Subgenre Sampler

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Nightmare Alley (2021): Dir. Guillermo Del Toro
Feat. Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Toni Collette…; Dark and stormy neo–noir thriller from director Guillermo del Toro (THE SHAPE OF WATER) about a low–ranking carnie (Bradley Cooper) who…
Show, The (2020): Dir. Mitch Jenkins
Feat. Tom Burke, Siobhan Hewlett, Alan Moore…; Highly imaginative British fantasy noir based on a screenplay by brilliant English graphic novelist Alan Moore (V FOR VENDETTA, WATCHMEN). Set in…
Motherless Brooklyn (2019): Dir. Edward Norton
Feat. Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Gugu Mbatha-Raw…; Handsomely mounted neo–noir crime movie, the culmination of a 20 year passion project for writer, director and star Edward Norton, based on the…
Frank and Lola (2016): Dir. Matthew Ross
Feat. Michael Shannon, Imogen Poots, Michael Nyqvist…; Haunting neo–noir romance which delves deep into the male psyche to offer a portrait of desire, obsession and suspicion, bathed in a…
Sin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014): Dir. Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez
Feat. Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin…; A return to the hard boiled caricatures of Frank Miller's graphic "Sin City". Tales of vengeance, torture and infidelity are woven together into an…
Hotel Noir (2012): Dir. Sebastian Guitierrez
Feat. Malin Akerman, Rosario Dawson, Danny De Vito…; Cult dir. Guitierrez tries his hand at film noir pastiche with this luscious ensemble piece about a detective whose encounters with various…
Mildred Pierce (TV Mini-Series) (2011): Dir. Todd Haynes
Feat. Kate Winslet, Guy Pearce, Evan Rachel Wood…; Kate Winslet gives a towering performance as the titular housewife of James M. Cain's classic noir novel of Depression Era desperation and…
Swerve (2011): Dir. Craig Lahiff
Feat. David Lyons, Jason Clarke, Emma Booth…; Tense outback–noir with a hapless witness to a fatal road accident finding himself in possession of a suitcase full of money and bad company.
Killer Inside Me, The (2010): Dir. Michael Winterbottom
Feat. Casey Affleck, Kate Hudson, Jessica Alba…; Casey Affleck disturbs as a psychotic small town sheriff struggling to cover his bloody tracks in this grim, stylish neo–noir. Adroitly…
Across The Hall (2009): Dir. Alex Merkin
Feat. Mike Vogel, Brittany Murphy, Danny Pino; The presence of the late Brittany Murphy (in one of her last roles) adds a layer of dread to this gloomy "hotel noir" about a man who checks into a…
Missing Person, The (2009): Dir. Noah Buschel
Feat. Michael Shannon, Amy Ryan, Frank Wood; A strange hybrid of neo–noir gestures and the contemporary human condition, with dough–faced Michael Shannon (perfect as a Bogart stand…
Square, The (2008): Dir. Nash Edgerton
Feat. David Roberts, Claire van der Boom, Joel Edgerton; Hard–and–fast noir with an Aussie twang, hatched from a plot to make off with a mobster’s stash of cash, and the luckless turn of…
Tender Hook, The (2008): Dir. Jonathan Ogilvie
Feat. Rose Byrne, Hugo Weaving, Matthew Le Nevez…; Noted for its production design and cinematography, this film captures the visual mood of 1920s Sydney to enfold a melodrama of corruption,…
Man from London, The (2007): Dir. Bela Tarr
Feat. Miroslav Krobot, Tilda Swinton; Bela Tarr's dense, mesmeric imagery is married to the traditions of film noir in this strikingly opaque detective story, set on the weathered…
Noise (2007): Dir. Matthew Saville
Feat. Brendan Cowell, Maia Thomas; An impressive Australian modern 'noir', refreshingly off–centred around a hearing–afflicted cop who is assigned the night shift at a…
Black Dahlia, The (2006): Dir. Brian De Palma
Feat. Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Hilary Swank…; Seething with atmosphere, this noir crime–drama (based on James Ellroy's novel) presents a complicated case of the unsolved Hollywood murder of…
Good German, The (2006): Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Feat. George Clooney, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire; Dir. Steven Soderbergh takes another extravagant artistic punt with this meticulous pastiche of 1940's war stories, shot not only in…
Hollywoodland (2006): Dir. Allen Coulter
Feat. Adrien Brody, Diane Lane, Ben Affleck…; The intriguing, mysterious circumstances surrounding George ‘Superman’ Reeves’ suicide are exhumed by a private eye (Adrien Brody) in this…
Lonely Hearts (2006): Dir. Todd Robinson
Feat. John Travolta, James Gandolfini, Jared Leto…; The true tale of 1940s “lonely hearts killers”, Martha Beck and Raymond Martinez Fernandez who would lure war widows through personal ads and…
Renaissance (2006): Dir. Christian Volckman
Feat. Daniel Craig, Jonathan Pryce, Ian Holm…; Painting a typically bleak, oppressive view of the not–to–distant future, this French animation conception realises its dystopian malaise…
13 Tzameti (2005): Dir. Géla Babluani
Feat. Aurelien Recoing, Georges Babluani; Coolly disturbing noir thriller tracks the fate of a struggling immigrant labourer who intercepts a package with instructions that lead him into a…
A History of Violence (2005): Dir. David Cronenberg
Feat. Viggo Mortensen, Maria Bello, Ed Harris…; An incisive take on the noir thriller from celebrated horror auteur David Cronenberg (EXISTENZ et al), in which a smalltown family man (Mortensen) is…
Brick (2005): Dir. Rian Johnson
Feat. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin…; Precocious neo–noir set amid the student body of a Californian high school with a bespectacled lad (Gordon–Levitt) taking a 'Sam Spade'…
Quo Vadis, Baby? (2005): Dir. Gabriele Salvatores
Feat. Angela Baraldi; Oscar–winning–director Gabriele Salvatore's haughty thriller depicting a desperate private investigator who decides to re–examine…
Sin City (2005): Dir. Robert Rodriguez, Frank Miller
Feat. Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen…; A sensational slab of stylized and ultra–violent pulp fiction, adapted from Frank Miller's own notorious 'crime noir' comicbooks, and…
Confidence (2002): Dir. James Foley
Feat. Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia…; In order to extricate himself from his last botched con, grifter Ed Burns enacts a monster scam against a crooked banker for mobster Dustin…
Deep End, The (2001): Dir. Scott McGehee, David Siegel
Feat. Tilda Swinton; Immaculate remake of Max Ophuls’ ‘The Reckless Moment’ follows the original closely but scores bonus points from Tilda Swinton’s taut…
Four Days (2001): Dir. Curtis Wehrfritz
Feat. Colm Meaney, Lolita Davidovich, Kevin Zegers…; This accomplished 'existential thriller', based on 60s crime novel by John Buell, fuses genre conventions with weightier concerns about loneliness…
Man Who Wasn't There, The (2001): Dir. Joel Coen
Feat. Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, James Gandolfini…; The Coen Brothers chalk up another film in love with film, an attractive but slender paean to 1950s pulp melodramas, with its nostalgia–soaked…
Croupier (2000): Dir. Mike Hodges
