Originally published December 15th, 2015 Maybe it’s the forced togetherness and spirit of brotherhood that makes the holidays so perfect for the noir genre. Whether it’s the glittery Hollywood pulp … Continue Reading 25 Days of Christmas: Lady on a Train (1945)
Describing the Florida Keys always sounds as if a Dashiell Hammett-esque noir voice should be speaking the words aloud: “An isolated strip of land as beautiful as it is hot.” … Continue Reading Key Largo (1948)
The different breeds of noir can end up creating a dark morass of shadows and fog, with little variety in-between that it’s remarkable that some noirs were able to stand … Continue Reading The Big Heat (1953)
Fallen Angel is certainly the perfect title for a film noir; the term, attributed to the ultimate fallen angel, Lucifer, immediately conjures up images of Hell, sin, and dark dames … Continue Reading Fallen Angel (1945)
There’s a formula to film noirs, and while not strictly enforced there are particular elements one looks for – the morally ambiguous hero, interplay between light and shadow, an evil … Continue Reading Pitfall (1948)
Despite the ingrained conventions of film noir some films can leave you surprised. So it is with director Phil Karlson’s Kansas City Confidential. What starts as a typical heist film … Continue Reading Kansas City Confidential (1952)
I recently saw Kiss Me Deadly on Criterion and contemplated purchasing it, sight unseen because I love anything Criterion. Unfortunately I didn’t have the money for it and decided to … Continue Reading Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Oft-considered one of the greatest film noirs ever made, John Huston’s The Asphalt Jungle is a story about the perils of city life…with the added bonus of a jewel heist. John … Continue Reading The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Flicker Alley debuts two brand-new restorations this week with the DVD/Blu-ray combo release of Too Late for Tears (1949) and Woman on the Run (1950). Public domain victims whose copies … Continue Reading Woman on the Run (1950)
With my new full-time writer status, part of my transition with the site is to write about movie I get truly excited over, whether it makes me so mad I … Continue Reading Out of the Fog (1941)
Fritz Lang is a director whose work, even at its silliest, can entertain, and that’s how one must approach Beyond a Reasonable Doubt – now available in a beautiful Blu-ray … Continue Reading Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
There’s a disconnect to the 1950s best exemplified through media. One the one hand you have the Donna Reed world of mom, dad, and apple pie. And on the other … Continue Reading Gun Crazy (1950)
Sometimes a movie is just so weird I have to write about it in order to prove it wasn’t something I dreamed up. Doris Day was a recent honoree during … Continue Reading Julie (1956)
On first blush, George Cukor’s Gaslight isn’t a horror film. But it is if you’re a woman. The term commonly pops up today but most don’t know the movie it’s … Continue Reading Gaslight (1944)
I review the Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas noir, I Walk Alone.
My mother’s listened to Agnes Moorehead’s original radio production – a role she tackled till the 1960s – and I’m interested in comparing these two. On its own film, Sorry, … Continue Reading Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
