Noirvember 2023 - Rate the last noir you watched

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Trouble with a capital "T"
Good movie. I just checked imdb and it is tagged as film noir, so I believe it would be eligible.
You are correct! Me bad!! I didn't scroll down the IMDB page. It does indeed say film noir so it is eligible. I'll go and correct my review, thanks for catching that



Good old Eddie G. I've seen some documentaries on him and everything I heard about him was that he was, one nice guy! I'm not surprised to hear he had the guts to speak up against the Nazis even before the war. I didn't know that he had been gray listed at one time, thanks for posting that. I really should check out my of his films.
From what I've read about him, he was an art collector, gourmet and a seriously nice guy. That made me realize that he was a better actor than I took him for, being able to morph himself into some of those vicious gangster roles he was known for.



CRIME WAVE 1953 André de Toth

Solid, compact and easy to watch Film-Noir because of it's short and snappy runtime of only 74 min. Starring Sterling Hayden and a very young Charles Bronson.




Trouble with a capital "T"
Deadline - U.S.A. (1952) Bogart's performance carries the film and makes it worth watching.
I'll be watching that as I'm watching all of Bogart's films. I might never have seen it, won't know until I start watching it.



Trouble with a capital "T"
CRIME WAVE 1953 André de Toth

Solid, compact and easy to watch Film-Noir because of it's short and snappy runtime of only 74 min. Starring Sterling Hayden and a very young Charles Bronson.

One of my favorite noirs, not too fancy just straight forward with Sterling Hayden doing what he does best.



It’s A Classic Rope-A-Dope
No Way Out


This one has a fantastic cast. Poitier is one of my faves so start surrounding him with these kind of character actors and it was going to be hard to miss for me. I really like how this film deals with race as well. Its characters are pretty broad across the spectrum of where they were with race in the culture, so it gives you a good sense of what a situation like this would have been like.

I know this is going to be a thing for a lot of us, but I probably wouldn't label this Noir, it's way more of a social drama to me. Maybe Widmark being it it makes it feel more Noir to people, but I almost feel like you could take the crime element out of this completely and have the same story.

Anyway, doesn't really matter for my purposes because it wouldn't be making my list either way. It's very good though, and I am glad I watched it.

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No Way Out


This one has a fantastic cast. Poitier is one of my faves so start surrounding him with these kind of character actors and it was going to be hard to miss for me. I really like how this film deals with race as well. Its characters are pretty broad across the spectrum of where they were with race in the culture, so it gives you a good sense of what a situation like this would have been like.

I know this is going to be a thing for a lot of us, but I probably wouldn't label this Noir, it's way more of a social drama to me. Maybe Widmark being it it makes it feel more Noir to people, but I almost feel like you could take the crime element out of this completely and have the same story.

Anyway, doesn't really matter for my purposes because it wouldn't be making my list either way. It's very good though, and I am glad I watched it.

I loved this one. It is debatable if it is noir or not and I can see why some would say it is not, but it is close enough to being noir that it is in contention for my ballot.



Thursday Next's Avatar
I never could get the hang of Thursdays.
Drunken Angel (1948)


One of the things I like about film is that however many reviews you read, you never really know when you start watching a film whether it's going to be one of those films that really makes you feel something. Drunken Angel was one of those films, for me. I just thought it was really great. It looks great, the acting was good (Toshiro Mifune in an early lead role as a young gangster dying of TB), there were interesting relationship dynamics and things that felt archetypal without being cliched. And there in the middle of it, the swamp, both reality and metaphor. Highly recommended.





Trouble with a capital "T"
The Harder They Fall (1956) Humphrey Bogart is excellent in this well written film that packs a punch.
I'm working my way up to that one, though I've seen it before but it's been a long time. Glad to hear you liked it.



Storm Warning (1950) Watched on dvd as part of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Collection box set. Ginger Rogers, Doris Day and Ronald Reagan star in this gripping and compelling film about a woman who witnesses the Klan murder a journalist. Rogers does a great job and Day and Reagan provide good support. The film is well written and fast paced, building to a powerful climax. Recommended.



No Way Out

This one has a fantastic cast. Poitier is one of my faves so start surrounding him with these kind of character actors and it was going to be hard to miss for me. I really like how this film deals with race as well. Its characters are pretty broad across the spectrum of where they were with race in the culture, so it gives you a good sense of what a situation like this would have been like.

