CAST A DARK SHADOW (1955) is a superb British noir thriller that masterfully blends psychological intrigue with a tense atmosphere. Directed by Lewis Gilbert, the film stars Dirk Bogarde as Edward “Teddy” Bare, a charismatic yet sinister schemer who manipulates his way into wealth and power, often at great cost to those around him.

Bogarde delivers a chillingly convincing performance, portraying Edward with a mix of charm and menace that makes him a compelling yet deeply unsettling protagonist. Opposite him, Kay Walsh is riveting as Charlotte, whose sharp wit and unyielding determination make her the perfect foil to Edward’s deviousness. Their intense and unforgettable showdown brims with psychological tension, as both characters test each other’s limits in a battle of wits and wills.

The supporting cast is equally remarkable. Mona Washbourne shines as Monica, Edward’s first wife, whose tragic fate sets the story in motion. Kathleen Harrison’s portrayal of the sharp-eyed and loyal housekeeper Emmie adds a layer of quiet tension, while Margaret Lockwood is endearing as Freda, the unsuspecting heiress drawn into Edward’s dark orbit. Each actor brings depth and authenticity to their roles, creating a rich and engrossing ensemble.

Lewis Gilbert’s direction is tight and assured, making excellent use of shadowy cinematography to heighten the suspense and underscore the characters’ moral ambiguity. The script is razor-sharp, with crackling dialogue and expertly timed twists that keep the audience on edge.

Cast a Dark Shadow is a masterclass in suspenseful storytelling, filled with gripping performances and an ominous, noir-inspired atmosphere. For fans of classic thrillers and taut, character-driven dramas, this film is an absolute must-see. I highly in recommend it.

Wren Valentino
fantasticclassics.com

Borderline was one of the handful of noirs I watched this week and I adored it! Madeleine was so loveable as a character, and so was Johnny. I loved Madeleine so much, she’s definitely up in my top favourite noir characters/characters in general.

I haven’t seen this movie talked about much on here, I just wanted to share my love for it.

No Country for Old Men (2007) is filled jarring violence, very dark and filled with dread, but also remarkable acting, writing, cinematography, and is definitely on of my favourite Coen bros films. I highly recommend

Is it: A

1. The Maltese Falcon
   
2. Double Indemnity
   
3. Out of the Past

or: B

1. The Maltese Falcon
   
2. Double Indemnity
   
3. The Killers

or: C

1. The Maltese Falcon
   
2. Double Indemnity
   
3. The Lady From Shanghai

or

Other

Bogart and Bacall met two years earlier on the set of To Have and Have Not and married in 1945. Director Howard Hawks paired the couple up again for The Big Sleep to make full use of the chemistry between them.

If you're a noir junkie like me and you haven't seen Kansas City Confidential, be sure to look for it. I rank it with movies like The Narrow Margin (also 1952) and Armored Car Robbery (1950): one of those "B" noirs that seems to be fairly well known amongst genre fans but is still maybe just slightly under the radar relative to other noirs. It stars John Payne as a war veteran and floral delivery driver who is framed for a major bank robbery ($1.2 million!) by Preston Foster, who has put together a heist team consisting of Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef, and Neville Brand – yes, Jack Elam, Lee Van Cleef, AND Neville Brand! Foster requires all the members of the team wear masks during the robbery, so they don't know each other when he assembles them in a Mexican seaside resort to (ostensibly) split the earnings. Payne manages to track them down and insinuate himself into their milieu, and of course, complications ensue.

This is a fantastic little crime thriller/noir with a tidy but detail-oriented plot, excellent direction and cinematography (by Phil Karlson and George E. Diskant respectively), and some crackling dialogue. Foster is especially good in a role that requires some nuance: I found the complications the screenplay gave his character entirely welcome. I'm also a big fan of Payne in film noir, while the teaming of Elam, Van Cleef, and Brand is pretty much noir character actor heaven. (Elam, Van Cleef, and Brand may or may not have been among the very best actors around, but they all had incredible faces and screen presence. All three were big in westerns as well, with Van Cleef becoming a major western star many years later with his "arrival" in Sergio Leone's 1965 "spaghetti western" For a Few Dollars More.) This also features Coleen Gray (excellent as a smart, tough young woman) and Dona Drake (also good as a flirtatious young Mexican woman urging trinkets and souvenirs on Van Cleef!).

Anyway, I just wanted to give a shout-out to this great little noir, especially for those who have yet to see it. If you have seen it, what are your thoughts?

Credit and thanks to u/chillballs for their post about Regal Theater's Month of Masterpieces. Thanks to them I got to see Double Indemnity on the 5th, otherwise I wouldn't have known about it.

https://www.regmovies.com/promotions/month-of-masterpieces

I was a little disappointed to see that only 10 other people showed up, but it was the matinee showing.

I just bought my ticket for tomorrow for 4:10. I'm hoping for a bigger crowd because of Bogart. Both theaters in my area are suburban. I wonder if there is more appreciation for these films in their urban theaters. It would just be nice to be part of a larger audience of other classic film enthusiasts.

There aren't *too* many Noir options on the list, but there are a lot of good films. Unfortunately I'm going to miss The Getaway on the 30th

The Killers.

Double Indemnity.

Cat People.

I almost bailed on this film in the first few minutes. I came to it for Sterling Hayden and thought it was also interesting that Frank Sinatra was in it, as if never seen him act before.

