- The Killers is known as the film that launched the careers of Burt Lancaster and Ava Gardner. It is also remembered as one of the best Ernest Hemingway adaptations (Hemingway’s name appears above the title). It is also considered the sort of Citizen Kane of film noir with its splintered flashback storytelling structure.
It opens like its in the middle of the story with two killers (the titular killers) walking into a diner. There is a strong frame (here) right off the bat of the streetlight and the diner- this is the strongest work of German-born Richard Siodmak (who also made Phantom Lady in 1944 and The Spiral Staircase in 1946 so this is a nice stretch for him). The two killers harass the cook, owner, and patron at the diner- a sensational opening.
- Not to take anything away from the great Burt Lancaster, but half the credit here goes to whomever decided to give him this spectacular role. Lancaster plays “Swede” Anderson. This is Lancaster’s true debut, and he gets top billing, frankly an awesome character to play, in all in a Hemingway adaptation no less- wow. Lancaster is 33 in 1946- a big, imposing physical (perfect as ex-boxer) figure. The first shot of him is laying in bed with shadows bouncing off the wall. This is noir’s cool fatalism. Siodmak comes in to give Lancaster a close-up as the Swede accepts his doomed fate and decides not to run.
- The story then gets handed to Edmond O’Brien as the insurance policy agent Jim Reardon. This is another insurance investigator noir (like Double Indemnity from 1944) and this is the first film of a one-two punch that makes O’Brien noir royalty (D.O.A in 1949 is also on his resume). Reardon is investigating the death of the Swede- a flashback but no voiceover. Reardon interviews secondary characters who provide the narrative varying splices of the narrative via different flashbacks- first the filling station coworker, then the neighbor. Next is the police officer who arrested him, the Swede’s ex-girlfriend (and current wife of the policeman), his prison cell roommate and then his co-conspirators in a crime- Blinky (on his death bed) and Dum Dum under the point of Reardon’s gun. Ava Gardner (breathtaking) is Kitty Collins- the femme fatale Judas character—this narrative behemoth warrants the Kane comparisons.
the scene when Lancaster’s Swede meets Gardner’s Kitty Collins. Lancaster moves to the foreground with his old girlfriend hovering in the background- a sublime scene of obvious attraction
At the 36-minute mark Lancaster is headed for a tunnel and Siodmak captures a great monochrome cinematic painting as he walks away from the camera towards the light.
- It is 38-minutes before Gardner shows up- “She’s beautiful” in the text- and Lancaster’s Swede is hypnotized (and fated). Gardner is not in more than a few minutes of the film (though it seems like more with her presence and the fact that she is talked about so often during the film by other characters) until she takes the baton as the storyteller in the final flashback thread.
The funeral composition at the 47-minute mark is masterful- five fields of depth on display all perfectly arranged.
- The various aspects of the big caper take up most of the last 45-minutes.
- The Prentiss Hat payroll robbery (the newspaper is sort of the narrator during this section as Reardon investigates) is shot in a long take. The camera follows the four thieves- it tracks or “saunters” via crane and then drifts up to the paymaster on the second floor as the robbery is shown through the glass window. The camera holds (all of this during one shot mind you) and the crane moves back down from the second floor and back into the street with the thieves again when it is over. This is a three-minute jaw-dropper of a shot.
- John Huston reportedly had a hand (though uncredited) helping the screenplay.
- Ends with the same two killers that start the film walking into the dinner
- A Must-See/ Masterpiece border film
Wow, this is extremely exciting. I was genuinely in shock seeing the final rating since this was a Recommend before and I was thinking it would get like HR/MS or something but I was surprised by how strong the imagery was.
“Ends with the same two killers that start the film walking into the diner” sounds like Pulp Fiction
I know you said a while back you were waiting to see this before you watched the second one by Don Siegel. Have you seen it as well and is it nearly as good?
