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[Rip] I forgot to tell you; I don't trust anybody- especially women.
When Rip Murdock meets Coral Chandler he discovers another almost perfect femme fatale;
her past is hazy, she sings in nightclubs and has a bad habit of making men fall in love with her…
Oh yes, and they generally wind up dead. Delightful (!)
Case in point: Rip’s army buddy, Johnny.
Sergeant Johnny Drake has just been awarded the Medal of Honour for his courageous actions during WW2.
However, rather than welling up and getting emotional he runs for the hills as soon as he finds out-
with Rip hot on his tail…
Until he finds poor Johnny has met a sticky end.
But the film isn’t really about the men in Coral’s life or even Rip’s search for the truth about Johnny’s death…
[Rip] There were still three things I had to find out:
How could Johnny possibly be a murderer?
Why had he come back here, where he was even hotter than the weather?
And why, why not another word from him since that first call?
Although it doesn’t make the poster, central to the film is the love between Johnny and Rip.
[Coral] You and Johnny, you were together all the time, weren't you?
[Rip] We fought together- two man team.
- And spent all your Leaves together: London, Paris, Rome...
[Rip] ...You won't authorise me to go after him, I'm afraid I'll have to go anyway.
[Rip] Because I knew him like my own birthmark.
[Rip] I remembered him in Berlin: crazy song he always sang...
I used to say 'you drive me nuts with it'.
Yeah, why I used to say to him-
Well, let's just say; I remember Johnny.
Laughing, tough and lonesome.
Let's just say that.
It’s not uncommon in Film Noir for there to be a…
I want to say ‘explicit subtext’ but that feels like an oxymoron…
There is a subtext.
Rip, like a lot of men in these films (and, I suppose ‘those times’ if Mad Men is to be believed…), is casually sexist.
And not just a little sexist.
[Coral] Well then I don't see why-
[Rip] You know, the trouble with women is they ask too many questions.
They should spend all their time being beautiful.
Women ought to come capsule sized- about 4 inches high.
When a man goes out of an evening, he just puts her in his pocket and takes her along with him. And that way he knows exactly where she is.
In many 'classic' films, women are not only devious and annoying they’re also objects.
They don’t earn or deserve love- they steal it.
Johnny, on the other hand, fought bravely by Rip’s side and saved his life on numerous occasions...
winning both his trust and his affections.
Coral may have started out as Johnny’s girl but she seems willing to follow any man who will protect her.
We’re left with many questions about her- does she even really love Rip, as she eventually says she does?
After all, it’s hard to believe someone when they lie that often.
[Coral] Yesterday you called me 'Dusty' and today...
[Rip] Johnny used to call you that, didn't he?
[Coral] Yes. What would you like to call me?
[Rip] McGee, this is... Mike.
[McGee] How'ya, Mike?
[Coral] I'm fine. Now.
It’s interesting to note- when Rip is feeling particularly fond of Coral he has a very masculine nickname for her.
Lizabeth Scott- which is such a fantastic name isn’t it?
Originally her stage name was going to be ‘Elizabeth’ but she dropped the ‘e’ “just to be different”.
…Lizabeth Scott, the actress playing Coral, was later blacklisted for being gay.
If you don't know what that means: ‘blacklisting’ is a term that comes from the Second Red Scare...
anti-communist fears in the 1950s of which Senator Joseph McCarthy was the figurehead.
Thousands of Americans and people working in America were accused of being Communists or Communist sympathisers and subject to institutional bullying.
They were stalked by investigators, questioned by government committees and could be arrested at any time.
The threat posed by a person with left-wing beliefs was judged to be an issue of national security…
beware of Guardian readers!
Alleged homosexuality was also grounds for being targeted and arrested.
[Bartender] Anything else, sir?
[Rip] Well come here, sweetheart.
In Hollywood, those under suspicion were either fired or denied work- despite questionable evidence.
Over 300 actors, writers, directors and even producers were denied work, their names having been added to the ‘black list’.
That’s a lot of wasted talent… although some did continue to work, behind the scenes, under assumed names.
The term ‘McCarthyism’ is now used to describe reckless and unsubstantiated accusations attempting to defame a political opponent or rival.
[Rip, Voiceover] I hated every part of her. I couldn't figure her out yet.
I wanted to see her the way Johnny had- I wanted to hear that song of hers with Johnny's ears.
Maybe she was alright. And maybe Christmas comes in July.
But I didn't believe it.
[Coral] # Either it's love or it isn't... #
#There's no compromise...#