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Film Noir
They Shot Dark Pictures,
Didn't They? |
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250 Quintessential Noir
Films
Part 5 |
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Noir Homeoir Home |
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250 Quintessential
Noir Films (1940-1964): Parts
1
2
3
4
5 |
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50 Key Noir
Filmmakers
More American Noir (1940-1964)
Non-American Noir
(1940-1964)
Noir Precursors (Pre-1940)
Neo-Noir / Modern Noir
(Post-1964)
Noir Links
Noir Sources |
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Full listing of all
films cited: Alphabetical
Chronological
By Director |
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Strange Illusion |
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Edgar G. Ulmer |
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| 1945, 80 mins,
PRC |
| Scr
Adele Comandini
Cin
Philip Tannura
Cast
Jimmy Lydon, Sally Eilers, Warren William, Regis Toomey, Charles
Arnt |
|
"Adolescent believes that his widowed mother's suitor may have
murdered his father. Stylish cheapie by the recognized master of
stylish cheapies." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Strange Love of Martha
Ivers |
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Lewis Milestone |
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| 1946, 117 mins,
Paramount |
| Scr
Robert Rossen
Cin
Victor MilnertCast
Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, Kirk Douglas, Lizabeth Scott,
Judith Anderson |
| "This
movie is filled with darkness, brown soot, pessimism, secrecy,
control freaks...It's a very dark vision of the world, set in a
bleak, heavily industrial landscape, like a steeltown outside of
Chicago." - Barry Gifford,
The Devil Thumbs a Ride |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Stranger |
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Orson Welles |
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| 1946, 95 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Anthony Veiller
Cin
Russell Metty
Cast
Orson Welles,
Loretta Young, Edward G. Robinson, Philip Merivale, Richard Long |
| "Though
more straightforward than Welles' masterpieces, it still offers
plenty of hysteria, paranoia, and hidden identities as well as a
truly warped gothic ending." -
David N.
Meyer,
A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir on
Video |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Stranger on the Third
Floor |
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Boris Ingster |
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| 1940, 64 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Frank Partos
Cin
Nicholas Musuraca
Cast
Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet, Charles Waldron,
Elisha Cook Jr. |
| "Stranger
on the Third Floor is the first true film noir...This
unheralded B film noir, made a full year before Citizen Kane,
demonstrates the most overt influence yet of German
expressionism on American crime films to that time." -
Bob Porfirio,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Strangers on a Train |
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Alfred Hitchcock |
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GF1000
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| 1951, 101 mins,
Warner Bros |
| Scr
Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde
Cin
Robert Burks
Cast
Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Leo G. Carroll,
Patricia Hitchcock |
| "One
of Alfred Hitchcock's supreme thrillers...Film has flaws, but
Walker's performance and Hitchcock's vast array of tricks more
than compensate for them." -
Danny
Peary,
Guide for the Film Fanatic |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Street of Chance |
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Jack Hively |
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| 1942, 74 mins,
Paramount |
| Scr
Garrett Fort
Cin
Theodor Sparkuhl
Cast
Burgess Meredith, Claire Trevor, Louise Platt, Sheldon Leonard,
Frieda Inescourt |
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"A man has an accident at work, returns home and is told by his
wife that he has been missing for a year. The original noir
amnesia story, which was also the first adaptation of a Cornell
Woolrich novel." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Not Seen |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Street with No Name |
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William Keighley |
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| 1948, 91 mins,
20th Century-Fox |
| Scr
Harry Kleiner
Cin
Joseph
MacDonald
Cast
Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark, Lloyd Nolan, Barbara Lawrence, Ed
Begley |
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"Street with No Name is an example of the
semidocumentary thrillers produced by Fox...the photography of
Joe MacDonald evokes a sense of the corrupt city through
stylized and shadowy images not too different from such studio
films as I Wake Up Screaming and Dark Corner." -
Bob Porfirio,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Strip |
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Leslie Kardos |
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| 1951, 85 mins,
MGM |
| Scr
Allan Rivkin
Cin
Robert Surtees
Cast
Mickey Rooney, Sally Forrest, William Demarest, James Craig, Kay
Brown |
| "Jazz
drummer and aspiring actress become involved with racketeers,
ending in violent tragedy. Los Angeles jazz scene nicely woven
into tough noir plot." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Sudden Fear |
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David Miller |
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| 1952, 110 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Lenore Coffee, Robert Smith
Cin
Charles Lang
Cast
Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame, Bruce Bennett,
Virginia Huston |
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"Sudden Fear, a late entry in the RKO noir cycle,
has an overly contrived plot partially camouflaged by some
stylish and typically RKO photography by Charles Lang and by
naturalistic performances by the three lead actors." -
Bob Porfirio,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Suddenly |
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Lewis Allen |
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| 1954, 77 mins,
United Artists |
| Scr
Richard Sale
Cin
Charles Clarke
Cast
Frank Sinatra, Sterling Hayden, James Gleason, Nancy Gates, Kim
Charney |
| "Frank
Sinatra plays John Baron, leading a trio of assassins who arrive
in a small town just in time to shoot the president. It's a
compelling premise, well performed and well directed." -
The Rough Guide to Cult Movies |
| TSPDT:
Approach with Caution |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Sunset Blvd. |
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Billy Wilder |
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GF1000
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| 1950, 110 mins,
Paramount |
| Scr
Charles Brackett,
Billy Wilder, D.M. Marshman Jr.
