Film Noir: The Dark Side of Cinema IX (Lady on a Train / Tangier / Take One False Step)

LADY ON A TRAIN (1945) B&W 95 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated
The delightful Deanna Durbin (It Started with Eve) stars in this noir-flavored murder-mystery with a delicious comedic twist. A young woman (Durbin) on a New York-bound train is witness to a murder outside her compartment window. With a penchant for reading mystery novels and the help of a mystery writer (David Bruce, The Mad Ghoul), she sets out to solve the case after police refuse to believe her story. The plot thickens when she’s caught at the victim’s estate and mistaken for his showgirl fiancée. Adopting the ruse, she soon discovers that the deceased has willed her most of his vast fortune! The wonderful cast includes Ralph Bellamy (Hands Across the Table), George Coulouris (Where There’s Life) and Dan Duryea (Johnny Stool Pigeon).
TANGIER (1946) B&W 76 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated
The beautiful Maria Montez (Cobra Woman, Gypsy Wildcat) is determined to bring a Nazi collaborator to justice in this exotic, suspense-filled noir. In the North African city of Tangier, where every secret has its price, Rita (Montez), a café dancer from Madrid, catches the eye of down-and-out war correspondent Paul Kenyon (Robert Paige, Son of Dracula). Together with the help of Pepe (Sabu, Arabian Nights), a young, local entrepreneur, they battle a Nazi war criminal (Preston Foster, Love Before Breakfast) who’s working incognito as a military governor. Featuring Louise Allbritton (Pittsburgh) and Reginald Denny (Skinner’s Dress Suit) with taut direction by George Waggner (The Wolf Man).
TAKE ONE FALSE STEP (1949) B&W 94 Minutes 1.37:1 Not Rated
Married college professor Andrew Gentling (William Powell, The Thin Man) is inveigled by old flame Catherine Sykes (Shelley Winters, He Ran All the Way) into a midnight drive. The very next day, Catherine vanishes. Andrew’s friend Martha (Marsha Hunt, Raw Deal) convinces him that he’s a prime suspect and should investigate before he’s arrested. But this only puts Andrew in a deadlier kind of danger when the trail leads him to the crime-ridden streets of San Francisco. This edge-of-your-seat, twist-filled mystery-noir from author Irwin Shaw (The Young Lions) features Dorothy Hart (Larceny), James Gleason (Here Comes Mr. Jordan) and an uncredited Tony Curtis (Flesh and Fury).