ASK EDDIE - December 4 2025

FNF prez Eddie Muller responds to film noir fan questions fielded by the Foundation's Director of Communications Anne Hockens. In this edition, we discuss which film we would replace in a classic noir, how music contributes to cinema, the reconstruction of “Touch of Evil”, Silent proto-noirs, “The Red House”, “Stella”, and more. The lightning round returns! On the cat front, Emily is a diva. Timestamps and questions below.

00:05 – Intro, Noir City Philadelphia recap, how to submit questions, restoration update
05:14 – Q1: Replacing a scene in a classic noir
11:26 – Q2: Deuxième souffle – Manouche’s relationship to Gu
19:32 – Q3: Role of music in noir and favorite soundtracks
29:51 – Q4: When background music hinders a scene
34:11 – Personal story: meeting Spielberg and Dreyfuss
39:40 – Q5: Underrated status of The Red House (1947)
43:00 – Q6: Reconstructed Touch of Evil vs. original release
48:25 – Q7: Thoughts on Stella (1950)
51:15 – Q8: Other silent-era proto-noirs

56:04 – Lightning Round
56:09 – 9a: Actor who played Nulty in Murder, My Sweet
56:39 – 9b: Terry Moore in Gaslight
56:59 – 9c: Availability of Ivy
1:00:01 – 9d: Alternate script for The Narrow Margin
1:04:01 – 9e: NOIR CITY in NYC?
1:05:13 – 9f: Why Body and Soul is rarely on TCM

1:08:56 – Q10: How many films you've seen and weekly average
1:13:01 – Q11: Top female suicides in film noir

1:21:09 – Upcoming: Christmas show, Noir City 23, TCM event in NYC, Pluribus, work in progress

This week’s questions:
1. If you could replace just one scene in any classic noir film, which one would it be and what scene would you put in its place? 
—Ken from Oklahoma 
2.  I fell asleep watching "Deuxieme souffle" on Noir Alley. Who was Manouche, Gu’s sister or lover?
—Annie
3. I am interested in your thoughts about how music contributes to cinema, and how the music of film noir has changed over time.  Any favorite noir soundtracks?
—Patrick
4. Do you feel, as I do, that sometimes background music hinders the mood in a scene instead of enhancing it?
—Malvina
5. Why do you think “The Red House” has not achieved the acclaim some of us believe it deserves?
—Bernie
6. Do you feel the reconstruction of “Touch of Evil” following Orson's detailed list of corrections is a better or more enjoyable film than the original?
—Mark
7. Have either of you ever seen “Stella” (1950)?
—Brian, Casper, WY
8. Are you aware of other proto-noirs in the silent film era besides “Shoes”?
—Jerome in Portland
9. Lightning Round
a. We received an answer to the question posed in our last episode, “This may be a silly question but why can’t I find any information on the actor who played Nulty in “Murder, My Sweet”?”
—Bill, Pleasant Hill
b. Is Terry Moore sitting in the carriage or just walking out of the house, in “Gaslight”?
—Tamara
c. Is “Ivy” available to watch, and will it ever be on TCM?
—Danielle, West Michigan
d. Did “The Narrow Margin” have a rejected alternate script with Sgt. Brown taking Vincent Yost's offer?
—Lee
e. Any chance you can have a NOIR CITY retrospective in New York City?
—Bob
f. Why is “Body and Soul” almost never shown on TCM?
—Nancy
10. How many films the two of you estimate you’ve seen and how many new films you average seeing each week.
—Michael, Post Falls, Idaho
11. What are your top three or five women who killed themselves in film noir?
-Richard

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