Feat. Clive Owen, Alex Kingston; Leaving for dead most of the so–called ‘Brit–Crime’ genre, this return–to–notice gem from the director of GET CARTER…
Metropolis (2000): Dir. Rinataro; Visually splendid ‘future–noir’ set in a teeming, multi–leveled city, inhabited by several storylines: a detective quest, the…
Trixie (2000): Dir. Alan Rudolph
Feat. Emily Watson, Nick Nolte, Dermot Mulroney…; Uneven attempt at a film–noir spoof by cult dir. Rudolph (who did it better in LOVE AT LARGE) with Emily Watson as a low–wattage…
A Slight Case of Murder (1999): Dir. Steven Schachter
Feat. William H. Macy; A light case of noir pastiche, but an engaging one, especially for the film savvy. With confessional asides to the camera, a sly–winking…
Limey, The (1999): Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Feat. Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren, Luis Guzman…; A muscular revenge picture steered by a gifted director not afraid to experiment, Terrence Stamp plays an aging Cockney career criminal who, fresh…
Where's Marlowe? (1999): Dir. Daniel Pyne
Feat. Miguel Ferrar; A sly if uneven low–budget comedy that blends (and parodies) two genres – the film noir detective film and the mockumentary. Shooting a…
Dark City (1998): Dir. Alex Proyas
Feat. Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Jennifer Connelly…; Advancing on earlier efforts like THE CROW, director Alex Proyas, fabricates a shadowy urban jungle, replete with echoes of earlier sci–fi…
Interview, The (1998): Dir. Craig Monahan
Feat. Hugo Weaving; Sleek, edgy Aussie drama works a detailed script and a sharp cast to pile layers of ambiguity and guilt into a standard interrogation premise. Winner…
L.A. Confidential (1997): Dir. Curtis Hanson
Feat. Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kevin Spacey…; Slam–bang adaptation preserves the lacerating edge of James Ellroy's crime novel while polishing up the sheen of 50s Hollywood. Antipodean boys…
Lost Highway (1997): Dir. David Lynch
Feat. Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty…; Welcome to Lynchland. Where picket fences surround troubled, violent, sexual twisted souls who converse in awkwardly measured rhythms. David Lynch…
Twilight (1997): Dir. Robert Benton
Feat. Paul Newman, Susan Sarandon, Gene Hackman…; Star wattage brightens this old–fashioned, autumnal mystery–drama, reuniting NOBODY'S FOOL director Benton with Paul Newman as a…
U-Turn (1997): Dir. Oliver Stone
Feat. Sean Penn, Jennifer Lopez, Nick Nolte…; The Drifter, Sean Penn, swerves into a small desert town for a round of duelling tangos with Femme Jennifer Lopez and local Kingpin Nick Nolte, while…
Unforgettable (1997): Dir. John Dahl
Feat. Ray Liotta, Linda Fiorentino; A modern noir with a conceit lifted straight out of a sci–fi B–movie, cop Ray Liotta's obsession to learn the truth about his wife's…
Winner, The (1997): Dir. Alex Cox
Feat. Vincent D'Onofrio, Rebecca De Mornay, Frank Whaley…; Punk director Alex Cox about breaks even with this stageplay custom fitted for the screen. The action revolves around Las Vegas 'winner' Vincent…
Bound (1996): Dir. Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
Feat. Jennifer Tilly, Gina Gershon; Modern film noir madeover in lesbian chic – Jennifer Tilly and Gina Gershon pout, titillate and conspire their way through the moral marshlands…
Devil in a Blue Dress (1996): Dir. Carl Franklin
Feat. Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore; The director's follow–up to ONE FALSE MOVE is a black man's noir, some fifty years overdue! We're in 40s LA, where reluctant gumshoe Denzel…
Hard Eight (Sydney) (1996): Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
Feat. Philip Baker Hall, John C. Reilly, Gwyneth Paltrow…; Cucumber–cool first feature set in the thick of Reno's casino culture, boasts four superb character–based performances and extended…
This World, Then the Fireworks (1996): Dir. Michael Oblowitz
Feat. Billy Zane, Gina Gershon, Chet Baker…; Billy Zane and Gina Gershon play bad seed twins seemingly bonded by irrational behaviour and an incestuous streak in 50s California. Stylised noir…
Underneath, The (1995): Dir. Steven Soderbergh
Feat. Peter Gallagher, Alison Elliott, William Fichtner; A worldweary return to his home–town finds Peter Gallagher tempted all–too–easily into a dangerous criminal enterprise. A…
Wild Side (1995): Dir. Donald Cammell
Feat. Anne Heche, Christopher Walken, Joan Chen…; Bank exec Anne Heche moonlights as a hooker to service a debt and initiates a twisted game of role–playing with miscreants Christopher Walken…
China Moon (1994): Dir. John Bailey
Feat. Ed Harris, Madeleine Stowe; Contemporary film noir, replete with lust–struck fall–guy (Ed Harris), shadowy femme fatale (Madeleine Stowe), a murdered husband, and…
Killer (1994): Dir. Mark Malone
Feat. Anthony LaPaglia, Mimi Rogers; Ace hitman Anthony LaPaglia is hired to bump off glamour informant Mimi Rogers, whom he discovers is suicidal. Pacey and atmospheric, with an…
Equinox (1993): Dir. Alan Rudolph
Feat. Matthew Modine, Lara Flynn Boyle, Marisa Tomei…; Matthew Modine plays good and evil identical twins whose parallel lives intersect. The eclectic mix of styles may strike one's fancy in the right…
Golden Gate (1993): Dir. John Madden
Feat. Matt Dillon, Joan Chen, Bruno Kirby; Rookie FBI agent Matt Dillon is assigned to expose subversives in McCarthy–era San Fransisco, but years later becomes embroiled with the…
Last Seduction, The (1993): Dir. John Dahl
Feat. Linda Fiorentino, Peter Berg, J.T. Walsh…; Magnificent modern noir in which Linda Fiorentino offers the most brazen female performance in years, power–driving her way through a script…
Red Rock West (1993): Dir. John Dahl
Feat. Nicolas Cage, Dennis Hopper, Lara Flynn Boyle; Throw a hapless hero, a femme fatale and a greedy bastard into a desert town seething with infidelity, guns, stolen loot, and set it to a bluesy…
Light Sleeper (1992): Dir. Paul Schrader
Feat. Willem Dafoe, Susan Sarandon, Dana Delany…; Writer of TAXI DRIVER delivers a complex, understated character study of an ex–junkie drug–courier (Willem Dafoe) unable to escape the…
Night and the City (1992): Dir. Irwin Winkler
Feat. Robert De Niro, Jessica Lange; Robert De Niro stars with Jessica Lange as a two–bit lawyer who struggles to fulfil his aspirations as a boxing promoter. Gritty, realistic Big…
Public Eye, The (1992): Dir. Howard Franklin
Feat. Joe Pesci, Barbara Hershey, Richard Riehle; Fascinating 40s film noir homage with Joe Pesci in a taylor–made role as a tabloid photographer whose seedy contacts enable him to be first on…
Reservoir Dogs (1992): Dir. Quentin Tarantino
Feat. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi…; Partners–in–crime Keitel, Roth, Buscemi, Madsen and others reel from a botched jewel heist in an abandoned warehouse. Tarantino's…
White Sands (1992): Dir. Roger Donaldson
Feat. Willem Dafoe, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Mickey Rourke…; When Deputy Willem Dafoe discovers a dead man and half a million bucks, we know something is mighty queer. Enter Mickey Rourke and all is explained.
