Michael's paranoia continues in his dreams, and he awakens to find that his nightmare has come true and that Meng's throat has been slit. His evidence – that he saw the accused, Joe Briggs, standing over the body of a man in a diner – is instrumental in having Briggs found guilty.
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As such, he, a reporter, gets a front page byline story at his newspaper, The New York Star, the story his first hand account, which includes his one and only previous encounter with the accused providing some grounding for motive but which does not include him actually having seen the accused kill the victim.
Stranger on the Third Floor is often cited as the first "true" film noir of the classic period (1940–1959),[3][4][5] though other films that fit the genre such as Rebecca and They Drive by Night were released earlier.
Jane convinces him to report the murder to the police, but the district attorney find Michael's presence at the scene of both murders suspicious and he is taken into custody. Synopsis
Before dying, the stranger confesses to the murders, thus exonerating both Michael and Briggs of the crimes. Parents Guide.
It was written by Frank Partos. But in every other respect, including Peter Lorre's brief role as the whack, it is utterly wild.
Realizing that the only way to prove Michael's innocence is to find the stranger, Jane begins to search for the man. Ward feels that his neighbor, a man he hates, may have been killed by the stranger. Ward has a terrifying dream in which the neighbor is indeed murdered and he comes under suspicion. "[10], Dave Kehr of the Chicago Reader wrote: "An RKO B-film from 1940, done up in high Hollywood expressionism. Fandango helps you go back to the movies with confidence and peace of mind. Stranger on the Third Floor was Boris Ingster's directorial debut. Part of that self-questioning includes his own thoughts toward his next door neighbor, Alfred Meng, against who he has said to himself proverbially "I could kill him" after each of their many antagonistic encounters and whether he either truly meant it any of those times or could actually kill if provoked. Reporter Michael Ward is the key witness in a murder trial. He had previously worked on King Kong in 1933 and The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1939, and worked on the sets for Citizen Kane. movie theaters are playing Stranger on the Third Floor near you. He directed only three feature films in his career.
Michael threatens Meng and later he sees a stranger with bulging eyes on his floor that runs away from him. One evening, outside his room in the house where he lives, Ward sees an odd-looking stranger.
"The Black List: Essential Film Noir" in, This page was last edited on 7 August 2020, at 22:31. Thinking that Jane has come to take him back, the stranger begins to chase her across the street but is hit by an oncoming truck before he can harm her. Enter your location to see which Ingster would later become a television producer.
Stranger on the Third Floor is a 1940 American film noir directed by Boris Ingster and starring Peter Lorre, John McGuire, and Margaret Tallichet, and featuring Elisha Cook Jr.. movie theaters are playing Stranger on the Third Floor near you. [6] Jeremy Arnold writes that "[The film's] extraordinary look and tone are the product of stylized sets, bizarre angles and lighting, and a powerful blurring of dream and reality – qualities strongly influenced by German expressionist films of the 1920s. Everyone around him is certain Briggs will be convicted largely on his testimony. "[8], Rotten Tomatoes reported an 83% approval rating with an average rating of 6.6/10 based on six professional reviews.[12]. Featured Products TCM Annual Catalog: 2019 Edition. Earn 125 points on every ticket you buy. He is arrested and, in order to clear him, Jane sets out to find the strange man. Shaken by the verdict and by his fiancée Jane's intuition about Briggs's innocence, Michael returns to his room, where he begins to brood about the events that led up to Briggs' arrest. Michael's girl Jane believes in Joe and blames Michael, who (in a remarkable sequence) dreams he is himself convicted of murdering his nosy neighbor. Briggs is convicted despite crying his innocence and the reporter begins to feel guilty for the key role he played in the trial. Rising newspaper reporter Michael Ward is the key witness at the trial of Joe Briggs where he testifies that he saw the unfortunate Briggs fleeing the scene of a murder and previously heard him verbally threaten the victim, coffee shop owner Nick. Michael Ward is the key witness - the only eyewitness - for the prosecution in the trial of Joe Briggs, who is accused of killing Nick Narbajan, the proprietor of the coffee shop across the street from where Michael lives. Tyler Posey realizes he's on his own in an exclusive clip from 'Alone,' now on FandangoNOW, What to Watch on FandangoNOW: ‘Train to Busan Presents: ‘Peninsula,’ ‘The Craft: Legacy’ and More, This Week in Movie News: 2 ‘Fast & Furious’ Movies 2 Go After ‘F9,’ Joaquin Phoenix is Napoleon for Ridley Scott. A newspaper reporter gives truthful but circumstantial evidence at the murder trial of pathetic loser Briggs. [6] In addition, the work of special effects artist Vernon L. Walker was excellent, despite the constraints of a B movie budget, and the score of Roy Webb, who was RKO's house composer at the time, contributes significantly to the film's mood. [1] Ingster, who was born in Latvia, was formerly a writer, and an associate of noted Russian director Sergei Eisenstein. He chases this man down the stairs and out the front door where Ward loses track of him. He has a weird nightmare and when he wakes up, he finds that Meng is murdered with a sliced neck similar to Nick.
