Widely considered the first film noir, Stranger on the Third Floor is a breezy, strange journey through one man's mind and the American penal system, to boot. McGuire, a star newspaper reporter, witnesses the aftermath of a murder, then is suspected himself when a second killing takes place. What's Peter Lorre doing lurking about? Well, he's the stranger. Barely an hour long, the movie is masterfully photographed but hastily thrown together, with a resolution that makes you wonder how noir ever got off the ground.