Crime Scene

Author’s Note:  This post is about mayhem in the movies.  But after the sickening events of last Sunday, I seriously thought about not publishing it now.  But then I reconsidered.  If not now, when?  There will always be another tragic shooting somewhere in the United States as long as lunatics have access to assault rifles.

I like my crime where it belongs- up on the cinema screen.  Not in a church, a school, a movie theater, a nightclub or an outdoor concert.

If you agree, please do something about it.  And you can start by reading this.

Thank you.

…So a couple of weeks ago, TBF and I saw Wind River.  It was ok.  Some new-movie territory here- a young girl is found dead on a remote Native American reservation near remote Lander, Wyoming.  And some not-so-new territory- an inexperienced young girl rookie (see Clarice Starling) is called in to help local authorities to solve the crime.

Jeremy Renner turns in a solid performance as the local hunter/tracker also determined to find the murderer.  And Graham Greene- who I love and have missed since Northern Exposure– always adds wisdom and substance in his role as the local sheriff who needs all the help he can get.

(Sorry about the Weinstein logo, Dear Readers.  Bad news.  The good news is that I bet this is the last movie on which Harvey will ever have any “name above the title” cred.)

I give Wind River a B.  You can wait and see it on Netflix.

But in the meantime, it got me thinking about a genre I love.

The whodunnit.

And today, I want to reminisce about great movie mysteries- and the detectives who try to solve them.

Let’s begin with the movie that began it all for me.

My father turned me on to this when I was a kid.  Thanks, Dad.  You started me at the top.

That’s Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet.  And in case you can’t recognize that “stuff that dreams are made of,” Bogie is holding…

The Maltese Falcon.

This is a perfect movie.  Every line of dialogue is so quotable that they have become cliches.  The characters are eccentric and the plot a doozy of double dealing and sexual manipulation.

A ton of fun and a film noir masterpiece by a very young John Huston at the same time.

One great Dashiell Hammett story deserves another.

My next pick is a romp in a martini glass. It involves a missing inventor, a very stylish married couple and one adorable fox terrier.

The Thin Man.

Besides the drinking, there is witty repartee, some good plot twists, suave William Powell (Sigh. That voice.) and Myrna Loy in some of the slinkiest evening gowns this side of Jean Harlow.

A triumph.

Bogie in the role of Raymond Chandler’s Los Angeles detective Phillip Marlow makes another appearance on my must-see list.  This time he’s giving the third degree to beauteous Lauren Bacall.  And brother, she can dish it right back to him.

It’s all in The Big Sleep.

Wow!  That’s steamy stuff- even by today’s standards.  You can see the sparks flying between these two.

The plot is a mess.  (Even Chandler himself was supposed to been baffled by what happened to the chauffeur) but the movie is a great period piece and really worth another gander.

And now let’s leave the noir and come into the wonderful world of technicolor blood red.

But let’s stick with California.  It makes such a scenic place for a murder.

Heading back to Sam Spades’s home town of San Francisco, let’s fire up the Mustang and watch Bullitt.

It’s got a cool plot involving the murder of a stashed witness.  It also has maybe the sexiest modern day cop and girlfriend pair-ups EVER.  Steve McQueen and Jacqueline Bisset.

But the only thing anyone ever remembers is the greatest car chase in cinema history.  I would be remiss if I showed you anything else.

And now let’s return to Phillip Marlow’s old hunting ground- Los Angeles.

More specifically…

Chinatown.

For me- much more than L.A Confidential– this is the best homage to the classic detective movies of the 40’s.  Screen writer Robert Towne did a brilliant job in his salute to Hollywood’s golden era.  And I hate to say this but it was masterfully directed by (ugh) Roman Polanski.

Author’s Note:  I know!  Two awful predators mentioned in this post.  But let’s face it, Dear Readers.  From the moment Hollywood began and a starlet slipped into some producer’s office at lunch (think Joan Crawford and Harry Rapf or Sylvia Sydney and B. P. Schulberg)  it would be impossible to write a piece about the movies without giving credit to some awful, power-mad asshole.  That WAS the Hollywood System.  Let’s hope that this is finally the dawn of a new day.

Oh, but here’s another breathe of smog-filled L.A. air. (And this time, the lead actor is one of the good guys.)

Gorgeous, philanthropic blue-eyed devil Paul Newman as Harper.

Here he is with a slightly-older Lauren Bacall.  She still looks gorgeous and she still can throw away a line.

Not a nail-biter but it’s a blast to see Julie Harris, Janet Leigh, Robert Wagner and Arthur Hill hamming it up.  And the 60’s clothes are groovy.

Talk about groovy.  Let’s fly to New York and see a great detective movie that stars a great haircut.

Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland in Klute.

I loved this movie so much I ran out and copied Bree Daniel’s famous shag. (I did not copy her call girl behavior, however.)

My secretary Effie is knocking at my office door saying something about a fat man.  Got to go but before I do, be sure and check out the Pacino Detective Trilogy: Heat, Insomnia, and The Sea of Love.

(Robert De Niro is no slouch here as Neil, the master criminal.)

Now let me leave you with perhaps the most haunting music from one of the best detective movies ever.

See you at the lineup.