The 20 All-Time Best Noir Films!

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Christian Blauvelt at IndieWire came up with a list of The 20 Best Film Noir Movies of All Time.  It’s not a bad list.

I’ve seen 16 of the top 20.  The films I haven’t seen are ‘Christmas Holiday’ (dir. Robert Siodmak, 1944); ‘Leave Her to Heaven’ (dir. John M. Stahl, 1945);  ‘The Reckless Moment’ (dir. Max Ophuls, 1949) and ‘Sweet Smell of Success’ (dir. Alexander Mackendrick, 1957).

Using just Blauvelt’s 20, here are my top five (in alphabetical order)…

  • Big Sleep, The (dir. Howard Hawks, 1946)
  • Double Indemnity (dir. Billy Wilder, 1944)
  • In a Lonely Place (dir. Nicholas Ray, 1950)
  • Night of the Hunter (dir. Charles Laughton, 1955)
  • Touch of Evil (dir. Orson Welles, 1958)

There are two noirs that would have made my top five had they made Blauvelt’s list: The Postman Always Rings Twice and The Big Heat.

For some reason I usually don’t consider Night of the Hunter a noir film.  Same goes for The Maltese Falcon.  I love both of them, but they don’t usually come to mind.