I love Nightmare Alley. Good back to back with Gun Crazy.
A few guns would have made Nightmare Alley a lot better to me 
Freaks is way better imo. Watched Raw Deal last night. Took a little while to get going but I thought the second half was excellent…
The Night Affair, with Jean Gabin as a retiring police-detective on his final murder-investigation. He ends-up romancing the initial suspect; Nadja Tiller, playing a German ‘immigrant’ living in Paris. Lurking around the periphery of the plot are a drug-ring and a corporate conspiracy to ‘solve the murder quickly’, but neither trespass on the film’s attempt to depict a straightfoward murder-investigation from beginning to its surprising-but-not-unexpected ending. And luckily, Gabin isn’t bogged-down by having a police-partner. He shows how he rose-to-the-top of his department. -Though he’s retiring to grow cherries instead of roses. Wink.
Manhandled, 1949… a relatively weak murder/burglary affair that relies too much on coincidence. A fake psychiatrist sets-up practice to discover where his ‘patients’ keep their jewels, etc. But he hires a real secretary? (Dorothy Lamour) -Who happens to live in an apartment with a fake P.I., Dan Duryea, who is a jewel-thief too. It’s unrealistic, but a scheme to frame Lamour for everything is put in-motion, as the police investigate the original murder. Sterling Hayden is the insurance-snoop who tags-along with the cops, but ends-up doing most of the investigating. The acting is great put action is pedestrian.
Recently got these from a merchant(THE PITFALL, THE THREAT, WOMAN IN HIDING, DEADLINE AT DAWN, SHAKEDOWN, and THE SILK NOOSE(aka) NOOSE. These will keep me busy for awhile.
Finally watched Gun Crazy. I really enjoyed it however…I thought the acting was very bad, which usually doesnt bother me much, but John Dall was about as close as you can get to being a human mannequin.
Nightfall, 1957…
Nightfallllllllllllllllllll, and youuuuuuuuuu… the opening song is quintessentially Jacques Tourneur-ish. You know you’re in for something special in-terms of suspense and evil villainy. And nobody films outdoor noir-scenes like Tourneur. The film is told in flashbacks via Aldo Ray, as the innocent fugitive, and by James Gregory, as the insurance-investigator on his trail. Also on Ray’s trail are the ‘real’ villians; Brian Kieth and Rudy Bond, who plays one of the most demonically Tarantino-ish psychos in screen-history. It’s flawless except for the ending… with Bond-and-Ray fistfighting while climbing-into and falling-out-of a bizarre-looking runaway snowplow several times. Don’t miss this gem.
Rewatched the Driver, still one of the greatest neo-noirs ever produced, and most certainly Walter Hill’s best film…
The Maltese Falcon
The Third Man
Suspicion
Dark Passage (Bogart)
Out of the Past
Rebecca
Just got my Columbia Film Noir Classics 1 set and watched The Linup and Murder by Contract. Loved both of them! Turning out to be my best purchase since the Fernando di Leo Crime box 
The Lineup is a good one. Eli Wallach plays a creepy criminal. Murder by Contract I haven’t seen it, will have to put it on my list to watch.
if you dont already have the other movies on it (The Sniper, Big Heat, Lineup, 5 Against the House) I recommend the Columbia Film Noir Classics 1 set. Has anyone seen New York Confidential? Thinking about picking it up…
-Zillions of years ago. I forgot everything about it, having to be content with enjoying Conte in only The Big Combo and The Blue Gardenia in the meantime.
Watched a Noir double feature: The Spiral Staircase and A Blueprint for Murder. I read theres some debate weather or not Spiral Staircase is a Noir. Sure seems like it is to me, and a very good one! Blueprint was enjoyable but nothing really special. I just got Odds Against Tomorrow in the mail, looking forward to watching that next.
1947; Riff-Raff… Pat O’Brien at his best… a world-weary, arrogant, con-man, ladies’ man, and detective who becomes whirlpooled into intrigue over a missing airplane-passenger and a valuable oilfield-map the passenger was carrying. It’s set in Panama City, providing the obligatory luxurious but seedy backdrop of open-air nightclubs and darkly-narrow alleys. Skillfully scripted and directed, the characters aren’t quite what they seem… except for unusual-but-perfect casting of Percy Kilbride as ‘Pop’, Dan Hammer’s (O’Brien) driver, continually clashing with a car that refuses to operate correctly. Wonderfully satisfying film.
Just saw a great double feature: Sterling Hayden playing a tough cop and a very young Charles Bronson in Crime Wave very good. Then watched Decoy (which I’d never heard of) turned out to be excellent! 5/5
Being a fan of Gordon Douglas, watched BETWEEN MIDNIGHT AND DAWN (1950) with Edmund O’Brien and Mark Stevens. I wasn’t disappointed.
Story about two buddy cops who patrol the streets at night, in a likeable B-movie that comes across between classic noir and crime melodrma. It’s a simple film that gives a new insight into the predicable and often routine of the violent surprises of the streets for the cops who work the graveyard shift. Marvellous performance by O"Brien. Solid noir imo.
Kansas City Confidential (Karlson/52)
Kansas City Confidential (1952) is a film noir directed by the undervalued Phil Karlson, famed for his tough B-features of the 1950’s. This is one of his best, a hard, rough little movie that gives us excellent performances from the underused (in American cinema at least) Lee Van Cleef and Jack Elam.
The script (by George Bruce and Harry Essex) has Joe Rolfe (John Payne) framed for a brilliantly efficient robbery in Kansas City of an armoured truck carried out by men masked so as to not be able to tell on each other, trying to cut into the split of the money in Mexico, pretending he is one of the robbers.
One of the best parts of the film is the great muscular direction that makes Karlson so distinctive. His mise-en-scène is full of tight close-ups, harsh lighting and, for its time, brutal violence. The film is fast paced, leaving little time to breathe and packs a real wallop. The acting is excellent, with John Payne, formerly a crooner in the forties, successfully making the transition to tough guy. The rest of the cast is full of hard actors like Van Cleef, Neville Brand and Elam that rarely had the chance to play such pivotal parts in films; they reward Karlson’s trust in their abilities in spades.
The photography by George E. Diskant is very good, and combined with Buddy Small’s editing, exudes violence throughout the film. The run up to and the actual robbery itself is masterpiece of construction and a great example of the both Diskant’s and Small’s professions working together to create something totally cinematic.
A cracking, hard-nosed film noir that is infused with cinematic exuberance, this is a film any movie lover should see.
Welcome to the KC Confidential fan club Just watched Out of the Past. I liked it but I think I prefer noirs that are a little more “grimy” Like Decoy, D.O.A. & Kiss Me Deadly.
The Great Flamarion. I really enjoyed it. Mostly for Erich von Stroheim. Would probably benefit from a better release though. The picture quality is poor on the one available on amazon.