Nightmare Alley - One Of The Great Films Noir.

[@nikkicole3331]

This is such an underrated Film and having seen the remake I have even more respect for the outstanding acting, directing, screenwriting of this original which should be considered a classic. Very powerful. I also read the book and it made me cry! Remakes are almost always worse then the original and it is proved true with this gem.

[@terrytalksmovies]

It was also a gutsy movie to make in 1940s Hollywood.

[@starfan1437]

Totally agree - classic movies should left in peace.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Still, I am looking forward to Guillermo Del Toro's take on Nightmare Alley.

[@starfan1437]

@@terrytalksmovies if anyone can make a good fist of it he will!

[@Cynicalian]

Tyrone Power was a pretty great actor, Nightmare Alley is superb as is Witness For The Prosecution. I've always had a lot of love for Henry King's 1949 'Prince of Foxes' Power is a brilliant as Orsini, a somewhat romantic take on Machiavellian chancer, very much holding his own against Orson Welles' Cesare Borgia, along with a fabulously sinister performance from Everett Sloane. Well worth a watch if you want to an unhistorical but totally absorbing Italian renaissance romp.

[@terrytalksmovies]

You had me at Welles and Sloane.

[@hankparmer2298]

I second that recommendation! Power is quite good in this one, and Welles' Cesare Borgia is pitch-perfect, but it's Sloane who really steals the show.

[@Em-os9yj]

I love horror movies and noir pairs so well with that💕

[@terrytalksmovies]

Yep. Waiting to see the new version, too.

[@jimmydaves]

I just watched the 1947 version of Nightmare Alley and loved it. For me, the "standout" performance was Helen Walker (the part that Cate Blanchett plays). I read the IMBd bio on her and wow, how tragic. She started her film career in 1942 and got top billing in her first movie. She increasingly became more popular and talented and was on the verge of major stardom. However, in 1946, she was involved in a tragic car accident in which a WWII veteran was killed and 2 other veterans were severely injured. Walker herself broke her pelvis. The surviving veterans sued her for drunk driving and speeding and they won. Hollywood and the public turned their backs on her. A year later, she was in Nightmare Alley and was amazing. However, Hollywood was done with her and she struggled in the following years. She ended up dying in obscurity at age 47. What a sad story for her.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Yes, she was a great actress and that accident was a tragedy all round.

[@arlenearmstrong8270]

Thank you for posting this . She is brilliant and didn't know the life story .

[@paulfitzpatrick954]

I've nearly finished the book. You certainly get the sense that the writer had a jaundiced take on humanity. But not everyone can feel it and express it so well.

[@terrytalksmovies]

I read it a long time ago. It's very dark.

[@trull122]

Thanks Terry, amazing detail as always.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Thanks @Griff 😀

[@CanHistory2012]

Joan Blondell is great. Love her pre code films as well.

[@terrytalksmovies]

So underrated.

[@CanHistory2012]

@@terrytalksmovies my favorite Joan Blondell line is in the Night Nurse when she tells Barbara Stanwyck's gangster boyfriend: " You make every joint look like a speakeasy". She was apparently the highest paid actress in Hollywood at the height of the Depression. Regarding the Depression, Gabriel over the White House about a fascist president and Wild Boys on the Road are two favorites.

[@pascalguerandel8181]

Thank you Terry, I will watch it.❤

[@terrytalksmovies]

Enjoy!

[@hintzde]

Thanks for the time spent on one of my favorites of all-time. And the novel is utterly amazing as well--anyone who likes the film should try to find a copy and dig in. Tacked on Hollywood endings is a good discussion and I agree with your points, although I think 'ruining the film' is a little harsh. If you see enough films, you can kind of ignore the tonal shift as something you know is happening for studio/business reasons (although I like the idea of stopping before the ending). One caveat that has me more relaxed on this is the story of 'The Magnificent Ambersons'. It was well known that the studio and test audience disliked the original Welles film, so the studio had Robert Wise film an ending to tack on to make it more the happy Hollywood ending. Many consider this blasphemy, but many years later I read the Booth Tarkington novel and found that the tacked ending was exactly what happened in the book! And the film ending was even less sappy than the novel. So, should a filmmaker have license to make major changes to endings? Yes, but it is always debatable. Oh, and then there is 'In a Lonely Place', another famously altered ending, which worked extremely well.

