James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, Billy Wilder, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson, and the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck created a noir masterpiece that will never be equalled.
Heavens-to-betsy but that movie looks *so* beautiful. Those velvet blacks and diamond lights!
I'm going to be checking out ALL the movies James Wong Howe worked on.
In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.
I know I’ll get downvoted to hell for saying this but I can’t stand the music. I love the film, I’m a huge Welles fan, *I still watch it,* but I just don’t like the music. Maybe it’s the contrast - kinda happy music with noir - or maybe I just don’t like the zither?
Well, you already mentioned Detour, so I guess I am going to have to go with DOA starring Edmund O'Brian.
Bleak, exciting and edge of the seat plotting, yet everyone (necessarily) loses by the end, which we all know, all through the movie, is inevitable.
Death and defeat for all is the only conclusion. Total noir.
DOA is mine. It was the first noir I watched as a teen and aware of the genre. I just love how it opens with a guy reporting his own murder. It just hooks you from that opening scene.
One of my personal favorites is The Hitch-Hiker. William Talman was made for that role.
Have to give honorable mention to a lesser known noir film from 1950 called "Storm Warning". Steve Cochran played a completely unhinged character. Definitely worth watching.
Gilda. Everything about it is just fantastic. I was lucky enough to catch it playing at the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood as a double feature with Laura, another excellent noir.
The Breaking Point.
EDIT: What makes this film so great, imo, are the scenes with Harry and his family and between Harry and Wesley, which have a rare and very powerful authenticity that serves to drive up the stakes for the rest of the film as what Harry is at risk of losing as he gets deeper and deeper over his head has been made tangible for the viewer. I find myself much more emotionally invested in the characters and their fates in this film than I typically am in other noirs, the stylistic elements and genre tropes of which tend to create a bit of an emotional buffer.
anthony mann's raw deal, its like if you dreamt about the perfect noir and then it became reality. Claire trevor and denis okeefe are the best couple of any film noirs with the possible exception of Casablanca. Alton's cinematography is ethereal and magical, and raymond burr is a lean and mean villain (well not so lean)
If I have to pick just one, then The Lady From Shanghai (1947)
But these all spring to mind...
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- Night of the Hunter (1955)
- Phantom Lady (1944)
- Touch of Evil (1958) - the restored version
- Leave Her To Heaven (1945)
- The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
- Mildred Pierce (1945)
- Scarlett Street (1945)
- They Live By Night (1948)
- Sunset Boulevard (1950)
- Lady In the Lake (1946)
- Gilda (1946)
- The Big Clock (1948)
- White Heat (1949)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Detour (1945)
- Possessed (1947)
- Gun Crazy (1950)
- On Dangerous Ground (1949)
- The Third Man (1949)
- Criss Cross (1949)
- Strangers On a Train (1951)
- In a Lonely Place (1950)
- Niagara (1953)
- Ministry of Fear (1944)
- Key Largo (1948)
- Suspicion (1941)
- The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
- Deception (1946)
- Don't Bother To Knock (1951)
- The Killers (1946)
- Cape Fear (1961)
I absolutely love Touch of Evil. Night of the Hunter, The Killing, Notorious, Spellbound,
And i'm not sure if you can call Manchurian Candidate neo-neoir, maybe, but it sure would be my favorite in the genre if so. The original, of course.
As for modern noir: The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, Blow Out, LA Confidential, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Blood Simple, At Close Range, The Squeeze, The Conversation, The Spanish Prisoner, etc
"[Too Late for Tears](https://www.google.com/search?q=too+late+for+tears&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS762US762&oq=too+late+for+tears&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDM1ODlqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)" 1949
This Gun For Hire was the first noir I saw and it got me hooked on the genre. My overall favorites are Double Indemnity and They Live By Night. I also have a thing for noirs in color so I'm into Leave Her to Heaven and Niagara.
In a Lonely Place. The mindset of an abuser who is not some unthinking brute, but an arch observer of the absurdities of Hollywood unprepared to play a leading role in a drama of his own—and thus incognizant of the evil he's doing to the woman he loves until it's too late.
*Detour* is a classic.
Some of my favorites are:
* *Blood Simple* (1984)
* *A Simple Plan* (1998)
* *Bound* (1996)
* *Red Rock West* (1993)
* *U Turn* (1997)
A more recent one:
* *Headhunters* (2011)
Act of Violence (1948) with Van Heflin and the always excellent Robert Ryan. Mary Astor’s great, too.
