Billy Wilder’s 1944 “Double Indemnity” was voted the Greatest Film Noir of All Time, according to Voting Tabulator Angelo A. D’Arminio Jr., who reported that a whopping 88 ballots were cast. The Barbra Stanwyck/Fred MacMurray/Edward G. Robinson classic finished well ahead of “Out of the Past,” 76-61. “The Maltese Falcon,” “The Big Sleep,” “Laura,” “The Third Man,” and “Touch of Evil” were up next.
Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) 76
Out of the Past (Tourneur) 1947 61
The Maltese Falcon (Huston) 1941 59
The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946) 49
Laura (Preminger) 1944 48
The Third Man (Reed) 1949 48
Touch of Evil. (Welles) 1958 48
The Killers (Siodmak) 1946 46
Sunset Boulevard (Wilder) 1950 45
In a Lonely Place (Ray) 1950 44
Sweet Smell of Success. (Mackendrick) 1957 44
The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950) 44
The Killing. (Kubrick) 1956 39
The Night of the Hunter (Laughton) 38
The Big Heat (Lang) 1953 36
Night and the City (Dassin) 1950 35
Scarlet Street. (Lang) 1945 34
Kiss Me Deadly (Robert Aldrich, 1955) 32
Pickup on South Street. (Fuller) 1953 27
Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1950) 26
Mildred Pierce (Curtiz) – 1945 24
Detour (1945) – Edgar G. Ulmer 19
Murder My Sweet (1944) 19
The Lady From Shanghai (Orson Welles, 1948) 19
Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) 18
The Set-Up (1949) – Robert Wise. 18
Gilda- Charles Vidor 17
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946) 16
Criss Cross (Robert Siodmak, 1949) 14
Force of Evil (1948) 14
Key Largo, 14
Chinatown (1974) 13
The Woman in the Window – Fritz Lang 1944 13
Elevator to the Gallows (Malle)1958 12
Raw Deal 1948 US 12
The Naked City (1948) 12
Leave Her to Heaven, 11
Notorious. (Hitchco*ck) 1946 11
The Big Combo (1955) 11
On Dangerous Ground (1951) – Nicholas Ray. 10
Shadow of a Doubt. (Hitchco*ck) 10
The Prowler (Losey) – 1951 10
White Heat. (Walsh) 10
Ace in the Hole, 9
Born to Kill (1947) – Robert Wise. 9
The Narrow Margin (1952) – Richard Fleischer. 9
The Seventh Victim (1943) – Mark Robson. 9
They Live by Night- Nicholas Ray 9
Act of Violence, 7
D.O.A. (Ralph Mate, 1950) 7
Nightmare Alley (Edmuch Goulding, 1947) 7
Phantom Lady (1944) 7
Rififi (Dassin) 7
Strangers on a Train, 7
Nightmare Alley (2021) 6
Stray Dog (1949) – Akira Kurosawa. 6
The Big Clock, 6
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers 6
This Gun for Hire (Tuttle) 6
Call Northside 777 (1948) 5
Crossfire (Edward Dmytryk, 1947) 5
Fallen Angel (1945) 5
Odd Man Out. (Reed) 5
The Blue Dahlia, 5
The Breaking Point (Curtiz) – 1950 5
The Long Goodbye 5
Vertigo (Alfred Hitchco*ck, 1958, USA) 5
Brute Force 4
Dark Passage (Daves) 4
High and Low, 4
I Wake Up Screaming 4
Le Doulos 4
Shoot the Piano Player 4
The Leopard Man, 4
The Reckless Moment (Ophüls) 4
The Stranger (Welles) – 1946 4
