A lot of the movies in this list are challenging in one way or another, but every now and then, there’s one that’s just a ripping good yarn. This is a noir about a man pulled out of his idyllic present into a past he’d tried to forget; it’s told half as him recounting that past (where his world-weary narration gives it an appropriately noir voice), and then half in the new events that unspool.

It’s full of flirty banter and laconic one-liners. It’s got Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum facing off against each other. It has a complicated female lead (Jane Greer), who’s the center around which the movie revolves. It has an incredibly complicated plot (multiple times, we had to pause the movie and be like “okay wait, so…” to straighten things out between us — not helped by one scene where I was confused about which of two similar-looking women was in a conversation).

It’s very good. If you like noir, it’s a strong recommend. I was surprised to see it on this list, but on reflection I don’t suppose I’d argue with anyone who put this down as their single best noir (even though I still probably land on The Third Man myself), because it’s legitimately in the conversation.