James Cagney became a star, Mae Clark took a grapefruit to the face and Jean Harlow made an impression. It’s an early “talkie” by William Wellman that’s both a blueprint for what would come later, and a uniquely brutal take on the gangster genre.

Here’s a Billy Wilder master class that some people call one of the greatest comedies ever - “The Apartment.” We’ll see about that! It was among the inspirations for “Mad Men,” so there’s that, too. Jack Lemon, Shirley MacLaine and Fred McMurray are your leads. Welcome to the swinging’ 60s, businessman style.

It’s the best-loved of the four movies Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant made together, and the one that also stars Jimmy Steward. Another George Cukor production, this was Hepburn’s triumphant entry into MGM, and her middle finger to the “box office poison” label of the late 1930s. “Hullo, George!”

Norma Shearer, Joan Crawford, Rosalind Russell, Paulette Goddard and a stellar cast of supporting actresses are just doing the best they can, moving through their upper-class New York world.

Bogart, Huston and Holt go hunting for gold in Mexico, and they find it. But it’s unlikely they’ll get to keep it. John Huston’s 1947 “Treasure of the Sierra Madre” includes some of the best performances of the three lead actors’ careers, and a lot of visual flourishes, social commentary and a giant blob of irony.

John Sturges’ “Bad Day at Black Rock” takes place soon after World War II, but it feels like something out of the Old West. You could also call it “daylight noir.” Spencer Tracy faces off against Robert Ryan, Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine and a whole bunch of townspeople with something to hide. We talk about filmmaking techniques, performance and how a one-armed dude survives his 24 hours in Black Rock.

Or. What if Santa Claus Pushed You off a Tower?

One of Alfred Hitchcock’s earliest American films is among the most enjoyable to watch. Joel McCrea is the reporter of the title, off to find out what’s happening in Europe for the benefit of a prewar American audience. Spies, murder and amazing character actors abound, along with some extraordinary Hitchcock set pieces.

The usually affable Joel McCrea is sort of the hero, but not exactly lovable. And Ginger Rogers may have done everything Fred Astaire did “backwards and in heels” but here, she is not living her best life. “Primrose Path” takes an unrelenting look at a dysfunctional family. It was unusual for its time, and gives the two leads a lot to do.

Hark! Is that the sound of a zither? Carol Reed’s The Third Man (1949) stars Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten, not necessarily in order of screentime, it’s a post-war noir classic, set in Vienna, with compelling photography, plot and performances. This episode is also The Incomparable’s second look at this film.

He’s largely unknown today, but Warren William had an important role in what we know today as pre-code film. Sadly, many of his films are neither streaming or rentable. but we did find one that shows off his seedy side. If you’d like more recommendations, listen in. William usually played a dapper, middle-aged villain with a taste for much younger women, and a line that would get him what he wanted. As we say in this episode, think William Powell, but sinister. After his pre-code days, William played Perry Mason in several films, as well as a detective called the Lone Wolf.