Film Noir
Confidential
Don't know where to start or curious about our favorites?
Here are our top picks…
Act of Violence (1948)
A former prisoner of war, Frank Enley (Van Heflin) is hailed as a hero in his California town. However, Frank actually aided his Nazi captors, and he closely guards this secret. Frank's shameful past comes back to visit him when fellow survivor Joe Parkson (Robert Ryan) emerges, intent on making the turncoat pay for his betrayal. As Joe closes in on Frank, the traitor goes into hiding, abandoning his wife, Edith (Janet Leigh), who has no clue about her husband's wartime transgressions.
Running Time 1h 22m
Suggested Cocktail Naughty German
Starring Van Heflin, Robert Ryan
Big Combo, The (1955)
Film noir about a police lieutenant who comes under pressure from a gang headed by a vicious thug. He is helped by the gangster's wife, jealous at her husband's affair with another woman, who supplies him with information to help him close the net on his foe.
Running Time 1h 27m
Suggested Cocktail Brown Derby
Starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Jean Wallace
Big Heat, The (1953)
A police detective whose wife was killed by the mob teams with a scarred gangster's moll to bring down a powerful gangster.
Running Time 1h 29m
Suggested Cocktail Espresso Martini
Starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando
Big Sleep, The (1946)
Private investigator Philip Marlowe (Humphrey Bogart) is hired by General Sternwood to help resolve the gambling debts of his wild young daughter, Carmen (Martha Vickers). Sternwood's older daughter, Vivian (Lauren Bacall), provides assistance when she implies that the situation is more complex, and also involves casino owner (John Ridgely) and a recently disappeared family friend. As people linked to the Sternwoods start being murdered, Marlowe finds himself getting ever deeper into the case.
Running Time 1h 54m
Suggested Cocktail Scotch & Soda
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers
Blue Gardenia, The (1953)
Deeply distraught that her GI ex-boyfriend plans to marry another woman, Norah Larkin (Anne Baxter) agrees to go out on a date with lothario Harry Prebble (Raymond Burr). Norah's drunken night out with Prebble ends in a hazily remembered confrontation and the next day a startling discovery: Harry has been murdered, and the police have found Norah's personal effects at the scene. Tipped off to the breaking news, reporter Casey Mayo (Richard Conte) invites Norah to tell her side of the story.
Running Time 1h 30m
Suggested Cocktail Polynesian Pearl Diver or Jungle Bird
Starring Anne Baxter, Richard Conte, Ann Sothern
Born to Kill (1947)
Drifter Sam Wilde (Lawrence Tierney) murders a Reno, Nev., boardinghouse owner and her boyfriend in a fit of jealousy. Tenant Helen Brent (Claire Trevor) discovers the bodies, but instead of reporting the crime, she leaves for San Francisco as planned to return to her wealthy fiancé. On the same train, Sam flirts with Helen, then tracks her to her half-sister's house, where he continues to pursue her. Although Helen suspects Sam is a murderer, she inexplicably protects him from an investigator.
Running Time 1h 32m
Suggested Cocktail Painkiller
Starring Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney, Walter Slezak
Supporting Elisha Cook Jr.
Criss Cross (1949)
An armored-car guard (Burt Lancaster) must join a robbery after being caught with his ex-wife (Yvonne De Carlo) by her gangster husband (Dan Duryea).
Running Time 1h 24m
Suggested Cocktail Dirty Martini
Starring Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea
Crossfire (1947)
Stark, claustrophobic thriller about an anti-Semitic soldier who kills a Jewish war veteran, evading detection by dint of his loyal friends' protection. However, a detective is determined that the crime will not go unsolved and sets about laying a trap for the murderer.
Running Time 1h 26m
Suggested Cocktail Stinger
Starring Robert Young, Robert Mitchum, Robert Ryan, Gloria Grahame, Sam Levene
Dark Passage (1947)
Vincent Parry (Humphrey Bogart) has just escaped from prison after being locked up for a crime he did not commit -- murdering his wife. On the outside, Vincent finds that his face is betraying him, literally, so he finds a plastic surgery to give him new features. After getting a ride out of town from a stranger, Vincent crosses paths with a young woman (Lauren Bacall) who lets him stay in her apartment while he heals and continues to try and clear his name.
Running Time 1h 46m
Suggested Cocktail Dark 'n Stormy
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall
Supporting Bruce Bennett, Agnes Moorehead
Detour (1945)
In New York, piano player Al Roberts (Tom Neal) laments when his singer girlfriend, Sue Harvey (Claudia Drake), leaves for Hollywood, Calif. When Al gets some money, he decides to hitchhike to California to join Sue. In Arizona, Al accepts a ride with Charles Haskell (Edmund MacDonald), but during a storm in a freak accident, Haskell is killed. Frightened, Al assumes Haskell's identity and car, but soon comes upon the mysterious Vera (Ann Savage), who seems to know all about his true identity.
