My Top Ten Classic Noir Sociopaths

I am not a fan of contemporary horror or “psychological thrillers.” I don’t watch slasher films, and I’m still on the fence about Tarantino. When it comes to classic Hollywood, however, my tolerance level is much higher. This has a lot to do with the Code, which limited just how much violent evil could be shown on the screen and in what form. While I loathe censorship, I will say in the case of classic era sociopaths it helped produced some compellingly loathsome, fascinating characters who do more than just stab and menace.

For my top ten list of classic noir sociopaths, I make one particular distinction. Although contemporary psychological practice focuses on anti-social personality disorder rather than distinctions between the labels “sociopath” and “psychopath,” for the discussion of film I find it useful to have specific definitions. For this list and my viewing practices more generally, sociopaths direct their anti-social rage and violence outwards — at other individuals and blaming all of society for their ills. By contrast, psychopaths feel similar hostility and social impotence, but they tends to direct their destructiveness inwards, ruining their own life and perhaps taking others with them out of self-loathing. A great example of this distinction can be seen in the film Born to Kill (1947), in which Lawrence Tierney’s Sam is the sociopath to Claire Trevor’s psychopathic Helen, as I discussed here. (Otherwise, Helen would be on this list.)

One more note of qualification before I present my list: I reserve the right to change these selections in future, as I watch additional noirs or just feel differently about the characters. This list is just how I see things now.

B NOIR DETOUR’S TOP TEN CLASSIC NOIR SOCIOPATHS

#10 Laird Cregar’s Ed Cornell in I Wake Up Screaming (1941)

What I love:

• Menacing demeanor and voice
• The utterly creepy scene where he’s sitting in Victor Mature’s room in the dark
• The shrine to Vicki

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#9 Ann Savage’s Vera in Detour (1945)

What I love:

• She’s ruthless
• She’s pitiless
• She’s cartoonishly bitchy!

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#8 David Brian’s George Castleman in The Damned Don’t Cry (1950) 

What I love:

• Disapproving gaze and wicked frown
• Utter arrogance
• Steals scenes from Crawford, no small feat

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#7 Robert Ryan’s Nick Scanlon in The Racket (1951) — even if it’s not really noir

What I love:

• Scary, expressive eyes
• Doesn’t want to control his violence, even though it does him in
• Beats up his own brother

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#6 Richard Conte’s Mr. Brown in The Big Combo (19455)

• Creatively sadistic
• Creepy desire for Susan
• Has gay henchmen 🙂

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#5 Richard Widmark’s Tommy Udo in Kiss of Death (1947)

• That laugh
• Pushes woman in wheelchair down stairs
• It’s his film debut!

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#4 Barbara Stanwyck’s Phyllis Dietrichson in Double Indemnity (1944)

What I love:

• Such trashy sex appeal
• Knows she’s evil and claims it
• The anklet

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#3 Jane Greer’s Kathie in Out of the Past (1947)

What I love:

• Absolutely never admits her lies
• Ruins men without hesitation
• Looks so lovely and innocent

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#2 Robert Mitchum’s Harry Powell  in Night of the Hunter (1955)

What I love:

• Evil preacher
• The love/hate speech
• The way he talks to the kids

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#1 Lawrence Tierney’s Sam in Born to Kill (1947) 

What I love:

• The vicious yet naive personality
• The chemistry with Claire Trevor’s Helen that makes him sexy
• The blind rage that makes him kill his adoring sidekick (Elisha Cook Jr.)

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Honorable Mention: Edward G. Robinson’s Johnny Rocco in Key Largo (1948)

What I love:

• The bathtub
• Talking about himself in the 3rd person
• Throwback to gangster films

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So, how does my list stack up with your own? Anyone I missed?