Your Favorite Noir Film(s) of All ...

Top three of very many:

D.O.A.
Double Indemnity
The Dark Corner

DOA(1949)

Double Indemnity(1944)

The Postman Always Rings Twice(1947)

Good film, but only marginally a Noir. It is transitional. An early example of the semi-documentary style crime films that replaced Noir as the standard way to make crime stories in the 1950s, usually with a right-wing or pro-authority bias. The upbeat ending you noted is another clue to this.

Les  Diaboliques
Le Doulos
Elevator to the Gallows

come to mind.

 Avoiding the usual suspects...Favourites from my collection not already mentioned,  from around the world
Dark, claustrophobic atmospheric, crime & psychological tales, stylish and creative with shadowy & expressive cinematography, flashbacks, stories of fate, revenge, murder, greed & lust, formidable femme fatales,  just love them all


Raw Deal (1947)  USA ,  Anthony Mann

Pociag , Night train (1959)  Poland, Jerzy Kawalerowicz

Ossessione (1943)  Italy, Luchino Visconti

Sellaisena kuin sinä minut halusit , The Way You Wanted Me (1944)  Finland,  Teuvo Tulio

En la palma de tu mano ,  In the Palm of Your Hand (1951)  Mexico, Roberto Gavaldón

La mort de Belle, The End of Belle (1961)  France, Édouard Molinaro

Krakatit (1948)  Czechoslovakia,  Otakar Vávra  

Los tallos amargos , The Bitter Stems (1956)   Argentina,  Fernando Ayala

Flicka och hyacinter ,  Girl with Hyacinths (1950)  Sweden,  Hasse Ekman

Dual Alibi (1947)   UK,  Alfred Travers

John og Irene ,  John and Irene (1949)   Denmark,  Asbjørn Andersen, Anker Sørensen

Tsuma wa kokuhaku suru , A Wife Confesses (1961)   Japan,  Yasuzô Masumura

      

MILDRED PIERCE
THE MALTESE FALCON

BTW, I've heard it tell that TMF was the first American Film noir.
Is that true?

Is Mildred Pierce a noir? 

It may be; I am just curious as to what the argument might be for that classification as opposed to, say, a "women's melodrama." 

The Maltese Falcon is the consensus choice for the first noir (American or otherwise, I believe; after all, the French coined the genre label as a means of describing this new breed of American film that they observed following the end of World War II). But some people disagree, especially since The Maltese Falcon emerged in 1941, before the US actually entered the war. 

I have seen The Maltese Falcon about five times, the most recent being in the theater in February 2016. On that occasion, I was blown away by how relentlessly dark the film happens to be. One can see the influence of claustrophobic German horror films from the silent era such as The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920), updated by the crackling dialogue of then-modern detective fiction and transplanted to the seedy urban underworld of America. The film's universe is a cesspool, full of distortion and virtually demented characters—even Bogart's Sam Spade to some extent. It really is quite wild and riveting. 

... very well-put regarding Detour. 

The intriguing thing about Kiss Me Deadly is that it represents one of the last classic films noir while also anticipating the James Bond era. 

What would your argument be against Touch of Evil constituting the final "pure noir"? I can see what you mean (if you meant it), but I am curious as to your articulation. Too inherently parodic? Too self-conscious? 

Cannot see any connection between Kiss Me Deadly and James Bond films. The James Bond novels were like Richard Hannay and Bulldog Drummond seen through a noir mirror, more cynical and ruthless, but this was largely smoothed over for the movies. Mike Hammer is not motivated by patriotism or wish to foil a grand conspiracy. His concerns are personal revenge for his wounded pride and for his murdered and injured friends.


Touch of Evil is certainly later and a noir.  Despite some wonderful scenes I am not an uncritical admirer and it seems to me to be a bit of medley of elements. The kidnap scene with the teen gang belongs in another film and was an attempt to include what had become trendy since the Wild One (1953) and Rebel Without a Cause (1955). Similarly the excellent Marlene Dietrich scenes were totally unnecessary to the plot and were there to add a little international sophistication. Heston's boot-polish complexion is absurd, and the climax where he is creeping along below the jetty is so contrived and unrealistic as to make him look like Inspector Clouseau.

The reason I do not think it is "pure" noir is that Heston, the protagonist, is not a conflicted or ambiguous character. He has a difficult and dangerous job but there is no sense that he is trapped by fate or has made bad choices. Quinlan could have been a typical noir protagonist.  Pete Menzies and Tana both tell us he once once a great cop even if his method were dubious, but by the time we see him he is just a corrupt wreck. Quinlan was doomed by bad choices but this was not central to the movie and his decline was complete before the action starts.

I have never considered it parodic, but a bit self-conscious maybe:
Pure noir = we have a minimal budget and half the crew start on another movie in two weeks. Let us do this thing and no retakes.
Touch of Evil = I am a genius and I am going to make a noir which is a work of art (except that he would not have thought of it as "noir" that early).

I do like the film but it is a long way from the central noir canon.