Stranger on the Third Floor .
Afterwards, Ward's fiancée Jane begins worrying that Ward may not have been correct in what he saw; eventually Ward becomes haunted by this question. [8][6], In the introduction to Turner Classic Movies' Noir Alley presentation of the film, Eddie Muller compared the style of the film to that of German Expressionist films. Another part of that questioning is lately seeing in the neighborhood a strange looking man, whose behavior is suspicious enough potentially to be tied to murder. Rack up 500 points and you'll score a $5 reward for more movies. The notion seems to have been that the way to put a psychological melodrama across is to pile on the sound effects and trick up the photography. Reporter Michael Ward is promoted at his newspaper when he becomes the key witness in the murder trial of Joe Briggs, a young man that he had previously seen threatening the victim Nick in his coffee shop and later saw leaving the place and found Nick with a sliced neck. Approved | 1h 4min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 16 August 1940 (USA) An aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.
Later, Michael's conscience and troubling dreams get the better of him. "[8] Muller calls his work on this film "spectacular". Thanks to its performances, all perfect, and its staging, "Stranger on the Third Floor" is a discovery that still surprises more than seventy years later.
$4.52. Rack up 500 points and you'll score a $5 reward for more movies. Although he is willing to testify if only to provide an account of what he saw, he, seeing the situation through terrified Jane's perspective, begins to question whether Briggs should be convicted if the strongest evidence against him is his testimony. After returning to his room, Michael detects that Meng's snoring has ceased, and begins to fantasize that his neighbor has been murdered and that he will be convicted of the crime on circumstantial evidence. His work on Stranger on the Third Floor "contributes mightily to the claustrophobic feel of the movie. "[8], Van Nest Polglase, who has been called "one of the most influential production designers in American cinema", was the film's art director. full synopsis Though he doesn't speak his first line of dialogue until the film's final ten minutes, Peter Lorre spiritually dominates the fascinating RKO melodrama Stranger on the Third Floor. Learn more Get Movies. That Touch of Mink DVD $14.96 The Ghost And Mrs. Muir DVD $11.21 Forbidden Hollywood: The Pre-Code Era (1930-1934): When Sin Ruled the Movies Book $22.95 Jane seeks out the stranger on the streets to save her fiancé. Synopsis: Rising reporter Michael Ward is a key witness in the murder trial of young Joe Briggs, who is convicted on circumstantial evidence while swearing innocence.
See, e.g., Lyons (2000), p. 36 ("RKO is usually cited as having produced the first true film noir, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Stranger_on_the_Third_Floor&oldid=971738820, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Margaret Tallichet, who played Jane, made only three more films, then married director, Server, Lee (1998). Modern research has shown that Nathanael West wrote the final version of the screenplay, but was uncredited.[2][1]. Buy Movies. Rising reporter Michael Ward is the key witness in the murder trial of young Joe Briggs, who is convicted on circumstantial evidence while swearing innocence. The trial of the ex-con is a vicious rendering of the American legal system hard at work on an impoverished victim ... [T]he sinister role of police and prosecutors in obtaining confessions and convictions [are] hallmarks of the hard-boiled literature that paralleled and predicted what we call film noir. Synopsis. When upstart journalist Michael Ward (John McGuire) testifies that he saw Joe Briggs (Elisha Cook Jr.) at the scene of a murder, Briggs is jailed and sentenced to death. [8], Upon its release in 1940, The New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther called the film pretentious and derivative of French and Russian films, and wrote, "John McGuire and Margaret Tallichet, as the reporter and his girl, are permitted to act half-way normal, it is true. Get your swag on with discounted movies to stream at home, exclusive movie gear, access to advanced screenings and discounts galore. Sign up for a FANALERT® and be the first to know when tickets and other exclusives are available in your area. "[8] Robert Portfino called it "a distinct break in style and substance with the preceding mystery, crime, detection and horror films of the 1930s.