I know this is going to be a thing for a lot of us, but I probably wouldn't label this Noir, it's way more of a social drama to me. Maybe Widmark being it it makes it feel more Noir to people, but I almost feel like you could take the crime element out of this completely and have the same story.

Anyway, doesn't really matter for my purposes because it wouldn't be making my list either way. It's very good though, and I am glad I watched it.

I agree. Good film, but not really a noir. Same with Storm Warning. I'd classify them as crime thrillers with a social message. Films from the early '50s started focusing on racial prejudice.



THE ENFORCER 1951 Raoul Walsh, Bretaigne Windust
Determined District Attorney played by Bogart, goes after the notorious Murder Inc.
Good Film-Noir which focuses mainly on the investigative/detective aspect of the Noir genre.

(Murder, Inc. (Murder, Incorporated) was an organized crime group active from 1929 to 1941 that acted as the enforcement arm of the National Crime Syndicate – a closely connected criminal organization that included the Italian-American Mafia, the Jewish Mob, and other criminal organizations.)




It’s A Classic Rope-A-Dope
Madeline


This one puts me in a predicament. Not only is it the best new Noir I have watched so far, but one of my favorite movies I have watched this year. I'm not sure I consider it Noir though, so it will be decided when I finalize my list.

Anyway, Lean is doing his thing in this one. I am very surprised it isn't talked about more. I really love Todd in the lead role but I think all the characters and performances are pretty fantastic.

Lean with the camera and the shadows is just a magician. The mileage he gets out of just changing angles is on par with anything Welles was doing. I adore looking at his movies. Of special note here is the way he handles sex in a time when you couldn't be explicit. His editing to let you know what's going on without spelling it out is perfect.

The movie does culminate to a courtroom drama, which just pushes all my buttons. The editing here is, again, key. The way he mixes in testimony with closing argument. Just completely engaging.

Can't say enough good things about this one. See it!




'The Third Man.' 5/5. It's in my top ten list of all-time favorite movies. Terrific film.
__________________
“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” — Gandhi​



Trouble with a capital "T"
Madeline


This one puts me in a predicament. Not only is it the best new Noir I have watched so far, but one of my favorite movies I have watched this year. I'm not sure I consider it Noir though, so it will be decided when I finalize my list.

Anyway, Lean is doing his thing in this one. I am very surprised it isn't talked about more. I really love Todd in the lead role but I think all the characters and performances are pretty fantastic.

Lean with the camera and the shadows is just a magician. The mileage he gets out of just changing angles is on par with anything Welles was doing. I adore looking at his movies. Of special note here is the way he handles sex in a time when you couldn't be explicit. His editing to let you know what's going on without spelling it out is perfect.

The movie does culminate to a courtroom drama, which just pushes all my buttons. The editing here is, again, key. The way he mixes in testimony with closing argument. Just completely engaging.

Can't say enough good things about this one. See it!

Ohh! A 5... OK I'm watching that pronto. I'll chime in on my thoughts if it's noir or not after watching it But it does qualify for the countdown as it's listed on Wiki as Noir.



Trouble with a capital "T"
Storm Warning (1950) Watched on dvd as part of the Ronald Reagan Centennial Collection box set. Ginger Rogers, Doris Day and Ronald Reagan star in this gripping and compelling film about a woman who witnesses the Klan murder a journalist. Rogers does a great job and Day and Reagan provide good support. The film is well written and fast paced, building to a powerful climax. Recommended.
I've seen that one and I thought it was pretty good. Reagan is always fun to watch and Ginger Rogers and Doris Day are a treat for me.



Trouble with a capital "T"

The Two Mrs. Carrolls (1947)

I bet this movie has been remade as a modern horror film. The storyline of a moody artistic painter (Humphrey Bogart) who marries a young sweet woman (Barbara Stanwyck) after his first invalid wife dies, seems ripe for a remake. Especially with the mysterious painter being inspired to immortalize his dead wife as the 'angel of death'. As soon as his new wife is settled in she starts to feel ill, don't drink the milk!...Meanwhile the painter has a new muse-girlfriend (Alexis Smith).

Good idea for a movie only this has got to be the worst acting by Bogart in any film I've seen him in and that's including The Return of Dr. X where he played a living-dead doctor who drank blood to keep alive. The problem is Bogart, who can act of course, can't believably do a psycho character. So he has to resort to strange facial expressions to pretend he is mad. It's a part that he wasn't able to get his acting chops into. The little girl and the surly maid were the best characters. Not noir, though it does qualify as such.

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