Fig 4:

Nick’s Movies

Jonathan Rosenbaum recently offered some useful, brief observations on two versions of Nicholas Ray’s last film, a collaboration with Wim Wenders. (1) A third (of sorts) also circulated, and considering the var...

Party Girl

The disappointments of adulthood permeate Nicholas Ray’s gangland fable Party Girl, the story of a criminal defense attorney (Robert Taylor) and a nightclub dancer (Cyd Charisse) who struggle to break free of t...

Johnny Guitar

Does it come at all as a surprise that the first image in the often-hallucinatory Johnny Guitar features an explosion, and one whose cause is not immediately apparent? Or that the next sequence draws attention ...

Knock on Any Door

“Knock on Any Door looks like a throwback to the socially conscious gangster movie of the 1930s… the resurrection of a dying genre.” - Bernard Eisenschitz (1) “In some respects, Knock on Any Door conforms to ...

They Live by Night

N. B. Those who wish to avoid prior knowledge of the story, particularly its climax, should put off reading these notes till after seeing the film. Hopefully, then, they will want to see the film again! When...