Final Analysis (1991): Dir. Phil Joanou
Feat. Richard Gere, Kim Basinger, Uma Thurman; Modern attempt at an old–fashioned mystery is more ambitious than it is convincing. Fans of Richard Gere and Kim Basinger may think otherwise.
Kiss Before Dying, A (1991): Dir. James Dearden
Feat. Matt Dillon, Sean Young, Max von Sydow…; Handsome remake of the 1956 thriller stars Matt Dillon as an ambitious young sicko who charms and murders his way into a powerful family. Sean Young…
Poison (1991): Dir. Todd Haynes
Feat. Edith Meeks, Millie White, Buck Smith…; Personal, arty dissertation about AIDS, alienation and childhood rebellion cross–cutting three disparate stories – a mock–tabloid…
Shattered (1991): Dir. Wolfgang Petersen
Feat. Tom Berenger, Bob Hoskins, Greta Scacchi…; Tom Berenger plays an amnesia victim perturbed with the fragments of his former life and the suspicious antics of his friends. An innocent victim or…
Catchfire (1990): Dir. Alan Smithee
Feat. Dennis Hopper, Jodie Foster; An engaging oddity directed by Dennis Hopper under a pseudonym, after producers cut the film from its original 3hr length. Hopper himself plays a…
Everybody Wins (1990): Dir. Karel Reisz
Feat. Debra Winger, Nick Nolte, Will Patton…; Arthur Miller's first screenplay since THE MISFITS tells the story of a private eye, hired for a murder enquiry by a strange woman who claims to know…
Grifters, The (1990): Dir. Stephen Frears
Feat. Anjelica Huston, John Cusack, Annette Bening; Small time con–artists Anjelica Huston, John Cusack and Annette Bening cross paths but come to discover little honour among thieves. A quirky,…
Hot Spot, The (1990): Dir. Dennis Hopper
Feat. Don Johnson, Virginia Madsen, Jennifer Connelly…; Don Johnson drifts into nowheresville, where things are more than a little strange and everybody chainsmokes. Steamy modern noir with a sultry blues…
Love at Large (1990): Dir. Alan Rudolph
Feat. Tom Berenger, Elizabeth Perkins, Anne Archer…; Beautifully shot and styled like a '40s detective thriller, this sexy, romantic comedy sees Tom Berenger, Elizabeth Perkins and Anne Archer embroiled…
One False Move (1990): Dir. Carl Franklin
Feat. Bill Paxton, Cynda Williams, Billy Bob Thornton; Naive county sheriff Bill Paxton gets a chance at the big–time when two vicious criminals sweep through his sleepy town. Things lighten up…
Twin Peaks (1990): Dir. David Lynch
Feat. Kyle MacLachlan, Michael Ontkean, Madchen Amick…; The pilot of David Lynch's milestone TV series in all its enigmatic glory, complete with made–for–video, tacked–on conclusion. Vol…
Two Jakes, The (1990): Dir. Jack Nicholson
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel; Long–awaited sequel to CHINATOWN, with Jack Nicholson reprising his role as the laconic P.I. whose petty burrowing upturns homicide and…
Kill Me Again (1989): Dir. John Dahl
Feat. Joanne Whalley, Michael Madsen, Val Kilmer; Joanne Whalley–Kilmer asks naive P.I. Val Kilmer to fake her death to throw short–fused Michael Madsen off her trail. Plot nicely twists…
Kill Off, The (1989): Dir. Maggie Greenwald
Feat. Andrew Lee Barrett, Jorja Fox, Ralph Graff; In a small New Jersey town, everyone has a motive to kill off the town gossip. Fascinating, off–beat story based on Jim Thompson's novel. A…
Angel Dust (1987): Dir. Edouard Niermans
Feat. Bernard Giraudeau, Fanny Bastien, Fanny Cottencon; Accomplished thriller in the film noir tradition about an out–of–luck cop who falls for a woman he later begins to suspect of murder.
Tough Guys Don't Dance (1987): Dir. Norman Mailer
Feat. Ryan O'Neal, Isabella Rossellini; This curious black comedy–come–film noir enigma will provide fascinating viewing for some. Based on the director's novel, it marked a…
52 Pick Up (1986): Dir. John Frankenheimer
Feat. Roy Scheider, Ann-Margret; A sleak and mean adaptation of Elmore Leonard's crime novel, with Roy Scheider blackmailed over a brief sexual liason by a trio of murderous,…
Trouble in Mind (1985): Dir. Alan Rudolph
Feat. Kris Kristofferson, Keith Caradine, Lori Singer; Fans of the obscure should enjoy this rollicking film noir. Set in the near future, an ex–convict returns to his favourite cafe to rekindle a…
Against All Odds (1984): Dir. Taylor Hackford
Feat. Rachel Ward, Jeff Bridges, James Woods; Modern film noir experiment is a loose remake of Out of the Past.
Blood Simple (1984): Dir. Joel Coen
Feat. John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya…; A humdinger debut from the Coen Brothers, who teasingly draw out the sinister activities of shady activities of shady rednecks before nailing things…
Finally Sunday (Vivement Dimanche!) (1983): Dir. Francois Truffaut
Feat. Fanny Ardant, Jean-Louis Trintignant; A businessman in trouble with the police over the murder of his wife's lover finds solace in his secretary who decides to investigate the case…
Hammett (1983): Dir. Wim Wenders
Feat. Frederic Forrest, Peter Boyle, Marilu Henner…; A chequered production history – conflict between director Wenders and exec producer Coppola, money problems – basically rendered the…
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982): Dir. Carl Reiner
Feat. Steve Martin; Martin's most clever vehicle has him interacting with vintage film footage of Humphrey Bogart, James Cagney and Lauren Bacall, to dazzling effect. A…
Body Heat (1981): Dir. Lawrence Kasdan
Feat. William Hurt, Kathleen Turner; Loose remake of DOUBLE INDEMNITY is a noir classic in itself. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner embark on a torrid affair and conspire to murder her…
Cutter's Way (1981): Dir. Ivan Passer
Feat. John Heard, Jeff Bridges, Lisa Eichhorn; Low–key mystery set in the hazy South Californian boondocks, that gets under your skin in its own moody, mordant way. Story concerns lippy…
Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1981): Dir. Bob Rafelson
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Jessica Lange; Highly–charged remake of the steamy film–noir classic based on the 1934 novel by James M. Cain. Written by David Mamet (in his…
True Confessions (1981): Dir. Ulu Grosbard
Feat. Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall; Roberts' De Niro and Duvall act their socks off as cop and priest who happen to be brothers. Conflicting loyalties come to a head through a…
American Gigolo (1980): Dir. Paul Schrader
Feat. Richard Gere, Lauren Hutton, Hector Elizondo; Low–key but effective drama. Richard Gere is suspected in a Hollywood murder.
