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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".

Five Miles to Midnight (1963)

6.4/10
Director: Anatole Litvak
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Gig Young, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Sophia Loren

Lisa (Sophia Loren) marries Robert (Anthony Perkins), a domineering, jealous American and becomes trapped in a violent marriage. Much to her relief, R... Read more

Shock Corridor (1963)

7.5/10
Director: Samuel Fuller
Starring: Peter Breck, Constance Towers, Gene Evans

Journalist Peter Breck gets admitted to a mental institution to unmask a murderer and we watch as he goes crazy himself. This complex masterpiece was... Read more

Five Minutes to Live / The Pride of Jesse Hallam (1962)

Director: Gary Nelson, Bill Karn
Starring: Johnny Cash, Cay Forester, Ronnie Howard, Donald Woods, Brenda Vaccaro

'Five Minutes to Live' (1962) - The Man in Black shines in this classic crime drama, country music as Johnny Cabot, a violent, guitar playing ex-con w... Read more

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

8/10
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Angela Lansbury, Frank Sinatra, Henry Silva, Janet Leigh, Laurence Harvey

One of the finest political thrillers ever made. John Frankenheimer's blend of Cold War paranoia and sly satire stars Laurence Harvey as a former Kore... Read more

The Manchurian Candidate (Blu-ray) (1962)

7.9/10
Director: John Frankenheimer
Starring: Angela Lansbury, Frank Sinatra, Henry Silva, Janet Leigh, Laurence Harvey

One of the finest political thrillers ever made. John Frankenheimer's blend of Cold War paranoia and sly satire stars Laurence Harvey as a former Kore... Read more

Cape Fear (Blu-ray) (1961)

7.3/10
Director: J Lee Thompson
Starring: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen

Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum star in Hollywood's classic tale of revenge and murder. Robert Mitchum is unforgettable as Max Cady, an ex-con determi... Read more

Cape Fear (1961)

7.3/10
Director: J Lee Thompson
Starring: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen

Gregory Peck and Robert Mitchum star in Hollywood's classic tale of revenge and murder. Robert Mitchum is unforgettable as Max Cady, an ex-con determi... Read more

Breathless ( A bout de souffle ) ( Blu-ray ) (1960)

7.9/10
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Daniel Boulanger, Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Henri-Jacques Huet

A.k.a. "A bout de souffle". There was before "Breathless", and there was after "Breathless". Jean-Luc Godard burst onto the film scene in 1960 with th... Read more

Portrait in Black (1960)

6.7/10
Director: Michael Gordon
Starring: Anna May Wong, Anthony Quinn, John Saxon, Lana Turner, Lloyd Nolan, Ray Walston,...

Lana Turner and Anthony Quinn star as an adulterous couple who conspire to kill her tyrannical husband. Soon after the murder, the lovers in crime rec... Read more

Breathless ( A bout de souffle ) (1960)

7.9/10
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Daniel Boulanger, Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Henri-Jacques Huet

A.k.a. "A bout de souffle". There was before "Breathless", and there was after "Breathless". Jean-Luc Godard burst onto the film scene in 1960 with th... Read more