DETOUR (1945)

This week the Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl visits the party spots of the 1945 film, Detour! A favorite of Noir Alley, Detour offers several stops between Reno and Los Angeles.

The night begins with a road trip outside of Reno. Why party in the biggest little city in the world when just down the road something special awaits your visit?

Hit the road with a pal!

Our first stop is the small but popular Nevada Diner. 

The Nevada Diner

Counter service only! A crack waitstaff is there to provide coffee, pie, and a little lesson on manners! 

Best coffee on the road!

Don't criticize a customer's taste in food or music!

It's somebody else's nickel, pal!

A cigarette machine for your convenience. 

Warning!

Ready for some fun? Head on back into Reno and hit the Break O' Dawn Club! 

Head back to Reno

Highly recommended as a fleabag joint, this hole-in-the-wall offers a full swing orchestra and a torch singer with a dream. 

The Break O' Dawn Band

Some day she'll be a star!

Perfect for an evening of dancing. 

Table service for sandwiches and cocktails. 

A BLT and Martini pairing

 Back on the road, it's time for a stop at another roadside diner before you drive all night in the rain with the top down as you head to L.A.

Keep the change

 Take in the many sites of a growing City of Angeles.

Photo ops

Plenty to see and do on this part of the. Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl. Until we hit the road again, be sure to settle your tab!

AND NOW THE STORY:

A gifted piano player fears he'll be blamed for two accidental deaths and hits the road. That's pretty much it. What follows is screenshots of cast and crew.

 

TEENAGE CRIME WAVE (1955)

 This segment of the Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl is remarkably brief as there is only one real stop along the crawl. The sign is never fully revealed but it looks like it begins with a and has a P and a T and maybe a J in its name. The only discernable word is Cocktails. (NOTE: I went back to look at the scene again and discovered the bar name is The Dolphin. I'm not sure that helps.)

The Dolphin 

Small Cocktails and Nefarious Customers

The movie opens in this hole-in-the-wall on some backstreet in Los Angeles. A young woman sits at the bar having a cigarette and a cocktail. It's an odd time in American bar culture. Is she a teen or is she that as of yet unidentified demographic of 'young adult' in those grey years of 18-20? And if she's younger, why is she sitting at the bar knocking back the hooch in the company of guys one street north of Skid Row?

The Dolphin: Where No One Gets Carded

As I said, there are few and far places in this movie to visit. The county will provide ride service from Juvenile Hall to a reform school.

"Where are the parents? If you ask me, we're arresting the wrong people."

Maybe you just want to get away. Hiding out at a farm with a statewide manhunt for you might be the ticket.

Farm Fantasy Camp

The crawl concludes at the iconic Griffith Observatory.

Griffith Observatory

AND NOW THE STORY

A team of recalcitrant teens lures unsuspecting men to mug them. When the latest robbery goes awry, a rough-edged teen and an innocent girl who thought she was out on a double date get arrested and sent to Juvenile Hall. From there, the boyfriend of the troubled teen plots a breakout. The majority of the movie takes place on a dairy farm until the climactic conclusion at Griffith Observatory. 

Poster

A rather lengthy opening read sets the tone and warns the audience that 'this is everyone's problem.'

'Juvenile' is open to interpretation in this movie

Molly McCart plays the siren to George Cisar's lecherous older man in the opening sequence at the Dolphin. Cisar was known for his many roles on shows like Hogan's Heroes, The Andy Griffith Show, and That Girl to name a few.  McCart would go on to play a similar delinquent teen in the 1957 film, Dino, written by Reginald Rose, who penned Twelve Angry Men. I had the opportunity many years ago to direct a stage version of Dino but wound up choosing Dark of the Moon. I did get to direct another Rose play, The Death and Life of Larry Benson, first seen on Studio One in 1948. I directed it in 1989.  The play appears to have been the forerunner of The Return of Martin Guerre (1982), or as it is known in America from the remake, Sommersby, aka The Return of Richard Gere (1993).

That's it for the latest stop along the Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl. What follows are images of the production crew. Until we meet up again, be sure to settle your tab.

BULLETS OR BALLOTS

This week the Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl travels back to 1936 and visits the fun places of BULLETS OR BALLOTS, a post-Prohibition era film on the rise of corruption, racketeering, and murder.  It's a short trip, but a fun one.

The crawl begins at the upscale Lee Morgan's. Entertainment awaits the well-to-do partygencia. Club owner Lee Morgan meets each night with her talented performers to go over the show and fire them up.

The owner takes a personal interest in the floor show

Morgan also mingles with the local police detectives that don't care for ex-cons crashing the party.

The uninvited should steer clear

Modest decor, four-top tables are readily available. A well-stocked bar awaits the customers. Sometimes it even stays open after hours.

