The Best Visual Stylistic Neo Noir-Film Soleil List 1960 onwards
A chronological (work in progress) list of the Great Visual Neo Noirs and Film Soleil (those sun baked, filled with light, often desert set Noirs) from 1961 on
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- DirectorAllen BaronStarsAllen BaronMolly McCarthyLarry TuckerA hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.Excellent low low budget "Spillane-Hammeresque" noir shot on a shoestring (for about $30,000) using actual NYC locations, they got Lionel Stander to do the narration for a $1000 uncredited, director Allen Baron was going to use Peter Falk as the lead but he got a better offer so Baron used himself, lol. Nice soundtrack also.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsCliff RobertsonDolores DornBeatrice KayA teenager who witnesses the murder of his father vows to exact revenge on the four mobsters involved in the killing.Cliff Robertson stars, Sam Fuller directed
- DirectorJack GarfeinStarsCarroll BakerRalph MeekerMildred DunnockA young rape victim tries desperately to pick up the pieces of her life, only to find herself at the mercy of a would-be rescuer.A "Kitchen Sink" Noir starring Carol Baker, Ralph Meeker and New York City.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsGregory PeckRobert MitchumPolly BergenA lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.Robert Mitchum is positively frightening in this dark revenge thriller, with Gregory Peck, Polly Bergen and Telly Savalas.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsGlenn FordLee RemickStefanie PowersA man with an asthmatic voice telephones and assaults clerk Kelly Sherwood at home and coerces her into helping him steal a large sum from her bank.A San Francisco police procedural that moves at a quick clip that never lets up. Glenn Ford, Lee Remick, Stephanie Powers, and Ross Martin.
- DirectorJerald IntratorStarsMeg MylesGrayson HallMike KeeneA carnival burlesque dancer robs her junkie ex-husband, goes to New York, gets a job at a high-class club where she becomes the mistress of the wealthy owner. She seduces his son and causes a murder.Directed by Jerald Intrator, Starring Meg Myles (The Phenix City Story (1955)), Grayson Hall (Night of The Iguana (1964), (Dark Shadows TV), Del Tenney, Mike Keene, Robert Yuro, and Sabrina. Called a 1962 American "sexploitation film" it's actually curiously well enough done and very film noir-ish in spots especially the opening intro carnival sequence which will remind you of Nightmare Alley. You wish it would have stayed at the carnival.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsFrank SinatraLaurence HarveyJanet LeighAn American POW in the Korean War is brainwashed as an unwitting assassin for an international Communist conspiracy.A Great Cold War Neo Noir starring Frank Sinatra, Lawrence Harvey, Janet Leigh and co-stars Angela Lansbury, Henry Silva, and James Gregory.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsAnthony QuinnJackie GleasonMickey RooneyKnockout performances by Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney and Julie Harris highlight this hard-hitting drama of corruption in the ring. Featuring Muhammad Ali.Stark and realistic. It's full of great actors and real-life boxing champs including then Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali), Jack Dempsey, and Willie Pep, stars screen legends Jackie Gleason, Anthony Quinn, and Mickey Rooney. Beautifully shot black and white cinematography with a pretty good musical score.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsPeter BreckConstance TowersGene EvansBent on winning a Pulitzer Prize, a journalist commits himself to a mental institution to solve a strange and unclear murder.A Sam Fuller film about a journalist who gets himself committed to a mental hospital in order to track an unsolved murder.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsConstance TowersAnthony EisleyMichael DanteA former prostitute relocates to a buttoned-down suburb, determined to fit in with mainstream society. But perverse secrets simmer beneath the wholesome surface.A shocking opening sequence that you wont forget.
- DirectorSidney LumetStarsRod SteigerGeraldine FitzgeraldBrock PetersA Jewish pawnbroker, victim of Nazi persecution, loses all faith in his fellow man until he realizes too late the tragedy of his actions.Directed by Sidney Lumet. With Rod Steiger, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Brock Peters, Jaime Sánchez. The Jewish holocaust from the viewpoint of a survivor. Sol Nazerman operates a pawnshop in East Harlem, Nazerman is bitter and alienated, viewing the people around him as "rejects, scum." as he interacts cynically with the many desperate characters pawning their goods.
- DirectorWilliam ConradStarsJeffrey HunterDana AndrewsAnne FrancisScientist Jim Grayam saves his boss' wife from suicide but then falls in love with her.Director: William Conrad, Jeffry Hunter saves an attractive Anne Francis from a suicide attempt, then becomes romantically involved and plots to kill her husband Dana Andrews.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsAlain DelonAnn-MargretVan HeflinSan Francisco ex-con Eddie Pedak wants to go straight, but local cop Mike Vido, motivated by a personal vendetta, keeps harassing him while Eddie's brother Walter wants Eddie for one last major heist.Crazy hyper-kinetic Ralph Nelson directed Noir
- DirectorJack SmightStarsPaul NewmanLauren BacallJulie HarrisCool private investigator Lew Harper is hired by a wealthy California matron to locate her kidnapped husband.Ross MacDonald's Lew Archer P.I. brought to the screen. Stars Paul Newman with a neat performance accompanied by a great cast of supporting characters
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsJames GarnerJean SimmonsSuzanne PleshetteAn amnesiac (James Garner) wanders the streets of Manhattan trying to figure out who he is.Jazz Noir - Mister Buddwing is one of those lost films that are on the cusp between Film Noir and Neo Noir. Sort of a psychological noir rather than a “crime” noir. A melancholy film that plays with time, space and your mind as the various vignettes overlap it's eerie and noirishly suspenseful, but at times darkly comic. It requires multiple viewings to fully comprehend.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsRobert BlakeScott WilsonJohn ForsytheTwo ex-cons murder a family in a robbery attempt, before going on the run from the authorities. The police try to piece together the details of the murder in an attempt to track down the killers.one of the all-time greatest movies about crime/criminals on the run
- DirectorNorman JewisonStarsSidney PoitierRod SteigerWarren OatesA black Philadelphia police detective is mistakenly suspected of a local murder while passing through a racially hostile Mississippi town, and after being cleared is reluctantly asked by the police chief to investigate the case.Forget about that is was produced at the height of the civil rights struggle becoming a benchmark film that has won accolades world over and look at it terms of a sort of Edward Hopper-esque, color Neo Noir. The compositions and muted colors render practically every scene a visual treat. If you've never seen it you will be pleasantly surprised, with a great Quincy Jones score to boot. 10/10 for me.
