8 Essential Films: A Film Noir Primer
“Film noir” is a term that gets tossed around a lot by movie fans and critics, both professional and amateur. So it’s somewhat surprising that, six and a half decades after the genre began, there is still not a universally accepted definition of what makes a noir. Is it the characters (morally confused protagonists, dangerous women, and compelling, larger-than-life villains), the subject matter (crime and its consequences) or the cinematic style (black-and-white film, high-contrast lighting and dramatic camera work)? Although many film noirs share certain characteristics, not all movies considered film noir contain each and every element of the genre. Roughly speaking, classic noir refers to films that were made, mostly by Hollywood, in the 1940s and 1950s that all share a certain tone, style and attitude (post-war cynicism). Perhaps the best way to learn about noir is to broadly sample the best movies of the genre. Below is a list of eight movies that I think represent the best and most influential film noirs of the classic period. (Feel free to argue with my choices in the comments.) If you haven’t watched much, or any, film noir, this list is a good place to start. I think you’ll be surprised at how well most of these movies have stood up over the years; they still feel modern, fast-paced, suspenseful and extremely entertaining.
1. Touch of Evil (1958; dir. Orson Welles; Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh) This movie is widely considered the last of the great American film noirs. After Touch of Evil, movies incorporated noir-ish elements (Blade Runner), or movies that tried to modernize or revise the genre (Resevoir Dogs, Chinatown). Charlton Heston isn’t generally recognized as a film noir hero, but he plays a surprisingly effective Mexican police detective playing a dangerous game of cat-and-mouse with Welles’ imposing and magnetic Hank Quinlan, a border town police captain. Welles was fired while the movie was in post-production, but the version you’re likely to see on DVD was reassembled according to instructions left by Welles. This movie has many memorable moments, including a scene between Janet Leigh and a Motel night clerk that serves as a cinematic prelude to Psycho. (Psycho is known as the prototypical slasher film due to the infamous shower scene, but anyone who has watched it recently will recognize that up until that point in the movie, Psycho is a film noir.) From the amazing three-minute tracking shot that opens the movie to the end, Touch of Evil is about everything you could wish for in film noir.
2. Double Indemnity (1944; dir. Billy Wilder; Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson) If you think of Fred MacMurray mostly because of his Disney movies or “My Three Sons,” it might come as a surprise that he’s in one of the all-time great film noirs. He plays the noir straight man wonderfully, and Stanwyck’s femme fatal, who convinces MacMurray’s character to engage in a bit of homicide/insurance fraud, is classic. Rounding out the cast, of course is Edward G. Robinson, who is the meanest, shrewdest insurance investigator in movie history. Billy Wilder was a giant, with more than one of his movies listed here. The movie also benefited from a Raymond Chandler screenplay based on a James M. Cain novel, a noir double dipping that wasn’t all that uncommon during the classic noir period.
3. Out of the Past (1947; dir. Jacques Tourneur; Robert Mitchem, Kirk Douglas, Jane Greer) This may be my all-time favorite film noir, and it’s also probably the least well-known movie on this list. This movie is noir in the truest sense: it’s dark all the way through to the end. This movie takes a conventional noir storylineâ€â€the mysterious man trying to live a quiet life whose shadowy past catches up to himâ€â€and executes it perfectly. The plot jumps around in time and location and the viewer gets to try to figure out who to root for, without any clear good guys to cheer on. Oh, and Robert Mitchem makes his trench coat and dangling cigarette look so cool.
4. Sunset Boulevard (1950; dir. Billy Wilder; William Holden, Gloria Swanson) Billy Wilder again. This movie is best known for Swanson’s over-the-top performance as an aging silent film starlet, and her famous “I’m ready for my close-up” line at the end of the film. But the movie is a lot more than that. Swanson is fantastic, but Holden isn’t too shabby either. Although this movie isn’t as classically noir-ish as some of the others listed here, many of the basic elements are here: the stand-up hero who gets sucked into a situation from which he can’t extricate himself, the femme fatale, the violent comeuppance. But the movie also has a sort of insider feel to it, since the backdrop is Hollywood and the movie industry.
