The 90+ Best Film Noirs Of All Time

Ranker Film
Updated March 8, 2024 90.3K views
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Vote up your favorite noir films of all time.
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Over 1.7K Ranker voters have come together to rank this list of History's Greatest Film Noir Movies

A list of the best film noir movies. While not every film noir is on this list, the best film noir titles are here. If you believe we missed one of the film noir classics, though, feel free to add it to the list of the best film noir titles yourself. Film Noir began in the 1940's and continued into the 1950's. Today we have neo-noir.

What are the best film noir movies? Borrowing high contrast cinematography from Germany, film noir based its storytelling on characters who were ultimately doomed. Film noir filmmakers were also masters of skirting the Hays Code (censorship in the name of decency) through the use of implication, subtext, and suggestive dialogue in their film noir classics. Today, Film Noir is easily one of the most resilient genres to survive the Hays Code, with films that still stand up to today's modern films.

  • The Big Sleep
    1

    The Big Sleep

    Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers
    534 votes
    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.
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  • The Maltese Falcon
    2

    The Maltese Falcon

    Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre
    822 votes
    Released: 1941
    In the intricate web of The Maltese Falcon, private detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) finds himself entangled in a dark mystery. A femme fatale, Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor), hires him for what appears to be a simple case. But when his partner is murdered, things take a sinister turn. The plot thickens as an elusive artifact - the titular Maltese Falcon - comes into play. John Huston directs this noir classic, which was nominated for three Academy Awards in 1942. Amidst shadowy allies and treacherous enemies, Spade navigates deception and danger in this gripping tale of greed and betrayal.
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  • Out of the Past
    3

    Out of the Past

    Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
    602 votes
    Released: 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.
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  • The Asphalt Jungle
    4

    The Asphalt Jungle

    Sterling Hayden, Sam Jaffe, Marilyn Monroe
    461 votes
    Released: 1950
    Recently released from prison, Dix Handley (Sterling Hayden) concocts a plan to steal $1 million in jewels. Dix gathers a team of small-time crooks, including a safecracker (Anthony Caruso) and a lawyer (Louis Calhern), and the heist is a success until a stray bullet kills one of the men. As they scramble to pick up the pieces after the theft, the men let their greed get the best of them while entangling themselves in webs of deceit, treachery and murder.
  • Murder, My Sweet
    5

    Murder, My Sweet

    Dick Powell, Claire Trevor, Anne Shirley
    337 votes
    Gumshoe Philip Marlowe (Dick Powell) is hired by the oafish Moose Malloy (Mike Mazurki) to track down his former girlfriend. He's also hired to accompany an effeminate playboy buy back some jewels. When the exchange results in the playboy's murder, Marlowe can't leave the case alone, and soon discovers it's related to Malloy's. As he gets drawn deeper into a complex web of intrigue by a mysterious blonde (Claire Trevor), the detective finds his own life in increasing jeopardy.
  • The Killers
    6

    The Killers

    Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien
    400 votes
    Released: 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).
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  • The Killing
    7

    The Killing

    Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards
    450 votes
    Released: 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.
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  • In a Lonely Place
    8

    In a Lonely Place

    Humphrey Bogart, Gloria Grahame, Frank Lovejoy
    477 votes
    Released: 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.
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  • Laura
    9

    Laura

    Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb
    485 votes
    Released: 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.
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  • The Third Man
    10

    The Third Man

    Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard
    659 votes
    Released: 1949
    In the aftermath of World War II, Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten), an American writer, navigates the shadowy underbelly of ruined Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles). A British officer tells him that Harry is dead, but inconsistencies arise. As a web of deception unravels, Martins discovers a chilling secret about Lime. This noir classic The Third Man is directed by Carol Reed and won an Oscar for Best Cinematography. Its haunting zither score and atmospheric cinematography remain iconic in cinema history.
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  • Detour
    11

    Detour

    Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake
    389 votes
    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.
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  • Vertigo
    12

    Vertigo

    James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
    530 votes
    Unraveling the complexities of paranoia, Vertigo is an Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece that has captivated audiences for decades. The film centers on retired San Francisco detective John Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart), who suffers from crippling acrophobia. When a former acquaintance, Gavin Elster (Tom Helmore), hires him to follow his wife Madeleine (Kim Novak), he's drawn into a whirlwind of deceit, obsession, and ultimately, vertigo. This 1958 psychological thriller won accolades for its innovative camera techniques that simulate the dizzying heights inducing vertigo. A classic example of Hitchcock's storytelling prowess, Vertigo remains a testament to his influential place in cinema history.
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  • Leave Her to Heaven
    13

