Film Noir - minor and major
A personal record of films to watch and watched
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64 titles
- DirectorHarold D. SchusterStarsFrank LovejoyForrest TuckerPeggie CastleAn ex-con goes undercover for the government to "finger" the crime boss who made his sister a drug addict.
- DirectorJean YarbroughStarsWallace FordJune VincentMark RobertsA wife convinces her husband to fake his death so they can collect on the life insurance. However, he doesn't know that she has been having an affair for some time, and she has plans for the money - and they don't include him.
- DirectorOtto BrowerStarsCarole LandisWilliam GarganRichard CranePolice lieutenant Sam Carson investigates a political murder after the victim is dumped at the door of police headquarters.
- DirectorJohn H. AuerStarsJohn CarrollVera RalstonRobert PaigeA woman falls for the victim of an intended blackmail plot.
- DirectorJohn ReinhardtStarsBonita GranvilleDon CastleRegis ToomeyTwo guys sharing an apartment meet twin girls (both Bonita Granville). One's sweet, the other a major piece of bad news. The nice one is murdered and her boyfriend is accused of the crime. The wrong man/wrong victim plot strikes again.
- DirectorAlfred TraversStarsHerbert LomPhyllis DixeyTerence de MarneyTwin trapezists fall out over a lottery ticket and a worthless woman, but later extract a unique revenge.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsHumphrey BogartAlexis SmithSydney GreenstreetAn engineer trapped in an unhappy marriage murders his wife in the hope of marrying her younger sister.
- DirectorArnold LavenStarsBroderick CrawfordRuth RomanMartha HyerAn FBI agent investigates the murder of his partner by taking over the 3 cases he was working on, determined to find his killer.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRay MillandAudrey TotterThomas MitchellA district attorney rises to political success and the governorship but loses his sense of morality once he starts associating with the shadowy and perhaps diabolical Nick Beal.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsVan HeflinMarsha HuntLee BowmanCrime lab expert Gordon McKay uses the latest forensic techniques to solve murders in a city plagued by political corruption and mob rackets.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsHedy LamarrGeorge BrentPaul LukasIn 1903, a doctor suspects murder in the gothic Bederaux family.
- DirectorJack ConwayStarsWilliam PowellHedy LamarrClaire TrevorAn amnesiac French diplomat is blackmailed for crimes that he committed before he lost his memory.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTeresa WrightJoseph CottenMacdonald CareyA teenage girl, overjoyed when her favorite uncle comes to visit the family in their quiet California town, slowly begins to suspect that he is in fact the "Merry Widow" killer sought by the authorities.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsRalph RichardsonMichèle MorganSonia DresdelA butler working in a foreign embassy in London falls under suspicion when his wife accidentally falls to her death, the only witness being an impressionable young boy.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsOlivia de HavillandFrank SinatraRobert MitchumAn ego-driven, aspiring physician, intolerant of the weaknesses of others, especially those closest to him, comes to grips with his own imperfections.
- DirectorArchie MayoFritz LangStarsJean GabinIda LupinoThomas MitchellIn California, Bobo and his mooching pal Tiny are doing odd jobs and getting drunk and they hide a secret about the unsolved murder of sailor Pop Kelly but suicidal waitress Anna, saved by Bobo, unravels the mystery.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsRicardo MontalbanSally ForrestBruce BennettA small-town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor after the discovery of a human skeleton on a Massachusetts beach.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsThomas MeighanLouis WolheimMarie PrevostAn honest police captain vows to bring down a powerful bootlegger who is protected by corrupt politicians and judges.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsFrank LovejoyDorothy HartPhilip CareyIn Pittsburgh, PA, an F.B.I. agent works to undermine the Communist party, but his brothers and his teenage son think he's a real Red.
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsHumphrey BogartConrad VeidtKaren VerneRunyonesque Broadway gamblers turn patriotic when they stumble onto a cell of Nazi saboteurs.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsDennis O'KeefeClaire TrevorMarsha HuntJoe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe) has taken the rap for Rick (Raymond Burr), who double-crosses him with a flawed escape plan and other means intended to get rid of him.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsBurt LancasterPaul HenreidClaude RainsA man abused by a sadistic mining company cop before he could tell where on their desert property he'd found diamonds decides to steal them instead.