5. The Third Man (1949; dir. Carol Reed; Joseph Cotton, Orson Welles) Technically, this is a “Brittish noir” starring American actors. The foreign locale and the strangely compelling zither-based score aren’t typical of noir. But this movie does have the same themes and conventions you are likely to find in a typical American noir set in Southern California. And here, you also get that fantastic scene with the Viennese Ferris wheel. Orson Welles is very effective, even though he doesn’t actually have a lot of screen time. Harry Lime is one of the greatest characters of all time, and Welles is usually credited with the movies’ most famous lines: “In Italy for 30 years under the Borgias they had warfare, terror, murder, and bloodshed, but they produced Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and the Renaissance. In Switzerland they had brotherly love – they had 500 years of democracy and peace, and what did that produce? The cuckoo clock.”
6. The Big Sleep (1946; dir. Howard Hawks; Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall) This movie is known for being one of the best, as well as one of the most confusing, film noirs. The writing credits feature no less than a screenplay by William Faulkner, based on Raymond Chandler’s novel. The confusion comes from two sources: Code censors who never would have permitted the novel’s racy subject matter to be addressed frankly, and movie studio execs, who insisted on reshoots because they wanted the Bogart and Bacall romance to play a bigger role. I saw this years ago and had a hard time following it, even though I had read the Chandler novel. Recently, I saw a re-edited “director’s cut” version that seemed much more straight-forward. Even the theatrical version, however, is a fantastic film, despite being confusing. And of course, Humphrey Bogard is Phillip Marlowe.
7. The Maltese Falcon (1941; dir. John Huston; Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre) This movie sets the standard for the trench-coated, hardboiled detective. The bird, of course, is a MacGuffin. The dialogue is snappy and smart, and the story still feels fresh. (If it seems cliche, that’s because so many movies copied this film, the original.) Peter Lorre is always entertaining, and this is probably his best movie. And of course, Humphrey Bogart is Sam Spade.
8. Strangers on a Train (1951; dir. Alfred Hitchcock; Farley Granger, Robert Walker) Hitchcock filmed several movies that might be considered film noir, and I’m certainly a Hitchcock fan, but I don’t think many of them really fit within the genre. Strangers on a Train is closest, and (for my money) one of his best movies. Maybe that has something to do with the fact that Raymond Chandler wrote the screenplay, from the novel by Patricia Highsmith (who also wrote The Talented Mr. Ripley). Apparently Chandler and Hitchcock didn’t get along, and much of the screenplay was rewritten, but it still feels like something Chandler might have penned. The premise is classic: an idle conversation on a train leads a man to believe that they have agreed to swap murders, one agreeing to kill an unloved wife so that the other can marry his true love, expecting in return to have his domineering mother taken care of once and for all. And, as happens so often in film noir, once the hero gets tangled in unwanted complicity, it’s not an easy thing to get out from under. Robert Walker, who plays the psychopathic Bruno Anthony, is a brilliant noir villain. (Unfortunately, Walker passed away shortly after the movie was made, cutting short his career.) This movie also has one of Hitchcock’s most memorable scenes (for those who have seen it), an exciting climatic moment underneath a merry-go-round, which was reportedly filmed without the aid of stuntmen. Like many film noirs, this one is available in multiple versions on DVD, though I can’t recall off hand if it really makes much difference.
Honorable mention: The Glass Key (1942; dir. Stuart Heisler; Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake) Really this movie doesn’t belong with the others. It’s simply not in their league. But Ladd and Lake had the look that defined the genre, and it’s not a bad movie by any means. The movie also gets noir cred because it’s based on a novel by Hammet.
I saw the reassembled Touch of Evil in theaters when it was rerelease. It is really an amazing film. The only things that detracted from it in my view were Heston’s painted on mexicaness and the wack drug scene which did not age well.
I’ve seen several of the others, but I might have to sprinkle some of these into my netflix queue.
Comment by a random John — October 7, 2006 @ 3:22 pm
Out of the Past is maybe the film noir ever made. Unbelievably great. Some other recommendations that don’t appear on the above list (not necessarily in order of preference):
1. Murder My Sweet
2. Nightmare Alley
3. The Killers (1946 version)
4. The Asphalt Jungle
5. The Killing
6. Miller’s Crossing
7. Chinatown
Comment by Brian V — October 7, 2006 @ 4:33 pm
I love Miller’s Crossing. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time. I excluded it and Chinatown from my list because they aren’t from the “classic” period. Also, they’re both in color, which somehow doesn’t feel right for a traditionalist to call them noirs.
Comment by BTD Greg — October 7, 2006 @ 4:41 pm
And of course, Humphrey Bogard is Phillip Marlowe.
