I'm once again purposely avoiding mystery series, about which I've also posted and may post again when you least expect it. And again, I've passed over some better known and undeniably great films, like The Big Sleep and Chinatown, because they don't need a plug from me. Even without the former title, the films of the 1940s are overrepresented here, as they were in my original list. What can I say? The forties were to mysteries what the fifties were to westerns and the sixties to Annette Funicello pictures. A golden age.
I hope you've had a chance to sample a couple of films from the original list and that you'll also try a few of the following guaranteed gems.
1930s
The Phantom of Crestwood (1932)
A real curiosity. A movie based on a radio serial with an ending voted on by listeners (or so the producers claimed). The solid cast is headed up by Ricardo Cortez, the movies' first Sam Spade.Star of Midnight (1935)
William Powell of The Thin Man fame in a Thin Man knockoff, with Ginger Rodgers.
The Princess Comes Across (1936)
Carole Lombard and Fred MacMurray in a comic mystery set aboard an ocean liner. (What did you think the title meant?) MacMurray even sings.
Night Must Fall (1937)
Robert Montgomery established his acting chops in this film version of the famous Emlyn Williams play about a brutal killer in rural England.
1940s
The Glass Key (1942)
An underappreciated Dashiell Hammett novel becomes the best of the Alan Ladd/ Veronica Lake teamings. William Bendix is a truly scary bad guy.
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
Former musical star Dick Powell is a believable Philip Marlowe, at least until he takes off his shirt. The great Claire Trevor is in support in this adaptation of Raymond Chandler's Farewell My Lovely.The Blue Dahlia (1946)
Many people would pick this as the best of the Ladd/Lake pictures. I think it's only a close second, in part because the original script, by Raymond Chandler, was watered down during filming. Another solid supporting turn by William Bendix.
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
What long-ago crime binds Barbara Stanwyck, Van Heflin, and Kirk Douglas? Noir regular Lizabeth Scott would like to know.
Riffraff (1947)
Graying but game Pat O'Brien versus oil field hijackers in Panama with the aid of Anne
Jeffreys.
The Unsuspected (1947)
Actually, you will suspect the solution before it's revealed, but the cast, which includes Claude Rains and three striking blondes (Constance Bennett, Audrey Totter, and Joan Caufield), makes this worthwhile.
Force of Evil (1948)
Very short, very intense noir film features John Garfield as a glib mob lawyer. The always good Thomas Gomez is especially so here.
The Big Clock (1948)
Ray Milland is a magazine editor assigned to head up a murder investigation. Every clue his staff turns up points to. . . Ray Milland. Charles Laughton plays his oily boss.
Criss Cross (1949)
More noir with Burt Lancaster running afoul of Yvonne De Carlo and Dan Duryea.
1950s
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)
Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, and director Otto Preminger, all Laura veterans, reunite for a much tougher and darker film.
Man With a Cloak (1951)
Barbara Stanwyck again and Joseph Cotton, as a mystery man out to save Leslie Caron in 19th Century New York. This time Stanwyck sings.
Detective Story (1951)
Kirk Douglas as the grandfather of all burned out cops. The film's stage roots show, but a great cast brings it to life. William Bendix (who is to this list what Herbert Marshall was to my first one) is again outstanding in a serious supporting role. (This movie was nominated by Herschel Cozine after my original list was posted.)
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
John Payne out to clear his name. A interesting mix of fading stars, like Payne and Preston Foster, and up and comers, like Lee Van Cleef and Jack Elam, a characteristic of most B pictures.
The Narrow Margin (1952)
Low-budget cult film of cop Charles McGraw trying to keep star witness Marie Windsor alive during a train trip from Chicago to LA. McGraw is tougher than Intermediate German.
The Blue Gardenia (1953)
Why should dahlias have all the fun? When Anne Baxter is accused of murdering Raymond Burr, columnist Richard Conte comes to her aid.
The Big Heat (1953)
Glenn Ford as a cop who loses everything in his pursuit of a crime ring. Lee Marvin is a particularly slimy mobster.
1960s
A Shot in the Dark (1964)
Comic whodunit was the second Inspector Clouseau film and the only one without any Pink Panther business. For that reason, and the participation of Elke Sommer, it's also the best.
Mirage (1965)
A Hitchcock thriller made without Hitchcock. Gregory Peck has lost his memory (as he did in Hitchcock's Spellbound) and he's on the run (and he was in Hitchcock's Spellbound). P.I. Walter Matthau tries to help.
Point Blank (1967)
A film that's more iconic than obscure. Lee Marvin wants the mob to pay him his money and shoots his way through the organizational chart to get it. Why don't they just pay the guy? Angie Dickinson heads up the supporting cast.
Cogan's Bluff (1968)
How obscure can it be with Clint Eastwood as its star? Contemporary Arizona lawman comes to New York to butt heads with Lee J. Cobb and meet Susan Clark. Betty Fields, a bright young face of the 1940s, makes her sad last film appearance here. P.J. (1968)
A 1960s take on film noir, starring George Peppard as a P.I. hired to bodyguard Gale Hunnicut by her millionaire husband Raymond Burr, a veteran of forties noir.
1970s
They Only Kill Their Masters (1972)
James Garner is a small-town policeman trying to solve a complex murder. Katharine Ross is the romantic interest, but the supporting cast is largely made up of names from the forties brought on to give this a forties feel. They include June Allyson, Peter Lawford, Edmond O'Brien, and Anne Rutherford.
Charley Varrick (1973)
Thriller detailing the plight of Walter Matthau, a small-time bank robber who accidently knocks over a mob bank. Joe Don Baker almost steals the film as the hit man sent after him.
Night Moves (1975)
California P.I. Gene Hackman is in over his head in the Florida Keys. Directed by Arthur Penn. The Late Show (1977)
Aging P.I. Art Carney sets out to solve the murder of his old partner Howard Duff. (Duff was old-time radio's Sam Spade, making this an evocative bit of casting). Lily Tomlin in support.
Murder by Degree (1979)
Peter Finch as Sherlock Holmes and James Mason as Dr. Watson face off against Jack the Ripper, one of whose victims is Susan Clark. John Gielgud, who once played Holmes on the radio, does a cameo.
Once again, I didn't make it to the eighties, but last time I didn't get past 1974, so I did break new old ground. Maybe next time, when My Hit List Strikes Back, I can "finish off" the century.
