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''Stranger on the Third Floor'' is a 1940 American
film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American '' ...
directed by
Boris Ingster Boris Ingster was a Russian-American screenwriter, film and television director, and producer (October 29, 1903 in Riga, then in the Russian Empire - August 2, 1978 in Los Angeles, California) notable for his role in launching the film noir genre. ...
and starring
Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...
, John McGuire, and
Margaret Tallichet Margaret "Talli" Tallichet (March 13, 1914 – May 3, 1991) was an American actress and longtime wife of movie director William Wyler. Her best-known leading role was with Peter Lorre in the film noir ''Stranger on the Third Floor'' (1940) ...
, and featuring
Elisha Cook Jr. Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor famed for his work in films noir. According to Bill Georgaris of TSPDT: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film ...
It was written by Frank Partos. Modern research has shown that
Nathanael West Nathanael West (born Nathan Weinstein; October 17, 1903 – December 22, 1940) was an American writer and screenwriter. He is remembered for two darkly satirical novels: ''Miss Lonelyhearts'' (1933) and ''The Day of the Locust'' (1939), set r ...
wrote the final version of the screenplay, but was uncredited. ''Stranger on the Third Floor'' is often cited as the first "true" film noir of the classic period (1940–1959), though other films that fit the genre such as ''
Rebecca Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...
'' and '' They Drive by Night'' were released earlier. Nonetheless, it has many of the hallmarks of film noir: an urban setting, heavy shadows, diagonal lines, voice-over narration, a dream sequence, low camera angles shooting up multi-story staircases, and an innocent protagonist desperate to clear himself after being falsely accused of a crime.


Plot

Reporter Michael Ward is the key witness in a murder trial. 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. 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. One evening, outside his room in the house where he lives, Ward sees an odd-looking stranger. He chases this man down the stairs and out the front door where Ward loses track of him. 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. It turns out the neighbor was killed the same way as the man in the diner. Ward finds the body, notifies police and points out the similarities in the two murders. He is arrested and, in order to clear him, Jane sets out to find the strange man.


Cast

*
Peter Lorre Peter Lorre (; born László Löwenstein, ; June 26, 1904 – March 23, 1964) was a Hungarian and American actor, first in Europe and later in the United States. He began his stage career in Vienna, in the Austro-Hungarian Empire, before movin ...
as The Stranger * John McGuire as Mike Ward *
Margaret Tallichet Margaret "Talli" Tallichet (March 13, 1914 – May 3, 1991) was an American actress and longtime wife of movie director William Wyler. Her best-known leading role was with Peter Lorre in the film noir ''Stranger on the Third Floor'' (1940) ...
as Jane *
Charles Waldron Charles Waldron (December 24, 1874 – March 4, 1946) was an American stage and film actor, sometimes credited as Charles Waldron Sr., Chas. Waldron Sr., Charles D. Waldron or Mr. Waldron. Early life He was born and grew up in Waterford, New Y ...
as District Attorney *
Elisha Cook Jr. Elisha Vanslyck Cook Jr. (December 26, 1903 – May 18, 1995) was an American character actor famed for his work in films noir. According to Bill Georgaris of TSPDT: They Shoot Pictures, Don't They, Cook appeared in a total of 21 film ...
as Joe Briggs *
Charles Halton Charles Halton (March 16, 1876 – April 16, 1959) was an American character actor who appeared in over 180 films. Life and career Halton trained at the New York Academy of Dramatic Arts. He made his Broadway debut in 1901, after which he ...
as Albert Meng *
Ethel Griffies Ethel Griffies (born Ethel Woods; 26 April 1878 – 9 September 1975) was an English actress of stage, screen, and television. She is remembered for portraying the ornithologist Mrs. Bundy in Alfred Hitchcock's classic '' The Birds'' (1963). Sh ...
as Mrs. Kane, Michael's landlady *
Cliff Clark Cliff Clark (June 10, 1889 – February 8, 1953) was an American actor. He entered the film business in 1937 after a substantial stage career and appeared in over 200 Hollywood films. In the last years of his life, he also played in a numb ...
as Martin *
Oscar O'Shea Oscar O'Shea (8 October 1881 – 6 April 1960) was a Canadian-American character actor with over 100 film appearances from 1937 to 1953. Early years O'Shea was born in Peterborough, Ontario, Canada. Acting O'Shea was a comic actor who earne ...
as The Judge *
Alec Craig Alexander Younger Craig (30 March 1884 – 25 June 1945) was a Scottish-born American character actor, particularly known for his roles in ''Mutiny on the Bounty'' (1935) and ''National Velvet'' (1944). He was particularly known for portraying ...
as Briggs' Defense Attorney *
Emory Parnell Emory Parnell (December 29, 1892 – June 22, 1979) was an American vaudeville performer and actor who appeared in over 250 films in his 36-year career. Early years Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, Parnell trained as a musician at Morningside ...
as Detective


Cast notes

Margaret Tallichet, who played Jane, married
William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a Swiss-German-American film director and producer who won the Academy Award for Best Director three times, those being for '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942), '' The Best Years o ...
on October 23, 1938 at the lakeside home of Associated Press,
Margaret Tallichet a Bride
" ''New York Times'', October 24, 1938.
and continued to make films, including ''Stranger on the Third Floor'' in 1940. She made only two more films before she retired from acting.