    Leave Her to Heaven

    Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain
    267 votes
    Released: 1945
    While on a train, writer Richard Harland (Cornel Wilde) strikes up a relationship with the gorgeous Ellen Berent (Gene Tierney). Ellen quickly becomes obsessed with Richard and abandons her fiancé, Russell Quinton (Vincent Price), to be with him. The couple rushes into marriage, with both of them caught up in romance and Richard intrigued by Ellen's intensity. Only after settling into marriage, however, does Richard realize that she is psychotically jealous and highly unstable.
  • The Postman Always Rings Twice
    14

    The Postman Always Rings Twice

    Lana Turner, John Garfield, Cecil Kellaway
    373 votes
    Nick Smith (Cecil Kellaway), a middle-aged roadside diner owner, hires a drifter, Frank Chambers (John Garfield), to work at his restaurant. Frank quickly begins an affair with Nick's beautiful young wife, Cora (Lana Turner), and the two conspire to kill Nick and seize his assets. When they succeed, local prosecutor Kyle Sackett (Leon Ames) becomes suspicious, but is unable to build a solid case. However, the couple soon realizes that no misdeed ever goes truly unpunished.
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  • Chinatown
    15

    Chinatown

    Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
    693 votes
    In the heart of Los Angeles, private investigator Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) is immersed in a web of deceit and corruption in the neo-noir classic Chinatown. Directed by Roman Polanski, this 1974 film delves into the city's grim underbelly, exposing water supply conspiracies and shocking family secrets. With Evelyn Mulwray (Faye Dunaway) at the center of the mystery, Gittes navigates treacherous waters to uncover the truth. The film clinched an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay while earning eleven nominations. Chinatown remains an enduring testament to masterful storytelling in cinema.
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  • Nightmare Alley
    16

    Nightmare Alley

    Tyrone Power, Joan Blondell, Coleen Gray
    304 votes
    Released: 1947
    Roustabout Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power) joins a traveling carny and unsuccessfully schemes to figure out the mind-reading act of Mademoiselle Zeena (Joan Blondell) and her alcoholic husband, Pete (Ian Keith). But when Pete dies, Zeena is forced to take on Stanton as a partner, and he quickly proves more gifted than his predecessor. Ambitious to a fault, Carlisle abandons Zeena and the carny to reinvent himself as "The Great Stanton," wowing high-class audiences in a Chicago hotel.
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  • Strangers on a Train
    17

    Strangers on a Train

    Robert Walker, Farley Granger, Ruth Roman
    532 votes
    Released: 1951
    In the suspenseful thriller, Strangers on a Train, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) encounters eccentric Bruno Antony (Robert Walker) during a chance meeting on a train. A conversation ensues, with Antony proposing an unthinkable pact: murder swapping. The chilling plot spirals when Antony takes their conversation as a binding agreement and acts upon it, plunging Haines into an unfathomable dilemma. Directed by the renowned Alfred Hitchcock, this film is a masterwork of tension and terror. It was nominated for the Best Cinematography award at the 1952 Academy Awards.
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  • Kiss Me Deadly
    18

    Kiss Me Deadly

    Ralph Meeker, Albert Dekker, Paul Stewart
    377 votes
    Released: 1955
    One evening, private detective Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker) picks up a strange woman, Christina (Cloris Leachman), who's standing on the highway wearing only a trench coat. They're stopped farther on by strangers who knock out Mike and murder Christina. Although warned not to investigate by the police, Mike and his girlfriend and assistant, Velda (Maxine Cooper), become ensnared in a dark plot involving scientist Dr. Soberin (Albert Dekker) and Christina's terrified roommate, Lily (Gaby Rodgers).
  • Scarlet Street
    19

    Scarlet Street

    Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea
    279 votes
    Released: 1945
    Cashier and part-time starving artist Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson) is absolutely smitten with the beautiful Kitty March (Joan Bennett). Kitty plays along, but she's really only interested in Johnny (Dan Duryea), a two-bit crook. When Kitty and Dan find out that art dealers are interested in Chris' work, they con him into letting Kitty take credit for the paintings. Cross allows it because he is in love with Kitty, but his love will only let her get away with so much.
  • Gilda
    20

    Gilda

    Rita Hayworth, Glenn Ford, George Macready
    367 votes
    Released: 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.
  • Double Indemnity
    21

    Double Indemnity

    Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
    814 votes
    Released: 1944
    Double Indemnity is a 1944 film noir crime drama directed by Billy Wilder, co-written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler, based on James M. Cain's 1943 novella of the same name, which originally appeared as an eight-part serial in Liberty magazine, beginning in February 1936. Phyllis Dietrichson (Barbara Stanwyck) is a provocative housewife who, perhaps plotting her husband's deaths, buys life insurance in his name from salesman Walter Neff (Fred MacMurray).
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  • Dark Passage
    22

    Dark Passage

    Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Bruce Bennett
    199 votes
    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.
  • The Big Heat
    23

    The Big Heat

    Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando
    316 votes
    Released: 1953
    A police officer seems to have committed suicide, but Detective Dave Bannion (Glenn Ford) thinks there's more to the story. After talking to the man's mob-connected mistress, Bannion discovers far-reaching corruption that leads all the way from the police station to kingpin Mike Lagana (Alexander Scourby). But when the policeman's lover is killed, it becomes clear that crossing Lagana is a dangerous thing to do. Soon Bannion finds himself marked for death and his family in mortal danger.
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  • The Narrow Margin
    24

    The Narrow Margin

    Charles McGraw, Marie Windsor, Jacqueline White
    194 votes
    Released: 1952
    Tense story of a tough cop attempting to transport the widow of a gangster to the trial in which she'll testify. They undertake a rail journey from Chicago to Los Angeles with their lives constantly under threat from hit men on the train, who will stop at nothing to prevent her from testifying.
  • Shadow of a Doubt
    25

    Shadow of a Doubt

    Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Macdonald Carey
    375 votes
    Released: 1943
    Uncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) visits his relatives in Santa Rosa. He is a very charming man, but his niece slowly realizes that he is wanted for murder and he soon recognizes her suspicions. Although one of the suspected murderers is killed and the case is considered closed, she still has her suspicions.
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  • Key Largo
    26

    Key Largo

    Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Lauren Bacall
    418 votes
    Released: 1948
    This classic film noir by John Huston stars Humphrey Bogart as World War II vet Frank McCloud. Visiting Key Largo to pay his respects to the family of his late war buddy, McCloud attempts to comfort his comrade's widow, Nora (Lauren Bacall), and father, James Temple (Lionel Barrymore), who operate a hotel. But McCloud realizes that mobsters, led by the infamous Johnny Rocco (Edward G. Robinson), are staying in the hotel. When the criminals take over the establishment, conflict is inevitable.
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  • Mildred Pierce
    27

    Mildred Pierce

    Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Ann Blyth
    266 votes
    Released: 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.
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  • Notorious
    28

    Notorious

    Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains
    364 votes
    Released: 1946
    In order to help bring Nazis to justice, U.S. government agent T.R. Devlin (Cary Grant) recruits Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), the American daughter of a convicted German war criminal, as a spy. As they begin to fall for one another, Alicia is instructed to win the affections of Alexander Sebastian (Claude Rains), a Nazi hiding out in Brazil. When Sebastian becomes serious about his relationship with Alicia, the stakes get higher, and Devlin must watch her slip further undercover.
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  • Touch of Evil
    29

    Touch of Evil

    Charlton Heston, Orson Welles, Janet Leigh
    483 votes
    Released: 1958
    When a car bomb explodes on the American side of the U.S./Mexico border, Mexican drug enforcement agent Miguel Vargas (Charlton Heston) begins his investigation, along with American police captain Hank Quinlan (Orson Welles). When Vargas begins to suspect that Quinlan and his shady partner, Menzies (Joseph Calleia), are planting evidence to frame an innocent man, his investigations into their possible corruption quickly put himself and his new bride, Susie (Janet Leigh), in jeopardy.
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  • Sunset Boulevard
    30

    Sunset Boulevard

    William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
    709 votes
    Released: 1950
    Gritty, noir-ish, and deeply captivating, Sunset Boulevard spins a tale of faded fame in the heart of Hollywood. The plot swirls around Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a forgotten silent film star, and Joe Gillis (William Holden), an out-of-luck screenwriter. Gillis, desperate and on the run, finds himself ensnared in Desmond's delusional world, resulting in a dangerous liaison. A classic Billy Wilder film noir masterpiece, Sunset Boulevard won three Academy Awards. It is a stark depiction of ambition, desperation, and the haunting specter of obsolescence in Tinseltown's golden age.
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