Laura (1944, Otto Preminger)
This film pleasantly surprised us. We were expecting something like The Maltese Falcon or Double Indemnity, you know, film noir. We were thrilled to discover that it was more similar to a straightforward crime movie than anything else. The only obvious film noir aspect would be the voiceover. We were particularly pleased with the titular character; unlike in most film noirs, she was three-dimensional. She has personality and strength of character, she's not dependent on anyone else but herself (eg. she clearly has a high-ranking position at her job), but more importantly she has no ulterior motive, which is an exception to the rule (with film noir women).
So, what other reasons do we have to like this movie? Pretty much everything. Characters are interesting and the interaction between them is well written. The overall atmosphere is quite engaging. In addition, we're fans of well told crime stories. By the way, Jeff Bridges must be the illegitimate son of Vincent Price, right?
