Noirvember 2023 - Rate the last noir you watched

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-02-23

Noirvember just a general hangout dive where we can chew the fat and gab about the last noirs we watched, regardless of the month

For the last two years we've had these fun Noir-vember threads to hang out and talk about noirs, no commitments, all very chilled AND it doesn't have to be November to watch noirs!...If you watched some noirs tell us about them! This is a good way to bring attention to some of those lesser known noirs. So if you got 'em, rate 'em...

Noir Ratings by the MOFOS

Panic in the Streets(1950)
Sean
The Fallen Sparrow(1943)
Doc
Conflict(1945)
Citizen
Knock on Any Door(1949)
Citizen

Knock on Any Door(1949)
Sean

Border Incident(1949)
Sean
Border Incident(1949)
Citizen
The Woman in the Window(1944)
Raul
Dark Passage(1944)
Citizen
Dark Passage(1947)
Sean
Stranger on the Third Floor(1945)
Culliford
Stranger on the Third Floor(1945)
Citizen
Side Street (1949)
Sean
They Live by Night(1948)
Sean
They Live by Night(1948)
Citizen
The River's Edge(1957)
Allaby
The House on Telegraph Hill(1951)
Allaby
The Naked City(1948)
Allaby
The Naked City(1948)
John-Connor
Night Editor(1946)
Allaby
Night Editor(1946)
Citizen
No Way Out(1950)
Allaby
The Asphalt Jungle(1950)
Allaby
Hot Cars(1956)
Citizen
Hot Cars(1956)
Allaby
The Bigamst(1953)
Allaby
The Bigamist(1953)
Citizen
The Dark Mirror(1946]
Allaby
Appointment With a Shadow(1947)
Allaby
I Want To Live(1958)
Allaby
Death of a Cyclist(1955)
Allaby
Sudden Fear(1952)
Allaby
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry(1945)
Allaby
The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry(1945)
Citizen
Nightmare Alley(1947)
John-Connor
The Narrow Margin(1952)
John-Connor
The Narrow Margin(1952)
Citizen
Stray Dog(1949)
John-Connor
Where the Sidewalk Ends(1950)
John-Connor
Where the Sidewalk Ends(1950)
Citizen
Scarlet Street(1945)
Thursday Next
Pushover(1945)
Allaby
Whirlpool(1950)
Allaby
Whirlpool(1950)
Citizen
My Name is Julia Ross(1945)
Citizen
My Name is Julia Ross(1945)
Sean
Detour(1945)
Thursday Next
Detour(1945)
John-Connor
Cast A Dark Shadow(1945)
Thursday Next
Elevator To The Gallows(1958)
Thursday Next
Escape In The Fog(1945)
Citizen
The Stranger(1946)
Skizzerflake
Dead Reckoning(1947)
Citizen
Dillinger(1945)
Citizen
Lured(1947)
Allaby
Lured(1947)
Sean
Crime Wave(1953)
John-Connor
Deadline U.S.A.(1952)
Allaby
Deadline U.S.A.(1952)
Citizen
No Way Out(1950)
Sean
Drunken Angel(1948) Thursday Next
The Harder They Fall(1956)
Allaby
The Harder They Fall(1956)
Citizen
Storm Warning(1950)
Allaby
The Enforcer(1951)
John-Connor
The Enforcer(1951)
Citizen
Madeleine(1950)
Sean
The Third Man(1949)
Galactic Traveler
The Two Mrs Carrols(1947)
Citizen
The Two Mrs Carrols(1947)
Allaby
The Burglar(1957)
Sean
Gilda(1946)
John-Connor
Madeleine(1950)
John-Connor
Key Witness(1947)
Allaby
The Suspect(1944) Sean
The Big Shot(1942)
Allaby
Kiss of Death(1947)
John-Connor
Kiss of Death(1947)
Citizen
House of Strangers(1949)
Allaby
Criss Cross(1949)
John-Connor
Moonrise(1948)
Citizen
Moonrise(1948)
Sean
Moontide(1942)
Citizen
The Big Heat(1953)
Mesmerized
On Dangerous Ground(1951)
Sean
On Dangerous Ground(1951)
Citizen
Sirocco(1951)
Citizen
Roadblock(1951)
Allaby
Repeat Performance(1947)
Allaby
I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes(1948)
Allaby
Lady in the Lake(1947)
Sean
Lady in the Lake(1947)
Citizen
Phantom Lady(1944)
Sean
