Tag Archives: andre de toth

Pic of the Day: “Crime Wave” revisited

Posted by Marisa on

To celebrate the birthday anniversary of the great Ted de Corsia, born in Brooklyn this date in 1903, we take another look at Crime Wave (1954), directed by Andre’ de Toth. This is a publicity still for the film under its original title, The City is Dark.

aka Crime Wave

Also appearing here are (left to right) Phyllis Kirk, Gene Nelson, Jim Hayward, and the familiar-looking fellow in the white t-shirt is Charles Buchinsky. You probably know him better under the name he began using shortly afterwards – Charles Bronson.

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on

[Ted] De Corsia‘s sidekick in Crime Wave is the young Charles Bronson, who not only flexes impressively, but growls a few great henchman lines. Leveling his gun at Ellen, he smiles at her husband: “You want I should clip a curl off the cutie?” [Andre’] DeToth loved the primitive contours of Bronson’s face, and his atavistic grace. He used them smartly in several pictures, including the 3-D House of Wax. The gang also included the amusingly unstable Timothy Carey, who is so brain damaged that midway through sexually intimidating Phyllis Kirk he becomes distracted and forgets what he’s doing. Crime Wave was one of the first films that would prompt viewers to ask of Carey: “What the hell is wrong with this guy?”

Crime Wave key set photo #2

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on

The Early Days
It is ironic that a man, whose name is so widely unrecognized, could make such an impression on so many people. You don’t forget Timothy Carey. The infancy of Carey’s career consisted of small roles, often playing “the heavy” or a sideline thug. Yet, Carey’s presence could not be overlooked.

Carey’s film career started small and didn’t really get to grow much more as time went on. His first film role came in 1951, with an uncredited role in Billy Wilder’s noir film The Big Carnival [Marisa’s note: AKA Ace in the Hole. Timothy may have been edited out of the finished film, however.] From there he played another small, uncredited part in the William A. Wellman‘s rustic western Across the Wide Missouri. After working in some forgettable films and playing small, miniscule parts, Carey got his first chance to really shine.

In André De Toth’s gritty noir drama, Crime Wave (1954), Carey’s appearance comes late in the film where he oozes malevolence as Johnny Haslett. He then spends a good deal of time off-camera babysitting the protagonist’s wife. A testament to Carey’s creepiness on screen, the brief glimpse of him as Haslett is enough to keep audiences on the edge of their seats. Moving up from the number four thug to the crime boss’s right-hand man, Carey played Lou Terpe in Harold D. Schuster’s Finger Man (1955). Faithful to a fault, Carey makes the most of his small role, seething with pent-up penitentiary anger at the film’s wimpy hero.

Between his work in Crime Wave and Finger Man, Carey had a small part in the Marlon Brando vehicle, The Wild One. Carey was uncredited in the film, but even with the limited screen time and lack of respect he was given, he managed to turn in the most memorable performance in the film. With his spraying of the soda pop into Marlon Brando’s face, Carey carved his imprint into the minds of many, making his miniscule Chino Boy #1 credit much more than expected. And from there, his small but loud presence in many films to come, like East of Eden, Rumble on the Docks, and Revolt in the Big House, created the enigmatically fascinating actor that one can only call Timothy Carey.

– Sam McAbee, “Timothy Carey: Saint of the Underground”; Cashiers du Cinemart #12 (2001)

The Wild One

Videos of the Week: “The Killing” and “Crime Wave”

Posted by Marisa on

To celebrate today’s broadcast of The Killing (1956) and Crime Wave (1954) on Turner Classic Movies, as part of their tribute to Star of the Month Sterling Hayden, we are featuring two videos this week that come from both of those films. First up is Timothy’s pivotal scene from The Killing, with the great James Edwards.

Next up is a bit of ephemera from Crime Wave that comes to us courtesy of the amazing Film Noir Foundation. It’s part of an interview with that film’s director, Andre’ De Toth. Timothy only appears in a still from the film, however. But that’s OK by us.

Don’t forget – both of these films air TONIGHT on Turner Classic Movies, starting at 5:00 pm PST!

Pic of the Day: “Crime Wave” lobby card

Posted by Marisa on

Already anticipating the screenings of Crime Wave (1954) and The Killing (1956) next month as Turner Classic Movies celebrates its Star of the Month for May, Sterling Hayden, today’s pic takes another look at the former film. It’s one of the best examples of film noir ever, directed by Andre’ De Toth.

Crime Wave lobby card

This intensely red-tinted lobby card features Hayden and Mack Chandler rounding up Timothy and Gene Nelson, as Phyllis Kirk looks on. I encourage you not to miss this film if you haven’t seen it. It’s a winner in every respect.

Quote of the Week

Posted by Marisa on

Of course, the main reason to see THE WORLD’S GREATEST SINNER is to observe Timothy Carey with the brakes removed. He’s mesmerizing in every scene but subtlety is not his specialty. Some critics have accused him of being a total ham and his scene chewing has an excessive, bigger-than-life quality. But just try to tear your eyes away from the screen.

