Rising to prominence through the ’40s and ’50s, film noir categorizes old Hollywood crime cinema, defining not only its hard-boiled stories and characters, but also its low-key lighting as well as harsh contrast shadows with dramatic and distinct patterning. While the genre continues to thrive with many great neo-noir movies modernizing the genre for current audiences, it remains hard to go past some of the pioneering classics the genre put forth many decades ago.
With such iconic figures asAlfred Hitchcock,Orson Welles, andBilly Wilderthriving in noir cinema, wherethey made a name for themselves with their unique visual styles and unprecedented thriller intensity, it comes as no great surprise that so many classic noir films are still exceptionaleven by today’s standards. These 10 films in particular have been heralded among the best the genre has to offer by users of the popular movie website IMDb.
10’Nightmare Alley' (1947)
IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
Despite being a box office flop which garnered only mixed reviews at the time of release,Nightmare Alleyhas come to be viewed as a quintessential noir classic, largely because of its unconventional setting and damned sense of despair. It follows an opportunistic drifter who learns of mind-reading while in a traveling carnival before being banished with his young lover and performing in illustrious nightclubs.
Edmund Goulding’s film had an unusually large budget for the time and, interestingly,castTyrone Poweragainst typein the leading role of Stanton Carlisle. In addition to gradually gaining more recognition over the decades, it also received a boost in popularity off the back ofGuillermo del Toro’s impressive neo-noir remake, which was released in 2021 and earned four Academy Award nominations.
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9’Mildred Pierce' (1945)
IMDb Rating: 7.9/10
A great film and a genius work of screenplay adaptation,Mildred Piercebecame an instant classic when it was released in 1945, largely thanks toJoan Crawford’s Oscar-winning performance as the leading lady. Told almost entirely through flashbacks, the murder mystery follows a distraught mother as she re-evaluates the decisions she made in her life as police investigate the death of her second husband.
Its characters are incredibly well realized and the performances of the entire cast are a treat to watch, whileMichael Curtiz’s intelligent direction makes for a film which is enthralling, deft, and surprisingly nuancedeven by modern standards. It is one of the best film noir movies and was viewed as being so culturally significant that it was preserved in theLibrary of Congress' National Film Registry in 1996.
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8’The Killing' (1956)
With just his third feature film,Stanley Kubrickproduced what was his first genuine masterpiece withThe Killing. The noir classic functions as a pulsating heist thriller as it follows Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden), a career criminal who assembles a team of crooks to hit a racetrack before he gets married and goes straight, but his plan is jeopardized when the wife of one of his crew gets her own ideas about the robbery.
Directed with clockwork precision, the violence, heist thrills, and narrative twists all culminate into an impressively taut crime film. However, it’s the wayThe Killingshifts perspectives, even repeating scenes from multiple points of view, that makes it such a compelling and timeless noir classic. In addition to its strong IMDb score, it also boasts a rating of96% on Rotten Tomatoesand is widely regarded as being themost underrated movie of Kubrick’s career.
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7’Notorious' (1946)
Potentiallythemost underrated movie of Alfred Hitchcock’s career,Notoriousblended international intrigue with a romantically loaded central story to be a thoroughly engrossing spectacle of passion and justice. Set in the aftermath of WWII, it follows T. R. Devlin (Cary Grant), an American agent, and Alicia Huberman (Ingrid Bergman), the daughter of a Nazi war criminal, as they gather information on a ring of Nazis in South America, with their budding romance complicated when Alicia is instructed to seduce a person of interest for the case.
Hitchcock handles the romantic tension and spy intrigue with his trademark brilliance, while Grant, Bergman, andClaude Rainsturn in powerhouse performances where so much of the drama was shown by their facial expressions. Renowned film criticRoger EbertdescribedNotoriousas"the most elegant expression of the master’s [Hitchcock] visual style."
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6’Touch of Evil' (1958)
IMDb Rating: 8.0/10
With Hollywood royalty likeCharlton HestonandJanet Leighstarring in the picture while Orson Wellesdirected, co-wrote, and co-starred, it is quite astounding thatTouch of Evilopened to underwhelming reviews and had to gradually become a cult classic after performing well in Europe. Set in a Mexican border town, a car bomb attack sees a Mexican drug enforcement agent and an American police captain work together on the investigation which brings up interesting findings of police corruption.
