John Alton Films Noir
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- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsConrad VeidtTrude von MoloHeinrich GeorgeThe Marquis de Sévigné is put in a difficult position when he falls for the lovely Lady Falkland, a married woman whose husband, the strict Lord Falkland, subjects her to constant abuse.
- DirectorJohn AltonLuis SaslavskyStarsLibertad LamarqueAngelina PaganoAgustín IrustaNina Miranda leaves after spending 20 years imprisoned for a murder that she insists she did not commit and recalls the time of her youth. He remembers the boyfriend who chose his love despite the threat of his millionaire aunts to disinherit him if he married the artist. Her brother Vividor, pressed her to continue acting but her boyfriend was strict: the theater or me, and she agrees to leave his profession. Already married, Nina thinks she is abandoned because of a misunderstanding caused by her brother and returns to the theater, where she sings the tango, La morocha, even though she knows she can provoke a scandal. There is a fight between her husband and brother during which the latter wields a revolver and she accidentally kills her husband and is doomed because they do not believe his version. Already free, when a criminal shoots his son, who ignores that it is his mother, to steal it, she interposes and receives the shot. His son holds up his arms and orders that the door of the family mansion that has always been closed be opened and there dies happy.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanStarsVera RalstonRichard ArlenErich von StroheimDeresco, owner of a night club in neutral Portugal, works as a free-lance spy for everybody who can afford his price. He tries to get information from US agent John Craig with help from immigrant dancer Maritza, but she falls in love with him. Craig becomes a special guest at Deresco's casino, but there you can't be sure of the occupation of everybody, as well as in their political intentions.
- DirectorAlfred ZeislerStarsClaudia DrakeWolfgang ZilzerDonald WoodsYoung Dr. Paul Joseph Göbbels, an unsuccessful playwright, is forced, in order to support himself, to take a position as tutor in the household of Herr Quandt. His first attempt to force himself upon women comes when he becomes interested in a young actress, Maria Brandt, daughter of Colonel Brandt at whose home he is lodging. He is driven from the house by Colonel Brandt. That night, acting as an usher for a meeting of the new German Socialist Party, Göbbels hears Hitler speak, and becomes an ardent follower. He is made propaganda head, becomes known as the "Scoundrel of Berlin", and his machinations strike terror into the hearts of innocent girls. Maria Brandt, who is working as a bit player in a theater in Hannover, again meets Göbbels. Through his efforts, although unknown to her, Maria is made an overnight star. He then procures a contract for her at the famous UFA studios of Berlin. Maria, who has become interested in a young doctor, Hans Traeger, shuns the attention on Göbbels.
- DirectorGeorge ArchainbaudStarsLynne RobertsVirginia ChristineMarion MartinA college professor's well-bred daughter assumes the name of Jeanne Crail to date Earl Williams, a slick con artist who frames her for robbery. Rather than have her father find out about her plight, Jeanne confesses to the crime. Believing she is covering for a known criminal, the district attorney has Jeanne sent to a tough women's prison, where she comes to know fellow inmates Bernice, who pines for Smiley, her boyfriend on the outside; and Alma Vlasek, who awaits her execution for mistakenly killing a detective while lying in wait for her husband and his girlfriend. Jeanne tries to mail a letter to her father through the prison doctor, Gale Warren, but Warren refuses to go against regulations. Desperate, Jeanne breaks out of jail to be present at her father's induction ceremony as college president. Jeanne spends two days with her father and her attorney boyfriend Barton Sturgis before secretly returning to prison. Before she goes back, however, she manages to arrange to have letters sent to her father at regular intervals from a post office outside the prison. Upon her return to prison, Jeanne is punished for her escape, rousing the sympathy of Bernice, who finds out Bart's name and sends him a letter asking him to help Jeanne. Bart, who has been suspicious of Jeanne's abrupt disappearance, is confused by the letter, as he does not know who "Jeanne" is. Nevertheless he investigates and comes to the prison. In the meantime, when Smiley visits the prison and pays unwanted attention to Jeanne, Bernice is overcome with jealousy. She attacks Jeanne with a knife, which is later hidden from the matron, and Jeanne is accused of starting the altercation. Placed in solitary confinement, Jeanne is grilled about the whereabouts of the knife, while Bart meets with Dr. Warren to plead for help. Alma then discovers that Bernice is her husband's girl friend and kills her with the knife. Alma clears Jeanne of any involvement in the earlier knife fight, and with Bart's help, Jeanne is ultimately vindicated and freed.
