This film, beautifully photographed by nicholas musuraca, shows the german influence on. According to some film critics the films blind alley, rio, and. Others cite 1941s the maltese falcon by john huston and some film historians maintain that double indemnity 1944, billy wilder holds the title. Classic horror film board the golden age of horror murder and mystery stranger on the third floor 1940 share. Its unique blend of expressionistic visuals, mikes uncertain, paranoid voiceover, and a cast of characters who all fit into a decidedly gray area on the spectrum of morality makes itwith the exception of. Stranger on the third floor 1940 stream and watch online. 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. 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. But despite these unfortunate outcomes, stranger on the third floor deserves its status as the first film noir and as a minor classic. Stranger on the third floor 1940 movie clip what a.
Oct 07, 2015 boris ingster directs 1940s stranger on the third floor, a quick little crime drama from rko. Jun 09, 2009 a more likely candidate, however, is a little 63minute rko film from 1940 called stranger on the third floor. Mar 01, 2016 periodstyle trailer for stranger on the third floor, for conversion to 16mm. Stranger on the third floor 1940 boris ingster, peter. Your complete guide to things to do in seattle during. Stranger on the third floor 1940 classic horror film. Watch stranger on the third floor 1940 hd for free. How to make a good movie with 64mins, a humble cast and a nice idea. Newspaper reporter john mcguire plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his evidence has sentenced the wrong man to death. Stranger on the third floor is a 1940 film noir, starring peter lorre and released by rko radio pictures. 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. Once you watch it, you soon realize why they say this is often categorized as the first noir. Boris ingster, in his directing debut, makes quite an impression, and one wishes he had directed more movies subsequently. Stranger on the third floor 1940 ganzer film deutsch.
Stranger on the third floor letterboxd social film. Chandu the magician and stranger on the third floor. It was directed by a man named boris ingster, and one reason the film hasnt been as widely embraced as noirs starting point by some critics and historians is because ingster wasnt a great director. Depending on who youre talking to the song may be a reworked black spiritual, a lifted native.
Stranger on the third floor is the little b picture that launched one of the greatest movements in cinema history. Your complete guide to things to do in seattle during covid19. 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. When a reporter whose testimony sentences a smalltime loser to the electric chair for murder is himself fingered in a second murder, he realizes both crimes are a furtive stranger. Ward, john mcguire was the star witness in a murder trial that convicted briggs elisha cook, jr. But thats not to imply that the rest of the film is wanting. A weird expressionist investigation of personal guilt that takes its jaunty, banal hero mcguire from the bright lights of a cafeteria into a strange interior. 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. Having never heard of the film before, i was surprised to read that stranger on the third floor is, apparently, generally accepted as the first film noir, as it is defined in the classic sense. Stranger on the third floor blind alley harvard film archive.
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. As much as this corner is in favor of bold experiments by new young directors, we find it hard to sustain our arguments in the face of such pictures as boris ingsters stranger on the third floor. Stranger on the third floor 1940 film noir of the week. Stranger on the third floor1940rko radio pictures64 min. These are some of the questions that were waiting to be answered when the film that is. 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. Jul 19, 2009 stranger on the third floor 1940, rko dir. Periodstyle trailer for stranger on the third floor, for conversion to 16mm. Apr 08, 2020 the coronavirus crisis in seattle is a major threat to the strangers ability to keep the city informed.
Your complete guide to things to do in seattle during covid. Stranger on the third floor was a film noir long prior to the genesis of that cinematic movement. Stranger on the third floor isnt the best noir youll ever see, but it has its fair share of positive attributes. We pride ourselves on having navigated many storms in the world of. I admire the film s economy it doesnt need to be longer than it is. 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. With peter lorre, john mcguire, margaret tallichet, charles waldron. A stunning example of cinematic expressionism, cited by many as the first studio film shot in a completely noir style. Stranger on the third floor 1940 approved 1h 4min crime, drama, filmnoir 16 august 1940 usa 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. Its played a bit overdramatically, with its stunningbutstark photography, loudly theatrical score, and narrated flashbacks but i kind of love the fact that it isnt afraid to go overthetop. 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 third floor, 1940.
