(NOIR) They Made Me A Killer - 1946 **

This was a really dire film. The quality was awful which didn't help, but there were no credible or standout performances at all.
A young woman sets out to prove a man has been wrongly convicted of armed robbery and murder. In the process she puts her own life at risk from the violent gang who did perform the task.
Miss this.

Behind Green Lights - 1946 ** 1/2

I was so surprised by this film, mostly because Carole Landis's acting is awful! There is no describing that she was a beautiful woman and her death was tragic, but she performed like a piece of wood.
William Gargan plays a cop in charge of investigating the murder of a well known blackmailer, who's body is found full of bullets on the sidewalk next to the station.
After seeing the name of a would be mayor's daughter in his address book, she is brought in for questioning, as well as the estranged wife of the blackmailer and her new beau.
It was quite a slow story, and not one of my favourites.

Shock - 1946 **

One of those films that you imagine is going to be better than it actually is. 'Shock' doesn't really deliver, but is still fairly entertaining for it's length and cast. Lynn Bari plays a young wife who goes to a hotel to await her husband who is coming back from the war. After falling asleep she wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to the balcony where she witnesses something horrific in the adjoining room. A murder! Going into shock, she is taken to a psychiatric hospital where she is treated by a menacing Vincent Price who she soon realises is the murderer she saw through her window. Will anyone believe her? Sounds a good story doesn't it, but it comes across like its been done before.
Not a strong contender and despite it's labelling as a noir I don't think it can really be called one.

(NOIR) The Chase - 1946 ****

I thought this was an excellent film noir. And the highlight was a brilliant performance by Steve Cochran who played a disturbing gangster with Peter Lorre as his henchman. Scott (Robert Cummings) finds a wallet on the floor in town and takes it back to it's owner Mr Eddie Roman. Eddie takes a shine to Scott and takes him on as his driver. Because of this Scott is dragged into dodgy deal after dodgy deal, and finds himself in a tricky situation when Eddie's terrified wife asks him to run away with her to Havana without Eddie's knowledge.
Very well acted, gripping and taut. Worth a watch on an early Saturday morning,

(NOIR) Undercurrent - 1946 ****

'Undercurrent' is one of those films that grips you immediatly, lets you go and then grabs you again.
Some parts really had me on the edge of my seat and others had me snorting in laughter. Katherine Hepburn has a tendency to totally overract in some of her films and it was quite apparent in this as she manically ran around with wide eyes and clenched fists flinching everytime Robert Taylor said anything.
The story could rival 'Rebecca' in many ways, except this time, the focus of obsession is a missing/presumed dead brother, instead of a first wife. Geeky, plain Hepburn ,meets charming and handsome Taylor and they have a whirlwind romance ending in marriage. Before long however, Hepburn finds out that Taylor has a brother that she has never heard of. This sets the tone for a weird series of events that unravel as she tries to figure out the mystery surrounding a man that no one will talk about, that no one knows the whereabouts of, and that certain people believe has been murdered.. by her new husband.
Taylor is brilliant, and Mitchum puts in a very good appearance in the limited screen time he is given. Hepburn is good but tends to be a bit much after a while.

(NOIR) Night Editor - 1946 ****

I actually enjoyed this noir, despite the fact it was a 'B' movie (going to show yet again that not all 'A' movies are the best.

The movie tells of a police lieutenant named Tony who starts an affair with a beautiful socialite (Janis Carter) behind his wife's back (ironically she is also cheating on her husband). One night they go for a drive to 'lovers lane' to be alone and are startled to see a a man bludgeoning his girlfriend to death. Because of their current situation they cannot report the crime without revealing their affair, and so begins a nerve-wracking journey where the main witness to the crime cannot help solve it without giving himself away.

A very interesting story and very taut and gripping. I liked.

(NOIR) Black Angel - 1946 *****

I was utterly gripped by this film noir. June Vincent was excellent as the smouldering wife of a wrongly accused man, who teams up with the husband of the murdered woman to clear her husband's name. Doing so means that everything is at stake, and they have no idea who to trust, and who actually is the real killer. I'm becoming a huge fan of Dan Duryea. I remember a film critic talking about how right he was for film noir a long time ago but at that stage I had never heard of him. Now everytime I see him in one of these films I have to agree. He's shifty, but can be charming, slimy, but totally elegant, and completely a part of shadows and cigarette smoke. He merges in perfectly. He's the standout for this movie, with June Vincent (the cross between Ann Todd and Veronica Lake) and Peter Lorre taking second place. One of the better noirs.