BlackHat Mystery BookstoreFilm Noir Festival
 |
Noir Films of America movies A to E movies F to J movies K to O movies P to U movies V to Z |
The cinematic genre of the film noir and the literary genre of noir fiction arose from the evils of World War II, Central themes of noir include being set up for a crime one did not commit, of being lured by a femme fatale
from concern for the benefits & dangers of nuclear weapons, and from the fear & paranoia of the Cold War –
H.U.A.C. and McCarthyism and the infamous blacklist.
into some trap, of being scapegoated by persons unknown, of Fate stopping the clock so that the protagonist
has only hours or days to solve his/her own murder, to catch the real criminal, and-or to save mankind.
Film Noir genre at Internet Movie Database
film noir poster catalog at AllPosters.com
Books About Film Noir (and some music)
film noir on DVD at Amazon.com film noir on VHS at Amazon.com
The Masters of Hardboiled/Noir Fiction
Dashiell Hammett [1894-1961]
movies include "The Maltese Falcon" [1931], "City Streets" [1931], "Woman In The Dark" [1934], "The Thin Man" movies [1934-47],
"Mister Dynamite" [1935], "Satan Met A Lady" [1936], "The Maltese Falcon" [1941], "The Glass Key" [1942],
"Yojimbo" [1962], "The Dain Curse" [1978 miniseries], "Miller's Crossing" [1990] & "Last Man Standing" [1996]
Raymond Chandler [1888-1959]
movies include "Time To Kill" [1942], "Murder, My Sweet" [1944], "Double Indemnity" [1944], "The Big Sleep" [1946],
"The Blue Dahlia" [1946], "The Brasher Doubloon" [1947], "Lady In The Lake" [1947], "Strangers On A Train" [1951],
"Marlowe" [1969], "The Long Goodbye" [1973], "Farewell, My Lovely" [1975], "The Big Sleep" [1978],
"Philip Marlowe, Private Eye" miniseries [1983 & 1986] & "Poodle Springs" [1998 tv movie]
Noir Films of America {A to E}
movies F to J movies K to O movies P to U movies V to Z
"A Stolen Face"
[Hammer/Lippert June 1952]
Rejected by an American concert pianist, a London plastic surgeon refashions the face of a convict
(face burned in the blitz) to look like his lost love, then marries her. Then the original shows up.
Directed by Terence Fisher; starring {blacklistee} Paul Henreid, Lizabeth Scott, Mary
Mackenzie, Andrι Morell, John Wood, Susan Stephen, Arnold Ridley, Everley Gregg,
Cyril Smith, Grace Gavin, Terence O'Regan & Diana Beaumont
Kit Parker/VCI b&w Double Feature DVD [7/2006] for $13.99
full credits from IMDb
"Angel Face" [R.K.O. Dec 1952]
 |
The step-daughter of a wealthy woman poisoned by gas hires a sappy ambulance driver as chauffeur. Suspecting the woman to be dangerous, he pulls away, but she schemes to keep him tied to her. When her parents' car plummets off a cliff, the schemer and the innocent are both charged with murder.
'Presented by' Howard Hughes; directed by Otto Preminger; music by Dmitri Tiomkin; starring Robert Mitchum, Jean Simmons, Mona Freeman, Herbert Marshall, Leon Ames, Barbara O'Neil & Jim Backus
video not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Angel's Flight" [Crown Intl. 1965]
A hard-drinking reporter investigates a series of murders in the seedy Bunker Hill area
of Los Angeles; filmed on location just before the area was demolished for redevelopment.
video not available; full credits from IMDb
"Armored Car Robbery"
[R.K.O. June 1950]
 |
A mastermind unknown to the law plans a holdup in meticulous detail, but two robbers and a cop get killed, so he hides out and forms a plan to escape pursuit by a friend of the dead cop, a relentless & clever fellow officer.
