Great Crime Dramas and Film-Noirs from the 30s, 40s and 50s.

[Bick]

I've been watching quite a few old movies lately from the 30's through the 50's (predominantly b&w pictures), with a view to enjoying the stars of the time, and schooling myself a little bit in some of the classics. I'd not watched most of these before, but all were enjoyable and many were great. Do you like old crime thrillers and film-noir pictures from the golden age of film? What favourite's of yours am I yet to see? (I know Casablanca would be a pretty good fit, before you suggest that, but I've seen it several times already).

I've seen the following in the last 2-3 months:

The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) - Lana Turner, John Garfield
Dial M for Murder (1954) - Ray Milland, Grace Kelly
To Have and Have Not (1944) - Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Walter Brennan
The Big Sleep (1946) - Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall
Gaslight (1944) - Charles Boyer, Ingrid Bergman, Joseph Cotten, Angela Lansbury
The Maltese Falcon (1941) - Humphrey Bogart, Mary Aster, Sydney Greenstreet
The Lady Vanishes (1938) - Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Dame May Whitty
Laura (1944) - Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews
Out of the Past (1947) - Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
Dark Passage (1947) - Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall
In a Lonely Place (1950) - Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame
Gilda (1946) - Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford
Crossfire (1947) - Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) - Lana Turner, Kirk Douglas, Walter Pidgeon, Gloria Grahame
Shadow of a Doubt (1943) - Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten
Night of the Hunter (1955) - Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish
Double Indemnity (1944) - Fred McMurray, Barbara Stanwyck
Notorious (1946) - Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman
Touch of Evil (1958) - Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948) - Barabara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster, Ann Richards
The Lady from Shanghai (1947) - Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles

I've especially enjoyed seeing the work of golden age actresses I was less familiar with, but who were big picture icons of the time, such as Lana Turner, Gloria Grahame, Gene Tierney and Jane Greer.

 

[BAYLOR]

The Thin Man 1934. William Powell. Myrna Loy
The 39 Steps 1935 Robert Donat , Madeline Carrol, Steven Elder
The Gay Falcon 1941 George Sanders
Mildred Pierce 1945. Jane Crawford, Jack Carson Zachery Scott
Night Has A Thousand Eyes 1948
D.O.A 1949 Edmund O'Brien , Pamel Britton, Neville Brand
Kiss Me Deadly 1955. Ralph Meeker , Albert Dekker , Paul Stewart , Cloriss Leachman

 

[Bick]

Great suggestions, Baylor, thanks. I think I had Mildred Pierce on my 'to-see list' as I'd like to see some Joan Crawford pictures. Night Has A Thousand Eyes is a supernatural drama, maybe? Stars Edward G. Robinson and Gail Russell I see.

I'd like to see The Big Heat (1953) starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame and a young Lee Marvin too, but I cannot find a source to stream it. Most of these can be streamed on rental from Disney+

 

[Bick]

Incidentally, aren't some of the old movie posters from the golden age superb; here are a few more:

 

[BAYLOR]

You might also want checkout the film Meet Boston Blackie 1941 Staring Chester Morris The films main character is an ex-criminal who is now a detective. It's the first in long running of series of films . B Movie stuff but entertaining.

 

[BAYLOR]

On more thing The Falcon detective series too is is series films. A writer by the name of Drexel Drake (Micheal Waring ) created this character wrote three novels . Ive never read him .

 

[Robert Zwilling]

I've seen these a couple of times. A variety of styles.

Lady In The Lake was filmed from the physical point of view of Montgomery. You didn't see his face, you saw what he was looking at. Needless to say, that style didn't become popular. It also has an interesting sound track. Might need a few viewings to see how it works.

His Kind of Woman, 1951, Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Price, Raymond Burr
The Big Steal, 1949, Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix,
The Blue Dahlia, 1946, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont
Murder My Sweet, 1944, Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Otto Kruger
Lady in the Lake, 1947, Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Jayne Meadows
Plunder of the Sun, 1953, Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan
The Dark Corner, 1946, Mark Stevens, Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix
North by Northwest, 1959 Gary Grant, Eve Marie Saint, James Mason
The Third Man, 1949, Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton
While the City Sleeps, 1956, Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff
The Naked City, 1948, Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Don Taylor
Nightmare, 1956, Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, Connie Russell
Murder by Contract, 1958, Vince Edwards, Phillip Pine, Herschel Bernardi, Caprice Toriel
He Walked by Night, 1948, Richard Basehart, Scott Brady
Cornered, 1945, Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, Micheline Cheirel

 

[paranoid marvin]

Some great choices already. I love b&w movies from this era. I've said it before, but film noir especially is much improved by being not in colour.

A few of the classics below:

Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Western mixed with film noir. Humphrey Bogart 1948

The Third Man - Superb use of camera and sound in this film noir. Orson Welles 1949

Angels With Dirty Faces - Gangster movie with a twist. James Cagney best performance. 1938

Paths of Glory - powerful anti-war movie/courtroom drama. Perhaps Kubricks greatest movie. Kirk Douglas 1957

 

[Bick]

I've seen these a couple of times. A variety of styles.

