Movie
Stranger on the Third Floor
Drama film with a runtime of 64 minutes, released in 1940. Presented in English.
At a Glance
Synopsis
This small, interesting, film which is generally considered the first film noir, The Stranger on the Third Floor, directed by Boris Ingster, is the story of the story of a reporter's search for a murderer. Ward, (John McGuire) was the star witness in a murder trial that convicted Briggs (Elisha Cook, Jr.), but he begins to doubt his own testimony. When another murder is committed Ward begins to focus his suspicions on a mysterious stranger (Peter Lorre), and attempts to find the true killer in time to save Briggs. This film, beautifully photographed by Nicholas Musuraca, shows the German influence on the classic film noir with its deep focus, high contract, stylized photography. The tone of the film, with is Baroque nightmare scenes establishes the technique which will be later used to great effect in the entire genre.
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Cast
- Peter Lorre
- Margaret Tallichet
- John McGuire
- Charles Waldron
- Elisha Cook Jr.
- Charles Halton
- Ethel Griffies
- Cliff Clark
- Oscar O'Shea
- Alec Craig
- Otto Hoffman
- Charles Judels
- Lee Bonnell
- Frank Hammond
- Frank Yaconelli
- Paul McVey
- Max Hoffman Jr.
- Robert Dudley
- Harry C. Bradley
- Greta Granstedt
- Lynton Brent
- Katherine Wallace
- Jack Cheatham
- Bud Osborne
- Broderick O'Farrell
- Henry Roquemore
- Jane Keckley
- William Edmunds
- Bessie Wade
- Jim Farley
- Ralph Sanford
- Betty Farrington
- Dell Henderson
- Ray Cooke
- Bobby Barber
- Gladden James
- Donald Kerr
- Don Kelly
- Frank O'Connor
- Emory Parnell
- Lee Phelps
- Herb Vigran
- Robert Weldon
- Darrell Silvera
- Frank Partos
- Vernon Walker
- Nick Musuraca
- Van Nest Polglase
- Vernon L. Walker
- Nicholas Musuraca
- Harry Marker
