Top Noir
My favourite noir films, loosely defined, including old Sherlock, detective, spy stuff...but mostly the B-list. I won't include obvious greats like Maltese Falcon, Big Sleep, or even Out of the Past, which are the best-known (and well-deserved) classics in this genre. Mostly stuff that I wished I'd known about when looking for something fresh to watch along those lines.
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- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsPeter LorreSydney GreenstreetZachary ScottMystery writer Cornelius Leyden becomes intrigued after the murdered body of a vicious career criminal washes up in the Bosphorus.I've been running through anything with Sidney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre, my favourite pair, esp. when Boggie isn't in it (liked him at first but he's grown a bit tiresome for me)
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsPeter LorreSydney GreenstreetGeraldine FitzgeraldThree strangers, each dealing with a serious problem, share a sweepstakes ticket which they wished upon together before a Chinese idol.Real treat this one. My favourite pair strikes again! Best part: available on archive dot org. (public domain)
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsSydney GreenstreetPeter LorreJoan LorringAfter an innocent man is executed in a case for which he was not responsible, a Scotland Yard superintendent finds himself investigating the murder of his key witness.Excellent! SG and PL set in 1830's London! A real thriller. Great story.
- DirectorTim WhelanArthur B. WoodsStarsLaurence OlivierRalph RichardsonValerie HobsonA quirky British Secret Service Agent named Major Hammond tries to discover who is using a secret weapon to steal experimental planes.Remarkable underground classic. Some famous actors in here (whose names elude me at the moment but you'll recognized them...oh yeah, Laurence Olivier! And another big one from that era. Also on Archive. Gripping!
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerStarsBasil RathboneNigel BruceIda LupinoThe master sleuth hunts his archenemy, Professor Moriarty, who is planning the crime of the century.Sure it's not exactly noir but this is a great series and this, IMHO is the best of all of them. I'll include others in this list (and leave out a couple of the worse one such as Voice of Terror, etc.)
- DirectorNorman FosterStarsPeter LorreVirginia FieldThomas BeckOn a freighter going from San Francisco to Shanghai Mr. Moto solves mysteries caused by a gang of smugglers.I recall this whole series being brilliant, admittedly I'm a big Peter Lorre fan.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsBoris KarloffBela LugosiHenry DaniellA ruthless doctor and his young prize student find themselves continually harassed by their murderous supplier of illegal cadavers.Boris Karloff AND Bela Lugosi! All of these (7 or so) Val Lewton films are excellent and this one the best.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeOtto WernickeThomy BourdelleA criminal mastermind uses hypnosis to rule the rackets after death.As recall all these Dr Mabuse films are great but this may be the best.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeAud Egede-NissenGertrude WelckerArch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDawn AddamsPeter van EyckGert FröbeIn 1960s Germany, criminal mastermind Dr. Mabuse uses hypnotized victims and the surveillance equipment of a Nazi-era bugged hotel to steal nuclear technology from a visiting American industrialist.
- DirectorFletcher MarkleStarsJoseph CottenBarbara StanwyckLouis CalhernIn 1848 NYC, a Frenchwoman visits exiled former French Marshal Thevenet to ask for his financial help in behalf of his French grandson but Thevenet's house staff schemes to kill him and take his fortune.Joseph Cotton is, no surprise, great in this...oh I can't say it without a teeny spoiler. So I won't. Great flick.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsZachary ScottLouis HaywardDiana LynnA poor boy who saved a rich girl from drowning is adopted by her family, but he grows into a money-hungry ruthless businessman who would step on others to get to the top of the social ladder.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsMargaret LockwoodRex HarrisonPaul HenreidAfter Germany invades Czechoslovakia, the German and the British intelligence services try to capture Czech scientist Dr. Axel Bomasch (James Harcourt), inventor of a new type of armor-plating.