Just a reminder for anyone interested in this fine noir - which is not as well known as it should be. TCM will be showing "Act of Violence" tonight at 9:30 pm, EDT.
TCM is following it up with another great noir that is not as well known as it should be - Otto Preminger's "Angel Face." With Robert Mitchum and Jean Simmons. And after that - Orson Welles' "Mr. Arkadin." A great night on TCM for noir fans.
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FilmSon, you are right about RKO - according to Eddie Mueller (who runs the Film Noir Foundation) RKO was known as "the House of Noir."
I hear your point about the narration in "The Killing," but that's a pretty top-notch noir otherwise, IMO. One of the great heist noirs, almost on a par with "The Asphalt Jungle."
Last night was my first opportunity to see "Angel Face" and, as I particularly admire Preminger's noirs, I was really happy to see it. An interesting and worthy movie - but Preminger was loaned out of his contract with Fox to make "Angel Face" for RKO, and I frankly think this film - otherwise quite good - suffered a little because Preminger didn't have his great collaborator on his Fox noirs, the cinematographer Joseph La Shelle, available to work with him. (La Shelle was a Fox contract employee.) Prem's "Fallen Angel" and "Where the Sidewalk Ends" are among my Noir favorites.
The Fox Noir series has some good titles. Of course there's no denying that RKO put out more great noirs than any other studio. "Out of the Past," which you mentioned, is one of the best noirs ever, period.
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