The MoFo Top 100 Film Noir Countdown

Of the 1-pointers, I've only seen They Drive By Night and that was so long ago I can't remember too much about it, so I need to catch it again. I'm really looking forward to seeing Crime Wave because I dig me some Sterling Hayden. And we're off!

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Edited:

Current revealed ballot:

01. (#06) In a Lonely Place
02.
03. M 1931 <- ineligible so just bump up everything below this by 1.
04. (#19) Ace in the Hole 1951
05.
06.
07.
08.
09. (#42) Rififi 1955
10. (#41) Elevator to the Gallows 1958
11. (#14) The Night of the Hunter 1955
12. (#09) Sweet Smell of Success 1957
13. (#07) Out of the Past 1957
14. (#11) The Killing #1956
15. (#23) The Postman Always Rings Twice 1946
16. (#34) The Lost Weekend 1945
17. (###) Repeat Performance 1947
18. (#33) Nightmare Alley 1947
19. (#38) The Stranger (1946)
20. (#60) The Naked City
21. (#67) The Hitch-Hiker
22. (#96) Gaslight 1944
23. (#56) Niagara 1953
24. (###) I am Waiting 1957
25. (#24) Detour 1945

Have not seen any of the one-pointers, may have to try to rectify on one or two.

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I haven't seen any of the one pointers.

Same! I love noir, but my mind just lumps it all together and it's really hard to keep films straight. I also have a feeling there are going to be a lot of films on this Countdown that I've actually seen but just don't remember.

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I've seen far too few classic movies that are film noir for me to have seen one obscure enough to be a 1-pointer. My 1-point selection will probably make the actual countdown. The ones that have shown up here all look pretty interesting, and actually really good. (I haven't seen any of them of course.)

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Love the format! Well done, all.

That said, I've not seen either of these, so I am 0/2 so far!

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Quicksand is mine.

Back when I was playing with the idea of cutting the cord, I dove into this one when I saw it streaming one day.

It almost plays out as a junior noir with Mickey Rooney being suckered into borrowing a twenty from the drawer at work to impress this "femme fatale". But the friend he counted on to pay him back never does so and he finds himself in hot water with work, the law and the owner of a penny arcade (Peter Lorre) faster than you can say...quicksand.

Still, it packs a punch. And in doing this list, I realized that I haven't seen as many classic noirs as modern ones. Thus...

My List:

17. Quicksand (1950)

Wow! That's nice!
So the start is at 20 points...

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Ooh I like that visual style of the reveals

Thanks, the format and images for this countdown is all moi doing I'm very curious to see what Yoda and Thief cooked up for the Neo Noir countdown, I have no insider info on what it might look like...but it should be good!

Good question...The criteria was the movies had to have made two list and have 20 points or more. I was hoping for 25 points or more but the bottom 7 movies are under 25 points and who wants a Top 92 Film Noir countdown

I think that, in its simplicity, it perfectly showcases some of the most notable noir traits. That of otherwise "good" people being sucked into situations they just can't control. It's good stuff.

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Added Sorry, Wrong Number to the Noir watchlist. Stanwyk and Lancaster should make me prioritize it.

You are going to hear a few things a lot from me in this countdown due to Noir being a plot heavy genre. Here is the first of one of those things, just saw Le Corbeau a couple years ago. Based on my star rating is was mid for me, but I don’t remember it at all. I said in my short review that I wish it had been fleshed out more. That it didn’t hold my interest with the mystery.

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BTW, I'm starting with two donuts here. Haven't seen either of these two but I've heard good things about both.

Thanks! I wanted to be able to give people some images that might jog their memories reminding them that they had seen the movie, as noir titles can sound similar. Or entice them to watch it!

That's also why I included the top billed cast members and a mini synopsis of the film. Hoping the presentations will pique some interest and get some of these neat noirs watched

What is film noir?



It is a label used to identify certain films that were made in the US during the 1940s and 1950s. It literally means "black film", which hints at the change in tone that was present in certain films, probably because of the war. However, it wasn't until 1946 that the term was coined by French film critics who hadn't had the chance to watch American films for several years. When the war ended, and they started catching up with the films that were made during the past five years, they noticed a trend towards a more pessimistic and fatalistic tone which they called "film noir".



So, perhaps this initial spurt of "dark films" was not intentional, but rather a product of the things that were going on in the world. But once studios caught up with the popularity of the trend, they started producing films of that kind in a more intentional way. Films about mysteries, worn down detectives meeting femme fatales in dark alleys and dimly lit offices, where the ending was not always the best for our protagonists. Stories were fate always showed its ugly head to remind us that we have no control over our destiny.

I've seen both Le Corbeau and Sorry, Wrong Number. I thought they were just okay and rated them a 6/10.