Why is The Asphalt Jungle the mack daddy of all caper films? It’s co-written and directed by John Huston, who made the criminally good classics Key Largo and The Maltese Falcon. It’s based on a book by W.R. Burnett, who established his street cred with Little Caesar and High Sierra. It’s packed with underrated actors delivering peak performances: Sterling Hayden, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, Louis Calhern, and a newbie named Marilyn Monroe, swiping every scene as a shady lawyer’s

Critic Roger Ebert called it “perfection.” I call it “The Gateway Drug to Film Noir.” Nobody knew Laura was destined for success when the cast reported for duty in the spring of 1944. The early signs weren’t promising. Two weeks into the shoot, producer Otto Preminger fired director Rouben Mamoulian, scrapped his footage, revised the screenplay, redesigned the sets and costumes, and hired a new director – himself. Against all odds, Laura went from hot mess to cool classic. G

I was late to the Liking Robert Mitchum Party . No particular reason why. His droopy eyes and “Whatever” nonchalance always made him seem...

In the 1940s and ‘50s, Hollywood had an unofficial “caste” system of casting, with the plum parts going to a select few, like Bogie, John...

Growing up in a small town, local culture consisted of a drive-in theater (which featured more naughty action in the back seat of any...

From Jane Austen to J.K. Rowling, many famous writers have had their novels transformed into movie hits. But for a classic film noir fan...

With just 21 feature-length credits, director Fred Zinnemann’s batting average was awfully high, thanks to legendary releases like High...

“Always understated and all too underrated.” That’s how writer David Stenn describes Dana Andrews. Film historian Jeanine Basinger...