I have a couple of new projects coming up on the blog – – one for viewing and the other for reading – with which I hope you’ll all get involved. Today’s all about movies – we’ll talk about the reading in two days. 

Fresh off our Distaff Columbo Draft, the Three Amigos – Sergio Angelini, Nick Cardillo, and me – put our heads together to figure out what our next draft will be. For reasons that will become more obvious as we head into the fall (when I’m allowed to say something about it), two meaningful little words popped into everyone’s mind: film noir. 

We’ve been chatting about noir on this blog for years, and whenever I watch a film that’s new to me, Sergio tends to show up with some cool insights. He knows a whole bunch about the genre, and he has a couple of fabulous projects up his sleeve. (Patience, I said! I’ll tell you more when I can.) Although I know much less about the volume and breadth of the genre, I’m a big noir fan. As for Nick . . . . . well, he wants to be a fan and plans to do something about his limited viewing experience this summer. 

You see, there’s an awful lot of film noir out there! So much, in fact, that when we decided we’d like to try and draft something noirish, we had to figure out a way to sub-contract the enormous list of available films that fall in some degree into the noir category. It was Sergio who had the brainstorm to pick a specific year – and he has picked a doozy. We’re going to do a Mega-draft of the Top Thirteen Films Noirs of 1944. 

Since the list comprises only twenty-three titles and our draft won’t be until Noirvember, I thought I would invite you to play along. Below is the list of films we’re all going to watch, along with their production studio and director. It’s a wonderful list, comprised of outright classics, fabulous “B” movies, and a number of low-budget gems. Some of the greatest directors of genre film are gathered here with a few “A” list auteurs, men like Fritz Lang, Billy Wilder, George Cukor, Robert Siodmak, Otto Preminger, Jacques Tourneur, Anthony Mann, and William Castle. 

Every one of these films is available to stream on the internet. Watch whatever films you like, as many as you like. If you want to try and influence us, come back and post a comment here telling us what you thought of the films you watched. Nick, Sergio and I will welcome your input – and I’ve been told to tell you that we accept bribes. 

Here’s the list:

1. Bluebeard (PRC/Edgar G. Ulmer)
2. Christmas Holiday (Universal/Robert Siodmak)
3. Dangerous Passage (Paramount/William Berke)
4. Dark Waters (United Artists/ Andre de Toth)
5. Destiny (Universal/Reginald Le Borg)
6. Double Indemnity (Paramount/Billy Wilder)
7. Experiment Perilous (RKO/Jacques Tourneur)
8. Gaslight (MGM/George Cukor)
9. Guest in the House (aka Satan in Skirts) (United Artists/John Brahm)
10. Lady in the Death House (PRC/Steve Sekely)
11. Laura (Fox/Otto Preminger)
12. The Lodger (Fox/ John Brahm)
13. The Mark of the Whistler (Columbia/William Castle)
14. The Mask of Dimitrios (Warner Brothers/Jean Negulesco)
15. Ministry of Fear (Paramount/Fritz Lang)
16. Murder My Sweet (aka Farewell My Lovely) (RKO/Edward Dmytryk)
17. Phantom Lady (Universal/Robert Siodmak)
18. Stranger in the Night (Republic/Anthony Mann)
19. The Suspect (Universal/Robert Siodmak)
20. Voice in the Wind (United Artists/Arthur Ripley)
21. When Strangers Marry (aka Betrayed) (Monogram/William Castle)
22. The Whistler (Columbia/William Castle)
23. The Woman in the Window (RKO/Fritz Lang)

I’ve seen many, but by no means all, of these films, and I’m looking forward to another deep dive into the murky waters, shadowy alleyways, and violent despair that makes happy noir fans of us all. I hope you’ll join us as well and that we receive lots and lots of attempts to influence our choices. 

Happy viewing!