- DirectorPaul BogartStarsJames GarnerGayle HunnicuttCarroll O'ConnorA young woman from Kansas hires LA private detective Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother.It’s all about cool, cool that aura of quiet intensity along that ever changing cutting edge balancing between conservative and excess, the spark between new and old, you know it when you see it.
William Powell had it, Noir icons Bogart, Dick Powell, Mitchum, Conte, Andrews, Ford, Holden, and Hayden had it. James Garner as Marlowe displays one of the last vestiges of classic, big city, private eye cool, surfing the counter culture tsunami of the 60s. - DirectorLeonard KastleDonald VolkmanStarsShirley StolerTony Lo BiancoMary Jane HigbyAn obese, embittered nurse doesn't mind if her toupee-wearing boyfriend romances and fleeces other women, as long as he takes her along on his con jobs.Inspired by the true story of Raymond Fernandez and Martha Beck, the notorious "lonely hearts killers" of the 1940s.
- DirectorGordon ParksStarsRichard RoundtreeMoses GunnCharles CioffiA crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.Soul Noir - Shaft has been called the first blaxploitation flick, screw that and it's derogatory connotations (think Sergio Leone vs the majority of "Spaghetti" Westerns as a reference point), its actually not only a great PI film, directed by Gordon Parks (acclaimed photojournalist for Life magazine ) but also shot in a very noir-ish style by Urs Furrer. Between the eye of the director and the skill of the cinematographer the film looks beautiful. The shots of Manhattan, The Village, Harlem circa 1970 are gorgeous. It's sleazy Times Square/42nd Street at fin d'une époque, before Disneyfication eradicated it all.
- 19641h 35mPG8.4 (519K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.Watch it with noir colored glasses, its very chiaroscuro in a lot of sequences, it's got the high and low angel camera angles, and dark satirical comedy by a classic era Noir director.
- DirectorBarry ShearStarsAnthony QuinnYaphet KottoAnthony FranciosaTwo New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.Directed by Barry Shear with Stars: Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa.A forgotten gritty NYC crime/semi-blaxploitation flick.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsSteve McQueenAli MacGrawBen JohnsonA recently-released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes awry.Jim Thompson novel brought to the screen.
- DirectorMike HodgesStarsMichael CaineIan HendryBritt EklandWhen his brother dies under mysterious circumstances in a car accident, London gangster Jack Carter travels to Newcastle to investigate.A vicious London gangster, Jack Carter, travels to Newcastle for his brother's funeral and to seek revenge.
- DirectorRobert CulpStarsBill CosbyRobert CulpTa-Ronce AllenBill Cosby and Robert Culp ("I Spy") are united again as private eyes in this Walter Hill-scripted "film noir." Searching for a missing girl, they find themselves involved with vicious criminals and precipitating a string of deaths.Smog Noir - Directed by Robert Culp, Written by Walter Hill, Starring Bill Cosby, Robert Culp, Rosalind Cash, Isabel Sanford, Sheila Sullivan, Carmencristina Moreno, Louis Moreno, Robert Mandan, Michael Moriarty, Bill Hickman, Vincent Gardenia, Ed Lauter, and James Woods.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsWarren OatesIsela VegaRobert WebberAn American barroom pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a trip through the Mexican underworld to collect the bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.Peckinpah's Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) updates Film Noir's obsessed looser and alienated anti-hero from the traditions of Huston's "Treasure of the Sierra Madre", Bogart's "Casablanca", Mitchum's mercenary in Mexico flicks, Sergio Leone's "Dollars trilogy", and re-incarnates him as "Bennie" a decadent, gonzo, sleaze-ball piano-player/tourist clip-joint bar owner cum looser, on a quest for a $10,000 bounty on the head of an old acquaintance. The quest that becomes a spiral into Noir madness. -----
- DirectorRobert MulliganStarsJason MillerLinda HaynesVictor FrenchIn Los Angeles, a criminal begins to think that his accomplices want to get rid of him.Wow, another great Neo Noir set in LA, this stars Jason Miller as Cooper one time carny now crime fence, who is practically a double for Charles McGraw without the gravelly voice, there are some great believable performances here from Victor French (who you wont recognize), Linda Haynes, John Hillerman, and Bo Hopkins. This film builds slowly in tension much like Night And The City does. Nice on location 70s LA.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.A P.I. art film with a very Noir twist.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsPaul NewmanJoanne WoodwardAnthony FranciosaHarper's a big-city PI, who travels to Louisiana to help an old girlfriend who's worried her husband will find out she's been cheating on him.A great cast, Paul Newman (reprising his Lew Harper roll from Harper), Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton, Gail Strickland, Melanie Griffith, Linda Haynes, Richard Jaeckel, Paul Koslo, and Andy Robinson. A good PI flick, that follows in the tradition of some of the classics, where the mere presents of the "detective" starts events rolling out of control. New Orleans setting.
