Cereal At Midnight

 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...

“Skin Diver Action! Jane Russell As you’ve never seen her before!” So declares the poster for 1955’s Underwater! , an adventure movie centered around the perils of deep-sea treasure hunters and the dangerous world they inhabit. And what a world it is! Our two intrepid leads spend their time navigating their boats into the waters where ships sank hundreds of years ago in hopes that they’ll be able to dive deep beneath the ocean surface, uncovering gold and riches untold among the wreckage of the past. This means they’re constantly contending with not only the dangers of the deep sea--including sharks, lack of oxygen, or becoming pinned beneath a piece of debris--but also the human threat of pirates and scavengers. Oh, and let’s not forget dynamite. Miles from the coast, it would seem that threats are everywhere.