The Last Film Noir you watched

[Steve-O]

Lady from Shanghai keeps coming up in conversation lately. I have to revisit it...

[cigar joe]

The Garment Jungle (1957) enjoyed it, some Noir sequences, Richard Boone is great as the baddie. 7/10

[Livius]

The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
John Huston's great heist noir - reviewed on my blog here.

[cigar joe]

Watched a few "Noirs" off Netfilx streaming videos, I say "Noirs" because they are sort of hit and miss in their definition of Noir. The first was The Big Caper with Rory Calhoun which wasn't remotely very Noir except for a few night scenes during the caper, which I guess passes for noir. ;-) 6.5/10. The second was Elmer G. Unger's Ruthless which definitely had an obsessed character in Zachary Scott, but it really didn't kick into high Noir gear until the appearance of Sidney Greenstreet near the very end, it's called Ulmer's "Citizen Kane".7/10

[Rufus T]

Slightly Scarlet (1956). I bought this a few months ago and finally checked it out. It's considered a noir even though it's in color. Pretty amusing film.

[Muscle Mike]

Tonight I went with the "silent" feature The Thief (1952). Experimental noir at its best.

[cigar joe]

Slightly Scarlet (1956). I bought this a few months ago and finally checked it out. It's considered a noir even though it's in color. Pretty amusing film.

Its like a weird juxtaposition of Film Noir and Pulp Fiction Paperback book covers.

[Muscle Mike]

This afternoon's noir was When Strangers Marry (1944), a Wiliam Castle Monogram thriller which introduced the pulsing neon light effect which is so effectively used in such later films as Touch of Evil and The Unsuspected.

[Nighthawk]

I watched Shock Corridor (1963) last night. It wasn't as great as I had been led to believe. I haven't checked out The Naked Kiss (1964) yet; I hope it's the better of the Sam Fuller/Constance Towers films.

[Livius]

The Iron Curtain (1948)
William Wellman directed espionage drama with Dana Andrews and Gene Tierney. Not full-on noir but still of some interest.
Fully reviewed on my site here.

[cigar joe]

I watched Shock Corridor (1963) last night. It wasn't as great as I had been led to believe. I haven't checked out The Naked Kiss (1964) yet; I hope it's the better of the Sam Fuller/Constance Towers films.

Slightly better, but its not very Noir-ishly lit. My favorite Fuller Noirs are still Pickup on South Street and The House of Bamboo (I don't remember Scandal Sheet) after those I like Underworld U.S.A., even though its seams to be done on the cheap, its almost as if they went downhill in production values once the studios system broke down and TV was making inroads. They get too light and gray, lol. Fuller sort of gets a bit to much in the social commentary mode The Crimson Kimono has its moments but seems preachy about race relations. The Naked Kiss could have been a lot better if it had been done in a more Noir-ish way.

Which all points to the fact that Noir is a style/tool of film making rather than a genre. If Noir had been an actual genre they would have been conscientious about using genre archetypes and iconography.

[Rufus T]

Last night I watched Mystery Street (1950), which is part of the Film Noir Classic Collection, Vol. 4. I thought it was pretty good although I had a couple of problems with the story. Jan Sterling always does a great job in her noir films.

[spress]

I've just started watching Shed no Tears, which just came out on DVD. It's a low grade disk, but the film is noir from the first frame.

[MartyL]

I watched "Hell on Frisco Bay" this weekend. It's in color, but still a film noir.

[Muscle Mike]

Tonight's après-dinner noir was Whispering Footsteps (1943). Mainly known for his popular westerns, Howard Bretherton directed this noir gem.

[Harry Fabian]

The Steel Trap with Joseph Cotten and Teresa Wright. Started out promising, but when Cotten waited 3 hours on a Friday night before finally smashing the cheap window at the Brazilian consulate, I felt we were in trouble. Got really bogged down and very un-noir like ending. Really, not much of a noir at all in my opinion. I didn't care for Teresa Wright's character at all.

[Livius]

Pursued (1947)
Raoul Walsh's Freudian western noir - see my blog here.

[Rufus T]

Pursued (1947)
Raoul Walsh's Freudian western noir - see my blog here.

I saw this one a couple of months back. Very noir looking western. I liked it a lot.

[Rufus T]

I just watched The Lineup (1958) and spent the time to watch the commentary directly afterwards, which I love to do when possible...especaily when Eddie Muller does it. He is the best at it by far and for this one, he's joined by James Ellroy, who is one crazy cat. I really enjoyed the film. It takes place during daylight hours so I guess it's not a true noir in that respect; but the storyline sure is.

[waltermcwilliams]

Just finished D.O.A. what an awesome film, certainly one of my favorites. The opening scene drew me in and I was hooked. Saddly there are no extras included with the DVD I watched.