Category: Film Noir

Out of the Past: The definitive Film Noir classic that established Robert Mitchum as the ultimate Noir hero

Out of the Past(1947), directed by Jacques Tourneur and starring Robert Mitchum, Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer and Rhonda Fleming, may well be the greatest Film Noir ever made, with Mitchum giving one of the greatest Noir-hero performances of all time. "Baby, I don't care" was the title of actor, Robert Mitchum's biography written by Lee … Continue reading Out of the Past: The definitive Film Noir classic that established Robert Mitchum as the ultimate Noir hero →

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Where the Sidewalk Ends: Otto Preminger’s gritty, dark ‘rogue cop’ Noir reunites the ‘Laura’ duo of Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney

Where the Sidewalk Ends(1950) reunites director Otto Preminger with the stars of his iconic 1944 film 'Laura', Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. This is a more darker tale with Andrews playing a morally conflicted, hard-boiled, New York cop who's trying to stay one step ahead of the law as he obsessively hunts down a mob … Continue reading Where the Sidewalk Ends: Otto Preminger’s gritty, dark ‘rogue cop’ Noir reunites the ‘Laura’ duo of Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney →

Crossfire: Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan represents the two sides of the returning WWII soldier in this chilling Noir that’s ultimately a strong polemic against racism

Crossfire (1947), directed by Edward Dmytryk from a novel by Richard Brooks and starring Robert Mitchum, Robert Young and Robert Ryan, is a 'social issue' Noir which makes a strong statement against anti-Semitism. Hate is like a gun. If you carry it around with you it can go off and kill somebody. It killed Samuels … Continue reading Crossfire: Robert Mitchum and Robert Ryan represents the two sides of the returning WWII soldier in this chilling Noir that’s ultimately a strong polemic against racism →

The Stranger: Orson Welles’ lone box office hit may be his least personal film but it’s still a terrific Noir thriller with Welles in top form as actor & director

The Stranger(1946) was Orson Welles' third (finished) feature film as a director, and his first Film Noir. Though this is the least artistically impressive, and most conventionally mainstream, of all of Welles' films, it's a superbly crafted genre piece, and was a box office success. Being the only bonafide box office hit that Orson Welles … Continue reading The Stranger: Orson Welles’ lone box office hit may be his least personal film but it’s still a terrific Noir thriller with Welles in top form as actor & director →

The Big Heat: Fritz Lang inverts gender archetypes to create the first ‘Homme fatale’ in this great film noir

The Big Heat(1953), Directed by the legendary Fritz Lang and starring Glenn Ford and Gloria Grahame in lead roles is a great film noir that both expands and inverts a lot of Noir tropes and archetypes. "In the city of "Kenport", a police sergeant, Tom Duncan. commits suicide. Investigating the incident, fellow detective Sgt. Dave … Continue reading The Big Heat: Fritz Lang inverts gender archetypes to create the first ‘Homme fatale’ in this great film noir →

Murder My Sweet: Dick Powell makes the definitive Philip Marlowe in this influential Noir classic

Murder, My Sweet(1944), was an adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Farewell my Lovely, with Dick Powell starring as Philip Marlowe in what became the first of the film Noirs. "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 … Continue reading Murder My Sweet: Dick Powell makes the definitive Philip Marlowe in this influential Noir classic →

Point Blank: John Boorman’s avant-garde Noir masterpiece gave Lee Marvin his most iconic role

John Boorman's Point Blank(1967) is one of the greatest and most unusual crime\noir thrillers ever made. Apart from being an extraordinary hybrid of American and European film sensibilities, the film also provided Lee Marvin with his most iconic role. 1960s was the decade of revisionism in American society and American cinema. Every movie genre was … Continue reading Point Blank: John Boorman’s avant-garde Noir masterpiece gave Lee Marvin his most iconic role →

Cape Fear: Gregory Peck battles Robert Mitchum in this gripping psychological thriller

Director J. Lee Thompson's Cape Fear(1962), starring Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum, is a gripping post-noir Psycho thriller in which Mitchum, playing vicious Psychopath Max Cady, gave, perhaps, the greatest performance of his career. "An upright lawyer's life becomes a nightmare when a sadistic ex-con he helped send to prison returns seeking revenge. No simple … Continue reading Cape Fear: Gregory Peck battles Robert Mitchum in this gripping psychological thriller →

The Big Sleep: Howard Hawks’ steamy Noir classic is an eternal cinematic monument to the love between Bogart and Bacall

Humphrey Bogart co-starred with his beloved wife Lauren Bacall as the iconic detective, Philip Marlowe, in Howard Hawks' 1946 film adaptation of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep. “Bogart can be tough without a gun,Also he has a sense of humor that contains the grating undertone of contempt. [Alan] Ladd is hard, bitter and occasionally charming, but … Continue reading The Big Sleep: Howard Hawks’ steamy Noir classic is an eternal cinematic monument to the love between Bogart and Bacall →

Chinatown: Nicholson is great, Huston is iconic and Dunaway’s at her greatest in Robert Towne and Roman Polanski’s Neo-noir classic

Chinatown(1974), directed by Roman Polanski, written by Robert Towne and starring Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway and John Huston, is one of those rare gems from New Hollywood cinema of the '70s, whose appeal remains undiminished even after 4 decades (Spoilers are included) Post the collapse of the old Hollywood studio system in the early 1960s, … Continue reading Chinatown: Nicholson is great, Huston is iconic and Dunaway’s at her greatest in Robert Towne and Roman Polanski’s Neo-noir classic →

