on 4/18/2023, 1:55 pm
Some nice descriptive touches here for the films chosen in SLASH magazine's version of a "Noir Top 25," but you'll have to decide how it sits. (Personally, the idea of ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS as the only French noir on the list, over and above even the somewhat over-inflated heist classics that preceded it, is enough to produce gagging, if not the "full heave.")
Here's the list in reverse order, as is the accepted "hip" way of presenting these things:
25. D.O.A.(9)
24. THIS GUN FOR HIRE (72)
23. KEY LARGO (50)
22. THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (65)
21. THE KILLING (10)
20. WHITE HEAT (40)
19. CALL NORTHSIDE 777 (no votes)
18. ACE IN THE HOLE (29)
17. ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (no votes)
16. SHADOW OF A DOUBT (59)
15. NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (80)
14. THE BIG SLEEP (11)
13. STRAY DOG (no votes)
12. NIGHTMARE ALLEY 1947 version (13)
11. LADY IN THE LAKE (no votes)
10. A KISS BEFORE DYING (no votes)
9. THE KILLERS (5)
8. OUT OF THE PAST (1)
7. POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (23)
6. THE THIRD MAN (51)
5. MILDRED PIERCE (28)
4. BRIGHTON ROCK (no votes)
3. SUNSET BLVD. (25)
2. IN A LONELY PLACE (12)
1. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (3)
Our 2005 Top 25 results are shown in (parentheses).
As you can see, the list goes off the rails as it moves closer to the top ten. Some of that may be due to the nationality of the writer: Fiona Underhull is a Brit, so the ranking of BRIGHTON ROCK and certain homme fatal films on this list may be due to a predilection in that direction. STRAY DOG is probably a Top 50 noir, but it was off our radar in 2005; THE THIRD MAN certainly is higher than #51, but we weren't up on foreign noir at that time, either. Even at that, it's startling to see one-fourth of this Top 25 list name films that failed to receive a single vote in that old poll...
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