- DirectorWilhelm ThieleStarsFrancis LedererGail PatrickAnn RutherfordThe sister of a murdered model poses for the same artist to try to catch her killer.
- DirectorGeorge BlairStarsDale EvansWarren DouglasJanet MartinStevie Carson, a newspaper reporter, and Denny Butler, the feature editor on the same newspaper, set out to track down a gang of literary forgers who are making a fortune off of selling fake first editions.
- DirectorW. Lee WilderStarsAlbert DekkerCatherine CraigCharles DrakeBanker Kenneth Holden (Albert Dekker) steals funds from an estate and decides to marry the heiress, Claire Worthington (Catherine Craig), to safeguard his position. He arranges for her fiancé to be killed but does not state the fiancé's name. Claire, meanwhile, has a change of heart and marries Holden, so he now becomes the target of the killer and attempts to cancel the deal--except he doesn't know who the hired killer is.
- DirectorBernard VorhausStarsCathy O'DonnellJune LockhartHugh BeaumontBarbara Carlin attends her own funeral and returns home suspecting that her husband, Rod Carlin, had tried to do away with her, and is also (rightfully) curious as to just who was the woman buried under her name. She learns that the victim was glamor girl Helen Lawrence, with whom her husband had been having an affair. Complications come from her sister Rusty, who, it turns out, is not her real sister and also doesn't like her a whole lot, and from a dim-witted prize fighter, George Mandley. The family attorney, Michael Dunn, stands around and provides little in the way of help or reason for being there, until...
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsDennis O'KeefeWallace FordAlfred RyderTwo US Treasury agents hunt a successful counterfeiting ring.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsDennis O'KeefeClaire TrevorMarsha HuntJoe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe) has taken the rap for Rick (Raymond Burr), who double-crosses him with a flawed escape plan and other means intended to get rid of him.
- DirectorCrane WilburStarsScott BradyJeff CoreyWhit BissellTwelve inmates plan a prison break from the Colorado State Penitentiary but one of them reluctantly joins the group.
- DirectorBernard VorhausStarsTurhan BeyLynn BariCathy O'DonnellOn the beach one night, Christine Faber, two years a widow, thinks she hears her late husband Paul calling out of the surf; then meets a tall dark man Alexis, who seems to know all about such things.
- DirectorSteve SekelyPaul HenreidStarsPaul HenreidJoan BennettEduard FranzPursued by the big-time gambler he robbed, John Muller assumes a new identity, with unfortunate results.
- DirectorAlfred L. WerkerAnthony MannStarsRichard BasehartScott BradyRoy RobertsThis film-noir piece, told in semi-documentary style, follows police on the hunt for a resourceful criminal who shoots and kills a cop.
- DirectorRobert FloreyStarsJohn PayneSonny TuftsEllen DrewWar hero recovers from amnesia and is confronted by his criminal past.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsRobert CummingsRichard BasehartRichard HartRobespierrre, a powerful figure in the French revolution, is desperately looking for his black book, a death list of those marked for the guillotine.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsRicardo MontalbanGeorge MurphyHoward Da SilvaMexican and American federal agents tackle a vicious gang exploiting illegal farm workers in southern California.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRicardo MontalbanSally ForrestBruce BennettA small-town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor after the discovery of a human skeleton on a Massachusetts beach.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsRobert TaylorLouis CalhernPaula RaymondAfter the Civil War, a highly decorated Shoshone Indian veteran plans to raise cattle in Wyoming but white farmers plan to grab fertile tribal lands by pitting the whites against the Indians.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSpencer TracyPat O'BrienDiana LynnJim Curtayne, formerly a successful defense attorney who is now a recovering alcoholic, attempts a comeback when he defends a neighbor's son facing a homicide charge.
