I
caught up with a pair of noir B films
that aired recently on TCM's Noir Alley, hosted by the "Czar of Noir"
Eddie Muller. Held together by an expansive array of noir staples, the content of each production reflects heightened
social anxieties of the post-WWII era. NIGHT
EDITOR gives special attention to the destructive power of the femme
fatale, whereas DANGER SIGNAL
unleashes a dangerously seductive homme fatale figure. Such characters are
presented as highly disruptive to the traditional American marriage and suggest
a general decline of our most basic values. But like so many otherwise cynical film noirs, each feature concludes on a
note of optimism difficult to accept given preceding events.
Based
upon a radio program that was active from 1934 through 1948, NIGHT EDITOR is a noir festival crowd pleaser according to Muller, which makes sense
given the amount of genre boxes checked. One of many film noirs heavily patterned after DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944), this low-rent production from Columbia
Pictures was intended to be the first in a series of films that would fail to
materialize. Despite the franchise that was not meant to be, director Henry
Levin accomplishes more in 68 minutes than most modern filmmakers achieve in
120.
Past
and present meld together as NIGHT
EDITOR unspools in mostly flashback mode. At the (fictitious) New York
Star, Johnny (Coulter Irwin) rolls in after another tiring night of debauchery.
During what looks to be a perpetual card game, elder statesman of the newsroom
Crane Stewart (Charles D. Brown) seizes the opportunity to recall the story of
Police Lieutenant Tony Cochrane (William Gargan), who sowed the seeds of his
own ruin when he kicked his family aside in favor of big-league blonde Jill
Merrill (Janis Carter in a feisty turn).
To
easily differentiate Jill from Tony's plain Jane wife Martha (Jeff Donnell),
Jill is introduced via a legs-only shot. As his affair with Jill threatens the
health of his home life (Tony constantly snaps at his wife without reason and
neglects the needs of his son), Police Captain Lawrence (Harry Shannon) informs
Tony he looks like he could use more sleep. Tony realizes enough is enough and
attempts to break it off with Jill while parked at a beachfront lovers' lane.
The situation between Tony and Jill takes a backseat when another man arrives
on the scene with his girlfriend, this man far more prepared to end his
relationship than Tony. TCM host Muller believes only a B film could have
gotten away with a murder scene of this nature, which not only involves a young
woman being bludgeoned to death with a tire iron, but Jill borderline orgasmic
with excitement ("I wanna see her Tony, I wanna look at her!"). As
the murderer makes his getaway, Tony instinctively attempts to do the right
thing (Muller would call this common noir
turning point "the break"), but the police lieutenant allows Jill to
assume control of the crime scene. She reminds him their presence would be
scandalous (they both are married).
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| Here's to us: Jill Merrill (Janis Carter) and Tony Cochrane (William Gargan) |
Other
tenets of noir are stitched together
to create a persistent mood of cynicism. Inequalities that keep America divided
often support the noir plot
structure, and Tony hails from the wrong side of the tracks. He unwisely
overreaches for the white-hot socialite Jill and pays the price for not
recognizing class distinctions intended to keep their lives separate. In its
final act NIGHT EDITOR provides a superb
example of the “walking dead man” pioneered in DOUBLE INDEMNITY, later observed in DECOY (1946), RIDE THE PINK
HORSE (1947), ACT OF VIOLENCE
(1948) and perhaps most famously in D.O.A.
(1950). Tony survives, but only as a fraction of his former self and a lesson
to others, like the young newspaper man Johnny. Tony ceased to exist as the man
he was around the time he was forced to investigate a crime scene without
revealing he was present while the crime transpired (that sequence likely owes
something to THE WOMAN IN THE WINDOW
[1944]).
The
most overtly noir component running
wild in NIGHT EDITOR is the
treachery of the femme fatale, whose lack of humanity intensifies as the story
unfolds. Tony proves he knows Jill all too well when he describes her as
someone who must hurt or be hurt. When an opportunistic tramp is fingered for
the murder of Elaine Blanchard (Betty Hill), Jill could care less a man will
fry in the chair for a crime he did not commit (his only crime was to steal
some of the dead woman's personal belongings). Before she attempts to off her
ex with an ice pick (probably inspired by SCARLET
STREET [1945]), she is shown in an embrace with Elaine's killer (Frank
Wilcox). That the killer is a banker might be the noir touch that resonates best today.
Credit
for cinematography is shared by Burnett Guffey and Philip Tannura. Guffey
should be a name familiar to followers of film
noir since he shot some of the most admired genre permutations, including JOHNNY O'CLOCK (1947), IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) and THE SNIPER (1952). He also lensed
important B-noirs like the one under
review, along with MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS
(1945), TWO OF A KIND (1951) and NIGHTFALL (1956). Tannura probably was
responsible for the newsroom footage per Muller. The screenplay written by
Harold Jacob Smith sets a scorching pace for this terrific little film noir.