Cin
John Seitz
Cast
Gloria Swanson, William Holden,
Erich von Stroheim, Nancy
Olson, Fred Clark |
| "Billy
Wilder's searing, funny, morbid look at the real tinsel beneath
the phony tinsel...A tour de force for Swanson and one of
Wilder's better efforts." - Don Druker,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Suspect |
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Robert Siodmak |
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| 1944, 85 mins,
Universal |
| Scr
Bertram Millhauser
Cin
Paul Ivano
Cast
Charles
Laughton, Ella Raines, Henry Daniell, Dean Harens,
Stanley Ridges |
| "Oppression,
guilt, blackmail and murder in turn-of-the-century London's
quiet Laburnum Terrace - the plot specifics of The Suspect
inevitably evoke Hitchcock's world, even if the studio choice of
noir specialist Siodmak as director suggests a more
darkly labyrinthine atmosphere." - Paul Taylor,
Time Out |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Suspense |
|
Frank Tuttle |
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| 1946, 101 mins,
Monogram |
| Scr
Philip Yordan
Cin
Karl Struss
Cast
Barry Sullivan, Albert Dekker, Belita, Eugene Pallette, Bonita
Granville |
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"Promoter's illicit involvement with star of ice show leads to
deception and murder. Strange film, with expressive sets and
visuals, that was one of Monogram's only A productions." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Not Seen |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Suspicion |
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Alfred Hitchcock |
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| 1941, 99 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Samson Raphaelson, Joan Harrison, Alma Reville
Cin
Harry Stradling
Cast
Cary Grant, Joan Fontaine, Nigel Bruce, Cedric Hardwicke, Dame
May Whitty |
| "Film has
good scenes - Grant carrying glowing glass of milk to sick
Fontaine, a dinner conversation about murder - but the
disappointing resolution keeps it from being top-grade
Hitchcock." - Danny
Peary,
Guide for the Film Fanatic |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Sweet Smell of Success |
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Alexander Mackendrick |
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GF1000
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| 1957, 96 mins,
United Artists |
| Scr
Clifford Odets, Ernest Lehman
Cin
James Wong Howe
Cast
Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner, Sam
Levene |
| "A
wonderfully bitter satire on the celebrity biz...Director
Alexander Mackendrick more than makes the transfer from Ealing
comedy whimsy to ferocious frenzy, picking up on the cynical,
observational attitude of Ernest Lehman's hardboiled newsprint
script and adding gothic shadows." - Kim Newman,
1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Talk About a Stranger |
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David Bradley |
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| 1952, 65 mins,
MGM |
| Scr
Margaret Fitts
Cin
John Alton
Cast
George Murphy, Nancy Davis, Billy Gray, Lewis Stone, Kurt
Kasznar |
|
"Young boy is convinced that a new neighbor has poisoned
his dog. Atypical film with good visuals that encourages the
viewer to identify with a paranoid juvenile." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Tattooed Stranger |
|
Edward Montagne |
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| 1950, 64 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Phil Reisman Jr.
