The Greatest Classic Noir Movies, Ranked
Sex, murder, and mystery come together in classic noir films. The top old noir movies feature an unsuspecting protagonist getting swept up in a world of intrigue. This is a list of the greatest famous noir movies, including everything from The Maltese Falcon to Sweet Smell of Success to House by the River.
What films will you find on this list of the best noir movies in the genre? In Sunset Boulevard, a writer gets lost in a forgotten star's life of fantasy. William Holden and Gloria Swanson captivate in this 1950 film. The Third Man is another one of the best classic noir films ever made. Barbara Stanwyck stars as a murderous housewife in the 1944 noir masterpiece Double Indemnity. Other good movies featured on this list include Port of Shadows, The Killers, and Touch of Evil.
Which old noir movie do you think deserves the top spot on this list? Vote your favorites up to number one, and please add any classic films that are missing.- 1Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre
- Released: 1941
- Directed by: John Huston
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 ...more - 2Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Martha Vickers
- Released: 1946
- Directed by: Howard Hawks
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, ...more - 3Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
- Released: 1944
- Directed by: Billy Wilder
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 ...more - 4Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas
- Released: 1947
- Directed by: Jacques Tourneur
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. ...more - 5Robert Walker, Farley Granger, Ruth Roman
- Released: 1951
- Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
In Alfred Hitchcock's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's thriller, tennis star Guy Haines (Farley Granger) is enraged by his trampy wife's refusal to finalize their divorce so he can wed senator's ...more - 6Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Trevor Howard
- Released: 1949
- Directed by: Carol Reed
Set in postwar Vienna, Austria, "The Third Man" stars Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, who arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only ...more
