"The House On 92nd Street" (20th Century Fox, 1946)
A mind-numbingly dull WWII FBI procedural about a mole who was planted inside a Nazi spy ring in New York City. Supposedly based on a true story... But still dull as dishwater, at least in terms of its dramatic weight. I suppose for those interested in the history of law enforcement, seeing the nuts and bolts of these old-fashioned investigation might be of interest... I could barely stay awake while the film was on.

"Hangmen Also Die" (United Artists, 1943)

"Somewhere In The Night" (20th Century Fox, 1946)
An interesting, off-the-beaten-track film noir about an amnesiac soldier, recently discharged from the Marines, who returns to civilian life to rediscover his own past. Actor John Hodiak (who bears an uncanny resemblance to Val Kilmer...) plays his role with a sleepy-yet-cool reserve -- for a guy who thinks he's just an average joe, he sure seems to handle himself well when things start getting weird and dangerous in his old hometown of LA. Lee Strasberg (later of the Actor's Studio) delivers a compelling though flawed script... The first half of the film has an odd, stylish charm -- the flip, tough-guy rhetoric of the genre is tempered with a hefty dose of absurdism and playfulness. There are some great sequences and fun, zippy dialogue, although the prologue is far superior to the action part of the film. The second half lumbers along, and while it becomes clumsy, it's still entertaining and definitely a notch above many B-grade efforts of the same era. One particular treat is an extended role for Lloyd Nolan, who plays a too-cool, insouciant police detective -- his introduction is a real hoot, where he effortlessly steals the scene and leaves the audience wanting more... Lots more. You might not have heard of this film before -- I sure hadn't -- but it's definitely worth checking out!

"Born To Kill" (RKO, 1947)
An okay film noir which starts on a powerful note, with a brutal, remorseless murder, committed by a hot-tempered megalomaniac (played in a super-creepy fashion, by the super-creepy Lawrence Tierney), and discovered by a woman who later meets the murderer and is drawn to the sexiness of his violent, egotistical criminality. After the moody, unsettling introduction, though, this film kinda limps along. I found my attention wandering midway through, and more or less was just marking time until the end credits ran. Tierney's performance is noteworthy: he really had a menacing presence, which -- if you read up on him a bit -- was apparently pretty much what he was like in real life. This one might only be for the most diehard noir fans.

"Bubble" (2929 Films, 2006)

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