An insurance salesman falls for a scheming housewife clad in nothing but a towel.
A private eye learns of a bird statue so priceless it drives men to kill.
She’s scared of something; we don’t know what.
Image via Warner Bros.
Cars pass her without stopping.
As another set of a headlights hurdles towards her, she throws herself in front of the car.
It screeches to a halt.
Image via RKO Radio Pictures
The incredulous driver tells her to get in.
That’s howRobert Aldrich’sKiss Me Deadlybegins.
It’s just one more reason whyKiss Me Deadlyis one of the best overlooked film noirs.
You just put your lips together, and blow.
And their partnership all began inTo Have and Have Not.
On top of their legendary on-screen chemistry,To Have and Have Notis a flat-out great noir.
And the rest of his career delivered on that early marker.
Any of Lang’s films deserve a watch.
For our purposes, theBig Heatdelivers a taut, brutal crime thriller in its 89-minute runtime.
Image via Warner Bros.
Powered byGlenn Ford’s manically obsessive performance, the 1953 noir is essential viewing in the story of genre.
Now, all that’s left is to do is prove his innocence.
‘The Naked City’ (1948)
So many noirs take place in Los Angeles.
ButThe Naked Cityfollows a New York detective investigating the murder of a young model.
Shot mostly on location in Manhattan, directorJules Dassin’sportrays the city with a matter-of-factness not often seen in noir.
The buildings are gray and plain.
Image via Warner Bros.
This isn’t just a great detective movie.
It belongs on any list of great depictions of New York City.
The movie follows a classic crime trope: a man who murders the husband of his mistress.
At just 73 minutes,Crime Waveburns fast and hot like a cigarette and goes down like one too.
One year prior, Lake broke out inPreston Sturges’s Sullivan’s Travels.Here, she’s just as mesmerizing.
NEXT:10 Best Classic Noir Films, Ranked According to IMDb (And Where To Stream Them)
Image via Paramount Pictures
