Turner Classic Movies host Eddie Muller once said, “I am often asked, ‘What is the definitive film noir?’ and there are only two possible answers: Double Indemnity and Out of the Past.” He’s right, of course. They don’t call him “The Czar of Noir” for nothing, you mugs. Double Indemnity scorched movie screens first, released nationwide on July 6, 1944, followed by Out of the Past three years later. Pushing the Production Code to the limit, Double Indemnity delivered a gut-pun

He had quite a posh name for a guy who often played gangsters: Humphrey DeForest Bogart. Born on Christmas Day 1899 to a prominent New...