Union City (1980): Dir. Mark Reichart
Feat. Debbie Harry, Dennis Lipscomb; Underrated low–budget film noir starkly depicts urban neurosis in a seedy apartment. Grungy lead performances from Debbie Harry and Dennis…
American Friend, The (1976): Dir. Wim Wenders
Feat. Bruno Ganz, Samuel Fuller, Nicholas Ray; Twisting thriller stars Bruno Ganz as an apparently terminally–ill man duped into murder. Dennis Hopper plays the American 'friend', while…
Enforcer, The (1976): Dir. James Fargo
Feat. Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, Bradford Dillman…; For sheer hokey excitement, Clint's third outing as Dirty Harry is worth a revisit.
Farewell, My Lovely (1975): Dir. Dick Richards
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland…; With a nailbitten Robert Mitchum as a weathered Marlowe, this complex Raymond Chandler story is an impressive homage to '40s film noirs.
Chinatown (1974): Dir. Roman Polanski
Feat. Jack Nicholson, Roman Polanski, John Huston…; Classic detective thriller in the Hammett–Chandler tradition, with Jack Nicholson as P.I. Jake Gittes, whose simple case leads to murder and…
Long Goodbye, The (1973): Dir. Robert Altman
Feat. Elliott Gould, Sterling Hayden, Nina Van Pallandt; Elliot Gould portrays a '70s Philip Marlowe, a wildly unkempt version of Chandler's legendary detective. Altman's film noir pastiche is equally…
Cercle Rouge, Le (The Red Circle) (1970): Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Feat. Alain Delon, Gian Maria Volonte, Yves Montand…; A precisely–crafted colour 'noir' from the French master, dir. Melville, which rejigs the usual ingredients into an exemplary heist…
Boucher, Le (The Butcher) (1969): Dir. Claude Chabrol
Feat. Stephane Audran, Jean Yanne; Psychological thriller probes the perhaps dangerous liaison between a celibate school–teacher and a murder suspect, the local butcher. Rich in…
Le Samourai (The Samurai) (1967): Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Feat. Alain Delon; Alain Delon plays an ultra–cool assassin whose flawless disposition is impenetrable to the Gendarmerie but not to a sexy key witness. Steely…
Alphaville (1965): Dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Feat. Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff…; A private eye is sent to a futuristic city run by a computer to rescue a trapped scientist. Amalgam of film noir and science fiction illustrates the…
Doulos, Le (The Finger Man) (1963): Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani; Eschewing the French New Wave movement in favour of homage to the then ‘passe’ genre of film noir, dir. Jean–Pierre Melville adds shades of…
High and Low (1963): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune; Adapted from a crime–novel by Ed McBain, this kidnapping–thriller is a central work in dir. Kurosawa’s series of film noirs, combining…
Cape Fear (1962): Dir. J. Lee-Thompson
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Gregory Peck; The original chiller that inspired the recent remake, complete with Bernard Herrmann's bombastic score. Robert Mitchum plays the ex–con…
Blast of Silence (1961): Dir. Allen Baron
Feat. Allen Baron; Grumpy, low–fi noir presides over the movements of a tetchy contract killer (dir. Baron) as he prepares to whack a two–bit mobster during…
Bad Sleep Well, The (1960): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune; A contemporary gangster saga that uses a Hamlet–esque narrative to indict corporate and political corruption. Government officials were not…
Criminal, The (1960): Dir. Joseph Losey
Feat. Sam Wanamaker, Gregoire Aslan; Joseph–Losey–directed crime drama of a con sent to prison after a profitable robbery who is tortured by his fellow prisoners to leak…
A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) (1959): Dir. Jean-Luc Godard
Feat. Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger…; Godard's landmark first film pulls out all the stops in the style department – with Jean–Paul Belmondo as the romantic fugitive,…
Cry Terror! (1958): Dir. Andrew L. Stone
Feat. James Mason, Inger Stevens, Rod Steiger…; Crime thriller with Rod Steiger as a mad extortionist who forces a New York shop owner (James Mason) to collect a ransom after threatening to blow up…
Elevator to the Gallows (Lift to the Scaffold, aka. Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud) (1958): Dir. Louis Malle
Feat. Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly…; A young Jeanne Moreau stars in this elegant thriller about a crime of passion that backfires when the murderer gets trapped in a lift. Ambience par…
Touch of Evil, A (1958): Dir. Orson Welles
Feat. Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Zsa Zsa Gabor…; Declaring its virtuosity right from the famous opening–shot, this late film–noir weaves a tale of murder and blackmail in a Mexican…
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Dana Andrews, Joan Fontaine, Sidney Blackmer…; This bleak film noir from director Fritz Lang is a triumph of style and mood with a cynical take on fate and the human condition. An impeccably…
Female Jungle (1956): Dir. Bruno VeSota
Feat. Lawrence Tierney, Jayne Mansfield, John Carradine; Lawrence Tierney, in a rare leading role, plays a hard–drinking cop who puzzles over a nightclub murder encumbered with a 'hangover'. Careful…
Killer is Loose, The (1956): Dir. Budd Boetticher
Feat. Joseph Cotten, Rhonda Fleming, Wendell Corey; Film noir about a bank robber who escapes prison and sets out on a revenge mission to bring down the cop the killed his wife. Leaning heavily into…
Killing, The (1956): Dir. Stanley Kubrick
Feat. Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards; Brilliantly observed caper movie from the early career of Mr. Kubrick about an ex–con who organises a heist from a racetrack. You'll be glued…
Please Murder Me (Please Murder Me!) (1956): Dir. Peter Godfrey
Feat. Angela Lansbury, Raymond Burr, Dick Foran…; Raymond Burr and Angela Lansbury square off in this tough–minded noir about a lawyers who successfully defends his client only to discover…
Unguarded Moment, The (1956): Dir. Harry Keller
Feat. Esther Williams, George Nader, John Saxon…; Film noir with MGM star Esther Williams playing a High School music teacher and unmarried 'career woman' who is targeted by a stalker. Although…
While the City Sleeps (1956): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Dana Andrews, Rhonda Fleming, George Sanders…; Considered a vastly under–rated Fritz Lang noir, this newspaper drama provides plenty of social commentary depicting the story of the "Lipstick…
Big Combo, The (1955): Dir. Joseph H. Lewis
Feat. Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy; Late period film noir borders on parody, with light and dialogue straight out of some parallel universe. Untouchables–style story has some…
