Noose (1948)

Sorry, this movie sucks

Absolutely the worst movie.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I rated this film with 6/10 mainly because the final punch-up by the boxers with the mobster gang was inconsistent, being almost comic slapstick with what had gone before involving which involved killings.As is commonly known Carole Landis had been a girlfriend of Rex Harrison and possibly through blighted affection committed suicide the same year as this film aged 29.Nigel Patrick plays an immoral cockney spiv not so ruthless as his partner an Italian gangster played by Joseph Calleia who is prone to lapse into "Don Giovanni" by Mozart occasionally.Stanley Holloway as the detective plays his part without any of the humour found in many other of his film portrayals.Derek Farr gives an unremarkable workman-like performance as the fiancé of Carole Landis.I was surprised to find this full length 1948 film on Youtube probably because it is in the public domain and therefore out of copyright.

Being vaguely aware of this obscure British noir, I had acquired it a few years ago from a film buff friend of mine (who also happens to be an award-winning lyricist) following a biography shown on local TV of Maltese film actor Joseph Calleia. It had not occurred to me to include the film in my ongoing Thriller marathon; however, I could not very well leave it out once I read, just a couple of days ago, an article about "Time Out"'s recent "100 Best British Films" in which contributor/French film director Bertrand Tavernier bemoaned there not being enough room in his Top 10 list for, among others, NOOSE! I was under the mistaken impression that the copy I got was of inferior quality which would not best be suited for display on my 40" monitor which is why I watched it on a much smaller screen but, as it turned out, the film did get released on DVD in the UK.Adapted from his own stage play by Welsh writer Richard Llewellyn (best-known for having penned John Ford's 1941 Oscar-laden HOW GREEN WAS MY VALLEY), the film largely escapes its theatrical roots thanks to Greville's admirably Expressionistic direction that should have earned it a much better reputation (even among fans of the genre and film buffs in general) virtually comparable to that nowadays enjoyed by Alberto Cavalcanti's THEY MADE ME A FUGITIVE (1947) and Jules Dassin's similarly Soho-set NIGHT AND THE CITY (1950; with a wrestling back-drop to NOOSE's prizefighting milieu)! Actually, I do think there is a reason for this neglect since, rather than the relentless post-war bleakness and realism associated with this type of film, there is a welcome air of theatricality (in the acting) and light-heartedness (in the comic incidents that crop up intermittently).Carole Landis, who for some reason is forever losing her shoes, is a bit too jovial for a noir heroine; ironically, she would die a suicide later in the year, after completing BRASS MONKEY (1948), another genre effort which I hope to acquire (and include) in my current schedule. Derek Farr, too, is a bland leading man – though, as already mentioned, he manages to organize a boxing outfit into efficient opposition to the gangsters involved. On the other hand, Joseph Calleia has one of his better roles: atypically, he received before-the-title billing for this rare foray to the U.K. (incidentally, at the time, our native country was a British colony) and is constantly breaking into Italian and singing operatic arias; though something of a caricature (especially in those scenes featuring his luscious starlet protégée Carol Van Derman), his is an impressive performance regardless. Despite figuring way down in the cast list, Nigel Patrick is really the protagonist as Calleia's right-hand man: he brings such manic energy to the role that it would not be amiss in a screwball comedy!; in fact, on the strength of this, I managed to get hold of Patrick's intriguing self-directed religious parable JOHNNY NOBODY (1961). Stanley Holloway, then, tackles an unusually serious role as the cop on Calleia's trail, while Hay Petrie gives a memorably chilling portrayal as Calleia's combination of private barber and assassin (actually looking a bit like Claude Rains!).One last thing: I watched this very late at night, believing it to be just 76 minutes long as given on the IMDb: presumably, this duration alludes to the U.S. release print that was re-titled THE SILK NOOSE – being a reference to Petrie's murder 'weapon'; however, the copy I acquired turned out to be the full-length British version running 98 minutes.

American journalist Linda Medbury may be on the staff of a London newspaper to cover the fashion column but this is not going to stop her covering other stories that she comes across. However when she gets onto the extensive racket run by Sugiani, nobody can convince her of the plain and simple fate that has come to anyone who has gone toe-to-toe with his operation. So while Linda continues to work to expose Sugiani for who he is, her military boyfriend Captain "Jumbo" Hyde gathers many men as he can from his associates to protect her in place of a police force defeated before they begin by corruption.This summer the BBC delivered a season of British films and, to their credit it was not the usual parade of Dam Busters, Zulu and other Bank Holiday favourites but rather an interesting mix of films that are rarely seen. With 26 votes to its name on this site, it is perhaps fair to say that The Noose was one of these. The style of the film is a bit mixed. At times it appears to be every inch a British version of the American gangster film but then at others it is more of a comedy with cheeky chappy clichés kicking around in the shadows. As a result it doesn't totally hang together and I found myself distracted and my interest broken up by the inconsistent tone.However it is still of interest and does have scenes of value. We do get moments that are easily comparable with the strongest from American noir and we do get amusing characters that remind us where we are but again, these things seem to be working against one another. Gréville's direction is good in regards working with his cinematographer but in terms of solving the issues over the narrative flow, he cannot. Nor can the cast either, and many of them seem to be in different films unfortunately. Landis is enjoyable in the lead – she has what the experts would call "spunk" and it brought a bit of spark to the film. Farr is no more than serviceable and sadly the film sags when he is the focus. Calleia is a solid villain but the problem is that he isn't playing it straight and tough and he has an air of flamboyance about him. There is nothing wrong with him in this regard it is just that, within this film it is Nigel Patrick that dominates that sort of area with a wonderfully comic caricature that he works well.An interesting film to see then for its attempts to do what it does within a British context but it is the inability to either hold a consistent tone or blend the different ones successfully that sees it be a lesser film than I would have hoped. I would have liked to be able to praise it on account of it being obscure and thus me looking cool but as it is it is interesting but not all that great.

Tangy post-War British 'Spiv' movie (a cycle of films with roots in 30s American Gangster movies, featuring characters profiting from wartime rationing in a similar fashion to 30s bootleggers, but not so clearly glamorised as their Stateside equivalents). Directed by Edmond T. Greville (BEAT GIRL aka WILD FOR KICKS), and adapted from a stage play, this features Carole Landis (in one of her final roles) as nosy reporter Linda Medbury who, together with her ex-commando boyfriend Jumbo Hoyle (played by Derek Farr), gets on the trail of a gang of post-war black marketeers headed by Soho nightclub owner Sugiani, played by Joseph Calleia (whose role was based on a real-life Post-war London criminal). This gets them mixed up with London 'Spiv' Bar Gorman, played by Nigel Patrick, whose slangy, comic performance almost overshadows the surrounding film. Imaginatively shot, speedily paced, and ripe with post-War vernacular and the requisite criminal dust-ups (primarily involving the good guys' recruited gang of boxers, market porters, and cab drivers versus the low-life criminals), this is an entertaining slice of British crime and deserves to be better known, as it's worthy of a place alongside such noted post-War British crime movies as BRIGHTON ROCK and NIGHT AND THE CITY. Check it out, if you get the chance.