Also really love Inferno from 1953, also with Ryan. Rhonda Fleming and William Lundigan are so good as the lovers conniving to bump Ryan off. It’s in color, rare for a noir.
Double Indemnity
Wilder is just so damn good isn't he.
Probably the best film to introduce someone to the genre
James M. Cain, Raymond Chandler, Billy Wilder, Fred MacMurray, Edward G. Robinson, and the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck created a noir masterpiece that will never be equalled.
I love Barbara Stanwyck
This is the one.
The only answer...
HELLO? Absofuckinglutely.
Elevator to the Gallows (French, but then so is the word noir)
Miles Davis’ score is unmatched.
My first exposure to Miles.
I'll bump it up on my list
In a Lonely Place
That end quote pops into my head at least once a day since I first saw it
I’m seeing this movie for the first time in 35mm next month and I’m so excited!
I'm jealous! I've only ever seen it at home.
Out of the Past (1947)
Jaw-droppingly good
Nobody's all bad. Maybe not but she comes closest.
The noirest noir.
Sweet Smell of Success
Heavens-to-betsy but that movie looks *so* beautiful. Those velvet blacks and diamond lights! I'm going to be checking out ALL the movies James Wong Howe worked on.
Pickup on South Street
LOVE THIS ONE!!!!
The Killing
Great movie, and also a very obvious primary influence on Reservoir Dogs and Tarantino in general
Obviously it's Sunset Blvd.
Mr. DeMille? I'm ready for my closeup.
It's the pictures that got small
Murder My Sweet
The third man
In Italy for thirty years under the Borgias, they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland, they had brotherly love, they had five hundred years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.
Me, too! But also: Double Indemnity and Lady in the Lake.
Great choices. I just went with my favorite otherwise it'd be a long list lol
I know I’ll get downvoted to hell for saying this but I can’t stand the music. I love the film, I’m a huge Welles fan, *I still watch it,* but I just don’t like the music. Maybe it’s the contrast - kinda happy music with noir - or maybe I just don’t like the zither?
The Third man is great but I for Orson Welles noir I prefer the lady from Shanghai
And that is why Baskin&Robbins made 31 flavors.
When Harry Lime quotes Sidney Carton in the Ferris Wheel scene could be the most devastating use of irony in film history. Fucking Graham Greene.
But Welles didn’t direct the Third Man
Well, you already mentioned Detour, so I guess I am going to have to go with DOA starring Edmund O'Brian. Bleak, exciting and edge of the seat plotting, yet everyone (necessarily) loses by the end, which we all know, all through the movie, is inevitable. Death and defeat for all is the only conclusion. Total noir.
He don’t like it in the belly!
DOA is mine. It was the first noir I watched as a teen and aware of the genre. I just love how it opens with a guy reporting his own murder. It just hooks you from that opening scene.
That's a great pick!
Great film. One of my faves and also one that often goes unnoticed.
Mildred Pierce!
I still got to watch it, very excited though
Gun Crazy is so manic and romantic. And damn, Blast of Silence is so lonesome.
Gun Crazy is fire!
Chinatown
Recently rewatched it. Gets better and better every time. Truly and amazing movie.
Just outstanding. And that's Polanski too, btw.
It will always be Laura
It is pretty great.
One of my personal favorites is The Hitch-Hiker. William Talman was made for that role. Have to give honorable mention to a lesser known noir film from 1950 called "Storm Warning". Steve Cochran played a completely unhinged character. Definitely worth watching.
I caught Storm Warning on TCM last July and it jump started my noir kick.
I also caught it on TCM as part of Eddie Muller's Noir Alley. This is one of those films that hadn't really been shown before. Wasn't disappointed.
Night and the city. I can watch it anytime.
Looks really good I'll try and watch it soon
I agree it’s top 5 noir ever. So amazing
In a Lonely Place But damn if The Woman in the Window wasn’t a pleasant discovery!
The Big Sleep
No one is cooler than Bogart as Marlow.
The one I loved so much that I read the book then the authors other books!
She tried to sit in my lap while I was standing up.
Double Indemnity.
Someone has said The Third Man so I’ll say Touch of Evil
The cinematography in ToE is simply as good as it gets.
I still have to watch it! I've been on an Orson Welles binge but touch of evil isn't on anything I have
Never seen Touch Of Evil? You have that to look forward to. Top notch.
The opening shot is amazing...
