(NOIR) Crime of Passion - 1957 *** 1/2

Barbara Stanwyck is a great actress. Completely unique. Here she plays a newspaper columnist who meets and falls in love with a police detective (Sterling Hayden). She refuses the offer of another job and moves with Hayden after they get married to Los Angeles. However, married life doesn't suit her, and she wishes that her husband would make more strides to move up in the world, instead of simply working for the sake of work. She decides to do whatever she can to push her husband up the ladder, even if it means betraying him. Worth a shot.

(NOIR) Witness to Murder - 1954 *** 1/2

My first film noir after a serious black and white film drought had to be a good one. 'Witness to Murder' seems to me to be a mix of a couple of films, most notably 'Sorry, Wrong Number' where Barbara Stanwyck also becomes embroiled in a murder plot, and of course 'Rear Window'. She's still a wonderful actress but something here seems to be lacking. 1954 and really most of the better noirs had been and gone, so trying to keep up the same level of tension was proving to be difficult. George Sanders is one of my favourites but even he seemed a tad past his peak. Unfortunate because I actually liked the storyline. A woman witnesses a murder across the way through her bedroom window but cannot get the police to believe her apart from one who takes a shine to her and is convinced that she is not insane. Interesting film, but not one of the best.

(NOIR) The File on Thelma Jordan - 1950 *** 1/2

I have never heard of this film, but it kept coming up as a recommendation that I must see, and as I am on a film noir kick I decided that I had to. Plus it had Barbara Stanwyck who nearly always delivers a good performance and was directed by Richard Siodmak (who directed 'Criss Cross'). And she certainly did here. One of the lovely things about old films, and seemingly film noir at the moment, is that even when you think you've seen all the good ones, there are always dozens and dozens of unexplored gems left to enjoy.

Wendell Corey stars as Cleve, a DA who crosses the path of Miss Thelma Jordan when she appears at the station wanting to make a complaint about suspected burglars at her house which she shares with her aunt. This first meeting soon turns to an affair despite the fact that Cleve is married and Thelma has a complicated past of her own.

Soon afterwards, Thelma's aunt is found murdered, Thelma is on trial for the crime. And it is up to Cleve to untangle her from the mess.

Film noir certainly, and Stanwyck is known for playing the ultimate 'Femme Fatale (although interestingly I wouldn't cite her as one in this movie, as she has a complex and layered character that is not completely ruthless). Worth a watch.