The Dark Corner (1946) may be the most under-rated film noir out there. I only watched it because the famous film critic of the late 40s, James Agee, said it was one of the few noir films that he liked. I can see why he liked it. In a nutshell, a private investigator named Bradford Galt (Mark Stevens) tries to start over in New York, hires an excellent secretary (Lucille Ball), and, before he can make good, finds himself threatened by a thug (William Bendix) and backed into a dark corner by forces he cannot discern. He thinks it is his ex-partner trying to frame him again, but it goes beyond that.
The private investigator, far from being another Phillip Marlowe, is much softer and weaker than he acts. He is a complex character haunted by his past even though he actually did nothing wrong. He is determined to go on the straight and narrow but drinks during the day. He can handle a thug roughly but gets spooked when a policeman pays a visit. Although he has the confidence to open an agency in a new city, he easily gets depressed and gives up when he hits a dead end in the search for who is attacking and trying to frame him. This personality trait proves important when near the end of the movie we see him start to take more action: He steals a police car with needed evidence in the back seat, and he smiles at the existential joy of sheer action.
Besides an unusually complex protagonist, the film features superb camera work by Joe MacDonald (who went on to be nominated for three Academy Awards). When in the work-a-day world of the detective and his secretary, classic chiaroscuro rules. When in the super rich world of the art dealer causing all the trouble (Clifton Webb), traditional Hollywood portrait lighting is the norm. Apparently director Henry Hathaway is known for his straightforward directing but visually dynamic style.
No woman looked any better in a trench coat that Lucille Ball, and her big shoulder-pad look suits her character, a resourceful and strong woman. I kept thinking “a man saved by the love of a good woman” as she and the detective gradually grew closer together and she proved instrumental in solving the crimes. Yes, there is no femme fatale, and, yes, there is a happy ending. But no noir movie fits all the archetypes, and just because a movie emphasizes some elements of noir much more than others does not make it a lesser movie. Here the focus is very much on the common working stiff who gets hit and hit again by forces that he cannot even identify—a classic noir theme. And a good woman helps him fight against the battering and win for once—not a classic noir theme but something that does actually happen.