Directed by Richard Fleischer; starring Charles McGraw, Adele Jergens, William Talman, Douglas Fowley, Steve Brodie, Don McGuire, James Flavin & Gene Evans
video not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Asphalt Jungle"
[M.G.M. May 1950]
 |
27"x39" one-sheet poster available at AllPosters.com
Just out of prison, a legendary criminal recruits a safecracker, a driver, a financial backer, and a strong-arm man for a million-dollar burglary. At first the plan goes like clockwork, but little accidents accumulate and each partner proves to have his own fatal weakness. Co-written & directed by John Huston; starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntire, Marilyn Monroe & Anthony Caruso; Oscar nominated for Best Picture, Best Script, Best Cinematography & Best Supporting Actor [SJ]; remade in 1958 as a cowboy movie, "The Badlanders", and in 1972 as the 'blaxploitation' film "Cool Breeze". Warner b&w DVD [7/2004] for $17.99 Turner Home Video b&w VHS [2/92] for $19.99 full credits from IMDb |
 |
based on the novel by W.R. Burnett [1899-1982] [Knopf 1949] Prion Books 7½x5 pb [9/99] out of print/used Wm. Morrow pb [4/84] out of print/used |
"Bad Blonde"
aka 'The Flanagan Boy' [Hammer/Lippert April 1953]
A young man signs up with an Italian boxing promoter just returned from America with a lusty wife. The boxer and the wife
have a torrid affair, then she convinces him that she is pregnant and that they need to murder the husband.
Directed by Reginald Le Borg; based on the pulp novel by Max Catto; starring Tony Wright,
Barbara Payton, Frederick Valk, John Slater & Sid James
Kit Parker/VCI b&w Double Feature DVD [7/2006] for $13.99
full credits from IMDb
"The Big Clock"
 |
Paramount b&w feature film [April 1948]
When a publishing tycoon commits a murder of passion, he quickly begins to frame an innocent man seen with the victim. The innocent man enlists an editor to help trap the killer, not knowing that the 'killer' and the editor are the same person. Directed by John Farrow; adapted by Jonathan Latimer; starring Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready, Harry Morgan, Elsa Lanchester, Rita Johnson, Dan Tobin & Richard Webb Universal b&w DVD [7/2004] for $12.99 Universal b&w VHS [9/96] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
 |
"No Way Out" color remake [Orion Aug 1987]
A Navy officer is posted to the Pentagon, reporting to the Secretary of Defense. He starts an affair not knowing that the woman is the Secretary's mistress. When she is found dead, he is assigned to the case, and scrambles to find the killer before evidence at the crime scene pointing to him is uncovered. Directed by Roger Donaldson; script by Robert Garland; starring Kevin Costner, Gene Hackman, Sean Young, Will Patton, Howard Duff, George Dzundza, Jason Bernard & Fred Dalton Thompson M.G.M. color DVD [4/2000] for $12.99 M.G.M. color VHS [10/99] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
 |
Based on the 1946 novel by Kenneth Fearing NYRB 8x5 pb [7/2006] for $10.78 |
"The Big Combo"
[Allied Artists Feb 1955]
 |
When a police lieutenant is ordered to shut down his surveillance of a mob boss for lack of results, he makes a move on the crook's girlfriend.
Directed by Joseph H. Lewis; script by Philip Yordan; cinematography by John Alton; starring Cornel Wilde, Richard Conte, Brian Donlevy, Jean Wallace, Robert Middleton, Lee Van Cleef, Earl Holliman, Helen Walker & Whit Bissell
Geneon/Pioneer b&w DVD [10/2005] for $5.99 Image Ent. b&w VHS [2/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"The Big Heat" [Columbia Oct 1953]
 |
A police detective's routine investigation of a cop's suicide takes a turn when a B-girl offering evidence is found murdered. He puts pressure on the local rackets boss, which causes the bombing death of the cop's wife, leading to white-hot vengeance.
Directed by [blacklistee] Fritz Lang; starring Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby, Lee Marvin, Jeanette Nolan, Peter Whitney, Carolyn Jones & John Doucette
Sony b&w DVD [12/2001] for $21.99 Sony b&w VHS [5/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"Blackout"
aka 'Murder By Proxy' [Hammer/Lippert March 1954]
 |
A down-on-his-luck American meets a blonde in a London bar; next day, he wakes up in a strange room and finds that she tricked him into marrying her, there is blood on his coat and £500 in the pocket, and the woman's father has been murdered.