[@terrytalksmovies]

In A Lonely Place is a great film. I think if you're going to change a novel's ending you have an obligation to do it extremely well.

[@charliemoody7168]

So many things to talk about…mostly The Razor’s Edge, Tyrone Power, and Bill Murray. Power’s always been a favorite actor of mine. He genuinely transcends the ‘pretty boy’ trap, which is an amazing feat (Tom Cruise has never managed to develop the chops required), and he easily holds the stage / screen with the best actors (Witness for the Prosecution testifying to his skill and success). Razor’s Edge is a particular favorite, as the depth of his character with so much subtlety…and I was really looking forward to Bill Murray’s take on it. It promised to be an audacious step to another level for him…but it turned out to be a very roundabout journey. In a word, Murray failed to do anything beyond displaying his inability to inhabit Power’s role, and so the entire movie failed, and AFAIK he’s never attempted such a step again; but the experience transformed Murray. The result was (eventually) Groundhog Day. I’m sure there’re flaws in my reasoning, but as I see it, the failure led rather directly to him re-evaluating his role as an actor at large - leading to his desperately angry performance as Scrooge, for one thing; what makes Groundhog Day so brilliant for me is that it’s a more nuanced story, a deeper performance, and a far more powerful impact than any of his other work precisely because he was no longer trying to be Tyrone Power, or mind-meld with Maugham. Instead, he reached deep into *himself* and gave us a BILL MURRAY MOVIE that *HE* could inhabit, to which HE could bring all HE wanted to put on the screen…and which would be accessible and understandable to HIS audience - not the critics’ circles. The result is that he succeeded, and he transformed his career in doing so, as the roles he chose subsequently, and his performances, changed to embrace both his inner and outer Bill Murray. Maybe too much gab from me, but IMO Groundhog Day is the only film of the post-SNL comedy ‘genre’ that reveals new depth and nuance with repeated viewings. It’s a deeply human, deeply funny, and very Bill movie. Ian, I’ll make a point to seeing Prince of Foxes - I remember seeing snatches of it on TV when I was a kid, now I know what to look for. Thank you! And thank you, Terry, for turning me on to Nightmare Alley! Who knows, maybe it creeped into my library, like Detour did….

[@terrytalksmovies]

You need a copy of Nightmare Alley. It's a must-have. Power's experiences in WW2, like those of other actors changed the way they did their job. Tom Cruise is an interesting character study. That combination of narcissism and facile charisma has taken him far but even in character pieces, there's an emptiness that shows.

[@johnminehan1148]

Murray has always indicated he could do more than he did, going back to Meatballs. However, I think he is better in support (for the most part).

[@juanvalenzuela1183]

Read the novel and saw the movie. Loved them both however, while I often times do feel less is more, I really hope del Toro goes there. I mean I really hope he goes there with the ending. This is a great time for a story about grifters as dark as this. Also, thanks much for your words concerning safety and the jab.

[@terrytalksmovies]

My pleasure @Juan Valenzuela - I agree. I think Del Toro is a smart enough director to make the ending right.

[@charlessperling7031]

I think you're too hard on the ending of the 1947 version. To be sure, Stan is only a geek for a short time; however, the man Molly takes away is not the man she married, but a broken one; effectively, they've become Pete and Zeena, and that becomes even sadder when you realize that Zeena is now with Bruno, who's a strong man physically and, I think, psychologically. Spain Rodriguez's graphic novel treatment of Gresham's book is probably the best visualization of the ending. The 2021 version has its charms, but it disturbed me that a key line in it had changed. "Mister, I was made for it," Stan says periodically in the 1947 film, most powerfully when offered the geek job at the end. Yet when Stan does it seventy-four years later, he says that he was "born for it," which just feels wrong, as we learn early on that "geeks are made, not born." Coleen Gray is a much sadder femme fatale figure in "The Killing," as is Helen Walker in "The Big Combo."

