A Stern Lecture

Pencil drawing by Art Price.

Wednesday, February 22, 1950

20 Cooper Street

Southampton, NY

Dear June,

What’s the idea of not writing just because a letter is a day late?  You can’t do that to me.  I love you, darling, but I’ll be angry if you do it again.  I’ll accept some excuses for not writing but not this one.  I look forward to your letters so much.  You know I wait for them just like you do.

It was wonderful to talk to you yesterday.  I would have liked to sit and listen to your voice all afternoon.  Of course, this will be a short letter.  Not much has happened since.  I washed my car this afternoon – first time in months.  Then I went to see Twelve O’Clock High tonight.  It was very good as you probably already know.  Then I came home right afterward.  I’m behaving myself.  No more beer for me.

I missed you very much last night, darling.  I miss you very much all the time.  Take good care of yourself and good night for now,

Love

Art

(Tomorrow – girls night out on Broadway.)

© 2011 Lee Price

"If You Like-A Me Like I Like-A You"

Tuesday, February 21, 1950

46 West 83rd Street, Apt. 7B

New York City, NY

Dear Art,

Fashion illustration by
June Anderson.

Please, darling, don’t be mad at me for not writing this weekend.  I don’t know what’s wrong with me – I should have realized your letters were held up by trains or something.  On Friday night, I waited and waited for your letter.  I thought it was just our landlord being slow about delivering the mail, as is usually the situation.  I hate to keep asking for my mail all the time so I waited and waited.  I worked up an awful temper.  I kicked a chair away so hard it almost knocked over the lamp.  It was miserable.  So I finally went downstairs and asked – only to find out that no letter had come for me.  After all that, do you blame me for not writing?  I’m sorry, darling, I’ll really try to behave better the next time.

Your phone call left me feeling so good last night.  I would have been very disappointed if you hadn’t called.  I don’t know what to say about your drinking Saturday night.  I like you to go out because I know you enjoy it and feel lost around the house doing nothing.  But please don’t drink too much.  After all, you’re the one that has to drive, and I don’t want anything happening to you.

Shirl and I just found out that Evie (her sister, you know) is coming here this week.  She’ll probably stay through the weekend.  Heaven knows what we’ll do while she’s here!

They just finished Henry Owens singing “Shadrack” over the radio.  I like that song!  Oh, I heard “Under the Bamboo Tree” today on the radio, too.  First time since I left college – we used to sing it so many times there.  You know the one – “I love-a you and love-a you true.”  It’s true, too.

I haven’t done a bit of homework here yet.  I really work harder at home than here.  Tomorrow I have to start though.  It’s terrible to get behind.

Do take care of yourself, darling, and keep writing.

All my love,

June

(Tomorrow – unacceptable excuses.)

© 2011 Lee Price

The Movies They Watched

From February 14 through 21, June and Art is participating in For the Love of Film (Noir):  The Film Preservation Blogathon.  The June and Art letters are still here, but during this week they will be embellished with film noir images and other supplementary material.

Through this blogathon, over 80 bloggers are hoping to raise significant funds to support the work of the Film Noir Foundation and restore The Sound of Fury, a 1950 film noir starring Lloyd Bridges.  Please contribute to the effort by going to this link, the Maltese Falcon donation
button, or through the donation buttons on host sites
Ferdy on Films and the Self-Styled Siren.

“Then we’ll probably go to a movie.”

                                                                     June Anderson

                                                                     Letter to Art Price, Feb. 18, 1950

June and Art met on May 30, 1949 and began dating very soon afterward.  Movies were a big part of both their lives.  Their letters reflect this.

These were the glory days of film noir.  The genre reached its peak in the late 1940s/early 1950s and will forever be associated with the evocative black-and-white cinematography of these movies.

