Nightmare Alley

Starring: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker, Taylor Holmes, Mike Mazuki, Ian Keith, Florence Auer, Bonnie Bannon, George Beranger
Directed by: Edmund Goulding
Rating: Passed
Genre: Drama, Film Noir
1947

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Tyrone Power) joins a circus and sees an opportunity to become a mentalist, which he believes will lead him to fame and fortune.

Review:

Tim: Nightmare Alley is a thoroughly good film that feels like it pushed against and ultimately battled against the limits of storytelling in the late 1940s. This dark film noir explores some mature themes and it pushes the boundaries of what was considered acceptable at that period of time. Ultimately, though, studio interference didn't allow it to quite realize its full potential. Still, this is an incredibly effective movie that I thought about long after the film ended.

I was quite surprised how much there was to uncover in this film. The film isn't especially long- 1 hour, 50 minutes, but it manages to cover a great deal of ground. We see Stanton Carlisle rise from an ordinary circus hand to a famous mentalist. His meteoric rise comes at a cost, however. The darker aspects of Carlisle's personality, his ambition cause his reach to exceed his grasp. The decisions he makes are fascinating ones, as is the transformation of his life throughout the course of the movie. I thought the script handled this expertly, telling a story of ambition and consequences that nearly bring the audience to its knees as you contemplate the rise (and fall) of this man. It's a wonderful story, a fascinating look at human complexity and somewhat of a cautionary tale. It's definitely unlike other movies from this time period. It does feel memorable and distinct.

I really appreciated how there weren't many "good" characters in the film. Sure, someone like Molly has a good heart, but even her character has levels of complexity to her. The rest of the characters- Stanton, Dr. Ritter, Zeena, etc. are complicated portraits of people. The whole movie feels like it brought more layers to the story than the usual film from the 1940s.

Tyrone Power is strong as Stanton. I believe this is the first film of Power's I've seen. He seems like a talented actor. While I don't know if I truly loved his performance, you can tell how much he puts into it. It's not a performance you easily shake. He's quite effective in the role. Helen Walker was great as Lilith Ritter. I desperately wish she had a bigger role- she brought a good deal of mystery to the role and I continually asked myself what I thought about her character. I loved how Ritter made her feel like an enigma from beginning to end. Coleen Gray was good as Molly. I wouldn't say it was a great performance, but it was serviceable. Joan Blondell did some decent work as Zeena. It's funny, when I think about this movie, none of the performances really stand out as great. The story is great, the direction and execution of the film are really good, and the performances mostly work. I wouldn't say the cast was brimming with talent, nor were there a lot of truly great performances.

I did want to discuss the ending for a minute. I'll do my best to not spoil anything here, but to be safe, SPOILER WARNING. The film's story seems to be going in a direction that felt incredible to me- devastating, but brilliant. I was really struck by what I could see was coming- it was powerful and memorable. However, the movie abruptly swerves at the last moment to a different conclusion. It cheapened the conclusion and it didn't surprise me to read that studio head Daryl F. Zanuck ordered the new ending. It feels very much in line with the 1940s way of thinking, but it limits the effectiveness of the story. That's a big reason why I couldn't quite consider this movie great.

Nightmare Alley does have a few other flaws throughout the film. I liked that so much was put into the film, but it feels like it occasionally moves too quickly from plot point to plot point. I found the characters all interesting, but I never really cared about any of them. Still, the movie itself is a success, a film noir with far more substance than I would have expected.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



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