Each of these films portrays the gritty underbelly of life where no one will help you except yourself. Some have retained a modicum of notoriety but they are mostly forgotten.
Modern “films” routinely substitute explosion and sex scenes for plot and character development. Not so, these magnificent examinations of the basest of human desires and motivations. They are, indeed, worth a view. Try one when you get tired of the clichéd and boring efforts produced by most of the studios today.
Night and the City (1950)
A powerful film known for its obvious lack of sympathy for its characters and a particularly unhappy ending. It is also noteworthy for its accurate depictions of gangsters that predates Pacino’s Scarface and De Niro’s Goodfellas by thirty years. The protagonist, Harry Fabian, a minor con man and thief, with no redeeming values, whatsoever, looks for his last chance to make it big time. It’s not to be, however. Fabian goes from one disappointment to another until the final catastrophe destroys him.
Strangers on a Train (1951)
No one did the psychological thriller better than Alfred Hitchcock. An amateur tennis star unwittingly agrees to murder a stranger’s wife in return for the murder of his own, despised mate. The first murder is committed and the plot revolves around the stranger’s attempts to force the tennis pro to fulfill his part of the bargain. Unrelieved tension marks this movie and the ending is suitably climactic. Also, don’t miss the master, himself, as he climbs onto the train with the cello.
The Wages of Fear (1953)
Four men, destitute and stranded in an isolated South American town, are offered an opportunity to escape. Simply drive two trucks filled with volatile and poorly packaged nitroglycerine through the slippery and poorly maintained dirt roads of the South American jungle. Ice road truckers have nothing on these men. The ending is bittersweet but particularly apt for the men who could rely on no one but themselves.
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
A newspaper man, a journalist, sells access to his “unbiased” column for the right price; say it isn’t so. Tony Curtis and Burt Lancaster are brilliantly cast as conniving, no holds barred schemers who will do whatever it takes to achieve success. The plot revolves around the abuse, by Lancaster’s power broker character, of his gossip column but the real fireworks begin when Curtis’ character starts to date the power broker’s sister. There is never a chance that either will stray from their charted course.
Touch of Evil (1958)
Beautifully filmed, with groundbreaking effects including the opening shot, this film is one of the last masterpieces of film noir. It has twists and turns galore, an eerily sleazy Dennis Weaver and, the femme fatale, herself, Marlene Dietrich. The plot involves political assassination, run of the mill murders, evidence tampering, kidnapping and a whole host of other illegal activities. What else can I say? Just watch it to see Charlton Heston play a mustachioed Mexican.