IMDb's Top 100 Noir Films

Not all monsters are grotesque and ugly, sometimes they are as beautiful and breathtaking as Barbara Stanwyck. Considered by many to be the best and most influential film noir ever made, Double Indemnity has become the standard by which all others are judged. For my money, from the cast and direction to the cinematography and scripting, it's a near perfect film. Definitely one of my all-time top 20 movies.

I've heard it said that Touch of Evil, NOT Citizen Kane, is Orson Welles' greatest cinematic achievement. While I disagree with that statement I do agree that it's clearly a masterpiece of film noir, especially in the camera work. If there is a detractor here it's buying into the casting of Charlton Heston as a Mexican lawman. He's just not that convincing. Otherwise, it's one of the best representations of movie making as an art form.

*Great performances by stars on their way up, like Dennis Weaver and Janet Leigh, as well as stars on their way out, i.e. Orson Welles and Marlene Dietrich.

Ralph Meeker stars as Mike Hammer, a hard drinkin', hard lovin' private detective hot on the trail of a murderer. He survives being beaten, drugged, shot and even pushed off a cliff in an automobile in this conventional crime thriller with a very unconventional ending. The cast list reads like a virtual "who's who" of character actors with names like Cloris Leachman, Albert Dekker, Jack Elam, Percy Helton and Strother Martin. But, even with this bevy of future stars surrounding him, it's Meeker that draws your attention. This is a role he was born to play and a film you shouldn't miss!

*Note: Kiss Me Deadly currently holds the record for the largest answering machine ever caught on film. :)

Plotted meticulously and by the numbers, Laura is a textbook example of classic 1940's film noir. This dialog driven murder mystery is more notable for its outstanding casting than its slightly formulaic script.

I'm a tremendous fan of Gene Tierney, overbite and all, and she's absolutely wonderful in the title role, but it's a little difficult to write about her performance without giving away elements of the plot that would spoil the ending for those who have not yet seen the film. Suffice it to say that the intangible darkness that one occasionally glimpses behind those beautiful eyes plays perfectly into the psyche of her character.

Was there ever a role that Vincent Price could not master? He has played everything from villainous heavies to reluctant heroes. Here in Laura he is Tierney's love interest and a prime suspect in her murder. Even though his part is one of an unscrupulous, unsympathetic leech, he still carries an aura of utter likeability that is crucial to making Laura's attraction believable. There just aren't a great many actors who could have pulled that off and yet Vincent does it with ease.

And how about the talented Clifton Webb as the snobbish and possessive columnist Waldo Lydecker? His character reminds me of the cantankerous Dr. Smith from the old TV series "Lost in Space". He's rude, condescending, and spends a considerable amount of his screen time sitting in the bathtub. It is hard to imagine this role being played by anyone else.

Combine the aforementioned with genre staples like Dana Andrews and Judith Anderson and the result is a film worthy of its stature as a noir classic.

Citizen Kane may have been Orson Welles' biggest blessing but it was also his biggest curse. Having such a masterpiece as your very first film is a hard thing to follow-up. It's understandable that everything Welles did post-Kane was a step down. The problem is, at least in my estimation, that Welles sometimes tried too hard. He wanted all his characters to be interesting and what resulted was often surreal. His narrated and self-portrayed main character was supposed to be a sap, a sucker, but he's so insightful and introspective that I have a hard time understanding how he falls for such an obvious set-up. Without giving too much away, the Welles character is framed for murder in a plot that has about as much subtlety as an oncoming freight train. Strangely, watching Welles play the patsy for a beautiful woman made me appreciate Fred MacMurray (Double Indemnity) even more.

Having said all that, I still feel that The Lady from Shanghai is a work of art and a landmark in classic noir cinema. The climatic final scene in the deserted fun house is pure Wellesian genius, even if it is a bit of style-over-substance.

Outrageous and fun film that starts like Leave It To Beaver and winds up like Bonnie And Clyde. Peggy Cummins is wonderful as the sharp-shooting femme fatale and John Dall is perfectly cast as the good-hearted schmuck who is drawn into a life of implied-sex and crime.

Of note are the robbery and chase scenes that are shot in continuous takes from the point of view of the back seat. I'm not sure if this technique was a result of artistic forethought or a product of a limited budget but it works well. Director Joseph H. Lewis defies convention in both his medium and his method and delivers a classic in the genre of film noir.

