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edwagreen 2012-05-23 20:12:50

Nobody Lives Forever-Just Too Bad ***

A very usual plot covers this story. A manipulator wants to fleece awealthy widow but falls for her instead. The problem is that he hadmade previous commitments with other hoods to take this woman for aride.John Garfield is perfect as Nick. He falls for Mrs.Halverson, awonderful Geraldine Fitzgerald.The gang is in top form with Walter Brennan as Pop, GeorgeCoulouris'Doc is excellent. By the way, for a hood Coulouris speaksvery well and in fact sounds like a very educated person in somescenes. George Tobias really provides some comic relief, but in astraight role as Nick's sidekick.You wonder why the Fitzgerald character can't fall in love with herfinancial adviser, nicely played by Richard Gaines. The two seem to bea perfect match but I guess there would be no story if that occurred.Faye Emerson is the dame that Nick had previously hooked up with. Sheis a real hot number here. Few realize that in real life she had beenmarried to Eliot Roosevelt, FDR's son.

ilprofessore-1 2012-05-23 04:04:36

The Genius of W.R. Burnett

Of all the Hollywood writers now associated with classic film noir--among them James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler & Dashell Hammett— theleast known and perhaps least appreciated is W.R. Burnett who wasresponsible for the story and often the screenplay of a number of filmcrime classics, among them the films Scarface, Little Caesar, HighSierra and Asphalt Jungle. Burnett's dialog is as sharp and tough asthe others, and he often displays a finer insight and even greatersympathy for the criminal mind than the others whose stories featureand sometimes romanticize the hard-boiled detective. This excellentlydirected and photographed film tells the story of a charming con-man,perfectly played by John Garfield, who falls for the widow he is tryingto cheat. The petty crooks who people his world played by a superb castof character actors (George Coulouris, Walter Brennan, George Tobias)are all clearly drawn and don't resemble the usual cliché gang membersof other films. Burnett obviously knew this world better than hiscolleagues.

wes-connors 2012-05-22 19:29:43

Getting Rough with John Garfield

Home from service in World War II, roughly handsome hotshot gamblerJohn Garfield (as Nick Blake) tries to reconnect with sexy blonde FayeEmerson (as Toni Blackburn), but learns she's used up his dough, andhooked up with another stud. Discouraged, he moves to Los Angeles, withfawning companion George Tobias (as Al Doyle). There, con artistsWalter Brennan (as Pop Gruber) and George Coulouris (as Doc Ganson)persuade Mr. Garfield to bilk $2,000,000 out of wealthy widow GeraldineFitzgerald (as Gladys Halvorsen). "She's a dish," says Tobias, andGarfield proceeds predictably...Probably due to its release amid so many other great Garfield films,"Nobody Lives Forever" seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle. Itlabors somewhat, during the last act, as the production seeks to takefull advantage of a moody setting. Still, this is an excellent "filmnoir" from the forties. A perfect lead, Garfield is magneticallysmooth. He receives great assist from Jean Negulesco's stylishlyhiccuping direction, Adolph Deutsch's sweet musical score, ArthurEdeson's black-and-white camera, and the usual suspects at Warner Bros.And, the players breathe some nuance into W.R. Burnett's fine script.******* Nobody Lives Forever (11/1/46) Jean Negulesco ~ John Garfield,Geraldine Fitzgerald, Walter Brennan, Faye Emerson

mackjay 2012-05-22 00:39:40

Perfectly Cast Gem of Film Noir

"Nobody Lives Forever" has so many good qualities is it hard to know whereto begin the list. The film's basic plot-line is not the most original, butthe intelligent and witty script gives it plenty of excitement andinterest.There is an effective and pleasing musical score by Adolf Deutsch (withJerome Moross) and the film is beautifully, atmospherically shot aswell.Most impressive of all is the cast of "Nobody Lives Forever". There is notasingle weak link in this one. Supporting players include the likes ofWalterBrennan (world-weary and philosophical), George Tobias (an amiably amusingsidekick), George Coulouris (more than suitably menacing), Faye Emerson (asassy ,would-be femme fatale), James Flavin and Grady Sutton, the latter ina memorable cameo as a short order cookGeraldine Fitzgerald brings exactly the right mixture of innocence andsophistication to a newly rich recent widow.Her potential victimizer is brilliantly played by John Garfield. This isoneof Garfield's most conflicted characters. The actor is convincing at everyturn, capable of being both sympathetic and despicable."Nobody Lives Forever" really lives up to its existential title. It's araregem to be sought out by every aficionado of film noir.