[@filmwolf4078]

Hi Terry. I love Nightmare Alley with Tyrone Power. A superb Noir. I put my trust in Del Toro to deliver a worthy Nightmare Alley. As it’s referred to as “A new adaptation of the novel” remake seems such a dirty term these days 😜 same goes with Spielberg’s upcoming West Side Story (Spielberg would have reverence for Robert Wise 👍) that too is described as “a new re-adaption of the stage play” not a remake of Robert Wise film. 😂🤷‍♂️

[@terrytalksmovies]

Will the West Side Story remake be any good? Could be, who knows?

[@starfan1437]

Tyrone Power is such a standout and unusual actor. He brings a weird intensity to all his roles. Great in the 1951 film, The House in the Square/I’ll never forget you. The movie is a bit cheesy but he carries it. Saw it when I was a kid and the mix of time travel and lost of love really spoke to me. His acting style is really modern. I could see him working now in Hollywood.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Yep. He had a relaxed style that was ahead of his time.

[@alimolina4279]

Star Fan: You're right. I'm completely agree with you! He was a talented actor. So subtle.

[@alimolina4279]

@@terrytalksmovies :I agree. Thanks.

[@bradforddillman7671]

I remember seeing Bill Murray’s “The Razor’s Edge” a couple years ago and really liking it. It was serious Bill, and it would be a couple decades before his more deadpan roles became the norm

[@terrytalksmovies]

It seems oddly earnest to me.

[@charliemoody7168]

EXACTLY

[@amontaval]

Read an article in The Guardian about a lockdown protest turning pretty crazy in Melbourne. Was concerned about you. Thanks for another great movie piece. The CC BRD is arriving tomorrow.

[@terrytalksmovies]

We were 25 kilometres away, fortunately. Most of the protesters were far right, anti-vaxxer and borderline neo-Nazis pretending to be building workers by wearing high-vis clothing. In other words, arseholes.

[@amontaval]

@@terrytalksmovies Oh my gosh, now you've had an earthquake!

[@DansTravels5823]

In 1985 they made a made for TV movie remake of the Bad Seed. It stuck to the original ending and I do enjoy seeing it the way it was meant to be seen.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Or you can just stop the 1956 version at the appropriate moment. 😀

[@MrEMann-io1ut]

I miss your dash cam and those remote videos.

[@terrytalksmovies]

When we're out of lockdown, I'll do some more. End of next month maybe.

[@selwynandrews9665]

I have seen a few amazing films entirely by accident, mostly on TV and in my youth (they used to play great movies on TV!). They would be: Magnificent Obsession (Douglas Sirk); Three Women (Robert Altman); Themroc (Claude Faraldo) and Nightmare Alley. Thanks for another excellent review!

[@terrytalksmovies]

I like Sirk and Themroc is a crazy film, one of Michel Piccoli's best. Good choices.

[@agentxchannel6640]

among us it was unseen legend before it was finally released in American art houses back in the 90's. worth the wait -

[@terrytalksmovies]

I saw it on TV here in the 70s. Blew me away then.

[@PaulKyriazi]

Good information on the movie, especially the ten-year delay on the first movie.

[@terrytalksmovies]

My pleasure.

[@charlessperling7031]

Mike Mazurki may also be seen to good advantage in "Night and the City" and "Some Like It Hot."

[@terrytalksmovies]

Also, Amazon Women On The Moon. 😉

[@mariannalogsdon1286]

This was a great movie and can’t wait to see the new🐸❤️

[@terrytalksmovies]

Definitely. Del Toro always delivers, so I'm optimistic.