Production

''Stranger on the Third Floor'' was Boris Ingster's directorial debut. Ingster, who was born in Latvia, was formerly a writer, and an associate of noted Russian director
Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scree ...
. Ingster would later become a television producer. He directed only three feature films in his career. 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 German Expressionism () consisted of several related creative movements in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin during the 1920s. These developments were part of a larger Expressionist movement in north and central ...
films. Muller, Eddie (March 11, 2018) Intro and outro to
Turner Classic Movie Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...
's presentation of ''Stranger on the Third Floor''
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."Arnold, Jeremy (ndg
"Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)"
TCM.com
Robert Portfino called it "a distinct break in style and substance with the preceding mystery, crime, detection and horror films of the 1930s." In their book ''Kings of the Bs'', Todd McCarthy and Charles Flynn wrote that ''Stranger on the Third Floor'' "is extremely audacious in terms of what it seeks to say about American society...The trial of the ex-con is a vicious rendering of the American legal system hard at work on an impoverished victim... e sinister role of police and prosecutors in obtaining confessions and convictions rehallmarks of the hard-boiled literature that paralleled and predicted what we call film noir."
Van Nest Polglase Van Nest Polglase (August 25, 1898 – December 20, 1968) was an American art director. He was nominated for six Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction. Best remembered as head of the design department at RKO Pictures, he worked ...
, who has been called "one of the most influential production designers in American cinema", was the film's art director. He had previously worked on ''
King Kong King Kong is a fictional giant monster resembling a gorilla, who has appeared in various media since 1933. He has been dubbed The Eighth Wonder of the World, a phrase commonly used within the franchise. His first appearance was in the novelizat ...
'' in 1933 and ''
The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story ...
'' in 1939, and worked on the sets for ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
''. His work on ''Stranger on the Third Floor'' "contributes mightily to the claustrophobic feel of the movie." Muller calls his work on this film "spectacular". 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 Royden Denslow Webb (October 3, 1888 – December 10, 1982) was an American film music composer. Webb has hundreds of film music credits to his name, mainly with RKO Pictures. He is best known for film noir and horror film scores, in particular f ...
, who was RKO's house composer at the time, contributes significantly to the film's mood.


Reception

Upon its release in 1940, Bpsley Crowther of ''The New York Times'' 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. But in every other respect, including Peter Lorre's brief role as the whack, it is utterly wild. 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." The staff writer at ''Variety'' also believed the film was derivative, and wrote "The familiar artifice of placing the scribe in parallel plight, with the newspaperman arrested for two slayings and only clearing himself because of his sweetheart's persistent search for the real slayer, is used...Boris Ingster's direction is too studied and when original, lacks the flair to hold attention. It's a film too arty for average audiences, and too humdrum for others." Dave Kehr of the ''Chicago Reader'' wrote: "An RKO
B-film A B movie or B film is a low-budget commercial motion picture. In its original usage, during the Golden Age of Hollywood, the term more precisely identified films intended for distribution as the less-publicized bottom half of a double feature ...
from 1940, done up in high Hollywood expressionism. It's absurdly overwrought (which was often the problem with the German variety), but interesting for it. The director, Boris Ingster, is better with shadows than with actors – venetian blinds carve up the characters with more fateful force than Paul Schrader's similar gambit in ''
American Gigolo ''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically i ...
'', and there's a dream sequence that has to be seen to be disbelieved." Another film reviewer, P.S. Harrison, wrote that "at
he film's He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' in ...
conclusion, one feels as if one had gone through a nightmare." On Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 86%, with an average rating of 6.6/10, based on seven professional reviews.


References


Notes


Bibliography

* Lyons, Arthur (2000). ''Death on the Cheap: The Lost B Movies of Film Noir''. New York: Da Capo. * Server, Lee (1998). "The Black List: Essential Film Noir" in ''The Big Book of Noir'', ed. Ed Gorman, Lee Server, and Martin H. Greenberg. New York: Carroll & Graf.


External links

* * * * * {{YouTube, 8WSgwUqYP9U, ''Stranger on the Third Floor'' film clip 1940 films American psychological thriller films American mystery thriller films American black-and-white films Film noir Films scored by Roy Webb 1940s psychological thriller films RKO Pictures films Films with screenplays by Nathanael West 1940s mystery thriller films 1940s English-language films 1940s American films