@Zane- Yes- this will be tomorrow’s post on the site
Drake,
So funny I was about to make a post about this film yesterday but got sidetracked. I was looking over the 1946 and surprised that this was a simple R. This is not only one of the best noirs it is one of the most noir of noirs. It was the entire package both narratively and visually.
A doomed protagonist, check
Femme Fatale, check
Private detectives, check
Plot twists, check
Tough guy dialogue, check
Characters driven by greed and ego, check
Use of shadows and high contrast b&w check
Criss Cross (1949) is another great Robert Siodmak noir that also features Burt Lancaster in the lead role.
@Malith- thank you- sorry about that
@Anderson- thank you for the help here
Starting a (Mini) Robert Siodmak Study focusing on 7 of his Noirs, since no page for Siodmak I’ll post here unless another page is suggested
Phantom Lady (1944)
\Notes:
Starts with despondent lady wearing extravagant black hat and black suite sitting at a bar, man picks her up to see a show
7:54 lead performer wearing identical black hat upset after seeing woman in audience wearing same hat
8:50 silhouette image upon entering apartment
12:02 low angle shot with painting of woman hanging on apartment wall in background of the shot
14:40 blocking with close up shot of 3 investigators surrounding the protagonist confronting him with detail of murder
17:53 dissolve edits
24:06 camera slowly pans through courtroom of Scott Henderson trial
25:25 close up of hand taking notes, this shot has been repeated several times during trial scenes
30 min Carol “Kansas” Richman, secretary of Henderson returns to bar
33:43 great shot capturing stillness of city at night, along train tracks
35:03 shadow covering half face of bartender walking into night
36:31 camera pans down to hat left on street
39:21 slow pan up to Kansas dressed same as mystery woman from hat to suit
42:20 mirror shot with slightly distorted reflection
43:33 low angle shot captures musician jam session
47:09 great frame using window
48:40 back and forth shots of Cliff the musician and mystery villain
49:55 mystery villain rising out of chair and killing Cliff, shadow of Villain rises over Cliffs shadow on wall
50:48 gorgeous shot with light seeping into dark room, similar shot in Bergman’s Winter Light (1963)
1:00:18 mirror shot again this time with Marlow
1:05:25 distorted image of girl behind door
1:07:47 Kansas wearing white and Marlow in black
1:09:19 Marlow moving his hands in strangling motion again
1:11:57 series of great camera movements and zoom in and outs after Kansas walks into room
1:15:20 window as frame
1:16:32 black hat as symbol of deception
1:19:05 black hat missing
1:21:10 Marlow menacing while lying down
1:24:06 close up on Kansas petrified face
1:24:17 frame in frame using curtains and window
Thoughts:
Siodmak uses one of Hitchcock’s go to tropes of the innocent man accused of murder, only here instead of the man being on the run he is in prison awaiting a death sentence while a female character in love with him takes it upon herself to prove his innocence so a little twist on the innocent man on the run concept makes interesting
This film has many of the film noir tropes; person solving crime/mystery, innocent person falsely accused, suspicious characters, scenes shot during the night, scenes in nightclubs/bars, etc.
Visually you have much of the standard noir tropes; shadows, Chiaroscuro, shots in dark, etc.