Odds Against Tomorrow(1959)
John-Connor
Violent Saturday(1955)
John-Connor
Scandal Sheet(1952)
Allaby
The File on Thelma Jordon(1950)
Citizen
The Big Sleep(1946)
Galactic Travler
The Big Sleep(1946)
Citizen
House of Bamboo(1955)
Citizen
Quicksand(1950)
Sean
Kid Monk Baroni(1952)
James D Gardiner
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers(1946)
Citizen
Bewitched(1945)
Citizen
Lady From Shanghai(1947)no rating Thursday Next
Tokyo Joe(1949)
Citizen
Dangerous Crossing(1953)
Citizen
The Big Clock(1948)
John-Connor
The Big Clock(1946)
Sean
The Big Clock(1948)
Citizen
Illegal(1955)
John-Connor
UNDERWORLD U.S.A.(1961)
John-Connor
The Big Combo(1955)
John-Connor
Brute Force(1947)
Citizen
Brute Force(1947)
John-Connor
The Naked City(1948)
Thunderbolt
Main Street After Dark(1945)
Citizen
The Blue Dahlia(1946)no rating Sean
The Blue Dahlia(1946)
Citizen
Man in the Dark(1953)
Citizen
The Whistler(1944)
Thief
D.O.A.(1950)
Citizen
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Sean
Human Desire
Sean
Act of Violence
Thief
Thieves' Highway
Thief
The Asphalt Jungle(1950)
Thief
Christmas Holiday(1944)
Citizen
Night and the City(1950)
Citizen
Pushover(1945)
Citizen
Repeat Performace(1947)
Citizen
The Desperate Hours(1955)
Citizen
The Desperate hours(1955)
Sean
The Mob(1951)
John-Connor
Body and Soul(1947)
John-Connor
Gun Crazy(1950)
John-Connor
I Walk Alone(1947)
John-Connor
Angel Face(1953)
Sean
Abandoned(1949)
Citizen
Odds Against Tomorrow(1959)
Allaby
The Long Haul(1957)
Citizen
White Heat(1949)
Citizen
Pickup(1951)
Citizen
The Big Knife(1955)
Citizen
Suspicion(1941)C/C+ stillmellow
Shadow of a Doubt(1943) A/A+ stillmellow
The Sound of Fury(1950)
Allaby
The Man I Love(1947)
Citizen
The Hard Way(1943)
Citizen
Ladies in Retirement(1941)
Citizen
Lady on a Train(1945)
Citizen
He Walked By Night(1948
Sean
In a Lonely Place(1950)
Citizen
The Set-Up(1949)
Citizen
Suddenly(1954)
Citizen
Force of Evil(1948)
Citizen
The Killers(1946)
Citizen
Ministry of Fear(1944)
Sean
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands(1948)Sean no rating
Undercurrent(1946)
Sean
The Killing(1956)
Citizen
Killer's Kiss(1955)
James D Gardiner
Pickup on South Street(1953)
Citizen
Laura(1944)
Citizen
The Blue Lamp(1950)
FilmBuff
Nightmare Alley(1947)
Citizen
High Sierra(1940)
Sean
I Died a Thousand Times(1955)
Sean
Born to Bad(1950)
Sean
Street of Chance(1942)
GulfportDoc
This Gun For Hire(1942)
Citizen
When Strangers Marry(1944)
Sean
Lighting Strikes Twice(1951)
Allaby
Murder By Contract(1958)
GulfportDoc
The Glass Key(1942)
Citizen
Crossfire(1947)
Sean
Saigon(1947)
Citizen
Private Hell 36(1954)
Citizen
I Walk Alone(1947)
Citizen
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers(1946)
Dadgumblah
The Hitch-Hiker(1953)
Dadgumblah
Ministry Of Fear(1944)
Citizen
The Racket(1951)
Dadgumblah
The Set-Up(1949)
Dadgumblah
The Racket(1949)
Citizen
Call Northside 777(1948)
Dadgumblah
Night and the City(1950)
Dadgumblah
Moonrise(1948)
stillmellow
Road House(1948)
Dadgumblah
The Underworld Story(1950)
Citizen
Between Midnight and Dawn(1950)
Dadgumblah
The Underworld Story(1950)
Dadgumblah
Sweet Smell of Success(1957)
Dadgumblah
Between Midnight and Dawn(1950)
Citizen
Champion(1949)
Dadgumblah
Ace in the Hole(1951)
Dadgumblah
Side Street(1949)
Dadgumblah
Raw Deal (1948)
Dadgumblah
No Man of Her Own(1950)
Citizen
Niagara(1953)
Dadgumblah
Undertow(1949)
Dadgumblah
City That Never Sleeps(1953) GulfportDoc
Witness to Murder(1954)
GulfportDoc

