List of film noir titles explained

Film noir is not a clearly defined genre (see here for details on the characteristics). Therefore, the composition of this list may be controversial. To minimize dispute the films included here should preferably feature a footnote linking to a reliable, published source which states that the mentioned film is considered to be a film noir by an expert in this field, e.g.

The terms which are used below to subsume various periods and variations of film noir are not definitive and are meant as a navigational aid rather than as critical argument. Because the 1940s and 1950s are universally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir, films released prior to 1940 are listed under the caption "Precursors / early noir-like films". Films released after 1959 should generally only be listed in the list of neo-noir titles.

Precursors / early noir-like films

1927

• Underworld

1928

• The Racket

1929

• Thunderbolt

1931

• The Big Gamble^[1]
• City Streets
• Little Caesar
• The Maltese Falcon (a.k.a. Dangerous Female)
• The Public Enemy
• Quick Millions
• The Secret Six

1932

• 20,000 Years in Sing Sing
• The Beast of the City
• I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang
• Payment Deferred
• Scarface
• Two Seconds
• Under-Cover Man

1933

• Advice to the Lovelorn
• Blood Money
• Private Detective 62

1934

• Crime Without Passion
• Journal of a Crime
• Midnight
• The Thin Man

1935

• Bordertown
• Crime and Punishment
• G Men
• The Glass Key
• The Scoundrel

1936

• Bullets or Ballots
• Fury
• The Petrified Forest
• Satan Met a Lady

1937

• Dead End
• Marked Woman
• You Only Live Once

1938

• Angels with Dirty Faces
• You and Me

1939

• Blind Alley
• Each Dawn I Die
• King of the Underworld
• Let Us Live
• Rio
• The Roaring Twenties
• They Made Me a Criminal

1940

• Angels Over Broadway
• City for Conquest
• Johnny Apollo^[2]

Non-American

• La Chienne (1931, France)
• M (1931, Germany)
• Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (The Testament of Dr. Mabuse) (1933, Germany)
• La Bandera (Escape from Yesterday) (1935, France)
• The Green Cockatoo (1937, United Kingdom)
• Pépé le Moko (1937, France)
• La Bête Humaine (The Human Beast) (1938, France)
• Hôtel du Nord (1938, France)
• Le Quai des brumes (Port of Shadows) (1938, France)
• They Drive by Night (1938, United Kingdom)
• Dead Men are Dangerous (a.k.a. Dangerous Masquerade) (1938, United Kingdom)
• Le Dernier tournant (The Last Turning) (1939, France)
• Le Jour se lève (Daybreak) (1939, France)
• On the Night of the Fire (a.k.a. The Fugitive) (1939, United Kingdom)
• Pièges (Personal Column) (1939, France)

Classic American noir

1959

British noir

1942

• The Night Has Eyes (a.k.a. Terror House)

1945

• Dead of Night
• Great Day
• Murder in Reverse?
• Pink String and Sealing Wax
• The Seventh Veil
• Waterloo Road

1946

• Appointment with Crime
• Wanted for Murder

1947

• Brighton Rock (a.k.a. Young Scarface)
• The Brothers
• Dancing with Crime
• Dear Murderer
• Frieda
• It Always Rains on Sunday
• Mine Own Executioner
• Night Beat
• The October Man
• Odd Man Out
• Take My Life
• Temptation Harbour
• They Made Me a Fugitive (a.k.a. I Became a Criminal)
• The Upturned Glass

1948

• Blanche Fury
• Daybreak
• Escape
• The Fallen Idol
• Good-Time Girl
• No Orchids for Miss Blandish (a.k.a. Black Dice)
• Noose (a.k.a. The Silk Noose)
• The Small Voice (a.k.a. The Hideout)
• So Evil My Love
• Uneasy Terms

1949

• Boys in Brown
• Conspirator
• Forbidden (a.k.a. Scarlet Heaven)
• The Interrupted Journey
• Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room)
• Silent Dust
• The Small Back Room
• The Spider and the Fly
• The Third Man

