Stranger On the Third Floor the first film noir

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The RKO could also loosely fit as an early horror film that featured Peter Lorre. Actually, he no more starred in this than Orson Welles did in "The Third Man." Seen April 12, 2008, as part of Eddie Muller's Film Noir series, with co-star Marsha Hunt in attendence, this surrealistic murder mystery in 1940 does keep one kissing. This actually stars John MacGiver, a somewhat bland actor a bit over his head as the confused protagonist in this story. The story begins with MacGiver identifying Elisha Cook, Jr. (both he and Lorre would shortly be immortalized in The Maltese Falcon) as the most likely suspect of being a throat slasher whose screams "I did not do it" haunt MacGiver's girlfriend Hunt to no end. Later on, we find his typewriting too loud for next door neighbor, who he actually threatens to kill in front of liver witnesses, including Hunt. But she loves MacGiver anyway and it is she who confronts the actual killer, Lorre at the end. The best part of the movie is MacGiver's dream, where he's put on trial. His confused state recalls one of Dostolstoyesky or Kafka and there's too many elements of previous movies to call this the first of anything. The actual plot doesn't really hold up as there's no connect the dots to Lorre and all supporting characters too two dimensional. Oddest line "So what? There's too many people in this world already." The year this was made: 1940!!! http://www.filmradar.com/articles/item/stranger_on_the_third_floor_the_first_film_noir/