Cereal At Midnight

Amnesia is one of film noir's well-worn devices. The disorienting notion of lost identity has fueled countless stories, especially during the hard-boiled era of crime fiction and film. The quest for self has arguably never been a stronger metaphor than in the years following World War II, for clear reasons. But  Street of Chance  was made just before the U.S. joined the war and arrives almost at the very beginning of what we now view as the classic years of film noir, meaning that it straddles the line between eras. Because of this, and because the film uses the amnesia device so well, Street of Chance feels fresh and unique.  The picture begins with our lead (Burgess Meredith) being struck on the head by falling debris while walking down the street. When he awakes, he remembers that he's Frank Thompson, a devoted husband and career man, but when he tries to return home, the residence is empty and a neighbor tells him that his wife (Louise Platt) now lives alone on the ot...

Heath looks at the latest releases from Kino Lorber and their partner labels! Past Kino Lorber spotlights: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLms82QIo-B9m3xP_xBoKvqUSYQcUMsFdc *************************************************************** Review - Undertow https://www.cerealatmidnight.com/2023/04/review-undertow-1949.html Review - Outside the Wall https://www.cerealatmidnight.com/2023/04/review-outside-wall-1950.html *************************************************************** Review Archive: CerealAtMidnight.com/p/reviews.html Shop: CerealAtMidnight.Threadless.com Ebay.com/usr/cerealatmidnight Patreon.com/CerealAtMidnight Facebook.com/CerealMidnight Twitter: CerealMidnight Instagram: CerealMidnight TikTok: OfficialCerealAtMidnight Letterboxd: CerealAtMidnite **************************************************************** When shopping on Amazon, please consider using Cereal At Midnight's affiliate link to support the channel: https://amzn.to/3LAgnlt

 Has there ever been a city more perfectly suited for film noir than San Francisco?  Impenetrable fog rolls in from the bay, secluding the towering steel bridge that looms ominously in shadow. Steep hills represent either insurmountable obstacles or uncontrollable descents, and Alcatraz is a literal unreachable island surrounded by murky water. San Francisco is a living manifestation of noir's themes and atmosphere, so it's no coincidence that so many famous films are set in The Golden City ( Out of the Past, The Maltese Falcon, The Lady from Shanghai, Dark Passage ).  And then there's The Midnight Story , a 1957 film noir starring Tony Curtis as Joe Martini, a traffic cop who learns that a local priest, Father Tomasino, has been attacked and brutally killed. Tomasino was like a father to Martini, and our hero asks his superiors for permission to help in the investigation because he's so personally invested in solving the crime. When his request is not granted, he turns...

It's a tale as old as time: boy meets girl, boy marries girl, girl doesn't tell boy that she's on prison parole and used to be engaged to a mobster. Boy is in for serious trouble when that mobster comes for revenge after he finds out his ex has settled down with someone else. We've all been there or known someone who has, right?  1952's Because of You  stars silver screen starlet Loretta Young as the bottle-blonde moll of a tough gangster (Alex Nicol, The Screaming Skull ). Mere moments after we meet them, they're busted by the fuzz, split up, and sent to prison. Young is a model prisoner and is eager to serve her time and rebuild her life; she's eventually paroled and takes a job at a hospital where she meets a combat veteran, played by Jeff Chandler, who is suffering from injuries sustained in battle. The two fall in love quickly, but Young--now dark-haired--doesn't tell her new beau anything about her prison sentence and the fact that she was an acces...

Our latest coverage of Kino Lorber Studio Classics find us discussing recent pickups from the Memorial Day/June Swoon sale, including some brand new releases from the Dark Side of Cinema! Nobody does deep cuts like Kino, and this video is absolutely packed with great titles from all genres, including western, action, thriller, crime, comedy, and even some vigilante and biker exploitation flicks!