Christa Faust's Blog

Kumamoto and Hirahara

No that’s not a Japanese law firm, that was my lunch today. Naomi Hirahara and I got together to discuss our upcoming setting workshop for No Crime Unpublished over sushi. I had Kumamoto oysters (my favorite!) and caged various tasty bites off Naomi’s plate as well. By the time the coffee mochi came, we had managed to come up with something resembling a plan. I think it’s gonna be… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on May 25, 2007 at 3:34pm — No Comments

Forgotten Gems

The always informative and entertaining Rap Sheet has been running a brilliant week long list of answers to this simple question:

“What one crime, mystery, or thriller novel do you think has been most unjustly overlooked, criminally forgotten, or underappreciated over the years?”

Virtually everyone in crime fiction has posted their nominations (including your not-so-humble narrator) but be warned. After tomorrow, your to-be-read… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on May 25, 2007 at 3:34pm — No Comments

Amazon experiment

Victor Gischler has proposed an interesting experiment. He’s asking people who are considering buying Vicki Hendricks’ brilliant, compelling and fiercely erotic noir novel CRUEL POETRY to do so via Amazon on May 25th (and if you’re not considering it yet, start now. You won’t be… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on May 23, 2007 at 5:37pm — No Comments

Busy Beaver

Without the (sort of) daily ritual of the Film Noir festival to keep me posting, I’ve allowed myself to get way too lazy about this blog. So, here’s what’s been up at Casa Faust

I’ve been hip deep in the new book, writing and rewriting and trashing big chunks and working through some of the tangles in the story. I’m spending a lot of time doing research in the beautiful downtown library, one of my favorite places on earth. It sometimes feels like I’m winning this fight and other times… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on May 16, 2007 at 6:20am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 14

So this was it. The last night of one of the best Film Noir festivals ever. I reconnected with old friends and made some new ones too. I was really sad to see it end, though I was getting pretty sick of popcorn. Anyway, on to the final round.

The Champ: THE GARMENT JUNGLE (NY)

GARMENT JUNGLE starts with a bang when a cranky garment mogul (Lee J. Cobb) tears an inferior dress off sexy model Gloria Pall. The plot is “ripped… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on May 4, 2007 at 2:28pm — 3 Comments

Lucha Party in Pasadena

There’s gonna be a great lucha themed signing at Vroman’s in Pasadena this Friday night May 4th. I’ll be there doing my last official HOODTOWN signing before kicking into full on MONEY SHOT mode. Joining me will be:

Dan Madigan and photographer Edward McGinty from the new Rayo/Harper Collins hardcover MONDO LUCHA A GO GO

SoCal art photographer Daniel Chavira - also a contributor to MONDO, and

he'll have his astounding portfolio of lucha portraits on hand. Daniel is on a… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on May 3, 2007 at 11:57am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 13

The Champ: THE PEOPLE AGAINST O’HARA (NY)

It’s amazing to me that Spencer Tracy did only one picture in the Film Noir genre. He seemed like such a natural, with his weathered, everyman features and tormented soul. O’HARA is a about a lawyer, but it’s not strictly a courtroom drama. It has a complex and engaging plot, and needless to say, Tracy is wonderful as the retired attorney who agrees to get back in the ring one last time to… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on May 1, 2007 at 3:07pm — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 12

The Champ: THE WRONG MAN (NY)

One of Hitchcock’s lesser known films, WRONG MAN is based on the true story of Manny Balestrero, a musician whose simple life is shattered after a case of mistaken identity leads to his arrest. Several witnesses swear he’s the guy who pulled a series of hold ups around the neighborhood, and Balestrero must fight to prove his innocence while fighting to keep his family from being torn apart.

It’s not a… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 30, 2007 at 11:09am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 11

The Champ: 711 OCEAN DRIVE (LA)

I love movies full of cutting edge technology that’s 60 years out of date. It makes you realize how quaint and silly all the high tech mumbo jumbo in modern movies will seem 60 years from now. 711 follows a cop on the “Gangster Squad” as he tracks down ambitious, amoral Syndicate boss Mal Granger (Edmond O’Brian.) O’Brian is wonderfully evil in this movie, unrepentant, ruthless and ice-cold. The story… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 29, 2007 at 11:13am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 10

The Champ: PITFALL (LA)

Is there some sort of implied vaginal metaphor in that title? I’ll guess leave that to the college set to figure. The “pitfall” in question is sultry, whisky-voiced Lizabeth Scott and Dick Powell is the middle-aged everyman who falls for her. The plot follows an insurance investigator (Powell) who feels trapped in his regimented, predictable and unchanging life, until an embezzlement case introduces him to a… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 28, 2007 at 9:21am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 9

