Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1531774
9 6 P E R S P E C T I V E | J A N U A R Y / F E B R U A R Y 2 0 2 5 RESHOOTS B Y B A R B A R A H A L L , A D G A R C H I V I S T S E L E C T I O N S F R O M T H E A D G A R C H I V E S C O U R T E S Y O F T H E A R T D I R E C T O R S G U I L D A R C H I V E S This boldly decorated set was designed for the 1947 film noir The Gangster, starring Barry Sullivan. A low-budget feature made by the prolific B movie producers, the King Brothers, the film told the story of a small-time racketeer caught in a violent turf war with a rival who wants to take over his operations. But instead of going for basic studio sets, as was often the case with B movies, the filmmakers aimed high, creating a stylized look that included recreations of a Brooklyn boardwalk and an elevated train, as well as this set for the apartment of the gangster's girlfriend, who betrays him in the end. As Noir Alley host Eddie Muller pointed out when he introduced The Gangster on TCM, the distinctive visual style of the film is clearly due to its director, Gordon Wiles. Wiles was an Art Director with more than a dozen studio credits and an Academy Award under his belt when he started helming B movies in the mid-1930s, making him one of only a few Production Designers who crossed over to also working as a director during the heyday of the studio system. The Gangster was Wiles's last film as a director, and probably his most notable effort. He went on to be the Production Designer on a few other films, including the noir classic Gun Crazy, before dying in 1950 at the age of 46. The credited Art Director on The Gangster was F. Paul Sylos, who worked primarily on low-budget and independent films, as well as in television, during a career that spanned four decades. A. SET REFERENCE STILL FROM THE GANGSTER (1947). A