What's in a Title? Film Noir Trivia Quiz

Answer: Stranger on the Third Floor

The stranger is played by Peter Lorre who lurks in the shadows most of the time and doesn't actually speak until the last ten minutes. When he does speak, it's immediately obvious that he's totally nuts, which he admits very nonchalantly.

What "Stranger on the Third Floor" lacks in plot and acting skill (with the exception of Lorre) it makes up for in atmosphere and expressionistic visuals. Film noir academic Robert Porfirio (amongst others) claims it is the first film noir due to "the unique manner in which it combines elements from a variety of Hollywood genres - gangster/crime, detective, horror, even social problem - represents enough of a break with the 1930s to usher in the era of the film noir," and applauds "its depiction of an oppressive world filled with fear and paranoia."

About the red herrings (all released 1940): "Rebecca" was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on a novel of the same name by Daphne du Maurier, "Before I Hang" is a sci-fi/horror film starring Boris Karloff, and "The Grapes of Wrath" was directed by John Ford and based on John Steinbeck's novel of the same name.

Answer: Detour

The title "Detour" doesn't seem to refer to literally taking a different road so much as a metaphor for having to take a different path to the one planned.

"Detour" is so quintessentially noir stylistically that it verges on the ridiculous, but just falls the right side. Never have I seen such dramatic use of lighting and close-up on the bedraggled face of a man whilst a voiceover begins the tale as a flashback. Brilliant.

Director Edgar G. Ulmer made the film for Producers Releasing Corporation, one of the Poverty Row film studios. It has been alleged that this was not because he wasn't good enough to work at the top-flight Hollywood studios, but because he'd fallen foul of movie mogul Carl Laemmle and he'd been blacklisted. Ulmer had made the fatal mistake of having an affair with one of Laemmle's relatives' wives, to whom he eventually got married.

About the red herrings (all released 1945): "And Then There Were None" was directed by René Clair and based on Agatha Christie's novel of the same name, "Spellbound" was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and stars Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck, and "The Bells of St. Mary's" also stars Ingrid Bergman, alongside Bing Crosby this time.

Answer: Mildred Pierce

The hard-working mother is Mildred Pierce, played by Joan Crawford, and the chain of diners is called "Mildred's".

"Mildred Pierce" was based on a novel by James M. Cain, a quintessential noir writer who also worked as a screenwriter for several big studios although he didn't actually work on the "Mildred Pierce" screenplay. The film differs significantly from the novel. The main difference is that in the novel there is no murder, although Mildred almost kills her daughter who is even more manipulative and heinous in the novel. The deep pessimism of "Mildred Pierce" is that even if a woman can make it as a successful independent business-woman, something is going to bring her down. Unusually, Mildred's bane is not an evil man (although her second husband is certainly no angel) but her own daughter.

About the red herrings (all released 1945): "The Lost Weekend" was directed by Billy Wilder and was based on Charles R. Jackson's novel of the same name about an alcoholic writer, "The Body Snatcher" is a horror based on the by Robert Louis Stevenson story of the same name and starring both Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi, and "Fallen Angel" is a film noir directed by Otto Preminger.

Answer: The Stranger

"The Stranger" is an interesting title since there are three strangers in town; foreign-accented Konrad Meinike, the man who follows him to Harper (Mr Wilson), and the man they've gone to find (Professor Rankin). The battle of wits is fought between Mr Wilson and Professor Rankin, played brilliantly by Edward G. Robinson and Orson Welles respectively.

It was quite brave of Orson Welles to take on the part of a Nazi war criminal in 1946. The idea of such a monster living a respectable life in small-town America must have been quite alarming for many American viewers. Anybody could spot that Meinike was a bad egg, but the well-spoken, erudite professor who had just married the local judge's daughter?

About the red herrings (all released 1946): "The Best Years of Our Lives" was directed by William Wyler, "I See a Dark Stranger" is a spy film directed by Frank Launder and Sidney Gilliat, and "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers" is a film noir directed by Lewis Milestone and starring Barbara Stanwyck.

Answer: The Postman Always Rings Twice

"The Postman Always Rings Twice" was based on a short novel of the same name written by noir heavyweight James M. Cain. However, no explanation for the enigmatic title is offered in the book, which gave rise to wild speculation. Eventually, Cain himself let some light on the issue when he said it came from his friend Vincent Lawrence's anxiety while waiting for the postman to bring him news on a screenplay he had submitted being so great that he would hide out in the garden. Lawrence's trick was always thwarted, however, since the postman would always ring twice. The expression seemed fitting for a twist of fate in the novel, which, by the way, was dedicated to Lawrence. In the film, Frank actually explains the analogy.

About the red herrings (all released 1946): "It's a Wonderful Life" is a hugely popular comedy which always gets rolled out at Christmas, "She-Wolf of London" is a Universal Studios horror production, and "Two Smart People" was directed by Jules Dassin, who was known for making noir films, although this isn't one of them.

Answer: The Big Sleep

"The Big Sleep" is based on a novel of the same name written by the king of noir Raymond Chandler and published in 1939. In the novel it's quite specific that "the big sleep" means death, but not in the film.

