The femme fatale. The private eye. The double-cross. These classic film noir movies aren’t just dark and thrilling flicks–they’re some of the best films ever made. With career-making performances from the likes of Humphrey Bogart and legendary directors like Orson Welles and John Huston, these classic film noir movies serve as the inspiration for many modern day thrillers.
The Maltese Falcon
It doesn’t get more classic than this 1941 noir. Based on the novel by Dashiell Hammett, The Maltese Falcon has it all: Humphrey Bogart, Peter Lorre, and the directorial debut of legendary film director John Huston. Like all great noir movies, The Maltese Falcon begins with a femme fatale who sends Sam Spade (Bogart)’s partner on a mission that gets him killed. Shortly afterwards, Joel Cairo (Lorre) shows up at Spade’s office and pulls a gun on him demanding to know the location of a black bird statue. Are these strange events related? Most definitely. Unraveling the link between them is what makes this movie a classic.
Related: 8 Dashiell Hammett Short Stories That Will Get Your Heart Pounding
Out of the Past
Considered by many film scholars to be a first-rate, classic example of noir, 1947’s Out of the Past stars Robert Mitchum as Jeff Markham, the private eye whose run-in with a femme fatale ended his career in detective work. Jeff is sent to Mexico in search of a woman on the run–her former lover claims that she shot him and took off with his money. Once there, though, Jeff falls in love with her. Is she guilty of the crimes she’s been accused of? Does she really love Jeff, or is she just using him to evade the cold grasp of justice?
The Third Man
Widely considered to be not only one of the best examples of noir cinema but also one of the best movies of all time, The Third Man was released in 1949, written by novelist Graham Greene and starred Orson Welles. Holly Martins (Joseph Cotten) arrives in postwar Vienna eager to spend some time with his childhood friend Harry Lime (Welles) but is in for a horrific surprise when he learns Harry was killed–hit by a truck. Working under suspicion that there was a “third man” present at the time of Harry’s death and that it was not an accident, Holly will stop at nothing to uncover the truth about his friend’s murder, even if it means comforting his grief-stricken girlfriend who may know more than she lets on.
Double Indemnity
This classic 1944 noir thriller features the infamous double-cross of the femme fatale and has gone on to inspire a number of modern neo-noir classics like 1981’s Body Heat. Walter Neff, an insurance salesman, goes to let Phyllis’s husband know that his car insurance has lapsed. But Phyllis, played by the impeccable Barbara Stanwyck, has other ideas, and the two eventually embark on a murder plan that will invoke the “double indemnity” clause–resulting in a doubled insurance payout. You might think Neff would know not to trust a woman who wants her husband dead, but … think again.
Related: Double Indemnity: The Real-Life Murder That Inspired a Crime Noir Classic
Touch of Evil
This 1958 noir written, directed, and starring Orson Welles has a rather contentious past. Welles claimed the studio’s edit of the film botched its true essence and wrote a 58-page memo explaining exactly what had been mucked up. Many of Welles’s most beautiful shots were replaced with close-ups shot by another director, which also muddled the plot of the film. As a result, when the movie was released, it was panned and largely ignored by audiences. But time has been kind to Touch of Evil. In 1998, using Welles’s memo to the studio, the movie, which stars Charlton Heston and Janet Leigh as newlyweds who become embroiled in a Mexican/American drug framing scheme, was re-released as the auteur originally imagined it. Touch of Evil is now considered to be some of his best work.
Laura
The eponymous figure and supposed star of this noir by Otto Preminger, Laura, barely appears in her own movie. That’s because she’s dead–murdered–and the prime suspects are her best friend Waldo and her fiancé, Shelby (Vincent Price). As the detective assigned to the case learns more about Laura from the two men in her life, though, he finds himself falling in love with her, too. Perhaps it’s easier to fall in love with the memory of someone.
Sunset Boulevard
Put together a struggling screenwriter and an aging actress desperate for the limelight: What do you get? Pure genius. Billy Wilder’s masterpiece stars the epic Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, who hasn’t managed to regain her foothold in the business after the advent of talkies. William Holden stars as Joe Gillis, the screenwriter who jumps at the chance to be a kept man who promises a major comeback to Desmond. But as we know from the very first scene of the film Gillis’s plan didn’t exactly work out, the film opens on his corpse, floating in Norma’s pool.
In a Lonely Place
Like Sunset Boulevard, this noir movie adapted from Dorothy B. Hughes’ novel explores the dangers of Hollywood ambition. Dix (Humphrey Bogart, in one of his best performances) is a struggling screenwriter who falls in love with his neighbor, an aspiring actress, all the while under the suspicion of murder. While the fledgling relationship struggles to gain traction, Dix begins to wonder if the figments of his imagination might not be figments at all. This noir goes truly dark–you may not want to watch it alone.
Related: Femme Fatale: The Greatest Lethal Ladies of Film Noir
The Big Sleep
Based on the novel by Raymond Chandler, The Big Sleep capitalizes on the chemistry of its two stars: Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, who had married in the interim between the movie’s filming and release. Phillip Marlowe (Bogart) is hired by a man to look into the gambling debts of his wild young daughter. But it’s the older daughter, played by Bacall, who lets on that the case is more complicated. After Bogie and Bacall became the subject of celebrity obsession, several scenes of the movie were reshot to enhance their time onscreen together.
Related: 8 Crime Noir Books That Will Have You Reaching for Your Trench Coat
Gilda
Rita Hayworth shines as the eponymous femme fatale in this 1946 film noir. Johnny, a regular gambler, gets in over his head when he attempts to cheat at an elite, high stakes casino. The owner, a man named Mundson, is charmed by Johnny and hires him to work at the casino. But when Mundson shows up with a new wife, Gilda, Johnny is less than thrilled. It’s obvious that Johnny and Gilda have a history even though they deny it: The sexual tension is palpable. When Gilda’s husband fakes his own death, the two shack up. Are they still gambling, or playing for keeps?
Featured still from "The Third Man" via London Film Productions