[@Diggles67]

Just saw the new version. Del Toro ends it as in the book. The actors are magnificent, especially Bradley Cooper and Cate Blanchett. The costumes and sets are awesome, especially all of the scenes shot in Buffalo, NY Art Deco buildings - Todd Haynes type eye for detail.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Looking forward to it.

[@alanford3359]

That is SO weird... Last Friday, when I first saw the teaser trailer for the upcoming Guillermo Del Toro movie my first instinct was to check your channel to see if you had covered the original (as you've covered some fantastic hidden gems of the classic noir/crime era, from Hollywood and beyond... Waaayyy Beyond 😄). I didn't come across anything during that search but was sure you'd mentioned it. But here we are, an in depth and insightful Terry Talks exploration, I shall enjoy 👍😉 Are you tantalized at all by this new adaptation of the novel? Del Toro has made some truly wonderful (and truly macabre) movies... I feel he's very dependable with this kind of material and vision 🤔

[@terrytalksmovies]

I'll definitely review the Del Toro when I can get to a cinema again.

[@richarddeese1991]

Thanks. I'm kind of a film noir newbie. I still haven't managed to see The Third Man, which I'd kill to watch. But back in the 80s, I saw the remake of D.O.A. (with Dennis Quaid & Meg Ryan). I didn't know it was a remake. I didn't even know what film noir was! My Dollar Tree store (where everything's a dollar) has been getting DVDs, and even a few Blu-rays (if you can believe that). I've actually found some really good films there. I found Marjorie Prime, and The Experimenter. No, really! I also found a DVD "Double Take" feature that has *_both_* versions of D.O.A. on one disc! Every time I go in there, I look through those 2 or 3 boxes, man! Somehow, I doubt I'll find The Third Man, though. tavi.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Look around. The Third Man is out there. Also try Leave Her To Heaven and Detour. Detour is public domain so archive.org have a free version to download.

[@richarddeese1991]

@@terrytalksmovies Thanks! :) tavi.

[@Em-os9yj]

Thanks for this i just watched it on youtube and I think criterion is coming out with a blu ray this year. I felt weird about the ending I prefer a sad dark endings so thanks for explaining it it felt very hollywood 💕when I watched it i hope the remake goes darker and ends like the book the way you said💕

[@terrytalksmovies]

Looking forward to it.

[@stephenphillips4609]

I saw the trailer for the Del Toro remake recently, not realising it is a remake of an old classic - looked really interesting and worth seeing. Like Terry says...this one has a great cast and Del Toro often does intriguing work. Back in the day I was wildly anticipating Scorsese's remake of Cape Fear, which proved a major let down when I saw it. Years later I saw the Gregory Peck / Robert Mitchum original...WOW!!! What a movie. It had a nasty sleaziness entirely missing from the the later version. Breathtaking movie. So, yes, remakes aren't always what they're cooked up to be.

[@terrytalksmovies]

@Stephen Phillips - I much prefer the original Cape Fear. Mitchum was much more menacing than Bobby De Niro.

[@stephenphillips4609]

@@terrytalksmovies Yes!!

[@mikemack9701]

I warn you to prepare for a similar feeling, vis-a vis CAPE FEAR, if you see Del Toro's version. The new movie has great production design, but the characters mostly played as well-lit props to me, with motivations --- particularly Lilith's and Zeena's --- that are muddied by the script. Oh, and Bradley Cooper is no Tyrone Power. Besides that, I'm not sure, because I haven't seen the original nor read the novel, but if the original story is one of a protagonist's moral decline, this new one turns Stanton into a full-blown bad guy from the very start, making the audience's inevitable support for the character the point of the moral quandary. And, there's a prosthetic effect added to Lilith that made me laugh out loud. Symbolically, this version has no heart.

[@stephenphillips4609]

@@mikemack9701 I hope you're wrong,but can't say cos I haven't seen the new film!

[@mikemack9701]

@@stephenphillips4609 Well, regardless of what I think of it, I hope you enjoy it.