Comprised of masterful shots,Touch of Evilsaw Welles directingat his innovative best to produce a visually stunning noir classic, and a genuinely thrilling crime flickas well. While contemporary reviews weren’t kind to the movie,Touch of Evilhas found the respect it deserved retrospectively, with a strong IMDb score being complemented by a rating of95% on Rotten Tomatoes.
5’The Maltese Falcon' (1941)
One of themost influential movies of all timeand a famous picture in the context of American film noir cinema,The Maltese Falconwas one of the earliest examples of what the genre could be. WithHumphrey Bogartputting in one of his finest performances in the leading role, it follows a cynical detective as he gets himself involved in a mysterious case concerning an immensely valuable statuette highly sought after by a number of criminal personalities he encounters.
The film was meticulously shot, even by today’s standards, and the director had to fight to include material that was against the then-enforced Hays Code of filmmaking, such as characters drinking alcohol. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and while it didn’t win any, it remains one of the most renowned films in cinematic history.
4’Rebecca' (1940)
IMDb Rating: 8.1/10
Based onDaphne du Maurier’s timeless 1938 gothic novel of the same name, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1940 adaptation ofRebeccaremains the best example of the story being put to the screen. As the director’s first American picture, it follows a nameless young woman who, after marrying a wealthy though mysterious widower, moves into his estate which proves to be haunted by his late wife’s memory and the sinister circumstances of her death.
In Hitchcock’s signature style, the film thrives as a twisted psychological thrillerwhich, despite not having much in the way of visual terror, still manages to creep under the audiences' skin with a tragic tale of suicide, jealousy, and infidelity.Rebeccawould beHitchcock’s only film to win Best Pictureat the Oscars and, with its impressive IMDb rating, it sits on the website’s list of thetop 250 movies of all time.
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3’The Third Man' (1949)
WhileCitizen Kaneis quite rightly revered as beingOrson Welles' defining masterpiece, his starring role in the noir classicThe Third Manshould not be overlooked as a significant picture in Hollywood history. It follows an author who, at the invitation of his friend Harry (Orson Welles), arrives in Vienna only to learn that his friend has died. With Holly (Joseph Cotton) unable to accept the contradictory stories surrounding Harry’s death, he decides to launch his own investigation into the matter.
It is often said that settings can be characters in films when used well, and postwar Vienna suits this idea to a tee, giving the film an imposing and rich atmosphere that elevates all the thrills and twists of the story.Welles and Cotton are both superb, while the film’s excessive use of Dutch tilts proves effective, as does its satisfyingly bittersweet ending.
2’Double Indemnity' (1944)
IMDb Rating: 8.3/10
One of the definitive classics not only of noir cinema but of Hollywood’s golden era at large,Double Indemnityis a pivotal film in the context of history as it helped pioneer film noir as an appealing genre. Laced with all the psychosexual tension and shady characters the genre demands, it follows an insurance agent who lets himself be seduced into a murderous scheme with an alluring housewife, only for an insurance investigator to pry into the case.
Barbara Stanwyckremains one of thegreatest femme fatales the noir genrehas seen, whileFred MacMurraywas wickedly divine in an against-type performance, but full credit for the film’s powerful impact has to go to Billy Wilder for his astute direction which never let up on suspense or intrigue. Amazingly, the film didn’t win a single Oscar from seven nominations, though it was inducted into theLibrary of Congress' National Film Registry in 1992.
1’Sunset Boulevard' (1950)
IMDb Rating: 8.4/10
Another Billy Wilder masterpiece,Sunset Boulevardisn’t just a fantastic noir film, it is often classed as being one of the greatest pictures ever made. An enthralling, scandalous flick with a keen interest in Hollywood, it follows a struggling screenwriter as he forms a dangerous relationship with Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), a faded starlet desperate to return to the limelight.
Adding plenty of witty black comedy to the noir formula,Sunset Boulevardis a genuinely funny movie that bends its nonlinear narrative to have audiences keenly awaiting what will happen nextin this medley of over-inflated egos, dreams of stardom, and deadly ambition. The film won three Oscars from 11 nominations, though the fact that Swanson was overlooked, and Best Picture evaded it is quite shocking upon reflection.
