Noirvember!
/I watch film noir year round, but Noirvember was a great time rewatch or discover some gems of the genre. I’ve listed some favorites below in honor of Noirvember.
Now, Eddie Muller has a list of his favorite noir films on his website, and I highly encourage you to take a peek. For those of you who aren’t aware of Eddie Muller, he’s been coined the “Czar of Noir” by my good friend, James Ellroy (I hope you know who he is, if you don’t, go read Black Dahlia and L.A. Confidential, and everything else he’s ever written!). Back to Eddie: he’s the host of TCM’s Noir Alley and leads the charge for the Film Noir Foundation and the preservation of film noir. I had the pleasure of meeting Eddie at a Film Noir Festival held in Colorado—what a great time and what a great bunch of movies they screened.
So, after reading Eddie’s list of favorite noir films, why should you care about mine? I have some crossover with his list (how could I not?), but these are some favorites from the classic film noir era that socked me in the gut. Some of these films will be obvious and well-known, while others have be new to you. I’m also not hung up on what is pure film noir, and maybe some of these don’t check the noir box for you.
What you’ll notice is the crossover with actors and directors with these films. You’ll see actors and actresses like Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott, Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Ann Sheridan, Ray Milland, Dan Duryea, and others show up quite often, but I don’t mention them below—even if they’re in the films I listed!
I know I probably left off quite a few, but this is just a quick list off the top of my head. Let me know some of your favorites!
He Walked By Night, T-Men, Raw Deal - any time you have John Alton’s lighting (also see The Big Combo), and Anthony Mann’s directing (even if uncredited as in He Walked By Night), you have instant film noir.
The Big Sleep, Maltese Falcon, The Glass Key, Murder, My Sweet, Dead Reckoning - okay, a couple of these have Bogart, and they’re close to noir. The books were written by Hammett, Chandler (Farewell, My Lovely was filmed as Murder, My Sweet), and Goodis - all hardboiled or noir-like. They may not be pure noir, but they come close.
Double Indemnity, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce - With James M. Cain’s novels as the inspiration—the man wrote dark and flawed characters as good as anyone—it’s film noir. Double Indemnity is right at the top of my list of the all-time best films period.
In A Lonely Place, Ride The Pink Horse - These are great films, and the novels were written by Dorothy B. Hughes—she wrote noir as well as anyone. Dark, disturbing characters, especially in the Bogart film with Gloria Grahame (a film noir fixture) of the same name. While the film differs a little from the novel, this is one of those few instances where the film and the novel are of equal greatness.
D.O.A. - Edmund O’Brien. A great premise, which I won’t spoil. O’Brien was in a few others like 711 Ocean Drive (and he’s in The Killers, listed below).
The Killers, Criss Cross, Phantom Lady - Robert Siodmak is another great film noir director, and two of these films star Burt Lancaster. The Killers was based on the Ernest Hemingway short story, but don’t miss Criss Cross—it has Yvonne deCarlo who is absolutely wonderful.
Sunset Boulevard, Lost Weekend, Double Indemnity, Ace In The Hole - yes, Double Indemnity is listed twice, this time because it’s directed by Billy Wilder—a versatile director who did screwball comedies just as well as directing film noir. All those films are classics. You won’t be disappointed in any of those films, and they’re all so different, yet still noir!
The Big Heat, The Blue Gardenia, Scarlet Street, The Woman in the Window, Clash By Night, Ministry of Fear, Human Desire - Fritz Lang. Anything directed by Fritz Lang is going to be disturbing. He casts Lee Marvin, Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, and Barbara Stanwyck to name a few—all known for their noir roles. His earlier stuff helped film noir become a thing: Metropolis and M—Peter Lorre in his creepiest of his many creepy roles.
Gilda - directed by Charles Vidor and with Rita Hayworth in what I think is her signature role. Also has Glenn Ford, another film noir staple (see The Big Heat).
Night And The City, Pickup on South Street - Richard Widmark’s in these, and he’s great.
Asphalt Jungle - directed by John Huston (also on this list with Maltese Falcon), with a young Marilyn Monroe along with Sterling Hayden—another film noir regular, what a great tough guy.
Sweet Smell of Success, Brute Force, Criss Cross, The Killers - Burt Lancaster is menacing and overbearing in Success. You could do worse than explore some of these Burt Lancaster roles. Pure noir.
Laura - the novel was written by Vera Caspary (as was the Blue Gardenia), they are worth reading as well as watching. This is a haunting film with some cool twists and has a great cast: Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb, and Vincent Price. It’s directed by Otto Preminger, who also directed The Man With The Golden Arm, starring Frank Sinatra—a noir film depicting drug addiction.
Out Of The Past - Robert Mitchum in one of the definitive noir films with Kirk Douglas and Jane Greer. Talk about a man who could take over a film. Also check out Night of the Hunter, Crossfire, The Big Steal, Where Danger Lives, and The Racket.
Kiss Me Deadly - Ralph Meeker was such a great Mike Hammer - Mickey Spillane was not a fan of this film, but it’s so much fun, and watching Mike Hammer get in over his head and opening Pandora’s Box is amazing and the inspiration for many many moments in subsequent films.
The Narrow Margin - Dana Andrews and another film noir staple—Marie Windsor. Takes place mostly on a train! Trains appear in quite a few noir flicks, including a few on this list.
The Third Man, Lady From Shanghai, Touch of Evil, Niagara, Shadow of a Doubt - okay, these are Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten. The first three all with Orson Welles, and Niagara featuring Marilyn Monroe, while Shadow of a Doubt was directed by Hitchcock (not really a noir director, but a couple of his might qualify (such as Vertigo—though that one’s in color even if the overall tone qualifies). Like Gilda, it’s hard to not watch Rita Hayworth in any role!
Gun Crazy - this is a 1950 Bonnie & Clyde or Natural Born Killers—only better! Too bad the production code got in the way of what could have been, though it makes for more creative choices.
They Drive By Night, Private Hell 36, High Sierra, The Hitch-Hiker, The Big Knife - all of these have Ida Lupino in them. Lupino was a Hollywood pioneer, a female director in the studio system. She’s great as an actress of director. A couple of these also have Bogart.
The Killing - great cast, caper film directed by Kubrick.
Detour - ugly from start to finish. Horrible people doing horrible things.
One more: Nightmare Alley - carnival noir with Tyrone Powers in, to me, his best performance.
