Film Noir Files for July 2026

Welcome to The Film Noir Files, the noir series here at Shadows and Satin and over at Speakeasy, the blog authored by my pal Kristina, where each month we recommend a film noir feature for you to watch on TCM. We never know what the other has selected until we post, and part of the fun is trying to never pick the same movie! I only discovered Dirk Bogarde within the last few years, and have greatly enjoyed his performances in films like Libel (1959), Victim (1961), and The Servant (1963). But the movie that served as my introduction to this first-rate British actor is my Film Noir Files pick of the month: Cast a Dark Shadow (1955). Teddy treated Monica like a queen. (Too bad that queen was Anne Boleyn.) In this edge-of-your-seat suspenser, Bogarde plays Edward “Teddy” Bare (get it?), a charming and handsome ne’er-do-well who lives off of his wits and his penchant for dispensing exits of the lethal kind, if you get my drift. When we first meet Teddy, he’s at an amusement park with his…