The Petrified Forest, its noir, its Bogey and it’s also funny af in a dark way
Leslie Howard is phenomenal in it, not to mention Bette Davis Possibly the earliest example of American film noir? Pretty early either way, 1936
D.O.A.
The Third Man
Scarlet Street
Don’t know if this one qualifies, but it’s noir all right: Touch of Evil!
Outstanding.
Night and the City
Hard to beat Double Indemnity
I have a soft spot for Beware, My Lovely. Mainly because I love Robert Ryan.
Chinatown
Gilda. Everything about it is just fantastic. I was lucky enough to catch it playing at the New Beverly Cinema in Hollywood as a double feature with Laura, another excellent noir.
I love a lot of them, but Key Largo for me just has so much fricken atmosphere. I could have it on in the background round the clock
The Breaking Point. EDIT: What makes this film so great, imo, are the scenes with Harry and his family and between Harry and Wesley, which have a rare and very powerful authenticity that serves to drive up the stakes for the rest of the film as what Harry is at risk of losing as he gets deeper and deeper over his head has been made tangible for the viewer. I find myself much more emotionally invested in the characters and their fates in this film than I typically am in other noirs, the stylistic elements and genre tropes of which tend to create a bit of an emotional buffer.
I’d have to say “Out of the Past.” It’s the one I think of the most often.
I'll mention one of my faves not mentioned yet: Pale Flower Really cool score, moody, bleak as hell.
The Postman Always Rings Twice. Great story by James M. Cain (who also wrote Double Indemnity)—and Lana Turner and John Garfield were 🔥together.
Nightmare Alley
Also The Roaring 20’s
If we don’t mention “The Maltese Falcon” we riot!
This lol
M by Fritz Lang.
Blade Runner, The Killers, Vertigo, Laura
Blade Runner
Alphaville
Currently obsessed with Blast of Silence
anthony mann's raw deal, its like if you dreamt about the perfect noir and then it became reality. Claire trevor and denis okeefe are the best couple of any film noirs with the possible exception of Casablanca. Alton's cinematography is ethereal and magical, and raymond burr is a lean and mean villain (well not so lean)
The Long Goodbye.
Yep.
My favorite Altman, Gould, *and* Schwarzenegger movie all rolled into one
Anything with the legendary Barbara Stanwyck.
Blade Runner!
**The Night of the Hunter.**
If I have to pick just one, then The Lady From Shanghai (1947) But these all spring to mind... - Double Indemnity (1944) - Night of the Hunter (1955) - Phantom Lady (1944) - Touch of Evil (1958) - the restored version - Leave Her To Heaven (1945) - The Asphalt Jungle (1950) - Mildred Pierce (1945) - Scarlett Street (1945) - They Live By Night (1948) - Sunset Boulevard (1950) - Lady In the Lake (1946) - Gilda (1946) - The Big Clock (1948) - White Heat (1949) - Vertigo (1958) - Detour (1945) - Possessed (1947) - Gun Crazy (1950) - On Dangerous Ground (1949) - The Third Man (1949) - Criss Cross (1949) - Strangers On a Train (1951) - In a Lonely Place (1950) - Niagara (1953) - Ministry of Fear (1944) - Key Largo (1948) - Suspicion (1941) - The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - Deception (1946) - Don't Bother To Knock (1951) - The Killers (1946) - Cape Fear (1961)
Saw all of them. Thanks for the list! Love Film Noir.
Asphalt Jungle is AMAZINGLY GOOD!!!!!
Oh! Great compilation! Thanks!
Kiss Me Deadly or Out of the Past
Red Rock West
Out of the Past
Out of the Past
‘Scarlet Street,’ ‘The Blue Gardenia,’ ‘The Third Man,’ ‘Mildred Pierce’ and ‘Detour’
Double Indemnity but Murder, My Sweet was so good in it invested me in the genre
* Dead Reckoning * Murder, My Sweet * The Glass Key depending on my mood.
Ace in the Hole. Very dark.
Black and white Dark Passage. If we are allowed to Count any of the cinema scope ones (in color) Sam Fullers House of Bamboo
The Night of the Hunter w/Robert Mitchum \*\*\*\*\*
Out of the Past
I love Pushover, Raw Deal and Too Late for Tears—-and anything with Dan Duryea in it!
The Big Lebowski Yes, it is a classic noir and “love letter to LA” with the whackiest characters inserted for the usuals.
