Film Noir Favorites

In the past few years I have become a big fan of a certain kind of American film from the 1940s and 50s. They are primarily black and white, dark crime dramas that French film makers and critics called film-noir after they rediscovered American films after the liberation of France in 1945. The term film-noir refers not only to the dark themes of these movies but also to the nighttime settings and the often startling contrasts between light and dark, black and white. 

Originally, these films were low budget productions usually designed to be seen as the second feature on traditional Hollywood double bills. Nevertheless, today many are regarded as ground-breaking classics. They featured great directors, actors, writers, and film craftsmen and craftswomen. To fill the insatiable demand for movies in America, Hollywood even imported great talents from abroad. In my opinion, film-noir represents a short-lived American film renaissance that came to an end with the advent of television and technicolor. 

Below find brief descriptions of nine of these films that I have viewed this year. Not only are they gripping, extremely well-told stories with masterful directing and acting, but also they bring me back to the days of my childhood. In the background I can see a world that is no more: the dark dingy streets, the small apartments, the cars, the old telephones, and the incessant cigarette smoking and drinking. 

 

Peggy Cummins in Gun Crazy

Gun Crazy.  Peggy Cummins and John Dall star in this 1950 story of two star-crossed lovers who meet in a carnival shooting contest and immediately go together like guns and ammunition. The two become bank robbers on the run who roar into movie history in a bench-mark film noir thriller.                             

Call Northside 777. James Stewart stars in this 1948 film as a newspaperman who reluctantly investigates the case of a convict who has already spent ten years in prison for the murder of a policeman. Richard Conte and some superb character actors also appear in this very naturalistic film that was based on a true story. 

Strangers on a Train. Alfred Hitchcock produced this 1951 psychological thriller starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker. Two strangers meet on a train: one a charming psychopath who hates his father, and the other a young tennis player trying to get out of a bad marriage. The rest is pure Hitchcock. 

Whirlpool. Gene Tierney stars in this 1949 story of a woman secretly suffering from kleptomania who turns to a hypnotist to cure her condition. Soon afterwards she is found at the scene of a murder with no memory of how she got there and no way to prove her innocence. Richard Conte and Jose Ferrer co-star. 

Scarlet Street. In this 1945 film Edward G. Robinson plays a lonely middle-aged man locked in a horrible marriage who accidentally becomes involved with a beautiful young woman. When her sleazy boyfriend prods her to get money out of the man, things go from bad to worse. Directed by Fritz Lang, the film co-stars Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea                                          

The Woman in the Window. Edward G. Robinson stars in this 1944 film as a middle-aged professor who engages in an innocent flirtation with a chance acquaintance (Joan Bennett) and inadvertently commits a shocking murder. Things quickly go from bad to worse as they try to cover up the crime. Directed by Fritz Lang. 

The Big Sleep.  Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall star in this 1946 adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s famed crime novel. Bogart plays legendary private eye Philip Marlowe on the trail of killers, pornographers, gamblers, and a bevy of beautiful young women. Directed by Howard Hawks.

They Live by Night. Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell star in this classic 1949 film of young lovers mixed up with a gang of criminals. This film is regarded by many as the forerunner to Bonnie and Clyde. Directed by Nicholas Ray.

I Confess. Montgomery Clift stars in this 1953 Alfred Hitchcock thriller as a priest who hears a killer’s confession but then is accused of the murder himself.  Unable to speak out because of the seal of the confessional, police and public opinion turn against him especially when it turns out there was a woman (Anne Baxter) in his past. Filmed onsite in Quebec.

Montgomery Clift in I Confess

Note; Most of these films can be viewed on Netflix or Youtube. I prefer to use DVDs because they often include excellent commentaries, background information, and subtitles for people like myself who are hearing impaired. ###