Tag: Turner Classic Movies

‘Voices in the Dark,’ by J. P. Telotte

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn Film

Jay Telotte and I were members of the faculty of the Department of English of a small Georgia college. His great love was film, a focus that turned into a career when he later became an expert in the field with multiple books, honors, and articles, and is now professor emeritus at the Georgia Tech School of Literature, Media, and Communication. We did not agree about Katherine Hepburn, and Meryl Streep, or coffee with chicory. And yet, eating dinner at his house always included a film shown on an old-fashioned projector. He liked films like “Juliet of the Spirits” and turned me into a believer in Federico Fellini’s work.

We also liked film noir, perhaps my favorite film genre, so I was pleased when he wrote Voices in the Dark: The Narrative Patterns of Film Noir in 1989. We had both moved on to other positions when the book came out, so I never got a chance to ask him why he didn’t enlarge it to include neo-noir. His wife, Leigh, who was an English teacher, switched over to computer documentation–as did I–and we both ended up briefly working in the same department at Hewlett-Packard in Atlanta. (She was on staff and I was a contract writer.) Later, Leigh Ehlers Telotte wrote several books, including Victoria, Queen of the Screen: From Silent Cinema to New Media.

From the Publisher

The American film noir, the popular genre that focused on urban crime and corruption in the 1940s and 1950s, exhibits the greatest amount of narrative experimentation in the modern American cinema. Spurred by postwar disillusionment, cold war anxieties, and changing social circumstances, these films revealed the dark side of American life and , in doing so, created unique narrative structures in order to speak of that darkness. J.P. Telotte’s in-depth discussion of classic films noir–including The Lady from Shanghai, The Lady in the Lake, Dark Passage, Double Indemnity, Kiss Me Deadly, and Murder, My Sweet–draws on the work of Michel Foucault to examine four dominant noir narrative strategies.

The book is very readable and is a wonderful introduction to noir films, many of which you can see on Turner Classic Movies in their noir alley segment. I learned a lot about film from Jay and wished we had moved in the same circles after moving to the Atlanta area.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell is the author of magical realism novels set in Florida.

 

Eddie Muller’s ‘Noir Bar: Cocktails Inspired by the World of Film Noir’

On By Malcolm R. CampbellIn books, writing

Eddie Muller  (Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir) is, perhaps, the reigning noir expert and champion, and he’s now writing about the booze people drank in the shadows. Those of you who watch Turner Classic Movies know him as the host of “Noir Alley,” the network’s weekly presentation of noir films which, I’m happy to say, will probably continue now that Hollywood has rallied behind TCM (which the parent company was thinking about sending to the chopping block) as a valuable curator and presenter of classic cinema.

From the Publisher

“Eddie Muller—host of TCM’s Noir Alley, one of the world’s leading authorities on film noir, and cocktail connoisseur—takes film buffs and drinks enthusiasts alike on a spirited tour through the “dark city” of film noir in this stylish book packed with equal parts great cocktail recipes and noir lore.

“Eddie Muller’s Noir Bar pairs carefully curated classic cocktails and modern noir-inspired libations with behind-the-scenes anecdotes and insights on 50 film noir favorites. Some of the cocktails are drawn directly from the films: If you’ve seen In a Lonely Place and wondered what’s in a “Horse’s Neck”—now you’ll know. If you’re watching Pickup on South Street you’ll find out what its director, Sam Fuller, actually drank off-screen. Didn’t know that Nightmare Alley’s Joan Blondell inspired a cocktail? It may become a new favorite. Meanwhile, Rita Hayworth is toasted with a “Sailor Beware,” an original concoction which, like the film that inspired it (The Lady From Shanghai), is unique, complex, and packs a wallop.

​”Featuring dozens of movie stills, poster art, behind-the-scenes imagery, and stunning cocktail photography, Noir Bar is both a stylish and exciting excursion through classic cinema’s most popular genre.”

Sample Recipe

CORPSE REVIVER NO. 2 INSPIRED BY 1946’S DECOY

“A Corpse Reviver is the obvious choice to accompany this film. There are many derivations of this cocktail, so-called because it was purported to be a foolproof hangover cure. My preference is the No. 2, popularized by Harry Craddock at the Savoy Hotel. The original called for Kina Lillet, which is no longer available. I use Cocchi Americano. If you want to be cheeky, substitute Blue Curaçao for the Cointreau and call it a Methylene Blue.

“NICK AND NORA GLASS, chilled

SHAKER, strained

1 ounce gin

¾ ounce Cointreau

¾ ounce Cocchi Americano

½ ounce lemon juice

Absinthe rinse (or Pernod)

Garnish lemon peel twist”

–

This is a tasty cocktail. I ordered one in an Alexandria Restaurant because I liked the name. It was very good! Go with the absinthe version if you can. If you like booze, dark movies, and dark drinks (as I do) this book’s for you.

–Malcolm

Malcolm R. Campbell normally drinks Scotch or red wine while writing. These cocktails are tempting, but setting up a bar with all the ingredients costs a lot of dough.