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 Here is a classic noir films recommendation list I promised @madame-madeleine​ weeks ago. I put them in release order, because trying to organize them from personal best to least best was going to take too long. There are plenty of noir films out there besides these, this list just has my personal favorites!

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Summary: A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.

Recommendation: This one's a classic for a reason, though I actually watched this film first for Peter Lorre and second for everything else. But it's a great film, with fascinating characters and an engaging plot. 

This Gun For Hire (1942)

Summary: When assassin Philip Raven shoots a blackmailer and his beautiful female companion dead, he is paid off in marked bills by his treasonous employer who is working with foreign spies.

Recommendation: I love Alan Ladd, and his portrayal of a ruthless assassin is amazing here. Raven's dynamic with Ellen, a woman he encounters in the film, is also really fascinating, and I think both the story and the characters will keep you engaged!

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) 

Summary: A drama critic learns on his wedding day that his beloved maiden aunts are homicidal maniacs, and that insanity runs in his family.

Recommendation: Listen, I know this is a parody and that apparently Cary Grant hated his performance in this movie. It's still in my top five favorite movies of all time. Everyone is hysterical, the jokes are great, and this film cemented my love of Peter Lorre. I loved this movie so much I once requested it for Yuletide and got an amazing fic!

Double Indemnity (1944)

Summary: An insurance representative lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses the suspicion of an insurance investigator.

Recommendation: This film has one of my favorite femme fatales, and the dialogue is great. Inspired by a true story, this one's a great psychological maze, and I really enjoyed it. 

Gaslight (1944)

Summary: After the murder of her famous aunt, a woman is sent to study in Italy to become a great opera singer as well. While there, she falls in love. The two return to London, and she begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night and gaslights that dim without being touched. 

Recommendation: "Fun" fact, this film and the play it was based on inspired the term gaslighting, which means to "manipulate by psychological means into questioning their own sanity." You can probably guess what happens in this movie, but oh man, that final scene between husband and wife? One of my all-time favorite scenes in any movie. 

Laura (1944)

Summary: A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.

Recommendation: I love this one. It's such a twisty, psychological thriller, and I love Laura's presence throughout this, and the way the detective falls in love with her the more he learns about her-- or at least falls in love with his concept of her. 

Gilda (1946)

Summary: A small-time gambler hired to work in a Buenos Aires casino learns that his ex-lover is married to his employer.

Recommendation: GILDA! I love her so much, and everyone's dynamics here are fascinating. Lots of homoerotic subtext, too. Some day I will write a less bleak queer fix-it version of this for myself, but in the meanwhile, I can always watch "Put the Blame on Mame" on Youtube. 

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Summary: A screenwriter is hired to rework a faded silent film star's script, only to find himself developing a dangerous relationship.

Recommendation: Another classic for a reason. Norma's faded glory and desperation is fascinating to watch, as is Joe being drawn to her despite himself. Also inspired an okay musical with like three or four great songs. 

Strangers on a Train (1951)

Summary: A psychotic socialite attempts to force an amateur tennis star to comply with his theory that two complete strangers can get away with reciprocal murders.

Recommendation: Hitchcock was a master of atmosphere, and this one's a prime example. The rising tension as the two go from a relatively normal interaction into something far darker and deadlier. 

Dial M for Murder (1954)

Summary: A tennis player frames his unfaithful wife for first-degree murder after she inadvertently hinders his plan to kill her.

Recommendation: Okay, I don't know why tennis players keep getting involved in noir, but it's a good movie! I read that Hitchcock filmed this one almost entirely inside rather than allowing a lot of outdoor scenes, to give a sense of claustrophobia and it works. 

Rear Window (1954)

Summary: A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

Recommendation: I love this one in spite of itself. I don't particularly like the main couple's dynamic in this, but I do love the glances into the lives of the people Jimmy Stewart's character is spying on, and the tension amps up wonderfully as the film progresses.

Do you like A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens? Would you enjoy a modern gay adaptation of it? If so, Scrooge & Marley (2012) is for you!

