Film Noir: Sensational Titles.
by seymourblack-1 | created - 27 Aug 2020 | updated - 28 Mar 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Lady in the Death House (1944)
Passed | 56 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A young woman is on Death Row for the murder of a man who was blackmailing her family, although she claims she was framed. Her fiance', a doctor who is conducting experiments on reviving ... See full summary »
Director: Steve Sekely | Stars: Jean Parker, Lionel Atwill, Douglas Fowley, Marcia Mae Jones
Votes: 420
2. Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948)
Approved | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Fugitive Bill Saunders and lonely nurse Jane Wharton are crossed by fate when he hides out in her apartment.
Director: Norman Foster | Stars: Joan Fontaine, Burt Lancaster, Robert Newton, Lewis L. Russell
Votes: 2,157
3. I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
Passed | 82 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Why is Inspector Ed Cornell trying to railroad Frankie Christopher for the murder of model Vicky Lynn?
Director: H. Bruce Humberstone | Stars: Betty Grable, Victor Mature, Carole Landis, Laird Cregar
Votes: 5,383
4. Calling Dr. Death (1943)
Approved | 63 min | Film-Noir, Horror, Mystery
A doctor is not sure if he murdered his beautiful but wicked wife, and has his attractive nurse try to find the truth by hypnotizing him.
Director: Reginald Le Borg | Stars: Lon Chaney Jr., Patricia Morison, J. Carrol Naish, David Bruce
Votes: 1,262
5. Born to Kill (1947)
Approved | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney, Walter Slezak, Phillip Terry
Votes: 6,088
6. Screaming Mimi (1958)
Approved | 79 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
Virginia Wilson saw a man get shot right after he tried to kill her, so she goes to psychiatrist Dr. Greenwood. He falls in love with her and takes over her life, but she insists on continuing her career as a stripper.
Director: Gerd Oswald | Stars: Anita Ekberg, Philip Carey, Gypsy Rose Lee, Harry Townes
Votes: 774
7. Naked Alibi (1954)
Approved | 86 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A chief of police detectives fired for brutality, tries to get evidence on a man suspected of killing 3 of his officers.
Director: Jerry Hopper | Stars: Sterling Hayden, Gloria Grahame, Gene Barry, Marcia Henderson
Votes: 1,517
8. Death in Small Doses (1957)
Not Rated | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A government agent investigates the use of illegal amphetamines among long-haul truck drivers.
Director: Joseph M. Newman | Stars: Peter Graves, Mala Powers, Chuck Connors, Merry Anders
Votes: 325
9. Yield to the Night (1956)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
Woman abused by men meets a man she thinks loves her. He cheats, she kills his mistress. Based on Ruth Ellis, last woman executed in Britain. Less than
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: Diana Dors, Yvonne Mitchell, Michael Craig, Marie Ney
Votes: 1,484
10. The Man Who Died Twice (1958)
Approved | 70 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Nightclub owner T.J. Brennon dies in a car accident and two narcotics agents are killed in his apartment, prompting an investigation by the local police aided by Brennon's cop brother.
Director: Joseph Kane | Stars: Rod Cameron, Vera Ralston, Mike Mazurki, Gerald Milton
Votes: 199
11. Jail Bait (1954)
Unrated | 71 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Vic Brady draws young Don Gregor into a life of crime. He then blackmails Gregor's plastic surgeon father into fixing up his face so he can evade the cops.
Director: Edward D. Wood Jr. | Stars: Lyle Talbot, Dolores Fuller, Herbert Rawlinson, Steve Reeves
Votes: 2,877
12. Private Hell 36 (1954)
Passed | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
When 2 detectives steal $80,000 from a dead robber, one of them suffers from a guilty conscience which could lead to murder.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Ida Lupino, Steve Cochran, Howard Duff, Dean Jagger
Votes: 1,882
13. The Damned Don't Cry (1950)
Approved | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A New York socialite climbs the ladder of success man by man until a life among rich gangsters gives her what she thought she always wanted.
Director: Vincent Sherman | Stars: Joan Crawford, David Brian, Steve Cochran, Kent Smith
Votes: 3,569 | Gross: $1.54M
14. Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Not Rated | 106 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart, Juano Hernandez
Votes: 22,092
15. Bad Blonde (1953)
Approved | 81 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A scheming blonde seduces a fighter and convinces him to murder her husband, a fight manager.
Director: Reginald Le Borg | Stars: Barbara Payton, Frederick Valk, John Slater, Sidney James
Votes: 448
16. Bury Me Dead (1947)
Approved | 68 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Barbara Carlin attends her own funeral and returns home suspecting that her husband, Rod Carlin, had tried to do away with her, and is also (rightfully) curious as to just who was the woman... See full summary »
Director: Bernard Vorhaus | Stars: Cathy O'Donnell, June Lockhart, Hugh Beaumont, Mark Daniels
Votes: 403
17. Kill or Be Killed (1950)
Approved | 67 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A man falsely accused of murder hides out in the South American jungle.
