Classic Film Noir
Here be those darkly vexing offerings one should include in their diet periodically. Film Noir (literally 'black film or cinema') was coined by French film critics (first by Frank Nino in 1946) who noticed the trend of how 'dark' and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France following the war. It was a style of black and white American films that first evolved in the 1940s, became prominent in the post-war era, and lasted in a classic "Golden Age" period until about 1965.
With the list below Alice has included many "Contempory Noirs", making browsing that much more "coloured".....
Right: Orson Wells stars and directs "A Touch Of Evil".
The 39 Steps (1959)
6.6/10
Director: Ralph Thomas
Starring: Kenneth More, Taina Elg, Brenda De Banzie
Kenneth More stars in this faithful (some might say, to a fault) remake of Hitchcock's 1935 classic, as a man accidentally involved in murder and espi... Read more
Jamaica Inn (1939)
6.3/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara, Leslie Banks
Hitchcock's last film in England before moving to Hollywood. With Charles Laughton in a story set in the eighteenth century about a young Irish girl w... Read more
Where Danger Lives / Tension (1950)
Director: John Farrow, John Berry
Starring: Richard Basehart, Faith Domergue, Robert Mitchum, Barry Sullivan, Audrey Trotter
This film noir double feature from the Warner Bros. classic collection includes 'Where Danger Lives' (1950), with Robert Mitchum playing a doctor who... Read more
Sudden Fear (1952)
7.5/10
Director: David Miller
Starring: Joan Crawford, Jack Palance, Gloria Grahame
Joan Crawford and Jack Palance star in this tightly-wound thriller, oozing with noir style and a jazzy Elmer Bernstein score. As the actor fired by hi... Read more
They Drive By Night (1940)
7.3/10
Director: Raoul Walsh
Starring: George Raft, Ann Sheridan, Humphrey Bogart
This gritty and compelling road drama stars George Raft and Humphrey Bogart as truck-driving brothers who take on corrupt businessmen when they try to... Read more
The Dark Corner (1946)
7.2/10
Director: Henry Hathaway
Starring: Lucille Ball, Mark Stevens, William Bendix, Clifton Webb
When a suave detective is framed for murder for the second time, it's up to his loyal secretary (Lucille Ball) to help untangle the mystery. His best... Read more
Hitchcock Collection: Secret Agent / The Farmer's Wife / Rich and Strange / Juno and the Paycock / The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: John Gielgud, Peter Lorre, Henry Kendall, Joan Barry, Barry Fitzgerald, Margaret...
A collection of 5 classic Hitchcock films. 'Secret Agent' (1935) - Hitchcock's realistic, darkly funny thriller stars John Gielgud as the British agen... Read more
James Mason Collection: 5 Fingers / The Man Between / The Man In Grey / Odd Man Out / The Bells Go Down (1943)
Director: Basil Dearden, Carol Reed, Joseph L Mankiewicz, Leslie Arliss
Starring: James Mason, Stewart Granger, Margaret Lockwood, Robert Newton, Kathleen Ryan, F...
This box set collection contains five classic films starring the iconic James Mason. Titles include: '5 Fingers' (1952) - Based on the memoirs of L.C... Read more
Act of Violence / Mystery Street (1950)
Director: Fred Zinnemann, John Sturges
Starring: Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Ricardo Montalban, Sally Forrest, Elsa Lanchester
This film noir double feature includes Fred Zinnemann's dark drama about a crippled G.I. stalking the commander that betrayed him in 'Act of Violence'... Read more
This Gun For Hire (1942)
7.5/10
Director: Frank Tuttle
Starring: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Laird Cregar, Robert Preston
The movie that made Alan Ladd a star. He's a cold-blooded killer with a soft spot for kids and cats, and he's out to get back at a double-crossing nig... Read more