- DirectorDick RichardsStarsRobert MitchumCharlotte RamplingJohn IrelandLos Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by paroled convict Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.A superior post code pre PC remake of Murder My Sweet, Noir Icons Robert Mitchum as Philip Marlowe, and John Ireland as Det. Lt. Nulty, with a good supporting cast. Soundtrack is great and for a Chandler adaptation this one, placed in the correct time period, is probably the best one in that respect.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsGene HackmanJennifer WarrenEdward BinnsLos Angeles private investigator Harry Moseby is hired by a client to find her runaway teenage daughter. Moseby tracks the daughter down, only to stumble upon something much more intriguing and sinister.PI Flick. Nothing quite says the 70s like the 70s.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroJodie FosterCybill ShepherdA mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.Almost all shot at night, steam/fog, rainy streets, voice over, alienated & obsessed protagonist, Times Square, 42nd Street, Manhattan.... doesn't get much more Noir than this
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsMichael CaineAngie DickinsonNancy AllenA mysterious blonde woman kills one of a psychiatrist's patients, and then goes after the high-class call girl who witnessed the murder.Hitchcock-ian noir from De Palma.
- DirectorMarcus ReichertStarsDennis LipscombDebbie HarrySam McMurrayA man is so obsessed with finding the person responsible for stealing his milk bottles that he ignores his beautiful young wife, who has other ideas on her mind.Cornell Woolrich story set in Union City, NJ.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonJessica LangeJohn ColicosThe sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.Devoid of the Hayes Code constrictions and hit you over the head moralizing. It's a great recreation of the mid thirties and a bit more believable a production in that Joe Colicos is a better Nick Papadakis, and Jessica Lange sizzles as Cora. Jack Nicholson is equal to John Garfield, its a wash there, the only two characters that don't equal or surpass those of the 46 version are Angelica Huston, as Madge (Aurdrey Totter was great and more effective in a much shorter sequence) and Hume Cronyn was slimier than Michael Lerner as the lawyer.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.A great reworking of Double Indemnity, I'm really surprised that no "based" on or "inspired" by credit to Cain is anywhere to be found. Lawrence Kasdan gets sole credit. It does take the basic story where it couldn't go during the Hays Code.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsJames CaanTuesday WeldWillie NelsonAn ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.noir-ish with great cinematography
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsHarrison FordRutger HauerSean YoungA blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.Future Noir
- DirectorWim WendersStarsFrederic ForrestPeter BoyleMarilu HennerFictional account of real-life mystery writer Dashiell Hammett, and his involvement in the investigation of a beautiful Chinese cabaret actress' mysterious disappearance in San Francisco.Sort of an alcoholic stupor/dream of a PI flick, enforced by the storybook quality of the Zoetrope Studio sets. The story revolves around Dashiell "Sam" Hammett post Pinkerton during his Black Mask Pulp Fiction writer days, and one last case or is it just another hard boiled tale?
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJohn GetzFrances McDormandDan HedayaThe owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.A man hires a private eye to kill his wife and her lover, a neo noir by the Coen brothers, set in Texas.
- DirectorRichard TuggleClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGeneviève BujoldDan HedayaNew Orleans single dad and cop Wes Block goes after a serial rapist-killer, but when he gets too close the hunter suddenly becomes the hunted.Very dark in subject matter and stylistically extremely Noir. A definite shout out to cinematographer Bruce Surtees. Right now, I'd say its one of the best set in New Orlean Neo Noirs.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsWilliam PetersenWillem DafoeJane LeevesA fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.Smog Noir. A great chase sequence in LA rail yards and in LA River, great cinematography and style, watch this if you haven't seen it.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.Bizarre Noir David Lynch style.
- DirectorAlan ParkerStarsMickey RourkeRobert De NiroLisa BonetA private investigator is hired by a man who calls himself Louis Cyphre to track down a singer named Johnny Favorite. But the investigation takes an unexpected and somber turn.The visuals are a real feast for the eyes, New York juxtaposed with the Louisiana sequences.
- DirectorJohn DahlStarsVal KilmerJoanne WhalleyPat MulliganA young detective becomes involved with a beautiful woman on the run from the mob and her psychopath boyfriend.American Neo-Noir/ Film Soleil thriller film directed by John Dahl, and starring Val Kilmer, Joanne Whalley and Michael Madsen.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsAnjelica HustonJohn CusackAnnette BeningA small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.A Jim Thompson Hard Boiled novel based Noir, directed by Stephen Frears, produced by Martin Scorsese, and stars John Cusack, Anjelica Huston and Annette Bening. The screenplay was written by Donald E. Westlake,
- DirectorMaggie GreenwaldStarsLoretta GrossAndrew Lee BarrettJackson SimsBusiness at The Pavilion bar is down so Pete and Rags decide that the best way to get The Pavilion off the skids is to turn it into a strip joint.Jersey Noir, A run down Jersey Shore amusement park in the dead of the off season and adjacent fly speck town (Keansburg) are the setting for The Kill-Off an excellent, off the radar, low budget, Neo Noir based on Jim Thompson’s novel of the same name.
- DirectorDennis HopperStarsDon JohnsonVirginia MadsenJennifer ConnellyUpon arriving to a small town, a drifter quickly gets into trouble with the local authorities - and the local women - after he robs a bank.A Neo Noir/Film Soleil. A silver tongued grifter/fire bug (Don Johnson) pulls into a West Texas desert flyspeck driving a '59 Studebaker Hawk. he scams his way into working as a used car salesman and begins to court the lots accountant (Jenifer Connelly). The lots owner's over the top femme fatale in heat wife (Virginia Masden) has other ideas. This film has that let's flip over a rock and see what crawls out/highway car wreck quality that keeps you watching to see what will happen next. Nice desert cinematography with a great soundtrack by Jack Nitzsche played by John Lee Hooker, Miles Davis, Taj Mahal, Roy Rogers and drummer Earl Palmer.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNicolas CageLaura DernWillem DafoeYoung lovers Sailor and Lula run from the variety of weirdos that Lula's mom has hired to kill Sailor.Its got some outstanding segments interspersed with others that are just distractions and some that are borderline ridiculous. Seems this film just strayed off the Lynch reservation a bit too far, Neo Noir meets The Wizard of OZ.