Directed by Terence Fisher; based on a novel by Helen Nielsen; starring Dane Clark, Belinda Lee, Betty Ann Davies, Eleanor Summerfield, Andrew Osborn, Harold Lang & Michael Golden
Kit Parker/VCI b&w Double Feature DVD [7/2006] for $13.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Blood Simple" [Circle Films Jan 1985]
 |
A Texas saloonkeeper hires a sleazy detective to spy on his cheating wife, then to kill her and her lover. But the detective has other plans, and the misunder- andings and deceit and double- & triple-crosses build to a bloody climax.
Co-written & co-directed by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen; starring John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh, Samm-Art Williams & Deborah Neumann
Universal widescreen color Director's Cut DVD [9/2001] for $10.99 Universal color VHS [1/95] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb "Blood Simple: The Screenplay" [1989] St. Martin's Griffin 8¼x5½ pb [3/89] for $10.95 |
"The Blue Dahlia"
[Paramount April 1946]
 |
A bomber pilot returns from the war and finds his wife in the arms of the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. He runs off, leaving his gun behind, and someone uses his gun to murder her. Seeking the real killer, he dodges the cops with the aid of the nightclub owner's estranged wife.
Directed by George Marshall; script by Raymond Chandler [1888-1959]; starring Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva, Doris Dowling, Hugh Beaumont & Tom Powers; Oscar nominated for Best Original Screenplay Universal b&w VHS [4/98] for $13.99 full credits from IMDb "The Blue Dahlia" screenplay by Raymond Chandler Warner pb [2/89] out of print/used |
"Border Incident" [M.G.M. Oct 1949]
A Mexican federal agent infiltrates a smuggling ring, and soon he and his American
counterpart are in deadly danger from the sinister rancher ringleader.
Directed by Anthony Mann; b&w cinematography by John Alton; starring Ricardo Montalban,
George Murphy, Howard Da Silva, James Mitchell, Arnold Moss, Alfonso Bedoya & Arthur Hunnicutt
video not available; full credits from IMDb
"Borderline" [Universal March 1950]
 |
Two federal agencies send undercover agents, unknown to each other, to infiltrate a drug gang along the U.S.-Mexico border. An odd combination of romance & comedy & noir.
Directed by William A. Seiter; starring Fred MacMurray, Claire Trevor & Raymond Burr Good Times b&w DVD [1/2005] for $5.98 VCI b&w VHS [11/97] for $14.24 full credits from IMDb |
"Bordertown" [Warner Bros. 1935]
 |
The newly-promoted partner in a border town casino has eyes for a society dame, while his partner's wife loves him. The wife kills her husband, then out of jealousy blames the man who scorns her.
Directed by Archie Mayo; starring Paul Muni, Bette Davis, Margaret Lindsay & Eugene Pallette
video not available; full credits from IMDb |
"Born to Kill" [R.K.O. May 1947]
 |
A man kills two strangers in Reno, Nevada; a just-divorced woman finds the bodies but chooses not to become involved. Unbeknownst, they meet on the train to San Francisco.
Directed by Robert Wise; starring Claire Trevor, Lawrence Tierney, Walter Slezak, Phillip Terry, Audrey Long, Elisha Cook Jr. & Esther Howard Turner b&w DVD [7/2005] for $11.47 Turner b&w VHS [10/91] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster available at AllPosters.com |
"Brick" [Focus March 2006]
 |
Noir plot, noir dialog & noir visuals: Teenagers at a high school in a California beach town caught in a web of deceit & lust & death. Written & directed by Rian Johnson; starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O'Leary & Emilie de Ravin; won Special Jury Prize at Sundance
Universal widescreen color DVD [DUE August 2006] for $22.49 full credits from IMDb; official movie site |
"The Burglar" [Columbia June 1957]
 |
A petty thief and his gang pull off a jewel heist at a wealthy woman's mansion only to discover that his sister is dating the cop investigating the crime. Directed by Paul Wendkos; script by David Goodis (from his 1953 novel); starring Dan Duryea, Jayne Mansfield, Martha Vickers, Peter Capell & Mickey Shaughnessy
video not available; full credits from IMDb |
"The Captive City"
[United Artists March 1952]
A crusading editor exposes the stranglehold on his city of a mob boss who has the entire police force under his thumb.
