SHOCK VALUE

It isn't easy for a bad woman to go straight.

We think Shockproof has one of the best film noir titles of all time. It just sounds like a killer flick. But is it? Patricia Knight stars as a paroled murderer who can’t quit her past associations, despite the fact that her parole officer Cornel Wilde is prepared to throw her back in prison for life if she violates her terms. But she thinks she’s smarter than the system, and so does her shady boyfriend, so they keep sneaking around Los Angeles to meet each other. Meanwhile Wilde is convinced Knight is redeemable, and in his efforts to steer her straight ends up bringing her deeper into his own circle, and into his personal life. The only way he can keep her away from her bad boyfriend is to be with her as much as possible, so soon the two are living in the same big house along with Wilde’s mother and little brother. But the old boyfriend is still sliming around and plans to use Wilde’s affections for Knight against him. We wouldn’t say the movie is quite as good as its title—it isn’t down and dirty enough for that—but it’s a solid film noir entry, and we recommend it. It premiered in the U.S. today in 1949.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1976—Gerald Ford Rescinds Executive Order 9066

U.S. President Gerald R. Ford signs Proclamation 4417, which belatedly rescinds Executive Order 9066. That Order, signed in 1942 by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, established “War Relocation Camps” for Japanese-American citizens living in the U.S. Eventually, 120,000 are locked up without evidence, due process, or the possibility of appeal, for the duration of World War II.

1954—First Church of Scientology Established

The first Scientology church, based on the writings of science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard, is established in Los Angeles, California. Since then, the city has become home to the largest concentration of Scientologists in the world, and its ranks include high-profile adherents such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.

1933—Blaine Act Passes

The Blaine Act, a congressional bill sponsored by Wisconsin senator John J. Blaine, is passed by the U.S. Senate and officially repeals the 18th Amendment to the United States Constitution, aka the Volstead Act, aka Prohibition. The repeal is formally adopted as the 21st Amendment to the Constitution on December 5, 1933.

1947—Voice of America Begins Broadcasting into U.S.S.R.

The state radio channel known as Voice of America and controlled by the U.S. State Department, begins broadcasting into the Soviet Union in Russian with the intent of countering Soviet radio programming directed against American leaders and policies. The Soviet Union responds by initiating electronic jamming of VOA broadcasts.

1937—Carothers Patents Nylon

Wallace H. Carothers, an American chemist, inventor and the leader of organic chemistry at DuPont Corporation, receives a patent for a silk substitute fabric called nylon. Carothers was a depressive who for years carried a cyanide capsule on a watch chain in case he wanted to commit suicide, but his genius helped produce other polymers such as neoprene and polyester. He eventually did take cyanide—not in pill form, but dissolved in lemon juice—resulting in his death in late 1937.

Unknown artist produces lurid cover for Indian true crime magazine Nutan Kahaniyan.
Cover art by Roswell Keller for the 1948 Pocket Books edition of Ramona Stewart's Desert Town.

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