A great use of the Noir style and Power should have played more villains.

So much better than the remake. Gripping, original and well acted. It's dark but not gross.

Well made but too dark to be enjoyed.

Way better than the new one by Del Toro. A fantastic NOIR, as noir gets.

Superb film noir. Tyrone Power is excellent

The 1947 Nightmare Alley has a good story and an imposing protagonist (made by Tyrone Power), but it never hooked me. The atmosphere isn't inviting, the pace is slower than it should be (the film made me lazy to watch it) and Coleen Gray's performance as Molly didn't age well. Also, besides the slower pace, I felt there were some missing parts, the transitions from one scene to another aren't organic. I recognize the qualities of "old" movies, but it doesn't mean I have to appreciate them. I feel that nowadays there's a culture of hyper-romanticization of these old movies, like the cinephile society puts in our head that we are obliged to watch them.

First-rate film noir. Tyrone Power's best acting job. The supporting cast is also excellent. A MUST SEE for cinema lovers, especially those who relish good film noir.

For its time, it’s pretty good. But I prefer Del Toro’s remake. With a story like this, being atmospheric, symbolic, and disturbing are all elements that enhance the film. This is a more straight forward version of the story. It just felt plain in comparison. While it’s good, it’s just not as thought provoking. Plus the ending of this isn’t nearly as effective as the remake’s. Worth seeing both for good measure

A great noir film with enough twists and turns to keep it interesting all throughout. It has a cynical, futile attitude towards fate.

After seeing the new version, I learned about the earlier version. I immediately watched it for comparison. The pacing is much better here, but the new version got the ending right. This version kept going after GDT ended his story at the perfect spot. The newer version did the scene with the cop better. It also showed the story coming full circle better. I think this older version was able to hold my attention better simply because I had seen the other version first.

One of the more interesting and more unique film noirs of its time that also crosses genres into something resembling horror.

Fully restored Criterion print now playing on TCM. Not quite a masterpiece, yet brilliantly imagined, evocatively photographed, well acted, and briskly paced, with a tight script. Power is great as the amoral striver who reaches too high, getting his comeuppance when he dares to play god with the wealthy Chicago socialites he is grifting. His totally convincing star turn as the charismatic psychic "Great Stanton" grabs you by the throat. He meets his match in a femme fatale and fellow grifter so cunning, we ought to see the twist a mile away. But we don't. As the window into a lost secret world, the film has a dreamlike, hypnotic quality. Doesn't totally gel together, but will remain etched in your mind, even with the phony happy ending tacked on by a nervous studio.

Well the opening music's pretty uncomfortable and dramatic. Damn, the Zeena chick is pretty bomb. She's looking quite ravishing. Holy fuck I thought Zeena looked good, Molly is gorgeous! Wow, my god, she's radiantly beautiful. Stanton is quite the charming guy, he's got the chops to be a show man and he's handsome a hell. Pete, on the other hand, is pretty pathetic and sad. Drinking all the time. It seems like these carnies that were big at one time in their lives have now crashed and burned. It happened to Pete and apparently it happened to the "Geek". Oh shit! Stan mistakingly gave Pete the wrong bottle to drink from and accidentally killed him with the alcohol that Zeena uses to burn the cards. Stan's being too overly ambitious and he's letting his success get to his head. It's kind of scary seeing how dangerous and ruthless Stan is becoming with his schemes. Now he's working with a psychologist to get even deeper. The problem with Stan was that he was getting overly ambitious and greedy. Especially trying to scam Grendel into thinking his deceased love has come back to greet him in the garden. He tried to play God and play with a person's sense of faith. That's where he fucked up. Wow that's so fucked how he ends up becoming a Geek in another carnival. He really did hit rock bottom. That's so sad and tragic. I love how atmospheric it gets at night when Stan buys the alcohol where all the carnies are sleeping. I guess this is where the noir part of the film comes in to play. There's this underlying creepiness to the film that's intriguing. The movie unexpectedly grabbed my attention. This movie reminds me a lot of ‘Elmer Gantry'. The way Stanton talked to the sheriff as if he was some smooth talking preacher. I will say, the restoration that Criterion achieved for this movie is impressive. It looks immaculate. Like it could've been released in the last couple years. Pretty smart and clever the way they tackle God, religion, hope and faith. A great movie about the rise and fall of someone who could've made a positive impact on people but instead fell to his over ambitions and chose greed. A telling story about what happens when you try and reach too far.

Geeks, grifters and greed. Tyrone Power stars as Stanton Carlisle, a carnival roustabout with an abundance of dreams and a shortage of scruples. Moving swiftly from a two-bit mentalist gig in the carnival sideshow to lucrative bookings at fancy clubs as a mind reader in a tux and tails--and then what he hopes will be an even more rewarding gig as a bogus spiritualist--he uses people, principally women, even as they (though he's none the wiser) use him. Power is excellent--all avarice and ambition and dark-eyed intensity--the dialogue is razor-sharp, and the look of the film (thanks in no small part to cinematographer Lee Garmes) is pure noir. Directed by Edmund Goulding; based on the 1946 novel by William Lindsay Gresham. Not a great movie, but--as an unflinching character study of a cold-hearted con artist--definitely a good one. Worth seeing.

A great use of the Noir style and Power should have played more villains.

Edmond Goulding's Nightmare Alley is an odd film, a bit freakish, as would befit a movie about the circus. Tyrone Power gives a dazzling, 5 star performance and he's the reason to watch this movie. Colleen Gray is excellent in a role that makes her the ethical reference point in a story that's all about manipulating people. I would give this a much higher rating were it not for the ending. While fulfilling the promise of Greek tragedy, it was too forced and unbelievable in so quickly turning Powell's suave and successful character into a drunk whose downward spiral neatly ends up as the saddest character in his original circus, only to be rescued by Colleen Gray. The last ten minutes ruined this great film for me.

The script and characters are fantastic, in addition to having wonderful black and white cinematography, but like any film from the 1940s it can be tiring for some viewers, despite this fact, I always love to see "nightmare alley"

Blobbo hate evil lady.

Nightmare Alley is an amazing film. It is about the rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall. Tyrone Power and Joan Blondell give excellent performances. The screenplay is well written. Edmund Goulding did a great job directing this movie. I enjoyed watching this motion picture because of the drama.

For me Tyrone Power's performance was outstanding. He truly showcased his finest acting skills. In fact much of the cast and character roles they played were superb fitting so well into the story. Add in the lighting, sets and sound and it can't get much better. And to see this beautiful nitrate print on the screen was and always will be the joy of going to the movies.