What is film noir? Perhaps it's easier to answer this question by detailing what it is not. Because film noir is currently flavor of the month among cineastes, many DVD companies are issuing almost any old black-and-white film from their libraries as film noir. A notable case in point is the 1947 movie Daisy Kenyon directed by Otto Preminger. Now I'll admit that Daisy Kenyon does have some noirish elements, chiefly in the dark photographic texture imposed on the picture by Leon Shamroy (who presumably disliked working with Joan Crawford because he often seems to go out of his way to capture her close-ups from unflattering angles). And there's also a court case in the movie. And two auto accidents. But the court case is a divorce proceeding, not a criminal suit, and one of the car accidents occurs off-camera before the story even commences. It's true too that the Andrews character is a heel, and that Fonda's soldier is both battle-scarred and neurotic, and that Daisy herself presents as a terribly mixed-up kid. But aside from Daisy's consistent indecision, these elements are under-played. Instead, as the title implies, aside from a few forays into the glum two-timing Andrews household, the camera's focus always remains firmly fixed on Daisy. Is she emotionally unstable? Not really! She does admittedly suffer one major breakdown, but then recovers with remarkable celerity. Is she hemmed in by forces she can't control? To some extent, but only to near breaking point on one occasion (the cross examination) and to an actual break at the climax. Is she depressed, disillusioned? No more than most of us, and probably less rather than more. Is she ever in any danger? Only in one short sequence, and that strictly from herself. Threatened? Never! Does she ever feel she has no way out? No.
Above all, is the prevailing mood of the movie downbeat? Dark? Black? Answer, despite all Shamroy's efforts to indicate otherwise, no!
Therefore Daisy Kenyon, although it possesses a few noir elements, is not film noir. Personally, I found the central character unconvincing. Her reactions are those of a dime novel heroine rather than a real life person. True, Joan pulls out every trick in the actor's handbook to bring this impossible caricature to a semblance of reality, but is defeated by the slow-moving mechanics of the impossibly stodgy plot. As for the two male characters, I found them both distinctly unsympathetic.
What I did like about the movie were the incidental touches that producer Preminger introduced (Garfield, Runyon, Lyons and Winchell at the Stork Club). The main game from director Preminger, alas, was dead dreary from go to whoa! Any picturegoer who couldn't figure out which man Daisy would choose five minutes into the action was obviously unacquainted with the Breen Office's inflexible requirements. And as the whole plot revolves around this question, the movie is totally pointless. Why make such an enormous issue of Daisy's choice, when we all know what will satisfy Breen almost as soon as the picture starts? And yet for 99 minutes this is dragged out. Incredible, but true! All told, Daisy Kenyon is a picture strictly for patrons who enjoy watching paint dry.
Above all, is the prevailing mood of the movie downbeat? Dark? Black? Answer, despite all Shamroy's efforts to indicate otherwise, no!
Therefore Daisy Kenyon, although it possesses a few noir elements, is not film noir. Personally, I found the central character unconvincing. Her reactions are those of a dime novel heroine rather than a real life person. True, Joan pulls out every trick in the actor's handbook to bring this impossible caricature to a semblance of reality, but is defeated by the slow-moving mechanics of the impossibly stodgy plot. As for the two male characters, I found them both distinctly unsympathetic.
What I did like about the movie were the incidental touches that producer Preminger introduced (Garfield, Runyon, Lyons and Winchell at the Stork Club). The main game from director Preminger, alas, was dead dreary from go to whoa! Any picturegoer who couldn't figure out which man Daisy would choose five minutes into the action was obviously unacquainted with the Breen Office's inflexible requirements. And as the whole plot revolves around this question, the movie is totally pointless. Why make such an enormous issue of Daisy's choice, when we all know what will satisfy Breen almost as soon as the picture starts? And yet for 99 minutes this is dragged out. Incredible, but true! All told, Daisy Kenyon is a picture strictly for patrons who enjoy watching paint dry.