Noir movies
Noir movies from the 40's and the 50's. The black and white ones. The classic era. Not the coloured ones from the 60's and on, that's the "new-noir", I call'em. That's another list.
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- DirectorFritz LangStarsGlenn FordGloria GrahameBroderick CrawfordA 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.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGlenn FordGloria GrahameJocelyn BrandoTough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsHumphrey BogartGloria GrahameFrank LovejoyA potentially violent screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsRobert MitchumJane GreerKirk DouglasA private eye escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses, and duplicitous dames.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsGene TierneyDana AndrewsClifton WebbA police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallBruce BennettA man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try to prove his innocence.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsGeorge RaftHumphrey BogartAnn SheridanWhen one of two truck-driving brothers loses an arm, they both join a transport company where the other is falsely charged as an accessory in the murder of the owner.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsTom NealAnn SavageClaudia DrakeThe life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BennettDan DuryeaA man in mid-life crisis befriends a young woman, though her fiancé persuades her to con him out of the fortune they mistakenly assume he possesses.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsDick PowellClaire TrevorAnne ShirleyAfter being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsCharlton HestonOrson WellesJanet LeighA stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsRita HayworthOrson WellesEverett SloaneFascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsCathy O'DonnellFarley GrangerHoward Da SilvaAn escaped convict injured during a robbery falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsJohn GarfieldShelley WintersWallace FordNick and his partner Al stage a payroll holdup. Al is shot, and Nick kills a policeman. Nick hides out at a public pool, where he meets Peg Dobbs. They go back to her apartment, and he forces her family to hide him from the police manhunt.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsBurt LancasterLizabeth ScottKirk DouglasFrankie Madison leaves prison expecting a share from his ex-partner. But Prohibition bootlegging didn't prepare Frankie for Big Business.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsBarbara StanwyckBurt LancasterAnn RichardsWhile on the telephone, an invalid woman overhears what she thinks is a murder plot and attempts to prevent it.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBurt LancasterHume CronynCharles BickfordAt a tough penitentiary, prisoner Joe Collins plans to rebel against Captain Munsey, the power-mad chief guard.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterAva GardnerEdmond O'BrienHit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterYvonne De CarloDan DuryeaAn armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsSterling HaydenLouis CalhernJean HagenA major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck and solid police work cause everything to unravel.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsRichard WidmarkJean PetersThelma RitterA pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsJohn DallPeggy CumminsBerry KroegerTwo disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsRalph MeekerAlbert DekkerPaul StewartA doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsHumphrey BogartJohn DerekGeorge MacreadyAn attorney defends a hoodlum of murder, using the oppressiveness of the slums to appeal to the court.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsMel FerrerJoan FontaineRobert RyanA 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.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsRobert YoungRobert MitchumRobert RyanA man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of demobilized soldiers he met in a bar. But which one? And why?
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRobert RyanAudrey TotterGeorge TobiasExpecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeRobert PrestonWhen assassin Philip Raven shoots a blackmailer and his beautiful female companion dead, he is paid off in marked bills by his treasonous employer who is working with foreign spies.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeWilliam BendixAn ex-bomber pilot is suspected of murdering his unfaithful wife.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BennettRaymond MasseyWhen a conservative middle aged professor engages in a relationship with a femme fatale, he's plunged into a nightmarish world of blackmail and murder.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsBrian DonlevyWalter BrennanAnna LeeAfter the German administrator of Czechoslovakia is shot, his assassin tries to elude the Gestapo and struggles with his impulse to give himself up as hostages are executed.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRay MillandMarjorie ReynoldsCarl EsmondStephen Neale has just been released from an asylum during World War II in England when he accidentally stumbles onto a deadly Nazi spy plot and tries to stop it.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLana TurnerJohn GarfieldCecil KellawayA married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsHumphrey BogartLizabeth ScottMorris CarnovskyA soldier runs away rather than receive the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate, and love and death soon follow.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallWalter BrennanDuring World War II, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sensuous lounge singer.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsDane ClarkAlexis SmithZachary ScottA struggling artist becomes a New York City prizefighter in an attempt to win the affection of the ring promoter's night club singing sister.
