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.
Not only are these films 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.
Below find brief descriptions of eight of these films viewed in 2019. For others click on the film noir label to the right or use the search box.
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| Dick Powell and Claire Trevor |
Murder, My Sweet. Dick Powell stars as private eye Philip Marlowe in this 1945 film adaptation of a classic LA crime novel by famed writer Raymond Chandler. Powell departs from his boy next door type to play one of film’s classic detectives. Claire Trevor plays the femme fatale.
Crime Wave. Sterling Hayden plays a hard-boiled cop who is sure that a parolee in not going straight after a series of hold-ups. Gene Nelson and Phyllis Kirk also star as the parolee and his wife in this 1953 drama set in the mean streets of LA. A young Charles Bronson, then acting under the name Charles Buchinsky, appears as one of the gang members.
Tension. Richard Basehart and Audrey Totter, one of film noir’s classic femme fatales, star in this 1949 film about a mild-mannered druggist whose wife is two-timing him. With his dreams for a home and family shattered, he plots revenge. The beautiful Cyd Charisse appears in a rare non-dancing role.
The Postman Always Rings Twice. John Garfield and Lana Turner co-star in this 1946 film adaptation of James M. Cain’s classic crime novel. Garfield plays a drifter who stops at a roadside diner with a “Man Wanted” sign. He discovers that the sign has a double meaning. Lana Turner makes one of the great entrances in film history.
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| Lana Turner |
The Lady in the Lake. Robert Montgomery stars as private eye Philip Marlowe in this 1945 film adaptation of another classic LA crime novel by writer Raymond Chandler. Montgomery also directs in an innovative style that puts the viewer into the action. Famed femme-fatale Audrey Totter co-stars.
Side Street. Farley Granger and Kathy O’ Donnell, who clicked in the film noir classic, They Live by Night, once again appear as two young lovers in this 1950 film directed by Anthony Mann. As usual, after one mistake their lives go from bad to worse. The film ends with one of the first urban car chases in film history.
The Brothers Rico. Richard Conte stars in this 1957 film as a businessman who has managed to escape his past as an accountant with the mob. However, his former boss calls him back to find his two younger brothers who are on the lam from both the police and the mob. Based on a story by famed Belgian crime novelist George Simenon. Diane Foster co-stars.
Atlantic City. Burt Lancaster stars in this 1980 film as an aging gangster who ekes out a meager living as a numbers runner in an Atlantic City that has seen better days. Famed French director Louis Malle directed this award winning film that co-stars a young Susan Sarandon.
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| Susan Sarandon and Burt Lancaster |
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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.
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