[Handyman Joe]

Holy cow, just stumbled on this thread - you guys are talking my language here!

I've been watching mostly noir for the past two years and have amassed over 150 of them. Here's 10 of my favourites

1. Act of Violence - Robert Ryan as a dark avenger casting a shadow over Van Heflins sunny post war existence. The morality shifts throughout until the redemptive climax deals the final hand.

2. The Man Who Cheated Himself - Great mix of early 40s visual noir and the later documentary style. The extended closer is tense and brilliant.

3. Border Incident - Some truly hellish vignettes illuminate this cautionary tale of people smuggling over the Tex-Mex border. Check that sucking pit! And Charles McCraws unbeatable thuggish mug lit up like a Durch master painting.

4. Nora Prentiss - Few noirs put their protagonist through a ride as tough as this - dude even loses his face. Classic one way ticket to doomsville, beautifully shot.

5. Farewell My Lovely - the 70s one starring the greatest noir King of them all - Robert Mitchum. I love the decayed, end of the road feel that permeates this movie - for my money one of the great Chandler adaptations. For a guilty pleasure try Michael Winners take on The Big Sleep - film noir meets sleazy British trash - it's a road accident you can't take your eyes off.

6. The Crack-Up - woozy what the hell art world shenanigans - lean, twisty and Clair Trevor gives it heft. Underrated little gem.

7. Phantom Lady - I love Ella Raines and she's never better than here - a doughty secretary plunging through the noir underworld to clear her boss. Among the gargoyles she encounters a demonic Elisha Cook Jnr.

8. The Devil Thumbs a Ride - I love, love, loved this lean little piece of twisted trash. Lawrence Tierney is pure implacable evil, but it all feels fun rather than a gruelling ordeal (cf The Hitchhiker). Seek this one out.

9. The Line-Up - The fate of The Man is one of my favourite scenes in all noir. This starts off slow but gathers speed across a succession of memorable set pieces ending in a great car chase. Don't miss the Ellroy/Mueller commentary - an all time classic.

10. Hangover Square - just too late for a bonfire night viewing - if you've seen it you know what I'm talking about! Laird Cregar, Linda Darnell, gothic atmospherics and a drop dead brilliant soundtrack - a real classic.