An investigation led by thomas mitchells lieutenant stevenson leads to several witnesses. When a respected doctor turns up dead, the girl working in the lobby of his office building is identified as the last person to have seen him alive. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading the mirror. The dark mirror 1946 film, a psychological thriller directed by robert siodmak. Four film noir classics bluray arrow academy frame.
This is one of the rare slips in robert siodmaks otherwise assured and effective direction another slip being dimitri tiomkins occasionally oversprightly music accompanying early parts of the investigation. The dark mirror examines the split course of german popular film from the early 1930s until the mid 1950s, showing how nazi filmmakers appropriated hollywood conventions and how german film exiles reworked german cultural material in. The dark mirror examines the split course of german popular film from the early 1930s until the mid. One or two to a chapter, all of the directors films are discussed in detail, with the author devoting.
Lutz koepnick analyzes the complicated relationship between two cinemashollywoods and nazi germanysin this theoretically and politically incisive study. Among the most notable works in siodmaks noir cycle are the thrillers cry of the city and the dark mirror, each prime examples of the siodmak style. This is the story of two brothers curt kurt and robert siodmak and their impact on both the american and. The dark mirror examines the split course of german popular film from the early 1930s until the mid 1950s, showing how nazi filmmakers appropriated hollywood conventions and how german film exiles reworked german cultural material in their efforts to find a working base in the hollywood studio system. His earliest memories are not of hearth and kin but of this dark stranger who while not. The ban was overturned, because of the book s social value, based on the testimony of both allen ginsberg and norman mailer. This is a book about a reoccurring theme in salvatores books. The dark mirror is the first book in juliet marilliers bridei chronicles. With being a goblin though the village does not believe him to be honorable. A popular title on both tv and home video well into the 1980s partially spurred on by a surprisingly entertaining madefortv remake in 1984 starring jane seymour, the dark mirror was available widely on vhs from republic but dropped out of sight once the companys assets went through a series of rights changes.
Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The dark mirror 1920 film, a silent drama starring dorothy dalton. The dark mirror also boasts a very solid supporting cast, with especially fine work from thomas mitchell and lew ayres. Scott elliott lew ayres to discover the killer of a wellestablished doctor. The dark mirror by lutz koepnick paperback university of. The film marks ayres return to motion pictures following his conscientious objection to service in world war ii. This nearclassic thriller from director robert siodmak stars lew ayres as a psychologist trying to discover which twin sister is a killer. Robert siodmak great director profile senses of cinema. A man is found murdered, with witnesses convinced about the woman they saw leaving his apartment. The dark mirror also boasts a very solid supporting cast, with especially fine.
Directed by robert siodmak the killers, it is a psychological thriller focusing on the attempts of lt. The dark mirror 46 christmas holiday 44 the rationale. Bizarre occurrences plague a home, but it remains unclear if they signal a manifestation of evil or the illusory products of a womans mental breakdown in dark mirror, director and coscreenwriter. The book infamously protests the death penalty and experiments with non. Bridei is a young nobleman fostered at the home of broichan, one of the most powerful druids in the land. A man is found murdered, with witnesses convinced about the. Lutz koepnicks the dark mirror provides one of the finest, most compelling and suggestive.
Dark mirror by robert siodmak lew ayres, thomas mitchell. They are explorations of violence and criminality masterfully crafted with evocatively lit expressionist. The main story takes place just before the first demon invasions of azeroth, yet the legions presence is already known as stated by sylvanas. A biography, with critical analyses of his films noirs and a filmography of all his works is an excellent resource on siodmak, and delivers exactly what its subtitle promises. Siodmak, like his hero lang, was adept at melding both subgenres, and the dark mirror is an unsettling hybrid work not least in its lurches from comedy to romance to horror. Based on a novel by vladimir pozner the same, the dark mirror was remade for. Michael walker, robert siodmak, the movie book of film noir, ed. The dark mirror is mysterious, but for all the thrills and intrigues, its a cool watch and a breezy ride of 90 minutes. Nunnally johnsons interpretation of vladimir pozners novel is stuffed with codfreudian jargon. Although director robert siodmak is most closely identified with noir classics such as the killers, crisscross, and the phantom lady, the dark mirror is a fine addition to his portfolio.
