Out of the Past

I finally got around to watching all of the classic noir flick Out of the Past. It was great, filled with great images, juxtaposing the city and the country, the east coast and the west, and of course showing that if  in the words of the The Wire's Det. McNulty... if you play in dirt your gonna get dirty..... Robert Mitchum is great as the guy that want's out, but somehow knows he's not going to get out.... of course there are a couple of great lines, the one that I think I like the best is when Mitchum says "you don't get the gas for being the undertaker"....

short book review

Fade to blonde by Phillips, Max
I am feeling pretty mixed about this book... there were some snappy exchanges, and some interesting moments in this book... and I know that it's pulp... in that old pulp style... that style that's good to pass the time, but never really dares move past the conventions. why do I expect the conventions to be played with? cause others have been willing to do so, and even other books by Hard Case Crime have dared.... ok, over all this was a solid time passer... but it's not something that I am going to feel the need to revisit... and like this review, it had a bit of a hurried and obvious ending.

I’ll take ‘em on consignment..

Review of...

Thieves' highway DVD

This is an excellent nourish film about the scam filled world of trucking circa 1947 or so. The story is pretty much what you expect from the era, a solider comes home after the war to find out that his old man has been injured and ripped off by a crooked produce distributor… Of course the son sets out to do right by the old man and get his money. This means getting a load of apples with a less than scrupulous partner and selling them for more than they paid (free enterprise indeed)… drama, crime, and a fallen woman ensue and the story comes full circle. There’s no gun play, but there is enough tough guy talk, enough action and enough tension to keep the viewer interested. I would think that anyone who’s a fan of Elmore Leonard’s Mr. Majestyk would enjoy this film.