Got 18/20.
Here's the kicker. One of the two I missed was a total brain fart moment. Complete blank. Spent the last 45 seconds thinking: It's on my post---dammit. It's. . . it's... Sierra... Dark? No, it ain't that... Shit, what the f@ck is it? The other was one I didn't know, The 711 Ocean.
50. High Sierra (1940) Is a film I saw after sending in my list, having stumbled upon it after finding, watching and fully enjoying
Dead Reckoning for my list. Pre
Maltese Falcon and following defining roles such as
Dead End and the more famous
Angels with Dirty Faces, Bogart incorporated some vulnerability to the hard-edged ex-prisoner doing a heist with inexperienced youths. A great watch and very worthy of this list.
49 Suspicion (1941) I have seen this only once, and the ending seems "incorrect" to me. As if it was not the ending meant to be but, for whatever reason, insisted upon.
Coming in at #11
47 Odd Man Out (1947) Where the question of morality is placed upon those whom James Mason meets far more than the wounded individual himself.
The imagery is quite something to see—some truly beautiful and stark imagery, coupled with the story and all of the secondary actors within this movie.
For me, it was those characters who really piqued my interest. For some odd reason, I kept thinking about my #1 favorite,
The Great Escape, as everyone split up and tried to make it out of a bad situation. I think it may have been the underlying subterfuge, as, with each encounter, you really did not know if it was a haven or a pitfall that would engulf not only Mason but the others who were with him in the attempted robbery.
WARNING: "I can't honestly make a list since I thoroughly enjoyed them all," spoilers below From the one aunt that the two men sought out only to be betrayed, the two older women who come across Mason's character, and the older man with the birds. His little "conversation" with the priest was quite enjoyable.
From the one aunt that the two men sought out only to be betrayed, the two older women who come across Mason's character, and the older man with the birds. His little "conversation" with the priest was quite enjoyable.
My favorite watching is Robert Newton as the brawling artist. It was excellent to watch him let loose.
Coming in at #14
45 Ride the Pink Horse (1947) The opening scene and many of the "movement of chess pieces" was nicely done and great fun to watch.
For most noirs, the secondary characters, those that the leading character runs into, rarely expand into nothing more than filler. Not so here. There is far more detail and, dare I say, love for the secondary characters when it comes to the townsfolk and, of course, Pancho and Pila. I found myself enjoying every nuance and conversation shared between them and Gagin as the movie continued the most. Such as Pila's eventual opening up and Pancho's wisdom regarding life were the moments that really stuck with me. I really connected with them and looked forward to when the story came back around to them.
The merry-go-round scene was an incredible highlight because the focus was moved to the children's reactions as they circled around instead of what was occurring. This had far more of an impact and was done exceptionally well.
44 Criss Cross (1949) I Watched this for the 4th Noir HoF, and while I still remain on the fence regarding Burt Lancaster afterward, I was impressed and enjoyed the foggy shoot-out at the end.
42 Rififi (1955) One of, in my opinion, one of the top French-noir films and an utter and complete sin committed in idiocy that I did not include it on my list where I'm sure it would have placed quite high.
The execution of the Heist was top-class AND VERY INNOVATIVE. In fact, it played out a little too much like a Self-Help diagram to commit the Jewel Heist, so Mexican authorities pulled the movie from theaters after multiple burglaries were committed, employing methods similar to those shown. How f@ckin cool is that?
Director Jules Dassin (one of Hollywood's Black Listed during the witch hunts, aka McCarthism-ran Communist Trials) plays the safecracker, Cesar, and changes what becomes of his character from the VERY explicit book it is based upon, making it a bit personal and symbiotic to when friends betray friends.
Coming in at #17
38 The Stranger (1946) For an actor best known for iconic portrayals of gangsters, Edward G. Robinson plays one helluva detective. He is patient, clever, determined, and willing to take risks if the outcome is worth it, such as his opening gambit to let Meinike escape in hopes of bringing him to the greater prize.
The trailing of Meinike and Wilson's arrival in town was very well done from an investigative aspect, and I found myself watching the strategically placed pitfalls by Wilson for Welles' Prof Rankin, aka Franz Kindler.
I would have loved to have seen the edited scenes that delved more into that. Scenes that Welles was infuriated by when the studio cleared the Editor to have the freedom of removing anything he felt wasn't necessary. Resulting in about 30 minutes removed, 19 of which involved the opening trailing of Meineke as well as the original meeting of Loretta Young's Mary and Welles' character.
Makes you wonder if it was for the better or for worse.
36. Gun Crazy (1950) The couple of times I've seen this I've bounced back and forth with my level of enjoyment while my appreciation for the ending remains steadfast.
35. Rebecca (1940) This is a splendid Hitchcock film with all of his key elements of suspense, moments of comedy interspersed within, a sojourn of camera angles, twists and turns, and the hints of a juicy, dirty little story that he deftly slid into the film—the Hays Code be damned for its prudish restrictions.
33. Nightmare Alley (1947) Power does a truly amazing job in this movie of cons and carnies. The charisma, confidence, and smoothness that is the top layer of Stan, and, as the movie proceeds, the darker, insecure, broken aspect beneath are equally played brilliantly. His rise and eventual fall are all quite spectacular and he does a sterling job of it throughout.
32. Stray Dog (1949) Been quite a while since I've seen this Kurasawa film about a rookie cop who loses his gun.
31. The Lady From Shanghai (1947) I've always enjoyed this the numerous times I've seen it. I knew about the unsanctioned editing but did not know the details regarding the Mirror Maze. Thanks, CR, for that. This was a sad cut, though I knew there was plenty of love to place it nicely, and bravo, MoFo, for doing just that.
30. White Heat (1949) I saw this so many times in my youth, and it's been a few decades since my last viewing. I remember it more as a Crime/Gangster film. I would need a rewatch to consider its noir aspect, which would be fun.
#29 Scarlet Street (1945) Been far too long since I've watched this. Somewhere in the nineties when I was running through both Lang and Robinson. It was offsetting at the time, knowing only his gangster films previously. I need to revisit and appreciate and enjoy Edward G. I think this may be my introduction to the Master of Slimeballs, Dan Duryea, whom I've come to truly love. Most recently, in my Rectification entry,
Too Late For Tears.
Watched 38 out of 72 (52.77%) 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8. Panic In The Streets (1950) (#98) 9.
10. Act of Violence (1948) (#61) 11. Ride The Pink Horse (1947) (#45) 12.
13.
14. Odd Man Out (1947) (#47) 15.
16. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950) (#66) 17. The Stranger (1946) (#38) 18.
19.
20.
21.
22. Body and Soul (1947) (#94) 23. The Naked City (1948) (#98) 24. Dead Reckoning (1946) (#95) 25.
Rectification List Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) (#92) Too Late for Tears (1949) (#81) Kansas City Confidential (1952) (#53)