Directed by Robert Wise; starring John Forsythe, Joan Camden, Harold J. Kennedy,
Marjorie Crossland, Victor Sutherland, Ray Teal & Martin Milner
video not available;
full credits from IMDb
"City of Fear" [Columbia Feb 1959]
An escaped convict steals what he thinks is heroin, but is actually a radioactive substance called copat 60;
if authorities cannot track him down, the result could be the destruction of Los Angeles.
Directed by Irving Lerner; starring Vince Edwards, Lyle Talbot, John Archer,
Steven Ritch & Patricia Blair;
video not available;
full credits from IMDb
"The Crooked Way"
[United Artists April 1949]
 |
An amnesiac war hero returns to L.A. and is met by cops, who say he worked for a local mob boss and has an ex-wife; he is hounded by the cops, beaten by the mob, and soon framed for murder.
Directed by Robert Florey; cinematography by John Alton; starring John Payne, Sonny Tufts, Ellen Drew, Rhys Williams, Percy Helton, John Doucette, Charles Evans & Greta Granstedt
Geneon/Pioneer color DVD [11/2005] for $5.99 full credits from IMDb |
"Dark Passage"
[Warner Bros./First National Sept 1947]
 |
A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes San Quentin and returns to San Francisco to prove his innocence. Even after plastic surgery, he is hounded by the woman who testified against him.
Adapted & directed by Delmer Daves, from the David Goodis novel; starring Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett, Agnes Moorehead, Tom D'Andrea, Clifton Young, Rory Mallinson & Houseley Stevenson
Warner b&w DVD [11/2003] for $17.99 Warner b&w VHS [3/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb "Dark Passage" posters at AllPosters.com 1946 novel by David Goodis Trafalgar Square 7¾x5¼ pb [4/99] out of print/used |
"Dead Reckoning"
[Columbia Jan 1947]
 |
Two former Army officers are called to testify in Washington, DC; one runs away, and the other trails him to a Gulf Coast town, where he finds his friend killed and accused of murder, and then gets involved with the murder victim's widow. Directed by John Cromwell; starring Humphrey Bogart, Lizabeth Scott, Morris Carnovsky, Charles Cane, William Prince, Marvin Miller & Wallace Ford
Sony b&w DVD [1/2003] for $21.99 Sony b&w VHS [6/94] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb 11"x17" poster available at AllPosters.com |
"Detour"
Fate provides a hitchhiking loser with a car, and he picks up a hitchhiking sadistic femme fatale.
 |
Producers Releasing original b&w feature [Nov 1945]
Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer; script by Martin M. Goldsmith, from his novel {below}; starring Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake & Edmund MacDonald; listed on the National Film Registry in 1992; listed on Time Magazine's "All-Time 100 Best Films" (2005) Alpha Video b&w DVD [10/2002] for $7.98 Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [12/91] for $12.99 full credits from IMDb |
 |
color remake [1992 video release]
Directed by Wade Williams; based on the prior script, with additional scenes; starring Tom Neal Jr., Lea Lavish, Susanna Foster, Erin McGrane, Duke Howze & Brad Hittiker Ventura Home Ent. color VHS [9/98] out of prodn/rare full credits from IMDb |
 |
"Detour: An Extraordinary Tale" [1939 novel] by Martin M. Goldsmith O'Bryan House pb [10/2005] for $14.95 |
"D.O.A."
