Film Noir

[2takesfrakes]

... Might you be a fan?

I am not always in the mood for STAR TREK -- gasp! -- but I am always in the mood for Film Noir. I have many favourites, but right at the top of the heap, for me, is Detour (1945) starring Tom Neal and Ann Savage. What are your favourites in this genre?

 

[Gary Mitchell]

One that I saw not long ago was good: Pickup on South Street with Richard Widmark and Jean Peters.

 

[auntiehill]

The Third Man. I don't think I will EVER get tired of this film. Another Orson Welles gem--one I think doesn't get nearly enough love--is The Lady from Shanghai.

For the more traditional, big Hollywood studio productions, you can't beat Double Indemnity and the classic The Maltese Falcon.

 

[Armus]

Out of the Past, starring Robert Mitchum. I also really enjoyed the 80's remake, starring Jeff Bridges, Against All Odds.

 

[Kronos]

I like to put The Naked City on a lot, always draws me in.

 

[Greg Cox]

In a Lonely Place with Bogart. Plus, it's about a writer.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Double Indemnity is fantastic. Fred MacMurray and Edward G Robinson both put is great turns in this film.

 

[2takesfrakes]

The Informer (1935) is an Oscar-winning film which concerns itself with the underside of the Irish War of Independence, set in 1920. Though not Film Noir as above described, I still feel that it fits in very comfortably with the genre and therefore, is quite ahead of its time, in that sense. Very dark in its mood and subject matter. The cinematography is also quite similar in many respects. As someone of Irish heritage I'm quite engaged by this outstanding motion picture.

 

[gblews]

Out of the Past, starring Robert Mitchum. I also really enjoyed the 80's remake, starring Jeff Bridges, Against All Odds.

I was a big fan of Against All Odds. I saw Out of the Past on TCM one afternoon. Ben Mankowitz said that this was the movie upon which "Odds" was based, but it was still weird seeing it lifted from the 80's and plopped down into the 40's, though it's actually the other way around. Same premise, same characters, but still very different.

"A Touch of Evil", the restored version, is also a good one. Supposedly, this movie was the first to mount a camera on a car and film the actors actually driving around. Great performances all around, but especially by Orson Welles and Charlton Heston. This one is a real classic. .

 

[Balok's Decoy]

I took a Film Noir class in my final semester of college because why not? Really fell in love with the genre there.

A few standouts:
Detour
Sunset Boulevard
Gun Crazy
The Big Combo
Out of the Past
Night of the Hunter

And if we can throw in some neo-noir:
Fargo is a classic
Inherent Vice is kind of neo-noir, kind of a parody of noir. One of my all-time favorite movies either way. Excellent novel too.