Customer Reviews

Stranger on the Third Floor [VHS]

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One of the earliest Noir classics the film features a justly famous and totally spellbinding dream sequence but also has one of the drollest and funniest failed-seduction scenes in movie history(McGuire only magages to get Tallichet to remove her socks). It misses getting 5 stars for the last shot when the falsly accused Elisha Cook Jr. seems a bit too forgviving toward the man who almost sent him to the hot-seat.

Stranger on the Third Floor is the story Michael Ward, a key witness in a murder case who becomes embroiled in a dream like series of events which lead him to question his own sanity and nearly get him accused of one count of murder. The movie is relentless with its dark lightning and the presence of some strange characters helps drive home the environment of bleakness. It has a few twists and its well written. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who is a fan of dark, psychological dramas.

The film begins on a city street. A young couple talk about their new home. Michael Ward is a star reporter who is a witness in a murder trial. He saw Briggs by a murdered lunch store owner. He saw him once a few days before. Briggs explains he walked in and found the owner dead. Does the jury believe him? They find him guilty. The reporter visits the scene of the crime. Back at the rooming house he sees a stranger there. After this there are flashbacks and voice-overs to carry this story forward. This allows minimal characters for this low budget film.

The film moves forward with a crime for which Michael Ward is convicted and sentenced to death. [People didn't lock their doors!] Could this only be a nightmare from his imagined fears? What will happen if this dream comes true? Ward calls the police to report this murder. He is now a material witness (and a suspect!). Ward's girlfriend tries to find that strange man, but nobody has seen him. Then she finds a man who fits the description. This man does not want to go back to the institution! But there is a happy ending to this story.

[It reminds me of a TV drama from the late 1950s like "Outer Limits"] "The Woman in the Window" was a better film.

I love Peter Lorre, so seeing a film noir with him in it was definitely the topping on the cake. I don't know of any other person who is both horribly creepy and so adorable at the same time. I think that is a quality that is unique to Peter Lorre. Other than the fact that Lorre was in the film, I also enjoyed the classic film noir qualities of the film. I especially liked the lighting. It is so dramatic and adds visual interest to the film. I think that with film noir, one of the things that makes it so successfully tense is the harsh lighting that is used. The high contrast is so unnatural that the film seems dreamlike, or nightmarish, rather. The dreamlike quality of the film is stretched even further during the scene where the main character is actually having a nightmare. Another thing that I love about film noir is that there are parts of the film that seem happy-go-lucky and have that classic Hollywood charm. For example, the scene at the beginning of the movie has this charm about it as the couple meets in a diner for breakfast and has light-hearted conversation. While film noirs have the obvious dark side, there are also spots of sunshine through out that seem to contrast it. I think it is this sense of tension and contrast that makes the films like Stranger on the Third Floor so great. Whether it is with the brights and darks of the lighting or the different feel of the scenes, film noir keeps us interested. I would recommend this film to anyone who enjoys Peter Lorre, film noir, classic movies, or just intriguing plotlines. I really enjoyed watching this film and feel like others will really enjoy it too.

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RKO Radio Pictures presents "STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR" (1940) (64 mins/B&W) --- (Dolby digitally remastered) --- featuring Peter Lorre, John McGuire, Margaret Tallichet, Charles Waldron & Elisha Cook Jr. and Directed by Boris Inkster --- Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe Hollywood crime dramas that set their protagonists in a world perceived as inherently corrupt and unsympathetic...Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as stretching from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...Film noir of this era is associated with a low-key black-and-white visual style that has roots in German Expressionist cinematography, while many of the prototypical stories and much of the attitude of classic noir derive from the hardboiled school of crime fiction that emerged in the United States during the Depression...the term film noir (French for "black film"), first applied to Hollywood movies by French critic Nino Frank in 1946, was unknown to most of the American filmmakers and actors while they were creating the classic film noirs..the canon of film noir was defined in retrospect by film historians and critics; many of those involved in the making of film noir later professed to be unaware at the time of having created a distinctive type of film ... featuring top performances from the '40s and '50s with outstanding drama and screenplays, along with a wonderful cast and supporting actors to bring it all together ... another winner from the vaults of almost forgotten Hollywood gems ...

