STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR: The First Film Noir?

STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (Blu-ray)

1940 / 64 min

Warner Archive 

Available at www.MovieZyng.com

Review by Mr. Paws😽

Stranger on the Third Floor is touted by many to be the first film noir as we came to know it. Depending on how one defines the genre, that can be debated and it would likely be a spirited argument. Having finally seen it, the film certainly has that noir aesthetic. Narratively, I’m not sure. Let's just call it noirish.

It tells a pretty good story, though. Mike Ward (John McGuire) is a newspaper reporter whose eyewitness testimony is key in convicting Joe Briggs (Elisha Cook Jr) of killing a local coffee shop owner. While he didn’t actually see the act itself - just Briggs fleeing the scene - it’s a slam dunk case, and Briggs is sentenced to death.

Ward’s fiancee, Jane (Margaret Tallichet), has her doubts about Briggs’ guilt, which soon has him wondering if he helped condemn an innocent man. Then one night in his apartment building, Ward sees a shifty looking stranger (Peter Lorre) flee a neighbor’s room. He considers checking it out, then ponders whether or not he should, because if the man’s dead, Ward could be a suspect (especially since he hated him). His worst fears are realized when goes into the room to find the man murdered…the same way the coffee shop owner was. Remembering what happened to Briggs, Ward considers fleeing, but Jane talks him into reporting the murder to the police. And sure enough, Ward is the primary suspect.

"Sorry, I'm a little distracted with this light shining in my face."

Stranger on the Third Floor is efficiently paced and features perfunctory performances by the entire cast (but despite top billing, Lorre isn’t really in the film all that much). The unquestionable highlight is a lengthy, Kafkaesque dream sequence in which Ward is caught, tried and convicted. This montage is a masterwork of imaginative camerawork and production design. Elsewhere, the striking use of shadows and shade are pure film noir, enhancing the tension. Conversely though, the story unfolds more like a straight crime thriller about the hunt for a psycho killer, with an overall tone that doesn’t feel like pure noir…as I’ve come to define it, anyway. It certainly doesn’t end like one. 

But hey, what do I know? I don’t think Sunset Boulevard qualifies as noir, either, so maybe I’m way off base. I doesn’t really matter though because, noir or not, Stranger on the Third Floor is an agreeable way to kill an hour & change. And if nothing else, the movie is visually striking, and one can easily see how that aspect inpacted the genre.

EXTRA KIBBLES

2 LOONEY TUNES SHORTS - Ceiling Hero and Wacky Wildlife, both directed by Tex Avery.

MYSTERY ON THE AIR - Three episodes from the radio series featuring Peter Lorre.