Thug with knife: "You're a very nosy fellow, kitty cat. Huh? You know what happens to nosy fellows? Huh? No? Wanna guess? Huh? No?"
Classic film noir from
1974. Directed by
Roman Polanski and written by
Robert Towne, who won an
Oscar for his
screenplay. Starred
Jack Nicholson as Jake Gittes,
Faye Dunaway as Evelyn Mulwray,
John Huston as Noah Cross, and
Diane Ladd as the
mysterious Ida Sessions. Polanski himself appeared in a
cameo role as a cheap
thug with a
knife. It was followed by a 1990
sequel, "
The Two Jakes", which was directed by Nicholson.
Plot summary: Private eye Jake Gittes is hired for a simple
snoop job on an
adultery case, but ends up getting involved in a
murder investigation, a
shady land deal, twisted family
secrets, and far more
danger than he's being paid for.
This is a
brilliant,
multilayered,
shocking movie, and one of the most
acclaimed and
enduring films to come out of the
1970s. Polanski is at the very top of his game, and Towne's script is riveting and corkscrew-convoluted. Nicholson and Dunaway are very good, but let's be honest -- the best actor in this picture is Huston, playing the mega-wealthy,
charismatic,
amoral Noah Cross. If there was ever a bad guy who you really wanted to see put down at the end of the movie, it's Noah Cross. And in the film, as in real life, at the end, the bad guy gets away with it. No, not the most upbeat ending ever, but if you're watching
noir for happy endings, you're doomed to disappointment.
"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown."