Noir Nook: Top 10 Favorite Bad Boys – Part 2

Noir Nook: Top 10 Most Popular Bad Boys – Part 2

Last month I served up the first half of my top 10 bad boys of noir here at Noir Nook. This month I end the list with another barrage of insidious types. Take care – they’re up to no good!

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Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas): From the past (1947)

This feature centers on private eye Jeff Markham (Robert Mitchum)-turned-gas-station owner Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) and whose past is catching up with him in the form of an adorably nefarious woman, Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), and a ruthless crime boss, Whit Sterling . From the past
offers one of those labyrinthine noir plots that you’d rather ignore than see through, but in short, Whit hired Jeff to find his girlfriend Kathie, who stole $40,000 and went on the run, and Whit with a bullet left by his side as a parting gift. Jeff finds Kathie, but instead of bringing her back to Whit, he falls in love with her and the two enjoy an idyllic stay – until they don’t anymore.

In Whit Sterling we have one of noir’s scariest characters – he’s smart but ruthless, sophisticated but deadly, kind, with an affable facade that hides a monster. Whit doesn’t appear in many scenes, but he dominates each one with a frightening expression on his face – you never know what he’s about to do or say, or what duplicitous intentions lie behind his pleasant and eminently calm demeanor.

favorite quote: “You’re going to take over the rap and play along. You will perform exactly every move I tell you. If you don’t, I will kill you. And I promise you one thing: It won’t be quick. I’ll break you first You won’t be able to answer the phone or open a door without thinking, “This is it.” And when you do, it still won’t be quick. And it won’t be pretty. You can make your choice.”

— Kirk Douglas as Whit Sterling

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Slim Dundee (Dan Duryea): criss-cross (1949)

criss-cross — one of my favorite noir novels, by the way — tells the story of Steve Thompson (Burt Lancaster) who returns to his hometown after a long absence, only to hook up with his compelling and hot-tempered ex-wife, Anna (Yvonne DeCarlo). – and local gangster Slim Dundee. In a longer flashback, we see Steve and Anna reconnect (despite Steve’s attempts to convince himself that he wasn’t interested); how Anna married Slim without warning; and how Anna and Steve planned to reunite, dupe Slim and get a big payday on top of that.

Slim is a hothead. Suspicious. Jealous. Mean. violent. mercilessly. And you can’t take your eyes off him – because he’s cooler than on the other side of the pillow, too. Take my favorite scene where Slim comes home early from a trip and catches Anna and Steve together (still with Steve in his undershirt!). He silently declines an offer of a beer from one of his subordinates, greets Anna, and then calmly offers, “You know, it doesn’t look right,” he comments. “Can’t tell for sure it looks right, can it?” But beneath that composed shell, Slim is like a caged tiger just waiting to pounce.

favorite quote: “Is that polite? is it guest friendly Tell me, Stevie, what is this job you need as a crook?”

— Dan Duryea as Slim Dundee

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Cody Jarrett (James Cagney): incandescent (1949)

incandescent tells us a clear story: Government agent Hank Fallon (Edmond O’Brien) goes undercover to infiltrate a gang led by Cody Jarrett (James Cagney). Also joining the cast are Big Ed Somers (Steve Cochran), Cody’s right-hand man (until he stabs him in the back), and Cody’s delightfully duplicitous girlfriend (Virginia Mayo).

An undeniable psychopath, Cody is no ordinary gangster: he suffers from debilitating migraines and an unnatural bond with his mother (Margaret Wycherly). Ruthless, fearless, and utterly ruthless, Cody doesn’t ultimately get away with his crimes, but his punishment is particularly explosive, if you know what I mean.

favorite quote: “Did I ask you for advice? Look, Pardo, I’ve been watching you. And so far you haven’t done anything that I can understand. And maybe that’s what bothers me. But I do not know you. I don’t trust what I don’t know. For me you are just a face and a number and it should stay that way for the time being. If I need your help, I will ask for it.”

— James Cagney as Cody Jarrett

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Walt Radak (Raymond Burr): Desperate (1947)

In this film, Steve Brodie plays Steve Randall, a newly married truck driver whose wife Anne (Audrey Long) is expecting the couple’s first child. All is well in the Randall household until Steve is contacted by an old school friend, Walt Radak, who offers him a lucrative job as a truck driver. When Steve learns the cargo is stolen goods, he tries to alert authorities, but a gun battle kills a police officer, Walt’s little brother is arrested for murder, and Steve and Anne are on the run from the police and a vengeful Walt Radak.

Walt Radak was a gangster with a one-track mindset. When he concluded that Steve Randall was responsible for his brother’s arrest, conviction and eventual execution, he had Steve in his sights like a deer during hunting season. And he pursued him across the country with vengeful joy. Steve didn’t stand a chance.

favorite quote: “I’m sorry I can’t offer you a choice of food, Steve, but it won’t make much of a difference. You will not live long enough to get any sustenance from it.”

— Raymond Burr as Walt Radak

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Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson): Key Largo (1948)

A gang of criminals takes over a hotel in Key Largo, Florida, led by exiled mobster Johnny Rocco, who plots a counterfeit transaction with some of his former criminals. In the midst of a hurricane, feisty, wheelchair-bound hotel owner James Temple (Lionel Barrymore), his daughter-in-law Nora (Lauren Bacall), and Frank McCloud (Humphrey Bogart), a war hero, are held captive by Rocco’s gang Husband served and is in town to visit the temples, as well as Rocco’s former minor, Gaye Dawn (Claire Trevor), who is now quite a pathetic alcoholic.

Rocco has a multifaceted personality. He’s able to crack a humorous joke, but he’s obviously scared of the violent storm raging outside the hotel. He’s mean, which he proves by forcing Gaye to sing a tune in exchange for a drink, then refusing to keep his end of the bargain. He’s smart, as we see when he tells a blatant lie to the local sheriff who’s looking for his deputy’s killer. And he’s brimming with arrogance and selfishness: “Thousands of guys have guns,” he says, “but there’s only one Johnny Rocco!”

favorite quote: “After living in the United States for more than thirty-five years, they called me an unwanted alien. Me. Johnny Rocco. Like I’m a dirty red or something!”

— Edward G. Robinson as Johnny Rocco

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That’s the end of my top 10 list of bad boys from noir. Who would you add to this corrupt squad?

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– Karen Burroughs Hannsberry for Classic Movie Hub

You can read all of Karen’s Noir Nook articles here.

Karen Burroughs Hannsberry is the author of the Shadows and Satin blog, which focuses on films and cast from the film noir and pre-Code era, and is the editor-in-chief of The Dark Sides, a bi-monthly newsletter about film noir. Karen is also the author of two books on film noir – Femme Noir: The Bad Girls of Film And Bad Boys: The Actors of Film Noir. You can follow Karen on Twitter at @TheDarkPages.
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