Watch him shake like a bowl of radioactive jello as his Elvis-like alter ego dressed in gold lamé (There’s a little James Brown thrown in as well – “Please! Please! Please! Please! Please! Take My Hand!” –  and maybe even some Tiny Tim). See him transform before your eyes into a hell and brimstone evangelist or play it sweet and low-key as an insurance salesman who’s just “seen the light.”

Carey has always had his own “style” of acting and when you start to consider all of the parts he’s played, he stands out in every movie, even in films where a director like Stanley Kubrick tightly controls every detail right down to an actor’s performance. Among some of my favorite Carey performances are his scary whorehouse bouncer in East of Eden, the shell-shocked, emotionally damaged soldier facing execution in Paths of Glory, the creepy gangster assigned to watch over hostage Phyllis Kirk in Andre de Toth’s Crime Wave, one of the hell-raising motorcycle gang members in The Wild One and his racetrack marksman in The Killing. Now you can add God Hilliard in THE WORLD’S GREATEST SINNER to your list of favorite Carey roles.

– Jeff Stafford, “God Hilliard for President!”; Movie Morlocks (September 20, 2008)

TWGS

Pic of the Day: “Crime Wave” revisited

Posted by Marisa on

Today we observe the 93rd birthday anniversary of legendary cinematic tough guy Charles Bronson. Here he is with Timothy and Jim Hayward in a scene from Andre’ De Toth‘s noir masterpiece Crime Wave (1954).

Crime Wave

Born Charles Dennis Buchinsky to a Lithuanian coal-mining family in Pennsylvania (one of fifteen children), Bronson was the first member of his family to graduate from high school. After a stint in the coal mines himself, he flew bombers in World War II and received a Purple Heart. Odd jobs after the war brought him to a theater group in Philadelphia. He soon found himself in New York City and then Hollywood, determined to pursue an acting career. Like Timothy, he turned in many small and/or uncredited performances in film and on television throughout the 1950s. His big break came when Roger Corman cast him in the title role of Machine-Gun Kelly (1958). Shortly afterwards he won the lead in the TV series Man with a Camera (1958-1960). Important supporting turns in films such as The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1964) and The Dirty Dozen (1967) followed. He then headed to Europe and made several spaghetti Westerns, including Sergio Leone‘s incredible Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). He came back to the United States a bona fide star, and he remained one until his untimely death from pneumonia in 2003. He once said, “Someday I’d like a part where I can lean my elbow against a mantlepiece and have a cocktail.”

Pic of the Day: “Crime Wave” revisited

Posted by Marisa on

Today is the 87th birthday anniversary of the late, lovely Phyllis Kirk! In her honor, we present another shot of her and Timothy from Andre’ De Toth‘s Crime Wave (aka The City is Dark, 1954 but filmed in 1952). Ellen Lacey is unsure about being left under the supervision of giggling hop head Johnny Haslett. As well she should be.

Crime Wave

Wrote Tim in his Movie Stars Parade article, “I played a heavy again in a picture called Crime Wave, with Sterling Hayden and Phyllis Kirk, and in one scene I was holding Phyllis prisoner in a dingy waterfront room. There was low key lighting and the boom was down low. I affected a twitch like a narcotics addict, I turned on a low, sensual, half-crazy laugh, gritted my teeth and dug my hands into her shoulders – just like the creep I was portraying would have done in real life. But Phyllis wasn’t impressed with my realism. She found me too convincing. She broke and got hysterical. I had to go apologize to her, although I don’t know what I was apologizing for.”

Pic of the Day: “Crime Wave” key set photo #2

Posted by Marisa on

In celebration of the great Andre’ De Toth‘s 102nd birthday anniversary, today’s pic is the second of two key set photos from Crime Wave (aka The City is Dark) (1954) that I found on eBay a while back. Key set photos were shots taken on set and used for continuity purposes. Both photos feature Timothy menacing Phyllis Kirk, not surprisingly.

Crime Wave key set photo #2

De Toth was born Sasvári Farkasfalvi Tóthfalusi Tóth Endre Antal Mihály in Hungary (then Austria-Hungary) on this date in 1912. When, during an interview, he was asked about Tim’s acting methods in this film, De Toth replied, “Who was acting?” All of his films are a treat, and most definitely worth watching. Mr. De Toth, The Timothy Carey Experience salutes you!

Pic of the Day: “The City is Dark” publicity still

Posted by Marisa on

Today’s pic is another publicity still for Andre’ De Toth‘s Crime Wave (1954) under its original (and, I believe, more fitting) title, The City is Dark. Timothy and his gang – Jim Hayward, Ted de Corsia, and Charles Bronson – menace Phyllis Kirk and Gene Nelson.

aka Crime Wave

As the 16th annual Noir City Los Angeles Film Noir Festival prepares to launch tomorrow, I can’t think of a better film to get yourself psyched up for it. “How come the smart guys are inside and the dopes outside?”