The rko secondfeature often considered the first film noir takes a dark turn, as we begin the internal monologue of michael john mcguire, whose testimony just clinched a maybeunjust murder conviction, and he meets the title character peter lorre in stranger on the. Beautifully shot on famously limited sets only one is complete in the traditional sense, stranger on the third floor has made the rounds on home video and tv in a similar pattern as its more famous rko brethren. Stranger 1940 stars peter lorre in an atmospheric bmovie. Thanks to its performances, all perfect, and its staging, stranger on the third floor is a discovery that still surprises more than seventy years later. Stranger on the third floor yarn concerns a stern newspaper reporter whose testimony proves the circumstantial evidence that convicts an innocent man. Stranger on the third floor 1940 classic horror film board. Marcus remained in charge of the lowbudget films at rko until february 19, 1941, when studio head george j. This film, beautifully photographed by nicholas musuraca, shows the german. Street date september 21, 2010 available through the warner archive collection 19.
This extremely weird b movie has been hailed as the first true film noir, and it certainly has all the noir elements, both visual and thematic. Sep 04, 2016 chandu 1932, adapted from a nightly radio broadcast, anticipated the superhero dr. As scholars of the genre have attempted to determine what films quality as noir, they almost always agree that the onehour rko b programmer stranger on the third floor 1940 is the first of its kind. Stranger on the third floor dvdr 1940 warner archive. Stranger on the third floor 1940 film noir of the week. Cinematography nicholas musuraca film editor harry marker. Theres no definitive answer to the question of which movie is the first film noir but some experts make a case for stranger on the third floor 1940, boris ingster and it. Stranger on the third floor 1940 eddie robson, who is one of the worlds most thoroughgoing experts on film noir, is determined that stranger on the third floor is the worlds first noir. In the first of these, lorre appeared as the anonymous lead in the bpicture stranger on the third floor 1940, reputedly the first film noir. Sneaking out in 1940 was a sleeper film s sleeper film, a riveting little creepshow called stranger on the third floor. Lost in his thoughts, michael recalls his meeting with meng, his. Noir709960355693140 to see the film in its entirety, visit the.
Stranger on the third floor 1940 boris ingster, peter lorre, john mcguire, margaret tallichet april 18, 2015 rising reporter michael ward is a key witness in the murder trial of young joe briggs, who is convicted on circumstantial evidence while swearing innocence. Unfortunately, this isnt the first great film noir. Kennedys film booking offices of america fbo studio were brought. Stranger on the third floor 1940 directed by boris. Stranger on the third floor 1940 boris ingster, peter. Stranger on the third floor 1940 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors. Siskoid widely considered the first american film noir, stranger on the third floor is nevertheless a minor work in the genre, but an efficient one that doesnt waste time getting to the point. Stranger on the third floor 1940 the motion pictures. The contrarian position often argueserroneouslythat the 1939 film blind alley should hold that distinction. Rko pictures was an american film production and distribution company. An aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a cafe owners throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.
Rko it was one of the big five studios of hollywoods golden age. Stranger on the third floor 1940 0816 1940 us crime, drama, thriller 1h 4m user score. Met peter lorre, john mcguire en margaret tallichet. Stranger on the third floor 1940 08161940 us crime, drama, thriller 1h 4m user score. Peter lorre virtually reprises the eerily convincing persona he. In its original incarnation, as rko radio pictures, inc. Please, tcm, do not ever replace the true film classic, like this one, with the filth that began to permeate hollywood in the late 60s, going on until now. Stranger on the third floor 1940 classic horror film. Even though at the time of release this little sleeper wasnt considered the first film noir but just a minor lowbudget b features film. A reporter is torn by guilt and doubt about his testimony that put a man on death row. Oct 27, 2014 migliori film noir di sempre, dagli stati uniti alla francia the third man pulp novelist holly martins travels to shadowy, postwarthe third man pulp novelist holly martins travels to shadowy, postwar the supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting. Stranger on the third floor 1940 is often considered the first film noir, and that classification totally makes sense to me, as it combines a german expressionist approach to cinematography with later noir tropes like dream sequences, voiceovers and elisha cook jr. Stranger on the third floor subtitles 20 subtitles.
In 1940, marcus produced what many consider the first film noir, stranger on the third floor. Though only a minor noir picture a piece of hay in the haystack of the genre, rather than a moredesirable needle stranger on the third floor has a few very striking scenes. Stranger on the third floor1940rko radio pictures64 min. Stranger on the third floor 1940 movie clip what a gloomy. Reporter michael ward sends joe briggs to the electric chair by testifying that he saw the unfortunate briggs fleeing the scene of a murder. This small, interesting, film which is generally considered the first film noir, the stranger on the third floor, directed by boris ingster, is the story of the story of a reporters search for a. Stranger on the third floor is a 1940 american film noir directed by boris ingster and starring peter lorre, john mcguire, and margaret tallichet, and featuring elisha cook jr it was written by frank partos. But thats not to imply that the rest of the film is wanting. Oscar oshea and charles waldron in stranger on the third floor 1940 stranger on the third floor. Stranger on the third floor is a 1940 american film noir directed by boris ingster and starring peter lorre, john mcguire, and margaret tallichet, and featuring. Stranger on the third floor movie 1940 tv passport. This reminded me some of detour with the sad guy voiceover, but they not only have voiceover, they have a flashback and a dream sequence. The plotline is carried by john mcguire, playing ward, a newspaper reporter whose courtroom testimony sends the hapless briggs elisha cook jr. With peter lorre, john mcguire, margaret tallichet, charles waldron.