Looking at the nine months of their courtship to date (June 1949 to February 1950), chances are they watched a number of the following film noir releases:

1949

June

Criss Cross with Burt Lancaster and Yvonne De Carlo

July

Follow Me Quietly with William Lundigan and Dorothy Patrick

House of Strangers with Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, and Richard Conte

Scene of the Crime with Van Johnson and Arlene Dahl

August

Too Late for Tears with Lizabeth Scott and Dan Duryea

The Window with Bobby Driscoll

September

Red Light with George Raft and Virginia Mayo

White Heat with James Cagney and Virginia Mayo

October

Beyond the Forest with Bette Davis and Joseph Cotten

Border Incident with Ricardo Montalban, George Murphy, and Howard Da Silva

Chicago Deadline with Alan Ladd and Donna Reed

The Clay Pigeon with Bill Williams and Barbara Hale

Johnny Stool Pigeon with Howard Duff, Shelley

Winters, Dan Duryea, and Tony Curtis

Thieves’ Highway with Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, and Lee J. Cobb

Trapped with Lloyd Bridges and Barbara Payton

The Woman on Pier 13 with Robert Ryan and Laraine Day

November

Abandoned with Dennis O’Keefe and Gail Storm

Port of New York with Yul Brynner and Neville Brand

Strange Bargain with Martha Scott and

Jeffrey Lynn

They Live By Night with Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell

Whirlpool with Gene Tierney and Richard Conte

December

The Big Steal with Robert Mitchum and Jane Greer

The Reckless Moment with James Mason and Joan Bennett

The Threat with Charles McGraw and Virginia Grey

Undertow with Scott Brady and Dorothy Hart

1950

January

The File on Thelma Jordan with Barbara Stanwyck and Wendell Corey

Gun Crazy with John Dall and Peggy Cummins

The Hidden Room with Robert Newton and Sally Gray

Tension with Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, and Cyd Charisse

February

Backfire with Virginia Mayo, Gordon MacRae, and Edmond O’Brien

No Man of Her Own with Barbara Stanwyck and John Lund

Reign of Terror with Robert Cummings and Richard Basehart

The Secret Fury with Claudette Colbert and Robert Ryan

The Tattooed Stranger with John Miles and Patricia Barry

The Third Man with Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, and Orson Welles

Woman in Hiding with Ida Lupino and Howard Duff

Interesting distribution of movies...  I wonder if the studios thought these films weren’t appropriate summer fare and therefore held off releasing their darker crime dramas until fall and winter.

Thanks to the IMDb Advanced Title search engine for allowing me to sort by date!

(Tomorrow – June's temper tantrum.)

© 2011 Lee Price

Night and the City

Beautifully atmospheric setting of New York City at night for
director Robert Siodmak's Phantom Lady, a 1944 film noir based on a
Cornell Woolrich novel and best remembered for the hopped-up jazz
drum solo played in a club by film noir staple Elisha Cook Jr.

From February 14 through 21, June and Art is participating in For the Love of Film (Noir):  The Film Preservation Blogathon.  The June and Art letters are still here, but during this week they will be embellished with film noir images and other supplementary material.

Through this blogathon, over 80 bloggers are hoping to raise significant funds to support the work of the Film Noir Foundation and restore The Sound of Fury, a 1950 film noir starring Lloyd Bridges.  Please contribute to the effort by going to this link, the Maltese Falcon donation button, or through the donation buttons on
host sites Ferdy on Films and the Self-Styled Siren.

Now here’s today’s letter from June:

Saturday, February 18, 1950

Jane Randolph is stalked in New
York City at night by an unseen
presence -- a scene filled with
noir elements from Val Lewton's
1942 horror classic Cat People.

46 West 83rd Street, Apt. 7B

New York City, NY

Dear Art,

Shirl and I went to a late movie last night.  It didn’t get out until 1 o’clock.  We had to walk several blocks to get back to the apartment and it was dark and scary.  It doesn’t look like such a good district late at night.

We had to go to a late movie because we couldn’t decide what to see.  We finally got desperate and said we would see

The city is London and the man on
the run is Richard Widmark in
director Jules Dassin's Night and
the City (1950) -- about as perfect
a title for a noir as you can get!

anything, which is exactly what we did see.  Next time we’ll go earlier. 

I’ve just hung up from talking to you.  How nice!  You told me to write and to tell you I love you – well, that’s exactly what I’m doing.

Even though it’s already noon, I’m still in my bathrobe.  I was in it when I was talking to you on the phone.  I’ll have to get dressed now – Shirl’s waiting for me.  We’re going to the Met to see a men’s clothing exhibit – for the laughs.  Then

The city is Vienna and the man on
the run is Orson Welles as
Harry Lime in director Carol Reed's
The Third Man (1949).

we’ll probably go to a movie.

