Guillermo del Toro has emphasized that his new NIGHTMARE ALLEY is not a remake of Edmund Goulding’s 1947 noir of the same name, but rather an attempt to more faithfully adapt the 1946 novel by author William Lindsay Gresham, about a carnival con artist who expands his hustle into spiritualism and subsequently opens himself up to disaster. Nonetheless, this week in preparation of our discussion of del Toro’s NIGHTMARE we’re taking a deeper look at Goulding’s, with an assist from our friend and critic Noel Murray, to see how it follows and diverts from the noir tradition, particularly in its trio of distinctive female characters and performances, and how the morality of its tacked-on ending undercuts its deeper themes. Plus, our recent episode on THE POWER OF THE DOG has inspired a lot of feedback, which we begin digging into with some thoughts on its Hitchcockian and literary connections.

Please share your comments, thoughts, and questions about either version of NIGHTMARE ALLEY, or anything else in the world of film, by sending an email to [email protected], or leaving a short voicemail at (773) 234-9730. 

Outro music: “Carnival Games” by Nelly Furtado

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