[@joegattis2892]

I love Nightmare Alley! I hope the new one lives up to the quality of the original. We're so distant in time that most people will have no feeling for the accuracy of the carnival settings or the attitude towards spiritualism of the 1920's. I hope they don't mess with it or modernize it too much.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Watch the trailer. It looks solid so far.

[@erikramaekers63]

Del Toro didn't make a remake but a rebooth or reimagining of the original.Visually the movie will be breathtaking just like most of the director's work

[@terrytalksmovies]

@@erikramaekers63 reboot and reimaging are marketing words for... a remake.

[@MiddleAgedGeekGrrrl]

I think I will see the remake, it looks rather interesting. I think I have seen parts of the original but not the full film, which is how I see most movies being married to a movie buff and all! Great video.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Thanks chickie. We can go and see it when the lockdown ends.

[@leebronock887]

We have a copy of the film lying about somewhere in the "Library." It is one of those films you have to be in the right mood to watch. I do hope that del Toro uses the book's ending. That would be appropriately "noir." The earlier Hollywood ending is a bit too upbeat. Plus, is the perennial del Toro actor, Ron Perlman, going to do the Mike Mazurki role? That would be a hoot.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Perlman is playing Bruno. If you look at the IMDB, the casting is perfect in the remake.

[@bhotaling1]

Perlman is the Thinking Man's Mazurski

[@Randall1001]

I LOVE this movie. It's one of the absolute best of the Film Noirs, and that's saying something.

[@terrytalksmovies]

It commits to the premise and goes into the heart of darkness in the best way.

[@Randall1001]

@@terrytalksmovies Exactly. Some film noirs do, at times, seem contrived in a way... contrived to get us into a gritty situation. OR they just toss you in and wait for you to swim. But this film, and I think also Gun Crazy, not only make total sense but also have this believable arc from start to finish.

[@terrytalksmovies]

@@Randall1001 If you watch a genre film, you're buying a ticket and taking the ride. It's best to lean back and enjoy.

[@Randall1001]

@@terrytalksmovies Oh, absolutely, I agree. Actually though, just as an interesting aside... the film historian James Monaco--I have the book around here somewhere--argued that film noir isn't really a "genre" per se. He felt it was a style of film. Fine difference I suppose.

[@Randall1001]

@@terrytalksmovies Hey.... just heard about the earthquake... everything okay there? Sounds like no one was seriously hurt... that's good at least!

[@scribewell]

Love this movie. Also own the first edition of the novel. (And I agree about the Hollywood endings. More forgivable in "Nightmare Alley," less so with "The Bad Seed."

[@terrytalksmovies]

Yep. But I still like that book ending.

[@johnminehan1148]

Along with The Razor's Edge, this was Major Tyrone Powers, USMCR's attempt to be recognized as a gifted actor . . . .

[@johnminehan1148]

Talented guy; things like Witness for the Prosecution (1957) might have been an even better forum. Some of his more commercial work is also interesting, King of the Kyber Rifles & The Long Grey Line, are solid, commercial work . . . .

[@terrytalksmovies]

Yep. I also like Mark of Zorro and Prince of Foxes.

[@johnminehan1148]

@@terrytalksmovies Very much and also things like The Luck of the Irish, he was better in comedies than you might expect . . . .

[@terrytalksmovies]

@@johnminehan1148 He also sang Chatanooga Choo Choo kzbin.info/www/bejne/b6e8qJibmJmams0

[@jltrem]

Very good point about "The Bad Seed", a god awful bastardization of the original material. When I was in high school in the '60's we had a very good drama teacher. He did a production of "The Bad Seed" and stuck to the original play's script. The student who played Rhoda was a tiny, petite thing (I remember she was a very brainy, serious girl) and ran away with the part.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Cool. The original ending lands so hard and perfectly, you'd have to be an idiot to change it.

[@jltrem]

@@terrytalksmovies As you are well aware, Hollywood often does idiotic things.

[@terrytalksmovies]

@@jltrem I know. They gave Lionel Ritchie an Oscar, too.