Bob Le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler) (1955): Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
Feat. Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corney; Superb French noir from the dir. of LE SAMOURAI, here debuting with a taut plan to rob the Deauville casino, that grows ever more perilous for…
Desperate Hours, The (1955): Dir. William Wyler
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Fredric March, Arthur Kennedy…; A bunch of escaped convicts, led by Bogart, hold a family hostage in this domestic noir thriller based on the Broadway play by Joseph Hayes.…
Killer's Kiss (1955): Dir. Stanley Kubrick
Feat. Frank Silvera, Jamie Smith, Irene Kane; Early Kubrick moodily accounts the tooth–and–nail conflict between a washed–up boxer and a sleazeball club owner, after a club…
Kiss Me Deadly (1955): Dir. Robert Aldrich
Feat. Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart…; Ralph Meeker is Mike Hammer in this high–octane film noir, shamelessly blood–soaked in B–movie / pulp novel tradition. The…
Rififi (1955): Dir. Jules Dassin
Feat. Jean Servais, Jules Dassin, Magali Noel…; The French reclaim film noir with this methodical and stylish heist movie, famous for its 35 minute real–time bank robbery, executed in virtual…
Storm Fear (1955): Dir. Cornel Wilde
Feat. Cornel Wilde, Jean Wallace, Dan Duryea…; Crime noir about a gang member who seeks shelter with his brother's family after being wounded during a botched bank robbery. Once there, he…
Violent Saturday (1955): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Victor Mature, Richard Egan, Stephen McNally…; Crisp southern noir in which a bank robbery gone wrong ignites trouble in amongst the morally corrupt citizens of a small town. Ripping dialogue and…
Fast and the Furious, The (1954): Dir. Edward Sampson, John Ireland
Feat. John Ireland, Dorothy Malone, Bruno Ve Sota…; Reputedly Roger Corman's first ever production, this low–budget noir follows the dueling relationship between a prison escaper (Ireland) and…
Good Die Young, The (1954): Dir. Lewis Gilbert
Feat. Laurence Harvey, Sir Stanley Baker, Joan Collins…; Fiery British heist–noir with a debt–burdened Laurence Harvey leading a motley crew of down–on–their–luck military men…
Life at Stake, A (1954): Dir. Paul Guilfoyle
Feat. Angela Lansbury, Keith Andes, Douglas Dumbrille…; Minor noir elevated by the presence of Lansbury as a seductress who's business proposition to a struggling architect may not be strictly financial.
Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Hands Off the Loot) (1954): Dir. Jacques Becker
Feat. Jean Gabin, René Dary, Jeanne Moreau; Laid–back though influential French noir chronicling a wealthy, retired racketeer (Gabin) who is pulled back into the life of crime when his…
Witness to Murder (1954): Dir. Roy Rowland
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, George Sanders, Gary Merrill…; Film noir following a woman who doubts her sanity after witnessing a murder from her apartment window. While the cops think she is just some…
Big Heat, The (1953): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Glenn Ford, Lee Marvin, Gloria Grahame; Pugnacious cop Glenn Ford turns up the heat on civic corruption in this iconic film–noir from dir. Lang's 50s period. When a detective's…
Hitch-Hiker, The (1953): Dir. Ida Lupino
Feat. Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman; Weekend hunters Edmond O’Brien (D.O.A.) and Frank Lovejoy are terrorised by a psychotic, mass–murdering passenger (William Talman) in this…
Pickup On South Street (1953): Dir. Samuel Fuller
Feat. Richard Widmark; Pick–pocket Richard Widmark inadvertently steals a micro–film and becomes a fugitive from both police and spies. Vivid espionage thriller…
Angel Face (1952): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons; Jean Simmons is a woman possessed in this quietly unconventional film noir, playing a take–no–prisoners femme fatale who systematically…
Clash by Night (1952): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Ryan, Marilyn Monroe; Simmering jealousies in a run–down fishing village provide downbeat fare from the pen of Clifford Odets. With Barbara Stanwyk, Robert Ryan and…
Kansas City Confidential (1952): Dir. Phil Karlson
Feat. Lee Van Cleef, John Payne, Coleen Gray…; A grimly tough crime drama set in the Kansas City underworld. Payne plays an ex–con who is jailed for an unrelated crime, and on release…
Narrow Margin (1952): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White…; A woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against their assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
Sniper, The (1952): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Adolphe Menjou, Arthur Franz, Gerald Mohr…; Film noir shot on location in San Francisco, with Arthur Franz (THE CAINE MUTINY) playing a disturbed professional driver who harbours misogynistic…
He Ran All The Way (1951): Dir. John Berry
Feat. John Garfield, Shelley Winters, Wallace Ford; Tense film noir features John Garfield as a bank robber on the run and Shelly Winters as the woman who takes him into her home. Garfield's final…
On Dangerous Ground (1951): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Ida Lupino, Robert Ryan, Ward Bond…; Grimly rewarding noir, with real–life tough guy Robert Ryan in one of his best roles. As a cop helping with a protracted rural manhunt, he…
Prowler, The (1951): Dir. Joseph Losey
Feat. Van Heflin, Evelyn Keyes, John Maxwell…; This underseen "perv noir" deliciously subverts archetypes by twisting its menacing male lead (a terrific Van Heflin) into a 'homme fatale', replete…
Racket, The (1951): Dir. John Cromwell
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Lizabeth Scott…; An incorruptible police captain's attempts to clean up the streets of his town leads to confrontation with the local mob boss. Minor noir, previously…
Asphalt Jungle, The (1950): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Marilyn Monroe; Brute force and eloquent dishonesty intersect as different walks of low–life are helplessly drawn to the ultimate heist, engineered by German…
Clouded Yellow, The (1950): Dir. Ralph Thomas
Feat. Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard, Kenneth More…; Superior British noir with Howard as a jaded ex–secret service agent pressed into service when he falls for the charms of mysterious young…
D.O.A. (1950): Dir. Rudolph Mate
Feat. Edmond O'Brien; Edmund O'Brien finds himself the victim of a slow poison and sets about finding his own murderer. Impressively detailed film noir uses location…
