Stranger on the Third Floor

I was curious to see 'Stranger on the Third Floor' when it was recently shown on TV after I read it described as "the first Film Noir". Whether it actually is that or not I'll leave up to more knowledgeable film fans to argue over, but whatever you call this movie it is a very interesting and strange thriller that deserves a lot more attention. Part courtroom drama, part murder mystery, with a memorable dream sequence, you can't but help wonder if David Lynch is extremely familiar with this film (something I also thought while watching 'Kiss Me Deadly', 'Carnival Of Souls' and 'Branded To Kill'). John McGuire plays a reporter who is the key witness in a murder trial. After finding a neighbor dead and noticing a mysterious figure lurking nearby (Peter Lorre) he comes to believe that the man convicted (Elisha Cook, Jr) is innocent, and sets out to clear his name. I really love thrillers that are stylized or nightmarish and become borderline surrealism, and this is one of those kind of movies. It isn't without a few flaws, but I still found it to be fascinating and really enjoyed Cook and Lorre's performances, though sadly I don't think they actually have any scenes together.

The Film Noir Encyclopeia lists Stranger as the first true film noir. It's not hard to see why. The lengthy interior dialog, the grotesque dream sequence, and the expressionist lighting, all bespeak the arrival of a noir universe. Over the next ten or so years, this European style would encompass a number of film genres, seeping even into that most American of all, the Western ("Blood on the Moon", "Roughshod", et al.). I can only imagine how 1940's audiences greeted this abrupt departure on first showing.

Except for Lorre, it's a no-name cast, although Tallichet makes for a charming leading lady with a captivating smile. The absence of a familiar face (John McGuire) in the male lead actually helps. Instead of seeing a celebrity in a starring role, we see an unknown that might even be us. And so, both he and we are drawn deeper into a nightmarish web of guilt. Notice how the lighting becomes steadily darker as McGuire's anguish deepens, with shadows that are almost all appropriately angular and threatening. Also, note director Ingster's very real feel for the ethnic vibrancy of a New York street even though it's recreated on an RKO sound stage. This sense of a community life outside the third floor makes for an interesting contrast with McGuire's growing inward turn.

Too bad the script fails to match the visuals in imagination and stylishness. It's really pretty conventional, except for the nicely ironical twist of having the jury-trial deficiencies turned back upon McGuire in the dream sequence. Good thing they had Lorre outfitted with buck teeth and doing an exquisitely loony menace, because the climax itself is very unimaginatively staged. It could have come from a thousand other more ordinary films. Anyway, for fans of noir and movie historians, this obscure little production remains essential and entertaining viewing.

An interesting film noir with Peter Lorre in more of a cameo as the mysterious villain than a starring role. He appears briefly, lurking darkly as he attempts to avoid a confrontation with the hero, not saying a word until the final ten minutes of the film. With a fairly nondescript cast, Lorre received top billing for what must have been a fairly easy few days' work. The film runs for just 64 minutes and is not unlike one of the Hitchcock tele plays in prime-time television in the 50s. Boris Ingster includes some creative moments with the dream scenes impressive. I particularly liked the angular images of the prison bars with the gruesome shadow of the electric chair. The ending is a little glib for my liking and the plot fits into place just a little too easily resulting in a fairly banal ending to what could have been a more complex psychological thriller - I thought for a while the hero had actually committed the two murders and that may have been a more interesting development than the more obvious ending. This film was shown on ABC television as part of a series of Film Noir and I was impressed with the superb quality of the print. 2 stars out of 5.

Taut, weird psychothriller centers on a novice newsman who's been promoted because of stories connected to a murder to which he's the only witness. His testimony gets the innocent man (Cook, Jr.) convicted, as he discovers when his neighbor is killed by the same man (Lorre) -- who the police refuse to believe exists. In fact, our hero is now suspect #1 in the crime he was covering. His loyal girlfriend, god bless her soul, sets out to track Lorre down, even though she's never seen him.

Good low-budget noir, VERY short. Excellent photography, very odd dream sequences.

Peter Lorre is the "Stranger on the Third Floor" in this B movie from 1940 that stars John McGuire, Maria Tallichet (Mrs. William Wyler) and Elisha Cook, Jr. McGuire plays Mike Ward, a reporter who is the key witness in a murder trial that ends with the defendant (Cook) being found guilty. The man's protestations of innocence make an impression on Ward's fiancée, Jane, and it causes a rift between them. Back in his rooming house, Mike realizes that his nemesis next door isn't snoring as usual. Looking out of his room, he sees a man (Lorre) hanging around on his floor. Unnerved from the trial and from Jane's attitude, he begins to think his neighbor is dead and fantasizes that he could, though innocent, be put in the same position as the man he testified against and accused of murder. Then the nightmare turns into reality, and it's up to Jane to try and find the stranger - who killed in the same manner as was used in the murder case just tried.

This is a pretty interesting story with decent performances by McGuire and Tallichet, who retired after the birth of her second child with Wyler. Facially, she is a cross between Ella Raines and Jane Russell, though she gets no glamor treatment in this. Sitting down to watch the film, I was visualizing something like "M" or "The Lodger" - in reality, Lorre doesn't have much to do at all. He does, however, act strangely very well.

Some wonderful photography and interestingly filmed sequences, and a really sweet ending. Catch it the next time it's on TCM.