M
I stretched a bit to include this influential proto-noir, serving up one of the earliest depictions of a reprehensible protagonist. Peter Lorre delivers one of the great performances in film history as the titular child murderer, a far cry from the pop-eyed caricature he would later become. And Lang himself would delve into straight-up noir with great results after voting against encroaching National Socialism with his feet and emigrating to Hollywood.
Scarlet Street
Arguably the best of Lang's American films, and certainly one of the defining monuments of Film Noir. Edward G. Robinson plays brilliantly against type as the nebbish who falls for a bad news gold digger. While Joan Bennett is merely serviceable as the siren and moral flashpoint of the tale, Dan Duryea is easily Robinson's equal as her amoral, reptillian pimp/boyfriend.
Moral decay, criminality and murder ensue, arranged for maximum impact.
D.O.A
A film constructed around one of the greatest conceits in movie history- mild mannered protagonist Frank Bigelow (Edmond O'Brien) is poisoned, triggering a desperate race against the clock. Not to find a cure, but to catch his 'murderer' before the 48 hours he has left run out. The extremely low budget works in favor of the story, driving the proceedings to a level of sweaty authenticity that is completely engaging. Rudolph Maté was a first time director, but his work as cinematographer encompased classics like Vampyr & Passion of Joan of Arc with Carl Theodor Dryer. His acute visual sense is well displayed here.
Detour
Circumstances conspire to turn piano-playing hitchhiker Al (Tom Neal) into a desperate wanted fugitive when the wealthy fellow who picked him up keels over dead. Not liking his chances with the law Al helps himself to the identity of his erstwhile benefactor, dumps the body in a ditch and heads out. After spending the night in a nearby hotel he picks up a comely hitchhiker of his own, Vera (Ann Savage), unaware that she is an archetypal femme fatale. Its desperately low budget and the limited affect of its principal actors are turned to cinematic advantage by the magic of the genre, and the queasy, off kilter atmosphere it creates is not easily shaken off.
Double Indemnity
Tabbing it as perhaps the greatest of all Noirs is damning it with faint praise- this poisonous, perfect jewel is one of the greatest movies ever made. None of the principals were ever better- director Billy Wilder, leading man Fred MacMurray or femme fatale Barbara Stanwick. And Edward G. Robinson (him again!) is perfect as the bulldog determined insurance man who smells a rat. And let us pause a moment to reflect on the amazing versatility of Billy Wilder, who crafts this perfect noir thriller then 15 years later delivers an equally perfect comedy, Some Like it Hot.
Amazing.
The Third Man
Another stone cold classic and Great Film as well as supreme Noir. The whole thing has a very Wellsian feel to it, in spite of Orson's brief screen time. Aside from the craft and artfulness of creative troupe, the film looms in my memory mainly as one of the greatest cinematic evocations of a place and time- postwar Vienna is both setting and character, background and protagonist, an overwhelming presence permeating every moment of this magnificent film.
The Stranger
One of Orson Wells' most conventional films is still an exciting, effective vehicle for noirish stylings. Wells plays the titular Stranger, a Nazi war criminal disguised as small town prep school teacher. Edward G. Robinson is his relentless pursuer, echoing his role in Double Indemnity. Orson may have been just cashing a check here, but he still does an honest day's work.
The Naked City
Jules Dassin is one of my favorite underrated artists and his quartet of Noirs from 1947 to 1950 are perhaps the finest genre run by any director. Alas, this is the only one available streaming. Objectively it's the weakest of the bunch, but considering the other three are absolute classics (Brute Force specifically ranks as one of the very darkest and best noirs on offer) don't let that deter you. It's a stark slice of NYC crime, shot on location at a time when it was still a novelty, influential in its quasi-documentary style and efficiently brutal in the delivery of its fatalistic payload.
The Asphalt Jungle
The primordial sire of the venerable caper film genre, drawn from the tough, implacable novel by W.R. Burnett. Fantastic writing, directing and performances elevate this one to the upper echelon. Huston's Maltese Falcon has the edge in his filmography, but this one is a worthy streaming replacement.
Helpful links:
A solid genre overview on Wikipedia and a much more in-depth genre survey via AMC's Filmsite.
An excellent 'top 25' list.
Noir top 50 as chosed by voters on IMDB.
Criterion's catalog of Noir & Neo-noir films.
and lastly an excellent all-around Noir resource, Filmsnoir.net
Part 2 coming soon.
2 comments:
Yeah, "M" totally counts. And it's good. Would be good paired with "Third Man." Can't say I liked "Detour" much, though. If I remember right, it veered into Very Silly territory towards the end.
Don't know what I could add to your list... mostly quasi-noirs or too-obvious ones I guess, or ones that aren't available Netflix-instant-play yet. "Strangers on a Train," "The Fallen Idol," "The Day of the Locust," "Casablanca," "The Night of the Iguana," "The Maltese Falcon," "Some Came Running," "A Face in the Crowd"... are any of those on Netflix instant? Don't think so. Too bad.
I did a lot of title checking on this one, I don't think I missed anything major.
Detour isn't a classic movie and out of this context I'm not sure I'd even call it 'good', but it's interesting and effective enough to make the cut on a genre list that needed some heft.
There are quite a few neo & post Noirs available, but I'm saving them for Part 2.
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