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Enjoy, the shadows are calling you. 
I looked it up and if anyone wants to vote for Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) it's eligible for the MoFo Top Noir countdown as it's tagged film noir at IMDB & Wiki.
Noirvember 2023 - Rate the last noir you watched
I looked it up and if anyone wants to vote for Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) it's eligible for the MoFo Top Noir countdown as it's tagged film noir at IMDB & Wiki.
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Side Street:
The type of movie that makes me know crime movies are just my genre. Nothing going on special here whatsoever. Simple plot, decent characters, but it just kind of drags you along. I enjoy that. This is my third Mann already since starting Noirvember. Going to move on to a Nicholas Ray this morning with the same lead actor as Side Street. Report back in a while.
The type of movie that makes me know crime movies are just my genre. Nothing going on special here whatsoever. Simple plot, decent characters, but it just kind of drags you along. I enjoy that. This is my third Mann already since starting Noirvember. Going to move on to a Nicholas Ray this morning with the same lead actor as Side Street. Report back in a while.
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Stranger on the Third Floor
(Boris Ingster, 1940)
This thread is already paying off for me as I watched a noir last night that otherwise I probably wouldn't have got to. My reaction is a bit different than Culliford's but I equally enjoyed the watch! For me the highlight was the visual look of the film which culminated in this really wild and stunning looking dream sequence that brought the art direction and lighting to the forefront of the movie. The film's look is thanks to the Latvia director Boris Ingster who had worked with the famous Russian director Sergei Eisenstein.
The story itself isn't that gripping but it works as a hanger for those great shots. It's interesting that a film critic back in 1940 said this,
Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film pretentious and derivative of French and Russian films, and wrote "John McGuire and Margaret Tallichet, as the reporter and his girl, are permitted to act half-way normal, it is true. But in every other respect, including Peter Lorre's brief role as the whack, it is utterly wild. The notion seems to have been that the way to put a psychological melodrama across is to pile on the sound effects and trick up the photography.
. I do agree that the male and female leads were quiet natural in their performances. It felt like they were real people which maybe wasn't the way to go with such a heavy visual film. Peter Lorre was Peter Lorre and that's a good thing to me. I enjoyed this 64 minute noir.for story but for visuals.
Overall rating
Last edited by Citizen Rules; 11-28-23 at 01:53 PM.
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I will try and keep this one on my radar but if I ever see a Noir where the characters feel like real people, I have a feeling it won’t feel like a Noir to me. I think the heightened characters and too quick wit dialogue is why I mostly love the genre.
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I will try and keep this one on my radar but if I ever see a Noir where the characters feel like real people, I have a feeling it won’t feel like a Noir to me. I think the heightened characters and too quick wit dialogue is why I mostly love the genre.
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They Live By Night
I really loved this one. Again, not too complicated a story but the characters and dialogue are just fantastic. I love it when a movie has some very memorable characters that only show up for a scene or two. Live By Night has a handful of those. Adds so much life to a film when you have those kind of side characters. My favorite of the handful in this film is the wedding chapel owner. His particular brand of seedy is very compelling to me.
I want to highlight Howard De Silva in this. He isn't one of the side characters mentioned above, but he is a secondary character and he is absolutely stealing the show every time he is on screen. There's a scene where he is poking at Christmas ornaments that is absolutely priceless. It's the type of thing where whether it was scripted or improvised you believe it and it is an absolute perfect choice to give a simple scene more life than it would have had otherwise.
Shouldn't fail to mention the leads because their romance is what drives the film. It works for me at every turn, and I really like the actors.
Fantastic movie, that will certainly be making my list somewhere.
I really loved this one. Again, not too complicated a story but the characters and dialogue are just fantastic. I love it when a movie has some very memorable characters that only show up for a scene or two. Live By Night has a handful of those. Adds so much life to a film when you have those kind of side characters. My favorite of the handful in this film is the wedding chapel owner. His particular brand of seedy is very compelling to me.
I want to highlight Howard De Silva in this. He isn't one of the side characters mentioned above, but he is a secondary character and he is absolutely stealing the show every time he is on screen. There's a scene where he is poking at Christmas ornaments that is absolutely priceless. It's the type of thing where whether it was scripted or improvised you believe it and it is an absolute perfect choice to give a simple scene more life than it would have had otherwise.
Shouldn't fail to mention the leads because their romance is what drives the film. It works for me at every turn, and I really like the actors.
Fantastic movie, that will certainly be making my list somewhere.
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The River's Edge (1957) Directed by Allan Dwan and starring Ray Milland, Anthony Quinn, and Debra Paget. Watched on Criterion Channel. Pretty good film noir/crime drama with strong performances from the three lead actors. Decent story, some good dialogue. I liked it, but it won't make my ballot. Definitely worth checking out.
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They Live By Night
I really loved this one. Again, not too complicated a story but the characters and dialogue are just fantastic. I love it when a movie has some very memorable characters that only show up for a scene or two. Live By Night has a handful of those. Adds so much life to a film when you have those kind of side characters. My favorite of the handful in this film is the wedding chapel owner. His particular brand of seedy is very compelling to me.
I want to highlight Howard De Silva in this. He isn't one of the side characters mentioned above, but he is a secondary character and he is absolutely stealing the show every time he is on screen. There's a scene where he is poking at Christmas ornaments that is absolutely priceless. It's the type of thing where whether it was scripted or improvised you believe it and it is an absolute perfect choice to give a simple scene more life than it would have had otherwise.
Shouldn't fail to mention the leads because their romance is what drives the film. It works for me at every turn, and I really like the actors.
Fantastic movie, that will certainly be making my list somewhere.
