A gutsy 30s gangster noir with two 'hood boys whose paths into adulthood are a complete contrast; Cagney becoming a violent gangster and O'Brien a priest. O'Brien has to fight the local kids' hero-worship of Cagney, and this leads to an emotional and ambiguous climax. Tense, dramatic, well-acted with sharp dialogue. Astounding.
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CASABLANCA (1942)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Nothing more can be said about this classic melodrama from the peak of the Hollywood studio-film era. Hardened cynic Bogart softens when he meets old flame Bergman who is now a refugee in neutral wartime Casablanca. Together they outwit the Germans... and of course there's that famous song. Watch this classic or some day you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow...
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KEY LARGO (1948)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Bogart confronted by a moral dilema in a Florida hotel. Money or integrity, safety or intervention. Classic film noir.
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LIFT TO THE SCAFFOLD (1957)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Ronet is the disgruntled war vet who plots to kill his boss and elope with his wife. Meanwhile, other events implicate him in a murder elsewhere, whilst he remains stuck in an immobile lift. Tense, clever plot with cool, minimalist direction by Malle and a great Miles Davis score.
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RIFIFI (1955)
Certification12 Our Rating
Four men set in motion a heist of incredible audacity, a robbery where the level of risk is only matched by the protagonists' meticulous precision, but though the thieves are consummate professionals once the job is done their emotions and animosities begin to threaten the rewards of their hard work. Rififi is renowned for its tense half hour long heist scene in which not a word is ever uttered, and acknowledged as one of the classic examples of French film noir.
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SCARLET STREET (1945)
CertificationPG Our Rating
A remake of Jean Renoir's 1931 film 'La Chienne', this is Hollywood film noir at it's bleakest and most psychologically tortuous. Edward G Robinson plays a middle-class, middle-aged painter who becomes obsessed with an actress-cum-prostitute played by Joan Bennett. An incisive script, haunting score and claustrophobic visuals.
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THE BIG SLEEP (1946)
CertificationPG Our Rating
The original and best version of the detective thriller classic. Philip Marlowe is hired to investigate the gambling debts of a rich man's daughter, but is plunged into a twilight world of intrigue, blackmail and violence. Stylish and gripping.
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THE HONEYMOON KILLERS (1969)
Certification18 Our Rating
When the desperate, obese Martha meets handsome Ray, who leeches off rich widows, she falls madly in love and teams up with him as he scours the lonely hearts clubs, but her jealousy is to lead to murder and betrayal. A bleak, unsentimental thriller loosely based on the real-life 'lonely hearts killers' Martha Beck and Ray Fernandez.
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THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
CertificationPG Our Rating
Treachery and deception in this classic film noir as various groups of low life characters try to lay their mits on the ancient treasure. Sam Spade is the honest fall guy. One of the best Hollywood films ever and certainly one of the best of its type. Initiated the move away from gangster movies.
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THE THIRD MAN (1949)
CertificationPG Our Rating
The Graham Greene story of black-marketeer Harry Lime, who "dies" and then apparently comes back to life. A totally compelling thriller, set against a backdrop of shattered post-war Vienna and haunted by an evocative zither score.
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