Cin
William Steiner
Cast
John Miles, Patricia Barry, Walter Kinsella, Frank Tweddell, Rod
McLennan |
| "One of
the seediest films ever made, The Tattooed Stranger
remains a unique testament to independent film makers. Taking to
the streets, the film is populated with non-professional actors
who suggest, rather than act out, the intrinsic fear and
loathing found in many urban slums." -
Carl Macek,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Not Seen |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Tension |
|
John Berry |
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| 1949, 95 mins,
MGM |
| Scr
Allan Rivkin
Cin
Harry Stradling
Cast
Richard Basehart, Audrey Totter, Cyd Charisse, Barry Sullivan,
Lloyd Gough |
| "Tension
is a taut thriller developed with noir motifs and style. The
film is populated by a host of characters who embody the cynical
essence of the noir world." -
Carl Macek,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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They Live by Night |
|
Nicholas Ray |
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GF1000
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| 1948, 95 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Charles Schnee
Cin
George E. Diskant
Cast
Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell, Howard da Silva, Jay C. Flippen,
Helen Craig |
| "A key
film noir of the 40s, this was Nicholas Ray's first film as a
director, and the freshness of his expressionist-documentary
style is still apparent and gripping." -
Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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They Won't Believe Me |
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Irving Pichel |
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| 1947, 79 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Aben Kandel,
Robert Rossen
Cin
Harry Wild
Cast
Robert Young, Susan Hayward, Jane Greer, Rita Johnson, Tom
Powers |
| "A man's
involvement with several women leads to an ironic murder charge.
Notable, lesser-known film noir with a strong sense of sexual
malaise." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Thief |
|
Russell Rouse |
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| 1952, 85 mins,
United Artists |
| Scr
Clarence Greene,
Russell Rouse
Cin
Sam Leavitt
Cast
Ray Milland, Martin Gabel, Harry Bronson, Rita Vale, Rex
O'Malley |
|
"The Thief remains superior to most other propaganda
films - the loss of dialogue in itself is an asset in toning
down didacticism - and director
Russell Rouse, experienced in
the noir cycle, imbues the film with the necessary elements of
fear, persecution, alienation, and loneliness." - Bob
Porfirio,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Thieves' Highway |
|
Jules Dassin |
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| 1949, 94 mins,
20th Century-Fox |
| Scr
A.I. Bezzerides
Cin
Norbert Brodine
Cast
Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb, Barbara Lawrence,
Jack Oakie |
| "Perhaps
the most unjustly neglected of Jules Dassin's pre-blacklist
Hollywood pictures and one of the best noirs ever made by
anyone, this is a terrific, fast-moving thriller about the
corruption of the California fruit market business." -
Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Third Man |
|
Carol Reed |
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|
GF1000
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| 1949, 104 mins,
London Film Productions/British Lion Film |
| Scr
Graham Greene
Cin
Robert Krasker
Cast
Joseph Cotten,
Orson Welles, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard, Paul
Horbiger |
| "Justly
celebrated British noir...Robert Krasker's camerawork
matches the baroque conception of Graham Greene's characters,
Welles' contributions add intriguing internal tension, and even
the 'gimmick' of Anton Karas' solo zither score works perfectly.
A tender/tough classic." - Paul Taylor,
Time Out |
| Note:
The Third Man is one of only 2 films included within the
250 Quintessential Noirs listing that was not produced in
the USA. |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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This Gun for Hire |
|
Frank Tuttle |
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| 1942, 80 mins,
Paramount |
| Scr
Albert Maltz, W.R. Burnett
Cin
John Seitz
Cast
Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar, Tully
Marshall |
|
"Hired killer is paid for a job with 'hot'
money...Important, meaningful early noir which links the cycle
with British suspense novels of that period." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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T-Men |
|
Anthony Mann |
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| 1947, 96 mins,
Eagle Lion |
| Scr
John C. Higgins
Cin
John Alton
Cast
Dennis O'Keefe, Alfred Ryder, Mary Meade, Wallace Ford, June