- DirectorDavid BradleyStarsGeorge MurphyNancy ReaganBilly GrayIn an idyllic setting, a likable but dangerously volatile twelve-year-old boy tries to settle a score with his disagreeable, mysterious neighbor.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsTeresa WrightMacdonald CareyDolores MoranLawyer defends migrant worker falsely accused of two murders.
- DirectorHarry EssexStarsBiff ElliotPreston FosterPeggie CastleDectective Mike Hammer is determined to catch and kill the person who shot his close friend dead, so he follows clues that lead to a beautiful, seductive woman.
- DirectorWalter DonigerStarsLouis HaywardJoanne DruPaul KellyA group of prisoners are planning an escape. They take hostages. Warden Duffy tries to convince one of the inmates that their plight is useless, and to give up.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsBarbara StanwyckGeorge SandersGary MerrillA woman's sanity comes into question, after she claims to have witnessed a murder from her apartment window.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsJohn PayneLizabeth ScottDan DuryeaIn the western town of Silver Lode, Dan Ballard is arrested for murder and theft by marshals, but he denies the charges and searches for the real culprit as the townsfolk gradually turn against him.
- DirectorWalter DonigerStarsPaul KellyMaureen O'SullivanWalter SlezakWarden Clinton T. Duffy of San Quentin penitentiary introduces three short stories about prison life: Prisoner Billy Brenner, a gourmet, is dismayed to discover that Louis, the prison's head chef, is about to be paroled and offers him two hundred dollars a week to stay. However, Louis leaves and obtains a position as chef at a high-class restaurant where his girl friend Marie also works. One evening, a very particular customer visits the restaurant and Louis suggests a special dinner. When the customer is not totally pleased with the first course, Louis, who has a problem controlling his temper, manages to remain calm. After another course is rejected, Louis presents his coq-au-vin specialty whereupon the customer brings out a bottle of ketchup and slathers it over the dish. This enrages Louis, who then smashes a plate over the customer's head, thereby breaking not only the plate, but also the conditions of his parole. After Louis is returned to the prison, his assistant Solly tells him that a week before the incident in the restaurant occurred, he had heard that Louis would be coming back. Louis realizes that he has been framed by Brenner and his pals and deliberately prepares inedible meals for them. Meanwhile, Mrs. Duffy discovers that the restaurant customer was an ex-con and confidence man named Gilbert Lee, alias "Phil the Hook," and tells her husband. Fed up with the poor food, a number of the convicts tell Louis that Brenner planned the whole thing. Louis then threatens Brenner with a meat cleaver and forces him to eat rice pudding covered with ketchup. Later, after Duffy informs Louis that his parole has been reinstated, he hands his chef's hat to Solly and leaves to meet Marie, as Lee joins the prisoners' ranks. Warden Duffy's second story concerns an attempted prison break from an isolation area: One night, prisoner Chet Harmon feigns illness and Frank, a male orderly and prisoner, is summoned. Frank's brother Al, who is in an adjacent cell, tells Frank that he and Chet are planning a breakout and that he has to help. Frank is reluctant to assist as he just wants to serve his time and leave, but after a new prisoner sows doubts in Frank's mind about his girl friend's faithfulness, he decides to help. Later, while the prison doctor is examining Chet, Frank removes a gun from the doctor's medical bag and slips it into an unoccupied cell. When Frank is on his way out, he attacks a guard named Pete and is put in the cell where he placed the gun. With Al's help, Frank passes the gun to Chet. Another prisoner, Square, is also in on the escape. Three days later, when two members of the prison board, Garvey and Ferness, visit the cells on a routine inspection, Chet uses the gun to take Garvey and Pete prisoner and locks them in a cell. Chet then releases Al, Square and Frank and, using Ferness as a hostage, phones Duffy to demand that a car be delivered to the gate and that they be given a two-hour head start. When Duffy refuses to cooperate, Chet tells the warden that in ten minutes' time he will begin to kill the hostages. Frank wants nothing to do with killing, but while he and Al discuss