House by the River (1950): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Louis Hayward, Lee Bowman, Jane Wyatt…; Crime noir which chillingly evokes the Victorian era thanks to director Fritz Lang's characteristic attention to detail and mood. When a rich…
In a Lonely Place (1950): Dir. Nicholas Ray
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame; Hot–headed Hollywood writer Humphrey Bogart is suspected of murder by his new girlfriend and old army pal detective. Gutsy psycho–drama…
Night and the City (1950): Dir. Jules Dassin
Feat. Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers…; An overlooked film noir gem that fires on all cylinders, marked above all by a sensationally giddy performance by Richard Widmark as a two–bit…
Panic in the Streets (1950): Dir. Elia Kazan
Feat. Richard Widmark, Paul Douglas, Barbara Bel Geddes…; Early New Orleans–set Kazan noir, follows the hunt for a killer who may be spreading a bubonic plague. Tense, detailed examination of morality…
Story of a Love Affair (Cronaca di un amore) (1950): Dir. Michelangelo Antonioni
Feat. Lucia Bose, Massimo Girotti, Ferdinando Sarmi; Although more stylistically conventional than his 'mature' films, dir. Antonioni's debut feature is a strongly delivered, almost film noir,…
Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Dana Andrews, Karl Malden, Gary Merrill…; In one of his keynote roles, Dana Andrews plays an over–aggressive cop on the dirty sidewalks of New York who takes matters into his own hands…
Woman on the Run (1950): Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. Ann Sheridan, Dennis O'Keefe, Robert Keith…; Twisty, San Fransisco–set noir spins a gripping yarn around a mob witness on the run and his estranged wife in grave danger. Excellent and…
56 Rue Pigalle (1949): Dir. Willy Rozier
Feat. Raymond Cordy, Marie Dea; Distinctive French noir telling the tale of a boss, suspected of murdering his blackmailing manservant, who flees to Africa with his mistress once…
Act of Violence (w/ Mystery Street) (1949-1950): Dir. Fred Zinnemann, John Sturges
Feat. Van Heflin, Robert Ryan, Janet Leigh…; Van Heflin's blissful small–town existence is upended when a returning WWII–vet arrives, determined to settle an old score. Disturbingly…
Big Steal, The (w/ Illegal) (1949-1955): Dir. Don Siegel, Lewis Allen
Feat. Robert Mitchum, William Bendix, Jane Greer…; On the run after being framed for a payroll robbery, GI Robert Mitchum evades William Bendix, teaming up with Jane Greer enroute to Mexico. Exciting…
Caught (1949): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. Robert Ryan, Barbara Bel Geddes, James Mason; Noir–melodrama hybrid has half–mad millionaire Robert Ryan (a role based on Howard Hughes), wrapping Barbara Bel Geddes in the coils of a…
House of Strangers (1949): Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Susan Hayward, Richard Conte…; A tour–de–force performance from Edward G. Robinson as a wealthy Italian American patriarch whose controlling presence in his sons' lives…
Reckless Moment, The (1949): Dir. Max Ophuls
Feat. James Mason, Joan Bennett, Geraldine Brooks…; Masterful suspenser in which concerned parent Joan Bennett covers up an apparent murder in order to protect her vulnerable daughter and…
Stray Dog (Nora Inu) (1949): Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Toshiro Mifune; An early film noir from Japan’s best–known director tracks police detective Toshiro Mifune into the underbelly of Tokyo in search of a pistol…
Thieves' Highway (1949): Dir. Jules Dassin
Feat. Richard Conte, Valentina Cortese, Lee J. Cobb…; One of dir. Dassin's early noir triumphs, this has Conte seeking to avenge his father's maiming at the hands of a corrupt Californian fruit…
Third Man, The (1949): Dir. Carol Reed
Feat. Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard; Superb romantic thriller about a writer in post–war Vienna whose old friend fails to meet him – under mysterious circumstances. Justly…
Trapped (1949): Dir. Richard Fleischer
Feat. Lloyd Bridges, Barbara Payton, John Hoyt; U.S. Treasury Department agents go after a ring of counterfeiters in this fast–paced B–noir.
Where Danger Lives (w/ Tension) (1949-1950): Dir. John Farrow, John Berry
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Faith Domergue, Claude Rains…; Tautly directed crime of passion, with secret lovers Mitchum and Domergue making a beeline for the Mexican border after killing her millionaire…
Whirlpool (1949): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Gene Tierney, Richard Conte, Jose Ferrer…; Tierney stars as Mrs Ann Sutton, a beautiful woman who seems to be living the dream in LA with her successful psychoanalyst husband William (Conte),…
A Woman's Vengeance (1948): Dir. Zoltan Korda
Feat. Charles Boyer, Ann Blyth, Jessica Tandy…; Murder caper based on the short story "The Gioconda Smile" by Aldous Huxley. Charles Boyer (GASLIGHT) plays a philanderer who's accused of…
Big Clock, The (1948): Dir. John Farrow
Feat. Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Elsa Lanchester; Fine clockwork suspenser lands Ray Milland in a murder–mystery bind instigated by his manipulative media baron boss (Laughton). Texbook noir…
Call Northside 777 (1948): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. James Stewart, Lee J. Cobb, Richard Conte…; An enjoyable 'noir' yarn, based on the true story of a man unjustly imprisoned for the murder of a policeman in 1930s Chicago. Jimmie Stewart…
Criss Cross (1948): Dir. Robert Siodmak
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea…; Film noir stars Lancaster as Steve Thompson, a love–lorn armored truck driver obsessed with air–headed ex–wife Anna (De Carlo) who…
Cry of the City (1948): Dir. Robert Siodmak
Feat. Victor Mature, Richard Conte, Fred Clark…; Dying cop–killer Conte refuses to confess to a crime, and worries that childhood friend turned flinty cop Mature, will implicate his girlfriend…
Force of Evil (1948): Dir. Abraham Polonsky
Feat. John Garfield, Thomas Gomez, Marie Windsor; Fascinating film noir in which crooked lawyer John Garfield turns on the mob to finance his gambling debts. This fiercely masculine morality tale is…
Gun Crazy (1948): Dir. Joseph H. Lewis
Feat. John Dall, Peggy Cummins; Cocked with outstanding set pieces, daring twists and a desperate, exciting romanticism, this 'B–movie' thriller makes the grade with any of…
He Walked By Night (1948): Dir. Alfred L. Werker
Feat. Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts; High–tension film noir shot in semi documentary style follows Richard Basehart as a psychopathic loner being doggedly pursued by LAPD's finest.
Key Largo (1948): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall; Moody, suspenseful melodrama in which war vet Humphrey Bogart is confronted with gangster nastiness on the Florida Keys. Lauren Bacall looks on.