Actually, I don’t agree with this. I’m a Chandler fanatic and I never thought Bogart really captured Marlowe’s essence. Check out Murder My Sweet (which is also based on a Raymond Chandler novel) if you haven’t. Dick Powell does a much better job (IMO, of course, though he was also Chandler’s favorite cinematic Marlowe) with the character than Bogart.
Comment by Brian V — October 7, 2006 @ 4:43 pm
This is a really nice post, Greg. It’s informative, well thought out, and looks good–nice photos.
“Out of the Past” is the only one I don’t remember seeing. Fun! I get to see something good that
I haven’t seen before–a rarity these days.
How about the “Manchurian Candidate(1962)?” Maybe not 100% “noir” but certainly “noir-ish” in the extreme in some respects. Perhaps it fails because the communists are partrayed as “bad guys.” (even though there in bed with evil republicans)
Comment by Jack — October 7, 2006 @ 4:56 pm
Oh, I love The Manchurian Candidate, too. But I’d rate that a political thriller, not a film noir. Definite film noir elements and influences, though.
Comment by BTD Greg — October 7, 2006 @ 5:00 pm
This is a good solid list. I’d probably add a few into the mix for consideration.
M, The Big Heat, and Laura.
Comment by Brian G — October 7, 2006 @ 7:18 pm
I would second Brians G.’s The Big Heat nomination (and M and Laura are great too), and add to that Gilda, In a Lonely Place (w/Humphrey Bogart), Gun Crazy (aka Deadly is the Female) , and Detour (Edward G Ulmer). These are all perfect examples. I also count Chinatown and Taxi Driver among the great film noir films, although they aren’t made in B&W — the have all the classic elements.
I’ve never seen Out of the Past, but as a huge film noir fan, I’ll have to look for it. I might consider knocking The Third Man off the list. I know it’s a great movie, but it doesn’t have the feel of a true noir to me. I 100% concur with Double Indemnity and Touch of Evil.
1. Double Indemnity
2. Gilda
3. The Big Heat
4. Touch of Evil
5. Taxi Driver
6. In a Lonely Place
7. Strangers on a Train
8. Detour
9. Chinatown
10. Gun Crazy
Comment by meems — October 7, 2006 @ 7:42 pm
I’m happy to see Touch of Evil at the top. That movie really stands the test of time. So much to love.
Comment by Tom — October 7, 2006 @ 7:47 pm
Chinatown was made specifically to evoke black and white, even though in color.
I’d also include L.A.Confidential.
And Sunset Boulevard isn’t really a noir film, but a gothic horror film masquerading as a satire.
I’m also not a big Touch of Evil fan.
Comment by D. Fletcher — October 7, 2006 @ 10:36 pm
Thanks for the post, Greg. I think you’re right about Touch of Evil. Any chance to see Charlton Heston as a Mexican.
Comment by Supergenius — October 8, 2006 @ 2:48 am
Don’t forget these great entries in the “Flash noir” categories:
A Case of the Crabs
The Goat in the Grey Fedora
Comment by Bryce I — October 8, 2006 @ 5:55 am
The Big Heat is a good one. I suppose I should re-watch Touch of Evil. It’s been awhile but very little beyond that opening shot made much of an impression on me.
Comment by Brian V — October 8, 2006 @ 8:08 am
Just a minor quibble: shouldn’t it be films noirs?
Comment by Bryce I — October 8, 2006 @ 10:43 am
I agree with D., and Brian V. Touch of Evil is “OK.” For me, the incredibly long tracking shot at the beginning came across as if Welles were saying, “look Ma! I can do an incredibly long tracking shot!” The whole movie seemed to be constricted by–I don’t know–not enough budget or something–not really sure.
“Sunset Boulevard isn’t really a noir film, but a gothic horror film masquerading as a satire.”
Hmm. Probably so. The momment you hear William Holden narrating at the beginning, explaining how he’s the dead guy in the pool–well that’s pretty satirical. Even so, I don’t think the script’s “slickness” is always attributable to satir.
Comment by Jack — October 8, 2006 @ 4:11 pm
Neo-noir: Blade Runner, 1982; and The Departed, 2006, by Martin Scorsese, as darkly film noir as they come.
Comment by R.W. Rasband — October 8, 2006 @ 8:58 pm
“Kiss Me Deadly” should be on the list. Chinatown, and LA Condfidential are good candidates as well. “Dark City” is excellent neo-noir.