Where the Sidewalk Ends (Preminger) – 1950 4
Blade Runner (1982 3
Bound 3
It Always Rains on Sunday 3
Murder by Contract 3
Pitfall 3
Ride the Pink Horse 1946 US 3
The Dark Corner 3
The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953) 3
The Wrong Man, 3
99 River Street (1953) – Phil Karlson . 2
A Place in the Sun. (Stevens) 2
All the King’s Men, 2
Angel Face (Otto Preminger, 1953) 2
Angels with Dirty Faces 2
Blue Velvet 2
Bob Le Flambeur 2
Body and Soul 1947 US 2
Branded to Kill, 2
Breathless (Jim McBride, 1983, USA) 2
Cape Fear 2
Caught (Ophüls) 2
Cry of the City 2
Fargo 2
High Sierra (1941) – Raoul Walsh. 2
His Kind of Woman (Farrow) 2
Killers Kiss 2
Kiss of Death 2
Le Cercle Rouge (1970) 2
Moonrise, 2
Phantom Lady 2
Port of Shadows 1938 France 2
Se7ven 2
Sorry Wrong Number, 2
Suddenly 2
Suspicion 2
The Bribe 2
The Dark Mirror, 2
The Glass Key 2
The Grifters 2
The Harder They Fall 2
The House on Telegraph Hill (Wise) 2
The Naked Kiss 2
The Sniper 2
The Sound of Fury (Endfield) – 1950 2
The Suspect 2
Thieves’ Highway (1949) – Jules Dassin. 2
Too Late for Tears, 2
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi 2
While The City Sleeps (1956) 2
12 Angry Men (1957) 1
48 Oras 1
A Kiss Before Dying 1
Across the Bridge 1
Aka Le Quai des brumes. 1
Alpha City (Eckhart Schmidt, 1985, West Germany) 1
Alphaville 1
Anatomy of a Murder (1959) 1
Angel Guts: Red Classroom (Chusei Sone, 1979, Japan) 1
Apenas Un Delincuente / Hardly a Criminal (1949) 1
As Tears Go By (Kar-Wai Wong, 1988, Hong Kong) 1
Bad Day at Black Rock 1
Bagong Hari 1
Beat the Devil 1
Beats Being Dead (Christian Petzold, 2010, Germany) 1
Blackboard Jungle, 1
Blast of Silence 1
Blood on the Moon (1948) – Robert Wise. 1
Blood Simple 1
Body Heat (1981) 1
Border Incident 1
Brighton Rock (1948) 1
Bulaklak sa City Jail 1
Bullet in the Head 1
Caged 1
Casablanca (1942) 1
Christmas Holiday 1
Citizen Kane (1941)] 1
Condemned (84) 1
Crashout 1
Crime of Passion 1
Crime Wave 1
Cry Danger 1
Cure (97) 1
Daybreak (Compton Bennet, 1948) 1
Dead Calm (Phillip Noyce, 1989, Australia) 1
Dead Ringer 1
Deadline at Dawn 1
Deception 1
Detective Story 1
Devil In a Blue Dress 1
Dial M for Murder, 1
Drunken Angel (1948) 1
Endless Desire – Imamura 1
Farewell my lovely 1
Gaslight, 1
Ghost in the Shell 1
Hangmen Also Die 1
Heat 1
Hell is a City, 1
High Noon (1952 1
Hitch-Hiker, The (1953) 1
Hollow Triumph (aka The Scar) (Sekely) 1
Homicidal (William Castle, 1961, USA) 1
Hud, 1
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 1
Jaguar (79) 1
Killing of a Chinese Bookie – Cassavetes 1
Killing, The 1
La Bete Humaine (Renoir) 1
LA Confidential 1
La Otra / The Other One (1946) 1
Lady From Shanghai 1
Lady in the Lake (Robert Montgomery, 1946, USA) 1
Lady of Burlesque, 1
Le Jour Se Leve (Daybreak) 1
Le Samourai 1
Le Trou 1
Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955) 1
Lost Highway 1
LURED (1947); 1
