This is a good movie, although some stuff is weird and "kinda not right" at times, which I guess is the point.
I give it an 8/10
three things I didn't like.
1)the score.
2) the speech the killer gives his two babysitters in the hotel room, how he just kills as a business deal and has no contract: that sort of thing should just be understood; when he gives the whole speech, it ruins it.
Le Samourai understands that there is stuff the audience understands without telling us (if anything, IMO
Le Samourai went a little TOO far with the
silent killer; there is so much silence, it's almost like an active silence, like trying too hard to be silent. But it was a terrific film, and I digress....) Point is that when the killer gives his whole speech how he doesn't give a damn about anyone, that takes away the effect.
3) the ending. firstly, anytime someone (like a cop) gets knocked out, but then wakes up just in time to shoot the bad guy, that's just a dumb cop out (no pun intended) ending. And, the killer chickens out from killing a woman? No, I don't buy it. The ending was dumb.
So, the movie's not perfect. Butl it's damn good. Something weirdly not right. Vince Edwards is very good for this role. The two "babysitters," Phillip Pine and Herschel Bernardi, are a really good team, especially Bernardi, a Yiddish theatre actor from a family of famous Yiddish Theatre actors.
As CJ mentioned, this movie was a big influence on Scorsese. Specifically, the early scene where Edwards is "waiting for the call" was a big influence on
Taxi Driver; and the score, which though I mentioned I didn't like, is very famous, and influenced
The Departed. The dvd has a 5-minute clip of Scorsese talking about how mcuh he loved this film and what an influence it was on him. (That's the only bonus feature, besides the trailer. And btw, the trailer gives away the whole friggin' movie

)
I agree with CJ, this isn't much of a noir, certainly not in the visuals. Maybe some of the first few scenes on the East Coast, plus the final scene at night. But from the moment Edwards arrives in LA until the final scene, there is really nothing noir about it.
nevertheless, I'd recommend that all noir fans, or at least all fans of crime movies, see this movie