Lockhart |
| "T-Men
established the reputations of its director, Anthony Mann, and
its photographer, John Alton. Within a year, both were hired by
MGM on the strength of this Eagle-Lion sleeper." - Blake Lucas,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Too Late for Tears |
|
Byron Haskin |
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| 1949, 99 mins,
United Artists |
| Scr
Roy Huggins
Cin
William Mellor
Cast
Lizabeth Scott, Don DeFore, Dan Duryea, Arthur Kennedy, Kristine
Miller |
| "Notable,
well-directed film in which Lizabeth Scott plays a restless
housewife who will stop at nothing to get what she wants." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Touch of Evil |
|
Orson Welles |
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|
GF1000
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| 1958, 108 mins,
Universal |
| Scr
Orson Welles
Cin
Russell Metty
Cast
Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim
Tamiroff |
|
"Welles at his most imposing in this exhausting exercise in
high-energy, self-conscious noir. The movie
moves...slowly but with concentrated effort designed to maximise
the results. And it works - almost unlike any other picture that
so purposefully sets out to achieve a dark effect." - Barry Gifford,
The Devil Thumbs a Ride |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
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Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Try and Get Me! |
|
Cy Endfield |
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| aka The
Sound of Fury |
| 1951, 85 mins,
United Artists |
| Scr
Jo Pagano
Cin
Guy Roe
Cast
Frank Lovejoy, Lloyd Bridges, Richard Carlson, Kathleen Ryan,
Katherine Locke |
| "Try
and Get Me functions better as a film noir than it does as a
quasi-documentary...Reminiscent of both Fritz Lang's Fury
and Mervyn LeRoy's They Won't Forget, Try and Get Me
concentrates less on the result of the lynching than on the
collapse of decency in both the criminals and the townspeople." -
Carl Macek,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Turning Point |
|
William Dieterle |
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| 1952, 85 mins,
Paramount |
| Scr
Warren Duff
Cin
Lionel Lindon
Cast
William Holden, Alexis Smith, Edmond O'Brien, Tom Tully, Ed
Begley |
| "While
aiding special crime committee, investigative reporter discovers
that the chairman's father is on the syndicate payroll. Tense,
dramatic exposé film with some strong performances." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Undercover Man |
|
Joseph H. Lewis |
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| 1949, 85 mins,
Columbia |
| Scr
Sydney Boehm
Cin
Burnett Guffey
Cast
Glenn Ford, Nina Foch, James Whitmore, Barry Kelley, David Wolfe |
| "Another
in an unrelated cycle of noir films made during the late 1940s
that approach the subject of organized crime through the
conventions of supposed documentary technique, The Undercover
Man emphasizes the ability of the noir film to suspend
disbelief." - Carl Macek,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Undercurrent |
|
Vincente Minnelli |
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| 1946, 116 mins,
MGM |
| Scr
Edward Chodorov
Cin
karl Freund
Cast
Katharine Hepburn, Robert Taylor, Robert Mitchum, Edmund Gwenn,
Marjorie Main |
| "The film
is more gripping than it has any right to be, with its gothic
mansions, flickering firelight, mysterious brothers, and
simple-minded notions about gender politics." -
David N.
Meyer,
A Girl and a Gun: The Complete Guide to Film Noir on
Video |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Underworld, U.S.A. |
|
Samuel Fuller |
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| 1961, 99 mins,
Columbia |
| Scr
Samuel Fuller
Cin
Hal Mohr
Cast
Cliff Robertson, Beatrice Kay, Larry Gates, Dolores Dorn, Paul
Dubov |
| "Solid
Fuller film has typical strong Fuller visuals; you'll want to
wash your hands after it's over. It's unusual because our 'hero'
really is a bastard. Robertson gives one of his best
performances." -
Danny
Peary,
Guide for the Film Fanatic |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
| Note:
Underworld, U.S.A. is one of only 3 films included within the
250 Quintessential Noirs listing not to fall within the classic
noir period (1940 to 1959). |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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Union Station |
|
Rudolph Maté |
 |
| 1950, 80 mins,
Paramount |
| Scr
Sydney Boehm
Cin
Daniel Fapp
Cast
William Holden, Nancy Olson, Barry Fitzgerald, Lyle Bettger, Jan
Sterling |
| "Rudolph
Mate, one of the better but lesser known American neorealists of
the late 40s and early 50s (his D.O.A. is a minor
classic) directed this 1950 nail-biter about the kidnapping of a
blind girl and the frantic police hunt for victim and
kidnapper." - Don Druker,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Unknown Man |
