I'll second all of the films mentioned up to now in this thread. I especially liked Brighton Rock which Cigar Joe mentioned and which was reviewed here by Jay M (I did a review of it over on The Blackboard). I've really become infatuated with British film and have managed to collect over 200 Brit "noir" films so far. For a good introduction to the subject see Michael F Keaney's "British Film Noir Guide" and Steve Chibnall and Brian McFarlane's "The British 'B' Film".
I just noticed that the original post in this thread was in April, 2010. The OP, Rififi, has probably already completed his/her M.A. program. LOL!!
They Made Me a Fugitive with Trevor Howard has a real bitter noir bite to it.
Night and the City, is one of the greatest noirs, but it was produced by 20th Century Fox, directed by an American, and has Americans in the main leads, so it is almost like a UK/US noir. Another purly Brit noir, would be I Always Rains on Sunday, with the estimable Googie Withers, is also remarkable in Night And The City.
I have a few more to recommend, Guilt Is My Shadow (1950), The Sleeping Tiger (1954), Hell Drivers (1957), The Frightened City (1961).
I watched a few Brit noir this weekend. The Criminal (aka Concrete Jungle) and Murder Without Crime.
The Criminal was released in 1960 and seems drenched in the 60s. Check out that swinging pad filled with painting and photos of naked women... even a photo of a naked bunny on the inside of the sliding bathroom door? Stanley Baker even takes a tanning lamp to bed with him (and of course is surprised to find a beautiful naked woman under the covers). When did the swinging 60s begin, because this movie made it look like it was already in full swing that year. There's a racetrack heist but sadly, they don't really show how it's done (aka The Killing). Instead it's all the double-dealing after the crime -- which is pretty good to tell the truth. Brits would have to tell me if that's the same prison (where Baker is a frequent guest) as The Escapist from a few years ago. Because it looks identical.
Murder Without Crime -- from 10 years prior -- is a tight little thriller that I would recommend any Brit noir fan check out. Really a 4-person play made into a thriller. Standout performances by all four... with Joan Dowling doing her best Gloria Grahame....
The Good Die Young is a great brit heist noir with a US/UK cast most notably Gloria Grahame amongst a star studded cast.
Is Peeping Tom noir? No, probably not. But it is a brilliant and disturbing film. And there are a number of Brit neo-noirs.
I really want to see this one, but the DVD that's available (from Wienerworld Ltd. - huh?) sounds sort of dodgy.Originally Posted by SuperDanX
Plenty of great films mentioned already, but I can recommend NEVER LET GO, with Richard Todd, Elizabeth Sellars, Adam Faith, and as the villain... Peter Sellers! It's a tight little film with excellent performances and appropriately noirish photography (by 1960 standards) by Christopher Challis who also photographed FOOTSTEPS IN THE FOG and worked with Powell & Pressburger on several projects. And the score is by John Barry, of James Bond fame.
A couple of London Police Noirs that I like, The Blue Lamp (1950) and The Long Arm (1956) aka The Third Key.
I have that DVD, it's fine, image quality is on a par with a decent VHS image i would say.
Yes! The Blue Lamp and the Long Arm are also two of my favorites, And the Long Arm was the last of the Ealing Productions. It's a shame tha there's no region 1 release for these two.
gordonl56 (11-09-2012)
What are you getting an MA in, if you don't mind me asking?
POOL OF LONDON, THE BLUE LAMP, THE YELLOW BALLOON, MURDER WITHOUT CRIME, FOR THEM THAT TRESPASS, DANCING WITH CRIME, DEAR MURDERER, WIDE BOY, BRIGHTON ROCK all work for me.
Steve-O (09-22-2012)
Hey... someone else that's seen Murder Without Crime!
gordonl56 (11-09-2012)
MURDER WITHOUT CRIME is a great noir. You can't go wrong when J Lee Thompson is involved!
Steve-O (10-20-2012)
They made me a fugitive and the long memory are both pretty good and available on dvd. Sitting target and villain, both from the seventies, are pretty good neonoirs, and availble on dvd.
Steve-O (10-20-2012)
Strongroom 1962 is pretty good.
One more, obsession,1950, with robert newton plotting wife sally greys lovers death. It was edward dmytryks (crossfire, mirage) first film in uk exile and is available on dvd. Cleverly plotted and wellacted. Seance on a wet afternoon, 1964, neonoir.
Last edited by dlhartzog; 12-08-2012 at 09:07 AM.
Neo noir the walking stick, 1970, david hemmings and samantha eggar, reminiscent of garfields nobody lives forever; from a novel by winston graham (marnie).
Last edited by dlhartzog; 12-08-2012 at 09:08 AM.
My first post here, so hello folks.
I noticed several mentions of The Third Man on this thread, but (if I'm not mistaken) none of The Lives of Harry Lime, a BBC radio series which supposes that Lime survived the shooting in the sewers to continue his life of crime. The book shown below turned up at my grandparent's house in Cornwall, and I brought it home in days long gone.
There are 15 short stories by Orson Welles 'and others'. I compared one or two with the radio plays, which I found more recently online, and they're pretty faithful dramatizations. The entire radio series is still available, and probably all of them (can check if wanted) can be downloaded here at The Internet Archive: The Lives of Harry Lime
First Pocket Book Edition 1952
Printed for The News of the World
It's in the Bag - Orson Welles
The Golden Fleece - Orson Welles
Art is Long and Lime is Fleeting - Sigmund Miller
Love Affair - Sigmund Miller
See Naples and Live - Sigmund Miller
Every Frame Has a Silver Lining - Robert Cenedella
Paris is Not the Same - Joseph Cochran
Five Thousand Pesos and a Kiss - Carl Jampel
The Hand of Glory - Jonquil Anthony
The Hyacinth Patrol - Virginia Cooke
Horseplay - Peter Lyon
Work of Art - Bud Lesser
Rogue's Holiday - Peter Lyon
A Ticket to Tangier - Orson Welles
An Old Moorish Custom - Irvan Ashkinazy
The chauffeur's neck remained quiet as we drove through San Francisco towards the Golden Gate Bridge. I could see that his neck had the potential for providing trouble in the future.
Richard Brautigan: Dreaming of Babylon
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