I can't think of one actor who's been in more classic film noirs than Edmond O'Brien, who infused every role with a believability and desperation that few of that (or any) era can match. Eddie O'Brien was a go-to guy for the studios, both big and small, during the forties and fifties. He was in a lot of fine movies, but I think that he was most well known for his film noir work. Many of these were considered almost "B" movies at the time, but they live on as some of the best from the Golden Age of Hollywood, and I would say without reservation that every one of these four films is great. Edmond O'Brien made other noir-style movies, but these four are the best from that category and comprise some of the best film noirs ever made...
The Killers (1946)
White Heat (1949)
D.O.A. (1950)
The Hitch-Hiker (1953)
Some other movies that Edmond O'Brien made that are in this same vein, though not as successfully done but still worth seeing, are:
A Double Life (1947)
Man in the Dark (1953)
Backfire (1950)
An Act of Murder (1948)
This leaves out a lot of his other great movies, such as Seven Days in May (1964), Birdman of Alcatraz (1962), The Wild Bunch (1969), etc. etc. Edmond O'Brien was one of the most respected character actors in the history of Hollywood, and his body of work during his heyday was second to none...
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