Linda Rollins (Jane Russell) returns to Las Vegas with her loser husband Lloyd (Vincent Price). Jewelry goes missing and a dead body turns up. Linda's ex, Lt. Dave Andrews (Victor Mature), nabs Lloyd. But something smells wrong. "The Las Vegas Story" (1952) #filmnoir
Orson Welles, ‘The Third Man’ (1949).
Like America’s Wild West, post-war Europe and Asia’s rubble strewn roadways were a magnet for drifters, bootleggers, grifters and fugitives in need of a hideout. (Click link to read.) #filmnoir
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Mary (Joan Blondell), Ruth (Bette Davis) and Vivian (Ann Dvorak) each light a cigarette on the same match — Vivian is last and superstition says that she's doomed — a dark omen, indeed. "Three on a Match" (1932) #crimefilm
Nuclear physicist Dr. Allan Fields (Ray
Milland) supplements his income at the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D.C., by spying for a foreign power. But an accident puts Fields in a nasty bind. "The Thief" (1952) - An unusual dialogue-free film. #filmnoir
Pianist Christine Radcliffe (Bette Davis) reunites with cellist Karel Novak (Paul Henreid) after a long wartime separation. Composer Alexander Hollenius (Claude Rains) chooses Novak to debut his newest concerto. But dark motives lurk behind the offer. #filmnoir
Small-time crook Jack Coley (Jack Hogan) steals a briefcase. But his luck turns sour when he realizes that the stolen attache is full of plans belonging to enemy agents — and Coley finds himself in a world of trouble. "The Cat Burglar" (1961) #neonoir
New Orleans bar hostess Abigail Martin (Deanna Durbin) recounts in flashback her marriage to unbalanced Robert Manette (Gene Kelly). Manette kills a bookie and he and his controlling mother opt to blame the murder on Abigail. "Christmas Holiday" (1944) #filmnoir
Two swimmers, Danny Parker (Sheldon Lawrence) and Kitty Tyndall (Joy Webster) attempt to cross the English Channel when Kitty disappears in the fog. Danny is sure that foul play was involved and he and his brother Griff (John Ireland) investigate "Black Tide" (1958) #mystery
Clarinetist Stan Grayson (Kevin McCarthy) dreams he killed a man, then awakens to find evidence linking him to his imagined crime. His brother-in-law, New Orleans police detective Rene Bressard (Edward G. Robinson) is skeptical of Stan's story. "Nightmare" (1956) #filmnoir
Prisoners are the guinea pigs for a test of an experimental serum. But the operation goes sideways when an inmate is murdered and another escapes. Dr. Ross Williams (John Howard) tries to untangle the mystery. "Experiment Alcatraz" (1950). #thriller #noir
George La Main (John Barrymore, Jr.) turns 17 and witnesses his father take a thrashing from sports reporter Al Judge (Howard St. John). George prowls the streets with his father's gun and looks to settle a score. But things aren't as they seem. "The Big Night" (1951) #filmnoir
Ward Bond, Robert Ryan, "On Dangerous Ground" (1951). Snowfall plays a dramatic role in a handful of noirs and it’s a surprisingly natural fit. (Click link to read.) #filmnoir
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Chuck Wheeler (Gerald Mohr), fresh out of the slammer, plans an armored car knockoff. A buddy plus Vi Victor (Mamie Van Doren), wife of his former cellmate, are in on it. But the ex-bunkie is the jealous type — and he just busted out. "Guns, Girls and Gangsters" (1959) #filmnoir
Spanish Civil War veteran Kit McKittrick (John Garfield) returns home to New York to find out who killed his best friend, a police lieutenant who arranged Kit's escape from his war captors. And Nazi spies are in hot pursuit of him. "The Fallen Sparrow" (1943) #Thriller #Noir
San Francisco society columnist Claire Cummings (Leslie Brooks) gets hitched to a rich dude, then shows off her mastery in the art of two-timing. Claire never met a man she couldn't play for a sucker, because she's ... you know, cold like ice. "Blonde Ice" (1948) #filmnoir
