The MoFo Top 100 Film Noir Countdown

I like The Lost Weekend but haven't seen it for quite a long time. Billy Wilder has been moving up my favourite director list so I could give it a rewatch. I'm a big fan of Nightmare Alley and even like the recent remake. It's a great story with twists, and the twisted, and I had it at #25 - but it could have been higher on a different day.

15. Bob le flambeur (1956)
17. Rififi (1955)
25. Nightmare Alley (1947)

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"Don't be so gloomy. After all it's not that awful. Like the fella says, in Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love - they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock."

I had to do some reshuffling when I submitted my ballot due to eligibility reasons. I could have sworn I replaced one with Nightmare Alley but somehow didn't. I rewatched it for this countdown and was very impressed with it as it offered a little more than just the standard noir. Great movie.

The Lost Weekend I watched years ago and remember liking it.

Both The Lost Weekend and Nightmare Alley made my ballot. Two excellent films with great writing and fantastic performances. The Lost Weekend was my #11 and Nightmare Alley was my #16.

Seen: 65/68

Nightmare Alley made my ballot of course it was my #8, probably should've been higher. It's also in my Top 10 movie profile on MoFo. It was my nomination in the 13th HoF and I've reviewed it and wrote this:

Nightmare Alley is a film that deals with a very unique subject. I could see this being a difficult film for some to get into as much of what happens is subtle and not readily shown on the screen.

Stanton (Tyrone Power) literately commands the film with his presences. Stan, could have been portrayed as some two dimensional bad guy and if that had been the case the film wouldn't be all that special.

But Stan is very human, very three dimensional. Like us, Stan has self doubts and carries baggage from his past that makes his journey all the harder for him. And like us, Stan has potential, that potential is the power of belief in himself, which then causes others to believe in him... and their utter belief makes his words true to them. And that's what the film is about, the power of belief...and self confidence.

Stan is not really motivated by the need for fame or money or even power....even though that's what he aims for and what we are shown...but what he's really seeking is the need to be believed in, by others. And that's something most of us can also relate to.

It's only when he runs up against a cold hearted, greedy woman psychologist Lilith (Helen Walker),that he begins to question that belief in himself. "It takes one to catch one"...that's his line to Lilith. He recognizes what she is, but still is drawn to her like a moth to a flame. It's not love or even sex that he's after, it's her knowledge of the human mind.

Stan's utter belief in himself makes him literally invincible...not even Zeena's (Joan Blondell) Tarot cards can break his self confidence....But Lilith can with her reverse guilt trip that she lays on him, during his one moment of self doubt. She finds the center within him, his Achilles heel, and lays the groundwork to destroy his ego, via Stan's guilt over the accidental poisoning of Pete.

That's when Stan falters, that's when he stops believing in himself. That lack of belief leads him ultimately to the bottom of his world...I call that a powerful film.

The Lost Weekend was #22 on my ballot. A truly fine look at addiction.

Nightmare Alley is pretty good, but it didn't make my ballot.

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IMDb
Letterboxd

14) Gun Crazy
18) The Stranger
19) Odd Man Out
22) The Lost Weekend
24) Crossfire

Seen both but voted for neither. But I did like both. Need to see both again as it's been awhile.

Haven't seen either, but both have been on my radar. Lost Weekend because of Wilder and Bogart, and Nightmare Alley because of the remake. I wanted to check it out back when I saw that one, but never got to it.

Nightmare Alley was #80 on the MoFo Top 100 of the 1940s while The Lost Weekend was #24.

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"Film is a disease. When it infects your bloodstream it takes over as the number one hormone. It bosses the enzymes, directs the pineal gland, plays Iago to your psyche. As with heroin, the antidote to Film is more Film." - Frank Capra

#34 The Lost Weekend (1945), I have it at #15 on my ballot.

I've examined most of the Wilder's catalog about seven years ago. Most of his works deserve a praise in their respective categories.
This one is not in my top 5 of Wilder but good enough to get into the middle slots of my ballot.

