The Film Noir Thread! Gats, dames, and cheap hooch welcome.

[Scott]

And, Scott, if you want to see Dana Andrews at his best, you NEED to see BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Not a noir, it's about WWII soldiers adjusting to civilian life. One of the best films ever imo.

I do need to see that, been on my to-watch list forever. Thanks for the reminder!

[Spaghetti Monkey]

OUT OF THE PAST - top of the pops
IN A LONELY PLACE - Bogart and Grahame, so good
BORN TO KILL - gotta have some Tierney in here somewhere
STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS - Love Babs, i actually prefer this to DOUBLE INDEMNITY
RAW DEAL - gotta have a Mann
TOUCH OF EVIL
SCARLET STREET
GUN CRAZY
DEAD RECKONING
THE BIG HEAT - Ford grates on me, but Grahame is so awesome
BLOOD ON THE MOON

That'll have to do for this moment in time

Honorable mention to ROAD HOUSE. Not a strict noir, but Ida and Widmark are so much fun in this, gotta throw it out there. And if we were to allow color, NIAGARA.

[Matt H.]

I've hardly seen any film noir from the 40s and 50s, but I absolutely adore PICKUP ON SOUTH ST.. Sam Fuller was such an incredible filmmaker.

[JoeS]

Likewise, it's interesting that 'Mildred Pierce' doesn't get a look-in on the Peary list. I've always thought of that one as a pretty nailed on, critically beloved classic.... but as I was pondering at tedious length on my blog recently, I suppose it's in a odd position re: noir, in that the first twenty minutes or so are definitive noir brilliance, but then it goes off in a somewhat different direction, genre-wise.

I'm also surprised to see 'Lady From Shanghai' on the list. I mean, it's a fascinating movie, no question, but... it's kind of a mess, right? I had no idea its critical standing was so high.
...

LAURA made the runner-up list in the Peary poll. I think the consensus was that it was a bit too smooth and 'soft' to be a top tier gritty Noir. A view I agree with.

As to LADY FROM SHANGHAI, many of Peary's participants, unsurprsingly were fellow film critics and authors. Orson Welles still has a strong auteurist hold on that group. It definitely wouldn't even be on my long list.

[BW Haggar]

Likewise, it's interesting that 'Mildred Pierce' doesn't get a look-in on the Peary list. I've always thought of that one as a pretty nailed on, critically beloved classic.... but as I was pondering at tedious length on my blog recently, I suppose it's in a odd position re: noir, in that the first twenty minutes or so are definitive noir brilliance, but then it goes off in a somewhat different direction, genre-wise.

I'm also surprised to see 'Lady From Shanghai' on the list. I mean, it's a fascinating movie, no question, but... it's kind of a mess, right? I had no idea its critical standing was so high.

Anyway. My largely unsurprising, straight-off-the-top-of-my-head Top 10:

The Big Combo
Touch of Evil
Night and the City
The Set-Up
The Line-up
Double Indemnity
Mildred Pierce
Detour
Out of the Past
Kiss Me Deadly

Getting it down to ten is pretty hard work. Such a sprawling, endlessly rewarding area of cinema to explore...

[James Reed]

Laura doesn't get any love anymore?

"When a man has everything he wants, except what he wants most, he loses his self-respect." - Clifton Webb in "Laura". If I have that quoted right, it's one of my favorite movie lines.

[Andrew Monroe]

Fuck, I left LAURA off my list...there were inevitable losses. I love that film and it would definitely be in my top 10. Also love WHERE THE SIDEWALK ENDS and FALLEN ANGEL. Not top tier but very good. And, Scott, if you want to see Dana Andrews at his best, you NEED to see BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Not a noir, it's about WWII soldiers adjusting to civilian life. One of the best films ever imo.

[Scott]

Laura doesn't get any love anymore? It's not necessarily in my top 10 but I would have figured it as an automatic inclusion on any critics list.

I do love LAURA but it somehow just misses the mark. Another list of mine could easily include my three favorite Dana Andrews movies; Laura, Where the Sidewalk Ends, and Fallen Angel. All top Noir.