st-shot 2012-05-19 16:01:02

Homogenized Noir

Returning vet Nick Blake comes back from the war to New York to claimhis sizable fortune held onto by main squeeze, lounge singer Toni (FayeEmerson). She's double crossed him however and he has to beat it out ofher new boyfriend to get it back. He along with a sidekick then lightout for LA where they run into old associate Pop Gruber. Gruber to hisregret gets Nick involved in a scam with Doc Gabson to charm a richsocialite Gladys Halverson out of her sizable fortune. Nick and Gabsonquarrel over the intended split and the down on his luck Doc is forcedto accept the terms. Matters then become complicated when Nick fallsfor Gladys and wants out of the scheme. Using his own cash he attemptsto pay off the gang members but Doc who has been nursing a grudge withNick kidnaps Gladys and makes exorbitant demands.Nobody Lives Forever is a rather tame and dull genre piece that startsfast but slowly loses steam before crawling to its suspense drainedfinish. Director Jean Neglusco establishes the character of Nick andhis New York situation quickly and economically with rapid editing andsubtle inference fleshing out his background. Once in LA things slowmeasurably as the con job morphs into romance for Nick and the conflictwith Gabson warms up.John Garfield is effective as the returning GI hardened but not totallydisillusioned by what he's witnessed. Geraldine Fitzgerald's Gladys isimpassionate and too detached to the danger around her. GeorgeCoulouris' Doc Gabson is the film's most interesting character. Apetty, jealous has been of a crook relegated to working with twocomically inept flunkies he laments the loss of his salad days andshows resentment for all around him with venal flare.Neglusco never lets this noir get too dark as he plays it safe most ofthe way with the romantic angle and lighthearted humor that dilutes thedrama . Combined with its erratic pacing that makes a shambles of thefilm's climactic moment Nobody Lives Forever washes out in alldirections.

imogensara_smith 2012-05-18 20:28:19

Meanwhile, back on the home front...

Many films from the mid-forties deal with men struggling to readjust totheir civilian lives after their wartime service. NOBODY LIVES FOREVERoffers a twist: the hero's pre-war career was as a successful conartist. He doesn't have any trouble getting his job back, but does hestill want it? World War II is a source of anxiety and moral confusionin many postwar noirs, but this film (set during the war) suggests thata stint with Uncle Sam can straighten out a crooked guy.In contrast to the convoluted plots so common in noir, this is a simplestory. Just out of the army, Nick Blake (John Garfield) returns to NewYork to find his girlfriend has given the money he left in her keepingto another man. After clearing up that little business, he takes offfor Los Angeles, where he is talked into fleecing a rich widow, GladysHalvorson (Geraldine Fitzgerald.) Guess what? He falls for her andwants out, but has to deal with his vengeful accomplices. The plot isunoriginal but also foolproof, and the film's leisurely pace and richcharacterizations are the primary appeal, evoking a raffish,Runyonesque world. Leading the troupe of colorful character actors isGeorge Tobias as Blake's sidekick Al Doyle, who doesn't do much excepttag along for the ride, cracking wise in thick New Yorkese andcomplaining bitterly when he realizes Nick has "gone overboard for thistomato." Walter Brennan is Pop Gruber, Nick's boyhood mentor in crime,now down on his luck and scraping a living with a telescope, selling"the moon and stars for a dime" and picking the pockets of his drunkencustomers. Then there's cadaverous, sinister George Colouris as Doc, ahas-been con man consumed by jealousy of Nick. Even the smallestcharacters—from an ex-jockey bellboy to the counterman in an all-nightdiner who can't stand to hear the words "java" or "pal"—add flavor;they're a great bunch of "cheap, hungry chiselers." Richard Gaines(Jean Arthur's fiancé, Mr. Pendergast, in THE MORE THE MERRIER) is alsoamusing as Manning, the widow's business manager, whose only interestin life is golf. Only Faye Emerson, as the nightclub singer whobetrayed Nick while he was overseas and keeps turning up for vague plotpurposes, misfires; she sings well, but she's a little too bony, toothyand disgruntled for a femme fatale.When someone suggests that after his sabbatical in the army Nick mightnot be up to conning the widow, he snaps scornfully, "For me that wouldbe like turning over in bed." The same is true for Garfield playingthis morally-conflicted-tough-guy role—but he never lets you feel he'sjust going through the motions. His performance is split between his"Jewish Jimmy Cagney" persona, spitting out lines like, "Come up with arod and I'll make you eat it," and his sexy romancer mode. When heturns on the charm, his mark starts to melt like a snowman under a sunlamp. (I can sympathize, being a pushover for Garfield myself.)Geraldine Fitzgerald is lovely and gracious, with a frail, childlikeinnocence guaranteed to soften the toughest guy.There are some scenes in smoky back-rooms, and a terrific show-down ona misty oil rig, but this noir is really about as dark as chocolate icecream. It's full of low-key charm, often stemming from the cultureclash between the mugs and the ritzy world they invade. Nick belies hispose as a sophisticate by making paper airplanes out of his programduring a concert of classical music. ("Don't you adore Bach?" Manningasks, and Al, awoken from a deep slumber, replies, "Bock? Yeah, cold,with a nice big head on it.") Nick is also uncomfortable leading Gladysthrough a rumba ("A man looks sort of silly doing this") and looks likea fish out of water when she takes him to the mission of San JuanCapistrano. As was the case with Garfield (the former Julie Garfinkle)in Hollywood, it's precisely Nick's streetwise grit and bad-boy charmthat win over the classy dame.NOBODY LIVES FOREVER was the last film at Warner Brothers for bothGarfield and Fitzgerald, who were equally thrilled to escape thestudio. Garfield went on to form an independent company that producedhis finest films, including BODY AND SOUL and FORCE OF EVIL. He andmany others had good reason to resent the studio's relentlesspigeonholing and the poor material they were sometimes forced toaccept; but this farewell film is a reminder of what the factory systemhad going for it: a reliable output of supremely watchable movies. Withits witty script, easy craftsmanship and excellent cast, NOBODY LIVESFOREVER is a prime example of how good an average, formulaic studioproduct could be during Hollywood's "golden age." It's a shame that,like so much of Garfield's output, this film is so hard to find.

