The Al Stewart reference (I don’t care who knows it now: as a surly teen I rather liked that “Year of the Cat” song, not enough to ever do something idiotic like buy the record, but well enough) is just a gateway to the announcement that this evening I’ll introduce the peculiar 1940 B‑picture Stranger on the Third Floor as part of the series “Shades of Noir: Forerunners, Classics And Variants” at the central branch of the Brooklyn Public Library. Snaggle-toothed Lorre, above, proves hardly as blameless as his interaction with Margaret Tellichet and that pooch would indicate. Also with Elisha Cook, Jr., who screams “I didn’t do it!” a lot, and with good reason.
A fantastic flick.
Sounds good indeed – I’ll look into it.
Though he wouldn’t be in an all-time favorites list for me I’ve long had a soft spot for Al Stewart, a smart and very thoughtful guy. I slightly prefer his earlier records like Love Chronicles, but his two Alan Parson-ized albums have plenty of attractions too – for me, that sax is the only thing that edges Year of the Cat a bit too close to Smooth Jazz, but there’s plenty of the same on Steely Dan records too, so… He also puts on a good live show.
I don’t live anywhere near Brooklyn, but in a spirit of solidarity I watched the film at home on DVD last night (thank you, Warner Archives). Very odd movie, isn’t it? The main character seemed almost more pathological than the real killer, and I kept hoping the Lorre character would turn out to be just some kind of psychological projection of his twisted repressed violent impulses … But the movie didn’t want to go that direction. Still, very worth seeing. And the pooch got a couple of good raw hamburgers out of the deal!
I’ve ordered this on Amazon, thanks to your recommendation, Glenn.
Also: Laird Cregar alert! He looks quite dashing here.
http://moviemorlocks.com/2013/10/15/to-save-and-project-2013/#more-68593
I bought the record. At least it rubbed up against Live at the Village Vanguard Again.