[Scott]

On Dangerous Ground
Criss Cross
Phantom Lady
He Walked By Night
Night and the City
Out of the Past
Murder My Sweet
Nightmare Alley
Scarlett Street
The Woman in the Window

But, yeah, I could easily come up with a another ten, and another, ...

[Dom D]

Laura doesn't get any love anymore? It's not necessarily in my top 10 but I would have figured it as an automatic inclusion on any critics list.

I would go with: Double Indemnity, Sunset Boulevard, Touch Of Evil, In A Lonely Place, Drive A Crooked Road, Detour, Kiss Me Deadly, The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, Murder By Contract.

[Andrew Monroe]

A couple of weeks back, noted film critic Gerald Peary conducted a survey of the Greatest Noirs of All Time. I was asked to participate. Here are the results:
1. Double Indemnity 2. Out of the Past 3. Touch of Evil 4. Kiss Me Deadly 5. Detour 6. In a Lonely Place 7. The Big Heat 8. The Big Sleep 9. Gun Crazy 10. The Killing 11. The Maltese Falcon 12. The Asphalt Jungle & Pickup on South Street (tie) 14. Scarlet Street and The Killers (tie) 16. Force of Evil 17. Sunset Boulevard 18. Criss Cross 19. Shadow of a Doubt and Lady from Shanghai (tie).
For the record, my picks were: Gun Crazy, On Dangerous Ground, Naked City, Detour, The Killing, Big Heat, The Line Up, Touch Of Evil, White Heat, Try And Get Me (aka Sound of Fury) (not in order).

Your List?!

P.S. Peary asked for American films and in B&W (although some other films got votes, too)

Interesting lists. My top noirs would include ACT OF VIOLENCE, NIGHTMARE ALLEY, THE BIG SLEEP, PITFALL, THE ASPHALT JUNGLE and SCARLET STREET. I could of course name another 10 that are right up there. Really hard to nail it down to the absolute best. There are so many from that prime period that deserve respect.

[JoeS]

A couple of weeks back, noted film critic Gerald Peary conducted a survey of the Greatest Noirs of All Time. I was asked to participate. Here are the results:
1. Double Indemnity 2. Out of the Past 3. Touch of Evil 4. Kiss Me Deadly 5. Detour 6. In a Lonely Place 7. The Big Heat 8. The Big Sleep 9. Gun Crazy 10. The Killing 11. The Maltese Falcon 12. The Asphalt Jungle & Pickup on South Street (tie) 14. Scarlet Street and The Killers (tie) 16. Force of Evil 17. Sunset Boulevard 18. Criss Cross 19. Shadow of a Doubt and Lady from Shanghai (tie).
For the record, my picks were: Gun Crazy, On Dangerous Ground, Naked City, Detour, The Killing, Big Heat, The Line Up, Touch Of Evil, White Heat, Try And Get Me (aka Sound of Fury) (not in order).

Your List?!

P.S. Peary asked for American films and in B&W (although some other films got votes, too)

[Paul L]

I guess I can let the cat out of the bag as it's sorta official now, but an article 'wot I wrote' about Carl-Jan Colpaert's 1991 neo-noir road movie Delusion, featuring comments from interviews with Colpaert and cinematographer Geza Sinkovics, should be appearing in the next issue of the Film Noir Foundation's NOIR CITY magazine/e-magazine in the 'Under Surveillance' section.

'Twas a labour of love.

[Andrew Monroe]

The TCM neo-noir series starts tonight and will be on each Friday night in July. Hosted by Eddie Muller and Ben Mankiewicz. Tonight's films are HARPER and POINT BLANK, starts at 8 pm eastern. Should be worth seeing their intros and outros even if you've seen the films. Hopefully they will be up on YouTube sometime after it airs. More info and full list of films here.

[JoeS]

Excellent review, Joe. I have the Warner Archive disc of this. I like the film quite a bit, though the ending is a little disappointing. Ruth Roman was very underrated, she's terrific in just about everything I've seen. THREE SECRETS, directed by Robert Wise, is a particularly good film. I'm also a big Steve Cochran fan, probably forgotten today, but to me he's the quintessential 1950s hood. HIGHWAY 301 is a fantastic crime film and he's the lead. A stone cold killer.

Thank you. Cochran is good here as the 'man child' - he grows in the performance. Roman is superb.