Director: Max Nosseck | Stars: Lawrence Tierney, George Coulouris, Marissa O'Brien, Rudolph Anders
Votes: 159
18. Slaughter on 10th Avenue (1957)
Passed | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A brave longshoreman lingers on after being gunned down by 3 racketeers, as a determined assistant D.A. searches hard for fearful witnesses against the men.
Director: Arnold Laven | Stars: Richard Egan, Jan Sterling, Dan Duryea, Julie Adams
Votes: 476
19. Man Bait (1952)
Not Rated | 78 min | Crime, Drama
The married owner of a bookstore is attracted to his sexy blonde clerk. He finally gives in to temptation and makes a pass at her, but that only results in him getting enmeshed in blackmail and murder.
Director: Terence Fisher | Stars: George Brent, Marguerite Chapman, Raymond Huntley, Peter Reynolds
Votes: 876
20. New Orleans Uncensored (1955)
Approved | 76 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A Navy veteran purchases a government surplus vessel and becomes involved in the capture of waterfront racketeers.
Director: William Castle | Stars: Arthur Franz, Beverly Garland, Helene Stanton, Michael Ansara
Votes: 412
21. Outrage (1950)
Passed | 75 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A young woman who has just become engaged has her life completely shattered when she is raped while on her way home from work.
Director: Ida Lupino | Stars: Mala Powers, Tod Andrews, Robert Clarke, Raymond Bond
Votes: 1,824
22. The Unholy Wife (1957)
Passed | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A gold-digger floozy marries a wealthy wine producer but she secretly takes a young lover with whom she conspires to murder her husband for his fortune.
Director: John Farrow | Stars: Diana Dors, Rod Steiger, Tom Tryon, Beulah Bondi
Votes: 629
23. A Kiss Before Dying (1956)
Approved | 94 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
A ruthless college student resorts to murder in an attempt to marry an heiress.
Director: Gerd Oswald | Stars: Robert Wagner, Jeffrey Hunter, Virginia Leith, Joanne Woodward
Votes: 4,325
24. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Approved | 80 min | Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi
A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.
Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates, King Donovan
Votes: 54,799
25. Dead Man's Eyes (1944)
Approved | 64 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
When an artist is blinded, his fiancée's father offers an operation to restore his sight. When the benefactor suddenly dies, the artist becomes a suspect.
Director: Reginald Le Borg | Stars: Lon Chaney Jr., Jean Parker, Paul Kelly, Thomas Gomez
Votes: 1,024
26. Kill Her Gently (1957)
Approved | 75 min | Crime, Thriller
Two convicts who have just escaped from prison are picked up by a motorist. He recognizes the men from descriptions given of them on the radio, but instead of turning them over to the police, he proposes to hire them to murder his wife.
Director: Charles Saunders | Stars: Marc Lawrence, George Mikell, Griffith Jones, John Gayford
Votes: 248
27. Born to Be Bad (1950)
Approved | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A woman's attempt to appear innocent and sweet clashes with her lover, who sees through her act, and the wealthy man she tries to trick into marrying her.
Director: Nicholas Ray | Stars: Mel Ferrer, Joan Fontaine, Robert Ryan, Zachary Scott
Votes: 2,762
28. Violated (1953)
Approved | 78 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Psycho stalks the streets of Greenwich Village, killing and scalping his victims.
Director: Walter Strate | Stars: William Holland, Lili Dawn, Mitchell Kowall, Vicki Carlson
Votes: 244
29. Hell Bound (1957)
Approved | 69 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
After World War II, a Los Angeles crime ring uses a complex scheme, involving a freight ship, a junkie, and a corrupt health officer, to smuggle drugs into the USA.
Director: William J. Hole Jr. | Stars: John Russell, June Blair, Stuart Whitman, Margo Woode
Votes: 724
30. Hell's Half Acre (1954)
Approved | 90 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
An American woman goes to Hawaii to search for her husband, MIA since the war, but he's a fugitive from the law and involved in a private feud against his former crime syndicate partners.
Director: John H. Auer | Stars: Wendell Corey, Evelyn Keyes, Elsa Lanchester, Marie Windsor
Votes: 627
31. Kiss of Death (1947)
Approved | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A crook arrested for a jewelry heist initially refuses to give up his accomplices, but he changes his mind once his wife dies under worrying circumstances.
Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Victor Mature, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Richard Widmark
Votes: 9,578
32. Three Bad Sisters (1956)
Approved | 76 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A millionaire dies in an airplane crash, leaving all of his money to be divided among his three daughters. One of the daughters doesn't want to share any of it, so she plans to get rid of her two sisters.
Director: Gilbert Kay | Stars: Marla English, Kathleen Hughes, Sara Shane, John Bromfield
Votes: 263
33. Doomed to Die (1940)
Approved | 68 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Mr. Wong and a girl reporter investigate a shipping magnate's murder.
Director: William Nigh | Stars: Boris Karloff, Marjorie Reynolds, Grant Withers, William Stelling
Votes: 1,368
34. Short Cut to Hell (1957)
Passed | 89 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A professional hitman is hired by a friend to commit two murders. His friend pays him off in what turns out to be stolen money, and the police soon trace the money to him. On the run, he ... See full summary »
Director: James Cagney | Stars: William Bishop, Robert Ivers, Georgann Johnson, Yvette Vickers
Votes: 313
35. Nightmare Alley (1947)
Passed | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir
The rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall.