groening-2 2012-05-18 03:42:51

Weak attempt at mixing gangster, love story

Though John Garfield and the gorgeous Geraldine Fitzgerald turn instrong performances, this film can't seem to decide whether it wants tobe a film noir/gangster flick or a love story. There's even a bit ofwar propaganda thrown in, as we're pointedly told a couple of timesthat Garfield's Nick has grown in character from his service overseas.Plot-wise, not much develops, and there are few surprises along theway. Nick's old girlfriend (Faye Emerson) shows up again late in thefilm, but plays no real part in the action of the final act. GeorgeTobias as Nick's sidekick is annoyingly one-dimensional, and offerslittle in the way of the comic relief the director intended. This moviefeels like it was written by committee. It's worth seeing only for realGarfield fans.

bkoganbing 2012-05-17 22:04:49

When You Fall For The Mark

Nobody Lives Forever finds John Garfield as a former Broadway sharpiejust discharged from Uncle Sam's Army and sort of at loose ends. He'snot sure what he wants to do with himself. Personally I'm kind ofsurprised he's not taking advantage of the benefits of GI Bill if he'sinterested in starting over. That's one of the weaknesses of the film.In the meantime his girlfriend, nightclub singer Faye Emerson has givenJohn the air and taken his money and invested it with her new boyfriend Robert Shayne in a nightclub. Disgusted with the way she's twotimed him, Garfield and pal George Tobias leave New York and head forthe west coast and Los Angeles. They run into another old time con man Walter Brennan who's now barelyscratching a living, but who's heard of big score in the makinginvolving taking recent wealthy widow Geraldine Fitzgerald. The idea isthat of another grifter George Coulouris who has no scruples at allabout doing what has to be done, but he hasn't got the technique toromance Fitzgerald. That's where Garfield comes in.Of course he falls for the mark and I think you can see where the restof this is going. It's not a bad story, but has a few glitches in thescript. For one thing when Emerson is reintroduced coming west herselflater and setting her to be the one to rat out Garfield's change ofheart to the rest, it's clumsily done. Secondly again, not a mention ofthe GI bill for a returning veteran looking to reinvent himself.Garfield does make an appealing con man with a conscience and betweenFitzgerald and Emerson he was certainly doing all right. Bestperformance in the film is that of Walter Brennan and given the widedivergence in their politics between Garfield and Brennan, it must havebeen an interesting set.Nobody Lives Forever is all right, but it had the potential to be somuch better.