Satan Met a Lady (1936)

Satan Met a Lady (1936)

[4] This second retelling of The Maltese Falcon (before John Huston proved the the third time was the charm) is a bizarre pseudo-comedy with an ingratiating performance by Warren William in the role Humphrey Bogart would later immortalize. Warren got…
The Maltese Falcon (1931)

The Maltese Falcon (1931)

[5] A mysterious woman enters detective Sam Spade's office with information about a valuable statue called the Maltese Falcon. Spade is soon swept up into a mystery involving multiple pursuers of the statue in this famous story from Dashielle Hammett.…
The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

[7] A claustrophobic mystery featuring a career-launching performance from Humphrey Bogart. Characters like Sam Spade can often be played over the top, but Bogart keeps it grounded and accessible for me. I also like the ensemble of supporting players, including…
The Good German (2006)

The Good German (2006)

[5] George Clooney and Cate Blanchett star in Steven Soderbergh's homage to war-time film noir, right down to the black and white 4x3 Academy aspect ratio. Clooney plays an American military journalist who tries to figure out who shot his…
Chinatown (1974)

Chinatown (1974)

[9] Chinatown is the name of the movie, but only a short final scene takes place there. One could argue the film is a journey to its namesake, but even that's not enough to explain the title. In a rare…
Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

[10] In this darkly comic noir masterpiece from Billy Wilder, a struggling Hollywood screenwriter (William Holden) moves in with a delusional silent film star named Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) who wants him to write the script for her big comeback.…
Notorious (1946)

Notorious (1946)

[9] Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant headline this twisted love story from Alfred Hitchcock, about a secret service agent (Grant) who entices an aimless drunk (Bergman) to spy on a group of Nazis gathering uranium in Rio de Janeiro. There's…