Step by Step (1946)

Step by Step (1946) is a returning veteran post-war Nazis-in-California espionage and action thriller chase murder fugitive romance on the run film with noir qualities, and the amazing bodily properties of Lawrence Tierney, a truer man of film noir there rarely was, with this little coastal corker as one of his finest cracker crazed noiresque outings.

It Happened One Night (1934) properly introduced the couple-thrown-together trope, and it is true that this semi-noir Step By Step proves what a confused year 1946 may have been as it does indeed feature screwball elements, in light dashes, such as Anne Jeffreys in military uniform, and some carrying-across-the-threshold romance style of jinx.

The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942)

The Mystery of Marie Roget (1942) is a historical film noir mystery rendering of an early detective  crime solving story film starring Patric Knowles. 

The story in question is The Mystery of Marie Rogêt written by Edgar Allan Poe in 1842. The film, directed by Phil Rosen and produced by Universal Pictures, is set in 1889.

In 1889 Paris, musical comedy star Marie Roget has been missing for ten days. Police inspector Gobelin is investigating her disappearance. This is side shaving of film noir with the ambience of the old city creating ham where there should may not be so much ham, but also creating tension where possible, in a solid attempt to bring the mystery and the history as one to the screen.

The French Minister for Naval Affairs, Henri Beauvais, a friend of Marie's grandmother, Madame Cecile Roget, and her younger sister Camille, threatens to take Gobelin off the case. Therefore, Gobelin brings medical officer Dr. Paul Dupin into the case.