6 Shots From 6 Films: Special Richard Brooks Edition


4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films is just what it says it is, 4 (or more) shots from 4 (or more) of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 (or more) Shots From 4 (or more) Films lets the visuals do the talking.

109 years ago today, Richard Brooks was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He would go on to become an iconoclastic director, making films that challenged taboos and often dealt with the social issues that most mainstream Hollywood filmmakers refused to touch. With In Cold Blood, he launched the entire true crime genre. With Elmer Gantry, he was one of the first American directors to examine how religion became a big business. Throughout his long career, Brooks was a consistent opponent of bigotry, censorship, and hate. As one of the few independent directors to regularly work and achieve prominence during the studio era, he was a trailblazer for many today’s best directors.

In honor of the date of his birth, it’s time for….

6 Shots From 6 Richard Brooks Films

Blackboard Jungle (1955, dir by Richard Brooks, DP: Russell Harlan)
Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958, dir by Richard Brooks, DP: William Daniels)
Elmer Gantry (1960, dir by Richard Brooks, DP: John Alton)
In Cold Blood (1967, dir by Richard Brooks, DP: Conrad Hall)
Bite The Bullet (1975, dir by Richard Brooks, DP: Harry Stradling, Jr.)
Looking for Mr. Goodbar (1977, dir by Richard Brooks, DP: John A. Fraker)

Happy Noir Year!: THE BIG COMBO (United Artists 1955)


gary loggins's avatarcracked rear viewer

(ATTENTION: There’s a surprise waiting for you at the end of this post, so read on…)

Joseph H. Lewis started his directing career with low-budget Westerns starring singing cowboy Bob Baker and East Side Kids programmers, and ended it back on the range doing epsiodes of THE RIFLEMAN, GUNSMOKE, and THE BIG VALLEY. In between, he created some of the finest films noir the genre has to offer: MY NAME IS JULIA ROSS , SO DARK THE NIGHT, THE UNDERCOVER MAN, and especially GUN CRAZY . His last big screen noir outing is the culmination of his work in the genre, 1955’s THE BIG COMBO.

The plot is fairly simple: Police Lt. Leonard Diamond is out to crack gangster Mr. Brown’s “combination”, which controls crime in the city. But Philip Yordan’s screenplay takes that plot and adds exciting twists and turns, indelible characters, and a level of violence audiences weren’t…

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