All my love,

June

(For Monday – the movies they watched.)

© 2011 Lee Price

Sounds Like an Artist

From February 14 through 21, June and Art is participating in For the Love of Film (Noir):  The Film Preservation Blogathon.  The June and Art letters are still here, but during this week they will be embellished with film noir images and other supplementary material.  Through this blogathon, over 80 bloggers are hoping to raise significant funds to support the work of the Film Noir Foundation and restore The Sound of Fury, a 1950 film noir starring Lloyd Bridges.

Please contribute!  Place a donation through this link, the Maltese Falcon donation button, or through the donation buttons on host sites Ferdy on Films and the Self-Styled Siren.

The world of film noir was filled with would-be artists:  down-on-their-luck musicians, writers, and painters.  They were looking for that one big break, but there are no good breaks in film noir.  Take the case of Chris Cross in Scarlet Street (1945)...


The director of Scarlet Street was Fritz Lang, one of the great names
in classic film noir.  He began his career in the heyday of German
expressionism and quickly rose to prominence with important movies
such as Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), Die Nibelungen (1924),
and Metropolis (1927).  His early sound film M (1931) was a major
influence on film noir and launched the career of Peter Lorre.  Fleeing
to Hollywood, Lang brought his distinctive style to gripping film noir
dramas like The Woman in the Window (1944), Scarlet Street (1945),
and The Big Heat (1953).

In their own way, June and Art were would-be artists, too.  June studied fashion design and illustration;  Art studied fine art at night while working as a grocery clerk by day.  Fortunately, Art never fell into the clutches of two-timing grifters like Kitty March (Joan Bennett) and Johnny Prince (Dan Duryea).

Here's today's letter from Art:



Edward G. Robinson as Chris Cross,
a bank clerk and amateur painter,
who falls for a particularly
conniving femme fatale, played by
Joan Bennett.



Friday, February 17, 1950

20 Cooper Street

Southampton, NY

Dear June,

I don’t know how it is in the city but it’s cleared up beautifully here.  It looks like spring outside.  I had a very interesting art class last night.  I didn’t get home till almost 11:00.  Partida and her family have gone to Florida and her new assistant is running
things at the art school.  His name

Based on a French novel and
previously filmed in 1931 by Jean
Renoir, the plot of Scarlet Street
hinges on the genuine talent of
Chris Cross.  But in a world with
people like Johnny and Kitty,
talent isn't enough to save you.

is Arthur Secunda – that sounds like an artist’s name, doesn’t it?

Yesterday we took inventory at Roulston’s and it kept us very busy.

I didn’t do anything much this afternoon – just rode down to the ocean and took it easy.  Tonight I plan to work on my art for the course.  Maybe I’ll go to bed early.  By the way, I got my insurance dividend check today from the government.  It will come in handy.  I didn’t expect it for another month.

Well until I see the sweetest girl in the

Chris Cross stands in front of a
gallery selling his art.  Scarlet
Street is unusual in that it
violates the Hayes Code require-
ment that murderers receive
official punishment.  But that
doesn't mean he gets off easy.
No one would ever want to end
up like Chris Cross.

world again, I love you, darling.

Lots of love,

Art

(Tomorrow – walking in the city after midnight.)

© 2011 Lee Price

An Apartment in the City



 "I run from death, and death meets me as fast,
And all my pleasures are like yesterday."

                                                                                      John Donne, Holy Sonnet #7

(The quote that opens The Seventh Victim (1943).)

The unforgettably haunting look of Jean Brooks as
Jacqueline Gibson in Val Lewton's The Seventh Victim (1943),
the uncompromising story of a young woman who moves
to Greenwich Village and gets mixed up with a very bad
crowd (Satanists).  Made on a low b-movie budget,
The Seventh Victim is uncompromising in its depiction of
city life as lonely, alienating, and potentially violent. 



From February 14 through 21, June and Art is participating in For the Love of Film (Noir):  The Film Preservation Blogathon.  The June and Art letters are still here, but during this week they will be embellished with film noir images and other supplementary material.

Through this blogathon, over 80 bloggers are hoping to raise significant funds to support the work of the Film Noir Foundation and restore The Sound of Fury, a 1950 film noir starring Lloyd Bridges.  Please contribute to the effort by going to this link or through the donation buttons on host sites Ferdy on Films and the Self-Styled Siren.