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"Population don't imitate art, population imitate bad television." W.A.
"You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus." M.T.

With both versions of Nightmare Alley I felt the same. Should have stayed in the carnival setting. Both are excellent when they are there, and pretty meh when they leave.

Lost Weekend deserves a rewatch, but I wouldn’t have considered it here regardless.

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Letterboxd

Watched both for this countdown, both made the ballot.

#16 - The Lost Weekend 1945 (#34)
#18 - Nightmare Alley 1947 (#33)



1.
2.
3. M 1931 <- ineligible so just bump up everything below this by 1.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9. Rififi 1955 (#42)
10. Elevator to the Gallows 1958 (#41)
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16. The Lost Weekend 1945 (#34)
17.
18. Nightmare Alley 1947 (#33)
19.
20. The Naked City (#60)
21. The Hitch-Hiker (#67)
22. Gaslight 1944 (#96)
23. Niagara 1953 (#56)
24.
25.

2 for 2. Both excellent noirs but neither The Lost Weekend or Nightmare Alley were on my ballot. I remember first hearing about TLW when I was a kid watching cartoons. That's how deeply embedded it was in the cultural zeitgeist. And even though I've always favored Tyrone Power as an actor NA had never been on my radar. The release of the remake brought it to my attention so I watched this, the original, first. Kind of ruined the remake for me. Couldn't finish it.

39 of 68 seen so far.

2 for 2 on my list! I believe this is the first day that's happened.


Nightmare Alley is my #20, and Lost Weekend is my #5. I'm surprised Lost Weekend isn't in the top 20. It's such quintessential noir, and one of the best lead actor performances in a noir of all time.


My list so far:


5. Lost Weekend
11. Rebecca
19. Leave Her to Heaven

20. Nightmare Alley
23. Suspicion
24. Big Combo, The
25. D.O.A.

I've seen 11 of 68.

Not bad considering my 0 of 46 start. 😅

I'm actually in the middle of a comeback, having seen all 6 of the previous films revealed.

List facts!

• The Lost Weekend's IMDb rating of 7.9 is tied with The Strange Love of Martha Ivers for the second highest, below Rififi and Rebecca at 8.1.
• The 15-point gap between The Lost Weekend and Nightmare Alley is now the highest, as points begin to spread more and more.
• On that same note, Nightmare Alley presence in 17 ballots means is the most "popular" of the countdown so far. The previous highest was Gun Crazy, which was present on 15 ballots.

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Citizen Rules ballot
1
2 Leave Her to Heaven (1945) #37
3
4
5
6
7
8 Nightmare Alley (1947) #33
9 The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) #40
10
11 Ride the Pink Horse (1947) #45
12
13 Won't make it?
14
15
16 Too Late for Tears (1949) #81
17 Kansas City Confidential (1952) #53
18 Detective Story (1951) #57
19 The Set-Up (1949) #46
20
21
22
23
24 Almost made it
25 Crime Wave (1953) on the 1 pointer list

Oops, yeah. I meant Milland, who I've loved since I saw Dial M for Murder Thanks to the Noir Police who alerted me via Post Comments

There is a famous comment from Billy Wilder after having worked with Raymond Chandler on Double Indemnity. He said that part of the reason he made The Lost Weekend was "to explain Chandler to himself".

I didn't love Nightmare Alley, but it was a landmark film that was very well done. I did put it up to #17 on my top 25 list. It was a much better picture than the 2021 remake.

Didn't love The Lost Weekend but I'd give it another shot. Don't remember seeing it as noir though.

Liked Nightmare Alley enough to vote for it.

3. Rififi (#42)
6. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (#40)
7. Body and Soul (#94)
13. Detective Story (#57)
15. Force of Evil (#85)
16 Ride the Pink Horse (#45)
19. Nightmare Alley (#33)
20. The Blue Dahlia (#74)
23. The Stranger (#38)
24. Drunken Angel (#70)
25. The Letter (#72)