Dark Corner | Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb | The Dark Corner

Dark Corner | Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb | Fun Film Noir!

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Dark Corner

	Dark Corner Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb Fox Home Entertainment, 1989 average customer review:based on 40 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Dark Corner can't seriously be proposed as a great film noir, but it's one that people cherish. For one thing, it's unique in having Lucille Ball--who has absolutely no "splainin'" to do--as the smart, resourceful, devoted secretary of beleaguered private eye Mark Stevens. Lucy actually rates top billing, with Clifton up-to-his-old-Laura-tricks Webb and William vicious-brute-in-a-white-suit Bendix also getting their names above that of the hero in the credits. In this, there's a certain justice; they all deliver the goods, whereas Stevens seems a tad lightweight as the hardnose, Phil Marlowe type cracking wise and punching his way through the mean streets. His character comes burdened with more backstory than usual for movie detectives; this time, the case the private eye has to solve is his own. The intriguingly convoluted screenplay (by Jay Dratler, who co-wrote Laura, and Bernard Schoenfeld, from a story by Leo Rosten) takes hold like a vise and sustains the tension even though, by rights, its credibility should be shrinking with each passing reel. Henry Hathaway's direction is crisp, and the cinematography by Joe MacDonald (who would next shoot John Ford's My Darling Clementine) is both pungent and gorgeous. With Cathy Downs, Kurt Kreuger, and Reed Hadley, who plays a police detective here but more often supplied the voiceover on Fox's semidocumentary thrillers and Anthony Mann's T-Men. --Richard T. Jameson

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The Dark Corner - Fox Film Noir

Though we tend to associate Film Noir with Warner Brothers pictures, many of the excellent examples of the genre were made by Twentieth Century Fox. "The Dark Corner" is one of these. The titles give top billing to Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, and William Bendix - but the star of the film is Mark Stevens, an underrated actor who could play hard-bitten parts as well as anyone. The camera follows him around as the plot of the movie unfolds. Clifton Webb does his usual excellent job in a part reminiscent of his role in "Laura."
William Bendix, known for both his comedic roles as well as his tough guy parts, throws his weight around and gets thrown around in this one, and Lucille Ball, who gets the undeserved star billing, is quite good in a straight part. She shows none of the "Lucy" zany qualities that she became famous for in later years.
In my opinion, Mark Stevens should have had a bigger career. I wonder what happened!

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Fun Film Noir!

Good performances and a good film noir movie for Mark Stevens and Lucille Ball. Has a great cast!

A Great Little Noir

A private dick in deep trouble, a beautiful secretary, Clifton Webb is
playing his role to the hilt and there seems to be no way out for our de-
tective hero. Plenty of dark atmospheric background.
This movie has everthing you need for a thrilling nights entertainment
in the "Dark City". It's a well acted and perfectly paced story seasoned with action and some surprisingly stark violence.
The DVD is crisp and clear, excellent video and sound quality. I liked
the commentary that comes on the dvd and find this to be a movie every noir fan should own.

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Unusual Lucy

This is Lucy in a dramatic role. It showcases her talent very well. Male lead would have been better played by Dana Andrews but otherwise good Film Noir.

Good noir, but could have been much better

"Dark Corner" is a perfect example of a B noir: strong in parts (gorgeous cinematography, some good acting, effective writing) but weak in others (sloppy editing at times, Clifton Webb's pallid re-creation of "Laura"'s Waldo Leidecker, and an ending that seems tacked on). But even with the inconsistent quality, there are unexpected pleasures to be found, as in most noir films. Among my favorites: the snappy, natural way Mark Stevens and Lucille Ball flirt on their first date; the grace-note humor in several scenes (e.g. an eavesdropping movie cashier, the weird little girl with the slide whistle); a brief but satisfying encounter with jazzman Eddie Heywood.

I like "Dark Corner", but it cries out for the extra care that a bigger budget would have provided. Oh well, they can't all be "Laura"!

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

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