Which is your favorite(1) FILM NOIR and why?

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by pig whisperer, Sep 2, 2005.

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  1. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Unfortunately, I can't narrow it down to just one, but rather five. Four of my favorites don't seem to have made anybody else's list, but here they are:

    I Wake Up Screaming with Victor Mature, Betty Grable (yes!), Elisha Cook Jr. and the inimitable Laird Cregar;
    Woman On the Run with Ann Sheridan, now that it's available in Blu-ray;
    Crime Wave with a young Charles Buchinsky (Bronson) and Sterling Hayden;
    The Prowler with Van Heflin as the slimiest cop known to mankind;
    The Lineup with Eli Wallach as a heroin smuggler in late-fifties SF (the finale takes place on the unfinished Embarcadero Freeway).

    A big plus is that Eddie Muller does the commentaries on them, but they're all terrific without any commentary.
     
    Last edited: May 21, 2017
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  2. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Hear, hear! And let's try to forget The Two Jakes was ever made!
     
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  3. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I saw this thread and searched to see what I must have said in it sometime in the last 12 years, and I didn't and neither did anyone else, so The Killing.

    [​IMG]
     
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  4. dmiller458

    dmiller458 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Midland, Michigan
    A lot of Blaxploitation films would fall under neo-noir (IMO).

     
  5. Commander Lucius Emery

    Commander Lucius Emery Forum Resident

    "He walked by Night" which also ended giving us the "Dragnet" franchise
     
  6. Sternodox

    Sternodox SubGenius Pope of Arkansas

    My fave is Gun Crazy.

    The single, loooooong take of the bank robbery is a wonder to behold. And it has the best entrance of a femme fatale of any film noir.
     
  7. JMGuerr

    JMGuerr Forum Resident

    Location:
    new mexico
    I love me some 'film noir'. All of them, even the 'quickies' made by the likes of Allied Artists and Monogram.

    One of my all-time favorites is Double Indemnity (1944), directed by Billy Wilder with a script by Wilder and Raymond Chandler.
    Acting, music, cinematography, lighting are near perfect. Great on-screen chemistry between Stanwyck & MacMurray. The closeup shot of Stanwyck's face as MacMurray 'takes care' of her husband in the back seat of the car is chilling.
    A cinematic tour de force.
     
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  8. Django

    Django Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    The one I enjoy rewatching the most is The Maltese Falcon.
    I can't think about film noir without hearing Bogart's voice.
     
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  9. Picca

    Picca Forum Resident

    Location:
    Modena, Italy
    Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid
    because of Rachel Ward.
     
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  10. razerx

    razerx Forum Resident

    Location:
    Sonoma California
    I like classic noir for the photography. The old masters really knew how to use light and shadow. I think much of the art was lost when color cinema became the standard and now digital and CG more so. A Touch of Evil is a prime example of master photography.
     
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  11. Sternodox

    Sternodox SubGenius Pope of Arkansas

    Linda Darnell in Fallen Angel!!!

     
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  12. Double Indemnity is great. Chandler actually lifted some of the key dialogue straight from the James M.Cain book.
     
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  13. PonceDeLeroy

    PonceDeLeroy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland
    Pickup on South Street, with Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Richard Kiley
    (Jean Peters was very underrated, IMO. And I like anything Thelma Ritter is in).

     
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  14. Django

    Django Forum Resident

    Location:
    Dublin, Ireland
    Those film noir dvd collections on Amazon seem to be a bit of a minefield.
    Loads of dodgy prints used.
     
  15. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    Don't forget the music! Miklos Rozsa's score is terrific!
     
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  16. Sternodox

    Sternodox SubGenius Pope of Arkansas

    The Big Clock is a little-mentioned noir that's pretty great. Starring Ray Milland, Maureen O'Sullivan (Jane from the Tarzan movies!!), Charles Laughton (Captain Bligh from Mutiny on the Bounty) and his real-life wife, Elsa Lanchester (Bride of Frankenstein). Innovative flash-back film structure and a wonderful plot paradox. Lanchester is also pretty amazing as a complete dingbat with ulterior motives. Check it out!
     
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  17. Reamonnt

    Reamonnt Mr.T

    Location:
    Ireland
    George Pelecanos - The Outfit

    The above link is to the favourite films of crime writer George Pelecanos of The Wire fame and the writer of great crime books featuring amoungst others P.I Derek Strange and anti-hero Nick Stefanos. Classic stuff and Pelecanos knows his music too. George Pelecanos - Music

    My favourite Noir film is L.A Confidential
     
  18. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    You could be right. It's been many years since I read Cain's book. But at the time I read the book I had seen the movie at least 30 times and knew the story and dialogue by heart. I don't recall any lifting of dialogue, but I'm certainly willing to be proved wrong. I do think Chandler greatly improved the story (especially the ending).

    But if you like either (or both), you should read "The Money and the Woman". It is similar in many ways - more so to the movie in its treatment - and I would be interested in knowing if it was written before or after Double Indemnity was released. If after, I'd say Chandler influenced Cain in the writing of the story. If before, I'd say Chandler had read the story and had it in mind as he wrote the Double Indemnity screenplay.
     
  19. peopleareleaving

    peopleareleaving Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    The Third Man

    Re = the soundtrack, the story, the humour, the acting, the set location, the dialogue, Joseph Cotton, Orson, all of it. Perfection.
     
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  20. GregM

    GregM The expanding man

    Location:
    Bay Area, CA
    Third Man for me, but Maltese Falcon is a genre-defining film for sure. The stuff that dreams are made of.
     
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  21. I was actually surprised when I read the book Double Indemnity for the first time because I had always assumed some of the best dialogue in the movie was Chandler's. It sounds like Chandler. Will try and pick up copy of 'The Money...' as you suggest.
     
  22. fr in sc

    fr in sc Forum Resident

    Location:
    Hanahan, SC
    And the black-clad Harry Morgan is downright creepy!
     
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  23. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    "The Money and the Woman" (aka "the Embezzler") is in a collection called The Baby in the Icebox. I also liked a three-story collection that at least at one time was titled Hard Cain, which included "Sinful Woman", "Jealous Woman" and "The Root of His Evil". I'm not sure how it currently is packaged. One of the stories is an interesting sequel of sorts to Double Indemnity in that the main character is Barton Keyes.
     
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  24. John Moschella

    John Moschella Senior Member

    Location:
    Christiansburg, VA
    If I had to pick just one, it would be between these two. I would have to go with The Maltese Falcon, after all its Bogart and Huston.
     
  25. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I'm probably alone on this one, but I don't think Bogart was the right choice (for me) for either Spade or Marlowe. Bogart does not resemble Hammett's description of Spade. In fact, I always thought Hammett was essentially describing himself. And Chandler's descriptions of Marlowe (and there isn't much) suggests someone taller, with a better build and more classic good looks.

    My votes for Spade and Marlowe, respectively (without the moustaches, of course):

    [​IMG] [​IMG]
     
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