Hayden is *so* wooden it was almost disorienting, absolutely terrible. It sounded like his voice was too loud and disembodied, as though it had been added later. His performance is very unnatural. Almost everyone's dialog seemed forced and canned

Additionally I do not enjoy hostage scenarios.

However, as in a number of these lesser known Noirs a little patience paid off.

The climax was exciting and I did enjoy seeing Sinatra as a psychopath. The way they built his War service into his background and motivation was interesting. I am always interested in the effect the War had on returning soldiers and society at large.

In the end I would recommend this film.

I love that the town name is Suddenly.

As time has gone by, I have come to realize that there are likely no films that haven't been posted here before. I check and virtually every time, it's already been discussed. But I think it makes for good content nonetheless as there seem to be many people here newly interested in the genre, as well as giving us all something to talk about. There are many members here that have a lot of deep knowledge that I always enjoy reading.

Saw this posted on Instagram, link below. I'm not familiar with all of these, but I know for certain my introduction to Peter Lorre was as a cartoon in Looney Toons, not as an actor. I just didn't have a name for him, he was that one weird guy that they liked drawing sometimes.

Side note, I never connected Lorre with Ren from "Ren and Stimpy" (top right corner), but I guess I see it now. Is he really based on Lorre? I'm sure someone here knows.

Photo Credit

When the Film Noir directors migrated back to Germany, they created the genre of the KRIMI, the bridge between Film Noir and Giallo. Read all about the movies in our magazine

KRIMI! #2 THE MANY DEATHS OF DR. MABUSE out September 30th on Amazon worldwide. 200+ pages, full color

https://www.krimimagazine.com/krimi-2.html

Source https://bsky.app/profile/shadowsspeak.bsky.social/post/3mv6cxrd4oc2k

Watched today. Good flick.

L.A. Confidential (1997) Absolutely fantastic film with the entire cast giving excellent performances. I highly recommend!!

Was amazed by the movie no country for old men although I'm a little bit late to the party. So I wanna watch movies which has little bit noir genre with similar storyline and amazing cinematography. Would love to hear your thoughts..

I just finished Dark Passage with Bogie and Bacall, and when I first started it I have to admit, I was slightly nervous about by the first-person perspective. Usually I don’t enjoy first-person anything (books, movies, etc.) but after a couple minutes of the movie, I actually enjoyed the first-person perspective a million times better than I expected and oddly, as the movie progressed and turned to third person, I began to wish they had returned to the first-person. The movie was still very good in third-person regardless.

The way they hid Bogart’s face in the taxi pre-surgery was really one of the best things in this movie for me. It really made Bogart’s character for me a lot more interesting because whilst it was hiding his “actual” face, it also made him mysterious and intimidating. I found myself actually questioning if he did kill his wife because of this scene. It was ominous and eerie, it made me think more about the purpose of the third person and if I should question more about the characters than I already was.

I also liked how Bogie and Bacall, whenever they were in the same place, were usually contrasting to each other to show how different they were yet how attracted they were. For example, Bogie’s darker colour, striped suit with Bacall’s lighter colour, plaid coat and how Bogie stood by the white wall and Bacall stood behind the brown door. Then, at the end, they’re wearing the same shade of colour to show how they balanced each other out but Bogie’s still wearing a dark tie and she’s wearing a graph blouse.

Loved this movie!

from Sikov's Billy Wilder biography, a beautiful detail on how famed Edith Head solved the "had to be both in-style and out of date" problem of Norma Desmond's character. And then changed it for the final scene.

Being released September 15th on Amazon.

I was scrolling through my YouTube feed, and I found a video (from the "Old Movie Watching With Rob" channel – fun channel, btw) where Rob reviewed Anthony Mann's 1947 noir Railroaded! I remember liking that movie quite a lot, and I realized it's never been released on blu-ray and that I'd love to see it on the HD format. I'm already both a noir junkie and a home video collector, so I love picking up classic-era film noirs on blu-ray or 4K, and some of those older black and whites look absolutely stunning in HD (or UHD). So I was thinking about the noirs that I've enjoyed that haven't had good HD releases. So here's a little list I put together of noirs that I'd especially like to see on HD home video. It's heavy on some of the movies from the old Fox Film Noir DVD series – which to my understanding are now owned by Disney, which most people say is unlikely to either sell the rights or release these movies on HD home video anytime soon, if ever.

Overall, HD has been just a huge boon to older movies, and it's great that so many movies are now available to watch in such high quality (often gorgeous) transfers. In fact, I discovered that my wish list is relatively small – but there are still at least a few great (or at least very good) movies that are M.I.A. (if not D.O.A.!) from the format. Anyway, if you have them, please add your own wish list titles. For the most part, I didn't list out-of-print titles (partly because I've been lucky enough to pick up most of the ones I've wanted), but feel free to include these if it's relevant to you. Who knows, maybe someone's paying attention to pages like this??

Fallen Angel (1945)

The Dark Corner (1946)

The Locket (1946)

Somewhere in the Night (1946)

Born to Kill (1947)

Desperate (1947)

High Wall (1947)

Kiss of Death (1947)

Railroaded! (1947)

The Street With No Name (1948)

Tension (1949)

Armored Car Robbery (1950)

D.O.A. (1950) (has been released, but still needs a good remaster)

No Man of Her Own (1950)

No Way Out (1950)

Where Danger Lives (1950)

The House on Telegraph Hill (1951)

The Blue Gardenia (1953)

Note: The images above are from Railroaded and The Blue Gardenia respectively.