Films have been an integral part of our lives for a very long time. However, before colored and modern cinema was introduced to us, Films were made in black and white nowadays referred to as Noir Films. The younger generation is now being drawn back to these films and if you are looking for good noir movies to watch, you don’t have to wander anymore. Here are the 12 best noir movies of all time that you should not miss out on!
1. This Gun For Hire (1942)
If you enjoy old-school action and drama movies, This Gun for Hire is a movie you should definitely check out. This movie revolves around a hitman named Philip Raven who is hired to kill a blackmailer. However, when he collects his payment, he is paid in marked bills by his employer, Willard Gates. Enraged by this fraud, Raven sets out on a mission to hunt down Gates.
Meanwhile, police Lieut. Crane is hunting down Raven while a Senate committee enlists his girlfriend, Ellen Graham to investigate Gates. Coincidentally, Raven and Ellen meet on a train and start developing an unusual alliance in their hunt for Willard Gates.
2. Gun Crazy (1950)
Gun Crazy brings in a one of a one-of-a-kind love story to the table revolving around Bart Tare, who has loved guns since he was a child. After completing his service in the Army, one of his friends takes him to a carnival where Bart meets Annie, the perfect girl who loves guns as much as Bart and runs a sharp-shooting show. Both of them fall in love and run off to get married in this noir movie.
However, the couple’s financial situation displeases Annie greatly. To overcome this, they start performing cross-country bank robberies with one condition of never killing anyone during their heists but Annie’s violent nature gradually starts becoming a problem leaving Bart in a massive dilemma.
3. The Third Man (1949)
When it comes to suspense movies, The Third Man is a noir classic. This movie revolves around Holly Martin, a pulp fiction novelist who is currently out of work. He is invited by his old buddy Harry Lime to post-war Vienna for some work.
However, when Matin reaches Vienna, he finds out that his Lime lost his life in a freak car accident. When Martin talks to Lime’s friends, something starts to seem a bit off about his friend’s death. Suspicious that there’s more than meets the eye about his friend’s death. The Third Man is a must-watch movie that will keep you on the edge of your seat throughout the movie.
4. Too Late For Tears (1949)
Too Late For Tears brings us Jane and Alan Palmer who one day were driving down a lonely mountain road to a party when a man in a speeding car, throws a bag in the couple’s convertible. When they open up the bag, it turns out that the bag holds $60,000.
Alan wishes to give this bag to the police but Jane wants to keep the money for herself. However, soon enough, Danny Fuller shows up claiming the money to be his. Jane, in her desperation to hold on to the money, is willing to go to any extent that leads down to a dangerous path.
5. 12 Angry Men (1957)
If you enjoy watching courtroom dramas, 12 Angry Men is a noir movie that is still counted as one of the finest in this genre. This movie revolves around a court hearing to decide the fate of an 18-year-old boy who has been charged with the murder of his abusive father. The Persecution and the Defence have rested and now the decision lies in the hands of the Jury. The 12 members of the Jury have to make a decision but as they discuss the verdict, their personal opinions and prejudices swoop in making them reconsider their guilty verdict.
6. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
When it comes to thrillers, Shadow of a Doubt was a massive hit when it came out in 1943. This movie brings us Charlie Newton, a teenage girl who is quite bored with her quiet life with her sister and her mother. All this changes when her favorite uncle Charlie Oakley sends them a telegram announcing that he will be visiting them for some time. However, something seems off to Charlie about her uncle after a series of events which makes her suspicious that her uncle is a wanted serial killer named “Merry Widow”.
7. Night of The Living Dead (1968)
Even though not the first, Night of The Living Dead is the movie that brought the concept of Zombies to massive popularity. This movie revolves around Barbra, whose husband becomes a victim of the zombie outbreak but she lands in an abandoned farmhouse hiding from the flesh-eating creatures. She is later joined by Ben as both of them discover more people hiding in the basement of that house. Now, it’s a fight for survival for all of them in a desperate attempt to make out of that farmhouse alive.
8. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Maltese Falcon is a crime thriller noir film revolving around a detective named Sam Spade. He runs a detective agency along with his partner Miles Archer. One day, an overly secretive woman, Miss Wonderly arrives to work, and after that, all hell breaks loose on Sam Spade.
His partner, Archer gets murdered under mysterious circumstances and Sam is being threatened by a man to find a valuable statuette. With all of this entrapping Sam in a deep cauldron of crime and conspiracy, he figures that the only way to get to the bottom of his friend’s murder and everything that is going on is to find the statuette being referred to as “The Maltese Falcon”.
9. Strangers On a Train (1951)
Psychological thrillers are some of the most loved movies around the globe and Strangers On a Train was one of the most loved movies in this genre back in the day. Strangers On a Train brings us Guy Haines, a well-known tennis player who wishes to divorce his wife and marry Annie, the daughter of a renowned senator. One day he crosses paths with Bruno Antony, a psychopathic man who wishes to kill his father on a train.
Bruno tells him about his theory that if two strangers kill off the “Problem Person” of one another’s life it would be a perfect murder since there is no connection between the killer and the victim hence they would be impossible to track down. Guy Haines thinks nothing of the conversation but Bruno thinks that Guy is in on the scheme. This results in Bruno murdering Guy’s wife. Now, Bruno expects Guy to keep his end of the bargain and murder Bruno’s father but when Guy refuses to do so, Bruno threatens to frame him for his wife’s murder.
10. The Killing (1956)
Heist movies and shows have rose to popularity over time but The Killing is a movie that is said to be one of the most well-made heist movies of all time. This movie revolves around Johnny Clay, a recently released convict who has planned a heist worth $2 million from a racecourse. However, even though he thought his plan to be the perfect robbery, some things did not go his way resulting in some unforeseen complications.
11. The Blue Dahlia (1946)
The Blue Dahlia brings us Johnny, a Navy man who had just returned home from service. Upon return, he finds that his wife has been unfaithful to him with Eddie, the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. Johnny is enraged and pulls a gun on her but does not shoot her thinking that she is not worth it and leaves. However, after some time, he finds that his wife has actually been killed and he is the prime suspect in the murder.
12. T-Men (1947)
T-Men brings us agents Dennis O’Brien and Tony Genaro from the American Treasure Department who have been sent undercover to Detroit under the aliases of agents Dennis O’Brien and Tony Genaro to uncover a gang that is printing fake currency notes. They both join a gang of mobsters connected to the fake printing press to gradually bust the main man behind this scam.
Aparna Ukil