Lady from Shanghai (1948): Dir. Orson Welles
Feat. Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles; A bold experiment from Orson Welles in which his Irish traveller joins Rita Hayworth and others aboard a luxury yacht where a murder–mystery…
Naked City, The (1948): Dir. Jules Dassin
Feat. Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Dorothy Hart…; Classic crime thriller has its eye on a young woman's murder in the 'naked city' of New York, and the two veteran cops in charge of tracking down her…
Road House (1948): Dir. Jean Negulesco
Feat. Richard Widmark; Engrossing melodrama exploring the dark side of human emotion. Psychotic club owner Richard Widmark goes into a jealous rampage when his girl decides…
Set-Up, The (1948): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias; This film noir classic is a gripping, real–time examination of a night in the life of an aging prize–fighter who refuses to be corrupted…
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948): Dir. Anatole Litvak
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Burt Lancaster; The great Barbara Stanwyck cracks up in this crime melodrama, an enjoyably overrought 'visualisation' of what was a gripping and highly successful…
Street With No Name, The (1948): Dir. William Keighley
Feat. Mark Stevens, Richard Widmark, Lloyd Nolan…; One of the grittier film noirs of the 1940s, evokes its tale of corruption, mob violence and FBI infiltration with a semi–documentary surface.…
They Live By Night (w/ Side Street) (1948-1950): Dir. Nicholas Ray, Anthony Mann
Feat. Farley Granger, Cathy O'Donnell; Nicholas Ray's terrific, heartfelt tragi–noir fluctuates between high tension and sweet romance, underpinning the fate of criminal lovers…
Velvet Touch, The (1948): Dir. Jack Gage
Feat. Rosalind Russell, Leon Ames, Leo Genn…; Film noir with Rosalind Russell (HIS GIRL FRIDAY) playing a Broadway star who accidentally kills her producer during an argument, then stands by as a…
Body and Soul (1947): Dir. Robert Rossen
Feat. John Garfield, Lilli Palmer, William Conrad…; Vital companion–piece to FORCE OF EVIL with John Garfield again lined up for the fall, as a naive, get–ahead young boxer whose propensity…
Born to Kill (1947): Dir. Robert Wise
Feat. Lawrence Tierney, Claire Trevor, Audrey Long…; Cracking, hard–edged B–movie thriller, with studly Lawrence Tierney as a ‘homme fatale’ who seduces his way into a cushy marriage in…
Brute Force (1947): Dir. Jules Dassin
Feat. Burt Lancaster, Hume Cronyn, Charles Bickford…; Surprisingly visceral and violent for its time, this prison drama sees Lancaster play a tough inmate in Westgate Penitentiary who decides to wage war…
Dark Passage (1947): Dir. Delmer Daves
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall; Smokey Bogie and Bacall noir thriller in which his convicted murderer flees prison and changes his face to prove his innocence. The first third is…
Dead Reckoning (1947): Dir. John Cromwell
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott; Minor Bogart vehicle, playing a war veteran out to avenge the murder of his buddy. Femme Fatale Lizabeth Scott is undoubtedly involved.
Desert Fury (1947): Dir. Lewis Allen
Feat. Lizabeth Scott, John Hodiak, Burt Lancaster…; Small town Nevada desert set suspense focusing around a gambling empire obstinately led by a tough woman whose perfect monopoly is interrupted by her…
Dishonored Lady (1947): Dir. Robert Stevenson
Feat. Hedy Lamarr, Dennis O'Keefe, John Loder; Hedy Lamarr and then–husband John Loder star in this deliciously ludicrous, dated melodrama, with Lamarr as a fashion editor and lively party…
It Always Rains on Sunday (1947): Dir. Robert Hamer
Feat. Googie Withers, John McCallum, Jack Warner; Overlooked masterpiece of British crime noir which blends kitchen sink realism with the poetic sensibilities of 30's French cinema. An escaped…
Kiss of Death (1947): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray…; Fantastic film noir about a career criminal whose attempts to start a new life entangle him with a psychopathic murderer bent on revenge. Richard…
Lured (Personal Column) (1947): Dir. Douglas Sirk
Feat. Lucille Ball, George Sanders, Charles Coburn…; Earlier work in the oeuvre of cult director Douglas Sirk isn’t up there with his later masterworks but is more than just a footnote, with a first…
Nightmare Alley (1947): Dir. Edmund Goulding
Feat. Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray…; Cast against type, Tyrone Power smolders as a nefarious conman whose powers of seduction are employed to crib a secret mind–reading act from a…
Out of the Past (1947): Dir. Jacques Tourneur
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas; Superbly crafted pulp, details the ominous voyage of doomed hero Robert Mitchum as he recalls the convoluted intrigues, involving femme fatale Jane…
Pursued (1947): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Robert Mitchum, Teresa Wright, Dame Judith Anderson…; This moody western is one of the best Mitchum performances, in a film famous for it's unusual (at the time) use of Freudian psychology. A nightmarish…
Quai Des Orfevres (1947): Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
Feat. Louis Jouvet, Bernard Blier, Suzy Delair…; Romantically bleak French noir about an ambitious starlet and her protective husband who find themselves implicated in the murder of a lecherous…
Big Sleep, The (1946): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall; This adaptation of Raymond Chandler's mystery novel has perhaps become the greatest film noir of all time. Humphrey Bogart as detective Marlowe falls…
Black Angel (1946): Dir. Roy William Neill
Feat. Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre…; The husband of a murdered woman and the wife of the man who was convicted for the killing (Duryea and Vincent) team up to prove his innocence, until…
Blue Dahlia, The (1946): Dir. George Marshall
Feat. Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix; Riveting Raymond Chandler noir teams Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake in their third on–screen pairing as an ex–bomber pilot accused of…
Crime Wave (w/ Decoy) (1946-1954): Dir. Andre De Toth, Jack Bernhard
Feat. Sterling Hayden, Gene Nelson, Phyllis Kirk…; Sterling Hayden burns a hole through the screen in this hard–boiled, viciously paced noir about a botched robbery and the ensuing manhunt.…
Dark Corner (1946): Dir. Henry Hathaway
Feat. Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, Mark Stevens…; Expert film noir concerns a private detective (Stevens) living under the shadow of a murder frame–up concocted by villain Clifton Webb (LAURA).…
Dark Mirror, The (1946): Dir. Robert Siodmak
Feat. Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres; Playing twin sisters with obvious relish, Olivia de Havilland is the chiefsuspect in a murder investigation who confounds the prosecution with a pair…
Dragonwyck (1946): Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. Gene Tierney, Vincent Price, Walter Huston; 1940s gothic thriller. Gene Tierney gets married to the local lord of the manor, before discovering the skeletons in the closet of his big spooky…
Gilda (1946): Dir. Charles Vidor
Feat. Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready; Rita Hayworth defines the femme fatale for Hollywood in this sassy love–triangle musical set in Latin America. Glenn Ford and George Macready…
Killers, The (1946): Dir. Robert Siodmak
Feat. Edmond O'Brien, Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner; Textbook film noir has insurance investigator Edmund O'Brien auditing the curious death of prize–fighter Burt Lancaster, in a series of…
Leave Her to Heaven (1946): Dir. John M. Stahl
Feat. Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde; Beware the beautiful woman! Gene Tierney makes a gorgeous yet domesticated vamp whose suffocating personality mutates into murderous frustration.…
Man I Love, The (1946): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Ida Lupino, Robert Alda, Bruce Bennett…; Romantic drama about a New York lounge singer who becomes homesick and decides to visit her siblings on the West Coast, where she unexpectedly falls…
MGM Film Noir Collection (The Stranger, He Walked By Night, He Ran All The Way, Odds Against Tomorrow ) (1946-1959): Dir. Orson Welles, John Berry, Robert Wise; Four vintage film noirs from the MGM vault.