Running Time 1h 8m
Suggested Cocktail Sidecar
Starring Tom Neal, Ann Savage
Double Indemnity (1944)
In this classic film noir, insurance salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray) gets roped into a murderous scheme when he falls for the sensual Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck), who is intent on killing her husband (Tom Powers) and living off the fraudulent accidental death claim. Prompted by the late Mr. Dietrichson's daughter, Lola (Jean Heather), insurance investigator Barton Keyes (Edward G. Robinson) looks into the case, and gradually begins to uncover the sinister truth.
Running Time 1h 47m
Suggested Cocktail Honeysuckle
Starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
Gilda (1946)
Johnny Farrell (Glenn Ford) is a small-time American gambler, newly arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina. When he is caught cheating at a game of blackjack, Farrell manages to talk his way into a job with the casino's owner, the powerful Ballin Mundson (George Macready). The two form an uneasy partnership based off their mutual lack of scruples until Mundson introduces Farrell to his beautiful new wife, Gilda (Rita Hayworth), who just happens to be Farrell's ex-lover.
Running Time 1h 50m
Suggested Cocktail French 75
Starring Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready, Joseph Calleia
Gun Crazy (1950)
When gun-obsessed pacifist Bart Tare (John Dall) witnesses expert shooter Annie Laurie Starr (Peggy Cummins) demonstrate her firearm prowess at a carnival one night, it's love at first sight. Aimless Bart joins the traveling show and begins a romance with Annie, but her dangerously rebellious spirit soon gets them both fired. After eloping, the young lovers embark on an armed robbery spree, managing to elude the authorities until Annie insists on pulling one last job.
Running Time 1h 27m
Suggested Cocktail Loaded Pistol
Starring John Dall, Peggy Cummins
In A Lonely Place (1950)
Hollywood screenwriter Dixon Steele (Humphrey Bogart) and his neighbor Laurel (Gloria Grahame) are just getting to know each other romantically when the police begin questioning Dixon about his involvement in the murder of a girl he met once. Certain her new love interest is innocent, Laurel stands by Dixon, but as the police continue pressing him, Dixon begins to act increasingly erratically. The blossoming love affair suffers as Laurel begins to wonder if Dixon really might be a killer.
Running Time 1h 34m
Suggested Cocktail Horse’s Neck
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy
Johnny Eager (1941)
After Johnny Eager (Robert Taylor) is released from jail, the unreformed gangster fools his parole officer (Henry O'Neill) into believing his ways are changed. In actuality, Eager wants to return to racketeering by opening a dog-racing track, but the man who put him behind bars (Edward Arnold) is in the way. When that man's stepdaughter (Lana Turner) falls for Eager, the crook uses her as leverage to get what he wants. In this world of deceit, Jeff Hartnett (Van Heflin) is Eager's only friend.
Running Time 1h 47m
Suggested Cocktail Rob Roy
Starring Robert Taylor, Lana Turner, Edward Arnold
Supporting Van Heflin (Won Best Supporting Actor at Academy Awards)
The Killers (1946)
Two hit men walk into a diner asking for a man called "the Swede" (Burt Lancaster). When the killers find the Swede, he's expecting them and doesn't put up a fight. Since the Swede had a life insurance policy, an investigator (Edmond O'Brien), on a hunch, decides to look into the murder. As the Swede's past is laid bare, it comes to light that he was in love with a beautiful woman (Ava Gardner) who may have lured him into pulling off a bank robbery overseen by another man (Albert Dekker).
Running Time 1h 43m
Suggested Cocktail She’s No Gentleman
Starring Edmond O'Brien, Ava Gardner, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene, Burt Lancaster
The Killing (1956)
Career criminal Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) recruits a sharpshooter (Timothy Carey), a crooked police officer (Ted de Corsia), a bartender (Joe Sawyer) and a betting teller named George (Elisha Cook Jr.), among others, for one last job before he goes straight and marries his fiancee, Fay (Coleen Gray). But when George tells his restless wife, Sherry (Marie Windsor), about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Running Time 1h 24m
Suggested Cocktail The Revolver
Starring Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray
Laura (1944)
In one of the most celebrated 1940s film noirs, Manhattan detective Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) investigates the murder of Madison Avenue executive Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney) in her fashionable apartment. On the trail of her murderer, McPherson quizzes Laura's arrogant best friend, gossip columnist Waldo Lydecker (Clifton Webb) and her comparatively mild fiancé, Shelby Carpenter (Vincent Price). As the detective grows obsessed with the case, he finds himself falling in love with the dead woman.