1950

• The Blue Lamp
• Cage of Gold
• The Clouded Yellow
• So Long at the Fair (a.k.a. The Black Curse)
• The Woman in Question (a.k.a. Five Angles on Murder)

1951

• Another Man's Poison
• Cloudburst
• I'll Get You for This (a.k.a. Lucky Nick Cain)
• The Long Dark Hall
• Pool of London
• There Is Another Sun (a.k.a. Wall of Death)

1952

• The Gambler and the Lady
• The Last Page (a.k.a. Man Bait)
• The Lost Hours (a.k.a. The Big Frame)
• Stolen Face
• Wide Boy
• Wings of Danger (a.k.a. Dead on Course)
• Women of Twilight (a.k.a. Twilight Women)

1953

• 36 Hours (a.k.a. Terror Street)
• Black 13
• Cosh Boy (a.k.a. The Slasher)
• Deadly Nightshade
• The Flanagan Boy (a.k.a. Bad Blonde)
• The Intruder
• The Limping Man
• The Long Memory
• The Man Between
• Mantrap (a.k.a. Man in Hiding)
• Marilyn (a.k.a. Roadhouse Girl)
• Street of Shadows (a.k.a. Shadow Man)
• Three Steps to the Gallows (a.k.a. White Fire)
• Time Bomb (a.k.a. Terror on a Train)

1954

• Beautiful Stranger (a.k.a. Twist of Fate)
• Before I Wake (a.k.a. Shadow of Fear)
• Face the Music (a.k.a. The Black Glove)
• Five Days (a.k.a. Paid to Kill)
• The Good Die Young
• The House Across the Lake (a.k.a. Heat Wave)
• Impulse
• Murder by Proxy (a.k.a. Blackout)
• The Sleeping Tiger
• A Stranger Came Home (a.k.a. The Unholy Four)
• Third Party Risk (a.k.a. Deadly Game)
• The Weak and the Wicked (a.k.a. Young and Willing)

1955

• The Brain Machine
• Cast a Dark Shadow
• Confession (a.k.a. The Deadliest Sin)
• Dial 999 (a.k.a. The Way Out)
• Joe MacBeth
• Little Red Monkey (a.k.a. Case of the Red Monkey)
• The Ship That Died of Shame (a.k.a. PT Raiders)

1956

• The Intimate Stranger (a.k.a. Finger of Guilt)
• Soho Incident (a.k.a. Spin a Dark Web)
• Tiger in the Smoke
• Wicked As They Come (a.k.a. Portrait in Smoke)
• Yield to the Night (a.k.a. Blonde Sinner)

1957

• Across the Bridge
• The Big Chance^[3]
• The Counterfeit Plan
• Fortune Is a Woman (a.k.a. She Played With Fire)
• Hell Drivers
• Kill Her Gently
• Kill Me Tomorrow
• The Long Haul
• Man in the Shadow (a.k.a. Violent Stranger)
• Time Without Pity

1958

• Chase a Crooked Shadow
• Nowhere to Go
• Tread Softly Stranger^[4]

1959

• Blind Date (a.k.a. Chance Meeting)

Classic-period crossover films

Noir comedies / parodies

See also

• List of neo-noir titles
• Film gris
• Golden Age of American animation

External links

• Most Popular Film-Noir Feature Films at IMDb
• An A-Z list of "classic noir titles" at IMDb
• Listings of Noir Films at www.theyshootpictures.com
• Comprehensive list of Film Noir movies at www.kingofthepeds.com

Notes and References

1. Vernet, Marc "Film Noir on the Edge of Doom", in Copjec, Joan, ed. (1993). Shades of Noir. London and New York: Verso.
2. http://noirfilms.livejournal.com/138532.html Johnny Apollo
3. Book: Keaney, Michael F.. British Film Noir Guide. registration. 2008. McFarland. 978-0-7864-3805-1. 15.
4. Web site: Tony . D'Ambra . Sexual Imagery in Film Noir: Tread Softly Stranger (1958) – . Filmsnoir.net . 2009-09-06 . 2022-04-11.