The golden age of Hollywood cinema was surprisingly dark. From 1941 to 1959, the audience was fascinated by criminal dramas with cool detectives, mysterious and dangerous women, an atmosphere of lies and cynicism. This cinematic style later became known as noir (from the French film noir “black film”).
Many films of the 1940s and 50s inspired the noir era for decades to come. Recognizing this, we have compiled a list of the best noir films of all time - not only from a critical point of view, but also by their influence on the genre, and also based on ratings on Kinopoisk and IMDb. For ease of perception, all films are arranged in chronological order.
10. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Genre: noir, detective
Movie Search Rating: 7.7
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Country: USA
Producer: John houston
Music: Adolf Deutsch
This "grandfather of the cinema in the noir genre" is famous for its brilliant cast and excellent directing. Its cold atmosphere is fully consistent with what we expect from such a movie: black and white colors, an action mainly occurring in the dark, and cynicism and deception prevailing on the screen.
The plot of The Maltese Falcon, which was based on the novel by Deshil Hammett, revolves around the search for a valuable artifact that gave the name of the film. And the archetypal protagonist, who is also a frequent detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), served as the prototype for the tough but romantic antihero guy who lived in the noir genre for many years.
9. Deep sleep (1946)
Genre: noir, detective, thriller
Movie Search Rating: 7.4
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Country: USA
Producer: Howard Hawks
Music: Max Steiner
For the second time in the top 10 best noir films of all time, Humphrey Bogart is in the spotlight, this time in the film adaptation of Raymond Chandler’s novel of the same name. By the way, it is this writer who is responsible for creating one of his most famous characters in movies and noir tales - Philip Marlowe.
If you are the one who likes to quickly solve the mystery with the detective, it’s better to skip Deep Sleep. But if you can excuse the inconsistency of the narrative and the overly twisted storyline, you will find more than enough chemistry between the characters, interesting dialogues and excellent acting to enjoy this picture.
8. From the past (1947)
Genre: noir, thriller, melodrama
Movie Search Rating: 7.3
IMDb Rating: 8
Country: USA
Producer: Jacques Turner
Music: Roy Webb
Director Jacques Turner uses every noir archetype as a weapon: a private detective, a fatal woman, a charismatic villain, and an intricate plot.
One of the greatest moments from the Past is the scene of a fight between Jeff (Robert Mitch) and Fisher (Steve Brody). They beat each other fiercely, while their shadows dance on the face of the main character Katie (Jane Greer), symbolizing that both men are victims of a web of lies that she wove.
7. The Third Man (1949)
Genre: noir, thriller, detective
Movie Search Rating: 7.6
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Country: Great Britain
Producer: Carol Reed
Music: Anton Carras
Arriving in post-war Vienna at the invitation of his friend Harry Lyme, writer Holly Martins discovered that Harry had died in an accident.
Police consider Lyme a speculator and a shadow businessman, and is in no hurry to investigate the true causes of his death. Martins is convinced that his friend was unjustly accused, and killed. He begins his own investigation ...
From the general list of the best noir detectives with a high rating, this movie stands out because it was created not in the USA, but in the UK. And also by the fact that the film uses the so-called “Dutch corner” to create an atmosphere of anxiety - the camera is aimed at the hero from the bottom up, while the horizon is littered to the side.
This atmosphere is fully consistent with the time period when the “Third Man” was filmed - during the uncertainty after the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.
6. Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Genre: noir, thriller, detective
Movie Search Rating: 7.3
IMDb Rating: 7.9
Country: USA
Producer: John houston
Music: Miklos Rozha
While many of the best films in the noir genre tell a story in terms of law enforcement, the Asphalt Jungle movie shows the flip side of the coin.
In it, the main roles went to criminals who intend to go to their last business, before returning to a normal, law-abiding life. Each of the heroes has their own dreams and hopes, and the director, not relying on the standard formula of “bad bandits, good cops,” tries to reveal the characters from a side that is unexpected for the viewer.