M (1931) [#128 1
Macao (Sternberg) 1
Manhunter (1986) 1
Maynila sa Mga Kuko ng Liwanag 1
Memento 1
Miller’s Crossing, 1
Million Dollar Baby (2004) 1
Minority Report (2002) 1
Monsieur Verdoux. (Chaplin) 1
My Name is Julia Ross 1
Niagara 1
Night Moves 1
No Way Out (1950) 1
On the Waterfront. (Kazan) 1
Panic in the Streets 1
Pepe le Moko 1
Police Officer (Tomu Uchida, 1933, Japan) 1
Possessed, 1
Psycho (1960) 1
Pushover (Richard Quine, 1954) 1
Quicksand (1950) – Irving Pichel. 1
Rear Window (1954) 1
Requiem For A Heavyweight 1
Road House (1948) 1
Road to Salina (Georges Lautner, 1970, France) 1
Rope, 1
Scarface (1932) 1
Second Sight (Dominik Graf, 1982, West Germany) 1
Sexy Beast 1
Shuffle (Sogo Ishii, 1981, Japan) 1
Silence of the Lambs 1
Slightly Scarlet (1956) 1
Some Like It Hot (1959 1
Somewhere in the Night 1
Spellbound 1
Strange Days 1
Stranger on the Third Floor 1
Taxi Driver 1
The Aura (Fabián Bielinsky, 2005) 1
The Bad and the Beautiful. (Minnelli) 1
The Bad Sleep Well (Akria Kurosawa, 1960) 1
The Band Wagon 1
The Big Knife 1
The Bigamist (Lupino) 1
The Black Angel, 1
The Blue Gardenia 1
The Broken Star (1956) – Lesley Selander. 1
The Chase (Arthur Ripley, 1946) 1
The Crooked Way (1949) – Robert Florey. 1
The Desperate Hours 1
The Element of Crime 1
The Friends of Eddie Coyle – Yates 1
The Fugitive (47) 1
The Gunfighter. 1
The Head (Victor Trivas, 1959, West Germany) 1
The Killers Kiss 1
The Lady Vanishes, 1
The Last Seduction 1
The Lineup 1
The lost weekend 1
The Man from Majorca (Bo Widerberg, 1984, Sweden) 1
The Man on the Eiffel Tower, 1
The Naked Spur 1
The Nest of the Cuckoo Birds (Bert Williams, 1965, USA) 1
The Night and the City 1
The nightmare alley, 1
The Pawnbroker 1
The Phantom Lady 1
The Red Spectacles (Mamoru Oshii, 1987, Japan) 1
The Rose Tattoo, 1
The Shanghai Gesture (Sternberg) 1
The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 1
The Spiral Staircase, 1
The Unsuspected 1
The Untouchables (1987) 1
The Usual Suspects, 1
The Verdict (1946) 1
They Drive By Night 1
They Won’t Believe Me 1
Thief 1
T-Men 1947 US 1
Try and Get Me!/The Sound of Fury (1950) 1
Two Moon Junction (Zalman King, 1988, USA) 1
Une si jolie petite plage (Such a Pretty Little Beach) (Allégret) 1
Wake in Fright 1
Woman on the Beach (Renoir) 1
Woman on the Run 1
Zodiac 1
Zoom In: Rape Apartments (Naosuke Kurosawa, 1980, Japan) 1
88 ballots cast.
Music icon Chuck Berry has captured the top spot for the second time in our yearly rock pollings. Previously, Berry’s “Maybelline” was voted favorite song of 1956, and the following year, his “Roll Over Beethoven” finished second in a close contest with Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog.” According to Voting Tabulator Angelo A. D’Arminio Jr., who reported that 36 ballots were cast, “Johnny B. Goode” handily outdistanced the Everly Brothers’ “All I Have to Do is Dream,” 429-303.
