Gene Tierney

Where the Sidewalk Ends (Fox Film Noir)
$14.98
Dana Andrews is one of those actors that I've probably seen in a dozen films, but who took a long time to register for me. Often stolid, taciturn, playing the same kinds of roles and looking somewhat like the similarly underrated Glenn Ford, he's an actor that takes some effort to really appreciate; but once you hit the right film....

And this was it. Preminger's moody look at New York's underbelly is as dirty and seedy as just about any 50s noir, and Andrews is in his element as too-tough cop Mark Dixon who just doesn't know how to play the game to get ahead: he hates criminals too much to always play by the rules. Early on in the film, he accidentally kills the witness to a murder involving an illegal crap game set up by a mobster who Dixon hates for personal reasons, and he spends the rest of the film trying to cover up his involvement and bring the mobster to his kind of "justice". Along the way he gets involved with the estranged wife of the man he killed (Gene Tierney) and also has to try to get her father off the hook for the murder.

Stunningly photographed by Joseph LaShelle - the parking garage scenes in particular have both an alluring beauty and a realism that was rare at the time - with hard and sparkling dialogue by Ben Hecht and a truly powerful ending with elements of tragedy and found grace in just a minute or two of time, this is another noir for the ages and is probably my favorite Preminger film next to DAISY KENYON -- it's every bit as good and certainly less predictable than the more-heralded LAURA.

Black Widow (Fox Film Noir)
$14.98
Not exactly a noir, more like a murder-mystery twist on "All About Eve", Nunnally Johnson's BLACK WIDOW--strikingly filmed in CinemaScope and Deluxe Color--is an absorbing and highly entertaining little movie.

Would-be writer Nancy Ordway (Peggy Ann Garner) arrives in New York and proceeds to take advantage of anyone with a spare room and a smile. The latest 'victim' in Nancy's quest to take on the big city is Broadway producer Peter Denver (Van Heflin), whilst his wife Iris (Gene Tierney) is out of town tending to her sick mother. Could Nancy possibly use the Denver apartment during the daytime to help her in writing? Peter has no problem with that arrangement...until the day he arrives home to find Nancy hanging from the rafters.

What starts out as a simple cut-and-dry suicide soon enough dissolves into a first degree murder case - with Peter as the main suspect. On the run from the detectives, Peter and Iris must work fast to discover the ghastly truth...

Starring Ginger Rogers as the imperious theatre diva Carlotta Marin, BLACK WIDOW (1954) will appeal to those who like their murder mysteries served up with a healthy side order of snappy one-liners and outrageous costumes. Peggy Ann Garner's role as the Eve Harrington-esque writer was one of her first attempts to make the often difficult transition from acclaimed child star ("Jane Eyre", "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn") to sophisticated young adult, and I believe she does it very successfully in this movie. The role of Nancy had originally been intended for Maggie McNamara ("Three Coins in the Fountain") who fell ill shortly before filming was due to begin.

Also keep an eye out for Virginia Leith ("The Brain That Wouldn't Die") playing one of Nancy's accommodating girlfriends, Cathleen Nesbitt as an upstairs maid, and Bea Benaderet ("Petticoat Junction") as one of the guests at Carlotta's cocktail party.

I do find it very curious that Fox has seen fit to package this title as part of their Film Noir series, because apart from some noir actors like Gene Tierney and Van Heflin, BLACK WIDOW doesn't follow the standard noir genre trends at all. Still I'm very glad that BLACK WIDOW is now readily available in a particularly lush widescreen print; and it's one of my favourite movies at the moment.

The DVD has two worthwhile featurettes focusing on Ginger Rogers and Gene Tierney, an informative commentary track by movie historian/author Alan Rode; interactive pressbook and picture galleries, isolated musical score track, and the theatrical trailer; plus trailers from other titles in the Fox Film Noir collection ("Daisy Kenyon", "Dangerous Crossing", "I Wake Up Screaming" and "Vicki").

Leave Her to Heaven
$14.98

This is a great film, very stylish, showcasing a breathtakingly beautiful Gene Tierney, who is revealed to be unrepentantly evil.

Shanghai Gesture
$14.99
I hate to say it but this was lackluster dull and boring. A total waste of a great cast which included Walter Huston, Gene Tierney and Victor Mature.I like all 3, but this movie just didnt do it for me.To me it seemed like the entire movie was in an underground Asian casino, with Victor Mature was just lounging or hanging around. Walter Huston was a big wig that just didnt have enough spark. Gene Tierney was ok in this, but again, this was nothing special. I couldn't get into this one. The DVD print was like Alpha video, maybe a little bit better. Very un-entertaining I'm sorry to say.