- DirectorJoseph KaneStarsJohn SmithFay SpainSteve BrodieA young prizefighter finds himself being squeezed on all sides to throw a fight.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsCornel WildeRichard ConteJean WallaceA police lieutenant is ordered to stop investigating deadly crime boss Mr. Brown because he hasn't been able to get any hard evidence against him. He goes after Brown's girlfriend, who despises him, for information instead.
- DirectorHerbert KlineStarsRichard ConteVanessa BrownLee J. CobbIn Mexico, a young boxer uses his winnings to buy guns to avenge his family's murder.
- DirectorBusby BerkeleyStarsJohn GarfieldClaude RainsThe Dead End KidsA champion boxer on the lamb, believed to have committed murder while drunk, takes refuge and finds redemption at a farm for delinquent youths.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsSterling HaydenColeen GrayVince EdwardsCrook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsHumphrey BogartRod SteigerJan SterlingAn ex-sportswriter is hired by a shady fight promoter to promote his latest find, an unknown but easily exploitable rising star from Argentina.
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsJohn GarfieldLilli PalmerHazel BrooksA talented boxer's young career hits difficult terrain when an unethical promoter takes interest in him.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsKirk DouglasArthur KennedyMarilyn MaxwellBoxer Midge Kelly rises to fame...mainly by stepping on other people.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsAldo RayAnne BancroftBrian KeithThrough a series of bizarre coincidences, an artist finds himself falsely accused of bank robbery and murder and is pursued by the authorities and the real killers.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsDana AndrewsGene TierneyGary MerrillDet. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him?
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsAlice FayeDana AndrewsLinda DarnellA slick con man arrives in a small town looking to make some money, but soon gets more than he bargained for.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsLucille BallClifton WebbWilliam BendixA secretary tries to help her boss who's been framed for murder.
- DirectorRichard FleischerWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsCharles McGrawMarie WindsorJacqueline WhiteA woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against potential assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsClaire TrevorLawrence TierneyWalter SlezakA 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.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsRichard BasehartAudrey TotterCyd CharisseA meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife's lover.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRobert MitchumClaude RainsFaith DomergueA young doctor falls in love with a disturbed young woman, becomes involved in her husband's death, and must flee with her to the Mexican border.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsRobert MitchumJane GreerWilliam BendixAn army lieutenant accused of robbery pursues the real thief on a frantic chase through Mexico aided by the thief's fiancee.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsJohn Drew BarrymorePreston FosterJoan LorringA teenager comes of age while seeking revenge on the man who beat up his father.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsMerle OberonRobert RyanCharles KorvinA multinational group of train passengers become involved in a post-World War II Nazi assassination plot.
- DirectorAbraham PolonskyStarsJohn GarfieldThomas GomezBeatrice PearsonAn unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJohn PayneColeen GrayPreston FosterAn ex-con trying to go straight is framed for a million dollar armored car robbery and must go to Mexico in order to unmask the real culprits.
- DirectorAlex SegalStarsGlenn FordDonna ReedLeslie NielsenAfter the child of wealthy parents gets abducted, the police and a member of the press intervene to assist the parents in their search but end up complicating their impending decisions.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsDick PowellWalter SlezakMicheline CheirelCanadian flyer Laurence Gerard finds that his wife has been murdered by a French collaborator. His quest for justice leads him to Switzerland and Argentina.
- DirectorIda LupinoStarsEdmond O'BrienFrank LovejoyWilliam TalmanTwo fishermen pick up a psychopathic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.
- DirectorBoris IngsterStarsPeter LorreJohn McGuireMargaret TallichetAn aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.
- DirectorW. Lee WilderStarsJohn BromfieldMartha VickersRobert HuttonWhen a scheming fortune hunter finds his rich wife is not going to die as expected, he and his lover make other plans to get her millions.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsRichard WidmarkGene TierneyGoogie WithersA small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.
