Login

Classic Film Noir

Here be those darkly vexing offerings one should include in their diet periodically. Film Noir (literally 'black film or cinema') was coined by French film critics (first by Frank Nino in 1946) who noticed the trend of how 'dark' and black the looks and themes were of many American crime and detective films released in France following the war. It was a style of black and white American films that first evolved in the 1940s, became prominent in the post-war era, and lasted in a classic "Golden Age" period until about 1965. With the list below Alice has included many "Contempory Noirs", making browsing that much more "coloured"..... Right: Orson Wells stars and directs "A Touch Of Evil".

The Chase (1946)

6.7/10
Director: Arthur Ripley
Starring: Jack Holt, Peter Lorre, Robert Cummings, Steve Cochran, Michele Morgan

Tormented ex-GI Chuck Scott (Robert Cummings) takes a job with gangster Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran) as an innocent chauffeur but soon becomes embroile... Read more

The Blue Dahlia (1946)

7.2/10
Director: George Marshall
Starring: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix

A stylish noir that teams Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. When Johnny returns from the war, he finds his wife kissing another man outside the Blue Dahli... Read more

Shock (1946)

6.3/10
Director: Alfred L Werker
Starring: Vincent Price, Lynn Bari, Frank Latimore, Anabel Shaw

In this thriller, psychiatrist Dr. Cross (Vincent Price) kills his wife and expects to get away with murder, until he discovers that the slaying was o... Read more

The Dark Corner (1946)

7.2/10
Director: Henry Hathaway
Starring: Lucille Ball, Mark Stevens, William Bendix, Clifton Webb

When a suave detective is framed for murder for the second time, it's up to his loyal secretary (Lucille Ball) to help untangle the mystery. His best... Read more

Somewhere in the Night (1946)

7.2/10
Director: Joseph L Mankiewicz
Starring: John Hodiak, Nancy Guild, Richard Conte, Lloyd Nolan

Stricken with amnesia during action in the South Pacific, WWII Marine John Hodiak returns home with only a letter from a now-dead ex-girlfriend as a c... Read more

The Killers (1946/1964 Versions) (1946)

7.8/10
Director: Don Siegel, Robert Siodmak
Starring: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker, Sam Levene, Lee Marv...

Ernest Hemingway's gripping short story "The Killers" has fascinated readers and filmmakers for generations. It's first screen incarnation came in 194... Read more

Gilda (1946)

7.7/10
Director: Charles Vidor
Starring: George Macready, Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth

Rita Hayworth stars in this classic drama as part of a problematical love triangle involving husband, George Macready and his partner Glenn Ford and s... Read more

The Big Sleep (1946)

8/10
Director: Howard Hawks
Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, Dorothy Malone, Martha Vickers

Raymond Chandler's witty and convoluted whodunit comes to life under director Howard Hawks. Humphrey Bogart is tough private eye Philip Marlowe, Laure... Read more

Leave Her to Heaven (1946)

7.8/10
Director: John M Stahl
Starring: Gene Tierney, Cornel Wilde, Jeanne Crain, Vincent Price

Gene Tierney received a Best Actress nomination for her depiction of a jealous woman unable to control her possessive instincts. This classic melodram... Read more

Notorious (1946)

8/10
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Starring: Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Cary Grant

In this brilliant allegory of love and betrayal, Hitchcock fuses two of his favourite elements: suspense and romance. A beautiful woman with a tainted... Read more