MAKSQUIBS CINEMATHEQUE: CAGE OF GOLD (1950)

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Tuesday, February 16, 2021

CAGE OF GOLD (1950)

Irresistibly drawn to charismatic fortune-hunter David Farrar, Jean Simmons drops steady beau James Donald for marriage, pregnancy & quick desertion from this scoundrel. Turning to Donald, she’s still not truly over Farrar when his death is reported in a plane crash during his latest confidence racket/smuggling operation. Four year later, now happily married, the perfect moment for her ‘dead’ husband to show up on her doorstep and threaten blackmail. Wildly underrated Brit noir, cunningly structured (excellent use of touchstone elements) and neatly directed by Basil Dearden, it’s loaded with pea-souper atmosphere & tasty London & Paris locations, great cinematographer Douglas Slocombe showing a decidedly inky side. With standout turns in every role (look for Bernard Lee, Herbert Lom, Madeleine Lebeau in support), Simmons tends to work ahead of the story at first, but soon finds her groove. And Farrar is simply mammoth as an amoral threat, constantly on the hunt for an angle & a fast score; yet completely believable in utterly ‘owning’ the women he casually uses before tossing them aside for a chance at grabbing the next golden ring. Super.

DOUBLE-BILL: Basil Dearden followed up on the London waterfront for another fine Brit noir in POOL OF LONDON/’51. https://maksquibs.blogspot.com/2019/06/pool-of-london-1951.html

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Tuesday, February 16, 2021

CAGE OF GOLD (1950)

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