There are some spectacular shots as mentioned above at 33:43, 49:55, and 50:48
The 87 min runtime works as the film does start to drag in the 2nd half
Verdict: HR
@James Trapp- Fun- I am always up for film noir
@Drake – Obviously not every film neatly fits into one genre but if forced to pick I think Noir is my favorite genre although its close with gangster/crime
The Suspect (1944)
Notes:
Set in England in early 20th Century, Charles Laughton as Philip Marshall, a mild-mannered middle-aged accountant
5:50 Ella Raines again after strong performance in Phantom Lady, this time as Mary
14:38 close up on Mary’s face after leisurely night walk after attending show together
15:15 two-shot of Marshall and Mary
17:56 Marshall ascending stairs to set to misdirecting score
20:55 close up on Marshall after suggesting divorce
23:11 blocking with several women listening to Mary telling her surrounding co-workers a
24:02 bests shot of film so far with Marshall walking home one night through a dense fog
24:42 great use of frame and silhouette
26:04 Marshall and Mary eating dinner shot in contained space reflecting claustrophobic feeling
28:20 shot of Marshall decorating Christmas Tree after dinner with Mary
30:30 wife face to face confronts Marshall
31:56 Marshall holding hammer and fade to black then transition to daytime with wife’s “accidental death” talked about on street
38 min Scotland Yard Investigator enters house following funeral
40:45 Scotland Yard Investigator reenacting a possible murder scenario with shots on mid-section and hands and arms of Investigator
43:44 shot from street looking through glass windows
48:15 wife can’t testify against husband; in real life this is not as clear as it is in movies
55 min potential blackmailer and Investigator meet
1:00:54 close up shot on hand holding small bottle of sleeping medication (close up on hands is used multiple times during film)
1:02:48 back and forth close up shots of faces effective in showing Marshall reaction to the drugging scene, he is a very passive man, and this is actually accurate from my readings of true crime, as poisoners have a very specific personality type
1:04:53 guilt building threw voices
1:11:36 excellent low angle shot with Marshall standing in background moving couch before transitioning to daytime shot the following day
1:16:55 guilt trip from young admirer
1:20:30 inspector sets effective trap
1:22:38 alley night shots
1:24:11 silhouette image
Thoughts:
This film starts off slow cinematically but picks up between 20 to 25-min mark with some strong film noir-esque shots
Prior to this film I only knew Charles Laughton as the director of The Night of the Hunter (1955) as it was infamously the only film he ever directed and in my humble opinion a MP
This is more a character study than a typical noir in that Marshall has a decency to him different from a typical noir protagonist even though he does some terrible things
elliptical editing used effectively
Visually the standard noir tropes are there with effective use of shadows, fog, and silhouette images
Verdict: R/HR
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
Notes:
Starts with high angle shot of winding staircase
Film set in early 20th Century Vermont
1:28 camera pans along town bringing us to hotel
7:07 Siodmak seems to like these medium to low angle shots
8:23 shot of serene countryside dissolves to horse carriage with young woman named Helen for is mute and Dr. Parry
12:36 sudden storm beginning with Helen in middle of frame
13 min mystery man shown as silhouette image
16:55 impressive frame using high angle shot of stairs
17:55 slow zoom in on mystery man eyes followed by distorted images
26:08 Oates enters house taking up most of frame as Investigator is leaving
33:24 dissolve to Blanche descending stairs as piano plays
42:55 wine cellar dimly lit with just candlelight
46:20 zoom in on Helen’s terrified face listening to crime of past
51:48 distorted image dissolves to dreamlike sequence
53:11 excellent shot with symmetry, multiple depths, and creative frame during the wedding scene
59 min cellar scene contains several choice shots using shadows and high angle shots
60 min the slow zoom in out the same eyes from earlier used effectively after suspense is build and then the same distorted dissolve back to reality
1:05:45 Helen descends staircase for 3rd or 4th time
1:10:10 stationary camera following Helen as she runs around house frantically
1:12:02 extreme close up on a terrified Helen, Siodmak seems to like this shot as he has used several times along with the extreme close up on hands writing notes which happens shortly after
1:16:27 beautiful shot horse leaving courtyard during pouring rain
1:17:21 near identical shot the ones at 16:55 and 1:14:46
1:18:00 to 1:19:55 several great shots as the film’s climax takes place on the staircase, great use of shadows and high angle shots
Thoughts:
This is the 3rd film of the study and so far, all 3 clocking 87 min or less
