Film Noir captures the raw, gritty side of life. There is usually a fallen hero and a femme fatale and something sinister going on. Here are the top 10 Film Noir movies you should check out!
Gun Crazy (1950)
Gun Crazy is about two young people who are, you guessed it, gun crazy. These two are great with guns and they decide to use them for a crime spree. However, when John Dall’s Bart wants to quit a life of crime, Peggy Cummins’ Laurie convinces him to do one more heist. And of course, since this is Film Noir, things definitely do not go as planned.
Detour (1945)
Detour is a story of a man who hitchhikes from New York to California so he can be with his girlfriend. However, his hitchhiking trip goes terribly wrong when a man who picks him up suddenly dies on the way to their destination. Scared, he hides the body and then becomes entangled with a woman who blackmails him for stealing the man’s identity.
This Gun for Hire (1942)
This Gun for Hire is the story of a hitman (Alan Ladd) who does a job but then gets double-crossed by his employer, who gives him marked bills that are then reported to the police. The hitman is out for revenge and comes across paths with a singer/secret agent (Veronica Lake), who he takes along for the ride.
Nightmare Alley (1947)
Nightmare Alley is the story of Stanton Carlisle (Tyrone Power) who has a meteoric rise to fame and an even more spectacular crash down. Power’s Carlisle is a mentalist who will do anything to get to the top. The interesting part of this film is Power playing against type. He usually played heroic action figures but he does a great job playing a cad in this film.
Fallen Angel (1945)
Fallen Angel is about a drifter (Dana Andrews) whose main trade in life is to find an easy buck. However, just when he thinks he has found his meal ticket in one woman (Alice Faye), he keeps being drawn back by someone from his past (Linda Darnell). Things do not go as planned and someone is found murdered.
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly follows the story of a man (Ralph Meeker) who picks up a female hitchhiker (Cloris Leachman) and is thrust into a world of chaos and the wonders of a mysterious box. After his hitchhiker is murdered, he tries to figure out who killed her and why.
Double Indemnity (1944)
Double Indemnity is the story of an insurance salesman (Fred MacMurray) who gets wrapped up with a married woman (Barbara Stanwyck). The insurance salesman then is weaved into a web of fraud and murder. And unlucky for him, his colleague (Edward G. Robinson) is suspicious of him.
Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
Leave Her to Heaven is the story of a writer (Cornel Wilde) who falls in love with an obsessive socialite (Gene Tierney). Her obsession with him is so strong that she is jealous of anyone who comes in contact with him. This makes for an increasingly terrifying marriage, as we watch the socialite try to control the writer’s life.
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Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Are you ready for your close-up? In Sunset Boulevard, William Holden plays a screenwriter who has an affair with an aging silent film star, played by Gloria Swanson. Their relationship is volatile because of her delusions of grandeur and fame. The beginning of this film starts at the end, but I promise I won’t give any more spoilers.
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Laura (1944)
Laura is the story of Dana Andrew’s police detective who is investigating the murder of a woman, played by Gene Tierney. However, the police detective starts to fall in love with the murdered woman. Will his obsession help him find out who murdered her? You have to watch to see!
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