I (finally) came to love the genre when I was home ill around 2005...our tiny library on Mt. Baker had a passel of 'em! Can't really name a favourite, however...but I have learned they developed out of German Expressionism as an art form, in the existential angst surrounding WWII...
But as a toddler in the 1940's I squirmed through LOTS of them in theaters, as my parents would not entrust their precious first-born to babysitters (BORING...where's Bambi?).
But now Turner Classic Movies occasionally goes on a rampage; THE LOST WEEKEND, THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE, some great old Humphrey Bogart films...I like the dark realism, the suggestion that even though life itself is awful/FUBAR, it is still worth living and even celebrating!
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So please, your experience with film noir, or maybe your favourite movie(s), or just any free association that might arise for you?