this, Chet kills Pete and sends his body to Duffy. After Duffy reports to his chief, Square arranges that Duffy come, under a truce, to negotiate. Duffy tells Chet that his chief will be coming within two hours to make a deal. However, Chet then attempts to add Duffy to the hostages, prompting Square, who had given Duffy his word regarding the truce, to tackle Chet. Frank helps but is shot and seriously wounded by Chet, who then kills Square. Duffy says that Frank will die, but refuses to summon the doctor until they abandon the break. When Al, desperate to help his brother, goes to the phone to call the doctor, Chet threatens to shoot him, but Al draws a knife. Chet shoots him, but Al sinks the knife into Chet and they both die. Duffy's final story is about a prisoner's need to find a purpose in life: When Duffy shows new prison chaplain Father Harvey around the chapel, the priest is saddened to see that a mural of "The Last Supper" has been damaged by rusty water pipes. After Shorty, a convict who is to assist Harvey, tells him that a prisoner named Steinberg, who is serving a life sentence for murdering his wife and her lover, is a very fine artist, Harvey persuades Steinberg to repair the mural. Access to the chapel is important to Shorty and his pal Mike as they plan to make bootleg liquor in an attic they can reach only from the chapel. Steinberg agrees to assist their project in return for a cut of the sales. Steinberg, who is an atheist and resents the priest's artistic supervision of his work, begins the restoration work with the face of Simon Peter. When Harvey discovers that the face Steinberg has given Simon Peter is that of a prisoner who was executed on the eve of Harvey's arrival, the priest accuses Steinberg of mocking religion and demands that he be disciplined and lose certain privileges for a week. Later, Steinberg discovers that Shorty and Mike are really planning a breakout via the attic and may take Harvey as a hostage. Steinberg resumes his work and finishes the face of Matthew. Meanwhile, Harvey is concerned about how he will deal with an imminent execution, and when he goes to Charlie Rivers' cell to hear his final confession, he realizes that Steinberg has given Matthew the condemned man's face. After Rivers tells Harvey that he is innocent and begs him to intervene, the priest talks with Duffy, who regrets that he is powerless and states that the horrible thing about capital punishment is that you never can be sure about guilt and innocence. This increases Harvey's anguish and, although he agrees to accompany Rivers to the execution chamber, he collapses on the way. Rivers then tells the priest that he is really guilty and seeks his help on his final journey. That night, Harvey tells Steinberg how Rivers helped him and admits that he has been prejudicial. Later, Shorty, who has become the model for the mural's Judas, Mike and Steinberg take Harvey hostage at gunpoint and attempt to break out. After Mike is killed by guards, Shorty has Harvey phone Duffy to arrange their release, but Duffy tells him that the guards have orders to shoot, regardless of who the hostage may be. Steinberg then tackles Shorty, refusing to permit the possible killing of the priest. Although Shorty mortally wounds him, they continue to struggle until Shorty falls on top of Steinberg and the gun goes off, killing Shorty. Father Harvey prays over Steinberg's body. Later, Harvey engages another artist to finish the mural, with the face of Christ to be Steinberg's.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsCornel WildeRichard ConteJean WallaceA police lieutenant is ordered to stop investigating deadly crime boss Mr. Brown because he hasn't been able to get any hard evidence against him. He goes after Brown's girlfriend, who despises him, for information instead.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsJohn PayneRhonda FlemingArlene DahlAn urban wheeler-dealer gets involved in organized crime, corrupt city politics and graft while falling in love with the fiancée of the newly elected mayor.
- DirectorVincent J. DonehueStarsMontgomery CliftMyrna LoyRobert RyanEager for a job, journalist Adam White accepts the lowly position of columnist for the advice-giving section of the Chronicle but he often clashes with his cynical editor, Shrike.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsBurt LancasterKarl MaldenThelma RitterA surly convicted murderer held in permanent isolation redeems himself when he becomes a renowned bird expert.