November was another whirlwind month for me. As I do every year, I watched a bunch of noir films for Noirvember (which I’ve listed on my Letterboxd here). I didn’t get around to watching as many new-to-me noirs as I would’ve liked, especially from the classic era, but overall I enjoyed what I watched and revisited. I also caught up with several new releases, which of course will continue in December before 2021 comes to an end. While I still packed in a good number of movies in November, my viewing slowed down a bit during the last couple of weeks as I’m in the midst of moving to… Los Angeles!! In just a couple of weeks, I’ll be starting a new job at KTLA. I’m beyond excited about the opportunity and am happy to be back living in Southern California. I’ve actually been sitting on this news since mid-October, with only a select few knowing about it, and I nearly mentioned it in last month’s post, but I decided to wait until closer to my big move (also to make sure I wasn’t actually dreaming and this is in fact reality). So movie-wise, December may end up being a lighter viewing month as I get adjusted to my new surroundings, but I do look forward to hitting up movie theaters in L.A. But before we get there, a quick look back at what I watched over the last 30 days…

New-to-Me: 40

Re-Watched: 20

New-to-Me Films by Decade:

• 1910s – 0
• 1920s – 0
• 1930s – 1
• 1940s – 8
• 1950s – 7
• 1960s – 3
• 1970s – 1
• 1980s – 6
• 1990s – 6
• 2000s – 1
• 2010s – 0
• 2020s – 7

List of New-to-Me Films:

1. The Web (1947)
2. Beyond the Forest (1949)
3. The Hit (1984)
4. Deep Cover (1992)
5. Eternals (2021)
6. Spencer (2021)
7. The Garment Jungle (1957)
8. Private Hell 36 (1954)
9. Dial 1119 (1950)
10. Strange Bargain (1949)
11. 5 Steps to Danger (1957)
12. Married to the Mob (1988)
13. King of New York (1990)
14. Homicide (1991)
15. The Outsiders (1983)
16. Skidoo (1968)
17. The Big Cube (1969)
18. Born to Win (1971)
19. To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
20. One False Move (1992)
21. The Lineup (1958)
22. Sirocco (1951)
23. Dark Waters (1944)
24. Angel (1937)
25. A Royal Scandal (1945)
26. Still of the Night (1982)
27. 52 Pick-Up (1986)
28. The Two Jakes (1990)
29. Twilight (1998)
30. Heist (2001)
31. Belfast (2021)
32. King Richard (2021)
33. tick, tick…BOOM! (2021)
34. House of Gucci (2021)
35. Annette (2021)
36. Classe tous risques (1960)
37. The Blue Lamp (1950)
38. That Way with Women (1947)
39. The Verdict (1946)
40. The Velvet Touch (1948)

A Few Favorite Discoveries:

The Web was my first film noir discovery of the month, and it did not disappoint. It’s a fun, engaging mystery thriller boasting an exceptional cast with noir heavyweights Edmond O’Brien, Ella Raines, William Bendix, and Vincent Price, who all have good moments throughout the film and work well off of one another.

Early last month, legendary actor Dean Stockwell passed away, an actor whose presence I always appreciated seeing in a film, whether as a child or an adult in roles big or small. Married to the Mob was his only film to earn him an Oscar nomination, so upon the news of his passing, I finally got around to watching it. Stockwell is the scene-stealer in his supporting role as a mob boss, but the movie as a whole has a really fantastic ensemble led by the always fabulous Michelle Pfeiffer.

The Lineup has been a film noir I’ve been meaning to check out for a couple of years now, so I was happy to see it scheduled on TCM’s Noir Alley during November. While it starts off a bit like a police procedural, the crime thriller really picks up when the focus shifts to the criminals led by Eli Wallach, who is really terrific in his role as a psychotic gangster. I also enjoyed the San Francisco scenery throughout, it’s a city I often enjoy seeing as a backdrop in noir films.