White Heat : James Cagney made it to the Top of the World in one of the greatest screen performances ever

James Cagney gave a performance of a lifetime as gangster Cody Jarrett in Raoul Walsh's classic film White Heat (1949) that completes 70 years.   Made It Ma, Top of the world One of the most famous exit lines in movies, spoken by the great James Cagney in the 1949 film White Heat. James Cagney … Continue reading White Heat : James Cagney made it to the Top of the World in one of the greatest screen performances ever →

Nightmare Alley: Matinee Idol Tyrone Power proved that he can be really good in a dark Film Noir

The recent release of Guillermo Del Toro's remake of Nightmare Alley has renewed interest in this 1947 original. This dark, disturbing yet fascinating film Noir provided handsome Matinee idol Tyrone Power with the darkest role of his career. Nightmare Alley is back in the news. Guillermo Del Toro is making a new adaptation of the story and … Continue reading Nightmare Alley: Matinee Idol Tyrone Power proved that he can be really good in a dark Film Noir →

Touch of Evil: A baroque and wildly innovative Orson Welles masterpiece that came at the end of the golden era of film Noir

Touch of Evil(1958) is one of  Orson Welles' greatest films and it's perhaps the last great film Noir from the classic period. The Film  was butchered by the studio at the time of its release, but has since been restored to its intended form.   Everything about me is a contradiction, and so is everything … Continue reading Touch of Evil: A baroque and wildly innovative Orson Welles masterpiece that came at the end of the golden era of film Noir →

Leave Her To Heaven: Gene Tierney is breathtakingly gorgeous as the unrivaled femme fatale in this Technicolor Noir

Leave her to Heaven(1945) , A Film Noir shot in glorious Technicolor makes for a unique cinematic experience. ‘It’s like a film noir, in colour …. It’s the technicolor, how it’s matched to the strange perfection in Tierney’s face, her presence. The drama of the obsession of the color, reinforce each other and create something … Continue reading Leave Her To Heaven: Gene Tierney is breathtakingly gorgeous as the unrivaled femme fatale in this Technicolor Noir →

The Treasure of Sierra Madre: Humphrey Bogart at his greatest in John Huston’s gritty masterpiece

The Treasure of Sierra Madre(1948), starring Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston, is Director John Huston's greatest film; a Noir-Western or a Neo-Western that explored themes of avarice, temperance and self-destruction, it is an extremely gritty and violent film for its time and won Oscars for the (father & son) Huston duo. Fred C. Dobbs, a name … Continue reading The Treasure of Sierra Madre: Humphrey Bogart at his greatest in John Huston’s gritty masterpiece →

Notorious: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman scorches the screen in Hitchcock’s dark romantic thriller

Alfred Hitchcock's Masterpiece Notorious(1946) is many things; Its a Spy thriller, its a Love story, Its a Melodrama, Its also a Menaced-Women Noir. But above all, its an exercise in pure cinema in the great Hitchcock tradition that showcases the hitherto unseen side of  Star\actor Cary Grant. Alicia Huberman (beautiful, young, spoiled, playgirl, daughter of a … Continue reading Notorious: Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman scorches the screen in Hitchcock’s dark romantic thriller →

The Driver: Director Walter Hill’s minimalist Neo-noir thriller is an exhilarating exercise in pure genre cinema

Director Walter Hill's 1978 film, The Driver, starring Ryan O'Neal and Bruce Dern, is the ultimate exercise in pure, minimalist cinema that just keeps getting better with age. "Boy you got it down real tight. So tight that there's no room for anything else." This is what 'The Detective' played By Bruce Dern tells Ryan … Continue reading The Driver: Director Walter Hill’s minimalist Neo-noir thriller is an exhilarating exercise in pure genre cinema →

The Third Man : Mr. Welles, Mr. Lime and Mr. Wu

Carol Reed's 1949 classic Film Noir The Third Man, based on Graham Greene's screenplay, completes 70 years. its famous for its unique atmosphere, zither music, and Oscar winning camerawork. Above all it provided Orson Welles with his most iconic role.   You know what the fellow said – in Italy, for 30 years under the Borgias, … Continue reading The Third Man : Mr. Welles, Mr. Lime and Mr. Wu →

To Have and Have Not : 75 years since they hooked up, The chemistry between Bogart & Bacall still sizzles the screen.

A tribute to Howard Hawks' classic film To Have and Have Not that is celebrating it's 75th anniversary. The film marked the debut of Lauren Bacall and set the stage for her romance and marriage to Humphrey Bogart.     You know how to whistle, don't you, Steve? You just put your lips together - … Continue reading To Have and Have Not : 75 years since they hooked up, The chemistry between Bogart & Bacall still sizzles the screen. →

The Maltese Falcon: John Huston’s seminal detective film noir turned Humphrey Bogart into an icon of cool

John Huston's directorial debut, The Maltese Falcon(1941), is a trendsetting private eye\Noir classic that turned Humphrey Bogart, who played the role of  P.I. Sam Spade, into an Icon. It's a cold December night(or rather early morning) in San Francisco. The windows in Private detective Sam Spade's bedroom is open and we see cool breeze rustling … Continue reading The Maltese Falcon: John Huston’s seminal detective film noir turned Humphrey Bogart into an icon of cool →