Film noir is not a clearly defined genre (see here for details on the characteristics). Therefore, the composition of this list may be controversial. To minimize dispute the films included here should preferably feature a footnote linking to a reliable, published source which states that the mentioned film is considered to be a film noir by an expert in this field, e.g.
The terms which are used below to subsume various periods and variations of film noir are not definitive and are meant as a navigational aid rather than as critical argument. Because the 1940s and 1950s are universally regarded as the "classic period" of American film noir, films released prior to 1940 are listed under the caption "Precursors / early noir-like films". Films released after 1959 should generally only be listed in the list of neo-noir titles.
Precursors / early noir-like films
1927 Underworld
1928 The Racket
1929 Thunderbolt
1931 The Big GambleVernet, Marc "Film Noir on the Edge of Doom", in Copjec, Joan, ed. (1993). Shades of Noir. London and New York: Verso. City Streets Little Caesar The Maltese Falcon (a.k.a. Dangerous Female) The Public Enemy Quick Millions The Secret Six
1932 20,000 Years in Sing Sing The Beast of the City I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang Payment Deferred Scarface Two Seconds Under-Cover Man
1933 Advice to the Lovelorn Blood Money Private Detective 62
1934 Crime Without Passion Journal of a Crime Midnight The Thin Man
1935 Bordertown Crime and Punishment G Men The Glass Key The Scoundrel
1936 Bullets or Ballots Fury The Petrified Forest Satan Met a Lady
1937 Dead End Marked Woman You Only Live Once
1938 Angels with Dirty Faces You and Me
1939 Blind Alley Each Dawn I Die King of the Underworld Let Us Live Rio The Roaring Twenties They Made Me a Criminal
1940 Angels Over Broadway City for Conquest Johnny ApolloJohnny Apollo
Non-American La Chienne (1931, France) M (1931, Germany) Das Testament des Dr. Mabuse (The Testament of Dr. Mabuse) (1933, Germany) La Bandera (Escape from Yesterday) (1935, France) The Green Cockatoo (1937, United Kingdom) Pépé le Moko (1937, France) La Bête Humaine (The Human Beast) (1938, France) Hôtel du Nord (1938, France) Le Quai des brumes (Port of Shadows) (1938, France) They Drive by Night (1938, United Kingdom) Dead Men are Dangerous (a.k.a. Dangerous Masquerade) (1938, United Kingdom) Le Dernier tournant (The Last Turning) (1939, France) Le Jour se lève (Daybreak) (1939, France) On the Night of the Fire (a.k.a. The Fugitive) (1939, United Kingdom) Pièges (Personal Column) (1939, France)
Classic American noir
1940
1941
1942
1943
1944
1945
1946
1947
1948
1949
1950
1951
1952
1953
1954
1955
1956
1957
1958
1959
American color noir
British noir
1942 The Night Has Eyes (a.k.a. Terror House)
1945 Dead of Night Great Day Murder in Reverse Pink String and Sealing Wax The Seventh Veil Waterloo Road
1946 Appointment with Crime Wanted for Murder
1947 Brighton Rock (a.k.a. Young Scarface) The Brothers Dancing with Crime Dear Murderer Frieda It Always Rains on Sunday Mine Own Executioner Night Beat The October Man Odd Man Out Take My Life Temptation Harbour They Made Me a Fugitive (a.k.a. I Became a Criminal) The Upturned Glass
1948 Blanche Fury Daybreak Escape The Fallen Idol Good-Time Girl No Orchids for Miss Blandish (a.k.a. Black Dice) Noose (a.k.a. The Silk Noose) The Small Voice (a.k.a. The Hideout) So Evil My Love Uneasy Terms
1949 Boys in Brown Conspirator Forbidden (a.k.a. Scarlet Heaven) The Interrupted Journey Obsession (a.k.a. The Hidden Room) Silent Dust The Small Back Room The Spider and the Fly The Third Man
1950 The Blue Lamp Cage of Gold The Clouded Yellow So Long at the Fair (a.k.a. The Black Curse) The Woman in Question (a.k.a. Five Angles on Murder)
1951 Another Man's Poison Cloudburst I'll Get You for This (a.k.a. Lucky Nick Cain) The Long Dark Hall Pool of London There Is Another Sun (a.k.a. Wall of Death)
1952 The Gambler and the Lady The Last Page (a.k.a. Man Bait) The Lost Hours (a.k.a. The Big Frame) Stolen Face Wide Boy Wings of Danger (a.k.a. Dead on Course) Women of Twilight (a.k.a. Twilight Women)
1953 36 Hours (a.k.a. Terror Street) Black 13 Cosh Boy (a.k.a. The Slasher) Deadly Nightshade The Flanagan Boy (a.k.a. Bad Blonde) The Intruder The Limping Man The Long Memory The Man Between Mantrap (a.k.a. Man in Hiding) Marilyn (a.k.a. Roadhouse Girl) Street of Shadows (a.k.a. Shadow Man) Three Steps to the Gallows (a.k.a. White Fire) Time Bomb (a.k.a. Terror on a Train)
1954 Beautiful Stranger (a.k.a. Twist of Fate) Before I Wake (a.k.a. Shadow of Fear) Face the Music (a.k.a. The Black Glove) Five Days (a.k.a. Paid to Kill) The Good Die Young The House Across the Lake (a.k.a. Heat Wave) Impulse Murder by Proxy (a.k.a. Blackout) The Sleeping Tiger A Stranger Came Home (a.k.a. The Unholy Four) Third Party Risk (a.k.a. Deadly Game) The Weak and the Wicked (a.k.a. Young and Willing)
1955 The Brain Machine Cast a Dark Shadow Confession (a.k.a. The Deadliest Sin) Dial 999 (a.k.a. The Way Out) Joe MacBeth Little Red Monkey (a.k.a. Case of the Red Monkey) The Ship That Died of Shame (a.k.a. PT Raiders)
1956 The Intimate Stranger (a.k.a. Finger of Guilt) Soho Incident (a.k.a. Spin a Dark Web) Tiger in the Smoke Wicked As They Come (a.k.a. Portrait in Smoke) Yield to the Night (a.k.a. Blonde Sinner)
1957 Across the Bridge The Big Chance The Counterfeit Plan Fortune Is a Woman (a.k.a. She Played With Fire) Hell Drivers Kill Her Gently Kill Me Tomorrow The Long Haul Man in the Shadow (a.k.a. Violent Stranger) Time Without Pity
1958 Chase a Crooked Shadow Nowhere to Go Tread Softly Stranger
1959 Blind Date (a.k.a. Chance Meeting)
International noir
Classic-period crossover films
Noir Westerns
Miscellaneous crossover films
Noir comedies / parodies
See also List of neo-noir titles Film gris Golden Age of American animation
Notes
References
External links Most Popular Film-Noir Feature Films at IMDb An A-Z list of "classic noir titles" at IMDb Listings of Noir Films at www.theyshootpictures.com Comprehensive list of Film Noir movies at www.kingofthepeds.com