tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post5756512199938007957..comments2024-03-28T11:13:05.893-07:00Comments on The Rap Sheet: When Lightning StrikesJ. Kingston Piercehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17073921191624535912noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-56939348925343847772013-05-20T15:04:44.249-07:002013-05-20T15:04:44.249-07:00Emma, thanks for mentioning the piece I did at Spi...Emma, thanks for mentioning the piece I did at Spinetingler about meeting Billy Wilder. How often do you get to meet a hero? Plus Wilder told me something very important about crime writing! Check it out if you have a chance.Thomas Kaufmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13836968448269161562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-63277979803748057322013-05-14T06:38:13.326-07:002013-05-14T06:38:13.326-07:00I have another piece about a Q & A I did with ...I have another piece about a Q & A I did with Billy Wilder, it's now at Spinetingler: http://bit.ly/17Zpsc5Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-19164510054873332922013-05-14T04:01:32.723-07:002013-05-14T04:01:32.723-07:00Jack, if you're going to rip off someone, stea...Jack, if you're going to rip off someone, steal from the best. And you can't do better than DI. Just ask Lawrence Kasdan.Thomas Kaufmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13836968448269161562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-58433297226803550902013-05-12T04:10:46.135-07:002013-05-12T04:10:46.135-07:00I have to admit my first (published) novel is pret...I have to admit my first (published) novel is pretty much a rip off of DI. My hero sells stocks and bonds, not insurance, and there's a new twist. But what can I say. DI has always been my favorite Cain book and a movie I will watch over and over again. To me, it's classic: woman leads man to crime; and it is a story done over and over again.Jack Getzehttp://jack-getze.blogspot.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-52886172287486104482013-05-10T14:22:35.983-07:002013-05-10T14:22:35.983-07:00I found A Life At Stake in one of those Mill Creek...I found <i>A Life At Stake</i> in one of those Mill Creek 50-Packs.<br />The thing that caught me off-guard right at the start was the producer credit to Hank McCune.<br />You have to be at least my age to remember Hank McCune. He was a slapstick comic, skinny with a receding chin and jug ears, who had one of the earliest syndicated sitcoms, back around 1950. <br />It was the cheapest of cheap productions; I think most of the money went to the supporting players, who included Larry Keating, Hanley Stafford, and Arthur Q. Bryan (the original voice of Elmer Fudd).<br />Hank McCune pretty much disappeared from TV around '52-'53;<br />until I saw this picture I had no idea that he'd done anything else, let alone produce a cheepie thriller.<br />I'll be going to YouTube shortly to find out more (if there's anything to find ..).<br /><br />Ove at Mystery*File a while back, I mentioned that I'd recently an episode of <i>Kraft Mystery Theater</i> from 1963, which was a pilot film for a <i>Double Indemnity</i> series.<br />Jack Kelly would have played Walter Neff, working for Broderick Crawford as Barton Keyes (they used the names and everything).<br />The TV story had nothing to do with the novel or the movie, beyond the character names and the insurance background.<br />Just a guess - they probably weren't going to do the book until at least the final season (and then they'd most likely change the ending ...).<br />Mike Dorannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-77024652187576221402013-05-10T05:25:08.659-07:002013-05-10T05:25:08.659-07:00John, thanks for your comment I''ll check ...John, thanks for your comment I''ll check out Life at Stake, if only to see Angela Lansbury.<br /><br />The director, Paul Guilfoyle, worked mostly in TV. Before then he was a character actor, you can see Cagney kill him in WHITE HEAT.<br /><br />I wonder what other movies used DOUBLE INDEMNITY as a model?Thomas Kaufmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13836968448269161562noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16749171.post-92131932503592502442013-05-09T19:27:08.161-07:002013-05-09T19:27:08.161-07:00I like Life at Stake, an odd 50s movie that rips o...I like <i>Life at Stake,</i> an odd 50s movie that rips off <i>Double Indemnity</i> in spades. Peterson's article on insurance noir mentions this movie but makes it sound rather bad. It's not if you stick with it. It pairs beefcake actor Keith Andes as a hunkier Neff with Angela Lansbury in the Phyllis role. It has some interesting twists, especially between Lansbury and her sister played by Claudia Barrett. Though Andes at times seems lost in his role it's the supporting cast that make it work so well. The two women are fantastic. It's Lansbury's sudden transformation into a ruthless vixen that saves the movie. Real cinema buffs will find a lot to enjoy despite Andes' wooden acting and some hokey melodramatic scenery chewing by others.J F Norrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06473487417479127354noreply@blogger.com