In honor of this year’s Noirvember, I figured I’d start a list of ten of my lesser-known favorites from the genre. By lesser-known, I’m including anything on IMDb with less than 1,000 ratings. Also, these are in no particular order and somehow, they were directed by ten different directors. I guess that’s not luck . . . that’s a B film, baby! Oh, and my synopses are basically there to get you to watch the film because I won’t be explaining enough about the film. You’re welcome.
Manhandled (1949)
Director: Lewis R. Foster
Writers: Lewis R. Foster, Whitman Chambers, L.S. Goldsmith
Cast: Dan Duryea, Dorothy Lamour, Sterling Hayden, Irene Hervey, and Phillip Reed
Synopsis: Dan Duryea is the private eye in this one. Isn’t that enough? Do you even need a synopsis to see Duryea not automatically listed as the scheming hood?
Los Tallos Amargos (1956)
Director: Fernando Ayala
Writers: Sergio Leonardo and Adolfo Jasca
Cast: Carlos Cores, Julia Sandoval, Vassili Lambrinos, Gilda Lousek, and Pablo Moret
Synopsis: I’ve only seen this one once, but I liked it enough to include it here. From what I remember, two unlikely men pair up and start to rake in some dough through a journalism school scheme. You know, that old trick? Then, one of the men gets into a moral dilemma within himself and umm . . . stuff happens. Boom. Bet you want to watch this one now, eh?
The Hunted (1948)
Director: Jack Bernhard
Writer: Steve Fisher
Cast: Preston Foster, Belita, Pierre Watkin, Edna Holland, and Russell Hicks
Synopsis: A detective suspects his girlfriend may be a jewel thief. That’s it. That’s all you get.
Flaxy Martin (1949)
Director: Richard L. Bare
Writer: David Lang
Cast: Virginia Mayo, Zachary Scott, Dorothy Malone, Elisha Cook Jr., and Helen Westcott
Synopsis: Virginia Mayo plays a woman named Flaxy. I really don’t think there’s much else in this story that matters because that name is wild. Okay, Zachary Scott’s character goes to jail . . . or does he? Watch and find out how those two things tie together! Flaxy!
Wicked Woman (1953)
Director: Russell Rouse
Writer: Clarence Greene and Russell Rouse
Cast: Richard Egan, Beverly Michaels, Percy Helton, Evelyn Scott, and Robert Osterloh
Synopsis: Beverly Michaels comes into town with her sights on one thing: Richard Egan. That’s it. Will she get him? Or will the weirdo, Charlie (played by Percy Helton), ruin everything?
Vice Squad (1953)
Director: Arnold Laven
Writers: Lawrence Roman and Leslie T. White
Cast: Edward G. Robinson, Paulette Goddard, K.T. Stevens, Porter Hall, and Adam Williams
Synopsis: It’s one of those procedural Noirs, but it follows EGR a lot, so you should probably watch it.
No Questions Asked (1951)
Director: Harold F. Kress
Writers: Sidney Sheldon and Berne Giler
Cast: Barry Sullivan, Arlene Dahl, Jean Hagen, Richard Anderson, and George Murphy
Synopsis: Barry plays a lawyer who gets involved with the wrong side of the law to make a quick buck, and you know what he does? He doesn’t ask questions. Boom.
Death in Small Doses (1957)
Director: Joseph M. Newman
Writers: Arthur L. Davis and John McGreevey
Cast: Peter Graves, Mala Powers, Chuck Connors, Merry Anders, and Roy Engel
Synopsis: “Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?” If you said ‘yes,’ that’s neat, but that’s not what this movie is about. Peter Graves isn’t a pilot here. Instead, he’s an undercover FDA agent investigating the amphetamine use amongst long-haul truck drivers, who use the drugs to stay awake.
No Man’s Woman (1955)
Director: Franklin Adreon
Writers: Don Martin and John K. Butler
Cast: Marie Windsor, John Archer, Nancy Gates, Jill Jarmyn, and Patric Knowles
Synopsis: Marie Windsor. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. She’s no man’s woman in this one.
The Clay Pigeon (1949)
Director: Richard Fleischer
Writer: Carl Foreman
Cast: Barbara Hale, Bill Williams, Richard Quine, Richard Loo, and Frank Fenton
Synopsis: Man in coma. Man wakes from coma. Man has amnesia. Man must unravel the plot.
If you’d like a better synopsis for any of these films, just Google it. But I swear mine are way better and definitely help the intrigue, right?