Review of Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) by Carlos F — 23 May 2009
This film treasure may well be the "missing link" or "bridge" between German Expressionist cinema and "film noir". The John McGuire character sports the pasty, clammy face of many an expressionist male lead.
Elisha Cook's portrayal as the wrongly-convicted murder suspect is a quintessionally-noir plot device. The sleepy-eyed Peter Lorre, a veteran of both "noir" and "expressionist" styles haunts the film as an amblyn ambassador of both styles.
But it is the psycholdelic dream sequences, similar in-part to the carnival montage in Orson Welles, "The Lady from Shanghai" that cement the two styles within this obscure film.
This review of Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) was written by Carlos F on 23 May 2009.
Stranger on the Third Floor has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
