Argentine Noir

Argentine Noir

8 Episodes

Argentina gave rise to some of the finest and most fascinating crime thrillers of the postwar noir boom—pitch-black tales of lust, greed, guilt, and deception suffused with the passionate intensity of tango and sculpted in striking expressionist shadows. This selection of newly restored films from the Perón era brings together some of the most intriguing examples of Argentine noir, including two atmospheric Cornell Woolrich adaptations (IF I SHOULD DIE BEFORE I WAKE, NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR), a female-centered remake of Fritz Lang’s M (THE BLACK VAMPIRE), and a searing adaptation of Richard Wright’s landmark novel NATIVE SON starring the writer himself. Set amid the smoky nightclubs and dark alleys of Buenos Aires and laced with bitterly ironic social critique, these stylish, suspenseful journeys into existential dread are ripe-for-discovery gems from one of Latin America’s major film industries.

Subscribe Share
Argentine Noir

8 Episodes

  • Argentine Noir Teaser
    00:58
    Argentine Noir Teaser
    Episode 1

    Argentine Noir Teaser

    Episode 1

  • Spotlight on Argentine Noir with Imogen Sara Smith
    15:47
    Spotlight on Argentine Noir with Imogen Sara Smith
    Episode 2

    Spotlight on Argentine Noir with Imogen Sara Smith

    Episode 2

  • Never Open That Door
    1:25:01
    Never Open That Door
    Episode 3

    Never Open That Door

    Episode 3

    Directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen • 1952 • Argentina
    Starring Ángel Magaña, Renée Dumas, Diana de Córdoba

    Based on two short stories by American master of suspense fiction Cornell Woolrich, NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR is a significant example of the cross-cultural cinematic legacy shared by the Unite...

  • If I Should Die Before I Wake
    1:11:17
    If I Should Die Before I Wake
    Episode 4

    If I Should Die Before I Wake

    Episode 4

    Directed by Carlos Hugo Christensen • 1952 • Argentina
    Starring Néstor Zavarce, Blanca del Prado, Floren Delbene

    Originally intended as the third film in a trilogy of Cornell Woolrich adaptations (the first two of which comprise director Carlos Hugo Christensen’s NEVER OPEN THAT DOOR) only to be...

  • The Beast Must Die
    1:44:39
    The Beast Must Die
    Episode 5

    The Beast Must Die

    Episode 5

    Directed by Román Viñoly Barreto • 1952 • Argentina
    Starring Narciso Ibáñez Menta, Guillermo Battaglia, Milagros de la Vega

    Based on Cecil Day-Lewis’s classic novel of psychological suspense, this dark diamond of Argentine noir stars Narciso Ibáñez Menta as Felix Lane, a mystery writer who suff...

  • The Bitter Stems
    1:33:13
    The Bitter Stems
    Episode 6

    The Bitter Stems

    Episode 6

    Directed by Fernando Ayala • 1956 • Argentina
    Starring Carlos Cores, Julia Sandoval, Vassili Lambrinos

    Featuring stunning, shadow-drenched cinematography and an innovative tango-jazz-classical score by the great Astor Piazzolla, this expressionistically stylized noir has been acclaimed as one of...

  • The Black Vampire
    1:30:10
    The Black Vampire
    Episode 7

    The Black Vampire

    Episode 7

    Directed by Román Viñoly Barreto • 1953 • Argentina
    Starring Olga Zubarry, Roberto Escalada, Nelly Panizza

    This fascinating, long-overlooked remake of Fritz Lang’s M offers a fresh perspective on the landmark thriller by focusing on the lives of the female characters ignored in earlier iteration...

  • Native Son
    1:48:05
    Native Son
    Episode 8

    Native Son

    Episode 8

    Directed by Pierre Chenal • 1951 • United States, Argentina
    Starring Richard Wright, Gloria Madison, Willa Pearl Curtis

    One of the most controversial novels of its day, Richard Wright’s “Native Son” (first published in 1940) exposed the injustices of urban African American life through the eyes ...

×