The Woman in the Window (1944), The Killers (1946), and Pickup on South Street (1953)

Featuring some of the genre’s earliest and most influential directors, this volume of 3 Classic Film Noirs will certainly not disappoint. Some of the genre's most prevalent themes are introduced in these three films, including the idea that one cannot escape one’s fate. In Pickup on South Street, especially, the City itself is a character, illustrating this idea well. The City symbolizes the tormentors whose actions propel the actual characters to respond when they are alienated from the place they call home.

- Olivia

Woman in the Window (1944) - 1 hr 47 mins

Middle-aged psychology Professor Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) is taking a little time for himself while his family is on vacation in Maine. He assumes that this time will be restful, although extremely dull at the same time. Instead, he is swept into a world of deceit, murder, and extortion when he meets the captivating woman (Joan Bennett) whose portrait in a store window he has been admiring.

Although the film was only nominated for the its beautiful score, Edward G. Robinson’s performance as the simple and unassuming professor who goes from studying "homicidal psychology" to facing the realities of it himself is truly noteworthy. Additionally, the incomparable Nunnally Johnson as the film’s screenwriter and Fritz Lang (The Master of Darkness) as director make this a memorable early example of film noir. Despite being less gritty than other films in the genre, the film’s slow and methodical pulse makes it suspenseful, literally to the very last second. For any who have already seen the film, you will know just what I mean!

Availability: Youtube, Amazon video, Googleplay, DVD, and Blu-ray.

Purchase DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Window-MGM-Film-Noir/dp/B000PMFRW4
Purchase Blu-ray: https://www.amazon.com/Woman-Window-Blu-ray-Fritz-Lang/dp/B07C5RGH2W/ref=asc_df_B07C5RGH2W/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312230736656&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12736662095362136913&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-487440519976&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=58898436941&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312230736656&hvpos=1o2&hvnetw=g&hvrand=12736662095362136913&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-487440519976

The Killers (1946) - l hr 45 mins

Famously the only film version of his work that author Ernest Hemmingway liked, The Killers takes Hemmingway’s original short story and develops it further.

Two hit men (William Conrad and Charles McGraw) have come to a diner in the small suburban town of Brentwood, NJ looking for a man they call “the Swede,” who, according to them, has been working at a local filling station under a different name. When they do find him, they kill him without any resistance from the ex-fighter. This is where Hemmingway’s short story ends and the masterful work of John Huston, Richard Brooks, and Anthony Veiller’s script takes off. An insurance investigator, Jim Reardon (Edmond O'Brien) is assigned to the unusual case. He is determined to find out not only why this ex-fighter was killed, but also why he refused to fight for his life.

With The Roaring Twenties (1939) producer Mark Hellinger, Miklos Rosza writing the score, Robert Siodmak directing, and Elwood Bredell in charge of cinematography, it’s no wonder this film ended up defining film noir in so many ways. The film is cast perfectly from the leads to the more minor characters. Sam Levene as Police Lt. Lubkinsky is outstanding as the Swede’s childhood friend as are the killers themselves (William Conrad and Charles McGraw). The film also launched two of the lead actors into stardom - Burt Lancaster as Ole“the Swede” Anderson in his first film and Ava Gardner- who plays the scheming, seductive, and sadistic Kitty Collins- in her first leading role. In the end, Jim Reardon ties all the pieces together to solve the mystery of the Swede’s death. The Killers brings to life this dark, post-war tale of a tortured man caught in a maze of treachery and fate.

Availability: Youtube (free), Amazon video, Googleplay, DVD, and Blu-ray. (Contains the original and remake)

Youtube (free): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcHpkILnlS8
Purchase DVD: https://www.amazon.com/Killers-Burt-Lancaster/dp/B00W69F3DC/ref=asc_df_B00W69F3DC/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312150467994&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10231819360800291133&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-493334756601&psc=1&tag=&ref=&adgrpid=62195418895&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvadid=312150467994&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10231819360800291133&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003967&hvtargid=pla-493334756601
Purchase Blu-ray: https://www.amazon.com/Killers-Blu-ray-Burt-Lancaster/dp/B00W69F2VA/ref=tmm_mfc_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

Pickup on South Street (1953) - 1 hr 20 mins

When three-time loser and petty thief Skip McCoy decides to pick a woman’s purse on the NYC subway, little does he know what he has just gotten himself into. Neither does Candy- the woman whose purse he picked. She’s an ex-prostitute who is eager to make good, but she is being forced by her ex-boyfriend Joey (Richard Kiley) to finish her job as the courier of a stolen item- a piece of microfilm that contains government information that a Communist spy ring desperately wants.

Richard Widmark is brilliant as the impudent and unashamedly outspoken pickpocket. Unlike his portrayals in earlier films as seedy, smirking psychopaths, Widmark’s Skip McCoy has the potential for redemption. In keeping with some of the genre’s most prevalent themes, he’s a man whose past has set a permanent marker on him. He’s a three-time loser. It's the same with Candy. She can’t seem to escape being manipulated by others. It is the same with Skip until both of them let their guard down and show their feelings for one another. Their chemistry is absolutely marvelous. Thelma Ritter, too, is absolutely fantastic as the shrewd and lovable Moe - a tie saleswoman who sells information on the side to get by. Out of all of her six nominations, this being her fourth successive one, this may have been the most worthy of her winning an Oscar.

All three will have to work together to put a stop to the secret operation, but will they be willing to set aside their selfishness for something bigger than themselves?

Availability: Youtube (free), Amazon video, Googleplay, DVD, and Blu-ray.

Youtube (free, poor visual quality and doesn't contain credits): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHFznLmt1i8
Purchase DVD: https://www.ebay.com/i/202701406277?chn=ps