Siodmak like the great Hitchcock seems to love stairs as motif and speaking of Hitch this film has a similar atmosphere to some of his early murder mystery British films but also a Gothic environment similar to Rebecca
Takes place in contained environment like an Agatha Christie story (or a game of Clue) where everyone is a suspect and all clues could be meaningful or could be red herrings creating the possibility for the viewer taking an active part in the film
Much of film does not have score, creates eerie environment much of film
Repeated shots throughout the film were formally impressive
Several impressive stretches but the final 5 min were especially great
Verdict: HR
The Killers (1946)
Notes:
Starts with silhouette images of the two Killers (from the film’s title) move to opposite ends of frame and then enter a small-town Diner at night
Classic Noir tough guy talk “bright boy” as Killers become increasingly menacing
7:52 great composition with canted angle looking into Diner from outside with Killers on opposite sides of the frame
8:30 tension is released after a great building up
10:33 Burt Lancaster as The Swede is resigned to his fate “Once I did something wrong” were last words
12:43 low angle shot of Killers entering room
16:38 Swede working at gas station after fleeing dangerous past similar to the Robert Mitchum character in Out of the Past (1947)
19 min the great Edmond O’Brien starts investigation (insurance not criminal)
28:20 flashback structure with an investigator as opposed to a journalist has drawn similarities to Citizen Kane (1941) just 5 years prior
28:30 start of boxing sequence, uses low angle shot of The Swede sitting in corner between rounds, I like the foggy atmosphere despite it being an indoor sporting event
28:46 switch to high angle shot and back to extreme low angle shot at 29:12
35:55 arguably best shot in film so far as The Swede walks away after losing fight, masterful use of lighting and depth of field as he walks away from Camera through tunnel followed by dissolve edit back to present timeline
38:28 introduction to Ava Gardner playing the stunning Kitty Collins
39:59 very strong composition with Kitty Collins casually singing while holding cigarette and drink in the foreground on the right side of frame and The Swede in center of frame staring at Kitty Collins while The Swedes girlfriend Lilly staring at The Swede while in the background of the shot on left side of the frame
43:17 Kitty Collins covering up stolen jewelry leading to confrontation at restaurant
47 min a series of immaculate shots during The Swedes funeral scene, the multiple depths of field and character blocking is perfect
48:37 high angle shot inside prison
54:02 close up on transfixed Swede upon seeing Kitty Collins again
55 min Jack Lambert was born to play the heavies in film, something about his face and voice
58:33 creative way to narrate scene as the robbery is shown while narrated by a character reading over the police report on the crime to the Edmond O’Brien character
1:09:49 high angle shot of The Swede during double cross
1:13:44 close up on hand of O’Brien character which is a shot repeated in other Siodmak films
1:15:00 shot reverse shot for a couple of minutes
1:25:58 close up on O’Brien character meeting Kitty Collins outside restaurant
1:26:26 camera moves from taxi to the Killers from the opening scene
1:27:49 great use of frame using window of hotel lobby and canted angle
1:31:29 dissolve to Kitty’s narration of past
1:35:30 great sequence of tracking shots of the killers failed hit attempt right after Kitty Collins makes her exit
1:37:40 excellent use of shadows in back of frame from high angle staircase shot
“don’t ask a dying man to lie his soul into hell” great line as Kitty Collins tries (and fails) to get Big Jim to clear her name in his dying moments
Thoughts:
This is a pretty much perfect Film Noir with all the classic noir staples; femme fatale, a doomed protagonist resigned to his fate, private detectives, underworld criminals, double crosses, and the visual elements; shadows, silhouette images, and masterful use of lighting. You also have cool names and nicknames like The Swede, Kitty Collins, and Big Jim Colfax
I’m a big fan of Lancaster and this is one of his best performances
The narrative flows even with the back-and-forth structure as there really is not anything unnecessary, my only complaint and it’s a very minor one is that the film should have ended about 2 minutes earlier with the brilliant “don’t ask a dying man to lie his soul into hell” line I mentioned above. The last scene with the joke about the insurance rates is kind of funny but I think they would have been better off dropping it. Still that’s really my only criticism and like I said it’s a very minor one
For my Hawks study I said the following regarding The Big Sleep (1946)
“An all timer of a noir, my personal top 5 in no particular order; Double Indemnity (1944), The Big Sleep (1946), Chinatown (1974), Touch of Evil (1958), and In a Lonely Place (1950), although the Robert Siodmak version of The Killers (1946), Out of the Past (1947), and Altman’s The Long Goodbye (1973) are not all that far behind.”
