The MoFo Top 100 Film Noir Countdown

I seen The Letter back when I was first getting into movies some 20 years ago. I haven't seen it since, but one of these days I'm going to do a Bette Davis filmography watch...which will take some time as she made alot of movies.

I have seen Dark Passage a couple times. I like it.

I have seen bits and pieces of Blue Dahlia, Desperate Hours and Brute Force.

I haven't seen Ministry of Fear but it looks good.

The Letter is on my list and is a favorite of mine.



6. The Letter
21. Fallen Angel
25. A Woman's Face

I saw The Letter and loved it. The light and shadows were superbly done in that piece. I especially like that shot that @Holden Pike posted of Bette looking at the moon with the window blinds casting shadows on her face and the moon lighting up those already luminous eyes of hers. Fine film, and I thought Gale Sondergaard was awesome as the "dragon lady" of the piece who is a thorn in Bette's side. Sondergaard excelled in that kind of role and I need more of her! Glad to see this made it.

The Desperate Hours is one I saw a long time ago but I remember liking it well enough. Like @GulfportDoc, I'm not a fan of the hostage/kidnappers theme anymore, and really never have been. But I'll probably end up watching this one again as it's been quite a while and I'll take more Bogie anytime I can.

No-go again for today.

#15 He Walked By Night List Proper #88
#22 This Gun For Hire List Proper #78

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"Miss Jean Louise, Mr. Arthur Radley."

I've seen The Desperate Hours. A very tense, dread-filled film where a family is held hostage by a bunch of desperados, including one played by Humphrey Bogart who is especially (and surprisingly) menacing. I remember that there's a kid in it - which always makes the hostage situation worse, because the family the kid belongs to is especially vulnerable. It reminds me somewhat of Suddenly (1954) - although in that film it's presidential assassins instead of regular crooks. I guess there's a small sub-genre there when it comes to home invasions and hostage-taking - of which The Desperate Hours and Suddenly are very early entrants. Anyway, always a pretty big shock to have seen a film revealed in this thread at the moment. If I'd remembered The Desperate Hours as film noir it would have had a chance to make my ballot - I liked it a little more than some of the lower placed films on my list. (I do wonder if Suddenly will make the countdown now.)

Seen : 4/30

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Still only 2 on my ballot

Mystery Street at #6 and Too Late for Tears at #22

powered by @Holden Pike

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I had The Letter on my ballot at #25, I believe the 4th from my list to show.

I must have seen The Desperate Hours but yet I'm not sure. I saw the remake when it came out and didn't like it but it was a long time ago.

0/30

For a moment there, I thought I'd seen the Desperate Hours and broken the curse. Then I realized I was thinking of The Petrified Forest, another Bogey movie with a similar setup.


0/30

Thief and Sedai are still in the running with 2 seen each.


'Hey Frederick' was at 2 a while back, but hasn't posted in a while. No idea how they're doing.


It's still anyone's game. 😄

I wonder if this is going to be the list that has the lowest "I've seen that movie" stats. Not that my history with these lists go back that far.

And I'm pretty sure I'm currently at 3.

I've seen at least nine of them.

I didn't even recognize Confidential Report at first, because I only think of it as Mr Arkadin (which is what I voted for it as). So it's possible there are other ones whose titles I simply don't recognize

As for the greatness of Mr Arkadin, it's incompleteness is very much a part of its allure. To complain it isn't as up to snuff as Welles other films is similar to people who are upset about the White Album not being whittled down to one perfect record of all its best songs. But sometimes perfection is exactly what should be pushed against. Sometimes, seeing a great artists creative process preserved up on screen, warts and all, has as much, if not more value, than seeing their most immaculate creation.

#70 Drunken Angel (1948)

Director: Akira Kurosawa
Production: Toho Company
Cast: Takashi Shimura, Toshirô Mifune, Reizaburô Yamamoto
48 Points, 4 Lists

#69 Phantom Lady (1944)

Director: Robert Siodmak
Production: Universal Pictures
Cast: Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis
50 Points, 5 Lists

Seen both Drunken Angel and Phantom Lady, but neither made my ballot. Both are 7/10 films for me.

Seen: 31/32

I didn’t like Drunken Angel at the time but the more Kurosawa I watched the more he grew on me so I will rewatch it someday.

I had high hopes for Phantom Lady, but it was just okay for me.

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I very nearly watched Drunken Angel last night!

0/32

2/32

Two more I have never heard of!

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Two more I haven't seen, but being a Kurosawa film, Drunken Angel has been on my radar.

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