I really loved this one. Again, not too complicated a story but the characters and dialogue are just fantastic. I love it when a movie has some very memorable characters that only show up for a scene or two. Live By Night has a handful of those. Adds so much life to a film when you have those kind of side characters. My favorite of the handful in this film is the wedding chapel owner. His particular brand of seedy is very compelling to me.
I want to highlight Howard De Silva in this. He isn't one of the side characters mentioned above, but he is a secondary character and he is absolutely stealing the show every time he is on screen. There's a scene where he is poking at Christmas ornaments that is absolutely priceless. It's the type of thing where whether it was scripted or improvised you believe it and it is an absolute perfect choice to give a simple scene more life than it would have had otherwise.
Shouldn't fail to mention the leads because their romance is what drives the film. It works for me at every turn, and I really like the actors.
Fantastic movie, that will certainly be making my list somewhere.
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The House on Telegraph Hill (1951). Directed by Robert Wise. Watched on Criterion Channel. I liked Valentina Cortese's performance and I thought the cinematography and score were good too. I found the film only mildly interesting though and it didn't feel noir enough for my liking.
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The Naked City (1948) Watched on Criterion Channel. This was well made and entertaining. It probably won't make my ballot, but I liked it. Recommended.
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Re: Stranger on the Third Floor (1940). From Wikpedia:
Upon its release in 1940, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film pretentious and derivative of French and Russian films, and wrote "John McGuire and Margaret Tallichet, as the reporter and his girl, are permitted to act half-way normal, it is true. But in every other respect, including Peter Lorre's brief role as the whack, it is utterly wild. The notion seems to have been that the way to put a psychological melodrama across is to pile on the sound effects and trick up the photography.
In my view Bosley Crowther was one of the sorriest film reviewers of all time. Film reviewers had not attained the stature or depth that they did from the '70s on, but this guy was a contrary malcontent. I've read scores of his reviews, and his acid tongued commentary rarely ceased to cause me to wonder if we'd seen the same film.
I always wondered what the New York Times saw in this guy in order to employ him as a reviewer and keep him for so many years. Most often he seems to me on the opposite side of the value or excellence in a film.
Upon its release in 1940, Bosley Crowther of The New York Times called the film pretentious and derivative of French and Russian films, and wrote "John McGuire and Margaret Tallichet, as the reporter and his girl, are permitted to act half-way normal, it is true. But in every other respect, including Peter Lorre's brief role as the whack, it is utterly wild. The notion seems to have been that the way to put a psychological melodrama across is to pile on the sound effects and trick up the photography.
In my view Bosley Crowther was one of the sorriest film reviewers of all time. Film reviewers had not attained the stature or depth that they did from the '70s on, but this guy was a contrary malcontent. I've read scores of his reviews, and his acid tongued commentary rarely ceased to cause me to wonder if we'd seen the same film.
I always wondered what the New York Times saw in this guy in order to employ him as a reviewer and keep him for so many years. Most often he seems to me on the opposite side of the value or excellence in a film.
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Night Editor (1946) Watched on YouTube. Good performances by William Gargan and Janis Carter in this nifty and entertaining film noir.
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Night Editor (1946) Watched on YouTube. Good performances by William Gargan and Janis Carter in this nifty and entertaining film noir.
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No Way Out (1950) Directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz. This powerful, well written drama features a great cast including Sidney Poitier, Richard Widmark, Linda Darnell, and Stephen McNally. Performances are excellent, especially Poitier and Widmark. This is an intelligent, compelling film that packs a punch and still feels relevant today. (I'm not sure if I personally would-classify it as film noir though.) Watched on Criterion Channel. Highly recommended.
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The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Performances are good, but I didn't find the story very interesting. It felt longer than it was and I didn't find it as engaging as I would have expected. Some effective moments though.
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The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Performances are good, but I didn't find the story very interesting. It felt longer than it was and I didn't find it as engaging as I would have expected. Some effective moments though.
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Hot Cars (1956)
Pretty excited about this one. Interesting subject, with neat on location filming in Santa Monica Ca. Including scenes at two real car lots and the climax at the Ocean Park Pier amusement center. Loved the real footage of two guys fighting on the roller coaster. It's not rear screen projection either, they actually took a camera on the roller coaster and told the two guys to slug it out, looks dangerous for the actors. The noir generates a lot of pathos for a honest family man who ends up selling hot cars for an organized crime ring to get enough money to save his sick son. Being as this is mid 50s this noir is done in a more straight up realistic manner. Loved the hot cars and the hot chick. Jazz score was light but well used when needed. Good story.
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https://www.m.youtube.com/watch?v=6L07286X0Oo
That's a nice video quality print on YouTube, clocks in at just 1 hour.
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The Bigamist (1953) Watched on blu ray. I enjoyed this. Ida Lupino does a good job directing the film and also starring in it alongside Edmond O'Brien, Joan Fontaine, and Edmund Gwenn. I was invested in the story and the characters. An entertaining, well written film.
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The Bigamist (1953) Watched on blu ray. I enjoyed this. Ida Lupino does a good job directing the film and also starring in it alongside Edmond O'Brien, Joan Fontaine, and Edmund Gwenn. I was invested in the story and the characters. An entertaining, well written film.
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Hot Cars (1956) Someone on this site mentioned this movie a while back (although I can't remember who it was or when 
) and I decided to check it out. A nifty little noir that does a lot in a short time. Solid performances and an interesting story. Worth watching for the roller coaster fight.
) and I decided to check it out. A nifty little noir that does a lot in a short time. Solid performances and an interesting story. Worth watching for the roller coaster fight.
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