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tilly_stratfordIf you want a recommendation for an excellent horror movie for Halloween, Alias Nick Beal (1949) is the way to go.
Well it's not so much a horror movie as a straight-up noir with supernatural elements, but it's really the first movie I've seen that has pulled that off. Though to be honest, the bits that were supposed to be frightening had me clapping my hands in glee, because they owed more to film noir than any cheesy old monster movie.
Okay so it concerns this straight-as-an-arrow district attorney. You don't watch this movie for him. You watch it for the villain Nick Beal -- and I'm going to spoiler what sort of character Beal is, because that was the reason I watched this film and knowing ahead of time (the movie isn't exactly subtle about it anyway) won't lessen your enjoyment one bit. This is how unsubtle the film actually is: He goes by the name "Nick Beal". Old Nick, Beelzebub. It's a noir retelling of Faust. It's Lucifer as a hard-boiled gangster, and goddamned if that isn't a thing I've subconsciously wanted my whole life. Like, straight up Satan bargaining for souls with a clenched jaw and calling ladies "sister".
Credit goes to Ray Milland for the way he plays him though; He doesn't camp it up, he doesn't go for the effete angle; He just plays a silently menacing tough guy who just happens to be the Prince of Darkness.
I'm not saying it's a masterpiece (prepare for a bit of a disappointing ending), but gosh if it isn't one of the most fun movies I've seen in a long while.
Well it's not so much a horror movie as a straight-up noir with supernatural elements, but it's really the first movie I've seen that has pulled that off. Though to be honest, the bits that were supposed to be frightening had me clapping my hands in glee, because they owed more to film noir than any cheesy old monster movie.
Okay so it concerns this straight-as-an-arrow district attorney. You don't watch this movie for him. You watch it for the villain Nick Beal -- and I'm going to spoiler what sort of character Beal is, because that was the reason I watched this film and knowing ahead of time (the movie isn't exactly subtle about it anyway) won't lessen your enjoyment one bit. This is how unsubtle the film actually is: He goes by the name "Nick Beal". Old Nick, Beelzebub. It's a noir retelling of Faust. It's Lucifer as a hard-boiled gangster, and goddamned if that isn't a thing I've subconsciously wanted my whole life. Like, straight up Satan bargaining for souls with a clenched jaw and calling ladies "sister".
Credit goes to Ray Milland for the way he plays him though; He doesn't camp it up, he doesn't go for the effete angle; He just plays a silently menacing tough guy who just happens to be the Prince of Darkness.
I'm not saying it's a masterpiece (prepare for a bit of a disappointing ending), but gosh if it isn't one of the most fun movies I've seen in a long while.
