It’s a little overcast and gloomy this morning which put me in the mood to recommend some classic Film Noir. You’ll notice I’m sticking to the golden era of the genre. I know there are some great modern noir tales, but I felt like going old school. And believe me, even sixty, seventy years later these films still hold up.
- Double Indemnity- One of the all-time classics in this or any other genre. Barbara Stanwyck may not have invented the Femme Fatale, but she certainly perfected it. The plot is twisty, the romance steamy, and the characters compelling. Billy Wilder is one of the great American directors and almost everything he ever touched turned into cinema gold. To say anything else would be to give away too much.
- Ace in the Hole-Another Wilder film. This time starring Kirk Douglas as a cynical news reporter trying to break a big story to get himself back on top. A cutting critique of the relationship between the media, their stories, and the uninformed masses. Sounds pretty on point for this day and age.
- Gaslight– The term “Gaslight” has worked its way into our everyday vernacular, and this film is its origin. (Okay the play the film is based on technically is the term’s origin). A story of terror and emotional abuse, it will have you questioning what is real and what is not. Oh, and keep an eye out for a super young Angela Lansbury.
- Sweet Smell of Success- Screen legends Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis being as sleazy and manipulative as they have ever been. The plot here is decently tricky but nothing to write home about, but the acting and the dialogue are out of this world good. Go to the bathroom ahead of time because this film is too compelling to pause it halfway through.
- The Night of the Hunter- This is one to make your skin crawl. Robert Mitchum plays a pastor turned serial killer who seduces and marries a young widow in order to find her dead convict husband’s hidden loot. But it’s the children who know so it is the children Mitchum must get to talk. Most Noir morality comes in shades of grey. Not here. This is some classic innocents vs. evil. But it has enough of the noir feel to make the list.
- Laura- Paranoid, obsessive, tawdry. The characters that populate this film are not standout citizens. This mystery hits all the classic noir beats, femme fatale, a cop in over his head, secret affairs, and a twisty ending. Be careful you don’t fall in love.
- Key Largo- Bogart, Bacall, and Edward G. Robinson as directed by John Huston. That should be enough reason for anyone to watch this claustrophobic thriller.
- The Lady from Shanghai- Orson Wells made this movie because he owed the studio head money. He cast his wife, Rita Hayworth, as the film’s bombshell Femme Fatale. They fought so much during filming they divorced shortly after it was released. And the studio cut a significant amount of its runtime down without Wells’s permission and destroyed the additional footage. And yet still somehow Wells manages to create something truly remarkable and compelling. This is a great film, but it’s a shame to think about how good it could have been if Wells had been given free rein.
- Kiss Me Deadly- It was unheard of in the ’50s for films made outside of the studio system to find popularity with mainstream audiences but Kiss Me Deadly managed somehow. A film that helped define the noir genre; it is unhesitant in hammering home its bleak worldview. This is grade-a pulp fiction.
- The Asphalt Jungle- Another John Huston film, you could call The Asphalt Jungle a heist film but that would be doing it a disservice. The heist is really just a plot device to get all of these paranoid, awful people occupying the same space. The getaway is where this film gets interesting. Oh, did I mention Marilyn Monroe makes an appearance?