- DirectorSondra LockeStarsTheresa RussellJeff FaheyGeorge DzundzaLottie is a vice cop in LA posing as a hooker and likes the action. She meets Stan, who's also single. He needs her for a major drug bust.Directed by Sondra Locke is a gritty story of an LA femme Vice Cop and her dance, at the cusp of Noir with death, love, and temptation. Beautiful cinematography.
- DirectorWarren BeattyStarsWarren BeattyMadonnaAl PacinoThe comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.Chester Gould's comic strip Dick Tracy brought to life in Pulp Noir a pastiche of comic strip/graphic novel, Poetic Realism, Pulp Fiction, and Film Noir.
- DirectorMarc CaroJean-Pierre JeunetStarsMarie-Laure DougnacDominique PinonPascal BenezechPost-apocalyptic surrealist black comedy about the landlord of an apartment building who occasionally prepares a delicacy for his odd tenants.A French, Post-Apocalyptic, Neo-noir, Bizarre Comedy
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.Quentin Tarantino's breakout noir with cameo by classic Noir star Lawrence Tierney, and stars Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Chris Penn, and Michael Madsen.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsSheryl LeeRay WiseMädchen AmickLaura Palmer's harrowing final days are chronicled one year after the murder of Teresa Banks, a resident of Twin Peaks' neighboring town.A 1992 French-American psychological horror Pacific Northwest Noir directed by David Lynch.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGary OldmanLena OlinWallace WoodA womanizing, crooked cop on the payroll of the mafia is confronted with the reality of his double life after he is asked to kill a beautiful and ruthless Russian gangster.A Leonesque New York Neo Noir. Its not very often a film comes from way way out of left field and just blows me away, a film that actually holds interesting scenes knowingly long enough to allow you to drink them in. A film that lovingly caresses the essence of classic Film Noir, updates its violence conventions and very stylishly tells a picaresque tall tale that's so dangerously close to being over the top but yet is still believable enough to let it all roll. Romeo Is Bleeding is addictively compelling in the same manner that Sergio Leone re-imagined Westerns are, and you have to scratch your head and wonder what kind of opiate were the critics and the viewing public mainlining on when this accidental masterpiece of a film debuted. This has happened many times before not only in cinema, but even in the long history of the Fine Art world. Films that at first are panned and forgotten that finally through the filter of time get interpreted right.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsChristian SlaterPatricia ArquetteDennis HopperIn Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.Once Upon A Time In Detroit. Director: Tony Scott, Writer: Quentin Tarantino Stars: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Michael Rapaport, Bronson Pinchot, Saul Rubinek, Dennis Hopper, James Gandolfini, Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Brad Pitt, Val Kilmer, and Samuel L. Jackson.
Very few of the classic noirs used the female voice over, one that readily comes to mind is Claire Trevor’s in Raw Deal. This neo noir story is triggered in one long flashback by a voice over narration by ex-call girl femme fatale Alabama Whitman (Patricia Arquette).
Beautiful cinematography by Jeffrey L. Kimball. A great soundtrack by Hans Zimmer stitches all the segments together. True Romance is one of those films that prove that every once in a while Noir has a pulse. A fun flick with abundant eye candy - DirectorJim McBrideStarsRosanna ArquetteKevin AndersonJohn LithgowUS merchant sailor Alex Walker (Kevin Anderson) is stranded in Mexico, penniless and wanted by the police. He meets and joins up with an unlikely couple - aging but likable shit Phillip Mills (John Lithgow) and young sexy, frustated wife Missy (Rosanna Arquette). The three develop a curiously inter-dependent relationship. Meanwhile, Police Captain Diaz and Detective Ortega are closing in and the plot circle is closed at Tapachula rail station amidst a stack of mistakes and wrong decisions.The Good, The Bad, And The Heart-breaker. A Film Soleil/Neo Noir
This one is way off the radar or "noirdar". Probably because its never seen or has been dismissed or mislabeled as fluff. It's probably forgotten for two reasons, one it was a Showtime film (much like The Last Seduction was an HBO premier), and two, it had a lot of adult T&A but its all germane to the story, its TITS & ASS with CLASS believe it or not. It can be done and done well. It's also as noir a tale as you can get. Half Road pic, half Policier, half dysfunctional Drama.
I'm starting to believe that what makes Neo Noirs authentic Neo Noirs for me, is not only a heavy dose of Noir stylistic cinematography along with a simple Noir storyline, but also a bit of cinematic memory, when you can picture the stars in these Neos as inheritors of Classic Noir star parts, or see a nod to Classic Noir type locations combined with an old school, without bells & whistles, low budget, "B" film artistry you reach the tipping point into full blown Noirsville. - DirectorJohn DahlStarsLinda FiorentinoPeter BergBill PullmanA devious sexpot steals her husband's drug money and hides out in a small town where she meets the perfect dupe for her next scheme.A great great neo noir starring Linda Fiorentino in what I think is probably the ultimate sizzling femme fatal performance. Lots of twists and turns make this one a fun ride, saw this on the big screen in 1994 and had it on DVD but just re-watched it today for the first time in years, glad I did. Dircted by John Dahl with Bill Pullman and Peter Berg.
