan Dixon) on a flight to L.A. and is simultaneously annoyed and smitten. Soon he is completely head over heels for the dame, but she wants to hold out for someone who can offer her diamonds and furs.
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One of the best things about this fast-paced 73-minute movie is its L.A. atmosphere, especially the amazing final chase scene which takes place in a dry L.A. flood control riverbed -- an utterly fantastic location for an action-packed noir conclusion.
This was one of just a handful of films starring actress Joan Dixon. She also appeared in BUNCO SQUAD (1950), EXPERIMENT ALCATRAZ (1950), and five Tim Holt Westerns, including the recently reviewed LAW OF THE BADLANDS (1951).
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Milburn Stone of GUNSMOKE plays Joe and Harry's boss. Martha Mears, who dubbed many actresses over the years, is a nightclub singer. Lowell Gilmore, Harry Lauter, Dave Willock, and Harold Landon are also in the cast.
ROADBLOCK was directed by Harold Daniels and shot in black and white by Nicholas Musuraca.
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To read more on this film, it was recently reviewed by Stacia at She Blogged By Night and Glenn Erickson at DVD Savant.
The evening at the Egyptian started off with a seven-minute short, GLASS SUN (2013), in which a mystical shadow leads an investigator on a gorgeous tour of many iconic Los Angeles film noir locations, including the Bradbury Building, Union Station, the 2nd Street Tunnel, Chinatown, and Angels Flight Railway. GLASS SUN may currently be viewed online.
1 Comments:
What a great double feature, Laura! "Southside etc" is one I have never seen but it appears to be just up my (dark rainswept) street!
I love "Roadblock". One of many such fairly brief, taut and gritty noirs that RKO was so good at doing.
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