|
Richard Thorpe |
 |
| 1951, 86 mins,
MGM |
| Scr
George Froeschel, Ronald Miller
Cin
William Mellor
Cast
Walter Pidgeon, Ann Harding, Barry Sullivan, Keefe Brasselle,
Lewis Stone |
|
"Orderly world of a prominent lawyer collapses when he
learns that a man he has successfully defended is not innocent
of murder. Well-plotted film with several ironic twists." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Approach with Caution |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
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The Unsuspected |
|
Michael Curtiz |
 |
| 1947, 103 mins,
Warner Bros |
| Scr
Ranald McDougall, Bess Meredyth
Cin
Elwood Bredell
Cast
Claude Rains, Joan Caulfield, Audrey Totter, Constance Bennett,
Hurd Hatfield |
|
"The Unsuspected is one of the few noir films that
consciously emphasizes the element of style...The imaginative
direction, highlighted by Woody Bredell's chiaroscuro
cinematography links the upper class world of Grandison (Rains)
with that of the unsavoury underworld." -
Carl Macek,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
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Vicki |
|
Harry Horner |
 |
| 1953, 85 mins,
20th Century-Fox |
| Scr
Dwight Taylor, Leo Townsend
Cin
Milton Krasner
Cast
Jeanne Crain, Jean Peters, Elliott Reid, Richard Boone, Max
Showalter |
| "Inferior
remake of noir classic I Wake Up Screaming (1942)
in which Crain and Reid are hounded by psychopathic cop Richard
Boone, in the role originally played with flesh-crawling panache
by Laird Cregar." -
Robin Cross,
2000 Movies: The 1950s |
| TSPDT:
Not Seen |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Web |
|
Michael Gordon |
 |
| 1947, 87 mins,
Universal |
| Scr
William Bowers, Bertram Millhauser
Cin
Irving Glassberg
Cast
Ella Raines,
Edmond O'Brien, William Bendix, Vincent Price, Maria Palmer |
|
"Intelligent hard-boiled melodrama in which an aggressive
protagonist is easily manipulated by a smooth arch-villain while
falling in love with a classy, non-nonsense dame." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
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|
When Strangers Marry |
|
William Castle |
 |
| aka
Betrayed |
| 1944, 67 mins,
Monogram |
| Scr
Philip Yordan, Dennis J. Cooper
Cin
Ira Morgan
Cast
Dean Jagger, Kim Hunter, Robert Mitchum, Neil Hamilton, Dick
Elliott |
| "Despite a
convoluted, Woolrich-like plot, When Strangers Marry is a
good example of the B thriller structure and represents the
initial contributions of writer Philip Yordan and the King
Brothers (producers) to the noir cycle." -
Bob
Porfirio,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
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|
Where Danger Lives |
|
John Farrow |
 |
| 1950, 84 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Charles Bennett
Cin
Nicholas Musuraca
Cast
Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue, Claude Rains, Maureen
O'Sullivan, Charles Kemper |
| "Director
John Farrow nicely hits the nightmarish, hallucinatory qualities
in this standard film noir plot...Nothing special for the genre,
but a solid, terse piece of work from a filmmaker elsewhere
given to preachiness." -
Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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|
Where the Sidewalk Ends |
|
Otto Preminger |
 |
| 1950, 95 mins,
20th Century-Fox |
| Scr
Ben Hecht
Cin
Joseph LaShelle
Cast
Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Gary Merrill, Karl Malden, Bert
Freed |
| "Preminger's
superior noir boasts hardboiled and sardonic dialogue,
courtesy of Ben Hecht, but also a surprising strain of pathos as
Dixon (Andrews) fights against his own nature." -
Geoffrey Macnab,
Time Out |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
|
|
While the City Sleeps |
|
Fritz Lang |
 |
|
GF1000
|
| 1956, 100 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Casey Robinson
Cin
Ernest Laszlo
Cast
Dana Andrews, Ida Lupino, Rhonda Fleming, Sally Forrest, Thomas
Mitchell |
| "Newspaper
owner offers big promotion to member of his staff who can catch
psycho-murderer. Offbeat thriller which is one of the most
original and provocative noir newspaper films." -
Spencer Selby,
Dark City: The Film Noir |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
|
|
Whirlpool |
|
Otto Preminger |
 |
| 1949, 97 mins,
20th Century-Fox |
| Scr
Ben Hecht, Andrew Solt
Cin
Arthur Miller
Cast
Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, Jose Ferrer, Charles Bickford,
Barbara O'Neil |
|
"The French enthusiasm for this moody and creepy melodrama,
sparked mainly by Jacques Rivette and Jean-Luc Godard, isn't
without defenses: Preminger's ambiguous relation to his
characters and his sense of moral relativity have seldom been
put to such haunting use." -
Jonathan Rosenbaum,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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White Heat |
