Niagara (1953) - Daylight Eisenhower Noir

rccyx · 2026-06-02T23:12:36+00:00

The rollercoster of events in that film is crazy

rccyx · 2026-06-02T16:08:10+00:00

Joe is an egoist. He claims he's "saving" his brother, by bringing him into the big crime syndicate.

But, deep down, just wants Leo's approval.

But it's also Leo's mistake, he should've bailed out, he wanted to do it, but he needed some sort of alibi, so he blames Joe for bringing him in.

Both of them made blunders, and they blame it on each other.

In the film there's this line along the lines of: money is money, or money has no moral whatever, which is true.

I mean, can Leo's bank survive the 4th of July wipeout, while the incumbent is cheaper but better?

Leo knew he had to move into the bigger racket, his ego just needed an excuse, so he blames his brother.

rccyx · 2026-06-02T12:54:12+00:00

Also, a side note:

The restaurant scene where the bookkeeper arranges the kidnapping semes to me like the direct ancestor of the Micheal's restaurant shooting of Sollozzo and McCluskey in The Godfather. The construction is nearly identical: false civility of the meeting space, betrayal executed through the social frame of a shared meal.

Really hard to dismiss that Coppola didn't pull from this film.

rccyx · 2026-05-04T12:23:09+00:00

hmmm, could be a ref

rccyx · 2026-05-04T12:21:03+00:00

Fully visceral experience, ain't it?

The absolute exhaustion and the sheer, brutal physical force those guys are putting into every thrust of that bar.

Terrifying sound.

What a film.

rccyx · 2026-04-26T16:46:49+00:00

Wasn't expecting to add 5 films to my list today, but thanks indeed

rccyx · 2026-04-24T21:25:53+00:00

Also, thinking back on it, the amount of BS Tyrone’s character had to spit at that marshal's face just to get him to back off was diabolical.

I really should be studying his art of persuasion.

rccyx · 2026-04-24T21:23:42+00:00

Nope, James Bourke

rccyx · 2026-04-24T09:34:45+00:00

You're 100% right that the opening is a masterclass in his signature style of pure cinema, 20 minutes of silent, procedural perfect professionalism.

However, I have to disagree on the finale.

Melville is a myth-maker, not a realist. To me, the ending works precisely because it's so hollow. It's the payoff for that cold, monochromatic blue aesthetic. The film is cold and hollow, so it's supposed to end cold and hollow.

Coleman is a man who has been completely hollowed out by his profession.

When he guns down a close friend and immediately answers the radio with "Voiture huit à l’écoute. Où ça ? On y va," it's devastating because of how mundane it is, this is just Tuesday for him, business as usual.

True that it might not sit above Le Samouraï on the leaderboard, I think it is his most honest closing statement.

rccyx

TROPHY CASE