The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950) [Film Noir] [Crime]

Wealthy socialite Lois Frazer wants a divorce from her husband, but he’s not ready to let her go so easy. Suspecting that he intends to murder her, she calls Lieutenant Ed Cullen, with whom she’s been having an affair, in an effort to save herself from her husband’s wrath. When Ed arrives someone dies, but …

Time Table (1956) [Film Noir] [Drama]

A physician, whose license has been revoked, poses as a practicing doctor aboard a train passing through Arizona. His presence there is part of a caper involving a fictitious patient, on whose behalf he gains access to his checked baggage, including his physician’s “black bag,” in the baggage car, whereupon he blows and then robs …

The Amazing Mr. X (1948) [Film Noir] [Thriller]

“The Amazing Mr. X”, also known as “The Spiritualist”, is a film noir directed by Bernard Vorhaus with cinematography by John Alton. Like “Nightmare Alley” (1947), this film tells the story of a phony spiritualist racket. The film is prominently featured in Alton’s book on cinematography “Painting with Light” (1949). The film stars Turhan Bey, …

Fear in the Night (1947) [Film Noir] [Drama]

Fear in the Night is an American low budget black-and-white film noir directed by Maxwell Shane and starring Paul Kelly and DeForest Kelley (in his film debut). It is based on the Cornell Woolrich story “And So to Death” (retitled ‘”Nightmare” in 1943). Woolrich is credited under pen name William Irish. The film was remade …

Cause for Alarm! (1951) [Film Noir] [Drama]

A flashback shows how Ellen met George in a naval hospital during World War II while she was dating his friend, Lieutenant Ranney Grahame (Bruce Cowling), a young military doctor whose busy schedule left little time for her. George was a pilot and Ellen swiftly fell in love with him, although the flashback strongly hints …

The Scar (1948) [Film Noir] [Drama]

Just released from prison, John Muller (Paul Henreid) masterminds a holdup at an illegal casino run by Rocky Stansyck. The robbery goes bad, and the mobsters captured some of Muller’s men and force them to identify the rest before killing them. Stansyck has a reputation for tracking down and killing his enemies, no matter how …

D.O.A. (1950) [Film Noir] [Drama]

The film begins with what a BBC reviewer called “perhaps one of cinema’s most innovative opening sequences.” The scene is a long, behind-the-back tracking sequence featuring Frank Bigelow (Edmond O’Brien) walking through the hallway of a police station to report his own murder. Oddly, the police almost seem to have been expecting him and already …