Naturally the film s highlight is the extended nightmareparanoia sequence which fully exploits the storys noir leanings. All who see stranger on the third floor remember it. Ce film, dune duree dune heure, a ete realise par boris ingster en 1940. Stranger on the third floor boris ingster, 1940 with. Film noir drama film geregisseerd door boris ingster. Feb 15, 2011 stranger on the third floor was the second feature on the opening night double bill of seattle 2011 noir city festival and is available on the warner archive collection of dvdr discs in a remastered edition and it looks superb. Stranger on the third floor is a 1940 american film noir directed by boris ingster and starring peter lorre, john mcguire, and margaret tallichet, and featuring elisha cook jrit was written by frank partos.
Though he doesnt speak his first line of dialogue until the film s final ten minutes, peter lorre spiritually dominates the fascinating rko melodrama stranger on the third floor. The stranger or the intruder, an american film by roger corman, starring william shatner the stranger 1967 film, a film based on camuss novel and directed by luchino visconti the stranger 1973 film or stranded in space, a sciencefiction tv pilot starring glenn corbett. Stranger on the third floor 1940 movie clip what a. Newspaper reporter john mcguire plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his evidence has sentenced the wrong man to death. Lorre began his stage career in vienna before moving to germany where he worked first on the stage, then in film in berlin in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Not that one should spend a lot of time on this debate, but still its discussed. Joseph cotten plays holly martins, a scribbler with too much drink. Laut hbo wurde dieser film im jahre 1940 freigegeben. Peter lorre plays the eerie title role in this onceneglected gem about a reporter john mcguire whose testimony sentences a smalltime loser elisha cook jr.
Stranger was released in theaters on august 14, 1940 and was panned by film critics. Stranger on the third floor 1940 the movie database tmdb. I had thought this was about a guy who lived on the third floor, but he really is a stranger who appears on the third floor. Stranger on the third floor 1940 im not guilty the stranger killed him. The film s memorable highlight is mcguires expressionist nightmare, with all elements of his recent existence showing up in stylized fashion to literally haunt his dreams and spur him to do the right thing. Stranger on the third floor is the little b picture that launched one of the greatest movements in cinema history. Modern research has shown that nathanael west wrote the final version of the screenplay, but was uncredited. Stranger on the third floor was the second feature on the opening night double bill of seattle 2011 noir city festival and is available on the warner archive collection of dvdr discs in a remastered edition and it looks superb. I admire the film s economy it doesnt need to be longer than it is. Released 1940, stranger on the third floor stars peter lorre, john mcguire, margaret tallichet, charles waldron the movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 4 min, and received a score of out of 100.
Stranger on the third floor 1940 when upstart journalist michael ward john mcguire testifies that he saw joe briggs elisha cook jr. Peter lorre gets top billing in an underplayed, but brilliant supporting role as the stranger. We pride ourselves on having navigated many storms in the world of independent local media. Modern research has shown that nathanael west wrote the final version of the screenplay, but was uncredited stranger on the third floor is often cited as the first true film noir of. Oct 07, 2015 boris ingster directs 1940s stranger on the third floor, a quick little crime drama from rko. Sun tzu the third man is a 1949 britishamerican film noir, dire. They have not done right by by peter lorre in this picture. Lorre caused an international sensation in the german film m 1931, directed by fritz lang, in which he. Stranger on the third floor warner archive collection remastered edition a compact 63 minute noir thriller that features a surreal nightmare sequence that justifies its place in your film collection. Boris ingster directs 1940s stranger on the third floor, a quick little crime drama from rko. Classic horror film board the golden age of horror murder and mystery stranger on the third floor 1940 share.
Shaken by the verdict and by his fiancee janes intuition about briggss innocence, michael returns to his room, where he begins to brood about the events that led up to briggss arrest. Stranger on the third floor warner archive collection remastered edition. The coronavirus crisis in seattle is a major threat to the strangers ability to keep the city informed. The second rko film was youll find out also 1940, a musical comedy mystery in which he costarred with horror actors bela lugosi and boris karloff, as well as band leader kay kyser. Stranger on the third floor 1940 directed by boris ingster. Marcus was relegated to being simply a studio producer.
The business was formed after the keithalbeeorpheum kao theater chain and joseph p. These are some of the questions that were waiting to be answered when the film that is considered the first film noir stranger on the third floor was released in theatres on august 16, 1940. According to some film critics the films blind alley, rio, and. Stranger on the third floor, with its dramatic expressionistic look, broke new cinematic ground. I was a young adult during those times in the 60s, and have lived through the results of these changes in what many people call entertainment. Schaefer assumed total control of production, demoting both eddington and marcus. Stranger on the third floor 1940stream and watch online. A stunning example of cinematic expressionism, cited by many as the first studio film shot in a completely noir style. Chandu 1932, adapted from a nightly radio broadcast, anticipated the superhero dr. Scarcely more than an hour long, this movie directed by boris ingster is a masterpiece in miniature.
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