Tired of the sappy and feel-good Christmas movies this holiday season? One good thing about the Christmas holiday being so pervasive is that it has appeared in all types of movies over the years, including films that are anything but feel-good fests. So follow me down these dark streets for a good long stare into the abyss, and perhaps a drunken, disheveled Santa will stare back at you.
I Wouldn’t Be in Your Shoes (1948)
Tom Quinn (Don Castle) and his wife Ann (Elyse Knox) are a down-on-their-luck song and dance team. Tom can’t find work and his wife is forced to snuggle up to creeps every night at a low-class dance academy to pay the bills. One night, in a fit of frustration, Tom pitches his shoes (a pair of distinctive dancing taps) out the window at some noisy, fornicating cats. What Tom doesn’t realize is that he’s a character in a Cornell Woolrich (Rear Window, The Bride Wore Black) story and his innocent act of anger is also his ticket on the express train to hell. He soon finds himself arrested for murder, tried, convicted, and sentenced to die in the hot seat right after Christmas. Meanwhile, his wife goes on the hunt to find out who framed him, but the shopping days are counting down. This low-budget noir was directed by William Nigh from a great script by Steve Fisher (I Wake Up Screaming) based on Woolrich’s original story. As usual for Woolrich, things get pretty grim pretty quick, and the emotional roller-coaster never slows down. This film is rather obscure but well worth tracking down.