Under Boris Ingster (Director), Frank Partos (Screenwriter), Lee S. Marcus (Producer), Roy Webb (Original Score), Nicholas Musuraca (Cinematographer), Harry Marker (Editor), Van Nest Polglase (Art Direction), James E. Casey (Assistant Director), Albert S. D'Agostino (Assistant Art Director), Bailey Fesler (Sound Dept), Vernon L. Walker (Special Effects) - - - - the cast includes Peter Lorre (The Stranger), John McGuire (Michael 'Mike' Ward), Margaret Tallichet (Jane), Charles Waldron (District Attorney), Elisha Cook Jr. (Joe Briggs), Charles Halton (Albert Meng), Ethel Griffies (Mrs. Kane, Michael's Landlady), Cliff Clark (Martin), Oscar O'Shea (The Judge), Alec Craig (Briggs' Defense Attorney), Otto Hoffman (Charles Evans, the Police Surgeon) - - - - released on August 16, 1940, often described as the "First Film Noir", this little nugget tells of a newspaper reporter who gives truthful but circumstantial evidence at the murder trial of a pathetic loser called Briggs. Briggs is convicted despite crying his innocence and the reporter begins to feel guilty for the key role he played in the trial. Haunted by memories of the poor man's pleas, he begins to wonder, 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.

SPECIAL FEATURES BIOS:
1. Peter Lorre (aka: László Löwenstein)
Date of birth: 26 June 1904 - Rózsahegy, Austria-Hungary [now Ruzomberok, Slovakia]
Date of death: 23 March 1964 - Los Angeles, California

Special footnote, actor Peter Lorre (June 26, 1904 - March 23, 1964), born Ladislav (László) Löwenstein, was a stage and screen actor of Austrian descent especially known for playing roles with sinister overtones in Hollywood crime films and mysteries....He began acting on stage in Vienna, Breslau, and Zürich. In the late 1920s he moved to Berlin where he worked with German playwright Bertolt Brecht. The German speaking actor became famous when Fritz Lang cast him as a child killer in his 1931 film "M"....then London where he played a charming villain in Alfred Hitchcock's "The Man Who Knew Too Much".... When he arrived in Great Britain, his first meeting was with Hitchcock and by smiling and laughing as Hitchcock talked, the director was unaware that Lorre had a limited command of the English language. During the filming of "The Man Who Knew Too Much", Lorre learned much of his part phonetically.....Eventually, he went to Hollywood where he specialized in playing wicked or wily foreigners. He starred in a series of "Mr. Moto" films, a parallel to the better known "Charlie Chan" series, in which he played a Japanese detective and spy created by John P. Marquand....Lorre enjoyed considerable popularity as a featured player in Warner Bros. suspense and adventure films. Lorre played the role of Joel Cairo in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) and played the role of "Ugarte" in the film classic "Casablanca" (1942). He played Dr. Einstein in "Arsenic and Old Lace" (1944-filmed in 1941). It was Lorre's character who introduced the "letters of transit" (there was no such thing in reality) which became, in some ways, the dramatic center of the film.....But Hollywood never fully tapped Lorre's creative powers.

Hats off and thanks to Les Adams (collector/guideslines for character identification), Chuck Anderson (Webmaster: The Old Corral/B-Westerns.Com), Boyd Magers (Western Clippings), Bobby J. Copeland (author of "Trail Talk"), Rhonda Lemons (Empire Publishing Inc), Bob Nareau (author of "The Real Bob Steele") and Trevor Scott (Down Under Com) as they have rekindled my interest once again for Film Noir, B-Westerns and Serials --- looking forward to more high quality releases from the vintage serial era of the '20s, '30s & '40s and B-Westerns ... order your copy now from Amazon where there are plenty of copies available on VHS, stay tuned once again for top notch action mixed with deadly adventure --- if you enjoyed this title, why not check out VCI Entertainment where they are experts in releasing B-Westerns and Serials --- all my heroes have been cowboys!

Total Time: 64 mins on DVD ~ Turner Home Video ~ (10/16/1991)

Stranger on the Third Floor is a real thriller but one that is rather comical for today's standards of thrillers. This film is a great film noir thriller. The setting, shadows, camera angles, winding staircases, and a relatable protagonist create a spellbinding crime thriller. The most impressive attribute of this film is that it is film almost entirely in one location: the street. This style is enormously effective in the film noir category. The reporter's girlfriend plays a crucial role as she traps the real killer in a dark and sinister way. This film is great for film study in that it is short and had incredible photography; this being so, it is great for analyzing the so-called first film noir. I almost wonder if Hitchcock found his muse in this film. I love studying the camera angles of this film, the images of the prison bars, the electric chair, the odd dream sequences, etc. The camera work of this film, I think, should be talked about more than the fact that it is the pioneer of film noir. The camera work is innovative and creative and cannot be missed. For all those film lovers out there, this is something you cannot miss. The creation of suspense is established in a deranged and illusive way. The ending is paramount for the film--it's so great. The sinister nature of the thriller is encapsulated in the ending. This is most definitely a psychological thriller. I do think that the script could have been a bit better/stronger. There were definite moments of weakness there. Almost echoing that of Italian neo-realism, the use of unknown actors did this film really, really well. It allowed the audience to really get into the picture and it allowed the film much more suspense and fear. Great film.