Nightmare Alley (1947)
Nightmare Alley (1947) is an American film noir directed by Edmund Goulding from a screenplay by Jules Furthman, based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel of the same name. Set in a seedy traveling carnival, the story follows Stanton ‘Stan’ Carlisle, a barker who is captivated by all that he sees, including a grotesque geek. Upon witnessing this unusual character, Stanton remarks that he can’t fathom how someone could sink so low. At the carnival, Stanton teams up with ‘Mademoiselle Zeena’ and her husband Pete, who has turned to alcohol due to Zeena’s infidelity. The couple used to be renowned vaudeville performers, utilizing a clever code to create the illusion of Zeena’s extraordinary mental abilities.
However, their partnership has now fallen apart and they are reduced to working in carnivals. While working with them, Stanton discovers that many individuals are willing to pay a hefty sum for Zeena’s code, but she adamantly refuses to sell it. It turns out she is saving it as a nest egg for herself. Stanton makes attempts to woo Zeena into sharing her mind-reading code with him. However, she remains devoted to Pete and carries the burden of causing his downfall. In hopes of eventually getting him help for his alcohol addiction, she takes on the role of caring for him. Tragically, during a night in Texas, Stanton mistakenly gives Pete a bottle of wood alcohol instead of moonshine, resulting in his death.
Date of download: 2015-11-11T17:22:34+00:00
Cast:  Tyrone PowerStan Carlisle  Joan BlondellZeena Krumbein  Coleen GrayMolly  Helen WalkerLilith Ritter  Taylor HolmesEzra Grindle  Mike MazurkiBruno  Ian KeithPete Krumbein |
Nightmare Alley (1947) is an American film noir directed by Edmund Goulding from a screenplay by Jules Furthman, based on William Lindsay Gresham’s novel of the same name. Set in a seedy traveling carnival, the story follows Stanton ‘Stan’ Carlisle, a barker who is captivated by all that he sees, including a grotesque geek. Upon witnessing this unusual character, Stanton remarks that he can’t fathom how someone could sink so low. At the carnival, Stanton teams up with ‘Mademoiselle Zeena’ and her husband Pete, who has turned to alcohol due to Zeena’s infidelity. The couple used to be renowned vaudeville performers, utilizing a clever code to create the illusion of Zeena’s extraordinary mental abilities.
However, their partnership has now fallen apart and they are reduced to working in carnivals. While working with them, Stanton discovers that many individuals are willing to pay a hefty sum for Zeena’s code, but she adamantly refuses to sell it. It turns out she is saving it as a nest egg for herself. Stanton makes attempts to woo Zeena into sharing her mind-reading code with him. However, she remains devoted to Pete and carries the burden of causing his downfall. In hopes of eventually getting him help for his alcohol addiction, she takes on the role of caring for him. Tragically, during a night in Texas, Stanton mistakenly gives Pete a bottle of wood alcohol instead of moonshine, resulting in his death.