Director: Edmund Goulding | Stars: Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray, Helen Walker
Votes: 13,420
36. Female Jungle (1955)
73 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Several persons, including an off duty policeman and a weird rich guy, are suspects in the murder of a beautiful actress.
Director: Bruno VeSota | Stars: Lawrence Tierney, Jayne Mansfield, John Carradine, Burt Kaiser
Votes: 604
37. Street of Sinners (1957)
Approved | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Rookie New York cop has to deal with juvenile delinquents, his superiors, and blame for the suicide of a woman who jumped to her death while he was in her apartment.
Director: William Berke | Stars: George Montgomery, Geraldine Brooks, Nehemiah Persoff, Marilee Earle
Votes: 220
38. Human Desire (1954)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance
A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in an affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train where they meet.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Broderick Crawford, Edgar Buchanan
Votes: 6,356
39. Pillow of Death (1945)
Passed | 66 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Horror
An unfaithful attorney is suspected of murdering his wife.
Director: Wallace Fox | Stars: Lon Chaney Jr., Brenda Joyce, J. Edward Bromberg, Rosalind Ivan
Votes: 793
40. Lightning Strikes Twice (1951)
Passed | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Sent to a dude ranch in the west to recover her health, a New York actress falls in love with a ranch owner recently acquitted of the murder of his wife.
Director: King Vidor | Stars: Richard Todd, Ruth Roman, Mercedes McCambridge, Zachary Scott
Votes: 1,445
41. Hell's Five Hours (1958)
73 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A disgruntled ex-employee of a missile fuel plant plans to commit suicide by blowing himself and the plant up with explosives.
Director: Jack L. Copeland | Stars: Stephen McNally, Coleen Gray, Vic Morrow, Maurice Manson
Votes: 162
42. The Female Animal (1958)
Approved | 84 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance
An aging film star and her alcoholic daughter compete for a handsome extra.
Director: Harry Keller | Stars: Hedy Lamarr, Jane Powell, Jan Sterling, George Nader
Votes: 616
43. The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947)
Approved | 62 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Law-abiding Jimmy Ferguson soon regrets giving a ride to killer Steve Morgan.
Director: Felix E. Feist | Stars: Lawrence Tierney, Ted North, Nan Leslie, Betty Lawford
Votes: 1,031
44. Edge of Hell (1956)
Approved | 78 min | Drama, Film-Noir
A Russian beggar and his performing dog Flip struggle to make ends meet living upon the cruel streets.
Director: Hugo Haas | Stars: Hugo Haas, Francesca De Scaffa, June Shelley, Jeffrey Stone
Votes: 82
45. Cell 2455, Death Row (1955)
Approved | 77 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Whit, condemned and awaiting execution, reviews the events of his life that has brought him to Cell 2455 on San Quentin's Death Row, a story he had told in a autobiography that became a ... See full summary »
Director: Fred F. Sears | Stars: William Campbell, R. Wright Campbell, Marian Carr, Kathryn Grant
Votes: 490
46. Over-Exposed (1956)
Approved | 80 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
Sexy blonde dance club girl learns the photography trade and moves to New York in pursuit of a new career.
Director: Lewis Seiler | Stars: Cleo Moore, Richard Crenna, Isobel Elsom, Raymond Greenleaf
Votes: 795
47. Scandal Incorporated (1956)
Passed | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
When movie actor Brad Cameron is at Federated Studios in Hollywood for wardrobe fittings, he learns that Scandal magazine has published a false cover story about him being "caught in the ... See full synopsis »
Director: Edward Mann | Stars: Robert Hutton, Patricia Wright, Paul Richards, Robert Knapp
Votes: 21
48. Young and Willing (1954)
Approved | 72 min | Crime, Drama
Frank "women in prison" story that sympathetically tracks several inmates through their imprisonment and subsequent return to society. Some are successfully rehabilitated; some are not.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: Glynis Johns, Diana Dors, John Gregson, Olive Sloane
Votes: 311
49. The Flesh Is Weak (1957)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama
Pimps prey on young women coming to London for work.
Director: Don Chaffey | Stars: John Derek, Milly Vitale, William Franklyn, Martin Benson
Votes: 151
50. Noose for a Lady (1953)
76 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A woman has been sentenced to death by hanging. Her cousin believes she is innocent and he works against time to prove it before she is executed.
Director: Wolf Rilla | Stars: Dennis Price, Rona Anderson, Ronald Howard, Pamela Alan
Votes: 282
51. Temptation (1946)
Approved | 98 min | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller
Ruby, a beautiful divorcee with a shady past, marries a rich Egyptologist, and while he continues excavating a Pharoah's tomb, she becomes bored until she falls for a debt-ridden, blackmailing Egyptian prince.
Director: Irving Pichel | Stars: Merle Oberon, George Brent, Charles Korvin, Paul Lukas
Votes: 379
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