Nightmare Alley (1947)

Colonel Parker's favourite

This is one of the great film noirs and there's no need to say more. But a little known fact about the film is that Nightmare Alley was the favourite film of Elvis Presley's manager, 'Colonel' Parker. Now doesn't that tell you a lot about the Colonel? Parker was an ex-carnie before he latched on to Elvis. One wonders what Parker's repeated viewings of this film taught him about huckstering. Was Elvis the geek to Parker's mind games? October 3, 2008

Wednesdays and Saturdays

I looked up Lilith's name in the library at: 1. Lilith. Rebecca M. Lesses. Encyclopedia of Religion. Ed. Lindsay Jones. Vol. 8. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. p5458-5460.

Pesahim 112b, warning men not to go out alone on Wednesday and Sabbath evenings because of the presence of "Agrat, the daughter of Mahalat," has been taken by some commentators as a further reference to Lilith. However, as Gershom Scholem maintains in his essay on Lilith in the Encyclopaedia Judaica (1971), the identification of Lilith with Agrat, although both are night demons, seems to have no real foundation. September 10, 2008

A Fascinating But Watered Down Version of the Shocking Gresham Novel

Published in 1946, William Lindsay Gresham's NIGHTMARE ALLEY was one of the great shockers of the era--and although hard to find today it remains a scorching expose of the carny and spiritualist scams. Typecast in pretty-boy roles, Tyrone Power was so eager to show serious acting chops that he actually bought the screen rights to the novel and prevailed upon 20th Century Fox to film the novel with him in the leading role.

Given the book's popularity and Power's pull at the box office, NIGHTMARE ALLEY was not exactly a flop--but neither was it the transforming success Power hoped it would be. Given censorship codes of the day, Gresham's novel could not be filled head-on, and no matter what Power himself might want the public wasn't wild about seeing their handsome leading man in such an unsavory role. The film gradually vanished from view and has only recently become available on DVD.

Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power) is a second-rate con-man working the sideshow circuit when he falls in with Zeena (Joan Blondell)--who was once a famous "psychic" until her husband's alcoholism brought her career low. Zeena's tricks of the trade are worth a fortune, but she refuses to part with them until husband Pete dies under unsavory (and ambigious) circumstances; she then teaches them to Stanton. But Stanton is less interested in Zeena than he is in her tricks and in sexy Molly (Coleen Gray.) Soon he and Molly are moving up in the world, playing to class nightclub audiences.

But the lure of easy money is too much: spurred on by Lilith (a truly slinky Helen Walker), he is soon working a seance racket, rooking clients through everything from table tappings to ghostly apparitions. But all is not quite as it seems, and after a doublecross and an exposure, Stanton is on his way down in a very major way, increasingly alcoholic, and facing the ultimate carny degredation. Things don't look good, to say the least.

Seen today, the major problem with NIGHTMARE ALLEY is the script. Given censorship issues of the day, there was no way that Hollywood could do the story justice, and the script dodges right and left in an effort to keep bluenoses at bay. The ending is particularly annoying, especially if you have read the novel. Even so, the performances are memorable, the story (or as least as much of it as they dare use) is powerful, and the look and feel of the thing is entirely unexpected. This is indeed film noir at its most edgy; fans of the genre will be fascinated.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer July 17, 2008

Top notch film noir

A terrific cast and good writing lead the way with this film noir from 20th Century Fox. Tyrone Power is cast against type as a carnival shill who, through a mishap, kills another carnie and finds himself privy to a secret mentalist trick code. The code takes his act to uptown clubs where he meets assorted shady characters, which eventually leads to down fall and ultimately, redemption. Joan Blondell as the "older" woman (not THAT much older), Coleen Gray as the sweet young thing and Helen Walker as the psychologist round out cast. A fine addition to any film noir collection. July 17, 2008

Tyrone Power's Finest Hour

This anomalous drama, light years ahead of its time in 1947 is set in a rustic time and place of American history. This is the Carnivals that once traveled from town to town where for a couple of hours the tedious routine of hard working people of the small villages and farms across the land could be shattered as a result of having their minds stretched by bizarre sideshows and their pockets emptied with fixed games of chance favoring the establishment.

By 1947 Tyrone Power---once considered one of the handsomest young men in the picture business had established himself as one of Hollywood's leading stars. However his career was now on the downhill side of the climb. Thus he needed a shot-in-the-arm powerful role. In this beguiling movie, a story of human karma he found it. The nomenclature of Geek had a far different denotation than it does today. Here we get a front seat look at the full impact of its original meaning. Nightmare Alley is the true career showcase for Power's range as an actor. He is superb in this unforgettable portrayal.

April 9, 2008

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