Last edited by Citizen Rules; 07-23-24 at 01:17 PM.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-02-23

Originally Posted by seanc

...I started watching a couple weeks ago since we basically knew Noir was going to win. I have watched 8 new to me Noir so far. Gun Crazy, The Woman In The Window, The Glass Key, Fallen Angel, Brute Force, Panic In The Streets, T-Men, and D.O.A.

I loved the first two. The only one I didn't really care for was D.O.A., but it still wasn't a hard watch. That one doesn't have a very good transfer either, which definitely hurts my enjoyment these days. I can't believe there was a time when DVD quality worked for me.

Sweet choices! I've seen them all except Brute Force which I do have ready to watch. I love Gun Crazy and was planning on rewatching that last Noirvember but ran out of time. The Woman In The Window I didn't care for it the first time I watched it as I was expecting something else and the ending didn't work for me...but after two more watches I've learned to love that film especially the film's atmosphere and Eddie G. of course. The Glass Key has been too long for me to even remember it other than it has the lovely but troubled Veronica Lake. I like Lake and hope to watch all of her noirs in the next four months.

Fallen Angel I watched that for last Noirvember, link to my mini review of Fallen Angel. Panic in the Streets was a good one for me, I thought about that film during the pandemic. I didn't care for T-Men when I seen it last. It's funny you didn't like D.O.A. that was one of the first noirs I seen some 20 years ago. I've never seen it since but I still remember two scenes from it. I hear ya about the video transfer influencing how one feels about a movie. D.O.A. is one I want to watch again.

seanc

It�s A Classic Rope-A-Dope

11-02-23

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Woman In The Window felt so Hitch to me. Of course, you are correct, Robinson helps that immensely. He is the man.

In regards to your comments on Glass Key. Not remembering Noir plots is a given for me pretty quickly after watching. Some of them are very twisty, Glass Key fits that bill. I probably won't remember it next week, but I really enjoyed it. Lake was awesome, although under used. That was my first Veronica Lake movie. My only exposure to hear thus far had been how much she is mentioned in LA Confidential, which should come up plenty in an opposing thread.

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#JusticeForHamilton

seanc

It�s A Classic Rope-A-Dope

11-02-23

Panic In The Streets

I didn't love this, but certainly enjoyed it. Widmark was probably the highlight for me. I liked his interaction with the lead detective a lot, but his scenes at home were the highlight for me. I wish there was more of that.

Definitely made me think of COVID as Citizen mentioned. Not a one to one correlation obviously, but it would have been interesting to watch this in the middle of isolation.

Also, any Noir with a character named Blackey gets bonus points.

Decent flick. It will be interesting to see if it gets any love on the list being from a big director. More than likely won't make mine.

