My Recommended Noirs

Okay, I was gonna knock out a list of my ten favorite film noirs but then I realized I don't have a favorite, and that I favor more than ten - many more than ten. So what I will do, if there is time, is to recommend one each day or so till I run out of ones I like.

Today's recommendation is D.O.A (1950) directed by Ruben Mate', Cinemastered by Ernest Laszlo, and starring Edmund O'Brien, Pamela Britton and the legendarily unattractive Neville Brand. Also, look for late era "My Three Sons" stepmom and San Fernando Valley legend Beverly Garland in this one.

You know the drill here: a dying man (Edmund O'Brien) must race death to find his own murder. That's what we call a high concept. Now the thing about high concepts - and everything you will ever like is execution! This one is executed brilliantly. The deeper drill: Frank Bigelow can't wait to get away from his girlfriend/secretary and visit San Francisco. Once there, Frank is a man on the make, Mate' brilliantly uses "wolf whistles" on the soundtrack to tell us what Frank is all about. So, he's out trolling "The Fisherman's Club" when a stranger dumps some radioctive crap in his drink. He discovers he has less than a week to live and spends it both tracking his killer through a maze of strange connections and becoming a better guy.

The action here zooms from Los Angeles to San Francisco and back again. Both cities are exquisitely presented, as is the whole film by Ernest Laszlo. Once you've seen it, you'll notice his influence in a lot of other stuff - even color stuff.

This particular noir, which came right around the late middle of the cycle, packs a powerful, fateful and ultimately cautionary punch. Check it out, and always keep an eye on your drink.