Panique (1946): Dir. Julien Duvivier
Feat. Michel Simon, Viviane Romance; Exemplary French noir based on the novel Les Fiançailles de M. Hire by Georges Simenon, the source of the Patrice Leconte film, MONSIEUR HIRE…
Pink String And Sealing Wax (1946): Dir. Robert Hamer
Feat. Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers, Gordon Jackson; Brit film noir set in a dark and dirty Brighton sees a scheming landlady (Withers) befriend a young chemist's assistant in order to obtain poison to…
Postman Always Rings Twice (1946): Dir. Tay Garnett
Feat. John Garfield, Lana Turner; Steamy film noir with John Garfield and Lana Turner as doomed, murderous lovers.
Somewhere in the Night (1946): Dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Feat. John Hodiak, Nancy Guild, Lloyd Nolan…; Often underrated 'film noir' has an amnesiac soldier (Hodiak) return to Los Angeles from WW2 to rediscover his identity, only he may not want to... A…
Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946): Dir. Lewis Milestone
Feat. Barbara Stanwyck, Kirk Douglas, Van Heflin…; Compelling noir with Barbara Stanwyck as the eponymous rich bitch whose dark secret threatens to topple her off her ivory tower.
Detour (1945): Dir. Edgar G. Ulmer
Feat. Tom Neal, Ann Savage; Often touted as the best B–movie ever made, this blistering film noir upstaged many of the Hollywood main features it was paired with. Short on…
Fallen Angel (1945): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Dana Andrews, Alice Faye, Linda Darnell; Follow–up to Preminger's film noir LAURA stars Andrews as a penniless drifter who falls in love with beautiful waitress Stella (Darnell) so…
Mildred Pierce (1945): Dir. Michael Curtiz
Feat. Joan Crawford; Joan Crawford won an Oscar for her career–defining role as a stoical housewife–turned–waitress who finds success in business, but…
Scarlet Street (1945): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett; One of dir. Fritz Lang's best American film noirs, salts a slightly bizzare plot with pinches of cruelty and sexual repression. Edward G Robinson…
Christmas Holiday (1944): Dir. Robert Siodmak
Feat. Deanna Durbin, Gene Kelly; Considered one of the bleakest Film Noirs of the 1940s, casting musical star Deanna Durbin in a rare serious role as a woman who marries an…
Double Indemnity (1944): Dir. Billy Wilder
Feat. Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson; The jewel in the crown of all things film noir has hardly dated an iota despite countless imitations. You'll savour each moment as…
Laura (1944): Dir. Otto Preminger
Feat. Dana Andrews, Gene Tierney, Clifton Webb…; Classic noir with detective Dana Andrews assembling the pieces of the puzzle surrounding the mysterious death of glamourpuss Gene Tierney. Thriller…
Ministry of Fear (1944): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond…; Fritz Lang's classic film noir focuses on a man who, upon being released from an insane asylum, unwittingly discovers a piece of microfilm intended…
Murder, My Sweet (Farewell, My Lovely) (1944): Dir. Edward Dmytryk
Feat. Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley…; An iconic 'noir' whose unsavoury storyline is taken from Raymond Chandler's classic novel. Powell plays a detective dragged into a murky case of…
Phantom Lady (1944): Dir. Robert Siodmak
Feat. Alan Curtis, Ella Raines, Virginia Brissac…; Dark little treat of a thriller focused on a married man who spends a night with a mysterious lady and subsequently finds his wife murdered. The…
To Have and Have Not (1944): Dir. Howard Hawks
Feat. Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart; In the upper–bracket of Bogart films, this first time match–up with Lauren Bacall still sets the screen alight. Adapted from the…
Woman in the Window, The (1944): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey; Fritz Lang applies his quietly gripping style to this highly–ranked film–noir in which Criminology Professor Edward G Robinson is led…
Hangmen Also Die (1943): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Brian Donlevy, Walter Brennan, Anna Lee…; Moody political thriller with Donlevy on the run after assassinating a prominent Nazi and finding shelter with a Czech family as the manhunt consumes…
Across the Pacific (1942): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor; Bogie and director Huston reunite with other MALTESE FALCON leads for a similarly toned WW2 spy adventure set on the eve of Pearl Harbour. Huston was…
Glass Key, The (1942): Dir. Stuart Heisler
Feat. Veronica Lake, Alan Ladd, Brian Donlevy; Alan Ladd re–teams with blonde siren Veronica Lake in this almighty film noir of divided loyalties, crooked politicians, and underworld snares.…
Journey into Fear (1942): Dir. Norman Foster
Feat. Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Orson Welles…; Hitchcockian suspenser set around an American engineer's adventures in WW2 Turkey. Loaded down with a maze–like plot (written by star Joseph…
Ossessione (1942): Dir. Luchino Visconti
Feat. Clara Calamai, Massimo Girotti, Dhia Cristiani; Visconti's awesome debut interprets James Cain's novel of lust, greed, murder and recrimination, The Postman Always Rings Twice. Its stark rendering…
This Gun for Hire (1942): Dir. Frank Tuttle
Feat. Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston…; Dynamite film noir, with Alan Ladd leaping to prominence as an unsmiling hitman embroiled in a vicious revenge quest for a traitorous confederate,…
I Wake Up Screaming (1941): Dir. Bruce Humberstone
Feat. Betty Grable; Betty Grable tackles a dramatic role for this exciting whodunnit surrounding the murder of her sister. Quality film noir with a surprise twist in its…
Maltese Falcon, The (1941): Dir. John Huston
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre…; A remarkable debut from director Huston hires Bogart's detective Sam Spade to locate a priceless statuette. Prototype film noir based on Dashiell…
Angels Over Broadway (1940): Dir. Ben Hecht, Lee Garmes
Feat. Douglas Jr. Fairbanks, Rita Hayworth; Off–beat melodrama about three of life's failures who redeem themselves in one night's gambling in a New York cafe.
They Drive by Night (1940): Dir. Raoul Walsh
Feat. Humphrey Bogart, George Raft, Ida Lupino; Freelance truckies Humphrey Bogart and George Raft do night–runs to deliver their cargo on time, making the first–half an…
Blind Alley (1939): Dir. Charles Vidor
Feat. Chester Morris, Ralph Bellamy; A gangster escapes from prison and takes a psychiatrist hostage in this home–invasion film noir.
You Only Live Once (1937): Dir. Fritz Lang
Feat. Henry Fonda, Sylvia Sidney; An awesome early film noir from dir. Lang with Fonda playing a career criminal determined to go straight, but compelled by fate into murdering a…
Bogart Collection 1, The (They Drive By Night, High Sierra, The Maltese Falcon, To Have and Have Not): Feat. Humphrey Bogart
Bogart Collection 2, The (The Big Sleep, Key Largo, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Dark Passage): Feat. Humphrey Bogart
Pulp Cinema: A sterling collection of film–noir movie trailers, including: The Big Heat, The Big Knife, The Big Sleep, Grand Central Murder, I Am A…
World's Best Dicks: Dir. Various; Compilation tape of gumshoes, gangsters, broads and bombshells including Sherlock Holmes, Mr. Moto, Dick Tracy, Mr. Wong and many more.

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