- DirectorSteve SekelyPaul HenreidStarsPaul HenreidJoan BennettEduard FranzPursued by the big-time gambler he robbed, John Muller assumes a new identity, with unfortunate results.
- DirectorWilliam BerkeStarsGlenn LanganAdele JergensSteve BrodieThis modern tale borrows from an old story in establishing Langan, who works on a ship that docks in San Francisco, as a descendant of the Count of Monte Cristo. Crooked Lawyer Brodie sets up a scheme to get at the treasure of Langan's famed ancestor, and using the beautiful blonde Jergens, tries to lure Langan into a trap. Langan proves worthy of his heritage, using a gun instead of a sword, and wins legitimately both his forturne and Jergens.
- DirectorJack GageStarsRosalind RussellLeo GennClaire TrevorA Broadway star unintentionally kills her impresario but keeps mum about it after the police investigator targets a rival actress.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsFarley GrangerCathy O'DonnellJames CraigA struggling young father-to-be gives in to temptation and impulsively steals money from the office of a shady lawyer--with catastrophic consequences.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsGeorge RaftLynn BariVirginia HustonIn 1940s Los Angeles, when womanizing composer Keith Vincent is found dead, the inquest concludes it was a suicide but police detective Joe Warne isn't so sure.
- 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.
- DirectorJack WebbStarsJack WebbBen AlexanderRichard BooneTwo homicide detectives investigate the brutal shotgun murder of a crime syndicate member.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJohn GarfieldPatricia NealPhyllis ThaxterAn otherwise moral captain of a charter boat becomes financially strapped and is drawn into illegal activities in order to keep up payments on his boat.
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBurt LancasterTony CurtisSusan HarrisonPowerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsRobert MitchumJean SimmonsMona FreemanAmbulance driver Frank Jessup is ensnared in the schemes of the sensuous but dangerous Diane Tremayne.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRobert RyanAudrey TotterGeorge TobiasExpecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
- DirectorRobert ParrishDick PowellStarsDick PowellRhonda FlemingRichard ErdmanEx-con Rocky Mulloy seeks the real culprit in the crime for which he was framed in a night world of deceptive dames and double crosses.
- 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?
- DirectorIrving LernerStarsVince EdwardsPhillip PineHerschel BernardiClaude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer - until he finds his next target is a woman.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsHarry BelafonteRobert RyanGloria GrahameIn need of quick money, a fallen former cop recruits a hard-bitten ex-con and a debt-ridden nightclub singer to pull off a bank job. But as the animosity between them boils over, the entire plan threatens to implode.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsCleo MooreRichard CrennaIsobel ElsomSexy blonde dance club girl learns the photography trade and moves to New York in pursuit of a new career.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJames MasonJoan BennettGeraldine BrooksAfter discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsRichard WidmarkJean PetersThelma RitterA pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFarley GrangerRobert WalkerRuth RomanA psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.
- DirectorEdwin L. MarinStarsGeorge RaftClaire TrevorSigne HassoAfter a New Orleans merchant ship captain finds his father's sister ship derelict at sea, he investigates the crew's mysterious disappearance amid rumors of a smuggled gold cargo.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsSpencer TracySigne HassoHume CronynIn 1936, seven prisoners escape from a concentration camp. The Nazis put up seven crosses for demonstrative executions. This story about one of the fugitives, who relies on own courage and compassion of people to avoid the seventh cross.
- DirectorHarold F. KressStarsBarry SullivanArlene DahlGeorge MurphyAn insurance lawyer unhappy with his rate of company advancement becomes a middleman in deals to recover stolen property from the Mob, thus earning a nice living. But his actions attract police attention and set him up for a double-cross.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJohn McIntireRichard KileyKathryn GrantA crime-busting lawyer and his initially reluctant attorney father take on the forces that run gambling and prostitution in their small Southern town.