A psychological thriller/ black comedy. Bridget, a refreshingly chain-smoking New Yorker, ruthlessly exploits the weaknesses of the bottom feeders she comes in contact with. She uses her sexual attraction to stun the hapless men (who reside in the Western, Southern Tier, Rt 17 corridor of New York State south of Buffalo) into slobbering idiots. - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, from a story by Tarantino and Roger Avary, known for its eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and a host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.Dark neo-noir crime psychological thriller film directed by David Fincher, and stars Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, John C. McGinley, R. Lee Ermey and Kevin Spacey.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.Snow Noir, Cohen Bros style
- DirectorLee TamahoriStarsNick NolteMelanie GriffithJennifer ConnellyIn 1950's Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.LA/Desert/Western "B" style Neo Noir. It also channels a very strong updated Western vibe with its quasi legal vigilante justice story line. Endorsed by the "chief" a nice cameo by Dern, the un-officially sanctioned Hat Squad, Hoover (Nolte), Coolidge (Palminteri), Hall (Madsen), and Relyea (Penn) are like modern day Earp Brothers riding around the boulevards of broken dreams in the ultimate Western "boom" town, The City of Angels, "tinsel town", LA. Their mission is to keep the vice rackets under local control and their territory/turf runs from the desert ranges of the Cal/Nev border country to the Pacific rim. Their targets are any organized crime mobsters from the Mid West or East Coast who they sort of run out of town by sundown by escorting them to Mulholland Falls, sort of like Niagara Falls without the water.
- DirectorSteven ShainbergStarsElias KoteasLaure MarsacJay LeggettSonny lives with his intellectually disabled older brother, and works as a bellhop at a second-rate hotel. This changes when Monique a beautiful, suicidal nut-case checks in. Sonny is offered a part in a heist that goes wrong.Tacoma Noir
Director: Steven Shainberg, Writers: Denis Johnson, Jim Thompson (novel) Stars: Elias Koteas, Laure Marsac, Jay Leggett, William H. Macy, Philip Baker Hall, Kevin J. O'Connor, and Bruce Ramsay.
Sonny the goofball night bellhop stuck in a dead end job is reduced to swiping hotel VHS players and cases of hotel booze to make ends meet. He is supporting, on his own, his mentally challenged older brother. Sonny occasionally even pimps hookers to lonely business men out of hotel rooms. He soon gets involved in a plot to rob a high stake poker game that takes place in one of the rooms.
Of course, being a Neo Noir everything goes terribly wrong for ridiculously simple reasons, in this case a change of diet, and the film leaves Sonny and his mentally handicapped brother Leroy setting off on a trip to Nowheresville, sitting in their rusty, trusty beater Chevy, orbiting the edge of the Twilight Zone in the universe of lost dreams. - DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsPam GrierSamuel L. JacksonRobert ForsterA flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.A Noir adaptation of Elmore Leonard's 1992 novel Rum Punch, the first adaptation from Tarantino, and starring Pam Grier in the title role. Directed by Quentin Tarantino.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsKevin SpaceyRussell CroweGuy PearceAs corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.What L..A Confidential does is incorporate Los Angeles' overall elongated horizontal urban structure into an effective neo noir. A plus is that the film even incorporates more actual 50's LA locations and interiors than for example the film Chinatown (story line circa 1930's) did, though this could be for the simple fact that way less 30's LA was still extant in 1973 than 50's LA in 1996. What locations they didn't have they reconstructed and the blend is seamless. The film looks that good.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsBill PullmanPatricia ArquetteJohn RoseliusAnonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.A David Lynch Neo Noir from the Twilight Zone amazing soundtrack and visuals. Gets better every watch.
- DirectorMichael OblowitzStarsBilly ZaneGina GershonChristian DurangoIn 1950s, two incestuous lovers, a depraved suave journalist and his equally depraved prostitute sister, plan to get rich through seduction and murder. Things complicate when their feeble-minded mother begins to suspect something.50s Period piece story of one hell of a screwed up family, based on a Jim Thompson novel, some great visuals, Billy Zane, Sheryl Lee, and Gina Gershon looking like a dead ringer for Ava Gardner. Zane comes off a wee bit too modern
- DirectorAlex ProyasStarsRufus SewellKiefer SutherlandJennifer ConnellyA man struggles with memories of his past, which include a wife he cannot remember and a nightmarish world no one else ever seems to wake up from.A quite excellent future-noir.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBill PaxtonBilly Bob ThorntonBridget FondaThree blue-collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.Two brothers and a friend find $4 million in the cockpit of a downed plane. The pilot is dead. No one is looking for the money.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.Stoner Noir. Your Classic Noir detective story updated to the turn of the 21st century instead of smoking cigarettes, wearing a fedora and trench coat our protagonist tokes joints and wears pajamas and a ratty bathrobe.
- DirectorBrian HelgelandStarsMel GibsonGregg HenryMaria BelloAfter a successful heist, Porter is left for dead. Once he recovers, he seeks vengeance and wants his share of the money.Payback (1999) vs Payback Straight Up (directors cut from 2006) The best film would be roughly, the theatrical release with the blue tint up to the killing of Carter then go with the directors cut (keeping the blue tint) to the ambiguous end, but even that I would trim a bit, there are just too many syndicate men waiting for an obsessive nut case wanting a measly 130,000. I'd keep the beating of his wife & the killing of the dog also from the DC. Gregg Henry BTY has a nice Dan Duryea vibe going in this film. As is, both roughly 7/10. Another version of (novel "The Hunter") by Westlake (Richard Stark).
It could use a fan edit. What I describe above would be an 8/10 - DirectorLes BernstienStarsJohn VoldstadBarry CutlerNikoletta SkarlatosIn this dark and dangerous Film Noir-metts-German Expressionism directorial debut from veteran visual effects man Les bernstien, paunchy ex-con Joe Butcher (John Voldstad of THE NEWHART SHOW) heads south of the border, tumbling head first into the boiling vat of corruption that supports Tijuana's thriving snuff film industry. Through a booze-induced haze, Butcher encounters a Mexican spitfire, a grizzled drunk, a villainous dwarf and an obese sexpot, as he frantically retraces his brother's final steps through seed and grime to unravel his mysterious death. Lavishly shot in black and white with great visual stylization, NIGHT TRAIN is "... the most boldly evoked vision imaginable of Tijuana as hell-on-earth... unique and compelling." (The Los Angeles Times) NIGHT TRAIN is a must-see for fans of gritty motion pictures like MURDER IS MY BEAT, KISS ME DEADLY and BLOOD FEAST."Director: Les Bernstein, Writers: Les Bernstien, Gary Walkow and staring, John Voldstad, Barry Cutler, Pedro Aldana and Nikoletta Skarlatos, a Neo Noir that is sort of an on the cheap pastiche of Noir, Horror/Slasher, Surreal, Peckinpah and David Lynch, with a great score. Be forewarned its very graphic over the top in its violence (there is a sidebar story line about dancers going missing and "snuff" films) so it will definitely be a turn off and repulsive to some in that respect think the Saw films franchise.
