I think an even better example of a film noir movie starring Peter Lorre is "The Face Behind the Mask" (1941). It's a very underrated film that has become obscure now.

The movie is about an immigrant from Europe who comes to United States to make a better life for himself. He has talent for repairing watches. One night while he is staying a hotel, there is a fire and his face is badly burned. Nobody will hire him because his face is now hideous.

He turns to a life of crime and eventually becomes the leader of a gang of criminals. He and his gang become successful crooks, but there is tragedy awaiting him...

It's a terrific film and has all of the necessary elements of film noir. The story is really a tragedy. I highly recommend the movie to anybody who has never seen it.

How could you think that the show wasn't based around Sheldon?? He became the main character eventually and, late in the series, most of the stories were based around him. For example: Sheldon's wedding, Sheldon & Amy working on asymmetry, Sheldon winning the Nobel Prize, etc.