The MoFo Top Film Noir Countdown - Preliminary Thread

A fun exchange from Pushover (1954)...

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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

I have Pushover (1954) on my short to watch list so hopefully will be getting to it soon...it sounds cool.

A quick submission and eligibility question...


For foreign language titles do you want the original title or the English language title? I feel like it could mess with the spreadsheet if you get some of each.


Also, I've just been doing some eligibility checking and I can't find the keyword 'noir' on Wikipedia or IMDb for Drunken Angel (1948) but BFI count it as noir and if you Google it it says crime/noir. I'm pretty sure it should count but I'm not a noir expert.


I do think foreign films seem less likely to be tagged noir, especially on Wikipedia. Even Elevator to the Gallows isn't referred to as noir on wiki, even though it's on the noir list.

Good question. I'm not using a spreadsheet but still the correct title will matter when I go to calculate the results. If the film is mainly known by the foreign title go with that, if it's mainly known by the English title in English speaking countries go with that. When in doubt include both.
True, neither are tagged noir so don't automatically qualify but as I say on the 1st post let me know about any titles and I will check it out and talk to Holden Pike too. Which of course you're doing I've seen Drunken Angel and it seemed like a noir to me. I haven't seen Elevator to the Gallows (shameful I know!)...so I will watch it soon and I'll also PM Holden as I know he's seen both probably many times over. I will post back when I have an answer about those two movies.

Can you name all the film noirs in this image? If you know them all please use the spoiler tag. But otherwise just post your guesses. Bonus points if you know the actor/actress. Extra bonus point if you can tell me who appears three times in this image

Elevator to the Gallows does have 'French 'noir' in its IMDb tags, if that helps.

I'm 99% sure it will be in, but I want to watch it myself, which I plan on doing this weekend. I'll post back.

Gloria Grahame appears three times in this image.

25. The Killers
24. The Big Heat
23. The Big Combo
22. The Big Combo
21.
20. Dead Reckoning
19.
18. Criss Cross
17. The Maltese Falcon
16. The Third Man
15.
14.
13. Sweet Smell of Success
12. Sunset Boulevard
11.
10. Out of the Past
9. In A Lonely Place
8. Crossfire
7.
6. Detour
5. Kiss of Death
4. Laura
3. The Night of the Hunter
2.
1.

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So I checked both movies out and also messaged Holden Pike and both are considered noirs so are eligible for the countdown. Good movies too.

I need a noir to watch tonight!...So somebody give me their favorite noir that's going to make their countdown ballot. If I haven't seen it or haven't seen it in ages, I'll watch it tonight. Who knows I might love it enough to put on my ballot.

I’m sure you’ve seen it, but nonetheless… Where the Sidewalk Ends.

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I may go back to hating you. It was more fun.

Thanks, that's a good one! But I watched that only two weeks ago. I recommend people check it out.

Too late for tonight but, same deal for tomorrow night. Hit me up

If you keep noir'n with that thing you're gonna go blind.

I was just looking at the films on my short list trying to decide what I have time to rewatch and what I should prioritize (since I need to do some 2023 catch-up as well), and realized that man, while I love noir, I have a really hard time remembering which films are which, and even had to google half my list!

Where do I turn in my "noir fan" card? lol

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The Wrong Man (1956)

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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.

Yeah, one thing about this genre is it definitely blends together on the mid to not quite top level films. I love it but I noticed this when I revisited a handful this past month.

Ha, I've a helluva time remembering which noir is which. Even when Frightened Inmate suggested Where the Sidewalk Ends, a film I seen only two weeks ago, I couldn't remember what it was about or who was in it...It's a good noir too. I've a hard time getting noir titles mixed up too. As I started typing this I kept thinking that Inmate's suggestion was Street With No Name, or was it Street With No Sidewalks Crazy noir titles I tell ya!

For anyone who records "Jeopardy" and watches them at a later date, spoiler alert. This was the Final Jeopardy answer for Wednesday January 3rd, 2024...

I keep forgetting to ask, how many MoFos have met Eddie Muller in person? His Noir City Film Festivals are well-traveled and he has made a lot of appearances with his books and other endeavors.

I met him first in 2006 at the Seattle International Film Festival. My best friend had a short film screening there and I was living in Portland, OR at the time, so I went up to hang with him for a couple days. Among the new films being screened (this is where I first saw OSS-117: Cairo, Nest of Spies) was Muller with an archival screening of The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950), which we went to. Because my friend had his super-duper pass we got to hang at the hotel suite the festival had for the filmmakers and presenters. This was long before Noir Alley started on TCM, but I was a movie junky and worked in bookstores, so I knew Muller from his Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir and The Art of Noir: The Posters & Graphics From The Classical Era Of Film Noir. I also got the Film Noir Foundation newsletter, back when it was a physical bunch of paper mailed to your house. I did talk to him briefly at SIFF, but didn't get too deep in the Noir weeds with him. He was circulating and I let him be. But he was very nice, as you'd expect.

His Noir City Film Festivals had started by then, originating in Oakland, CA, but I hadn't been to one yet. He expanded to Portland when I was still there so I went to a few before I moved back to Maryland, and I have attended the D.C. version several times. Muller was at most of the screenings I ever saw at Noir Cities.

If you've never been to a Noir City Film Festival, they are a lot of fun. They run annually in Oakland (January), Seattle (February), Hollywood (March), Portland (July), Chicago (August), Washington D.C. (October), and Philadelphia (November). Lots of classics and always some really cool rarities and hard-to-find titles.