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. The stranger on the third floor directed by boris ingster. 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. Peter lorre in stranger on the third floor 1940 elisha cook jr. With peter lorre, john mcguire, margaret tallichet. Whatever you want to call it, its a wellmade little film and well worth your time.
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 is a 1940 american film noir directed by boris ingster and starring peter lorre, john mcguire, and margaret tallichet, and featuring. And who is that buggedeyed stranger on the third floor. Peter lorre, john mcguire, margaret tallichet, charles waldron, elisha cook jr, charles halton, ethel griffies, cliff. Seattles only events and movie times calendar, from the strangers everout. While the traditional wayfaring stranger has been at the foundation of north american music for at least two centuries, its origin is far from exact. Stranger on the third floor 1940, directed by boris ingster film. 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. 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.
A more likely candidate, however, is a little 63minute rko film from 1940 called stranger on the third floor. 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. Though he doesnt speak his first line of dialogue until the films final ten minutes, peter lorre spiritually dominates the fascinating rko melodrama stranger on the third floor. 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. 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 its a pretty good argument. Rentals include 30 days to start watching this video and 48 hours to finish once started. Ganzer film stranger on the third floor 1940 deutsch stream german online anschauen sehen stranger on the third floor stream deutsch komplett. Naturally the film s highlight is the extended nightmareparanoia sequence which fully exploits the storys noir leanings. Stranger on the third floor 1940 cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. Modern research has shown that nathanael west wrote the final version of the screenplay, but was uncredited. 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. 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 plotline is carried by john mcguire, playing ward, a newspaper reporter whose courtroom testimony sends the hapless briggs elisha cook jr. Having never heard of the film before, i was surprised to read that stranger on the third floor is, apparently, generally accepted as the first film noir, as it.
Watched both midnight saturday and 10am sunday,plus whatevers. Liked the leads,john mcguire and beautiful ms tallichet. The film was directed by boris ingster and written by frank partos with nathanael west uncredited. The american film institute is grateful to sir paul getty kbe and the sir paul getty kbe estate for their dedication to the art of the moving image and their support for the afi catalog of feature films and without whose support afi would not have been able to achieve this historical landmark in this epic scholarly endeavor. 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 murderer. Stranger on the third floor 1940 ganzer film deutsch komplett. The plotline is carried by john mcguire, playing ward, a newspaper reporter whose courtroom testimony sends the hapless briggs.
Lorre may have owed 2 days or whatever on his contract,but he was scary. Stranger on the third floor, with its dramatic expressionistic look, broke new cinematic ground. Stranger on the third floor the familiar artifice of placing the scribe in parallel plight, with the newspaperman arrested for two slayings and only clearing himself because of his sweethearts. All who see stranger on the third floor remember it. Peter lorre gets top billing in an underplayed, but brilliant supporting role as the stranger. Sneaking out in 1940 was a sleeper film s sleeper film, a riveting little creepshow called stranger on the third floor. Nicholas musuraca, a italian who also worked with jaques tourneur in his masterpiece out of the past. Stranger on the third floor videocam trailer na imdb. Your complete, atoz reference guide from steven spielberg to stephen king, aliens to zuul, we chart every eightiesandbeyond reference in the hit netflix shows. Peter lorre, john mcguire, margaret tallichet, charles waldron, elisha cook jr, charles halton, ethel griffies, cliff clark, oscar oshea. The stranger on the third floor by boris ingster boris. Scarcely more than an hour long, this movie directed by boris ingster is a masterpiece in miniature. 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 im not guilty the stranger killed him. Reissued on bluray by kino lorber, it concerns the adventures of the benign adventurer frank. Click here to find it on the warner archive website. Some historians have traced its genesis to the 1780s, others, the early 1800s. Stranger on the third floor 1940 the motion pictures. Stranger on the third floor dvd, 2010 for sale online ebay.
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