Despite its venerable age, Asphalt Jungle is still a fascinating film, including the planning, preparation and execution of a multi-million dollar robbery, which is not going according to plan.
And in Asphalt Jungle there is a rising (at the time of filming) Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe. She played a small but memorable role.
5. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Genre: noir, drama
Movie Search Rating: 7.9
IMDb Rating: 8.4
Country: USA
Producer: Billy Wilder
Music: Franz Waxmann
Some filmmakers do not consider this a noir, and attribute it to cinema, located at the junction of black comedy and Gothic melodrama. However, Sunset Boulevard has important signs of the noir style, such as the play of light and shadow, the relative realism of what is happening, and the pessimistic atmosphere.
And this film begins with a corpse floating face down in the pool. Isn't that noirly enough?
Yes, a dead man who during his life was a young screenwriter Joe Gillis will tell his story to the audience. Fortunately (and unfortunately), fate brought him to the aging movie star Norma Desmond. And how he ended up in the pool - you will find out for yourself.
4. Kiss me to death (1955)
Genre: noir, thriller, detective
Movie Search Rating: 6.9
IMDb Rating: 7.6
Country: USA
Producer: Robert Aldrich
Music: Frank De Vol
One of the best noir films conveys all the paranoia and nihilism of his time, and at the same time kills the image of a private detective as a knight without fear and reproach. Its main character, Mike Hammer (Ralph Meeker), is an immoral misanthrope, eager for revenge after the murder of a mysterious woman whom he picked up on the side of the road.
This is a proven formula, but it adds a catchy detail to Kiss Me to Death: a box of mysterious luminous contents. At the time of the film's release, it could be perceived as an analogue of the danger of nuclear weapons, but at present we can recognize its influence on such movie masterpieces as Pulp Fiction and Indiana Jones: In Search of the Lost Ark.
3. The Murder (1956)
Genre: noir, thriller, crime
Movie Search Rating: 7.7
IMDb Rating: 8.0
Country: USA
Producer: Stanley Kubrick
Music: Gerald fried
Although in Russia the name of this film was translated as “Murder”, the term The Killing is slang and means “big jackpot”. Based on this, it is not difficult to guess that we are faced with another representative of robbery films. It was filmed by the now famous, then 27-year-old Stanley Kubrick.
The plot focuses on former prisoner Johnny Clay (Sterling Hayden) planning a robbery of a racetrack that is not going as intended.
It is curious that the image of Clay going "to business" with a briefcase in his hands and a hat on his head was spoofed in the cult Soviet comedy "Watch Out for the Car", which was shot by Eldar Ryazanov.
2. The sweet smell of success (1957)
Genre: noir, drama
Movie Search Rating: 7.4
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Country: USA
Producer: Alexander Mackendrick
Music: Elmer Bernstein
Bert Lancaster and Tony Curtis compete with each other for playing the most vile character in this infinitely cynical story about the machinations of the ruthless media tycoon Jay Jans Hansacker and the clever, temperamental publicist Sidney Falco, who is ready to go over the heads just to climb up , for the sweet smell of success.
There are no gangsters in this movie, no weapons, no one has been killed, but the plot that exposes the gloomy backstage of the world of journalism, the relationships of heroes and even accurate humor make him the blackest of all noir.
1. The Seal of Evil (1958)
Genre: noir, drama, crime
Movie Search Rating: 7.4
IMDb Rating: 8.1
Country: USA
Producer: Orson Welles
Music: Henry Mancini
The film takes place on the border of Mexico and the United States. The main character, the Mexican Miguel Vargasas (Charlton Heston) - an employee of the anti-narcotics department - is investigating the case of a bomb explosion that smashed not only the car of the “big shot” businessman Linnecar, but Vargasas’s dream of a quiet life.
“Seal of Evil” is a noir-style surrealistic action remembered by a star cast of actors, a play of light and shadow, and an introductory five-minute scene shot in one take. She sets the tone for the entire film narrative.
