The Silver Screen Oasis

Is my favorite Noir. Are ther any other nominations ?

It's hard to pick favorites, but one that's close to my heart is "Force of Evil" (1948).

Beautiful dialogue that reads like free verse, wonderful music, and a deep affecting story about two brothers in crime.

Lots of interesting shots and camerawork, some of which influenced Copploa and Scorsese. Stars John Garfield. What's not to like?

Wow...there are so many great ones.

Is "Witness to Murder" considered to be a noir?

I love that film - Babs is great, but George Sanders is just so evil! What a tremendous job from him!

But I also really like "Laura"...and "The Narrow Margin"...and several others.

"Nightmare Alley" is a gem of a film-noir with perhaps Tyrone Power's finest performance. I still have the movie on VHS which I taped from AMC years ago.

My favorite will have to be "Double Indemnity".

mongoII wrote:"Nightmare Alley" is a gem of a film-noir with perhaps Tyrone Power's finest performance.

I agree. And don't forget Joan Blondell, also giving the performance of her career!

"Nightmare Alley" is terrific. I see it as a hybrid between noir and horror, because there is such a supernatural atmosphere hanging over the story. Joan Blondell is great, and Tyrone Power makes for a super heel.

Does anyone remember "Leap of Faith" a Steve Martin movie from about 14 years ago in which he played a travelling mentalist who scammed people? That reminded me of "Nightmare Alley" in some ways.

Singling out one particular noir film as the very best is a dauntless task at best, given the enormous number of bonafide classics and masterpieces looming out there! NIGHTMARE ALLEY is certainly among my personal top ten favorites, as are THIEVES HIGHWAY, KISS ME DEADLY, THE BIG HEAT, BLACK ANGEL, DETOUR and DECOY. But my all-time favorite ever? Jacques Tourneur's OUT OF THE PAST.

MikeBSG wrote: Does anyone remember "Leap of Faith" a Steve Martin movie from about 14 years ago in which he played a travelling mentalist who scammed people? That reminded me of "Nightmare Alley" in some ways.

I do remember it. I thought Nightmare Alley was the better film, but I can't say why without giving away spoilers.

I too prefer "Nightmare Alley' to "Leap of Faith," but I thought "Leap" owed a lot to "Nightmare," particularly in the scene in which Martin smooth-talked a state trooper out of giving him a speeding ticket.

MikeBSG wrote:I too prefer "Nightmare Alley' to "Leap of Faith," but I thought "Leap" owed a lot to "Nightmare," particularly in the scene in which Martin smooth-talked a state trooper out of giving him a speeding ticket.

That scene was almost a direct steal, wasn't it? Although of course these days stealing ideas from other movies is called homaging, isn't it?

Laura is my favorite. I have just added Nightmare Alley to my Netflix queue because, incredibly, I still have not seen this movie.

I also love Out of the Past, but because of the ending I don't think it can be a "favorite". As un-noirish as it is, I insist on happy endings. So my #2 favorite would have to be On Dangerous Ground, if it counts as a noir. I'm still a bit fuzzy about what constitutes noir or not.

miss g

MissGoddess wrote:I also love Out of the Past,
miss g

Out of the Past is my favourite movie ever.

Worth it just to hear Mitchum say: "Baby, I don't care."

Or when Kirk Douglas says to Mitchum after Mitch suggests that Joe (Douglas' henchman, played by Paul Valentine) look for Kathy Moffatt instead: "Joe couldn't find a prayer in the bible." One of my favorite lines ever!

dfordoom wrote:

MissGoddess wrote:I also love Out of the Past,
miss g

Out of the Past is my favourite movie ever.

Worth it just to hear Mitchum say: "Baby, I don't care."

Lee Server picked the perfect line for the tile of his Mitchum biography.

Dewey1960 wrote:Or when Kirk Douglas says to Mitchum after Mitch suggests that Joe (Douglas' henchman, played by Paul Valentine) look for Kathy Moffatt instead: "Joe couldn't find a prayer in the bible." One of my favorite lines ever!

Ha! I don't remember that line---but I will now forever.