An
emotionally riveting drama directed by Robert Florey, DANGER SIGNAL stars Zachary Scott as a devious homme fatale, the
counterpart to the femme fatale portrayed by Janis Carter in NIGHT EDITOR. Fresh from his impressive
turn as the utterly despicable playboy Monte Beragon in MILDRED PIERCE (1945), Scott would be typecast for the remainder of
his career. In his first major role he is matched with the vibrant screen
presence of Faye Emerson in the role of a woman pushed to her breaking point by
the existential needs of a confirmed scoundrel. Muller explains Warner bought
the rights to the 1939 novel of the same title by Phyllis Bottome that same
year, but the concerns of the Hays Office kept the adaptation at bay for years.
After the success of Alfred Hitchcock's similarly structured SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943), Warner
decided to get the production off the ground. After the efforts of a great many
writers, ultimately the adaptation was scripted by Adele Comandini and C.
Graham Baker. Cinematography was handled by James Wong Howe, who fueled
American film noir with his
subsequent work on NORA PRENTISS
(1947), BODY AND SOUL (1947), HE RAN ALL THE WAY (1951) and SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957).
The
opening sequence reveals a lot of information about our lead protagonist in
short order. Mrs. Alice Turner lies in eternal slumber while Ronnie Mason
(Zachary Scott) removes her wedding ring and a fistful of her cash. In the
interest of not being seen, he drops out of the room's window, which leaves him
with a leg injury to lie about later. The limping man would become a familiar noir fixture, a suggestion of
masculinity somehow compromised in ACT
OF VIOLENCE (1949), THE HITCH-HIKER
(1953) and STORM FEAR (1955). Ronnie
seeks shelter in Los Angeles, where he is able to leverage his injury at the
family home shared by Hilda Fenchurch (Faye Emerson) and her mother (Mary
Servoss). He explains the bum leg as a direct result of time spent in the South
Pacific while he assumes a new identity (another frequent component of the film noir). Additional untruths pile up
quickly as Ronnie explains he cannot pay rent as an unpublished writer in search
of his first payday (the accurate part of his story does not remain true for
long). He engineers a swift courtship of Hilda, who receives the ring acquired
from the departed Alice Turner. He has the nerve to tell Hilda the ring
belonged to his grandmother! Ronnie's relationship with Hilda fades into
discord after he meets her younger sister Anne (Mona Freeman), whose father
left her a healthy $25K dowry. Gradually the reality of what is going on under
the Fenchurch roof becomes apparent to Hilda, who must confront the darkest
depths of her capabilities as she weighs her options.
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| Date night: Hilda Fenchurch (Faye Emerson) and Ronnie Mason (Zachary Scott) |
The
"woman in peril" noir
subgenre revolves around the plight of female protagonists with offerings such
as NOTORIOUS (1946), SORRY WRONG NUMBER (1948), WHIRLPOOL (1949), WOMAN IN HIDING (1950), CAUSE
FOR ALARM! (1951) and SUDDEN FEAR
(1952). The featured women in these titles are not necessarily equally
sympathetic, but all earn the viewer's support as we root for them to extricate
themselves from some of the most unenviable predicaments imaginable. DANGER SIGNAL's Hilda is an affable
working girl as played by Emerson. Her nicely chiseled countenance is
especially appealing when bespectacled; no wonder Dr. Andrew Lang (Bruce
Bennett) struggles to get his words out when standing in front of her. But
after falling for the wrong man, the public stenographer Hilda proves even the
unassuming girl-next-door type might possess the temerity to plot murder (she
swipes a botulinum toxin sample from a lab and plans to feed it to Ronnie, a
meal he richly deserves). Women may be susceptible to the fast-talking charms
of men like Ronnie, but ultimately end up with more stable, if less exciting,
men like Andrew.
Ronnie's
shabby treatment of the opposite sex is rooted in his immediate family's
history. He blames his mother for ruining his father, who chose to end his life
after he lost everything. Now Ronnie is out to exact revenge on the gender he
abhors. He is the sort of subject studied by Dr. Jane Silla (Rosemary DeCamp),
who specializes in "morbid psychology." Ronnie sets the table for his
own demise with a rigid pattern of behavior highly unlikely to work in his
favor forever. To put that notion in simplified noir terminology, Ronnie's sordid past defines his present and deletes
his future. The film's opening segment finds its echo when Ronnie, playing the
part of frustrated writer of fiction, asks Hilda to write a suicide note. The homme
fatale's lack of imagination, his overreliance on past deceptions, paves the
way for his elimination.
In
the early going it is implied the police force will not be a factor in Ronnie's
comeuppance. After Thomas Turner (John Ridgely) loses his unfaithful wife in
the introductory segment, he is informed by the police that he will need to find additional evidence
to reopen the case. Law enforcement officials are satisfied with the suicide
explanation, despite the widower's insistence the official cause of death was
highly unlikely. Therein lies the noir
notion that policemen are ineffective when it comes to catching seriously
dangerous criminals like the cheap 28-year-old conman Ronnie.
DANGER SIGNAL was
a financial success for Warner Bros. with a global take north of $1 million. In
his afterword, Muller notes Hilda successfully poisons Ronnie in Bottome's
source material. Of course such a conclusion was prohibited by the Production
Code, the other consideration was actress Faye Emerson's engagement to
Brigadier General Elliott Roosevelt and eventual status as daughter-in-law of
President Franklin D. Roosevelt. For the part of Anne Fenchurch, Mona Freeman
replaced Ann Blyth (Veda from MILDRED
PIERCE), who had injured her back while tobogganing.
