Film Noir
The Green Cockatoo (1937): Graham Greene Takes Flight
Shot in 1937 and first released in 1939, The Green Cockatoo is the 2nd in a string of 21 Graham Greene stories to be adapted into motion pictures.
By Tod Molloy
Book Adaptations
Visit this page for comprehensive, human-written reviews about film and television projects that have been adapted from books.
Film Noir
The Original ‘Scarface’ (1932) Review: The World Is Yours
Released to fanfare and derision in April 1932, Howard Hawks’ brilliant Scarface is the ultimate Pre-Code gangster movie.
Film Noir
‘City Streets’ (1931) Review: Gangster Cowboy Noir
Released by Paramount Pictures in April 1931, Rouben Mamoulian’s City Streets is an overlooked classic of the Pre-Code era.
Film Noir
‘The Public Enemy’ (1931) Review: Pre-Code Beer and Blood
With a $150,000 budget and box office returns exceeding $550,000, The Public Enemy followed Little Caesar in a string of commercially successful gangster films.
Film Noir
‘Little Caesar’ (1931) Review: A Brutal Slice Of Early Noir
Based on the novel by W.R. Burnett, Little Caesar paved the way for films like The Godfather, Mean Streets and King Of New York.
Neo-Noir
Jim Thompson’s ‘The Killer Inside Me’ (1952): Book vs. Movie
Published in 1952, ‘The Killer Inside Me’ marked Thompson’s bold return to Noir fiction after a brief stint working as a journalist.
Neo-Noir
‘Killing Them Softly’ (2012): Drowning In Your Hope And Change
When their underground poker operation gets robbed by bumbling amateurs, the Louisiana mob goes into crisis mode. Time to call in Jackie Cogan.
Film Noir
Graham Greene’s ‘The Third Man’ (1949): Book vs. Movie
Middling novelist Rollo Martins arrives in partitioned Vienna to accept a nebulous job offer from his boyhood friend, Harry Lime.
Neon Noir
Michael Mann’s ‘Thief’ (1981): Burn The System To The Ground
Released to widespread critical acclaim, ‘Thief’ laid the course for Michael Mann’s brilliant directorial career.
Film Noir
‘Somewhere In The Night’ (1946): Remembering Forgotten Noir
4 years before the groundbreaking ‘No Way Out,’ writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz delivered his forgotten classic, ‘Somewhere In The Night’.
