The classification of Anthony Mann’s Reign of Terror (aka The Black Book) as noir vs. war film vs. spy film vs. costume drama vs. historical epic has spurred much disagreement, but stylistically, there’s no doubt that the noir ethos is on full display. Made by a legendary noir duo — director Mann and cinematographer John Alton — and fortunately shot in B&W to save money for producer Walter Wanger, the result is a buffet of stunning compositions that make poetry out of shadow and light, further stylized by the renowned production design artistry of William Cameron Menzies. In this fictionalized variation on the French Revolution theme, Richard Basehart plays the revolutionary Robespierre, who seeks dictatorial powers through fear and manipulation (“The Revolution has abolished God; there’s only the people, and the people have spoken”), such as a little black book that includes the names of all the people he plans to send to the guillotine. When the black book is stolen, he calls for Duval, the prosecutor of Strasbourg, to find it, unaware that the man who shows up is imposter Charles D’Aubigny (Robert Cummings), a patriot who just murdered Duval and stole his identity to get close to Robespierre and topple his regime from the inside. Arlene Dahl plays Madelon, D’Aubigny’s love interest and another patriot who joins in his espionage enterprise, and the excellent Arnold Moss plays Fouché, the head of Robespierre’s secret police whose loyalties don’t always seem perfectly clear. Filled with plenty of suspense, often with a Hitchcockian flourish, Reign of Terror brilliantly evokes a bleak universe, Alton’s camera capturing the distrust and disorientation through extreme close-ups, aerial shots, and rapid pans.