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 Lady Vanishes (1938)
7.9/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Cecil Parker
One of Hitchcock's best British films; Dame May Whitty stars as the kindly old woman who befriends a young English girl on a European train, and then... Read more
The Legendary Sherlock Holmes (1945)
Director: Roy William Neill
Starring: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce
Three great Sherlock Holmes movies collected together on one dvd! Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce star in all three as the famous sleuth and his assist... Read more
The Letter (1940)
7.7/10
Director: William Wyler
Starring: Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson, Frieda Inescort, Gale Sondergaa...
"With all my heart I still love the man I killed..." Six years after exploding to stardom in "Of Human Bondage", Bette Davis equalled that excitement... Read more
The Lodger (Blu-ray) (1927)
7.6/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Marie Ault, Ivor Novello
2012 restoration. Aesthetically influenced by German Expressionism, and based on the story of Jack the Ripper, 'The Lodger' was the film in which Hitc... Read more
The Lodger / Downhill (1927)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Marie Ault, Ivor Novello
Aesthetically influenced by German Expressionism, and based on the story of Jack the Ripper, 'The Lodger' was the film in which Hitchcock first demons... Read more
The Long Night (1947)
6.7/10
Director: Anatole Litvak
Starring: Henry Fonda, Barbara Bel Geddes, Vincent Price, Ann Dvorak
A remake of Marcel Carne's French film 'Le Jour Se Leve', this noir thriller keeps you on the edge of your seat with great performances from Henry Fon... Read more
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
8.1/10
Director: John Huston
Starring: Peter Lorre, Mary Astor, Humphrey Bogart
Even if you've seen this film so often that you know all the dialogue, it never ceases to amaze. Great actors Bogart, Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet a... 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
The Mystery of Mr Wong (1939)
6.4/10
Director: William Nigh
Starring: Boris Karloff, Grant Withers, Dorothy Tree
In the second instalment of the Mr Wong series Boris Karloff stars as the inscrutable detective, enlisted to solve another mystery. The largest star s... Read more