The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947)

The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947) is a psycho bad guy ill-fated pick-up robbery and murder fraud and cop crunching road and beach house thriller from the high era of stranger danger handsome sociopathic lone killer pictures.

Lawrence Tierney shines as he rides down a cop in this wonder-a-minute fast moving loose livin and wild ride of a sizeable slab of American underbelly, thrilling with multiple characters on a road ride to the beach house bar of doom.

Cigarette flickin mean as can be mutha of the night Lawrence Tierney serves up almost at times a solo show of evil forties noir, although more the ably supported by Nan Leslie and Betty Lawford with superstar contrastin actin roles, way into this long night of very noir film noir.

Phantom Lady (1944)

Phantom Lady (1944) is a classic wrongfully accused lousy husband fantasy murder mystery film noir, a  luckless, dark and erotic tale of crime, generally in what is known as society’s underbelly.  

In Phantom Lady (Robert Siodmark, 1944, starring Franchot Tone, Ella Raines, Alan Curtis, Elisha Cook, Jr, Thomas Gomez and Regis Toomey) we have all of that on show, and more  

It’s one of the most purely enjoyable film noirs out there — unpretentious, fast and pleasing to watch. 

It has a frantic ‘rape by jazz’ drum scene that is famed through all cinema, and is a high point of the sub-style which we may carelessly call The Female Seeker Hero noir.