Noirvember 2022
I decided that for something that is one of my favorite genres I saw not that much of Noir, so here we go. This time this list will be separate from Halloween Hangover, although some titles will inevitably crossover into both lists.
Counted:
-3 feature films;
-1 TV episode;
-2 webisodes;
-1 short film.
Counted:
-3 feature films;
-1 TV episode;
-2 webisodes;
-1 short film.
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7 titles
- DirectorWallace McCutcheonStarsAnthony O'SullivanRobert G. VignolaTwo members of a gang write a threatening letter to a butcher, demanding that he give them money, or else they will harm his family and his shop. The butcher is afraid and upset, but he is unable to meet their demands. The gang then kidnaps his daughter, leading to a series of tense and dangerous confrontations.6 November: Proto-Noir (also Snow Noir), arguably the earliest you can get since it is also often considered the earliest gangster film in existence. While sets and photography are largely flat as was common for 1900's it has a foreshadowing of noir's low-budget brilliance, when it uses location photography mid-film, shifting to real 7th Avenue in New York. Easily the grittiest and most interesting scenes of the whole movie, no wonder that it ended up a primary photo on IMDb. It's a great, simple and effective scene, even though half the street is looking at the camera at some point. Then there's also a fact that it's a "true crime" thingie.
- DirectorLisa JoyStarsHugh JackmanRebecca FergusonThandiwe NewtonNick Bannister, a private investigator of the mind, navigates the alluring world of the past when his life is changed by new client Mae. A simple case becomes an obsession after she disappears and he fights to learn the truth about her.6 November: Neo-Noir (also Tech-Noir). Maybe not great, but definitely a good little movie (especially for a feature directorial debut). Not sure why it flopped, but sometimes it just happens. Has all the trappings of film noir and clever play on the genre tropes to be enjoyable. It has surprisingly great performances and a familiar emotional edge to it, with a mixture of rage and melancholy.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael OntkeanMädchen AmickThe small northwest town of Twin Peaks, Washington is shaken up when the body of the Homecoming Queen, Laura Palmer, is discovered washed up on a riverbank, wrapped in plastic.7 November: It's always a pleasant experience to return to Twin Peaks (1990). It is distinctively neo-noirish, but is also a Psycho-Noir, a very specific subgenre.
- DirectorLew LandersStarsRichard ArlenAndy DevineDorothy LovettA triad of rival news journalist go to great lengths in sabotaging each other, but come together as heroes when they're unwittingly embroiled in a sinister foreign intelligence plot to blow up a dam.8 November: When you inititally start to watch it it seems mislabeled as a film-noir, but then turns out to be a comedic, but nevertheless solid spin on a genre that was still forming at this point. Definitely has interesting scenes and directorial decisions about it and is also notable as one of the earliest stringer noir movies, something that mostly took off during the neo-noir phase.
- DirectorHerbert I. LeedsStarsLloyd NolanHeather AngelDoris MerrickOne of the "Michael Shayne" detective series, Time to Kill was based on The High Window, by Raymond Chandler. Private dick Mike Shayne (Lloyd Nolan) is hired by wealthy Mrs. Murdock (Ethel Gryffies) to retrieve a stolen rare coin she is convinced her daughter-in-law has stolen. Shayne uncovers a gang of counterfeiters and a surfeit of coins as he stumbles his way into and out of evidence and gangsters, and romance.8 November: It's odd that it's the last movie in an already established series and yet it copies recent The Maltese Falcon (1941) in many ways. A pleasant watch, but definitely inferior to many classics.
- StarsJay BaumanMacaulay CulkinJosh DavisThe gang is joined again by Mack and Shawn to discuss three wildly different types of insane movies. But most importantly...ROAR.14 November: Noir elements and tropes of Hawk Jones (1986) are discussed in this episode.
- 2013– 1h 19m8.4 (48)TV EpisodeStarsJack PackardJay BaumanTim HigginsMake some popcorn and settle in for an episode where, as it turns out, pretty much all three films could have been Spotlight episodes on their own. Get ready for rubber monsters, nonsensical and unmotivated flying cars, and a clueless alien detective.30 November: Noir elements of the Alien Private Eye (1989).