Category: Noir Cities

Cinematic Cities: Skyscraper Souls (1932)

A Cinematic City: Skyscraper Souls (MGM 1932) directed by Edgar Swlwynand art direction by Cedric Gibbons …………………………………………………………………………………………………….. ……

Skyscraper Souls (MGM 1932): Directed by Edgar Selwyn  |  Art Direction by Cedric Gibbons

 

Cities Have Lost Their Poetry

Thirty years ago in my late 20s on many lonely cold winter nights I walked the desolate streets of the city fringe… down narrow sparsely-lit alleys

Noir City: Sydney Harbour 1950s - Original photo by Max Dupane

Thirty years ago in my late 20s on many lonely cold winter nights I walked the desolate streets of the city fringe. Down narrow sparsely-lit alleys with dark dirty store-fronts, ominous warehouses, and desperate characters.  A salty dampness and the silhouettes of sea-faring hulks on Sydney harbor drawing me into an enveloping angst.  There was mystery, an aching feeling of some unfathomable loss, of poetry.

Today those streets are bright, lined with trendy restaurants, exclusive warehouse conversions, soul-less showrooms for funky furniture, and expensive cars.  No mystery, no angst, and no poetry.

 

New York City Noir: The concrete jungle

“New York City. An architectural jungle where fabulous wealth…
and the deepest squalor live side by side.
New York, the busiest, the loneliest, the kindest and the cruelest of cities.”
– Voice-over after opening credits  Side Street (1950)

Side Street (1950)
Director – Anthony Mann
DP  – Joseph Ruttenberg
Story & Screenplay  – Sydney Boehm

A tight and savvy noir exploring the claustrophobic canyons of New York ending with an ironically appropriate  ‘crash’ on Wall Street.

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