Running Time 1h 28m
Suggested Cocktail Negroni
Starring Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb
Supporting Vincent Price
The Letter (1940)
In Singapore, Leslie Crosbie (Bette Davis) shoots and kills a man, claiming that he tried to take advantage of her. She is arrested and her husband, Robert (Herbert Marshall), hires attorney Howard Joyce (James Stephenson) to defend her. During the trial Howard uncovers an incriminating letter that casts doubt on Leslie's story. The two become embroiled in a blackmail scheme involving a Malayan clerk (Victor Sen Yung) and the dead man's widow (Gale Sondergaard).
Running Time 1h 35m
Suggested Cocktail Blood & Sand
Starring Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall, James Stephenson
Maltese Falcon, The (1941)
In this noir classic, detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets more than he bargained for when he takes a case brought to him by a beautiful but secretive woman (Mary Astor). As soon as Miss Wonderly shows up, trouble follows as Sam's partner is murdered and Sam is accosted by a man (Peter Lorre) demanding he locate a valuable statuette. Sam, entangled in a dangerous web of crime and intrigue, soon realizes he must find the one thing they all seem to want: the bejeweled Maltese falcon.
Running Time 1h 41m
Suggested Cocktail Old Fashioned
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre, Barton MacLane, Lee Patrick, Sydney Greenstreet
Mildred Pierce (1945)
When Mildred Pierce's (Joan Crawford) wealthy husband leaves her for another woman, Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. Despite Mildred's financial successes in the restaurant business, her oldest daughter, Veda (Ann Blyth), resents her mother for degrading their social status. In the midst of a police investigation after the death of her second husband (Zachary Scott), Mildred must evaluate her own freedom and her complicated relationship with her daughter.
Running Time 1h 51m
Suggested Cocktail Sazerac or Hanky Panky
Starring Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Zachary Scott
Nora Prentiss (1947)
A successful and hardworking doctor, Richard Talbot (Kent Smith) strays from his marriage when he meets Nora Prentiss (Ann Sheridan), a beautiful nightclub performer. While Richard doesn't want to end his affair with Nora, he also can't face divorcing his wife (Rosemary DeCamp) and struggles to resolve his inner conflict. A surprising opportunity leads Richard to develop an unlikely plan that could allow him and Nora to run off together, but the scheme may not work out the way he intended.
Running Time 1h 51m
Suggested Cocktail Mamie Taylor
Starring Ann Sheridan, Kent Smith, Bruce Bennett, Robert Alda
Out Of The Past (1947)
The quiet life of small-town gas station owner Jeff Bailey (Robert Mitchum) is interrupted when a figure from his shady past, small-time crook Joe Stephanos (Paul Valentine), recognizes him. Stephanos' boss, crooked gambler Whit Sterling (Kirk Douglas), had hired Jeff to track down Kathie Moffat (Jane Greer), a girlfriend who shot Whit and made off with $40,000 of his. Jeff and Kathie fell in love, but she left him to go back to Sterling, who now wants Jeff to settle a few old scores.
Running Time 1h 37m
Suggested Cocktail New York Sour with Bourbon
Starring Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming
Possessed (1947)
After collapsing, disoriented, in a Los Angeles diner, Louise (Joan Crawford) recounts the events of her life to a psychiatrist. While working as a nurse for the wife of wealthy Dean Graham (Raymond Massey), she falls in love with the Grahams' neighbor, David (Van Heflin), who rejects her affection. Following the death of Dean's wife, Louise becomes the new Mrs. Graham, but her dangerous fixation on David continues. She grows increasingly unstable as her obsession leads to madness and violence.
Running Time 1h 48m
Suggested Cocktail Mind Eraser
Starring Joan Crawford, Van Heflin, Raymond Massey, Geraldine Brooks
Set-Up, The (1949)
A boxer on the wane, Bill "Stoker" Thompson (Robert Ryan) is determined to stay in the game, in spite of his wife, Julie (Audrey Totter), who wants him to leave the dangerous sport. Unbeknownst to Stoker, his manager, Tiny (George Tobias), has lost confidence in him and sets the fighter up to lose an upcoming match at the request of a local gangster. Certain that Stoker will meet with defeat, Tiny neglects to tell him about the shady deal, resulting in conflict both in and out of the ring.
Running Time 1h 13m
Suggested Cocktail Bare Knuckle Boxer or Upper Cut
Starring Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
An aging silent film queen refuses to accept that her stardom has ended. She hires a young screenwriter to help set up her movie comeback. The screenwriter believes he can manipulate her, but he soon finds out he is wrong. The screenwriters ambivalence about their relationship and her unwillingness to let go leads to a situation of violence, madness, and death.
Running Time 1h 50m
Suggested Cocktail Boulevardier
Starring William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker (Burt Lancaster) holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan (Susan Harrison), who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas (Marty Milner). Hunsecker strongly disproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco (Tony Curtis) to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.
Running Time 1h 36m
Suggested Cocktail Manhattan
Starring Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis