Page 56 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 130
P. 56
56 Issue #130 November 2023 www.sportsenergynews.com
In Reel Time
Death Becomes Him
masterpieces The Passion of Joan
By Nikolai Adams of Arc and Vampyr, or later, Alfred
Hitchcock’s Foreign Correspondent,
alk about a hook of an opener – an Ernst Lubitsch’s To Be or Not to Be
Textended tracking shot follows and Charles Vidor’s Gilda). Bigelow
a man from behind as he enters a narrates his story to the men,
police station to report a murder. . . transporting us back to the beginning
his own, and, rather interestingly, it of the tale.
seems as though the detectives were
waiting for him. An everyman, Bigelow is a small
time business owner, an accountant
The man – Frank Bigelow and notary public, who is looking to
(Edmond O’Brien); the film noir, get away. His confidential secretary,
D.O.A., a 1949 mystery directed by and perhaps more importantly,
Rudolph Maté (a man who made girlfriend, Paula Gibson (Pamela
several quality movies, though is Britton) is head over heels in love
better known for his superlative with him, though her clingy ways
work as a cinematographer – think are making the man feel a tad Photo Submitted
of Carl Theodor Dreyer’s two silent claustrophobic.
Mike’s contact Karate Taking a one week vacation to San murder, poisoning and mystery, all
Francisco on the spur of the moment, of which is jammed into a tight,
he is most definitely not opposed to taut one hour, twenty-three minute
observing the fairer sex in what could runtime. As Bigelow manoeuvres
be termed a ‘wandering eye’. With through the streets of San Francisco
the city playing host to a raucous and Los Angeles, he bumps into a
group of salespeople attending a number of unreadable individuals,
convention, Bigelow heads out from femme fatales like model
on the town with a group of them, Marla Rakubian (Laurette Luez),
specifically to a jive club. frequent club-goer Jeannie (Virginia
It is here that things take a turn Lee), secretive secretary Miss Foster
(Beverly Garland), and a widow
when the man’s drink is swapped, named Mrs. Phillips (Lynn Baggett)
and he ingests poison. With less than – whose husband somehow ties into
a week to live, he is behind the eight the complex caper, to the widower’s
ball, trying to find one flimsy clue
after another, willed with a drive that suspiciously knowledgeable brother-
can only come from a person with so in-law Stanley (Henry Hart), the
dead man’s agitated former partner
little time left. Will Bigelow be able
to unravel the complex case that will Halliday (William Ching), a soft
spoken crime boss going by the
soon be called murder, or will he die name of Majak (Luther Adler), and
buried under a pile of unanswered
psychopathic tough guy Chester
questions?
or 613-577-9054 episode of 24, D.O.A. moves along (Neville Brand), each and every
613-932-9054
Much like an adrenaline packed
individual is a possible suspect when
it comes to discovering whodunit?
at a frantic pace, packed with gunfire,
Continued on page 57