GulfportDoc

Registered User

11-02-23

The Fallen Sparrow (1943)

This enjoyable 1943 picture has been mis-labeled as a �spy� film, but in fact it�s certainly RKO�s first �A� film in the then nascent film noir movement-- released a full 16 months before the studio�s superb faithful rendition of Raymond Chandler�s Farewell, My Lovely, renamed Murder My, Sweet for its cinematic treatment.

The Fallen Sparrow stars John Garfield as a soldier (�Kit� McKittrick) who had fought in sympathy with the leftists in the Spanish Civil War, and who had been held prisoner and tortured by Franco�s Nationalists before escaping and returning to the U.S., where he learned of his best friend�s �accidental� death after helping to arrange Kit�s escape. Disbelieving that his friend�s death was an accident, and sleuthing out the real reason for his friend�s demise, and just who were the guilty parties, serves as the basis for the film.

Along the way we meet the drop dead gorgeous Maureen O�Hara who stars in the only femme fatale role of her career, Toni Donne. Kit and Toni meet on his trip home, and quickly become attracted to each other. Kit has suffered hallucinations from his torture as a prisoner, and he often thinks he hears the foot dragging behind the limp of his former torturer (Walter Slezak), which unnerves Kit and causes him to relive his treatment as a captive.

During Kit�s seeking of the truth there are plenty of twists and turns, leading to a true noir ending.

The composer Roy Webb (Murder, My Sweet; Notorious) received one of his many Oscar nominations for his thrilling score. And the splendid chiaroscuro cinematography of the great Nicholas Musaraca (Out of the Past; The Blue Gardenia) sets the mood and tone of the film, which never lets up. Although not known for noir, director Richard Wallace�s long experience adds just the right guidance.

If ever an actress was made for technicolor it was Maureen O�Hara. But even though this picture is in black and white, she still shimmers in her loveliness. Another beauty in the film was Patricia Morison, who was later to be passed over as Alan Ladd�s steady co-star by Veronica Lake. Walter Slezak was at his sadistic despicable best as Dr. Christian Skaas. But it is Garfield who dominates the movie. His intensity puts me in mind of James Cagney�s many histrionic roles.

Take a look at this earliest �A� noir from the studio who made more than any other: RKO. It�s a bit of a mish-mash, but the pluses far outweigh any detraction. Available on the Internet Archive.

Doc�s rating: 7/10

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-02-23

Originally Posted by seanc

..In regards to your comments on Glass Key. Not remembering Noir plots is a given for me pretty quickly after watching. Some of them are very twisty, Glass Key fits that bill. I probably won't remember it next week, but I really enjoyed it. Lake was awesome, although under used. That was my first Veronica Lake movie. My only exposure to hear thus far had been how much she is mentioned in LA Confidential, which should come up plenty in an opposing thread.

You and me both, I can remember the films I seen just a few days ago

Veronica Lake was a very interesting actress with a sad life. She was considered a huge pain to work with and just about the only actor who would do another movie with her was Alan Ladd and that was because he was short and Lake was tiny, I think she was around 4' 11'. I've seen her in a number of movies, mostly her more famous ones. I think Camo liked her....As far as noirs go she was in This Gun For Hire, The Glass Key, The Blue Dahlia and Saigon. I've not seen Saigon...yet!

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-02-23

Originally Posted by GulfportDoc

The Fallen Sparrow (1943)
If ever an actress was made for technicolor it was Maureen O�Hara.

Take a look at this earliest �A� noir from the studio who made more than any other: RKO. It�s a bit of a mish-mash, but the pluses far outweigh any detraction. Available on the Internet Archive.

Doc�s rating: 7/10

Thanks for posting that Doc. I've not seen it BUT I'm a big fan of Maureen O'Hara and actually have the movie, just haven't go around to watching it yet. And yes Maureen O'Hara was a beauty and alot of her beauty came from within, as she had this inner classy calm to her. Had to describe but if anyone is a fan of hers they know what I mean!

