Man of a Thousand Fails
Film Noir of Elisha Cook Jr.: an immortal plays the eternal loser, in twenty-five films and more than 250 photographs.
Six films, one unforgettable face
-
1937
The Forgotten Masterpiece
Dowling examines the proto-noir featuring Elisha and Lana Turner as bit players in a genre where they would both craft legendary careers.
-
1940
Stranger on the Third Floor
The true first film noir: 60 minutes of saturation in German Expressionist acting, direction, photography, set design and music.
-
1941
The Maltese Falcon
The film that launched the great expeditions into the dark of noir by John Huston, Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet and Elisha Cook Jr.
-
1946
The Big Sleep
Bogie and Bacall at their most magnificent, and Elisha as Harry Jones in the most compelling seven minutes of bit-player history.
-
1947
Born to Kill
A film so dark, even by tough noir standards, that critics refuse to recognise it as the masterpiece that it is.
-
1956
The Killing
The noir that gave Stanley Kubrick the discipline to temper his arthouse elitism and become one of the greatest cinematic auteurs in history.
Man of a Thousand Fails
More than film history
- Films reviewed
- 25
- Photographs
- 250+
- Sly humour
- ∞
Throughout, Dowling’s sly humour and sharp cultural analysis make this more than a film history book: it is a reverential applause for Elisha, the actor named after a miracle worker.
A treat for cinephiles who understand the essence of the bit player in noir. Entry through a different door of perception for cinema students. Essential reading on the journey into the heart of noir.
Man of a Thousand Fails
Film Noir of Elisha Cook Jr.
- 25 films reviewed
- 250+ photographs
The film noir of Elisha Cook Jr., the immortal who played the eternal loser: twenty-five films and more than 250 photographs.