#tay garnett

[marypickfords]

One Way Passage (Tay Garnett, 1932)

[classicfilmblr]

John Garfield as Frank Chambers The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) dir. Tay Garnett

[k-wame]

CLARK GABLE as Alan Gaskell 1935 • China Seas • dir. Tay Garnett 

[gatutor]

Wallace Beery-Jean Harlow-Clark Gable "Mares de China" (China seas) 1935, de Tay Garnett.

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

one way passage |1932|

[letterboxd-loggd]

Stand-In (1937) Tay Garnett

August 31st 2024

[desolatus]

elizabeth montgomery in frontier circus (1961)

[womansfilm]

One Way Passage (1932)

[sloshed-cinema]

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)

Shock really was graded on a curve thanks to Hayes. A certain vein of Hollywood has always sought to court the risqué, from the blue years of pre-Code Hollywood through to today’s scandalous transgressions. But the vernacular has shifted, all while remaining the same. Cora is introduced in an outright torrid fashion, her lipstick rolling into frame before she is brought into the world of the story legs first. Though the chemistry between herself and Frank might be the hot-button topic of denial, there’s precious little either of them can do to avoid it. The object of killing a spouse is taboo to say the least, but there are ways to wend into that conversation time and again. The film makes a lurid game of gazes, the subtle cast of expression shifting during otherwise normal conversations in spite of what others around might feel or know. Entendres can be laid bare, disdain and passion made all the less secret despite what the local DA and cat-loving cop might hope. There’s something about subtlety that makes it all the less subtle. This is charged for all of its lack of sex scenes, a wayward cast of the eye enough to clue the audience into the ulterior motives. And when there’s no outright fucking, there’s plenty of judicial fuckery taking place. The foreplay between defendant and prosecution is every bit as fraught as what might be taking place behind the wheel of a car or under the sheets.

This is a game of chess. Words mean nothing. It’s all about positioning. Frank tries to insert himself early into the relationship between his employer and his wife. These gestures aren’t entirely welcome, but they’re not rebuffed, and Frank knows just how to pull the strings or pull a few levers as needed. Cora is no cipher when it comes to her truest feelings and indeed we get to see her unleashed more than might be allowable elsewhere at her highest highs. This is a top-notch exercise in noire and a testing of the waters for things to come. Michael Douglas would be nothing without this.

THE RULES

SIP

Voiceover narration begins.

Nick is blotto in a scene.

People exchange suspicious glances.

Cara does her makeup.

BIG DRINK

The cop shows up in a scene.

Electricity talk.

Nick plays guitar.

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[nerds-yearbook]

A singing mechanic got knocked on the head in the year 1912 and woke up in King Arthur’s Court. ("A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court", flm)

[marypickfords]

Kay Francis in One Way Passage (Tay Garnett, 1932)

[sesiondemadrugada]

Cause for Alarm! (Tay Garnett, 1951).

[k-wame]

CLARK GABLE as Alan Gaskell 1935 • China Seas • dir. Tay Garnett

[gatutor]

Rosalind Russell-Clark Gable "Mares de China" (China seas) 1935, de Tay Garnett.

[chaptertwo-thepacnw]

one way passage |1932|