Stephen King has proven, time and again, that he is not one to be influenced by others. Even as Madame Web takes over the internet, with scores of Marvel fans planning to hate-watch it to punish themselves all over again, King’s complete, 100% focus is on a 1946 scene from a classic film that seduction and temptation rolled into one.
And clearly, the master of horror didn’t [re: couldn’t] hold back from giving it his renowned short reviews. In this case, the subject of his dedicated attention is Dorothy Malone and her undeniable skills as an exceptional actress. And of course, how it is utterly impossible to look away from here and want to hear anything except her voice — King certainly can’t.
The Carrie author never shies away from speaking his mind, whether it is dissing the despicable creatures that still walk this Earth, pointing out streaming pearls that are guaranteed to destroy brains (ones that keep serving fresh jaw-dropping updates), or well, openly appreciating the wonder that was Malone, the Oscar-winning actress who eventually joined the coveted list of names that dominated the Golden Age of Hollywood.
The scene above that is currently occupying King’s thoughts is from the witty 1946 noir crime drama, The Big Sleep. Technically, the scene plays no role in the film — it doesn’t further the plot, add to Humphrey Bogart’s private detective, Philip Marlowe’s arc, or his relationship, and doesn’t resolve the mystery he has been determined to solve in any way. But still, despite it all and the years that have gone by, the scene remains the most popular part of the film.
Malone’s character, a bookstore owner appearing only in this tiny scene, doesn’t even have a name. But her natural charm, her character’s very Sherlock Holmes-style method of figuring out what Marlowe is up to, her obvious intellect, the refusal to suppress her confidence and boldness as she acts on the palpable and mutual attraction between them sets the scene aside. It runs the done-to-death trope of spectacles somehow dampening someone’s attractiveness, but as King confirms, it would be a Herculean task to overlook the fact that Malone owned the scene, glasses or not.
‘Man, that’s hot’: Stephen King salivates over spicy 1946 classic movie clip
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