Double Indemnity, Chinatown, and Touch of Evil aren’t going anywhere on the top 5 but I wouldn’t rule out bumping off one of the other two for The Killers, it’s that great. A near perfect film
Verdict: MP
@Drake – How many Siodmak films have you seen? And follow up question; how many of those made the archives?
@James Trapp- Not sure how many I’ve seen overall. I started keeping track of every single movie I watch in 2016- and I’ve seen two Siodmak since then. I have four total Siomak films in the archives right now.
Cry of the City (1948)
Notes:
Starts with priest standing over a crook named Marty (Richard Conte) recovering in a hospital room after a shootout with police
Here we have Richard Conte playing career criminal Martin Rome and Victor Mature as Lt. Vittorio Candella; they are childhood friends who ended up on opposite sides of the law
5:40 a lawyer believes Marty is responsible for killing a man and that his client is being wrongfully accused of the crime
7 min close up on Marty
7:44 Wells style low angle shot
14:02 lawyer and Martin opposite sides of frame with lawyer in black and Martin in white
20:35 cross in background of shot with Candella sitting at kitchen table, Candella is the “good brother” in the brotherly relationship even though they’re not technically brothers but functionally it’s the same thing; the Wayward brother trope
28:48 Candella standing over Martin, literally looking down on his friend. It’s Obvious he’s disappointed in his childhood buddy for his bad decisions
30:21 an X shape in background like Hawks in Scarface (1932)
33:38 Rome makes his escape attempt to pulsating score ramping up the tension
33:10 reverse tracking shot of Marty walked toward camera in tunnel
45:41 great image of profile shadow through the office door
47:02 great window frame as Marty watches silhouette police chasing silhouette image of Marty’s brother Tony who looks up to Marty despite the fact that he’s a criminal and murderer
54:40 the inevitable confrontation between Marty and Candella
59:08 reverse tracking shot along street
1:03:00 has there ever been a noir that didn’t feature at least one scene in a club or bar?
1:05:32 maybe the best shot in the film so far, with impressive depth of field in a long hallway as well as great use of lighting
1:09:57 disturbing speech about fat old women with too much money and jewels; reminds me of Joseph Cotton’s dinner speech in Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt
1:17:10 Marty inside small phone booth as the investigators are closing in on yet he shows no fear
1:26:00 Marty certainly has charism; you see this on full display in his conversation with Teena as it is difficult to know how sincere he is. Candella sets the record straight in pointing out the consequences of Marty’s selfish decisions which led to others being hurt in one way or another
Great shots at 1:32:10 and 1:32:26 with Marty walking down narrow sidewalk with beautiful use of streetlights and depth of field
Thoughts:
This is not the best film in the Study, but it is the best acted in my opinion; Conte and Mature are both phenomenal here as childhood friends who grew up in a poor neighborhood but ended up on opposite sides of the law. The church scene near the end is particularly impressive from an acting standpoint
Great narrative with elements of cops vs criminals, morality plays, and family dramas
More realism here and less stunning shots than the previous films I’ve seen in the Siodmak Study with some notable exceptions, this isn’t to say it’s the weakest film so far as there is much to admire with the acting, writing, and on location shooting
Verdict: HR
Criss Cross (1949)
Notes:
Starts with overhead shot of city
2:18 here we go with Burt Lancaster, playing Steve a driver of armored trucks carrying money, again teaming up with Siodmak
5:50 tracking shot as Lancaster’s Steve entering back room of club
10:50 door as frame with men counting large stacks of moneys like Casino
13:02 great window frame in frame
16:35 Lancaster will narration
23:40 series of close-up shots during dance scene inside Club with band creates unique environment, like a scene from Casablanca
