John Carpenter is an undisputed master of horror, but his taste in cinema extends beyond the genre.
TCM has programmed a number of horror classics and hidden gems for the month of October, but Carpenter’s personal recommendations lean more into crime and film noir.
The Asphalt Jungle
“Asphalt Jungle is one of the great all-time crime movies,” Carpenter comments. “Directed by John Huston, with Sterling Hayden in an amazing performance. I love that movie.”
In the 1950 film noir, a major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck, and solid police work cause everything to unravel.
Huston directs from a script he co-wrote with Ben Maddow, based on the 1949 novel by W. R. Burnett.
Hayden stars with Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, and Marilyn Monroe in one of her earliest roles.
Gaslight
“Gaslight, 1944, Ingrid Bergman and Charles Boyer. Amazing movie and an amazing performance by Ingrid Bergman,” says Carpenter. “What a dish! Oh, she was beautiful and a great, great actress.”
In the psychological thriller, 10 years after her aunt was murdered in their London home, a woman returns from Italy to resume residence with her new husband. His obsessive interest in the house rises from a secret that may require driving his wife insane.
George Cukor (My Fair Lady) directs from a script by John Van Druten, Walter Reisch, and John L. Balderston, based on the play Angel Street by Patrick Hamilton.
Boyer and Bergman star alongside Joseph Cotten, May Whitty, and Angela Lansbury.