Stranger on the Third Floor Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Stranger on the Third Floor Blu-ray Movie Review

One small step for noir...

Reviewed by Randy Miller III February 19, 2026

Ofte credited as "the first film noir" (that's debatable) and arriving a year before The Maltese Falcon, Boris Ingster's Stranger on the Third Floor was co-written by Frank Partos and uncredited novelist Nathanael West. It's a short and accessible mystery, guided entirely by loads of inner thoughts and flashbacks, and is fueled by the crushing amount of guilt hanging heavily over the mind of its main character. (It's not Peter Lorre, despite his top billing.) Featuring mostly solid performances, outstanding cinematography, and one hell of an extended dream sequence, this isn't an entirely smooth ride but Stranger remains solidly entertaining from start to finish and will impress first-time viewers.

Our lovebirds up there are Mike Ward (John McGuire) and his fiancée Jane (John McGuire); he's an up-and-coming reporter and just received his first front-page byline for covering the murder of a coffee shop owner. What's more is that his first-hand testimony is what eventually leads to a guilty verdict for former thief Joe Briggs (Elisha Cook Jr., acting for the back row), who was spotted hovering over the bloody body when police were called.

The circumstantial evidence and waning attention of the judge and jury make this an open-and-shut case... much to the dismay of Jane, who doubts Joe's guilt, and it's not before Mike begins to second-guess his own memory. Returning to his apartment run by nosy landlady Mrs. Kane (Ethel Griffies) and perpetually annoyed by his stuffy neighbor Albert Meng (Charles Halton), Mike runs himself through the wringer with memories told in flashback, and an unusually quiet night for Mr. Meng even has him thinking that something's happened next door. It all culminates in a whirling, visually arresting sequence where Mike overloads his mind with self-doubt and imagines that he's on trial, and there's even an appearance by another mysterious man who he's recently seen in the area (Peter Lorre).

With stylish cinematography and an interesting premise, Stranger on the Third Floor grabs our attention and holds it during the bulk of this brisk but not bulletproof 64-minute production. Some of the supporting performances stick out like sore thumbs, such as the pretty but questionably talented Margaret Tallichet and the over-the-top stylings of Elisha Cook Jr.. Even John McGuire sometimes fizzles out as the relatively bland and milquetoast leading man, whose endless inner thoughts really aren't needed most of the time. Peter Lorre's always great, of course, but there's not much driving his unnamed character's identity and purpose aside from low-hanging xenophobia. He's still the most magnetic actor of the bunch by a landslide, but there's more to Stranger on the Third Floor than the people in it.

Aside from its visual proficiency and that extremely memorable dream sequence, what really impressed me about Stranger on the Third Floor is the cyclical nature of its narrative. Various plot elements and revelations are repeated either through dialogue or visual storytelling, which creates a bit of a looping effect that isn't recognizable right away but creates a nice little "aha" moment in hindsight that returns at various points during the film's third act. Needless to say, it soon becomes readily apparent that there's a little more going on "under the hood" of Stranger on the Third Floor that slightly elevates it from just decent to decently impressive; not enough to bump it into true "unheralded classic" territory, but a comfortable and rewatchable 7/10 that makes it worth seeking out.

I'd imagine most viewers of Warner Archive's welcome new Blu-ray will be seeing this one for the first time, as its last appearance was on their own DVD edition all the way back in 2010. That's actually a good thing, because this is far and away the best that Stranger on the Third Floor has looked on home video and maybe ever, as WAC's highly organic and smoothly polished restoration offers ample support for its impressive visuals. Bonus features include a few Tex Avery Merrie Melodies shorts and a trio of vintage radio broadcasts featuring the one and only Peter Lorre.

Stranger on the Third Floor Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Shot by the prolific cinematographer Nicholas Musuraca (Cat People, Out of the Past), Stranger on the Third Floor's proto-noir visuals look outstanding on Warner Archive's exclusive 1080p transfer. Sourced from a new 4K scan of the original nitrate camera negative, it carries all of the highlights from their previous work on films from this era including strong image details and textures, critically important handling of deep blacks and shadow detail, and of course a film-like and unprocessed appearance that features plenty of organic film grain. As these direct-from-disc screenshots imply, it's simply more top-tier work from the boutique label and earns an easy five stars, both for the previously-mentioned strengths as well as solid disc encoding that runs at a smooth and supportive bit rate from start to finish.

Stranger on the Third Floor Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Not far behind the is similarly remastered DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track, which as usual presents Stranger on the Third Floor's original mono mix in a split two-channel container for a wider but still authentic listening experience. Overall fidelity, dialogue clarity, and the great original score by prolific RKO composer Roy Webb are all given plenty of support, while no obvious age-related issues are present aside from minimal amounts of hiss here and there. As usual, it's solid work and, like the best classic audio tracks, succeeds because it doesn't call attention to itself.

Optional English (SDH) subtitles are included during the main feature only, not the extras listed below.

Stranger on the Third Floor Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This one-disc release ships in a keepcase with poster-themed artwork and a few era-specific extras.

• Vintage Cartoons - A pair of nicely-restored Merrie Melodies shorts, both directed by the almighty Tex Avery and first released to theaters in 1940, that are either new to home video entirely or have not been seen since VHS/laserdisc. If another volume of Screwball Classics ever materializes, I'm sure these will be on it.

• Ceiling Hero (8:49)
• Wacky Wildlife (7:40)

• Radio Shows with Peter Lorre - Three vintage radio broadcasts from the short-lived program Mystery in the Air, which originally aired during the summers of 1945 and 1946. It's presented by Camel cigarettes, hosted by Harry Morgan of future Dragnet fame, and wonderfully narrated by Lorre.

• Beyond Good and Evil (28:58)
• Crime and Punishment (25:40)
• The Mask of Medusa (29:01)

Stranger on the Third Floor Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Boris Ingster's short but influential film Stranger on the Third Floor is widely credited as "the first film noir" and, while there's barely enough material here to fill out its modest 64-minute runtime, several portions of it make a substantial impact including a feverish extended dream sequence that really packs a punch. It's not bulletproof entertainment, but the actors give it their all (some too much, perhaps), Peter Lorre is always fun to watch, and it certainly has a scrappy, B-movie charm. Warner Archive's Blu-ray is led by a terrific restoration that resurrects the film for a new generation, bringing with it a few interesting extras to boot. Firmly Recommended to fans and first-timers alike.