John Alton was one of the great noir cinematographers. Alton’s visual poetry in a stunning chase climax in underground city drains in this edited final sequence from the pulp-b He Walked by Night (1948) attest to his greatness.
A select film noir filmography for Alton as DP:
T-Men (1947)
Bury Me Dead (1947 )
Raw [...]
Mauri Lynn in The Big Night (1951)
If during the 1940s and 1950s Hollywood was not actively racist, it still largely ignored race. Some academics have gone as far as saying that film noir was essentially a manifestation of a transference of a fear of blackness, the other, to a noir nether world of ambivalence and [...]
99 River Street (1953) Essential Phil Karlson b. Pulp poetry from DP Franz Planer. Matches the best of Anthony Mann and Sam Fuller. Evelyn Keys is hot! A cab-driver fights a murder wrap after his cheating wife leaves him for a ruthless hood. Keys steals this picture as a budding actress who helps the cab-driver [...]
1948 was a signal year in the film noir cycle, which saw the move towards on-the-streets filming and a shifting focus on police operations, heralding the police procedurals that became dominant in the 1950s.
Jules Dassin’s The Naked City for Mark Hellinger carries the banner for this nascence of a cinema-verite style of filming. Dassin’s picture [...]Cop Edward G Robinson goes under-cover to break up a gang of racketeers. Hoods include Humphrey Bogart and a mean Joan Blondell. Very noir lensing by Hal Mohr (Johnny Holiday (1949), The Big Night (1951), Woman on the Run (1950), The Second Woman (1950), Rancho Notorious (1952), The Big Night (1951), and Underworld U.S.A. [...]Film Noir Classic Collection Vol. 5 Release Date: July 13th, 2010
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Cornered Dmytryk’s atmospheric latin noir thriller. Harry Wild’s expressionist camera-work and a solid turn by Dick Powell add value.
Desperate
The Phenix City Story Expose confidential based on true story. Unrelenting and chilling portrayal of decent [...]
The Big Night (1951)
Director Joseph Losey | DP Hal Mohr
Joseph Losey’s last American movie is a powerful and affecting drama of a boy crossing into manhood one dark noir night.
Une Si Jolie Petite Plage (Such a Pretty Little Beach France 1949) (91 mins)
Released as Riptide in USA in 1951
Screenplay by Jacques Sigurd
Directed by Yves Allegret
Cinematography by Henri Alekan
Original Music by Maurice Thiriet
Produced by Emile Darbon
Pierre . . . . . Gerard Philipe
Marthe . . . . . Madeleine Robinson
Landlady . . . . . [...]Questar Entertainment on May18 will release a 6-DVD Box set of 7 classic films noir. Questar has kindly sent me a complimentary promotional copy.
The nicely boxed set presents each DVD in it’s own case with high quality stills and artwork, and the DVD menu has a cool animated noir motif and voice-over. While the [...]
Riff-Raff (1947) is a routine RKO comedy-adventure movie that has a certain flair with snappy dialog and an engaging cast. It would be a stretch to call it a noir, but the opening sequence is so visually noir and accomplished that it should not be missed. The movie opens at an isolated air-strip late [...]
Towards the end of 99 River Street (1953) is one of the most off beat seduction scenes in film noir.
Evelyn Keyes was a vivacious actress full of spark with a mischievous gleam in her eye. She mainly was relegated to B-movie status or bit parts. 
One of my favorite femme fatales of film noir, Gloria Grahame is a perky blonde whose eyes can flash with fiery invitation, and her dimpled smile can melt a hardened soul.