- DirectorRichard ThorpeStarsWalter PidgeonAnn HardingBarry SullivanAn attorney successfully defends a young hoodlum charged with murder but later has doubts about his client's innocence and starts investigating his background and associations.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsVan JohnsonArlene DahlGloria DeHavenWhile his wife is urging him to quit the force, a Los Angeles homicide detective hunts for the killer responsible for the murder of his ex-partner, who might have been on the take with local bookies.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsAnita LouiseLloyd CorriganMichael DuaneFred J. Johnson (Lloyd Corrigan) scores a hole-in-one but his next drive, using the lucky, initialed golf ball, soars out of bounds and lands near a spot where some counterfeiters are burying a murder victim. Then begins a series of events in which he is hounded and threatened by the killers. The consequences of his not reporting what he saw to the police lead to a climax in which is daughter is held hostage by the crooks.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsJeanne CrainMichael RennieMax ShowalterWhen a beautiful bride boards an ocean liner with her new husband, he goes into hiding, and she becomes the target of a murder conspiracy.
- DirectorWilliam DieterleStarsWilliam HoldenEdmond O'BrienAlexis SmithJerry McKibbon is a tough, no nonsense reporter, mentoring special prosecutor John Conroy in routing out corrupt officials in the city, which may even include Conroy's own police detective father as a suspect.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsCornel WildePatricia KnightJohn BaragreyA parole officer falls in love with his client, a ravishing blonde who served time for murder, and he's determined to help her go straight despite her interfering criminal boyfriend.
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsRobert TaylorLana TurnerEdward ArnoldThe step-daughter of a district attorney falls in love with a gangster on parole who her father originally imprisoned.
- DirectorGordon DouglasHenry LevinStarsGlenn FordEvelyn KeyesJohn IrelandWhen he learns that a gangster has taken over his nightclub and murdered his partner, returning WW2 hero Joe Miracle steals the money from the club's safe and hides in a settlement home, while the mob is on his tail.
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsViveca LindforsDane ClarkVirginia MayoWhile recuperating from wartime back injuries at a hospital, veteran Bob Corey is visited on Christmas Eve by a beautiful stranger with an even stranger message.
- DirectorWilliam AsherStarsPhilip CareyBetty GarrettJohn Drew BarrymoreThree young thugs rob a farmhouse, kill the owner and take his stenographer hostage but the woman's estranged husband, a police detective, starts investigating her disappearance.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsVictor MatureRichard ConteFred ClarkPolice Lieut. Candella, longtime friend of the Rome family, walks a tightrope in the case of cop-killer Martin Rome.
- DirectorJoseph M. NewmanStarsDennis O'KeefeGale StormJeff ChandlerNewspaperman helps girl find her sister's illegitimate baby, gets mixed up in baby-adoption racket.
- DirectorPat JacksonStarsAnn SothernZachary ScottGigi PerreauA woman impulsively murders her sister after discovering she has been having an affair with her fiancé, and later plans on killing the little girl who may have witnessed the crime.
- DirectorGeorge ShermanStarsRichard DixLeslie BrooksMichael DuaneAn artist married to a wealthy but ill woman begins an affair with one of his models, who is after him solely for his money. His wife discovers the affair and threatens to cut him out of her will. In order to be able to keep both the wife's money and his girlfriend, he begins to secretly poison his wife - but events take a surprising turn after she eventually dies.
- DirectorMaxwell ShaneStarsVittorio GassmanGloria GrahameAnn RobinsonPeter is a refugee who wants to make a better life for himself in America, but he doesn't have the proper papers. Desperate for entry, he jumps ship and flees to New York to search for a World War II veteran whom he helped during the war.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsCharles McGrawAdele JergensWilliam TalmanA well-planned robbery goes awry with tough cop Jim Cordell in pursuit of the thieves.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsJames MasonClaire BloomHildegard KnefIn post-WW2 Berlin, when travel to the East was still possible, the sister of a British officer from West Berlin is abducted by Communist agents and taken into the Soviet sector where her eventual rescue is arranged by a German smuggler.