"KMD" was an independent picture produced and directed by
Aldrich, who
was a true maverick. Much of it was shot on location, which
dictates a
different scheme from most of the studio bound B's of the
forties. There
probably just wasn't enough time to artfully light it,
although there is
an argument that the "low-key" style is actually quicker and
"down and
dirty." (The great John Alton, of "T-Men" and others was a
master of
this.)
But more importantly, all the intense and beautiful
stylization of the
forties was only really relevent to that period. How many
times must we
see slashes of light through venetian blinds, and rain
slicked streets,
and all the other cliches? Visionary that Aldrich was, he was
already
aware that these motifs were overused and I'll wager that he
consciously
avoided them.
By the end of the fifties, most of the interesting
independents had
moved towards the flatter harshness of the TV visual
aesthetic -- ie,
Fuller's "Shock Corridor," and "The Naked Kiss." Welle's
"Touch Of
Evil," viewed as the official end of the cycle, is more of a
Welles'
picture than a noir, to my mind -- after all, much of the
visual aspects
of noir came out of "Citizen Kane," which obviously was
influenced to a
certain degree by European Expressionism.
Noir is really more of a world view, I think, than a bunch of
visual
cliches. They had meaning in the forties, now they're nothing
more than
nostalgia.
As for Meeker's performance -- you're not alone in thinking
that it's
wooden. And when I first saw the movie, after hearing so much
about it,
I was turned off by the "over the top" trashiness of the
whole
experience. But after repeated viewings, I now believe it's
inspired
trash. Meeker's soulless performance epitomizes the
hollowness of
Hammer, himself. Luckily, the characterization is
unsentimentalized,
unlike so many others.
Dave
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