Stranger on the Third Floor

Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) is a film noir thriller, featuring Peter Lorre, co-written by Nathaniel West, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The picture was directed by Boris Ingster. It is often referred to as the first "true" film noir of the classic period (1940-1959). It has many of the hallmarks of noir: an urban setting, heavy shadows, diagonal lines, low camera angles shooting up multi-storey staircases, and an innocent protagonist... more

Stranger on the Third Floor (1940) is a film noir thriller, featuring Peter Lorre, co-written by Nathaniel West, and released by RKO Radio Pictures. The picture was directed by Boris Ingster. It is often referred to as the first "true" film noir of the classic period (1940-1959). It has many of the hallmarks of noir: an urban setting, heavy shadows, diagonal lines, low camera angles shooting up multi-storey staircases, and an innocent protagonist falsely accused of a crime and desperate to clear himself. Reporter Michael Ward is the key witness in a murder trial. His evidence – that he saw the accused Briggs standing over the body of a man in a diner – is instrumental in having Briggs deemed guilty. Afterwards Ward’s fiancee Jane is worried whether Ward was correct in what he saw and Ward becomes haunted by this question. Next Ward’s neighbour is killed the same way as the man in the diner. But Ward is arrested for trying to point this out to the police. And so Jane goes out to try... less