esrosedotblog

NOIR

They acquitted Robert Blake of murdering his wife last week. The guys in the gym were wrong, or at least disagreed. It is a good demonstration of 'reasonable doubt'. The jury said that the 'chain of evidence' for the weapon was never demonstrated.

Blake has always interested me. I first saw him as the kid in Treasure of the Sierra Madre. I would have to have been a kid myself. He is three years older than I.

Then, through his career, he has always taken my notice. I remember him as a rather hostile and unpredictable guest on talk shows. He has lived is life as though it was a film and the recent case is no exception.

Today in the LA Times today, there was an interesting op-ed. I thought that it was quite perceptive:
The Courthouse Monologue of a Quintessential Noir Hero.

As a fan of noir, I got a whiff of this myself as I read the full run-on yak that Blake carried on with reporters after he was freed. I remembered the man on the talk-show sofa.

He had been silent during the trial. A study of noir itself in his black suit, now snow white hair and his constant cigarette. At the end, he opened up for all to see and hear. It was quite a performance. As in life. As in art. Very interesting stuff.