Directed by John Farrow • 1949 • United States
Starring Ray Milland, Audrey Totter, Thomas Mitchell
A seductively evil Ray Milland is a devil in disguise in this unique noir take on the Faust legend, a fiendish fusion of crime thriller and dark fantasy. In his quest to clean up his city’s criminal underground, honest judge Joseph Foster (Thomas Mitchell) finds himself thwarted at every turn by corrupt political forces. Enter Nick Beal (Milland), a diabolically handsome gent with a slick line of patter and a smooth, infallible method of getting things done who makes a deal with Foster to help him become governor. But what exactly does Nick want? And how far is Foster willing to go in his quest for political power?
Up Next in Noir
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Cotton Comes to Harlem
Directed by Ossie Davis • 1970 • United States
Starring Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin LockhartAcclaimed actor and filmmaker Ossie Davis directs this rollicking blend of gritty neonoir and buddy-cop comedy, one of the first and most influential of the cycle of Blaxploitation fil...
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Madigan
Directed by Don Siegel • 1968 • United States
Starring Richard Widmark, Henry Fonda, Inger StevensA key prototype of the gritty, morally murky police procedurals that would proliferate in the 1970s, this lean, mean urban thriller from Don Siegel stars Richard Widmark as the eponymous New York C...
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Across 110th Street
Directed by Barry Shear • 1972 • United States
Starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony FranciosaEvocatively shot on location in 1970s Harlem, this gut-punching crime drama combines film noir and blaxploitation tropes into an explosive portrait of simmering social and racial tensions. Yaph...
