The Iron Curtain (1948)

The Iron Curtain (1948) is an early Cold War espionage and infiltration thriller based on the breaking up of a real Canadian spy ring in the immediate aftermath of World War 2. 

It didn't take long, but shortly after World War 2 ended it became apparent that the liberators of Berlin and the nation which defeated the Nazis in Germany became the main enemy of the United States, and by association here, and everywhere, Canada.

It is in fact by all accounts the first feature film to dramatize and propagandise the new-fangled Cold War of the period, which could really be said to have run from 1947 until 1991, and seen the rise and development of film noir as one of its key cultural expressors.

Chicago Deadline (1949)

Chicago Deadline (1949) is a journalism and media murder conspiracy film noir with Alan Ladd as the laddish reporter with the jump on the police, as a deadly chase takes place in unravelling the mystery of a murdered lass played by Donna Reed.

In the shadowed alleys of the alleys shadowed by the shadows of Chicago's seedy alley Alan Ladd-based underbelly, reporter Alan Ladd stumbles upon the lifeless form of a mysterious woman, her tragic demise shrouded in the haze of what is surely a noir boarding house murder mystery.

Yet, within the pages of her address book lies a tantalizing glimpse into a world of intrigue and decadence—a world that beckons Ladd into a labyrinthine quest for truth.

As Ladd delves deeper into the enigmatic past of the deceased, guided by the alluring June Havoc, a society dame with secrets of her own, he becomes ensnared in a web of deceit and danger. 

Intrigue (1947)

In post-war China, a disgraced former USAF pilot flies smuggled goods into the country. 

He attempts to force his immediate superior, Ramon Perez (Marvin Miller), to pay him more, but Perez resists, so Brad steals the cargo back.

Intrigue (1947) is not featured on the great and many bountiful film noir discussion websites and books because it is a classy example of the film noir style. 

It does however bear repeat viewing, and combines noir underworld themes with geo-politics and American foreign policy, to create an interesting set of circumstances in post-war China ― narrative forming, and not racially aware in a fashion that was not uncommon in the 1940s, although it has no intention to offend.

Intrigue’s intention in fact, as its happy ending ― an element which pulls it away from its underworld noir roots, as well as the rootless and entrepreneurial criminality portrayed by George Raft, as it central character.

Unlike many a noir hero, because he is in fact a  war hero. George Raft as Brad Dunham comes good ― he’s great with the kids, which we see in several quite uncomfortable scenes in which young Chinese actors make jokes about Brooklyn and George Raft ruffles a lot of hair. And there is the happy ending.

This is war after all, and foreign policy. Via the powers of journalism, the morally dubious become virtuous and all star American values are installed.