A table for two will do

The bar never closes at Lee Morgan's Cocktails and Dining

Speaking of after-hours places, sometimes it's a gas to move the party to somewhere private, like the den of the local bank president. Black tie preferred, but if you know someone, you'll be welcome.

If you get invited here...let someone know

Need a place to catch up on old times? Sometimes the out of the way watering hole is the right kind of place to meet.

Going off the beaten path

Getting the munchies? The go-to place is Jerry's Place. Italian and American meals fill the menu. Simple, quiet decor. Tables for four or more. A well-stocked wine bar offers a variety of Italian vintages. 

Or maybe all you need is a cup of joe with your guy or gal. Look no further than the hotel coffee shop. 

Hotel coffee shop to end the night

If you're looking for something else to do while everyone else is crawling, there's plenty of options.

See a movie

Take in a fight

Play a little pinball

AND NOW THE STORY:

After a crusading, anti-vice newspaper editor is gunned down, a detective goes undercover to infiltrate the mob.

William Keighly directs the script penned by Seton I.  Miller and Martin  Mooney. BULLETS OR BALLOTS stars Barton MacLane, Joan Blondell, Edward G. Robinson, and Humphrey Bogart. It also features strong performances by Frank McHugh and Louise Beavers.

All in all, 4  vices out of 5.

Until next we crawl, be sure to settle your tab!

Louise Beavers

THE THIN MAN

 The unfortunate reality of the next stop along the Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl is that while there are several establishments to visit, none of them are named. They do seem quite popular. As long as we know the watering holes are there, we might as well visit.

Stop #1: The Six Martini Bar

It's Christmas Eve. What better way to spend it than explaining to the bar backs the proper shaking of a martini is to a waltz.

Dress up for this stop

The heart of the city partygencia crowds this popular club. Why not? A full orchestra plays the latest dance music for everyone to enjoy. A wall of stemware, martini glasses, and tumblers awaits anyone who bellys up to the bar. The liquor appears to be in a secure location- Volstead has only recently been repealed, after all.

Tables provide a respite from the jam-packed dance floor.  Waitstaff is prepared to serve the Fve Martini Flight: The person you're meeting is on the sixth drink of the night so you might as well catch up.

The Five Martini Flight is always available

Stop #2: A Hide Away

Have some personal business to attend to? This place has plenty of spots you and your 'friend' can feel alone. Beer by the goblet is a staple at this place. Ashtrays are complimentary.

When you want to be alone

Stop #3: Schultzie's; or, the Dancing Girls Lounge

Come on in any time of the day. You might catch a glimpse of the dancing girls practicing for that night's revue. Also, it's a good location to discuss business of any nature.

A good locale for business talk

(wink wink nudge nudge)

Stop #4: A Catered Affair

Some of the more popular places for the posh to gather is right in their own home. The Normandie Hotel is one of the more frequented places of the party-crawlers. New Year's Eve, dinner parties, nightcaps. Sometimes the party is simply where you take it.

#paprty@home

Stop #5: The Trans-Continental Train

And since you're moving your party from place to place, why not make your party mobile by taking a train to San Francisco! The club car is open late. Casual attire is preferred. Booths invite quiet conversations with friends and/or clients.

The Club Car

Afterward, sleep it off in a comfortable berth car. Pets welcomed, although it's hard to see the dog in the top bunk.

Two-thousand-five-hundred-sixty-some miles

Two-thousand-five-hundred--it's a long way to go

Two-thousand-five-hundred-sixty-some miles

The travel is easy if the drinks continue to flow

Side Trip: Henry's Pipe Shop

Finally, a place with a name. In case you need to feed that monkey on your back with another vice, Henry'sPipe Shop is on hand to offer you assistance.

Need a book of matches?

Just remember: Smoking kills

The downside of overindulging

The Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl ran a little thin this week, pun intended. It's hard to pass on The Thin Man as Nick and Nora spend so much time throwing parties and solving crimes. They kind of make you wish you could join them.

AND NOW THE STORY

An elderly millionaire inventor disappears after accusing his younger girlfriend of stealing thousands of dollars worth of bonds from him. The inventor's daughter pleads with a former private detective to find her missing father. Embezzlement, kidnapping, and murder ensue.

The Thin Man was directed by W.S. Van Dyke. Albert Hackett and Frances Goodrich adapted the script from the Dashiell Hammett novel of the same name. William Powell and Myrna Loy, both truly great as Nick and Nora Charles, are in total command of their characters. Nat Pendelton gives a solid performance as the just-not-as-sharp-as-Nick police lieutenant. Maureen O'Sullivan is the concerned daughter with Henry Wadsworth as her fiance'. Premiering in 1934, it's a couple of decades from the angst and grit and fashion of the golden age for film noir. 

Powell, Van Dyke, and the writing duo of Hackett and Goodrich received well-deserved Oscar nominations. 

The Lonely Street Bar Noir Pub Crawl has come to a close for the week. Until the next trip, be sure to settle your tab!