[@leebronock887]

@@terrytalksmovies What? Ritchie got an Oscar for his Neo Noir production of "All Night Long?" (Shouldn't Barry Manilow have gotten an Oscar for "Somewhere In The Night" too?)

[@terrytalksmovies]

@@leebronock887 for 'Say You, Say Me' which is a really bad song.

[@bhotaling1]

See, also: Children's Hour, The. Another plot bollocked up by the Studio.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Absolutely. Removing the lesbianism was removing the guts of the drama.

[@bhotaling1]

@@terrytalksmovies Obsticle? No thanks. (LOL)

[@bhotaling1]

@@terrytalksmovies Love the channel BTW

[@bhotaling1]

Pointless Carny/Circus Facts: 1) the band playing STARS & STRIPES FOREVER means there has been a disaster somewhere on site; and 2) HEY RUBE! was the rallying cry of a Carny in trouble. This would bring all the nearby Carnies running, and read for a fight.

[@IngieKerr]

"in those days a geek was usually an alcoholic or a drug addict who was hired by a carnival to pretend to be a half man half animal they put him in a pit and then throw live chickens down there and he'd bite the heads off the chickens..." ... I can assure you, as someone who's worked in software dev since the 80s, often in government, this is precisely the same meaning as I know. :) additionally, The "mind reader" act, is almost identical to an act my parents used to do in the early 70s, they'd take me along, I think because they couldn't afford a child minder, and my dad would wear a tuxedo, my mum an evening gown and a blindfold, and he'd ask the audience for a number between 1 and 40, and an object for that number. Write it on a blackboard and get my mum to remember it. Then once all 40 numbers were filled in, she'd read them back in reverse/forward and random audience number suggestion order... (she used that memory method where you have an object for each number already memorised, and then tie the object called by the audience in some surreal way to the pre-memorised object for that number) these performances were normally in old village halls, which smelt vaguely of lavender, dry biscuits, tea and dust. There'd always be this other performer on "the bill" for what it was, this old man playing "I was born under a wandering star" on a wood saw.... anyway, non-ironic thanks for reviving that often horrific memory of childhood torture ;))) ... but yeah, I remember vaguely watching this film once when I was young and my mum said the film was part of the reason they started their "memory act" :)

[@terrytalksmovies]

Cold reading is an interesting skill. Using it to con people into believing they're talking to the dead, isn't. Cool story about your parents. What a fun childhood.

[@IngieKerr]

@@terrytalksmovies Aye, on all counts

[@jeffmartin1026]

Thanks for yet another film for me to go and watch. It sounds quite good. So, so many bad remakes out there and I agree with you about them. Hopefully the remake of this will break the rule. BYW- I recently gifted my brother a copy of Spider Baby, he gifted me back with the CD Roy Webb, Music for the Films of Val Lewton. I'll call it a good gifting. Stay Safe and Carry On!!

[@terrytalksmovies]

I love Spider Baby and the music in Lewton's films is always quality. Nice gift!

[@starfan1437]

I know what you mean about Hollywood endings but it kind of went the other way in the 1970s when downbeat endings were all the rage. China Town at one end of the spectrum and The Omega Man at the other.

[@terrytalksmovies]

I think good stories have a best ending and an easy ending. Too often Hollywood, due to the censorship, took the easy ending. Ambiguity, unanswered questions and downbeat but perfect endings were shunned.

[@marccolten9801]

I saw Nightmare Alley many years ago and Witness for the Prosecution. Power was one of those actors who could use his classic good looks to play a really evil character . Both are great films. The only comment I disagree with is a matter of personal taste, I think his performance as Moose in “Murder, My Sweet” is his best. But like I said, it’s an opinion. Another great episode.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Thanks. Witness For The Prosecution is great fun, too.

[@tomdale1335]

Such a good movie Great performances all round and a true noir look and feel that plenty of the crew can take credit for: cinematography (Lee Garmes), art direction, costume design. Those things will undoubtedly be very good in the new film (it has a great director and cast and will obviously not be done on the cheap) but I think B&W films needed a different set of production skills to stand out. And this one does.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Absolutely. The transitions from carnival to nightclub to hobo jungle in particular have a uniquely black and white aesthetic.