31:04 Siodmak loves these low angle shots, these on Steve’s ex wife Anna who is involved with the slim ball club owner played by Dan Duryea, who plays a great slim ball in 2 of Fritz Lang’s noirs
34:28 sharp dialogue with Steve and his mother who naturally doesn’t trust his ex-wife
38:28 superb internal dialogue on a devastated Burt Lancaster after discovering ex-wife remarried slim ball club owner “you know how it is you don’t know what to do with yourself… Any place you go you see her face”
48:24 dark alleyways, classic noir shot
52:30 excellent composition with 4 fields of depth, each characters position in relation to one another can be deduced with little to no background information
58:20 a group of crooks sitting in a dark apartment drinking beer, smoking (of course), playing cards, and planning out the caper
1:03:10 rear view mirror shot capturing car tailing Steve’s armored truck, tension mounts for next couple min
1:06:22 overhead shot of seemingly routine money carry before bomb goes off any the plan naturally falls apart
1:08:34 distorted images through the smoke
1:09:26 Steve shown picture of himself in news as hero with family surrounding him at hospital
1:13:00 devastating scene with police lieutenant who knows Steve personally and that he is a decent guy who made a terrible decision
1:19:48 mirror shots as tension mounts
1:20:45 distorted image as conscious fades from pain
1:22:15 strong composition with an isolated cabin in lower left side of frame surrounded by nothing but the ocean and sky
1:25:18 “you always have to do what’s best for yourself” Anna to Steve
1:26:18 brilliant shot of an emotionally crushed Steve in isolated cabin alone
87 min one of the most brutal endings imaginable
Thoughts:
Several years ago I got a book “The Rough Guide to film noir” as a Christmas gift from my sister. The book, which is written by Alexander Ballinger and Danny Graydon, is an absolute gem. It is a relatively short book but gives a nice overview on many of the classic noirs including a top 10 in order
1. Chinatown
2. Criss Cross
3. Double Indemnity
4. Touch of Evil
5. Out of the Past
6. LA Confidential
7. The Big Combo
8. Kiss Me Deadly
9. Maltese Falcon
10. The Big Sleep
While I think ranking this film at # 2 is certainly going overboard, I was none the less really impressed by this film which has all the elements of classic noir; femme fatale, a doomed protagonist, underworld criminals hanging out at night clubs/bars, double/triple crosses, and the visual elements; shadows, silhouette images, and masterful use of lighting.
Burt Lancaster continues to impress me, he can play a wide emotion range
Clocking in at 88 min it has similar run time to most of the Siodmak noirs which waste little time getting into the story
Even by noir standards this has one of the most emotionally brutal endings possible
Verdict: MS
The File on Thelma Jordon (1950)
Notes:
Starts with car parking and Wendell Corey’s character Cleve Marshall walking into District Attorney’s Office at night where his colleague/friend is on phone with Cleve’s sister, Cleve appears to have problems with his parents who he seems to be avoiding
6 min Cleve looking over file while drinking whiskey and smoking
6:13 Barbara Stanwyck enters playing the title character, Thelma Jordon, enters office to find a drunk Cleve
10 min 4 fields of depth with Thelma wearing white dress in foreground
13:50 close up on Cleve and Thelma kissing passionately but it feels like a misdirection as Thelma abruptly
16:10 silhouette shot of Cleve with back to camera and light creating frame within frame
18:20 first shot in daylight
30:35 min I think I am already conditioned to believing that Stanwyck’s character is manipulating Cleve, but the second she said she’s married (after not mentioning for the first 25 min her character’s been in the film the odds went from 50% to about 98%)
32:14 alternating shots of their faces partially covered by shadow
34:57 interesting shot leading over 2nd floor rail
36:21 granny with a gun, wanders through the dark house and unseen gunshot followed by camera panning to ringing phone
38:38 shot behind fence resembling a prison cell
