The reporter Michael 'Mike' Ward (John McGuire) is promoted in the newspaper when he becomes the key witness of the murder trial of Joe Briggs (Elisha Cook Jr.), a young man that he had seen threatening the victim Nick in his coffee shop and then leaving the place with Nick with sliced neck. Joe swears innocence and despite the circumstantial evidence, he is convicted and sentenced to the electric chair. Mike's fiancée Jane (Margaret Tallichet) feels uncomfortable with the sentence and believes that Joe might be innocent. Mike loses his confidence and feels remorse for his testimony accusing Joe.
One night, Mike brings Jane to his room and his nosy neighbor Albert Meng (Charles Halton) brings the landlord that expels Jane from the boarding house. Mike threatens Meng and later he sees a stranger with bulging eyes (Peter Lorre) on his floor that runs away from him. He has a weird nightmare and when he wakes up, he finds that Meng is murdered with sliced neck similar to Nick. Mike calls the police and is arrested as prime suspect of both murders. Jane seeks out the stranger on the streets to save her fiancé.
"Stranger on the Third Floor" is considered the first film-noir of the cinema history. The story is engaging, supported by magnificent cinematography, and the sequence of Mike's nightmare is fantastic. Peter Lorre is creepy and the conclusion is naive on the present days. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "O Homem dos Olhos Esbugalhados" ("The Man with Bulging Eyes")
One night, Mike brings Jane to his room and his nosy neighbor Albert Meng (Charles Halton) brings the landlord that expels Jane from the boarding house. Mike threatens Meng and later he sees a stranger with bulging eyes (Peter Lorre) on his floor that runs away from him. He has a weird nightmare and when he wakes up, he finds that Meng is murdered with sliced neck similar to Nick. Mike calls the police and is arrested as prime suspect of both murders. Jane seeks out the stranger on the streets to save her fiancé.
"Stranger on the Third Floor" is considered the first film-noir of the cinema history. The story is engaging, supported by magnificent cinematography, and the sequence of Mike's nightmare is fantastic. Peter Lorre is creepy and the conclusion is naive on the present days. My vote is seven.
Title (Brazil): "O Homem dos Olhos Esbugalhados" ("The Man with Bulging Eyes")