Forgotten hour
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Forgotten Hour (cinema) Black Angel (TV / DVD) |
| Original title | Black Angel |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1946 |
| length | 81 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 (DVD) |
| Rod | |
| Director | Roy William Neill |
| script | Roy Chanslor |
| production | Roy William Neill Tom McKnight |
| music | Frank Skinner |
| camera | Paul Ivano |
| cut | Saul A. Goodkind |
| occupation | |
| |
Lost hours (Alternative title: Black Angel , original title: Black Angel ) is a in black and white twisted American film noir of Roy William Neill from the year 1946 . It was based on the crime novel Black Angel ( German Black Angel ) by Cornell Woolrich .
action
The once successful composer and musician Marty Blair went down to an alcoholic pub pianist after separating from his wife Marvis. On the wedding day, he wants to visit Marvis, who lives in a luxury apartment, and announces his arrival with a heart-shaped brooch that has been sent. Marty is refused entry to the building on Marvis' instructions, but watches as another man is admitted to her without hesitation. That night Marty gets drunk to the point of unconsciousness, which is why his friend Joe has him locked in his boarding room. That same night, Kirk Bennett discovers the murdered Marvis in her apartment, who is wearing Marty's brooch. Bennett is seen leaving the apartment and is charged with murder despite protesting his innocence.
Despite Bennett's apparent infidelity, his wife Catherine does everything she can to save her husband. The only clue is the heart-shaped brooch, which was stolen from the dead after Bennett's discovery and which could lead to the real murderer. Catherine asks Marty to help her. After some initial hesitation, he agreed. Her research leads her to the nightclub owner Marko, in whom Marty recognizes the man who visited Marvis on the night of the murder. Catherine and Marty get hired as musicians, and Catherine starts an affair with Marko to spy on him. In Marko's safe, she finds a letter that proves that he was blackmailed by Marvis, but Marko has an alibi for the time of the crime.
Marty, who fell in love with Catherine, is rejected by her. While visiting her husband, who is about to be executed, in prison, Marty gets drunk uninhibited. In a pub he meets a woman who is wearing the brooch he is looking for and tells him that he gave it to her a few months ago. Marty's memory comes back: In a frenzy, he bribed the innkeeper to free him from his locked room, then killed Marvis and removed the brooch from the dead man. He turns himself in to the police to prevent Bennett's execution.
background
Forgotten Hour opened in American cinemas on August 2, 1946 and in West Germany on June 2, 1950 . Woolrich disliked the film adaptation, which had made major changes and cuts to his novel.
The Forgotten Hour was the last directorial work by Neill, who directed many of the Sherlock Holmes films of the 1940s. In 1946, at the age of 59, he died of a heart attack in his native England .
criticism
“Another lousy example of hackneyed crime fiction. If the film gives the impression that it is above the average of the everyday Whodunit , it is thanks to the versatile performance of Dan Duryea . [...] The plot lacks speed and tension, since the author's diligent efforts to hide the identity of the murderer are too easy to see through. "
"A Cornell-Woolrich film adaptation that is not exactly pure, because the brooding subjectivism [...] was trimmed to create an atmospheric thriller in the style of Witness wanted [...] The authentic touch of noir is provided by Duryea, who is grandiose in a (for once) sympathetic role. "
"Atmospherically and dramatically original B-thriller in the tradition of the black series" [sic], which draws additional charm from the unusual original. "
Web links
- Forgotten hours in the Internet Movie Database (English)
literature
- Cornell Woolrich: Black Angel. Doubleday, New York 1943
- Cornell Woolrich: The Black Angel. German by Harald Beck and Claus Melchior. Diogenes, Zurich 2008, ISBN 978-3-257-23705-4
Individual evidence
- ↑ Alain Silver, Elizabeth Ward (Ed.): Film Noir. An Encyclopedic Reference to the American Style, Third Edition. Overlook / Duckworth, New York / Woodstock / London 1992, ISBN 978-0-87951-479-2 , pp. 34-35.
- ↑ a b Forgotten Hour in the Lexicon of International Films .
- ^ A b Geoff Mayer, Brian McDonnell: Encyclopedia of Film Noir. Greenwood Press, Westport 2007, pp. 107-108.
- ^ "[...] another shoddy example of hackneyed mystery writing. If the picture appears somewhat above average run of the mill whodunit fare, this is a tribute to the versatile performance of Dan Duryea […] the plot lacks drive and suspense because it is so easy to see through the author's strict efforts to conceal the identity of the killer. ” Review in the New York Times on September 26, 1946, accessed February 22, 2013.
- ↑ "Not exactly a pristine Cornell Woolrich adaptation, since the brooding subjectivism [...] has been partly pruned to leave a moody thriller along the lines of Phantom Lady [...] The authentic tang of noir is lent by Duryea, superb in (for once.") ) a sympathetic role […] ”- Review in Time Out Film Guide, Seventh Edition 1999. Penguin, London 1998, p. 86, accessed online on February 22, 2013.