Back to Golden Days

In honor of Burt Lancaster's 103th birthday, which was on Wednesday (coincidentally, my birthday was also on Wednesday), this week on «Film Friday» I bring you the film that introduced me to the wonderful «Mr. Muscles and Teeth,» which was also the film that introduced him to the world all those years ago. Since this is a film noir, it comes at a perfect time for Noirvember. Directed by Robert Siodmak, The Killers (1946) begins as two hitmen, Max (Wiliam Conrad) and Al (Charles McGraw), arrive in a small town to kill a man called «the Swede» (Burt Lancaster). His co-worker at a gas station, Nick Adams (Phil Brown), warns him of the danger, but the Swede makes no attempt to flee and the killers shoot him in his room. When it is discovered that the Swede had a small life insurance policy, insurance detective Jim Reardon (Edmond O'Brien) is assigned to investigate his murder. Tracking down and interviewing the Swede's associates, including his beneficiary, chambermaid Mary El...

Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, Spellbound (1945) begins when Dr. Anthony Edwardes (Gregory Peck) arrives at a therapeutic community mental hospital in Vermont to replace its elderly director, Dr. Murchison (Leo G. Carroll). Headstrong psychoanalyst Dr. Constance Petersen (Ingrid Bergman), who also works there, soon notices that Edwardes has a peculiar phobia about sets of parallel lines against a white background. As Constance and Edwardes begin to fall in love with each other, he confides to her that he killed the real Dr. Edwardes and then assumed his identity. He suffers from massive amnesia and does not know who he is. Believing that the man is innocent and suffering from a guilt complex, Constance resolves to use her psychoanalytic training to break down his amnesia and discover what truly happened.    Gregory Peck, Ingrid Bergman and Michael Chekhov in Spellbound . To protect him, Constance takes the impostor — calling himself «John Brown» — to the New York home of he...

Theatrical release poster Directed by Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity (1944) begins with insurance agent Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) return ing to his office late o ne night. Bleeding from a gunshot wound, he records his murder confess ion on a dictaphone, addresing his boss and friend , Barton Keyes (Edward G. R obinson), a metic ulo us and intu itive clai ms manager. Walter then thinks back to the day w hen it all started. While making a routine call on an automo bilie insurance client, Mr. Dietrichson (Tom Powes), he meets the man 's alluring blonde wife Phyllis (B arbara Stanwyck), who greets Walter wearing only a towel. Although she seems to be sub tly seducing him , Phyllis cold ly rebuff s Walter 's ad vances a nd sends him away. So on, however, they mutual attraction dev elop s into an il licit affair. When   Phyllis asks how she could take out an accident policy on her husband's life without his knowledge, Walter deduces that she is contemplatin...