Now here’s today’s letter from June:

Thursday, February 16, 1950

46 West 83rd Street, Apt. 7B
New York City, NY

Dear Art,

Guess where the poison is...  Director
Director Mark Robson brilliantly
builds the suspense, while
keeping everything low-key.
These nice well-dressed
people don't look like killers.

I wonder why human beings impose self tortures on themselves.  I’d so love to go home every weekend – but I won’t.  Well, I really do have reasons for staying in the city – I need to save some money (catch up to my allowance) and it’s not fair to Shirl to go home so much.  Something’s missing here in the city though, and I know what it is – I left my heart with you in Southampton.  It just doesn’t do any good to try to go home to rescue it either – if possible, another piece just chips off and remains behind.

A noose hanging in Jacqueline's
New York City apartment...  The
major artistic talent behind this
memorable film noir was Val Lewton,
 an unusually literate producer who
discovered a talent for finding the
poetry in darkness.

Have you asked Bruno if Jane Hasting’s found a job yet, or doesn’t he know?  I may as well make this a questioning paragraph:  Are you keeping up with your artwork for both Partida and this other course?  How are your parents?  And especially how are you?

I really haven’t done anything since I’ve gotten back to the city.  I’m just writing to let you know I’m here and to tell you I miss you, I miss you, I miss you.

So, please be careful, take care of yourself, and write me.  (Am I sounding bossy?)

All my love,

June

(Tomorrow – art lessons at night.)

© 2011 Lee Price

The Wrong Man

Henry Fonda, wrongly imprisoned in Alfred Hitchcock's
The Wrong Man (1958).

From February 14 through 21, June and Art is participating in For the Love of Film (Noir):  The Film Preservation Blogathon.  The June and Art letters are still here, but during this week they will be embellished with film noir images and other supplementary material.

Through this blogathon, over 80 bloggers are hoping to raise significant funds to support the work of the Film Noir Foundation and restore The Sound of Fury, a 1950 film noir starring Lloyd Bridges.  Please contribute to the effort by going to this link (if it’s working!) or through the donation buttons on host sites Ferdy on Films
and the Self-Styled Siren.

Now here’s today’s letter from Art:

Wednesday, February 15, 1950

20 Cooper St.

Southampton, NY

Dear June,

In the bleak universe of film noir,
innocent men are always being
lured into traps and accused of
crimes.  Here Orson Welles is the
innocent sailor framed for murder
in the 1947 film noir classic
The Lady from Shanghai.

I heard a story today that made me wonder.  You know how Bruno is still upset about Mary?  Well, on Sunday morning, Herb (Mary’s new boyfriend) got a phone call.  They’d had a fire in his home – it burnt a TV set among other things.  I couldn’t help but wonder where Bruno was.  So I asked him.  He says he was in church.  Good alibi.

Thank you for the nice Valentine.  I love you too and miss you very much already, darling.  I made it safely home after leaving your house as you can see.  I went 20 miles an hour all the way.  It must have taken over 45 minutes to get from
Riverhead to Southampton!

He sure looks like he could be
guilty.  Humphrey Bogart stars as
a wrongly accused screenwriter in
Nicholas Ray's In a Lonely Place
(1951).  In this case, wrongly
accused does not mean nice.
Moral ambiguity is endemic in
film noir.

We had a fairly busy day at Roulston’s.  People are still asking Bruno about his car accident.

I went to the movies tonight and met Joe Cerullo when I came out.  We went up street and had a cup of coffee.  I think Joe lives at night and sleeps all day now.  Tomorrow I go to painting class.

Be sure and write.  Let me know if you’re coming home.  I never give up hope, darling.  I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I love you very much.  Goodnight for now my wonderful valentine,

Lots of love,

Art

Of course, the Bruno of the "June and Art" letters is innocent.
Nevertheless, it's hard not to think of another Bruno who imagined
that he had devised the perfect alibi:  Robert Walker's classic portrayal
of Bruno Anthony in Alfred Hitchcock's Strangers on a Train (1951).
He is seen here with Farley Granger as Guy Haines, the much duller hero.

(Tomorrow – June wonders why humans torture themselves.)

© 2011 Lee Price