Spooky season has officially come to a close, and though you may want to cue up the never-ending stream of holiday movies that are now available, don’t rush the season. Savor the moody stylings of Noir November, or “Noirvember,” as it’s called by those who celebrate.
Let’s start with a definition of “film noir,” as it can be a vague term. It’s not all private eyes with Venetian blinds and dames walking into their offices. Films noir are typically highly stylized crime dramas with a dark worldview. The term was popularized by French critics after World War II to describe Hollywood films from the 1940s and ’50s that fit this bill: black-and-white dramas with undeniably bleak and nihilistic attitudes. The directors making these films were often European expats who brought German Expressionist style to American filmmaking.
Here’s a list of streaming suggestions for your Noirvember viewing.
Billy Wilder’s 1944 masterpiece “Double Indemnity” will always top the lists of best classic film noir. The film stars Barbara Stanwyck as the ultimate femme fatale who ensnares Fred MacMurray’s insurance agent into a plot to kill her husband. Rent it on all digital platforms for $3.99. The same goes for the 1946 Howard Hawks joint “The Big Sleep,” starring Bogey and Bacall in the classic Phillip Marlowe detective tale. Rent it everywhere for $2.99.
Robert Mitchum was one of classic noir’s finest stars, and one of his best films is the twisty 1947 Jacques Tourneur film “Out of the Past,” co-starring Kirk Douglas. That film is streaming on the Criterion Channel as a part of a newly unveiled Mitchum collection, which also includes the terrifying 1955 Charles Laughton film, the Southern fable as film noir “Night of the Hunter.” Those films are also available to rent on other digital platforms.
