Noirvember 2015: 30 Films in 30 Days

Before Noirvember began, my goal was to watch 30 film noir movies. That was a pretty simple goal on paper, but I also decided to follow two rules. I would watch:

Only films I’d never seen before

Films released during the “recognized” years of film noir, roughly 1941-1958

As you’ll see, I broke both rules. One film is from 1959. The last film on the list is one I’d actually seen before, but since that was over 30 years ago (and I remembered almost none of it) I decided to include it.

I thought about throwing in a western noir, such as The Man from Laramie (1955), or possibly a neo-noir, or even the parody noir Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982), but decided to stick with films that are more or less recognized noir films from the noir era. With one exception, I chose only English-language noir films. Maybe next year I’ll mix things up a bit more.

I’d never attempted to watch so many film noir movies at one time, back-to-back-to-back for an entire month, so I had some misgivings that I might grow tired of the genre/style. I never did. I always looked forward to the next film, the next set of creators, the next discovery.

I also learned that most of the films I watched were pretty good, even the ones I didn’t much care for. Even the worst of the bunch were entertaining. In some cases I think I got the most enjoyment from the films with the lowest budgets and lesser-known actors.  I can’t think of any films that I absolutely would never watch again, and that’s saying something.

In the coming days, I plan on posting an essay covering my thoughts on the experience as a whole, but for now, here’s a complete list of the 30 films I watched during Noirvember. I hope you’ll find something new to experience or even rewatch. Let me know what you discover!

He Walked by Night (1948)

The Set-Up (1949)

Somewhere in the Night (1946)

The Woman in the Window (1944)

House of Bamboo (1955)

Crime of Passion (1957)

Railroaded! (1947)

The Dark Corner (1946)

The Brasher Doubloon (1947)

Brute Force (1947)

The Big Clock (1948)

Hollow Triumph (1948)

Odd Man Out (1947)

The Reckless Moment (1949)

Odds Against Tomorrow (1959)

Too Late for Tears (1949)

Kiss of Death (1947)

Moonrise (1948)

The Street with No Name (1948)

Fallen Angel (1945)

Sleep, My Love (1948)

Appointment with Danger (1951)

The Turning Point (1952)

House by the River (1950)

Shack Out on 101 (1955)

Thieves’ Highway (1949)

Fear in the Night (1947)

Champion (1948)

Bob le flambeur (1956)

Mildred Pierce (1945)

(Photo: Mubi)