1 Johnny B. Goode – Chuck Berry 429
2 All I Have to Do is Dream – Everly Brothers 303
3 Smoke Gets in Your Eyes – The Platters 292
4 Summertime Blues – Eddie Cochran 279
5 Since I Don’t Have You – The Skyliners 258
6 La Bamba – Richie Valens 248
7 Poor Little Fool – Rickie Nelson 211
8 Good Golly Miss Molly – Little Richard 201
9 Rave On – Buddy Holly 199
10 Tears on My Pillow – Little Anthony and The Imperials 183
11 Do You Wanna Dance – Bobby Freeman 180
12 Fever – Peggy Lee 179
13 Chantilly Lace – The Big Bopper 157
14 Rock n Roll is Here to Stay – Danny and the Juniors 147
15 Sweet Little Sixteen – Chuck Berry 145
16 Stagger Lee – Lloyd Price 139
17 Donna – Richie Valens 129
18 Rumble – Link Wray 126
19 It’s Only Make Believe – Conway Twitty 123
20 Twilight Time – The Platters 122
21 Yakety Yak – The Coasters 122
22 Night Time (Is the Right Time) – Ray Charles 113
23 Lonely Teardrops – Jackie Wilson 110
24 I Wonder Why – Dion and the Belmonts 108
25 Little Star – The Elegants 95
26 It’s So Easy – Buddy Holly and the Crickets 90
27 Tequila – The Champs 70
28 One For My Baby – Frank Sinatra 69
29 Tom Dooley – The Kingston Trio 69
30 Ten Commandments of Love (Moonglows) 67
31 C’mon Everybody – Eddie Cochran 60
32 Lollipop – Chordettes 60
33 Come On, Let’s Go – Ritchie Valens 56
34 It’s All in the Game – Tommy Edwards 55
35 Splish Splash – Bobby Darin 51
36 Maybe (Chantels) 50
37 Willie and the Hand Jive – Johnny Otis 50
38 Volare (Domenico Modugno) 48
39 Whole Lotta Lovin – Fats Domino 47
40 Milestones – Miles Davis 45
41 Rockin’ Robin – Bobby Day 45
42 One Night (Elvis Presley) 43
43 For Your Precious Love – The Impressions 41
44 Sixteen Candles (The Crests) 40
45 To Know Him Is to Love Him – The Teddy Bears 40
46 Maybe Baby – Buddy Holly & The Crickets 39
47 A Lover’s Question – Clyde McPhatter 38
48 Lonesome Town – Ricky Nelson 36
49 I’m a Fool to Want You – Billie Holiday 35
50 Big River – Johnny Cash 32
36 ballots cast.
Best Popular Songs of 1959 Polling!
Now, we look closely at the final year of the 1950’s. As always, your Top 20 (or less if you prefer) can be presented chronologically, alphabetically, or in order of preference. My own list, as always, is alphabetical:
Broken-Hearted Melody Sarah Vaughan
Come Softly To Me Fleetwoods
Dedicated to the One I Love Shirelles
Dream Lover Bobby Darin
Hushabye Mystics
I Only Have Eyes For You Flamingos
Kansas City Wilbert Harrison
Let It Be Me Everly Brothers
Lonely Boy Paul Anka
Mack the Knife Bobby Darin
Mr. Blue Fleetwoods
Only Sixteen Sam Cooke
Peggy Sue Got Married Buddy Holly
Put Your Head on My Shoulder Paul Anka
Shout Isley Brothers
A Teenager in Love Dion and the Belmonts
Teen Angel Mark Dinning
Til I Kissed You Everly Brothers
What a Difference a Day Makes Dinah Washington
What’d I Say Ray Charles
——————–TOP SONGS OF 1959———————
1 What’d I Say Ray Charles
2 I Only Have Eyes For You Flamingos
3 Mack The Knife Bobby Darin
4 There Goes My Baby Drifters
5 Shout Isley Brothers
6 Kansas City Wilbert Harrison
7 Poison Ivy Coasters
8 Money Barrett Strong
9 Love Potion No. 9 Clovers
10 You’re So Fine Falcons
11 Handy Man Jimmy Jones
12 Sea Of Love Phil Phillips with the Twilights
13 Baby What You Want Me To Do Jimmy Reed
14 A Teenager In Love Dion & the Belmonts
15 I’m Ready Fats Domino
16 Charlie Brown Coasters
17 Back In The U.S.A. Chuck Berry
18 Come Softly To Me Fleetwoods
19 Beyond The Sea Bobby Darin
