Noir By the Numbers: Top 30 Film Noir Actors

[@drnoir33]

Yes, the ranking on the second honorable mention should be #31, MANHANDLED was released in 1949, and KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE was released in 1950. Cut-and-paste typos strike again! :)

[@BruceClarke-m7h]

You're the greatest Doc, fantastic list and the Tchaikovsky just put it over the top!

[@drnoir33]

Thank you!

[@charlesflinnill978]

Outstanding compilation, the movie industry most famous genre during its best era, 1940 -1960.

[@drnoir33]

Thank you!

[@roadtrip2943]

I know of these excellent actors way more than any group since the 1970s. They portrayed intense conflicted characters under extreme stress of great complexity

[@KevinPowers-yo4lu]

Enjoyable list, stylishly done. Just saddened that my hero of film noir, Alan Ladd, wasn't acknowledged. This Gun For Hire and The Glass Key (1942), The Blue Dahlia and Calcutta (1946), and Appointment With Danger (1951) are some of my favorite noirs.

[@drnoir33]

Thank you for watching and for your kind words. Alan Ladd, on whom my mother once had a substantial crush, ranks #40 overall. This is out of 1,258 actors with at least one credited appearance (first 10 listed) in the 300 films most often cited as noir.

[@Badastro59]

I absolutely love this, My Grandmother loved Films, And instilled my love Of Noir, My mother actually named me After, Glenn Ford, Also only in Old films Are Fat men treated and portrayed fairly, Raymond Burr, Thomas Gomez, Laird Gregar, William Conrad, Sydney Greenstreet, not Noir, but Burl Ives, Just as Backround, my Childhood ( when not sick) was in Circuses, Carnivals, And County fairs, After a few years Recovering from Cancer, I worked in Law enforcement, night patrols, Armoured Car Escort, and Private investigation , I tend to be foolhardy, but always fall on my feet ( mostly) married 34 years, to a Beautful Dame, Never let people tell you who you should be. THANKS FOR A GREAT VIDEO,

[@drnoir33]

You are very welcome! Thank you for watching and for your interesting life story. Laird Cregar (tied for #78) breaks my heart, as he died from a heart attack at the age of 31 after losing too much weight too quickly in order to get "leading man" roles. (In my mind, Vincent Price became what Cregar aspired to be.) Burr was a tremendous actor, and one of the truly good people in Hollywood history. Gomez elevated every movie he was in, and the Lorre-Greenstreet pairing was always special.

[@Badastro59]

@@drnoir33 thanks for the reply, yes Laird had a sad end, He was So good in "I wake up screaming " I had been there myself ,watching a Girl I knew though her workplace window , trying to get the couage to ask her for a date. Victor Mature on the other hand, Said he was happier Selling large electrical Appliances, Quote " let's go buy a Fridge off that Jerk Actor Victor Mature"

[@robinfereday6562]

Spot on again 😊

[@hoddo33]

Interesting concept that resulted in a really interesting video. No surprise Bogart topped the list, but I was a bit surprised that Cagney missed a spot. Lots of faces I couldn't dredge up a name for early on and very cross with myself for thinking Sterling Hayden was Robert Ryan. Quite a few of my favourite childhood actors too such as William Bendix, Dan Duryea and Wedell Corey. I had strange tastes as a kid.

[@ap6160]

Cagney was in only one noir - White Heat.

[@charlesflinnill978]

We both did, as a child those same names, Bogart, Bendix, Conte and Wendel Corey were my favorites.

[@drnoir33]

Thank you! Cagney made very few films widely considered noir (WHITE HEAT and KISS TOMORROW GOODBYE being the standouts), putting him at #129 overall (out of 1,258 I have entered thus far).

[@hoddo33]

@@drnoir33 I certainly wasn't being critical of your ratings. I guess my surprise is that he wasn't more prolific in noir as that's the image I have of him.

[@drnoir33]

@@hoddo33 I saw no criticism, so no worries. :) Cagney certainly dominated the gangster films of the 1930s - THE PUBLIC ENEMY, ANGELS WITH DIRTY FACES, THE ROARING TWENTIES, etc...and his "noir" films reflect that.

[@DavidLocke76]

Nice list ! Still, there must be some flaw in the method because I did not see the likes of John Payne, Fred McMurray, Lawrence Tierney or Steve Cochran in the list...

[@drnoir33]

Thank you. Each of these actors appear in some high-ranking films (see here to learn how I calculate LISTS and POINTS: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iHPJcqxrrpeXq5I), to be sure, but taking into account film ranking and an actor's billing, they rank just a bit lower. MacMurray stars in two of the top 306 films (DOUBLE INDEMNITY, PUSHOVER), putting him at #94. The story is similar for Cochran (#57), Payne (#74) and Tierney (#121). Bear in mind, even limiting to 10 actors per film, these 306 films featured 1,258 actors, so all four men you name are solidly in the top 10%. And we tend to forget how essential lower-billed character actors were to these films. Steven Geray and Elisha Cook, Jr. appeared in a dozen or more of these films, albeit averaging 5th billed. :)

[@Whippets]

Well done, I do think though the ratings should add more weight to being #1, 2 or 3 listed ... that said it's nice to see the non-star "working actors" get recognition.

[@drnoir33]

Absolutely! I kept this "first-draft" formula as simple and non-controversial as I could. Given that 1st billed is already weighed higher than 2nd billed, and 2nd billed higher than 3rd billed, and so forth, adding additional weight to certain billings felt a bit arbitrary.

[@Whippets]

@@drnoir33 Well weighing listed in any way can seem arbitrary, I just lean a little heavier with the stars.