The Gangster (1947)
I know this isn't in your Top 100, but I was on Letterboxd looking to make another selection from your list before the month is done and I saw your Top 100 Noir list. I had seen every film except this one, so I thought why not complete the recommendations. The good news is, now I'm inspired to make my own list of 100. According to IMDB, I like 245 Noir. I'm pretty strict about not including proto-noir, or else there will be too many Warner Bros. gangster films from the 1930s. I always thought of The Maltese Falcon (1941) as the starting point, but the year before there was The Letter, Stranger on the Third Floor and They Drive By Night and that last one would have to make my list. As for Neo-Noir, I can't imagine not allowing L.A. Confidential onto my list so I will just use my own judgment.
As for The Gangster, it's a more unusual film than I expected. Sometimes it was like a play and I didn't like the way some characters would have conversations with people off camera, not just the finale but Akim Tamiroff walking through his soda shop or how it seemed like the entire beach scene was going to be done with Elisha Cook Jr.'s back to the camera. Every now and then would be a shot or a moment of such deep cynicism it would remind me why I like the genre so much. My favorite moment came when Shubunka (Barry Sullivan) is betrayed and spiritually broken. He stands frozen in shock while everyone leaves the room. The last person turns off the light and Shubunka immediately springs to life as if he needed the darkness to comfort him.
The film is over-cast. Not just Elisha Cook Jr. (whose appearance in Noir is like Ward Bond in a Western), but a roster of names only you and I would know. Your review talks about Shelley Winters, but what about the night Harry Morgan has off, Murray Alper is covering for him, or the wide shot oner in the garage with Jeff Corey as one of three Brothers-in-Law.
Most people don't remember but back in 2011 Film-Noir was a major blindspot for me, so
I did a Marathon and MartinTeller was my patient guide. For me, The Gangster is the long overdue completion of a journey.
Now to build that list.