Looser Joe Butcher (reminiscent of Charles Bukowski) just of out of prison is in Tijuana looking for his brother and partner in crime (who got away) Zack. His only clue is a key and he wanders around Tijuana spiraling down into its sleazy underworld. He crosses paths with a midget Mexican gangster who his brother stole money from. He befriends a fellow American who knows more than he tells and a Mexican stripper/prostitute who also knew his brother. No pretty boy/girl actors with tons of candid Tijuana atmospherics that are looped with dialogue, nice touch. - DirectorJoel CoenStarsBilly Bob ThorntonFrances McDormandMichael BadaluccoA laconic, chain-smoking barber blackmails his wife's boss and lover for money to invest in dry cleaning, but his plan goes terribly wrong.A 2001 British-American neo-noir crime film written, produced and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Billy Bob Thornton stars in the title role. Also featured are Tony Shalhoub, Scarlett Johansson, James Gandolfini, and Coen regulars Frances McDormand, Michael Badalucco, Richard Jenkins and Jon Polito.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.A David Lynch Noir from the Twilight Zone
- DirectorFrank MillerQuentin TarantinoRobert RodriguezStarsMickey RourkeClive OwenBruce WillisAn exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.Graphic Novel Neo Noir
- DirectorShane BlackStarsRobert Downey Jr.Val KilmerMichelle MonaghanAfter being mistaken for an actor, a New York thief is sent to Hollywood to train under a private eye for a potential movie role, but the duo are thrown together with a struggling actress into a murder mystery.A Comedy Noir story about a petty thief who poses as an actor and is brought to Los Angeles for an unlikely audition. He is soon in the middle of a murder investigation along with his high school dream girl and a LA PI who's been training him for his upcoming role. Stylish.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.Cohen Brother Film Soleil/Neo Noir that doesn't disappoint based on a Cormac McCarthy novel.
- DirectorThomas JaneStarsThomas JaneLauren GermanRon PerlmanA couple en route from Las Vegas are forced to deal with a body in the desert, making their honeymoon one hellish ride.A sort of desert Film Soleil/Neo Noir that plays like a Twilight Zone episode, Death Valley/Nevada locations, with interesting treatments to the images.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsCasey AffleckKate HudsonJessica AlbaA West Texas Deputy Sheriff is slowly unmasked as a psychotic killer.Director: Michael Winterbottom with Stars: Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba, Ned Beatty, with cameos from Elias Koteas and Bill Pullman, from the Jim Thompson novel.
Recently watched the 1976 version, this one is a uptick on the brutality scale and uses the novels 50's setting, but I didn't buy Jessica Alba's whore character Joyce Lakeland, she looked more sleepy than seductive way too skinny and too contemporary, 50's gals were curvier. Susan Tyrrell in 1976 was better but not ideal either. The rest of the cast was good though, better than 1976. Both versions are flawed. - DirectorFrank MillerRobert RodriguezStarsMickey RourkeJessica AlbaJosh BrolinSome of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.Part 2 of Miller's Sin City Graphic novels, not as good as the first.
- DirectorLarry PeerceStarsTony MusanteMartin SheenBeau BridgesLate one night, two young toughs hold hostage the passengers in one car of a New York subway train.Two thugs terrorize a NYC subway car, a great ensemble cast with three Classic Noir veterans, Thelma Ritter, Jan Sterling, Gary Merrill, along with Martin Sheen, Tony Musante and Beau Bridges.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsWoody HarrelsonJuliette LewisTom SizemoreTwo victims of traumatized childhoods become lovers and psychopathic serial murderers irresponsibly glorified by the mass media.A Neo Noir sensory overdose, psychedelic acid road trip on the road to Hell. A bizarre satire of the American 24 hr news cycle celebrity/violence culture.
- DirectorAnton HoldenStarsJanine LenonSteve HollisterJoanna MillsIn Manhattan, prostitutes are being murdered by a psycho. A detective is assigned to track him down and bring him in.New York Pulp, aka Sin City meets Sexploitation. You see quotes from Psycho, Killers Kiss, Experiment in Terror, and Nosferatu, quite probably the inspiration for Frank Millers deadly prostitutes from his graphic novels.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsJosh HartnettAaron EckhartScarlett JohanssonTwo policemen see their personal and professional lives fall apart in the wake of the "Black Dahlia" Elizabeth Short murder investigation.Neo Noir Lite, based on the James Ellroy novel one of the LA Quartet. Directed by Brian DePalma with Josh Hartnett, Aaron Eckhart, Scarlett Johansson, Hillary Swank (doing a mild Katherine Hepburn) Mia Kirshner and Mike Starr. Visually had some interesting sequences, i.e., The POV camera (Lady In The Lake) segment at the Linscott mansion. Harnett looked too young for the part, everyone else was good. 7/10
- DirectorMichael MannStarsTom CruiseJamie FoxxJada Pinkett SmithA cab driver finds himself the hostage of an engaging contract killer as he makes his rounds from hit to hit during one night in Los Angeles.An overall Neo Noir vibe but the end was a bit predictable 8/10
- DirectorLina WertmüllerStarsGiancarlo GianniniFernando ReyShirley StolerThe defense of honor, a strong value in Neapolitan society, and its effects on the life of everyman Pasquale Frafuso.Picaresque WWII Neo Noir about a man of honor's convoluted descent into hell 10/10
- DirectorLee FrostStarsWes BishopStefan ZemaLois UrsoneTwo mob money couriers, Frankie and Tony, have their latest package of $1 million stolen by two con women, Dana and Marcia, in which the men must find the women to recover the money before they become marked men.The story set up is that Tony, the veteran bag-man is breaking in hired gun Frankie the newbie. The operation has a simple check and balance Tony works for Sal, and Frankie was hired (back East) to work for Charlie. Frankie has never been to Vegas before and since they have arrived early in the morning before the scheduled pick-up, Frankie wants to explore the strip a bit.