- DirectorNicholas RayIda LupinoStarsIda LupinoRobert RyanWard BondRough city cop Jim Wilson is disciplined by his captain and is sent upstate, to a snowy mountain town, to help the local sheriff solve a murder case.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsDeanna DurbinGene KellyRichard WhorfA young femme fatale-type woman realizes that the man she married is an incorrigible wastrel.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsOlivia de HavillandLew AyresThomas MitchellA man is found murdered, and witnesses are sure about the woman they saw leaving his apartment. However, it becomes apparent that the woman has a twin, and finding out which one is the killer seems impossible.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsVictor MatureBrian DonlevyColeen GrayA 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.
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeBrian DonlevyA crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRay MillandMaureen O'SullivanCharles LaughtonA magazine tycoon commits a murder and pins it on an innocent man, who then tries to solve the murder himself.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordJack CarsonZachary ScottA hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsSteve BrodieAudrey LongRaymond BurrA young married couple flee both the police and a gangster out for revenge.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsHumphrey BogartIrene ManningRichard TravisFearing life in prison for a fourth offense, convict Duke Berne pulls out of an armored car robbery, planned by his crooked lawyer, but he is framed for the robbery anyway.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsGeorge MontgomeryNancy GuildConrad JanisDetective Philip Marlowe encounters a variety of characters while checking on why Leslie Murdock stole a rare doubloon from his mother.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsHumphrey BogartAlexis SmithSydney GreenstreetAn engineer trapped in an unhappy marriage murders his wife in the hope of marrying her younger sister.
- DirectorPeter GodfreyStarsHumphrey BogartBarbara StanwyckAlexis SmithAn artist forms an attachment with a woman on holiday in the country. As the relationship develops, his behavior and information about his past cause her increasing concern.
- DirectorBretaigne WindustRaoul WalshStarsHumphrey BogartZero MostelTed de CorsiaA crusading district attorney finally gets a chance to prosecute the organizer and boss of Murder Inc.
- DirectorRichard BrooksStarsHumphrey BogartEthel BarrymoreKim HunterWith his newspaper about to be sold, crusading editor Ed Hutcheson tries to complete an exposé on gangster Rienzi.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsDan DuryeaJune VincentPeter LorreWhen Kirk Bennett is convicted of a singer's murder, his wife tries to prove him innocent...aided by the victim's ex-husband.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDana AndrewsJoan FontaineSidney BlackmerA novelist aided by his future father-in-law conspires to frame himself for the murder of a burlesque dancer as part of an effort to ban capital punishment.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.
- DirectorArthur RipleyStarsRobert CummingsMichèle MorganSteve CochranChuck Scott gets a job as chauffeur to tough guy Eddie Roman; but Chuck's involvement with Eddie's fearful wife becomes a nightmare.
- DirectorHubert CornfieldStarsGene RaymondJeanne CooperWayne MorrisFive men rob a train in Utah of 10 million dollars in gold and head to Los Angeles in 3 trucks hoping to meet up with their beautiful accomplice and leave the country.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsSally GrayTrevor HowardGriffith JonesAfter WW2, former RAF airman Clem Morgan joins a gang of black-market smugglers-thieves but when a robbery goes wrong, Clem is caught , framed for a policeman's murder, and is sent to prison where he plots his escape and revenge.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsJohn HodiakNancy GuildLloyd NolanGeorge Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to track down his old identity, he stumbles onto a 3-year old murder case and a hunt for a missing $2 million.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsLizabeth ScottDon DeForeDan DuryeaThrough a fluke circumstance, a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and is determined to hold onto it even if it means murder.
- DirectorArthur CrabtreeStarsEric PortmanGreta GyntDennis PriceA businessman plans to kill his cheating wife's lover and make it look like suicide.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsFranchot ToneElla RainesAlan CurtisA devoted secretary risks her life to try to find the elusive woman who may prove her boss didn't murder his selfish wife.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsDick PowellLizabeth ScottJane WyattMarried insurance adjuster John Forbes falls for femme fatale Mona Stevens while her boyfriend is in jail and all suffer serious consequences as a result.
- DirectorGordon WilesStarsBarry SullivanBelitaJoan LorringShubunka (Barry Sulivan) is a cynical gangster who controls the Neptune Beach waterfront. He runs a numbers racket with the local soda shop owner. The police are in his pocket and the local hoods are on his payroll.