 |
United Artists b&w original [April 1950]
A small-town accountant visiting San Francisco on a business trip is told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, so he tries to find out who killed him and why. Directed by Rudolph Matι; cinematography by Ernest Laszlo; starring Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler, Beverly Garland, Lynn Baggett, William Ching, Lawrence Dobkin & Neville Brand R.O.A.N. b&w DVD [11/2003] for $12.99 Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [12/91] for $9.99 full credits from IMDb |
 |
Touchstone color remake [March 1988]
An English professor finds out that he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, so he tries to find out who killed him and why. Co-directed by Annabel Jankel & Rocky Morton; starring Dennis Quaid, Meg Ryan, Charlotte Rampling, Daniel Stern, Jane Kaczmarek, Christopher Neame & Robin Johnson Disney widescreen color DVD [10/2003] for $9.99 Disney color VHS [10/95] out of prodn/many used full credits from IMDb |
"Double Indemnity"
An insurance salesman plots with a beautiful client to murder her elderly husband for the insurance.
But a company investigator suspects foul play, the old man's daughter accuses the woman of murdering her mother
in order to marry him, and suddenly the salesman fears a double cross.
 |
Paramount feature film [Sept 1944]
11"x17" poster available at AllPosters.com Co-written & directed by Billy Wilder; script co-written by Raymond Chandler [1888-1959] from the James M. Cain novel; starring Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Tom Powers & Edward G. Robinson; Oscar noms for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Script, Best Actress [BS], Best Cinematography, Best Music Score, Best Sound; listed on National Film Registry 1992; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (/2005) Universal b&w VHS [4/98] for $13.99 Image Ent b&w DVD [10/2000] out of stock/used full credits on IMDb |
 |
"Double Indemnity" script by Billy Wilder & Raymond Chandler Univ CA Press 9x6 pb [12/2000] for $11.17 critical textbook [1992] by Richard Schickel
|
 |
1936 novel Vintage 8x5¼ pb [5/89] for $8.76 Amereon 9x6¼ hardcover [9/96] out of print/rare Caedmon UNABR audio CD [5/2005] for $18.87 |
Directed by Jack Smight; starring Richard Crenna, Lee J. Cobb, Samantha Eggar & Robert Webber;
video not available; full credits from IMDb
jump to movies F to J movies K to O movies P to U movies V to Z
Noir Films of Asia Noir Films of Europe documentary videos
Film Noir Collections
 |
"Hammer Film Noir Collector's Set, Vols. 1-3"
Kit Parker/VCI DVD box set [8/2006] 3 disks for $24.99 "Hammer Film Noir - Vol. 1"
|
Film Noir Links
Danger & Despair [noir videos & 16mm]
Classic Noir Online
Eddie Muller's "Noir City" website
Film Noir Foundation
The Black Dahlia Murder Case
Fox Home Entertainment Film Noir product
Film Noir at Brian's Drive-In Theater
Film Noir Festival Links
American Cinematheque's Festivals of Film Noir
[1999 = #1]
[2000 = #2]
[2001 = #3]
[2002 = #4]
[2003 = #5]
[2004 = #6]
[2005 = #7]
[2006 = #8]
Noir City Film Festival [Jan 2006 = #4] in San Francisco, CA
Palm Springs CA Noir Film Festival [June 2006 = #6]
Festival of Film Noir [July 2006 = #3] in Albuquerque, NM
Santa Fe, NM 'Summer In The Dark' Noir F/F [July 2006 = #9]
jump to movies F to J movies K to O movies P to U movies V to Z
Noir Films of Asia Noir Films of Europe documentary videos
Visit Our Other Online Film Festival Pages
Ayn Rand Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Existentialist Film Festival at Maison d'Κtre Philosophy Bookstore
Human Rights Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Oscar-Winning Western Movies Page at 'Readers of the Purple Sage'
Philosophy Film Festival at Maison d'Κtre Philosophy Bookstore
Pirate Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Political Film Festival at Magic Lantern
Railroad Film Festival at Spirit of America
Samurai Films at Magic Lantern
Shakespeare On Film at Magic Lantern
War [& Anti-War] Film Festival Pages at Magic Lantern
Western Movies Film Festival at 'Readers of the Purple Sage'
... and others on the Online Film Festivals Index Page
Online sales in association with 
or
Film Noir Festival at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
jump to Page Two
jump to Page Three
jump to Page Four
top of this page back to BlackHat Mystery Bookstore homepage