Best Film-Noir Movies
Touch of Evil
When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan. When…
Sweet Smell of Success
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can’t control is his younger sister, Susan, who…
Bob The Gambler
In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling — and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob’s…
The Killing
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and…
The Night of the Hunter
In the Deep South, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
Kiss Me Deadly
One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his…
Rififi
Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become…
The Big Heat
Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
Pickup on South Street
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been…
The Narrow Margin
A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster’s widow on a tense train ride.
Detective Story
Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod (Douglas), leads a precinct of…
Strangers on a Train
A psychotic socialite confronts a pro tennis star with a theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder—a theory that he plans to implement.
Ace in the Hole
A frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to revitalize his career, but the situation quickly…
Sunset Boulevard
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent-film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
In a Lonely Place
An aspiring actress begins to suspect that her temperamental boyfriend is a murderer.
Where the Sidewalk Ends
A police detective’s violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.
Night and the City
Londoner Harry Fabian is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry’s schemes, his girlfriend, Mary, becomes fed up when he taps her…
The Asphalt Jungle
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar “Doc” Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big…
Gun Crazy
Bart Tare is an ex-Army man who has a lifelong fixation with guns, he meets a kindred spirit in sharpshooter Annie Starr and goes to work at a carnival. After…
Thieves’ Highway
Nick Garcos comes back from his tour of duty in World War II planning to settle down with his girlfriend, Polly Faber. He learns, however, that his father was recently…
White Heat
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take…
The Third Man
In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops…
The Set-Up
Stoker Thompson is a 35-year-old has-been boxer. His once-promising fighting career has come crashing to the end. Tiny, Stoker’s manager, is sure he will continue to lose fights, so he…
Key Largo
A hurricane swells outside, but it’s nothing compared to the storm within the hotel at Key Largo. There, sadistic mobster Johnny Rocco holes up – and holds at gunpoint hotel…
The Big Clock
Stroud, a crime magazine’s crusading editor has to post-pone a vacation with his wife, again, when a glamorous blonde is murdered and he is assigned by his publishing boss Janoth…
The Naked City
The Naked City portrays the police investigation that follows the murder of a young model. A veteran cop is placed in charge of the case and he sets about, with…
The Lady from Shanghai
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
Out of the Past
Jeff Bailey seems to be a mundane gas station owner in remote Bridgeport, CA. He is dating local girl Ann Miller and lives a quiet life. But Jeff has a…
Body and Soul
Charley Davis, against the wishes of his mother, becomes a boxer. As he becomes more successful the fighter becomes surrounded by shady characters, including an unethical promoter named Roberts, who…
Nightmare Alley
Stanton Carlisle joins a seedy carnival, working with “Mademoiselle Zeena” and her alcoholic husband, Pete.
Brute Force
Timeworn Joe Collins and his fellow inmates live under the heavy thumb of the sadistic, power-tripping guard Captain Munsey. Only Collins’ dreams of escape keep him going, but how can…
The Killers
Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called “the Swede”. When the killers find the Swede, he’s expecting them and doesn’t put up a fight. Since…
The Big Sleep
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and…
Notorious
In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin recruits Alicia Huberman, the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they…
Gilda
A gambler discovers an old flame while in Argentina, but she’s married to his new boss.
Scarlet Street
Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March. Kitty plays along, but she’s really only interested in Johnny, a two-bit crook. When Kitty…
Leave Her to Heaven
A young novelist, Richard Harland, meets beautiful Ellen Berent on a train where they fall in love and are soon married. When tragedies take first his handicapped young brother, then…
Spellbound
When Dr. Anthony Edwardes arrives at a Vermont mental hospital to replace the outgoing hospital director, Dr. Constance Peterson, a psychoanalyst, discovers Edwardes is actually an impostor. The man confesses…
Mildred Pierce
After her unfaithful husband leaves her, Mildred Pierce proves she can become independent and successful. However winning the approval of her spoiled daughter proves a greater challenge.
Murder, My Sweet
Gumshoe Philip Marlowe is hired by the oafish Moose Malloy to track down his former girlfriend. He’s also hired to accompany an effeminate playboy buy back some jewels. When the…
The Woman in the Window
A seductive woman gets an innocent professor mixed up in murder.
Laura
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he’s investigating.
Double Indemnity
A rich woman and a calculating insurance agent plot to kill her unsuspecting husband after he signs a double indemnity policy. Against a backdrop of distinctly Californian settings, the partners…
Shadow of a Doubt
A bored teen living in Santa Rosa, California, Charlotte “Charlie” Newton, is frustrated because nothing seems to be happening in her life and that of her family. Then, she receives…
This Gun for Hire
Sadistic killer-for-hire Raven becomes enraged when his latest job is paid off in marked bills. Vowing to track down his double-crossing boss, nightclub executive Gates, Raven sits beside Gates’ lovely…
The Maltese Falcon
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
The Letter
After a woman shoots a man to death, a damning letter she wrote raises suspicions.
Angels with Dirty Faces
In New York, the boys Rocky Sullivan and Jerry Connelly are best friends and small time thieves. After a robbery, Rocky is arrested and sent to a reformatory school, where…
Scarface
A murderous thug shoots his way to the top of the mobs while trying to protect his sister from the criminal life.