Review of Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) by Kevin N — 13 Apr 2013
'Stranger on the Third Floor' probably wouldn't be remembered outside of its recognition as the first film noir, but on its own it is a stylishly entertaining little B-film nightmare with an outstandingly creepy appearance by Peter Lorre.
Clocking in at just over an hour, the picture doesn't overstay its welcome; if anything, the story could have used a little more fleshing out in order to bring its themes of guilt and responsibility to a more palpable level.
John McGuire plays Mike Ward, a newspaper reporter who sends a man to death row in order to knock out a big headline and earn a promotion. He seems certain at first, but as the days tick on he begins to wonder if he has framed the wrong man, and he decides to do a little investigation on his own in order to set his conscience at ease.
Margaret Tallichet plays Ward's grilfriend, a source of purity and justice who soon becomes the precious stakes in the middle of Ward's case and the killer. There isn't really anything new in this film that wasn't done brilliantly before- by Fritz Lang in his films of the thirties- but this RKO milestone should not be dismissed.
It's meeting of aesthetic expressionism and hard-boiled American crime story was revolutionary in Hollywood, and its psychological suggestions probed at a darkness just beneath the surface of a country on the edge of war.
This review of Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) was written by Kevin N on 13 Apr 2013.
Stranger on the Third Floor has generally received positive reviews.
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