[@curiousworld7912]

One of my favorite noir films. And, I agree - Tyrone Power was a much more nuanced and talented actor than his pretty face would suggest for the times. 'The Razor's Edge' was better, by far, than the remake - as well-intentioned as Murray's film was. 'Nightmare Alley' is a marvelous showcase for Power's talent, and he's well-supported by an excellent cast. Even with the 'Hollywood ending', it still holds up as a remarkable look at the rise and fall of a flawed, ambitious - and possibly, damaged - man. I'm also not sure just how 'happy' an ending it still has - that last scene (spoiler) is both sad and very disturbing. (As for 'The Bad Seed'; I understand your assessment of its 'happy ending', but I think audiences probably preferred the catharsis the ending provided. That's not to say it's 'better'; just that I think studios typically give what they think audiences most likely prefer - for better, or worse.) I trust del Toro to do a good job with his version of 'Nightmare Alley', though I agree that most remakes are typically a scam in themselves. But, del Toro is a unique talent, and it looks like he's got a very good cast.

[@terrytalksmovies]

I agree about Del Toro. One hell of a visionary talent.

[@MrEMann-io1ut]

I'm with you on The Bad Seed, that ending was stupid.

[@brianedwards7142]

Well I've seen it. I think I know where you think it should have ended but people couldn't resist adding happy endings to Romeo and Juliet and Hamlet over the years. Now it's 5AM and I don't know whether to go to bed or just carry on until bed time tonight. J'accuse! 😉

[@terrytalksmovies]

If you do muscle through until bed time, try to squeeze in a really surrealistic movie. It will mess with your head in the best way.😀

[@leebronock887]

Strange to say, but I generally expected the Hollywood film version of a noir type of book to have a fake happy ending because of the Production Code. As is often said; "Something don't look right with this picture!"

[@terrytalksmovies]

It could be the Code or just Zanuck's gutlessness but the research I've done into it says it was Zanuck.

[@goliathsparrow1082]

💓Kitty

[@terrytalksmovies]

Luna is a star.

[@hankparmer2298]

Couldn't agree more with your assessment of "Nightmare Alley". I first saw this on Turner Classic Movies (one of only two channels I found myself missing, when we cut the cable) and was absolutely gob-smacked. Up to that point, I was only familiar with Tyrone Power from his costume dramas like "The Mark of Zorro" and "The Black Swan", so NA was quite the revelation. Even with that (sort of) happy ending that's so clearly tacked on after Power's reply to the carnival boss's offer of a job. Though I'm usually highly skeptical of remakes, if del Toro is at the helm, this just might be enough to lure me into a theater in my Covid-rampant corner of the States.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Wear a mask, stay safe. Hope it's worth it.

[@taker68]

Seen both versions. Liked them both but the new version might have the edge due to the ending and the lack of the production code keeping the distasteful stuff off screen. Power might be better than Cooper as the lead. Nice to see Power in a negative role than as a hero.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Power was also good in Witness For The Prosecution.

[@hugopritchard8455]

I like Tyrone Power. He was one of the "pretty boy" actors that could act, unlike Robert Taylor who always seemed stiff and cold.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Robert Taylor was really ordinary as an actor.

[@johnminehan1148]

Taylor did well in very odd things: Party Girl and The Adventures of Quentin Durward. He was not badplaying against type in Battan.

[@KarlBunker]

The tacked-on Hollywood ending of this movie is so obvious that I think I recognized it for that when I first watched it when I was a relative youngster, without anyone telling me it was a tacked-on Hollywood ending. And in a way that obviousness made it ineffective for me. My memory of the movie is one of incredible darkness -- the story of an ambitious and slightly corrupt man who is ground into the dirt by his own corruptness and that of people far more corrupt than him. I love Film Noir, but this one is a little too "noir" for me, fake happy ending or not. A great movie, though.