In addition the dark mirror also marked the welcome return to acting by former. Robert siodmaks 1946 seminoir the dark mirror is a tricky little mystery picture. The dark mirror opens on a plushly furnished city apartment with director robert siodmak panning his lens over the slightly askew interior an overturned lamp, a shattered mirror, and a welldressed corpse with a shard planted firmly in the mans back. This little bmovie gets the usual deft direction by noir expert, robert siodmak. The dark mirror is a clever mystery filmed in noir style by director robert siodmak, about twin sistersone of whom is a murderessbut which one. The dark mirror, a 1920 novel by louis joseph vance. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or instore pickup. Dark mirror wowpedia your wiki guide to the world of. Shes terrific as the psychotic sister as well as the normal one.
Character actor thomas mitchell does very fine job as lt. Film noir gave him the opportunity to use his pictorial sense and his narrative skills, and he directed a string of atmospheric thrillers, including phantom lady 1944, the killers and the dark mirror both 1946, cry of the city 1948 and criss cross 1949. Burroughss naked lunch for portraying unrepentant drug use, child murder, and pedophilia. And his interest is in the disturbed mind more than the murder mystery. The dark mirror, a 1920 novel by louis joseph vance the dark mirror, a 1966 michael faraday crime fiction novel by basil copper dark mirror, a 1993 short story in the r. The dark mirror by lutz koepnick paperback university. High definition bluray 1080p and standard definition dvd presentation of four film noir classics. Expanding on the scope of his creativity, siodmak relies heavily on the performance that. Thomas mitchell plays the detective and lew ayres a psychiatrist in love with one of. Its all mirrors and dark corners in a contemporary city setting.
Historically nuanced and theoretically savvy, this remarkable book offers something for everyone. The cafe workers are more of siodmaks men in white work clothes, like the bartender in phantom lady, the psychiatrists white lab coat in the dark mirror. Salvatore bibliography dark mirror star trek novel, a 1994 novel by diane duane. That famous line was written by screenwriter curt siodmak.
As such, the story takes place at any point after the events of the tomb of sargeras audioseries but before the time when she flew to the broken shore with king varian. Film noir specialist robert siodmak, who in the 40s was at the height of his. The dark mirror 46 is a brisk, supercharged 85 minutes, a taut psychological suspense tale directed by robert siodmak who directed the spiral staircase and the killers. Id forgotten about ivy, that was adapted from the book by lodger.
Film directors articles on the internet several online articles can be found here. The dark mirror is a lesserknown entry into the canon of films noir that dominated hollywood in the midforties. Hence, a title such as the dark mirror robert siodmaks film about twins, one of them evil fits movies and scenes as different as fritz langs the woman in the window, in which a professor becomes enthralled with a woman in a portrait, then kills the real womans lover in a mirrorfilled room, and the legendary climax of orson welless the. Drizzt helps recapture a goblin prison for a band of villagers. Even a man who is pure in heart, and says his prayers by nightthe opening line to the explanation of what happens to a man bitten by a werewolf from universal studios 1941 motion picture the wolfman. The content is light for the heavy themes it carries. However, it becomes apparent that the woman has a twin, and finding out which one is the killer seems impossible. Being jewish, siodmak had to flee the nazis, arriving in hollywood in 1940. A psychological study of human nature, the dark mirror trots from psychiatry to romance, crime, jealousy, and murder with ease. Historically nuanced and theoretically savvy, this remarkable book offers something for. The texture triumphs, partly because robert siodmaks direction imparts an. Dimitri tiomkins clever background score is an added bonus.
In fact, film noir was not even identified as a movement in film until the midfifties a panorama of american film noir 19411953. Historically nuanced and theoretically savvy, this remarkable book offers. The dark mirror german cinema between hitler and hollywood. Siodmaks attention to detail creates a mood of psychological disturbance and dark suspense evident from the word go theres a dynamite opening scene, and typical of the postwar fascination with. Siodmaks direction shows his experience in german expressionistic film making the dark mirror a satisfying noir to look at. Robert siodmaks filmnoir the dark mirror 1946 takes some freudian turns as it goes on. The dark mirror 1946 is almost bachlike in its play with symmetry and counterpoint. Suspecting something is up he interrogates the goblin and finds that he has some same principals that drizzt has.