|
Raoul Walsh |
 |
|
GF1000
|
| 1949, 114 mins,
Warner Bros |
| Scr
Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts
Cin
Sid Hickox
Cast
James Cagney, Virginia Mayo, Edmond O'Brien, Margaret Wycherly,
Steve Cochran |
|
"White Heat = Scarface + Psycho...Despite
chronology (deranged by the censor's influence on the studios),
this is really the fitting climax of the '30s gangster movie." -
Phil Hardy,
Time Out |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
|
|
The Window |
|
Ted Tetzlaff |
 |
| 1949, 73 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Mel Dinelli
Cin
Robert De Grasse, William Steiner
Cast
Barbara Hale, Arthur Kennedy, Paul Stewart, Ruth Roman, Bobby
Driscoll |
|
"The Window exploits the ironies of childhood
paranoia of adults. Tetzlaff uses experience gained as the
cinematographer of several Hitchcock films and benefits from a
well-constructed script by Mel Dinelli to transpose Woolrich's
darkly oppressive vision of New York City into the studio
settings of The Window." -
Bob Porfirio,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
|
|
Witness to Murder |
|
Roy Rowland |
 |
| 1954, 83 mins,
United Artists |
| Scr
Chester Erskine
Cin
John Alton
Cast
Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill, Jesse White,
Harry Shannon |
|
"Standard Stanwyck slide into hysteria as she fails to
convince anyone that sinister neighbor George Sanders is a
strangler." -
Robin Cross,
2000 Movies: The 1950s |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
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The Woman in the Window |
|
Fritz Lang |
 |
|
GF1000
|
| 1944, 99 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Nunnally Johnson
Cin
Milton Krasner
Cast
Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Raymond Massey,
Edmund Breon |
|
"A masterful film noir from Fritz Lang's rich American
period, with Edward G. Robinson as a professor of psychology who
learns by doing as he becomes obsessed with the image of a woman
in a painting." -
Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Highly Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
|
|
The Woman on the Beach |
|
Jean Renoir |
 |
| 1947, 71 mins,
RKO |
| Scr
Frank Davis, Jean
Renoir, Michael Hogan
Cin
Leo Tover, Harry Wild
Cast
Joan Bennett, Robert Ryan, Charles Bickford, Nan Leslie, Walter
Sande |
|
"A film noir in mood, with terrific performances,
wonderful use made of the dead-end settings, and darkly
elemental overtones to the emotional battle (Ryan's recurring
nightmare of drowning; Bickford's cleansing by fire of his
past). Fragments, maybe, but remarkable all the same." -
Tom Milne,
Time Out |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
|
|
Woman on the Run |
|
Norman Foster |
 |
| 1950, 77 mins,
Universal |
| Scr
Alan Campbell,
Norman Foster
Cin
Hal Mohr
Cast
Ann Sheridan, Dennis O'Keefe, Robert Keith, Ross Elliott, Frank
Jenks |
|
"Norman Foster and photographer Hal Mohr exploit the San
Francisco locations and its menacing nighttime streets. Ann
Sheridan, as the typically frightened and distraught noir
protagonist, is also menaced by Dennis O'Keefe as Leggett, cast
against type in the role of the murderer." -
Bob Porfirio & Alain Silver,
Film Noir: An Encyclopedic Reference to the
American Style |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
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|
World for Ransom |
|
Robert Aldrich |
 |
| 1954, 80 mins,
Allied Artists |
| Scr
Lindsay Hardy
Cin
Joseph Biroc
Cast
Dan Duryea, Gene Lockhart, Patric Knowles, Reginald Denny, Nigel
Bruce |
|
"Aldrich's baroque embellishments to the already-overloaded film
noir style make their first appearances here, as well as his
typically ironic (and occasionally openly contemptuous)
perspective on the action hero. Made in ten days, it's a tiny
wonder." -
Dave Kehr,
Chicago Reader |
| TSPDT:
Worth a Look |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
|
|
The Wrong Man |
|
Alfred Hitchcock |
 |
|
GF1000
|
| 1956, 105 mins,
Warner Bros |
| Scr
Maxwell Anderson, Angus MacPhail
Cin
Robert Burks
Cast
Henry Fonda, Vera Miles, Anthony Quayle, Richard Robbins, Harold
J. Stone |
|
"Hitchcock's most sombre film, unrelieved by his usual macabre
humour; the black-and-white photography and the persecuted
Fonda's sharply chiselled features lend an impressive
documentary feel...and it's pure noir." -
Rod McShane,
Time Out |
| TSPDT:
Recommended |
|
Amazon
IMDB
MRQE |
|
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| |
Noir Homeoir Home |
|
| |
250 Quintessential
Noir Films (1940-1964): Parts
1
2
3
4
5 |
|
| |
50 Key Noir
Filmmakers
More American Noir (1940-1964)
Non-American Noir
(1940-1964)
Noir Precursors (Pre-1940)
Neo-Noir / Modern Noir
(Post-1964)
Noir Links
Noir Sources |
|
| |
Full listing of all
noirs cited: Alphabetical
Chronological
By Director |
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|