Frankie is like a kid in a candy store, exclaiming at one point that the mass of neon lights the street "like daylight". Tony plays by the book but breaks down a little and while the Caddy is being serviced and he and Frankie walk the strip, he even lets Frankie try his hand at the slots. The opening sequence is a great traveling time capsule through the windshield of the Fleetwood to circa 1967 Las Vegas as Tony & Frankie glide into town.
They head out of town into the desert with a million in skim from the casino on old Highway 91 towards Los Angeles. Frankie is driving down a desolate stretch of highway while Tony tries to catch some shut eye, when they approach two women stranded on the side of the road with the hood up on their car. The women dressed in mini skirts try to flag Frankie down. Frankie pulls over and wakes up Tony and convinces him to go back and give the ladies a hand. They U- Turn and pull up behind the women. Tony puts on his sunglasses and tells Frankie to stay inside and lock the doors.
Frankie talks Tony into giving the girls a ride to a service garage. On the way Marcia comes on to Frankie in the back seat.
Frankie convinces Tony to call in and say they have car problems so that they can party with the girls. They decide to look for a bar but since the girls have their own booze they get two rooms at a motel.
What could go wrong? - DirectorAntonio SanteanStarsArlene MartelJohn HoytElisha Cook Jr.Two detectives investigate the murder of a local businessman by a mysterious woman.The Glass Cage is a very Noir-ish styled Mystery with some great experimental cinematography. The tale begins at night in a Los Angeles Bunker Hill neighborhood. At a low rent dump called The Melvin, a "housekeeping apartments" converted victorian apartment house. An attempted break in is abruptly thwarted. We see a hand break open a screen door we see a revolver in extreme close up. A muzzle flash. A man is shot. He tumbles doing a back-flip down a flight of stairs breaks through the railing on a landing and falls vertically head first to the concrete pavement two stories below. A stream of blood flows quickly from his corpse towards a sewer drain.
- DirectorRaymond NassourKenneth W. RichardsonStarsWilliam ThourlbyWarren J. KemmerlingMichael FoxA series of murders involving a stripper (Indus Arthur) are investigated by a hard-drinking reporter (William Thourlby) in this late-entry film-noir.A great low budget Bunker Hill based stylistic Neo Noir centered around the Angel's Flight cable car. A Stripper serial killer is on the loose, a drunk reporter is on the case.
- DirectorBurt KennedyStarsGlenn FordElke SommerRita HayworthWhen half-a-million dollars disappears from a doctor office's safe, the cops assigned to the burglary case, Joe and Pete, decide to find the money and keep it for themselves.This could be the last Studio "B" Noir. We hear a crazed bongo beat on the soundtrack. The Story: Two LAPD Homicide Detectives Joe Baron (Ford) and his Mexican partner Pete Delanos (Montalban) catch a squeal to investigate the murder of a whore at a downtown cat-house. It's pouring, it's night, it's Noir. Arriving at the address they climb a staircase and pass a landing lined with rubber necking prostitutes. The Mexican victim was secretly moonlighting as a hooker to bring in extra income. She was murdered by her enraged husband who had just found out. He hung her like a piñata from the handiest light fixture, left her swinging, and vamoosed. This is the dark and "sleazo" underworld of our ever on call detectives.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsDennis HopperBruno GanzLisa KreuzerTom Ripley, who deals in forged art, suggests a picture framer he knows would make a good hit man.The story is pretty basic. Tom Ripley (Hopper) is an American who lives in Hamburg. He wears a cowboy hat and is known as the "Cowboy of Hamburg". He is a shady character with a dark past. His current scheme is posing as an art dealer bringing over paintings done by a supposedly dead NYC artist named Derwatt (Ray), he's also is involved in rigging auctions to bid up the same paintings to artificially calls in a chit and Ripley must find someone to do a hit.
- DirectorBill DukeStarsForest WhitakerGregory HinesRobin GivensA gangster's girlfriend flees to Harlem with a trunkload of gold after a shootout, unaware that the rest of the gang are on her trail.Director Bill Duke, stars: Forest Whitaker, Gregory Hines, Robin Givens, Danny Glover, Screamin' Jay Hawkins, a fun Crime -Comedy film, that been on some Neo Noir lists.
The director and cinematographer Toyomichi Kurita have a better handle on Noir than Devil In A Blue Dress. Nice sequences with Screamin' Jay Hawkins. The production values are top shelf, wish it would have been more humorous/picaresque than comedy, it's sort of unbalanced swinging from serious to comedy, as is still a 7/10 - DirectorJohn GuillerminStarsRichard ToddPeter SellersElizabeth SellarsA cosmetic salesman sets out to prove to himself and his wife that he is not a failure.Never Let Go nicely builds nicely to an inevitable showdown punctuated by John Barry's score. It's what a noir should be, about interesting small time characters and simple conflicts that spiral bizarrely of control. Screencaps are camera images from paused frames of a recent TCM showing, but there is an MGM DVD out there. Bravo 9/10
- DirectorMary LambertStarsEllen BarkinGabriel ByrneJulian SandsAn American skydiver wakes up in the middle of nowhere in Spain and must recount the last five agonizing days to figure out how she got there.Siesta is a updated version of a woman's noir. The story is told exclusively from a woman's perspective and in a non linear fashion. It's art house, experimental, surreal, symbolic, dreamlike, erotic, low rent Lynchesque, if you will. The film has got in-your-face style.