Lady In The Lake was filmed from the physical point of view of Montgomery. You didn't see his face, you saw what he was looking at. Needless to say, that style didn't become popular. It also has an interesting sound track. Might need a few viewings to see how it works.

His Kind of Woman, 1951, Robert Mitchum, Jane Russell, Price, Raymond Burr
The Big Steal, 1949, Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, William Bendix,
The Blue Dahlia, 1946, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Hugh Beaumont
Murder My Sweet, 1944, Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley, Otto Kruger
Lady in the Lake, 1947, Robert Montgomery, Audrey Totter, Lloyd Nolan, Jayne Meadows
Plunder of the Sun, 1953, Glenn Ford, Diana Lynn, Patricia Medina, Francis L. Sullivan
The Dark Corner, 1946, Mark Stevens, Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix
North by Northwest, 1959 Gary Grant, Eve Marie Saint, James Mason
The Third Man, 1949, Orson Welles, Joseph Cotton
While the City Sleeps, 1956, Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders, Howard Duff
The Naked City, 1948, Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart, Don Taylor
Nightmare, 1956, Edward G. Robinson, Kevin McCarthy, Connie Russell
Murder by Contract, 1958, Vince Edwards, Phillip Pine, Herschel Bernardi, Caprice Toriel
He Walked by Night, 1948, Richard Basehart, Scott Brady
Cornered, 1945, Dick Powell, Walter Slezak, Micheline Cheirel

Super list, thanks Robert. Those Mitchum’s at the top of your list look esp. appealing. The Big Steal sees him starring alongside Jane Greer again, I see. I guess they were looking to repeat the success of Out of the Past.

 

[Bick]

Some great choices already. I love b&w movies from this era. I've said it before, but film noir especially is much improved by being not in colour.

A few of the classics below:

Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Western mixed with film noir. Humphrey Bogart 1948

The Third Man - Superb use of camera and sound in this film noir. Orson Welles 1949

Angels With Dirty Faces - Gangster movie with a twist. James Cagney best performance. 1938

Paths of Glory - powerful anti-war movie/courtroom drama. Perhaps Kubricks greatest movie. Kirk Douglas 1957

Thanks - and yes, I need to see some Cagney too. That looks a good one.

 

[BAYLOR]

Thanks - and yes, I need to see some Cagney too. That looks a good one.

White Heat 1949 with James Cagney , Virginia Mayo and Edmund O'Brien

 

[Bick]

White Heat 1949 with James Cagney , Virginia Mayo and Edmund O'Brien

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

 

[BAYLOR]

Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

And he went out with a bang.

I love that film .

 

[Vladd67]

On more thing The Falcon detective series too is is series films. A writer by the name of Drexel Drake (Micheal Waring ) created this character wrote three novels . Ive never read him .

I don't think Leslie Charteris was too impressed with the Falcon, in one of the Saint books I remember Templar asking a woman if she wanted to watch a Falcon movie, she replied along the lines of why would he want to watch a film about a cheap copy of him. I think The Falcon was also a radio series. The change of actors playing the Falcon was a little cold blooded Gay Lawrence is shot and killed and his brother Tom just steps into his shoes. The 1942 Falcon film The Falcon Takes Over is actually a reworking of Farewell my Lovely with the Falcon instead of Marlowe. An interesting Marlowe film is the 1947 film Lady in the Lake staring and directed by Robert Montgomery. It is unique in being filmed from Marlowe's point of view so the only time he appears to the audience is in reflection.

 

[BAYLOR]

I don't think Leslie Charteris was too impressed with the Falcon, in one of the Saint books I remember Templar asking a woman if she wanted to watch a Falcon movie, she replied along the lines of why would he want to watch a film about a cheap copy of him. I think The Falcon was also a radio series. The change of actors playing the Falcon was a little cold blooded Gay Lawrence is shot and killed and his brother Tom just steps into his shoes. The 1942 Falcon film The Falcon Takes Over is actually a reworking of Farewell my Lovely with the Falcon instead of Marlowe. An interesting Marlowe film is the 1947 film Lady in the Lake staring and directed by Robert Montgomery. It is unique in being filmed from Marlowe's point of view so the only time he appears to the audience is in reflection.

Ive read The Lady in the Lake . but have never see that film.

 

[Le Panda du Mal]

Eileen Jones' latest review in Jacobin is relevant here: Rowland Brown’s Brutal Portraits of the Life of Crime

 

[Le Panda du Mal]

One of my favorite noir films that I don't see mentioned often is Gun Crazy. I also love the original Nightmare Alley (Del Toro's version isn't bad either).

 

[paranoid marvin]

White Heat 1949 with James Cagney , Virginia Mayo and Edmund O'Brien

Yeah I almost mentioned that, but went for Angels instead.

 

[AllanR]

Don't forget about M (1931)

 

[Toby Frost]

I remember The Big Combo and the French film Rififi as being very good.

An interesting Marlowe film is the 1947 film Lady in the Lake staring and directed by Robert Montgomery. It is unique in being filmed from Marlowe's point of view so the only time he appears to the audience is in reflection.

It's a peculiar trick, and doesn't really work. I can't think of another film like this, although the technique works very well in computer games like Doom or Thief.