41:31 high angle shot in dark with Thelma standing over Cleve and the dead grandmother. This entire scene with Cleve and Thelma walking through dark house is tense not because we (audience) should anticipate jump scares but because we don’t know yet know what type of person Thelma is, as I said before I am conditioned to believe this from Double Indemnity
52:54 strong composition with Thelma sitting in middle of room and investigators surrounding her
1:01:58 newspaper as narrative vehicle
1:05:08 Thelma lawyer asks her who is “Mr. X”
1:09:00 Cleve prosecuting Thelma with no one knowing he is actually Mr. X just ramps up the suspense
1:14:02 photo as exposition
1:17:35 court room scene frame filled to the brim
1:18:00 only film in study with courtroom scenes
1:22:44 Thelma escorted by an entourage into courtroom for verdict
1:31:10 heartbreak when Cleve discovers he’s the fall guy, again hard to not think of Double Indemnity
1:36:04 Cleve’s heartbreak changes a bit for the better
Thoughts:
I’ve been wanting to Barbara Stanwyck in films other than Double Indemnity for a while but never got around to it so far
The scene I refer to above at 1:05:08 is a perfect example of Hitchcock’s maxim
“surprise is when two people are sitting in a coffee shop and a bomb goes off under the table; suspense is when we see a man place a bomb under the table and watch the two people meet to have coffee”
Here Thelma’s lawyer asks her who is “Mr. X” and of course we (audience) know its Cleve, but she doesn’t tell him who he is; from an audience perspective it’s just a matter of time before he is caught and this in between time is pure suspense, actually similar to another noir I watched again recently, Fritz Lang’s Woman in the Window (1944)
Verdict: R
Final Ranking and Grades:
MP
The Killers (1946)
MS
Criss Cross (1949)
HR
Cry of the City (1948)
The Spiral Staircase (1946)
Phantom Lady (1944)
R/HR
The Suspect (1946)
R
The File on Thelma Jordon (1950)
Study Summary:
Call it a mini study, Robert Siodmak struck an interest in me ever upon viewing The Killers (1946) which is an all timer of a noir. Of course I love film noir perhaps more than any other genre with the possible exception of gangster films
Visually his films contain all the classic noir staples; shadows, fog filled alleyways, streets lit only by dim lamp posts, silhouettes, etc. He frequently uses close ups on faces of characters upon discovering shocking, surprising, or otherwise emotionally stunning information.
The Hitchcock influence is clear:
The Spiral Staircase has the atmosphere of an early Hitchcock film with a potential murderer amongst a group of people sharing quarters, Phantom Lady is a twist of the “wrong man on the run”, the suspense vs surprise concept as several of the films contain murders that take place off screen where the perpetrator is not clear, using of staircases as motif, and using guilt as a motivating action for protagonists who have done something wrong whether it be morally, legally, or both
Succinct: Of the 7 films I watched 4 of them clocked under 90 min and the 2 longest were 100 min and 103 min. Siodmak does not waste too much time getting into the main narrative/plot although. Interestingly enough, even with the shorter runtimes, with all these films with the exception of The Killers (1946) it took a little bit to really get into them. But once I did, they became exhilarating
I think all 7 of his films are worth watching but The Killers (1946) is on a whole different level. Depending on how you want to look at it I think Siodmak has an argument as the greatest director of noirs along with Billy Wilder, Jules Dassin, Orson Welles, and Fritz Lang. Obviously, some will include Hitchcock as well, personally I don’t know whether I would consider him to be a noir director but at the same time wouldn’t argue against someone wanting to make a case that he was. None the less Siodmak deserves a spot near the top of the list
@James Trapp- Did a quick scan and found him #5 on this site – https://thetinseltowntwins.wordpress.com/2018/08/16/top-10-film-noir-directors/
@Drake – thanks, yeah there were two top 10s from 2 people, one ranked him # 5 and the other # 3
Not sure how neither had Billy Wilder, Double Indemnity by itself should be enough but he also has Sunset Boulevard which has strong noir elements. Still I like these lists overall