- DirectorRuss MeyerStarsLorna MaitlandMark BradleyJames RuckerLorna has been married to Jim for a year, but still hasn't been satisfied sexually. While Jim is working at the salt mine, she is raped by an escaped convict, but falls in lust with him. Meanwhile Jim's buddies are giving him a hard time about Lorna's supposed infidelity, not realizing how close to the mark they really are. Trouble starts when Jim gets home early from work because it's their anniversary.Big Knockers Noir, Russ Meyer's first feature to abandon the "nudie cutie" formulaic style, for more serious fare with a dramatic storyline and some very stylistically Noir sequences. Meyers referred to this film as part of his "rural gothic" period. Meyer described the film as "a brutal examination of the important realities of power, prophecy, freedom and justice in our society against a background of violence and lust, where simplicity is only a facade." Yea all that and a femme fatale with a rack like the front end of a '56 Caddy. ;-)
- DirectorDennis HauckStarsDichen LachmanNatalie ZeaJeff FaheyExplores the tangled relationship between a troubled private investigator and the missing woman he's hired to help find.Too Late is a surprisingly brilliant addition to the Private Eye & Neo Noir Pantheon. The film was directed and sharpley written by Dennis Hauck, the cinematography was by Bill Fernandez, and has an eclectic smorgasbord of music by Robert Allaire. Upon first viewing you'll see obvious nods to Sergio Leone's narrative style from Once Upon A Time In America that Tarantino homaged in Pulp Fiction. This is coupled with some intelligent and, if you pay attention, clue filled dialog vis-à-vis again, Tarantino. It also uses split screen in some sequences (Marlowe (1969)) and is loaded with other subtle noir and film references, i.e., an interesting off beat quote from Altman's Short Cuts (1993). There are probably more. The film was shot not only in 35mm Techniscope, but also in five Acts, twenty-two minute individual takes, with no hidden cuts or other editing.
- DirectorLeslie StevensStarsKate ManxCorey AllenWarren OatesAn arrogant criminal offers to seduce a woman for his dim, sexually inexperienced partner.Corey Allen's silver tongued devil Duke, is easily convincing as a womanizer, but you don't have to wonder why he never gained traction after this performance, the film opened without Code approval, was condemned by the Legion Of Decency and got slim to none distribution. Warren Oates underplays the malleable simple minded sexual neophyte Boots. Oates specialized most of his career in playing hopeless lowlifes doomed to wallow in eternal misery, always getting the *beep* end of the stick. Kate Manx excels as Ann with her portrayal ranging from "I Dream Of Jeannie" perky to that of sweet quiet desperation for the attention of her husband. Again one wonders how her career may have went if the film had had a regular release. Four years later she committed suicide, a waste.
So, does the title refer to trophy wife Ann, the house and pool, or the whole gaudy tinseltown world that only the others, the "elites" can inhabit? - DirectorNed HockmanSkip HomeierStarsBeverly GarlandSkip HomeierKenneth TobeyA sadistic husband mentally tortures his wife, while eventually planning to murder her. Although no one believes her, she gets help from an unexpected source.Beverly Garland is very convincing as the confused, and conflicted wife who takes all the blame on herself for her failed marriage. Probably part of the confusion can be attributed to director Ned Hockman working on his first and only feature. Skip Homeier, to me anyway, in every thing I've ever seen him in, looks like a complete nut case, much like Lee Van Cleef always had an aura of evil in his beady eyed stare, Homeire emits a radiation of lethal lunacy. Kenneth Tobey's Cliff is decent as Ellen's paramour. He always played a second fiddle in "A" pictures, he's not really leading man material but with the whole film being set in Oklahoma we are not Hollywood after all, Dorothy, we are in "B" and "C" wood. Hannah Stone as Ruth also nails your typical homely MidWest busybody girlfriend, you could run into her type, typically as a waitress, in any beanery in the 50s, 60s and 70s. some of her lines are unintentionally hilarious.
Stark Fear is also unique in that it may be the only noir to ever feature a Native American Pow Wow in it's plot. The score sounds like it should be the background music for a travelog of some Bavarian Oktoberfest. The film is a curiosity, a guilty pleasure, worth a watch but nothing essential - DirectorJoseph W. SarnoStarsHeather HallJudy YoungJohn AristedesBeverly a teaser bar girl, that think she hates men, but is in fact suffering from repressed nymphomania. She finds out when she flirts with her best friends man and gets thrown out in the street. Beverly runs into a toy store owner.What stood out as exploitive then, is commonplace R fare now, today's films just have bigger budgets better actors and are more polished. Other than tits & ass there is no sex in Flesh and Lace and just like during the Classic Noir era, it's what's implied that's more effective than what is shown. It doesn't get any noir-er than this, even the "hero" is a sleazeball.
Flesh and Lace would make a good double bill with Aroused (1966) another great New York City late Noir. - DirectorNoah BuschelStarsMichael ShannonFrank WoodAmy RyanPrivate detective John Rosow is hired to tail a man on a train from Chicago to Los Angeles. Rosow gradually uncovers the man's identity as a missing person. Persuaded by a large reward, Rosow is charged with bringing the missing person back to his wife in New York City.The Missing Person is a gem, another Noir lovers wet dream. The film is highly stylized and nicely accented with jazz pieces throughout. The mood and atmosphere created by director Noah Buschel is a marvel. I'll be sure to check out the rest of his films.
Michael Shannon is extraordinary as Rosow, his performance is understated as the haunted, damaged hero, who still retains a modicum of "cool". The rest of the supporting cast is excellent.