45:35 -48:00
This may be an odd scene to pick out of all possible options, as it is a middle of the film scene that precedes the climax/end of the film and is way long detached from the start, but none the less in stood out to me. Maybe the fact of it being a middle of the film scene is part of the reason, but there’s a key part that some may of missed or not viewed in a certain way.
Some of the ideas in Place & Petersons “Visual Motifs of Film Noir” is likely the reason this particular scene, that being Hammer talking to Eddie stands out to me. (Fun fact, I looked into the actor for Eddie, given this is the first non-white speaking, albeit minor character I recall seeing/hearing, and given that its the 50’s, I thought it was worth it. His name is Juano Hernandez, and he is a Puerto Rican actor who became a major pioneer in the African American film industry, so yeah! Pretty cool). Anyways, Hammer as we know is trying to catch more clues on Charlie Max and Sugar Smallhouse, Evello’s two henchmen.
The way the film decides to display this dialogue, (again harking to Place & Peterson’s motifs, in particular “The “Noir” Directorial Style: Antitraditional Mise-en-scene”) is quite interesting (example below), as before the “plot-relevant” details are given to Hammer, Eddie is talking about his young boxing prodigy. Curiously, we never see the boxer despite a majority of the conversation being about him. Instead we get this flat, long, uncut shot of the two talking for the entire time, even when they move into the actual details Hammer is looking for. This is that key moment I mentioned, and I have quite the theory/view angle. I’ll admit its a little departed from the visual motifs, but I think there’s a reason the film make a conscious effort with the motifs to show us this dialogue with no distractions, clear and face-forward.
The theory/idea is, whether purposely or not by the filmmakers: when you view this scene (the dialogue of them talking about the boxer in particular) as meta-commentary and/or an allegory to the events that occur later down the plot, It starts to piece itself together. Some certain lines which stand out are: “But the night he fights his big fight he won’t be able to punch himself out of a paper bag” – Hammer gets injected with anesthetic/”truth serum” in the first full encounter with the thugs.. “Wait till the odds build up, ’till you can’t resist.”– Gabrielle opening the box? “When does he go? [Eddie] Tomorrow night.” – The first encounter with the “baddies” of the film as far as we the audience knows occurs tomorrow night from this conversation. “It’d pay more if he lost, ya sure he ain’t gonna lay down and die? – Hammer getting shot by Gabrielle yet managing to get back up.
It could just be it’s all in my head. But go back and give it a watch and think about it. Maybe you’ll agree.
