5 Film Noirs I’m Loving Right Now
Gloria Swanson descends the stairs for her “close up” at the climax of SUNSET BOULEVARD - photo courtesy Bison Archives
Originally I titled this blog “My Five Favorite Film Noirs” but I found making those definitive selections impossible! Film Noir, characterized by dark stories featuring cynical characters, femme fatales, dramatic black and white cinematography, twisted love, and crime, were popular in the U.S. in the 1940s and 50s and fortunately, many survive, making it hard to choose a top five! However, here are five I’m obsessed with right now:
Sunset Boulevard (1950) - a down-on-his-luck writer becomes entangled in the web of a 1920s movie queen bent on a “return” (never comeback!) to the screen. Throw in a few popular Hollywood locations, and a lovely ambitious young (female) writer and you have a recipe for not just a great noir, but a truly CLASSIC film. Also, the BRILLIANT casting! Gloria Swanson, Erich Von Stoheim, William Holden, and Nancy Olson especially - I can’t imagine anyone else in their roles.
Double Indemnity (1944) - I regularly walk by the home that played the Dietrichson home in Double Indemnity, and it’s not far from another house in the neighborhood that Barbara Stanwyck (who plays Phyllis Dietrichson in the film) lived in in real life. This film is never far from my mind, but even if I didn’t see these little bits of film history daily, the dark story of Phyllis Dietrichson and her insurance policy-selling lover plotting to murder poor Mr. Dietrichson is hard to put out of your head after you see it. That, and Barbara Stanwyck’s anklet…
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) - Lana Turner’s stunning white wardrobe, designed to help this dark film get past the censors, is the only bit of purity in this lurid tale. Again, two lovers plot to bump off the husband, but, unfortunately for everyone involved, things don’t go as planned.
I Wake Up Screaming (1941) - Because Carole Landis died way too young! I wish she’d left a larger body of work as a legacy. Carole is as unfortunate in this film as she was in real life. And I LOVE seeing Betty Grable in a dark movie. Ideally she’d have done more dramatic roles, but she was never comfortable with them, and stuck to singing and dancing for most of her career. Laird Cregar is also amazing in this film, and by amazing I mean super-scary-creepy - seriously, he’s the stuff of nightmares.
In a Lonely Place (1950) - This film really gets me. Humphrey Bogart and Gloria Grahame are both perfect for noir, and each other in this story. I was so rooting for them, and every time I watch it I hope the ending will be different.
Honorable Mention: The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946) - Stanwyck is back and again torn between two men. Is she really that evil, or did life turn her that way? I can never decide - but I can’t help wanting a happy ending for Lisbeth Scott when I watch this film. And Janis Wilson cast as the younger version of Stanwyck’s character is spot on!
Sunset Boulevard fans! This Saturday, February 18th I’m hosting a presentation via Zoom on the making of this stand-out film. Click here for details if you’re interested!
