So this is one of the paradigmatic films noir, and… it sure is! It’s all full of sharp-edged shadows and sharp-edged banter; there’s narration from a down-on-his-luck protagonist, and a dame who’s nothing but trouble.

I don’t want to get into the plot, which is medium-twisty, because it’s only been like 75 years, so I’m not sure if we’re out of the spoiler protection period yet; but also, like, you know the plot already in broad outline, if not every particular detail. It’s noir!

So what’s particularly interesting to me is that this is a Billy Wilder film; it turns out that I’ve seen three other of his movies, and man, I wouldn’t have even known they were from the same guy. Sunset Boulevard is probably the closest to this in style, but Sabrina isn’t really at all, and Some Like It Hot is totally and wildly different. But he wrote and directed them all; that’s some pretty good range.

Anyway, this is a good solid film. I think probably The Third Man is a better noir, but this is definitely one of the stronger of the AFI films so far.