The Champ: THE KILLING (LA)

Everyone who reads this blog knows how much I love Sterling Hayden. Next to ASPHALT JUNGLE, this is probably my favorite Hayden film. It was directed by Stanley Kubrick and based on the novel, CLEAN BREAK by Lionel White. The plot is pretty standard, though it’s served up in an intriguing series of overlapping flashbacks. A diverse collection of characters from all walks of life come together to pull a brilliant… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 27, 2007 at 9:39am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 8

The Champ: HE WALKED BY NIGHT (LA)

Is it just me or is there a secret CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON connection running through the last couple of films. First CROOKED WEB, with Richard Denning and now a pair of films featuring B Movie everyman Whit Bissell (Dr. Thompson in CREATURE) and written by Harry Essex, who also penned CREATURE. Coincidence? You be the judge. (Insert that famous strident CREATURE musical sting here – dah dah… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 24, 2007 at 7:35am — No Comments

A Second Opinion

Anyone who’s been enjoying my play-by-play of the Film Noir Festival really ought to check out Film Noir Foundation mogul Alan Rode's blog. It’s much better informed and far more articulate than my own off-the-cuff and highly subjective comments.

For example Alan gave last night’s bout to GLASS WALL and the truth is, he’s probably right. It’s definitely a better movie the CROOKED WEB, but personally, I just couldn’t get past how sweet,… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 23, 2007 at 5:22pm — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 7

The Champ: THE GLASS WALL (NY)

Man, times sure have changed. Handsome (and obviously Italian) Vittorio Gassman plays Peter Kaban, a Hungarian escapee from a Nazi concentration camp who illegally stows away on a ship bound for New York City. He hopes to locate an American soldier whose life he saved, a clarinet player he knows only as “Tom.” Needless to say, it’s… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 23, 2007 at 9:26am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 6

The Champ: PICKUP ON SOUTH STREET (NY)

PICKUP is often called Fuller’s finest and it’s difficult not to agree. Irreverent, kinetic and full of great actors who deliver top notch performances, this film is one that I can watch a hundred times. A cynical pickpocket (Widmark) lifts a hooker’s wallet on the subway without realizing the wallet contains a piece of stolen top-secret microfilm destined to be sold to the reds by communist spies.… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 22, 2007 at 7:41am — 1 Comment

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 5

The Champ: CRY OF THE CITY (NY)

I love the “Suitable only for adults” label on the poster. CRY is a really wonderful and often overlooked gem, directed by Robert Siodmak and featuring a perfect combination of real New York exteriors and the kind of wonderful, classic Noir backlot streets that I wish I could live on. The plot involves two Italian guys who grew up in the same neighborhood on the Lower East Side. One became a cop… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 21, 2007 at 6:25am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 4

The Champ: PORT OF NEW YORK (NY)

Shot in gritty, semi-documentary style with a voiceover like a newsreel, PORT tells the story of a hijacked shipment of medical narcotics and the cops that go undercover to get it back. It’s full of wonderful actors, including HE WALKED BY NIGHT’s Scott Brady, Arthur Blake as a campy, anxious comic, Lynn Carter as a spunky burlesque dancer and of course gorgeous young Yul Brynner as the head baddie.… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 17, 2007 at 6:39am — 1 Comment

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 3

The Champ: SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (NY)

“I love this dirty town.” Possibly the meanest movie ever made, and definitely one of my personal favorites. Burt Lancaster plays J. J. Hunsecker, a powerful, soulless Walter Winchell-esque columnist who can make or break anybody in the public eye in ten words or less. Pretty boy Tony Curtis is his bitch as Sydney Falco, a hungry young press agent who makes a meager living…

Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 16, 2007 at 7:45am — 2 Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 2

The Champ: ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (NY)

ODDS is a movie that is bigger than its genre. A tight little caper film on the surface but more complex and layered with meaning. It deals primarily with racism as a theme but that’s not all there is to it. Far more than a simple morality fable, ODDS is filled with flawed and driven men who grow increasingly more desperate as things start to fall apart around them. Harry Belafonte plays a… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 15, 2007 at 4:51am — No Comments

Noirathon - LA vs NY: Round 1

The Champ: ACT OF VIOLENCE (LA)

Suburban family man Van Heflin is stalked by Robert Ryan, a psychologically scarred war buddy who knows the ugly truth beneath Heflin’s shiny war hero veneer. The genius of this film is the way it takes what could be a standard melodramatic thriller and turns it inside out. You start off feeling for Heflin and thinking of Ryan as nothing but a villainous psycho with a vendetta. By the end of… Continue

Added by Christa Faust on April 14, 2007 at 5:42am — 3 Comments

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