[@terrytalksmovies]

It's definitely high in the film noir pantheon.

[@artyfhartie2269]

Firstly: A movie that ends badly for the main protagonists leaves me feeling bad. Like what was the point? For example, after going through all kinds of hardships and then get run over by a truck at the end is kind of a downer. Movies are all about escapism. Secondly: You should also have pointed out, that although Australia might have the longest lockdowns on the planet, we also have the least number of deaths. Depends what your priorities are. Would you prefer walking down the street or going to the beach or dead and buried?

[@terrytalksmovies]

Hollywood movies are about escapism. Cinema is about storytelling. Adults don't always need Happily Ever After. Sometimes we can embrace complexity and tragedy as a valid part of drama.

[@artyfhartie2269]

@@terrytalksmovies There are some types of movies I avoid like the plague. Movies about family drama, real life drama, hospital drama, romance, rom com, police drama. My taste are very ecclcric ranging from obscure European movies to fantasy, SF, thrillers. The rest goes into delete. Who wants to relax and watch the news turn into movies?

[@mikemack9701]

@@terrytalksmovies Not even all Hollywood movies are about escapism. Not all films that Hollywood produces are blockbusters, stoner comedies, or chick flicks. People who claim "movies are all about escapism" haven't seen many movies and indeed few of the right kinds.

[@danthsmith]

It’s an absolutely brilliant film but it softens the ending of the novel which presumably the new version won’t

[@terrytalksmovies]

I don't know how Del Toro will go but I'll be there for the ride.

[@leebronock887]

Sorry to pile on today, but I just noticed your 'Subscribe' quip; Psychics are always con artists. I won't disagree with you, having encountered "psychics" when I worked down in the French Quarter many moons ago. (The street life back then was quite active and educational.) However, my Mom once gave me a good definition of a 'real' psychic; when a stranger calls you up at a pay phone in the bar you just stopped in for a beer at, and tells you not to go home till tomorrow, believe them. You will see something you will wish you hadn't. Stay safe! (Oh, and, is he really called Scotty from Marketing?)

[@terrytalksmovies]

He really is called Scotty From Marketing, Scotty From Murdoch and Scotty The Fukwit (with that spelling).

[@brianedwards7142]

Remaking War of the worlds based more on the George Pal movie (un-necessary, Pal was an effects god CGI cannot touch) moved the story further from the novella and gave us a garbled mess. I'm always in the side of the writers: studio execs and focus groups have ruined far too many a good yarn. On the other hand I thought Pal inserted religion into When Worlds Collide but on reading the novel I see that he actually toned it right down. The book reads like an extended Chick Tract. Nightmare Alley is on KZbin so, since I had a nap this arvo, I might make another cuppa and watch it.

[@terrytalksmovies]

Enjoy Nightmare Alley. It's such a quality production from Fox.

[@hanniffydinn6019]

So here we are! All new movies will just be remakes of older movies. Quite sad to see. Seems nobody is original in Hollywood anymore! 🤡🤡🤡🌍🌍🌍

[@terrytalksmovies]

I think Del Toro can pull it off. Remember, not all remakes are bad. The Maltese Falcon was the third version of Hammett's story shown on the screen.

[@fabrisseterbrugghe8567]

Have you seen Pan's Labyrinth? Del Toro does original work all the time. That makes his choosing a remake fascinating.

[@leebronock887]

@@terrytalksmovies One could argue that "The Shape of Water" is a reimagining of "The Creature Walks Among Us." Now, if Guillermo del Toro had directed Benicio del Toro in the remake of "The Wolfman".....

[@terrytalksmovies]

@@leebronock887 Del Toro knows his stuff alright.

[@terrytalksmovies]

@@fabrisseterbrugghe8567 totally agree.

[@robertmills538]

Quit remaking Classics. Remake Bad Movies that had good Stories

[@terrytalksmovies]

Del Toro's Nightmare Alley fixed the piss-poor Production Code ending of the original. It's valid in that particular case.