20 Dedicated To The One I Love Shirelles
21 Dream Lover Bobby Darin
22 It’s Late Ricky Nelson
23 Sleep Walk Santo & Johnny
24 Sweet Nothin’s Brenda Lee
25 Fannie Mae Buster Brown
26 Hey Little Girl Dee Clark
27 Harlem Nocturne Viscounts
28 A Big Hunk O’ Love Elvis Presley
29 Somethin’ Else Eddie Cochran
30 Little Queenie Chuck Berry
31 You Got What It Takes Marv Johnson
32 That’s Why (I Love You So) Jackie Wilson
33 Forty Miles Of Bad Road Duane Eddy
34 (‘Til) I Kissed You Everly Brothers
35 Along Came Jones Coasters
36 Memphis, Tennessee Chuck Berry
37 Mr. Blue Fleetwoods
38 Road Runner Bo Diddley
39 A Fool Such As I Elvis Presley
40 I Want To Walk You Home Fats Domino
41 Mary Lou Ronnie Hawkins
42 What A Difference A Day Makes Dinah Washington
43 Kansas City Little Richard
44 Let The Good Times Roll Ray Charles
45 Rooster Blues Lightnin’ Slim
46 Only Sixteen Sam Cooke
47 The Battle Of New Orleans Johnny Horton
48 Linda Lu Ray Sharpe
49 Tallahassee Lassie Freddy Cannon
50 (Sorry) I Ran All The Way Home Impalas
51 It Doesn’t Matter Anymore Buddy Holly
52 Let It Be Me Everly Brothers
53 Love You So Ron Holden
54 Running Bear Johnny Preston
55 This I Swear Skyliners
56 Personality Lloyd Price
57 I’ll Be Satisfied Jackie Wilson
58 That Is Rock And Roll Coasters
59 Red River Rock Johnny & the Hurricanes
60 Be My Guest Fats Domino
61 El Paso Marty Robbins
62 Guitar Boogie Shuffle Virtues
63 I’m Gonna Be A Wheel Someday Fats Domino
64 Say Man Bo Diddley
65 What In The World’s Come Over You Jack Scott
66 Woo-Hoo Rock-A-Teens
67 Almost Grown Chuck Berry
68 Dance With Me Drifters
69 Shimmy, Shimmy, Ko-Ko-Bop Little Anthony & Imperials
70 Teen Beat Sandy Nelson
71 Hushabye Mystics
72 Baby Talk Jan & Dean
73 Broken-Hearted Melody Sarah Vaughan
74 Where Or When Dion & the Belmonts
75 Bad Girl Miracles
76 Hully Gully Olympics
77 Forty Days Ronnie Hawkins
78 Mountain Of Love Harold Dorman
79 The Angels Listened In Crests
80 Way Down Yonder In New Orleans Freddy Cannon
81 Lavender Blue Sammy Turner
82 Babalu’s Wedding Day Eternals
83 Don’t Mess With My Man Irma Thomas
84 (Do The) Mashed Potatoes Nat Kendrick & the Swans
85 Take Out Some Insurance Jimmy Reed
86 We Got Love Bobby Rydell
87 Put Your Head On My Shoulder Paul Anka
88 The Happy Organ Dave “Baby” Cortez
89 Peggy Sue Got Married Buddy Holly
90 Lipstick On Your Collar Connie Francis
91 Never Be Anyone Else But You Ricky Nelson
92 Lonely Boy Paul Anka
93 Lonely Blue Boy Conway Twitty
94 I Need Your Love Tonight Elvis Presley
95 I’m Gonna Get Married Lloyd Price
96 Teen Angel Mark Dinning
97 Bad Boy Larry Williams
98 Venus Frankie Avalon
99 Kissin’ Time Bobby Rydell
100 Rockin’ Little Angel Ray Smith
20 more worth mentioning.
101 Who’s That Knocking Genies
102 Go To The Mardi Gras Professor Longhair
103 It Was I Skip & Flip
104 Dead Man Stroll Revels
105 Good Good Lovin’ James Brown
106 Crackin’ Up Bo Diddley
107 Hot Rod Lincoln Charlie Ryan
108 Brand New Cadillac Vince Taylor
109 There Is Something On Your Mind Big Jay McNeely & Little Sonny
110 White Lightning George Jones
111 Leave My Kitten Alone Little Willie John
112 Talk That Talk Jackie Wilson
113 Just To Be With You Passions
114 Six Nights A Week Crests
115 Here Comes Summer Jerry Keller
116 Bongo Rock Preston Epps
117 Just Keep It Up Dee Clark
118 Rockin’ In The Jungle Eternals
119 Darling Lorraine Knockouts
120 Living Doll Cliff Richard