I think I need to take a break from Barbara Stanwyck films for a while. I've seen so many of them in the last few days that I fear it is going to taint my view of all other actresses for some time to come. Whether its paperback fiction like Lady of Burlesque, or a tear-jerker like Stella Dallas, or the noir-ish suspense of The Strange Love of Martha Ivers, Stanwyck delivers. I just can't take my eyes off of her. She's never just set dressing, even when she's silent she speaks volumes. Wow.

Where was I? Oh yes, The Strange Love of Martha Ivers: An above average film noir with a horrible, horrible title.

*NOTE: Does anyone else think that Lizabeth Scott looks like a poor man's Lauren Bacall?

Ace in the Hole is a stark, unflinching portrayal of rouge journalism and how one man's ambition can overtake and smother ethics and decency. A box office flop when it was released in 1951, this may well be Kirk Douglas at his absolute best. Director/Writer/Producer Billy Wilder sends his main character, newspaper reporter Chuck Tatum (Douglas), down a hole, literally as well as figuratively, and presents a tale that is wonderful, brutal, dark and unapologetic. A must-see film.

Finally, a noir film where the title actually makes sense! Classic psychopath meets girl love story. If you can find it on DVD be sure to check out the commentary from author and noir expert Eddie Muller. Muller's insight into the character and personality of Lawrence Tierney is priceless.

It wasn't so long ago that I couldn't even tell you who Robert Wise was. Now I find myself, like a sponge, wanting to soak up every film he ever directed. If I come across one I dislike I'll let you know.

Tony Curtis shines as a sleazy press agent "immersed in the theology of making a fast buck" while Burt Lancaster is a powerful New York columnist who uses Curtis to sabotage the romance between his sister and a jazz musician. Of course, things don't go exactly as planned (do they ever?). Sweet Smell of Success exposes the underbelly of New York's social scene and the high price of publicity. Great noir fare.

Playing in real time, The Setup is the story of a washed up prizefighter looking for one last shot at glory. According to IMDb, the screenplay was actually based on a poem about a black boxer named Pansy Jones. The author, Joseph March, was reportedly unhappy about his character being changed to Stoker Thompson, a white man.

Unlike most films about boxing, the fight scenes here seem raw and unchoreographed. Robert Ryan (who, by the way, was a boxer at Dartmouth) is completely believable in his portrayal and director Robert Wise manages to make the dark tension of the piece tangible. You can almost feel the punches and smell the sweat.

Rita Hayworth more than makes up for any weaknesses in this meandering and disjointed screenplay. Its one of her most memorable roles and deservedly so.

One of the things I love most about classic noir films is the narrative. There's nothing quite like a private detective giving you the lay of the land as he stares down the barrel of a gun while taking what might be his last drag on his last cigarette. Murder, My Sweet is wrought with great lines that were destined to become cliché in the legend of the genre.

"'Okay Marlowe,' I said to myself. 'You're a tough guy. You've been sapped twice, choked, beaten silly with a gun, shot in the arm until you're crazy as a couple of waltzing mice. Now let's see you do something really tough - like putting your pants on.'"

They just don't write lines like that anymore, outside of some Saturday Night Live parody skit. But that's okay. As I was watching this film I realized that it had caught me right between the ears. A black pool opened up at my feet and I dived in. It had no bottom. I felt pretty good. like an amputated leg...

This may be one of the most over looked and under appreciated classics of all time. A box office flop when first released, this film was simply too far ahead of its own era. Directed by the late, great Charles Laughton, the story becomes more nightmarish and less anchored in reality as it progresses. Sets, over the course of the film, become more stage than screen. Some of the backdrops are obviously one-dimensional. They're often silhouetted with unnatural back lighting, adding to the overall ominous feel of the picture. Other scenes, most notably Willa Harper (Shelley Winters) at the bottom of the lake, are shot with an awareness of cinematography that is nothing short of brilliance. Robert Mitchum is suburb as the villainous Harry Powell, rivaling his equally evil but dimensionally different character in Cape Fear. The Night of the Hunter easily makes my all-time top 100 films list and shouldn't be missed.