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-02-23

I watched two noirs on Nov 1st. Neither were all that great but still worth a watch. I'd never seen them before which was a plus.

Conflict (1945)

I've been working my way through all of Bogart's filmography so I thought I'd start my noir watching with Bogie's noirs. Bogart is in love with his wife's younger and prettier sister (Alexis Smith). His wife disappears on a dangerous mountain road...did Bogie do it to get rid of her? Or is he losing his mind as she appears to be still alive? This was decent as a mystery and I guess it falls into the noir range but really doesn't feel much like a noir. Good to see Sydney Greenstreet and stock Warner Bros player Alexis Smith.

Knock On Any Door (Nicholas Ray 1949)

I probably excepted too much from Mr Grahame

but to be far I'd say the director did a good job here. This movie is rated lower at IMDB than Conflict but I liked it better. Here Bogart is a lawyer trying to help a kid accused of murder. Bogart once botched a case that wrongly sent the kid's father to prison where he died. Now Bogart with his wife's urging tries to save the kid from the electric chair. The kid (actually a young adult) is played by John Derek, Bo Derek's dad. This was his first movie. I thought he did OK, I read the director thought he was wrong for the role. The film is told in flash backs quite a bit and the last third is a decent courtroom scene with Bogart battling it out with a scar faced prosecuting attorney. Good not great.

Last edited by Citizen Rules; 11-03-23 at 01:37 PM.

seanc

It�s A Classic Rope-A-Dope

11-03-23

Border Incident

Rauldc and I often share with each other what you are watching so we can talk flicks. When I told him I was watching this, his response was �interesting choice�. Interesting choice indeed, because there is probably a reason you don�t hear about this one. It�s just not very good.

When the movie started, and I already knew it was a follow up to T-men, I kind of rolled my eyes. I really wasn�t in the mood for the propaganda like voice over that T-men had. That goes away for most of the movie, but I kind of found myself wanting it ironically enough. At least in T-men that was well written and kind of pulled the story along. Without it, Border Incident was pretty dull. Whether that�s because the story is dated or it just isn�t interesting enough, it�s hard to tell with older movies sometimes.

Anyway, really not much good to report. Accept it might be worth watching for the Looney Tunes like quick sand alone.

rauldc14

2022 Mofo Fantasy Football Champ

11-03-23

The Woman in the Window

A fun entertaining movie with an interesting ending. The acting is great, headlined by a fantastic Robinson performance.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-03-23

Dark Passage (1947)

This one was definitely a step-up from the last two Bogart noirs I watched (Conflict, Knock on Any Door). When I seen that the director also had wrote the screenplay I knew it would be a more focused story as often what a writer envisions and the director shoots are two different things. But here the director was shooting what he wrote and it paid off. The story is well fleshed out with added nuances and interesting side characters, all which brought the story alive. Oh and this was based on a novel too which helps as did the bigger film budget with the on-location shooting in San Francisco.

What makes this film very different is that for the first third of the film we never see Bogart, instead it's shot in a first person viewpoint from Bogart's perspective. That first person POV was done previously in 1947's Lady in the Lake but there it only kinda worked. In Dark Passage the first person perspective is achieved with a German ARRIFLEX 35 hand held camera, the first time that camera was used in a U.S. film. As a result the first person POV is seamless and very believable. I bought it as actually happening, it never seemed like a camera 'trick'.

I didn't intend to write this much, so I'll just say Laureen Bacall is very effective here with real screen chemistry with her hubby Boggie. The standout performance has to go to one of Orson Welle's hand picked Mercury Theater performers...Agnes Moorehead. Moorehead has some juicy scenes and plays them with enough spit and polish to make the most of her onscreen time.

seanc

It�s A Classic Rope-A-Dope

11-03-23

I got Dark Passage ready to go, so hopefully in the next few days. Your review has me even more excited for it.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-03-23

Originally Posted by seanc

I got Dark Passage ready to go, so hopefully in the next few days. Your review has me even more excited for it.

