Here are some customer reviews of
Nightmare Alley
: Tyrone Power is mesmerizing as Stanton Carlisle, a glib con man in the dark film noir classsic "Nightmare Alley". Using effective cinematography and a well guided cast, director Edmund Golding highlights the seedy, disreputable world of the travelling carnival.
Power is a carny worker with loft aspirations. While working with fortune teller and mind reader Zeena played by Joan Blondell, using his sexuality, he charms her into revealing a valuable secret code she uses in her act. This code enables the mind reader's assistant to communicate information to the performer to successfully complete the act.
Power soon dumps Blondell and in a carny-style wedding marries the virginal Molly, another performer played by the wholesome Coleen Gray. With code in hand and Molly as his assistant he hits the big time performing as impressive mind reader Stanton the Great in the nightclub circuit. He eventually hooks up with Chicago psychologist Lilith Ritter played by the alluring Helen Walker. She counsels many in Chicago's high society and has extensive records of her clients. They decide to use this information to scam and bilk the hoi polloi.
The venture is productive but suddenly Power's fortune turns as a scam involving a reincarnation goes bad. Walker using psychological ploys double crosses Power and he's forced to flee the city, sending Molly away before the trouble started.
Power ultimately receives his just desserts wandering aimlessly as a drunken vagabond, his precipitous fall from the top complete.
What prompted me to purchase this movie I admit was curiosity about the carnival Geek. It didn't exactly show the geek doing its thing which is to bite the heads off of chickens, but it came closer to what a Geek is and does than any other movie I have seen. I have always been curious about this Dylan verse from his Ballad Of A Thin Man which goes, "You hand in your ticket and go watch the geek who immediately walks up to you when he hears you speak and says how does it feel to be such a freak and you say impossible as he hands you a bone, and you know something is happening but you don't know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?" Well, that was the reason I saw this movie and I would wager that it is where Bob Dylan got his idea for his Geek verse in that song. Overall, it was an excellently acted movie with sharp dialogue that grabbed me from the very beginning and never let go. Definitely worth repeated viewings in my book.
Tyrone Power is the amoral Stan, a carny worker who will use anybody, especially women, to facilitate his climb to the top. Joan Blondell is the carnival medium who teaches him the tricks of the trade. He dumps her for Coleen Gray, and is soon a performer in the big nightclubs. But that isn't enough for him, and he overreaches when he allies himself with Helen Walker, an unscrupulous psychologist who is an even smarter operator than he is.
A noir-drenched rise and fall tale, this is grim and compelling stuff. Power is a charismatic cad, one that we enjoy watching in action, all the while eagerly awaiting his comeuppance. Helen Walker, meanwhile, dominates her every scene so completely that you laugh at the idea that the poor sap ever thought he had a chance against this supreme predator. A great, cynical morality tale.
Fox Noir regulars James Ursini and Alain Silver provide yet another fine commentary, one that is interesting not only for the information they provide but also for their disagreements.The trailer for this and other Fox Noir releases round out the package. The menu is basic.
An excellent entry in the series, and a release whose arrival will be welcomed by many who have long wanted a chance to see this film.
All involved in this production should have recieved academy awards,the wonderful performances, tyrone power, joan blondel even mazurki,the scriptis one of the best literary translations I can recall, the musical score ,the rich black and white cinematography,edmond gouldings beautifully florid direction, a dead od evocation of carny life in the forties , absolutely perfect! Rich in visuals and mood a grim yet beautiful motion picture, one of the very best.
Tyrone Power at his best. A spell binding story of a man who becomes so dru nk with power that he destroys himself. But in the end he realizes who his true friend really is. Highly reccomendable.
|