On Christmas Eve, Ben Scrooge, the man who hates the holidays, is given the chance to begin again when he is visited by three spirits – the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Future. Revisiting the tragic missteps of his life enables Scrooge to rediscover the joy of the holiday season and make a journey back to love. Recounted from a gay sensibility with heart, comedy and music, the magic of Dickens’ timeless tale comes alive from a fresh perspective that will appeal to audiences of all persuasions.

Scrooge & Marley is a great film that adapts the story and message of A Christmas Carol to modern day issues. Scrooge runs a gay club instead of being a banker, but he’s still such as selfish and miserly as the original canon. This is shown in his refusal to help the local LGBT community and the homeless LGBT shelter. After all, he was never given help when he needed it as a gay teenager in the 70s, living at the YMCA because he had no place else to go. Why should he help anyone now? His nephew Fred is now his niece Freda, poor but happy with her wife. Fezziwig is the owner of a gay club who gives Scrooge a job and a place to stay. Bob Crachit and his husband are struggling to make financial ends meet because of their son’s medical issues.

Not only is the story excellent, but the musical score is great. (Honestly, it’s better than the actual Christmas Carol musical I watched.) And not only does it end just as optimistically as A Christmas Carol, but it goes a step further and lets you see how Scrooge has finally become a member of the community and allowed himself to form friendships and relationships that will last– and how well the shelter is going with his financial backing. It’s just a great film and I recommend it highly.

There are a few possible triggers in the movie, so I've put them behind the cut.

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Hey! Sorry that I have been so quiet lately, but now that I'm done with the semester, hopefully I'll be a bit more talkative, heh.

Stuff that has been interesting in the past few weeks for me:

-Finished my second semester of grad school! Unfortunately, this semester didn't actually teach me much about what to expect as a librarian-- so much theory, so little actual "here's what to expect when you're actually working in a library/archives/museum." But next semester I have Children's Lit AND my field study so I expect fall to be much more useful and interesting.

-Went to a wedding! ...Fainted at the wedding! Let's just say high heels, standing in crowds, and not being fed until eight at night makes for a bad combination. I am fine, just have a few nice bruises on my legs and a small cut on my chin from where I caught the railing as I crumpled. Apparently it's a family tradition to get hurt at weddings anyway-- my grandmother apparently fell down some steps and had to get stitches in her forehead at Uncle Ricky's wedding. So I had a lot of people coming up to me with a cheerful, "I hear you're continuing the family tradition! Least you didn't need stitches!"

-Saw The Avengers in 3D with my mom! Enjoyed 90% of the movie, although I had an awful migraine afterwards thanks to the 3D. No spoilers here, but now I want ALL THE FIC and a Black Widow movie. (Come on, universe, if you're not going to give me a Wonder Woman movie, at least give me a Black Widow one!)

I have been fighting and losing the battle with a cold all week. It seems to have settled firmly into my chest so I spent my day off on the couch watching movies. Men With Brooms, Victor/Victoria, and Thoroughly Modern Millie, in fact, the first two of which I recommend, the last which I...do not. The good bits of it are not enough to salvage the rest of it. If you want to see it, go see the musical performed on stage, because the stage version is far less racist and sexist than the movie.

But! A quick list of pros and cons for the movies.

Men With Brooms

Pros: Paul Gross! Awesome cast. Funny dialogue. Adorable, unexpected lesbians. And I finally learned what the hell curling is. Also, that one guy they were competing against was totally gay for Paul Gross's character. I cannot blame him at all. Paul Gross makes everything sexy, from Shakespeare to, uh, curling, apparently.
Cons: Lots more sex and profanity than I was expecting. ^^;;

Victor/Victoria

Pros: Awesome gay characters! Julie Andrews is really hot when she's crossdressing. There are really adorable relationships, from the main het one to the gay ones. And so many great songs.
Cons: ...I want more. What happens next? :(

Thoroughly Modern Millie

Pros: Female friendship! The women saving themselves. Muzzy being amazing and there being a crapload of subtext that she has her own harem of men in her mansion. Muzzy in general. Jimmy being adorable with his glasses.
Cons: ...Everything else. Dear movie, when there is ominous music whenever Asian characters appear on your screen, you have issues. You also have issues when your main heroine, just having saved her best friend and a dozen other women from slavery, announces she'd "doesn't want to be [her boyfriend's] equal, she wants to be his wife." Without much love, Ace.