James Dalrymple

The first part of the book, especially the part on mining, is the most illuminating, I reckon. The second part is more polemical but less engaging. Memorable read though

A glimmer in Pat’s (Claire Trevor) eye like the sparkle in her earrings reveals her deep-seated, dangerous passion for the man she and her love rival want to save in their own different and yet similar ways. There’s good in there; it’s just how to bring it out in spite of himself

The looming Raymond Burr as a ruthless bastard in a pinstriped suit with enormous shoulder pads. Is it even noir if Raymond Burr isn’t in it playing a despicable and wholly believable villain?

Holy shit, what a shot. Pat’s reflection in a ticking clock as she wrestles with herself about what to do - the selfish or the right thing, though she knows the latter will destroy any hope of future happiness

One of the all-time fight to the death scenes as Rick (Burr) and Joe (Dennis O’Keeffe… my cousin’s name, incidentally) wrestle on the balcony of a burning room

A doomed love triangle
Raymond Burr in massive shoulder pads
Inescapable fate
Moonlight on wet asphalt
Flickering neon hotel signs
Gunfights in the mist
That shimmer Alton captures in each woman’s eyes when they’re overwhelmed by love

Raw Deal (Mann, 1948) is everything noir should be and more

The Levant Trilogy (Book One: The Danger Tree) by Olivia Manning Five years ago, I read and loved Olivia Manning’s Balkan Trilogy, a superb series of largely autobiographical novels based on the author’s experiences of a life lived on the advancing edges of turm…

From the archive for Olivia Manning #BornOnThisDay in 1908, my thoughts on THE DANGER TREE, book 1 of the magnificent LEVANT TRILOGY.

Inspired by Manning's personal experiences, it's an absorbing, richly rewarding novel with an immersive sense of place! 💙📚

jacquiwine.wordpress.com/2026/01/18/t...

I have seen a few Richard Rush films - Colour of Night (his masterpiece...), Freebie and the Bean, Getting Straight - so I wasn't expecting a straight-ahead film but the mix of tones and styles of The Stunt Man still caught me slightly off-guard.

A poster of the noir film Crime Wave.

Rewatch: CRIME WAVE (1954), a gritty, 74-minute B-noir with a taut script, rapid pace, superb performances and perfect on-location filming in L.A.

Three prison escapees rob a gas station, kill a cop and force an ex-con-gone-straight into …
#FilmSky #noir #FilmNoir #MovieSky #thriller
1/2

Some stunning cover work in these thread

Intriguing!

oh great, thanks Juli!

Beauty and Destruction: Wartime London in Art A free exhibition that tells the story of London during the Second World War, as seen by artists. Families can enjoy a child-friendly ‘stamper’ trail and activity sheet that encourages children to spo...

As bombs rained down in 1940s London, artists responded. See art that presents a city both familiar and strange in over 45 paintings and drawings alongside photographs, film, objects and oral histories.

IWM London
20 March to 1 November 2026

😆sometimes you've just got to jazz things up a bit

To be fair, it's not a very appealing title

Like Abbas Kiarostami, he seemed to like deconstructing his own films. This isn't always very engaging as drama, but there are things "going on" when it doesn't seem like much is happening at all

he he, you don't have to. I just thought you might have one in mind. I'm often curious about the paintings chosen for those editions

What novel would you use it for, Jacqui? 😀

James Abbott McNeill Whistler (1834-1903) SYMPHONY IN WHITE, NO. III Around 1865-67 Oil paint on canvas Shown at the Royal Academy in 1867, this painting was the first in a series of works that Whistler exhibited under the title of 'symphony. By aligning his work with music, Whistler gave primary importance to form, tone and colour, opposing many of his contemporaries' emphasis on narrative. He took inspiration from Japanese art, which is evident here in his arrangement of the figures against a flattened space, framed by flowers to the right and accented by a patterned fan in the foreground. The Henry Barber Trust, the Barber Institute of Fine Arts, University of Birmingham. Purchased 1939 (no. 39.24)

The right-hand-side of the painting showing a girl in a long cream-coloured dress sitting on the floor next to a couch. An orange Japanese fan is lying on the floor near her legs.

The left-hand side of the painting shows another girl in a long cream-coloured dress lounging listlessly on the couch. Her hear is propped up on one arm while the other arm rests on the back of the couch.

If you’re going to the Courtauld’s SEURAT AND THE SEA exhibition, check out the selection of artworks on loan from Birmingham’s Barber Institute of Fine Arts, on display until August this year.

I love this painting by Whistler, which would look ideal on the covers of old Virago Modern Classics!

Hearing characters question traditional gender roles, for example, might have been more acceptable to censors if it were thought to have just been "overheard" rather than scripted. The play of realities seems just as much a trick on the authorities as it does on audiences. 3/3

It would be easy to dismiss this as an elaborate self-reflexive prank, but the film cleverly flits between fiction and behind-the-scenes documentary, picking up dialogue that may or may not be staged, and some of which might have been considered "subversive" to authorities. 2/3

The poster for The Mirror, written and directed by Jafar Panahi, in which the main character Mina (played by Mina Mohammad Khani) features prominently

First watch: The Mirror (1997). I hesitated as to which Jafar Panahi film from the Mubi collection to go with next so I just put on his second, the follow up to The White Balloon, once again about a little girl lost on the streets of Tehran ... before it makes a sharp metatextual about-turn. 1/3

A ★★★★★ review of The Secret Agent (2025) Still musing about the final 10 minutes…it’s a brave call as a filmmaker… The rest? As an act of world-building, it was patient and (I felt) it trusted the audience to join up the dots and follow the ...

boxd.it/djBBXX
Well, it’s 5***** from me Matthew… ❤️❤️❤️❤️ #FilmSky

…and here is Neal Adams classic movie poster for Westworld #FilmSky #ColicSky #NealAdams

I like the way the title of the film is less prominent on the poster than the actors. I was wondering at first if the film even had a name

I like this one. Somewhere on the spectrum between noir and outright gothic horror

A poster for the Fritz Lang film House by the River.

First watch: Fritz Lang’s HOUSE BY THE RIVER (1950), a suspenseful film about a narcissistic author who accidentally kills his maid, convinces his brother to help him submerge the body in a river and then tries to shift blame to him when police find the victim.
#FilmSky #MovieSky #suspense

Ah pretty hyped for The Secret Agent!

Another good month!

😆

I've never seen it. I don't have fond memories of Intolerable Cruelty either though

sounds like a goer!

Yes, it finally resolves into something very moving, which I wasn't expecting

I'll be catching some more soon hopefully