The taxi cab driver scene had dialogue and 'feeling' that I really liked. It was like finally a movie gave a side character some depth, so often those type of characters are one dimensional.

culliford

It's okay with me.

11-03-23

Stranger on the Third Floor

(Boris Ingster, 1940)

Apparently often mentioned as the first film noir but I have no clue if that's true or not. We follow a journalist who by chance becomes a witness to murder, and his subsequent uncertainty and paranoia. It's very engaging throughout its one hour run time, and I can recommend it to everyone. The highlights are the mentioned story, the directing, and Peter Lorre's performance is ace. Possibly best of all is the photography that makes you feel every shadow, and makes the film feel almost horror-lite at some short moments. The only weak spot is a rather dull and predictable dream sequence that went on for too long and causes the tempo to be dropped. After that it gets back on track, and finishes strongly. If I may nitpick, the dialogues could maybe have been better written. Overall a very memorable film that will get stuck in my head for sure.

GulfportDoc

Registered User

11-03-23

Originally Posted by Citizen Rules

Dark Passage (1947)

I agree that the first person viewpoint is much superior to Lady in the Lake. I didn't know about using the newly invented hand held camera. But beyond that, Bacall's acting or part seemed more natural in responding to the first person view, more so than Audrey Totter's did in "Lake".

But I'm a huge Audrey Totter film; and in a way she puts me in mind of some of Agnes Moorehead's roles, this being one of them. Totter was good in so many noirs, but Moorehead really shines here.

And the book which "Passage" was based upon was by David Goodis who also wrote Nightfall-- written in the same year as the film "Passage" was released. It was turned into a movie in 1957 of the same name. He also wrote Shoot the Piano Player, which Truffaut based the movie on, and is one of my favorites.

GulfportDoc

Registered User

11-03-23

Originally Posted by culliford

Stranger on the Third Floor

(Boris Ingster, 1940)
Apparently often mentioned as the first film noir but I have no clue if that's true or not. We follow a journalist who by chance becomes a witness to murder, and his subsequent uncertainty and paranoia. It's very engaging throughout its one hour run time, and I can recommend it to everyone. The highlights are the mentioned story, the directing, and Peter Lorre's performance is ace. Possibly best of all is the photography that makes you feel every shadow, and makes the film feel almost horror-lite at some short moments. The only weak spot is a rather dull and predictable dream sequence that went on for too long and causes the tempo to be dropped. After that it gets back on track, and finishes strongly. If I may nitpick, the dialogues could maybe have been better written. Overall a very memorable film that will get stuck in my head for sure.

"Stranger" is a great film, but I personally don't consider it a true noir --despite its having many expressionist elements-- in the sense of being the first noir that really set off the classic noir movement. That film could certainly be The Maltese Falcon (1941).

Certainly there were many noirish films going all the way back to the silents. But arguably the noir movement really got set off in 1941.

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-03-23

Originally Posted by GulfportDoc

I like Audrey Totter too and you're right she does have the Agnes Moorehead feel about her in Lady in the Lake. I love the way Audrey gives 'the evil eye' right into the camera, it's priceless. Lady in the Lake might not be as good as Dark Passage but it might be a funner watch.

Is that a Christmas Tree? I just might consider this a Christmas noir and watch it in December

Citizen Rules

Trouble with a capital "T"

11-03-23

Originally Posted by culliford

Stranger on the Third Floor

Sold! I'm watching it tonight. Tonight my wife got to pick a movie, not a noir

but a favorite of mine

...After that I needed a hour long noir to watch and I just seen Stranger on the Third Floor clocks in at a scant 64 minutes. Your post was perfect timing.

culliford

It's okay with me.

11-03-23

Originally Posted by GulfportDoc

Interesting. I can definately see that Stranger on the Third floor lacks many of the common marks, such as no femme fatale, and pretty much every character in the film is "good" (even the villains are depicted as good but with mental health issues or other flaws). Overall I might describe it as an artful psychological thriller, perhaps.

culliford