Dark Film Mysteries II

They Made Me A Criminal (1939)

John Garfield stars as Johnnie, a boxer who goes on the run wrongly believing he killed a man while drunk. Presumed dead, Johnnie hides out at Grandma Rafferty’s (May Robson) work farm for wayward boys (played by the Dead End Kids) where he steps back into the ring in order to help the kids raise money. But the crafty Detective Whelan (Claude Rains) is sure Johnnie is alive and is determined to bring him in. Gloria Dickson and Ann Sheridan co-star. 92 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Club Paradise (1945)

Trapped in a horrible family situation, young Julie yearns for a better life elsewhere. After meeting the charming Danny, her dreams have seemingly come true--until she discovers that her new beau is actually a smooth-talking scoundrel. Will Julie’s relationship with Danny lead her to ruin? Robert Lowery, Doris Merrick, Wanda McKay star in this melodrama. 80 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Strange Illusion (1945)

B-movie auteur Edgar G. Ulmer helmed this "film noir" rendition of "Hamlet," starring James Lydon as the young man who feigns insanity in order to implicate his mother and her new lover in his father’s death. Warren William, Regis Toomey and Sally Eilers also star. 80 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Hollow Triumph (The Scar) (1948)

While ducking the mob as the result of his latest scam gone wrong, failed med student/con artist John Muller (Paul Henreid) makes the fortuitous discovery of Dr. Victor Bartok (Henreid, again), an esteemed psychiatrist who’s his physical double...except for a scar on his cheek. Though Muller contrives to kill the doctor and take his place, his scheme is going to hit some unanticipated snags. Exceptional noir co-stars Joan Bennett, Eduard Franz, Leslie Brooks. 83 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Pitfall (1948)

Superior film noir stars Dick Powell as a bored husband and insurance adjustor who becomes involved with beautiful model Lizabeth Scott, the ex-girlfriend of a jailed mobster. But when jealous private detective Raymond Burr tries to break up the pair, the stage is set for a deadly confrontation. Jane Wyatt, Byron Barr co-star; directed by Andre DeToth ("House of Wax"). 88 min. BW/Rtg: NR

He Walked By Night (1948)

Based on a true case, this fine film noir details the Los Angeles Police Department’s search for a technically adept but mentally unbalanced thief who killed a policeman. With Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Whit Bissell, and Jack Webb, who supposedly based his "Dragnet" radio show on this movie; directed by Alfred Werker and (uncredited) Anthony Mann. 80 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Impact (1949)

Wealthy industrialist Walter Williams (Brian Donlevy) becomes the target of a murder plot hatched by his two-timing wife, Irene (Helen Walker), and her lover, Jim Torrence (Tony Barrett). Presumed dead after the plan goes wrong and Torrence is killed instead, Williams adopts a new identity in a small Idaho town, falling in love with a beautiful woman (Ella Raines) before returning home where he finds himself accused of murder. Charles Coburn, Anna May Wong also star in this overlooked thriller. 111 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Port Of New York (1949)

Gritty, expertly realized noir from director Laslo Benedek ("The Wild One") featuring Yul Brynner, with a full head of hair, playing the dangerous leader of a ring of drug runners. Scott Brady and Richard Rober are the customs agents out to topple the syndicate. With K.T. Stevens and Neville Brand. 72 min. BW/Rtg: NR

D.O.A. (1950)

A masterpiece of low-budget "noir" cinema, with Edmond O’Brien as a businessman vacationing in San Francisco who learns he has been poisoned with a "luminous toxin" and has mere days to live. A desperate search for his own killer follows. Luther Adler, Neville Brand, Pamela Britton also star in director Rudolph Mate’s classic thriller; score by Dimitri Tiomkin. 83 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Cause For Alarm! (1951)

Tense suspenser stars Loretta Young as Ellen Young, a wife who is suspected by invalid husband George (Barry Sullivan) of plotting with his doctor to kill him. George writes a letter detailing his fears to his lawyer, and Ellen, unaware of its contents, mails it. But when he suddenly dies after confronting her, she must retrieve the incriminating note before it’s too late. 75 min. BW/Rtg: NR

The Hitch-Hiker (1953)

Based on the facts of the Billy Cook killing spree of the early ’50s, this riveting film noir classic follows two family men on a fishing trip as they make the deadly mistake of picking up a psychotic thumb-tripper. Taking control inside the car, the deranged hitchhiker promises to kill his benefactors once they reach their destination. Director Ida Lupino’s film boasts fine performances from Edmond O’Brien, Frank Lovejoy, and William Talman. 71 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Suddenly (1954)

In one of his best (and most unheralded) performances, Frank Sinatra plays John Baron, a professional assassin who joins other killers in the small town of Suddenly, Ca., where he plans to murder the president of the United States. Baron and his associates pose as federal agents in order to take a family hostage and use their house as the base for their operations. Suspenseful film noir directed by Lewis Allen ("The Uninvited") co-stars Sterling Hayden, James Gleason. 76 min. BW/Rtg: NR

Standard; Soundtrack: English.