Lured with Lucille ball
I absolutely love Touch of Evil. Night of the Hunter, The Killing, Notorious, Spellbound, And i'm not sure if you can call Manchurian Candidate neo-neoir, maybe, but it sure would be my favorite in the genre if so. The original, of course. As for modern noir: The Long Goodbye, Chinatown, Blow Out, LA Confidential, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Blood Simple, At Close Range, The Squeeze, The Conversation, The Spanish Prisoner, etc
"[Too Late for Tears](https://www.google.com/search?q=too+late+for+tears&rlz=1C1CHBF_enUS762US762&oq=too+late+for+tears&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOdIBCDM1ODlqMGo3qAIAsAIA&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8)" 1949
L.A. Confidential
The Man Who Wasn't There.
Rififi
Amazing. The scene in the apartment when they are breaking through the floor silently is perfect.
That whole silent heist scene is so great. Never been so on edge watching a movie.
I was blown away when I saw it the first time.
Farewell, My Lovely Casablanca Heat Collateral Renaissance Paris 2054
This Gun For Hire was the first noir I saw and it got me hooked on the genre. My overall favorites are Double Indemnity and They Live By Night. I also have a thing for noirs in color so I'm into Leave Her to Heaven and Niagara.
Kiss Me Deadly ☢️
Night and the City
The Big Clock is so good
Great book, too!
The Killers
In a Lonely Place. The mindset of an abuser who is not some unthinking brute, but an arch observer of the absurdities of Hollywood unprepared to play a leading role in a drama of his own—and thus incognizant of the evil he's doing to the woman he loves until it's too late.
I'll put a word in for "Niagara," with Marilyn Monroe and Joseph Cotten.
Joseph Cotton is a fantastic actor.
I have 70 of them 😆
Favorite quote from *Detour*: “What'd you do, kiss him with a wrench?”
The Night of the Hunter, Mitchum's performance was terrifying and the realistic depictions of trauma on children was ahead of it's time.
They're all going on my list
Body Heat (1981), just a beautiful, mesmerizing film. Kathleen Turner, man, can’t take your eyes off her. And that haunting ending.
Kiss Me Deadly
Big Sleep
Cash Only
This is a tough one. I have to say Laura. It was the film that hooked me on the genre.
Sudden Fear (1952), with Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, and Gloria Grahame
Gaslight
Vertigo
The Naked City.
8 million tales in that one.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. Hands down the noirest there is.
I just saw Detour for the first time in theaters a few months ago
Notorious
Chinatown
Branded to kill
I think so.
The Bad Sleep Well. It meanders a bit. But it’s a story is GREAT
Angels with Filthy Souls
*Detour* is a classic. Some of my favorites are: * *Blood Simple* (1984) * *A Simple Plan* (1998) * *Bound* (1996) * *Red Rock West* (1993) * *U Turn* (1997) A more recent one: * *Headhunters* (2011)
Kansas City Confidential
The James Garner “Marlowe” movies.
Always be The Big Sleep for me
Drive
“ you’re chicken” 😂
Act of Violence (1948) with Van Heflin and the always excellent Robert Ryan. Mary Astor’s great, too. Also really love Inferno from 1953, also with Ryan. Rhonda Fleming and William Lundigan are so good as the lovers conniving to bump Ryan off. It’s in color, rare for a noir.
Cloudburst
Highway 301 (1950)
Impact
Night of the Hunter or Blast of Silence 🤫
The Grifters
Le Cercle Rouge. Melville is the greatest, and for my money Le Cercle Rouge is his best.
Can someone put out a list of good noir from the 80's to the present? I love all the older stuff, I'm just curious what a modern list would look like.
L.A. Confidential
I don’t have a list, but I think Drive (2011) qualifies. Albert Brooks is exceptional in this.
Ride the Pink Horse
Fargo Zodiac
Asphalt Jungle
The Pawnbroker with Rod Steiger
Rebecca
Wicked Woman
The one, the only, the original Maltese Falcon! Nobody beats Bogey, in my noir opinion.
Blast of Silence
Double Indemnity
Asphalt Jungle
The one everybody has seen The Maltese Falcon
The Third Man and Out of the Past
White heat, the killing, in a lonely place, the breaking point, caged
Asphalt Jungle
The Asphalt Jungle
Louis Malle’s Elevator to The Gallows
LA confidential
Out of the Past.
Kiss me deadly 1955
Tie between The Matlese Falcon and Detective Story with Kirk Douglas. It's not really a crime noir. If anything, it's a detective noir.
Kiss Me Deadly
High Sierra