Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

Country: USA
Director: Boris Ingster
Production Co:
Genre: Crime, Drama
Rating: 6.8/10
Length: 64 mins

Storyline

Rising reporter Michael Ward is the key witness in the murder trial of young Joe Briggs, who is convicted on circumstantial evidence while swearing innocence. Michael's girl Jane believes in Joe and blames Michael, who (in a remarkable sequence) dreams he is himself convicted of murdering his nosy neighbor. Will his dream come true before Jane can find the real murderer?—Rod Crawford

Plot Keywords

psychotronic film, drugstore, newspaper headline, guilty conscience, grocery store, landlady, dutch angle, italian american, stray dog, district attorney, taxi driver, wrongful arrest, false accusation, lunatic, car accident, paranoia, alienation, b movie, loneliness, courtroom

Short Review

Thanks to its performances, all perfect, and its staging, "Stranger on the Third Floor" is a discovery that still surprises more than seventy years later. [Full Review in Spanish]