Review of The Public Eye

I appreciate that this film was more than a homage to film noir but actually advanced the genre to include populist themes and even women's issues. In many ways, this is film brun because so much effort is made to evoke the brown tones of the time which brought a warmer, less paranoid tone to the proceedings. Brown can be earthy or rich. Men wear brown suits and hats and chew on brown cigars. The nightclub is paneled in rich brown wood. Kay Levitz has brown hair. The script and direction showed a love for the time but a cynicism, too, of government collusion with organized crime to make money at the expense of the fighting men and the citizens during a time of war. I enjoyed the relationships between the characters and was touched by the pan of the cheering crowd of real people at the end, not usually seen in noir. To add to the comments about the actors: I also enjoyed Jerry Adler as Bernzini's friend and was intrigued by Jared Harris's Danny the Doorman.