Crooked cop Christopher Kelvaney (Robert Taylor) tries to talk his kid brother out of telling the police about the mob killer he saw fleeing a crime scene. Gangster Dan Beaumonte (George Raft) can't buy the kid brother's silence, so it's on to plan B. "Rogue Cop" (1954) #filmnoir
Syndicate honcho Big Jim drives low-level mobster Tony Reagan (Scott Brady) out of Chicago for romancing the big man's niece. Reagan is set to return to the city and propose to the niece. But then Big Jim turns up dead and it's open season on Reagan. "Undertow" (1949) #filmnoir
Theatrical producer Larry O'Brien (Richard Conte) buys a disused movie studio from the silent era and finds that a famous director was murdered on that site. He decides to make a film about the still unsolved case, but some want him to drop it. "Hollywood Story" (1951) #filmnoir
Allen Baron, ‘Blast of Silence.’ (1961). Are noirs set in New York as dark and suspenseful as those set in L.A.? You can count on it. (Click link to read.) #filmnoir
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Mob boss Charlie Lupo (Broderick Crawford) hires stone cold hitman Nick Magellan (Richard Conte) as his bodyguard. Lupo's daughter, Kathy (Anne Bancroft), takes a shine to Magellan. He's assigned a big hit, and things get complicated. "New York Confidential" (1955) #filmnoir
“ … you’re a cookie full of arsenic.”
Tony Curtis, Burt Lancaster, ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ (1957). New York’s noirs are just as gritty as the ones set in L.A. Here are 20 reasons for it. (Click link to read.)
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Ann Nicholson (Ruth Roman) offers John Emmett (Sterling Hayden) a ride after his car breaks down. A woman claiming to be a nurse tells John that Ann is an escaped mental patient. He's not sure who to believe. But soon the cops are after them. "5 Steps to Danger" (1957) #filmnoir
Concentration camp survivor Peter Kuban (Vittorio Gassman) stows away on a ship bound for New York. Authorities want to deport him, but he teams up with unemployed Maggie (Gloria Grahame) as police chase him on a false assault charge. "The Glass Wall" (1953) #filmnoir
Vaudeville hoofer Tom Quinn (Don Castle) chucks his shoes at a noisy alley cat. But when his cash laden neighbor turns up dead, Tom's footprints are at the crime scene. A police detective (Clint Judd) tries to find the real killer. "I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes" (1948) #filmnoir
Ambassador's son Philippe (Bobby Henrey) idolizes embassy majordomo Baines (Ralph Richardson). But Baines is engaged in some hanky panky behind his wife's back with embassy secretary Julie (Michèle Morgan). Then an untimely accident occurs. "The Fallen Idol" (1948) #filmnoir
John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, ‘Force of Evil’ (1948). Why New York noirs are different from those set in Los Angeles. Hint: One has elevated trains, not palm trees, overhead. Click link to read. #filmnoir
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Johnny O'Clock (Dick Powell) is a junior partner in a casino with Guido Marchettis (Thomas Gomez). Guido's wife Nelle (Ellen Drew) has eyes for Johnny and gives him a watch with a romantic inscription. Soon, bodies begin to pile up. "Johnny O'Clock" (1947) #filmnoir
Ethel Whitehead (Joan Crawford) is trapped in a bad marriage. When her child dies she opts to leave her husband. Using her good looks, she manipulates men and winds up with a mobster, George Castleman (David Brian). Then things turn deadly. "The Damned Don't Cry" (1950) #filmnoir
Railway engineer Jacques Lantier (Jean Gabin) witnesses deputy station master Roubaud (Fernand Ledoux) kill his wife Séverine's (Simone Simon) godfather. Lantier and she have an affair and she urges him to kill her husband. "La Bête Humaine" (1938) #filmnoir
