The original Nightmare Alley, coming from the golden era of film noir, is just that. The setting of a seedy traveling carnival is a perfect location for a story about con artists and supposed mentalists. Guillermo del Toro's 2021 version is more neo noir, filmed in color so lavish that the events in the remake are dream-like. So which version is better? I think they are about equal. The 1947 version is more streamlined, compared to the much longer 2021 version, which delves deeper into the background of its protagonist (or antagonist) Stan Carlisle. Tyrone Power and Bradley Cooper share traits of being rugged "all American" males, good looking enough to make their con games successful.
The order to watch the two films probably doesn't matter, but I liked seeing the remake first and then watch the same characters portrayed by big names of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. The remake included a character played by Willem Dafoe, who is missing in this movie. The remake also draws out the final con involving the ghost (I won't say anything else). This movie is pure noir and since I always find movies set in traveling carnivals fascinating, this easily merits 8 stars from me.
The order to watch the two films probably doesn't matter, but I liked seeing the remake first and then watch the same characters portrayed by big names of the '30s, '40s, and '50s. The remake included a character played by Willem Dafoe, who is missing in this movie. The remake also draws out the final con involving the ghost (I won't say anything else). This movie is pure noir and since I always find movies set in traveling carnivals fascinating, this easily merits 8 stars from me.