Alias Nick Beal
| Program section: | Tribute to Ray Milland |
|---|---|
| Directed by: | John Farrow |
| Year: | 1949 |
| Country: | USA |
| Length: | 93 min. |
| Cast: | Ray Milland, Audrey Totter, Thomas Mitchell, George Macready, Fred Clark and others. |
Screening:
- 22. 8. 2026 | 17:30 - Nova Cinema Hall (castle - chateau) / CZ subs /
Production: Paramount Pictures
Script/Based on: Jonathan Latimer, Mindret Lord
Director of Photography: Lionel Lindon
Score: Franz Waxman
The film Alias Nick Beal is often described as an atypical genre hybrid. Some reviews present it as fantasy noir while according to a Wikipedia entry, it is a horror mystery. Director John Farrow breathes new life into noir conventions by introducing an element otherwise foreign to the genre: a Faustian motif in the form of a messenger from hell. The experienced Thomas Mitchell plays District Attorney Joseph Foster, who is unable to convict the leader of the local underworld. In a moment of weakness, he declares that he would give his soul for the chance to put the criminal behind bars, a statement immediately exploited by the devil in the cultivated form of Ray Milland. The fresh idea is based on a story by Mindret Lord, which was adapted into a screenplay by Jonathan Latimer, a frequent collaborator of Farrow’s who was also a journalist and novelist. John Farrow was apparently a devout Catholic, so it is very fitting that he directed this moralistic tale of the struggle between good and evil. (mh)
