Nicholas Ray’s directorial debut is a deeply felt tale of young love struggling to survive in a cruel, unforgiving world. Farley Granger and Cathy O’Donnell are memorable as star-crossed lovers Bowie and Keechie in this darkly romantic and melancholy adaptation of Edward Anderson’s Depression-era crime classic Thieves Like Us. In Ray’s hands, it’s Romeo and Juliet for the film noir era.

Former Hitchcock lenser Ted Tetzlaff (THE WINDOW) expertly helms this slam-bang murder mystery about international intrigue, a missing map and murder. Pat O’Brien and Anne Jeffreys volley the snappy dialogue back and forth while the sinister bulk of Walter Slezak ominously hovers. The RKO lot effectively doubles as Central America with Percy Kilbride as a wiseacre Panama City hack driver. Don’t miss the astounding opening sequence!

This film always receives its share of votes as one of the finest noirs ever made - and the spiciest of its many ingredients is the unforgettable Marie Windsor. She and co-star Charles McGraw trade priceless purple putdowns as he ferries her on the rails from Chicago to L.A., where she’s scheduled to testify in a racket-busting trial. Plenty of switchbacks along the way, rendered with maximum punch and pace by director Richard Fleischer and producer Stanley Rubin. Also starring Jacqueline White.