Comment by hplc — October 9, 2006 @ 2:12 pm
This is my favorite film noir scene.
Comment by Tim J. — October 9, 2006 @ 2:44 pm
Film Noir is one of my favorite genres. Movies, or art in general, tends to hit me at various levels that I’ll represent by body parts: the head, the heart, the gut, and uh, the crotch. Film Noir is one of the few genres that hit me at the latter two levels, primarily the gut level. There is something uniquely primal, visceral, amoral, and well, dark, about film noir that other genres lack.
BTD Greg, nice list. My favorite classic noir films are The Big Sleep and Double Indemnity. I’ve never seen Touch of Evil, but have always meant to. I’m also quite fond of Gilda.
Following are my favorite post-1970 Film Noir films (in order):
1.) Chinatown (the gold standard)
2.) Blade Runner (future noir)
3.) L.A. Confidential
4.) Blue Velvet
5.) Body Heat
6.) Bound
7.) The Grifters
8.) Memento
9.) The Spanish Prisoner
10.) Devil in a Blue Dress
Honorable Mention (in no particular order): The Last Seduction, China Moon, The Underneath, Mulholland Drive, Dark City, Sin City, Body Double, Blood Simple, Sea of Love, Wild Things, Dead Again, Miller’s Crossing, No Way Out, Cape Fear, Red Rock West, Mulholland Falls, House of Games, D.O.A., After Dark My Sweet, The Hot Spot, Exotica.
What is and what isn’t film noir is a matter of interpretation, I guess. I also love films like Seven, The Usual Suspects, Heat, and The Matrix, but I consider them on the periphery of the film noir genre, lacking one or two key film noir elements.
Bad film noir: Basic Instinct, Femme Fatale, Hollywoodland, Black Widow… haven’t seen The Black Dahlia yet, but I hear its pretty bad.
Anyone else wanna take a shot at their Top Ten Neo-Noir (post-1970) list?
Comment by Matt Thurston — October 9, 2006 @ 3:45 pm
Oh! I love Red Rock West.
The Hot Spot is just dumb. In fact, a lot of noirish films are more stylish than good.
One movie not mentioned yet, which is one of my favorites from the last 10 years, is definitely a psycho-noir champ:
Fight Club
For an older film, try The Set-Up, which is just terrific.
Comment by D. Fletcher — October 9, 2006 @ 3:55 pm
I can’t believe I forgot Kiss Me Deadly! One of my favorites.
Comment by Brian V — October 9, 2006 @ 4:18 pm
The Night of the Hunter, an other Robert Mitchum film. Directed by character actor Charles Laughton (the only film he directed). Not to be missed – one of the most often “quoted” films I’ve seen — and a lot by Spike Lee, no less!
Comment by Jared — October 9, 2006 @ 4:28 pm
Speaking of Charles Laughton, his film ‘The Big Clock,’ while perhaps not pure noir, is a very entertaining thriller with noirish moments. He’s great in it.
Comment by Brian V — October 9, 2006 @ 4:34 pm
Wasn’t The Big Clock remade as No Way Out? (with Kevin Costner)
Comment by D. Fletcher — October 9, 2006 @ 5:31 pm
Oh, I like Red Rock West too, but it always stuck me funny in a cartoonish way. This doesn’t diminish my liking of it.
Neo-Noir List:
1. Taxi Driver
2. Blade Runner
3. Chinatown
4. LA Confidential
5. ?
I’ve never seen the remake of D.O.A, but has anyone seen the original? It’s really serious and hilarious at the same time. They keep doing this bizarre sound effect on the soundtrack everytime a pretty girl walks by that sounds like a cat call whistle. Too funny and weird!
Comment by meems — October 9, 2006 @ 6:36 pm
I guess I’m one of the few that didn’t like LA Confidential – the film version, anyway. I’m a big James Ellroy fan and I liked the book quite a bit so I was kinda upset at what happened in the translation from book to movie.
Comment by Brian V — October 9, 2006 @ 7:39 pm
I disagree; Peter Lorre happens to be in Fritz Lang’s massively awesome and influential “M”…I love the Maltese Falcon and all, but I think Lorre’s best film is definitely M.
That said, definite love for the movies on this list, though I WAS surprised that The Killers didn’t make the cut. O_o
Comment by Mari V — March 3, 2010 @ 12:19 pm