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Nov 18, 2022

American involvement in WWII is imminent at the time of these 20th Century Fox selections from late 1941 for this Studios Year by Year episode, producing what may be the first "true" noir, I Wake Up Screaming (directed by H. Bruce Humberstone), and a plea for American solidarity with England, war correspondent movie Confirm or Deny (directed by Archie Mayo, from a story co-written by Samuel Fuller). We talk about what it might mean to be a "true" noir and what might differentiate the Fox noir from the noirs of other studios, about the very special screen presence of Joan Bennett (entering her noir phase), and about cozy war films. And in our Fear and Moviegoing in Toronto segment we briefly discuss three movies: Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (directed by Richard Brooks), Preston Strurges' The Palm Beach Story, and Bodil Ipsen's Melody of Murder

 

Time Codes:

0h 01m 00s:      I WAKE UP SCREAMING (dir. H. Bruce Humberstone)

0h 42m 23s:      CONFIRM OR DENY (dir. Archie Mayo)

1h 04m 12s:      FEAR & MOVIEGOING IN TORONTO – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Palm Beach Story (1942) and Melody of Murder  (1944)

 

 

Studio Film Capsules provided by The Films of Twentieth Century Fox by Tony Thomas & Aubrey Solomon

Additional studio information from: The Hollywood Story by Joel W. Finler

                                   

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* Marvel at our meticulously ridiculous Complete Viewing Schedule for the 2020s

* Intro Song: “Sunday” by Jean Goldkette Orchestra with the Keller Sisters (courtesy of The Internet Archive)

* Read Elise’s latest film piece on Preston Sturges, Unfaithfully Yours, and the Narrative role of comedic scapegoating.

* Check out Dave’s new Robert Benchley blog – an attempt to annotate and reflect upon as many of the master humorist’s 2000+ pieces as he can locate – Benchley Data: A Wayward Annotation Project! 

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