Film noir: The Best from Every Year
Submitted by ash_campbell on Fri, 01/25/2008 - 04:33
Tags:
- 1941: The Maltese Falcon
- This is where it all starts, and it may be the high-water mark for the genre. Bogart’s Sam Spade is the prototypical detective that many an actor would imitate, and the rogue’s gallery of supporting players is hard to top.
- 1942: This Gun for Hire
- Alan Ladd may be a little miscast for the thuggish, heartless Phillip Raven, but there’s some strange attraction to it. Veronica Lake almost burns the screen up, and the climax scene is pretty good.
- 1943: Shadow of a Doubt
- Reportedly Hitchcock’s personal favorite, genre great Joseph Cotton steals the show in this very well-crafted film.
- 1944: Double Indemnity, Laura
- The first of a couple of ties, 1944 may be the height of film noir’s time as a major artistic genre. Indemnity is nearly perfect and is an early example of the love angle being between the leading men (even though there’s always a male-female love relationship), while Laura has all the rich banter associated with noir. Also recommended: To Have and Have Not, Murder My Sweet, and the somewhat strange Woman in the Window.
- 1945: Spellbound
- This probably pushes the genre a little far for many, but I think the equivocal morality of the characters (especially in the first half of the film) puts it square in. Add to that what may be Peck’s moodiest acting, and I think it fits nicely.
- 1946: The Big Sleep
- That this is from author Raymond Chandler’s book, adapted by William Faulkner, should tell you everything that you need to know. Even if the plot is so confused you need a road map, the performances from Bogart and Bacall are fantastic. Not to be missed. Also recommended: Gilda, The Stranger.
- 1947: Out of the Past
- Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas are perfectly cast as antagonistic friends, and this may be the best example of the choices that the anti-hero can make: good girl versus bad girl, good job versus bad job, etc. Also recommended: Kiss of Death (if for nothing else than Richard Widmark’s wonderful psychopath), Dark Passage (an underrated Bogart/Bacall pairing).
- 1948: The Big Clock
- Ray Milland shines in this cooky and darkly comic noir with fantastic support from both Elsa Lanchester and Charles Laugthon. A diamond in the rough. Also recommended: Key Largo, Sorry Wrong Number.
- 1949: The Third Man.
- Not much to say about this one, though it is one of the few true film noir’s done outside the United States.
- 1950: The Asphalt Jungle, Sunset Blvd.
- Of course Blvd. is the better film and noir, but Jungle is the dirtier, rougher film with Sterling Hayden’s best work (though see 1956 below). Also recommended: D.O.A.
- 1951: Strangers on a Train
- Really more of a crime thriller than noir, this still has most of the touches, with some of the moral ambivalence, dark themes, and stark shooting style.
- 1952: Kansas City Confidential
- Ahhh, ex-cons getting pulled into one last job! Has there ever been a better way to introduce a jaded character trying to redeem himself? Also recommended: The Narrow Margin.
- 1953: The Big Heat
- Don’t read a review of this one, just go rent it immediately. One of my personal favorites from this list, and certainly the best of the forgotten noirs.
- 1954: Suddenly
- Did you know that Frank Sinatra was in a solid film noir? Now you do.
- 1955: Bad Day at Black Rock
- So was Spencer Tracy. Probably the toughest one-armed man in film history. This one gives you the whole range of antagonists and makes great use of them plotwise, rather then just showing off. Also recommended: Kiss Me Deadly.
- 1956: The Killing
- Stanley Kubrick cut his teeth on the noir genre (see his first film from the previous year, Killer’s Kiss). Sterling Hayden gives his other great performance as the ring leader of a planned heist. One of the only true noirs filmed in color.
- 1957: Sweet Smell of Success
- Just goes to show that you don’t have to have a gun to be dark, evil and deadly.
- 1958: Touch of Evil
- The last great noir has Orson Welles in his deliciously evil fat phase.
Film noir is identified both by its dark filming style (shadows, cigarette smoke, etc.) and its equally dark stories & characters. Though the time line and group of films that qualify as noir are not agreed on, it’s roughly given that the genre starts in the early 40’s and peters out in 58. Many a director and actor got their starts or breakthroughs with noir, and many current directors are fascinated and influenced by this relatively small genre. Here are the best from each year. As always, these are only from films I’ve seen, so there might be a few that should be here that I haven’t gotten to yet.