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Nightmare Alley (1947) & (2022) - the human condition



“Nightmare Alley” never stops giving. You can check out the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Graham, 1947 movie directed by Edmund Golding, and 2021 movie directed by Guillermo del Toro. If you have read/seen one, you have read/seen them all – and yet they are simultaneously worthwhile and VERY different presentations on the same story.


I really liked the 1947 movie - it was an early film in terms of post-Hays code. I think today’s MPAA would give it PG13. The subject material and story are definitely not meant for children, but the rating board would be hard pressed to compile enough stuff to bump it up a level. The 2021 movie is rated R (probably edited so audiences know this is for adults and to avoid disappointing kids looking for “American Horror Story”). I would say the Graham novel is for an even more mature reader than GdT’s movie. As an adult reader, I decided I was mature enough to fast forward through a few sections that I wasn’t adult enough to let rattle around in my brain.


The novel & 1947 movie are quick and put you in the story from the jump. The novel & 2021 film are colorful and vibrant and there is a whole lot more going on with everyone than in the 1947 film. Unfortunately, some of del Toro’s storytelling dragged the story. I really like del Toro’s work, but he often produces a spectacle and visual feast that is more picture show than narrative theme park ride. Así es la vida.


2021 actors were definitely bringing today’s naturalistic acting on top of the 1947 screen characters. You can see Tyrone Power in Bradley Cooper, Joan Blondell in Toni Collette, Ian Keith in David Strathairn, and Mike Mazurki in Ron Perlman (Mike is way more of a frustrated mook than Ron. Perlman is playing someone that is not in the book or previous movie - he doesn’t get enough credit for his talent). 2021 Guillermo del Toro has some other all star actors hitting it out of the park: Willem Dafoe, Richard Jenkins, Tim Blake Nelson, and Paul Anderson are captivating as always.


In terms of acting comparison between the films, there was little else worth noting in 1947. Those four parallels above caught my attention but the 2023 viewer barely remembers anyone else from Goulding’s work. For Example: 2021 Rooney Mara was head and shoulders above 1947 Coleen Gray’s Molly (the novel Molly is nothing like either of them). 2021 Cate Blanchet’s version of Helen Walker’s Lillith character is diabolical. Graham’s novel characters needed deep actors … in 2021 - they got it across the board. Del Toro’s crew brought Graham’s writing to the screen. In 1947, it was just ‘Stan’ and ‘Zeena’ that got the acting they deserved from Tyrone and Joan.


If you are not familiar, there is really no hero in this story. There is no one you are rooting for. This is labeled as a “gem of noir”, but I think the non-hero aspects are why it qualifies in the noir bucket. I think I would call it a morality tale - it is a complex, realistic investigation into the character’s motivations, moral compasses, and imperfect lives.


If you are a fan of the human condition, try “Nightmare Alley”.

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