Tag: Marlene Dietrich

Episode 32: Rancho Notorious

Rancho NotoriousIn this week’s episode, we welcome playwright/actor Kelvin Hatle to our table as we discuss what happens when Fritz Lang directs a western: Rancho Notorious!

We highly recommend you watch the film before listening to the episode, because you really must witness at least the drinking game scene. This film is available on DVD from Amazon and can probably be found a few other select places. (Beware of the streaming copy on DailyMotion, which is missing scenes.)

Please join us on September 21st for an episode about the French masterpiece of tension: The Wages of Fear!

Rancho Notorious (1952)
Rancho Notorious poster Rating: 6.9/10 (5,492 votes)
Director: Fritz Lang
Writer: Daniel Taradash, Silvia Richards
Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Arthur Kennedy, Mel Ferrer
Runtime: 89 min
Rated: Approved
Genre: Western
Released: 12 May 1952
Plot: After the murder of his fiancée, a Wyoming ranch hand sets out to find her killer.

Episode 1: Touch of Evil

Touch of EvilWelcome to the inaugural episode of Reel Education: Noir!

Like our parent podcast, A Reel Education, we strive to discuss individual movies in depth, usually with someone who has never seen the film before. But unlike our fellow podcast, we will focus exclusively on films noir. (Really, it’s all just a clever excuse for us to watch a lot of films noir.)

Since A Reel Education has already covered several of the basics like Sunset Boulevard and Double Indemnity, we have begun our dark odyssey with Orson Welles’ Touch of Evil.

If you are unfamiliar with the Reel Education structure, here’s the deal: we will first briefly discuss the film, then stop the podcast and watch it. (At this point, feel free to pause the podcast and watch the film yourself!) Then we return and discuss our reactions and some of the history behind the film.

We hope you enjoy our stroll down the dark alleys of film history! A Reel Education: Noir will post on the 7th and 21st of every month, so we will next see you on June 7th!

Touch of Evil (1958)
Touch of Evil poster Rating: 8.0/10 (109,444 votes)
Director: Orson Welles
Writer: Orson Welles, Whit Masterson, Franklin Coen
Stars: Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh
Runtime: 95 min
Rated: PG-13
Genre: Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Released: 23 Apr 1958
Plot: A stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.