The Sin of Nora Moran

This film is a great surprise. Apart from being thematically unusual (murder, suicide, corruption, capital punishment, rape, etc) it is visually astonishing and years ahead of its time, anticipating lots of stuff from 40's film noir to art-house European cinema (Bergman's Wild Strawberries for instance).

The film uses the `narratage' technique first used the same year by Preston Sturges in `The Power and the Glory' (also a very interesting film, directed by William K. Howard and a clear precedent of `Citizen Kane') which consists of voice-over narration and flashbacks and flashforwards, but if takes it much further with a very complex structure that includes flashbacks within flashbacks, dreams, hallucinations, flashforwards and characters appearing in scenes where they were not originally present and commenting the action with the main character.

The film is also extraordinarily shot with quasi expressionistic photography, lots of tracking shots, montages and very imaginative use of stock footage. To make all this even more admirable the film was produced on a very low B budget and it runs only 65 minutes.

The story really intrigued me on paper, and structurally 'The Sin of Nora Moran' fascinated just as much. Non-linear narratives are not for all but to me this structure has been done very well many times on film. Others have mentioned being drawn into seeing the film from its poster, and no wonder. It is definitely one eye-catching poster that has a real allure that is difficult to resist. So there were no real reservations before seeing 'The Sin of Nora Moran'.

While hopes were extremely high, there was admittedly a little doubt as to whether 'The Sin of Nora Moran' would work well. Having seen my fair share of films etc that had great potential but either doesn't fully live up to it or completely wastes it. Luckily 'The Sin of Nora Moran' did live up to expectations, if not exceeded them, and didn't waste its potential at all. Is it a masterpiece? No. Does it deserve to be seen more and is it a good film? To me, yes on both counts.

A lot works here. One of the most striking aspects of 'The Sin of Nora Moran' is the cinematography, not many pre-code films made this early on in the history of sound pictures had photography this realistic-looking. Stylish and atmospheric absolutely many times, like here, but the camera techniques and the atmosphere created with them was so vivid it was like watching a semi-documentary. The film is very skillfully directed, going at a tight pace while allowing some breathing room, and the scoring and use of sound is not intrusive or over-the-top in my view. Zita Johann gives a very powerful and heartfelt lead performance that makes one care about Nora without making her too obvious.

Rest of the cast do very well too if not quite up to Johann's level with their characters not being as interesting. Alan Dineheart comes off best as the second most interesting character and with some of the film's best lines. In a script that is very thought-provoking with some tense and poignant parts. The film may not look lavish outside of the cinematography, but in my view it does not look cheap and has a suitable amount of grit that suits the bold subject matter well. As well as the cinematography, the other interesting aspect of 'The Sin of Nora Moran' is the structure of the story. A relatively unconventional one at the time, not unheard of but not seen a lot, and an interesting one, not many films at the time had a flashback within a flashback for instance. Also appreciated its boldness, with some ahead of the time themes to address on film and none are sugar-coated. Did find myself caring for Nora and her plight.

Having said all of that, some of the constant back and forth in the first half can feel a little confusing (wouldn't go as far to say that it's illogical though personally) and like one is not quite keeping up always.

Some of it is admittedly melodramatic and schmaltzy early on.

In summary, very good and interesting on the whole. 8/10

The Sin of Nora Moran is a 1933 "talkie" picture. Why it's legendary has more to do with the camera effects used, the movie poster, and the use of flashbacks and talk-overs more than the actual plot of the film itself. That's the hard part to put yourself into in the 21st century. You can imagine all the oohs, and aahs, and confusion & shock of movie-goers in 1933, but after almost 90 years it's hard to feel that way yourself. The movie concerns itself with Nora, and the reason she is on death row awaiting execution. There are double and triple twists aplenty. Probably the most shocking thing in the film that I noticed was an implied rape. I can imagine how controversial this must have been back in the day, if I can tell what the implication was meant to be today. Another impressive feat of the movie is how well the story is told, despite all the time changes that happen during the course of the movie. At 65 minutes it doesn't lag at all, and it also serves to show how well an almost lost film can be brought back to life to breathe again on our small screens at home. Worth a watch to experience a revolution in '30's movie-making.

Two viewings, the first on 9/3/2018 at the suggestion of YouTube. The initial experience was such that I revisited the film on the tenth. "The Sin of Nora Moran" is one of those not-quite-of-its time (or place) movies, with its use of layered flashbacks, contrasting first person narratives, and use of fantasy. In a little over an hour the movie delivers the narrative fullness expected from a much longer work. The contrasting stories, told in Rashomon-like fashion, deepen the reality of a paradoxically realistic (melo-)drama. A major artistic work, with techniques to be seen in "Citizen Kane" (1941), "Wild Strawberries" (1957) and even "Zentropa" (1991 - e.g., the two-scene featuring what appears to be a projected head of the heroine conversing with her governor-paramour). Apparently the film fared poorly with audiences at the time of its release. While its reputation has grown over the years, I must confess I had never heard of it before YouTube suggested it, and I'll guess that it remains unjustly obscure. If the film were from Europe it would probably be better regarded today, perhaps belonging on a double bill with Joe May's "Asphalt" (1929). This was one of many important cinematic discoveries I've made in the last few years on YouTube. I may see this again.

Here is a decent film from Majestic Pictures from 1933. Zita Johann plays a girl in desperate circumstances who gets embroiled in a murder. The structure of this film is quite unique for it's genre. The direction by Phil Goldstone and the performances are excellent. Many offbeat touches are present and there is a decent music score, rare for a little poverty row production like this. Films like this make me appreciative of the little studios that put these out. This probably played small houses or the bottom half of a double bill. It really is well done and the brief running time (just over an hour) goes by pretty quickly. The print I saw running on YouTube was decent, with good picture and sound. The clever montages and effects really add to the enjoyment of this film.