Howard Hawks' film version is one of the heights of film noir. He captured the sharp, witty dialogue and world-weary stance of Chandler's private eye anti-hero Philip Marlowe brilliantly, although much credit has to go to Humphrey Bogart who played him like nobody else could. Amazingly, Bogart had already managed to play the other quintessential noir fiction private eye Sam Spade better than anybody else on the silver-screen in John Huston's version of Dashiell Hammett-penned "The Maltese Falcon" in 1941.

One complaint often voiced about "The Big Sleep" is that Marlowe ends up with the girl at the end of the film whereas Marlowe should be a loner, but then again the girl in question was Bogart's wife, the lovely Lauren Bacall, and Hollywood needs a happy ending.

About the red herrings (all released 1946): "The Razor's Edge" is based on a novel of the same name by W. Somerset Maugham, "Sister Kenny" is a biographical film about an Australian nurse, and "Duel in the Sun" is a western film directed by King Vidor.

Answer: The Killers

The title "The Killers" comes straight from the Ernest Hemmingway short story that the film is based on. Actually, only the first part is from Hemmingway's story, and all the flashback was written for the screenplay.

The flashbacks in "The Killers" are quite disorientating as they don't follow on chronologically and at times overlap, enhancing a trick film noir thrives on of weaving plots so complexly, with multiple double-crosses and betrayals, that the viewer inevitably gives up and hopes all will be revealed in the end. The bonus of this is that you are more likely to enjoy the imagery, quick-fire dialogue, and often sympathize with the plight of people who have done terrible things. All this goes to underline that narrative plot isn't always what noir is really about.

Burt Lancaster plays The Swede in "The Killers", which was his first film.

About the red herrings (all released 1946): "Song of the South" is a Walt Disney musical, "The Blue Dahlia" is a film noir whose screenplay was written by Raymond Chandler, and "My Darling Clementine" is a western movie directed by John Ford.

Answer: The Naked City

The film "The Naked City" was inspired by a book of photographs taken by Weegee called "Naked City", although the actual story was by Malvin Wald. It has been argued that what makes "The Naked City" so special is the location shots of New York, in particular the Lower East Side, rather than the plot, which is weak. The final sequence, which was filmed on the Williamsburg Bridge, is one of my favourites in film noir.

Many noir experts have said that "The Naked City" only just qualifies as film noir and has a lot in common with documentary film. It also boasts the anomaly of having a narrator who isn't one of the characters. Actually, the narrator is producer Mark Hellinger, and the film opens with him introducing us to New York as the camera flies over the city. During the film he almost mockingly comments on the characters' exploits. The film also closes with a shot similar to the opener and Hellinger tells us: "There are eight million stories in the naked city. This has been one of them." Classic.

About the red herrings (all released 1948): both "Key Largo" and "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre" were directed by John Huston and starred Humphrey Bogart, whereas "The Search" was directed by Fred Zinnemann and stars Montgomery Clift.

Answer: Sunset Boulevard

The Hollywood has-been, Norma Desmond, lives on Sunset Boulevard with her butler, Max. The down-on-his-luck screenwriter, Joe Gillis, ends up moving in with them and working for Norma on her "comeback" picture.

"Sunset Boulevard" is an extraordinary film right from the startling opening scene in which we see the floating corpse from below. However, it's much more than camera trickery (of which this shot is a rare example) that makes the film so special; from the ahead-of-its-time postmodern use of real has-beens playing has-beens, to the scathing attack on Hollywood that borders on autosarcophagy, Billy Wilder made American movie history with "Sunset Boulevard".

For my money, the star of the show is the butler Maximillian "Max" von Mayerling, who is played by Erich von Stroheim. Of course, Stroheim had been a star of the silent era and then also a director. In fact, Stroheim had directed Gloria Swanson, who here plays Norma Desmond, in "Queen Kelly" (1929). For added irony, a clip of the aforementioned film is shown in "Sunset Boulevard" as one of the has-been actress's performances, which it sort of is.

About the red herrings (all released 1950): "All About Eve" was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and stars Bette Davis, "The Glass Menagerie" was directed by Irving Rapper and based on a play by Tennessee Williams, who also wrote the screenplay, and "The West Point Story" is an awful musical starring James Cagney.

Answer: The Asphalt Jungle

The term "asphalt jungle" was probably coined by American journalist/author George Ade in one of his fables in the early 20th century, but really entered into language thanks to the novel by W. R. Burnett upon which Huston's film is based.

Huston had already made two classic film noirs, "The Maltese Falcon" and "Key Largo", but "The Asphalt Jungle" is slightly different. First of all, the main event is a heist. The heist is filmed beautifully, and the movement of the actors is something akin to ballet. Secondly, most of the main characters gain our sympathy despite the fact that they are hardened criminals. In fact, the most abhorrent character is the highly-respectable, albeit crooked, lawyer.

About the red herrings (all released 1950): "D.O.A." is a film noir directed by Rudolph Maté, "I Was a Shoplifter" (what a great title!) is a crime film directed by Charles Lamont, and "Outrage" is highly significant since it was directed by trailblazing female director Ida Lupino, but also was one of very few films of the era that dealt with rape.