When you think of film noir movies, you may assume they’re predominantly American. While this isn’t true, it’s a fact that many American film noir movies have become cult classics, with some becoming synonymous with the genre.
You may think the genre requires the movie to be in black and white, and there are no new good film noir movies, but that isn’t the case. The morals need to be dark, but the genre doesn’t require films to be void of color. However, it’s hard to debate that older classics have a unique charm that may be missing from the current movies.
10Out Of The Past
Your Past Always Catches Up With You
Out of the Past has all the elements of a classic film noir movie, from a gripping and intense story to a classic femme fatale. The movie received critical acclaim and became a staple in the genre, known as one of the best noir movies, even more than half a decade later.
The premise of the movie is simple. It is about how the sins of the past can catch up to one when they expect them the least. Robert Mitchum plays a normal man who owns a local gas station in a small town. Viewers find out he’s involved in something big when someone from his past comes looking for him.
9Kiss Of Death
Wrong Place, Wrong Time
Kiss of Death is another classic that is remembered in large part due to the impressive performance of its cast. This was Richard Widmark’s first movie, but his portrayal of Tommy Udo is regarded as one of the best in the film noir genre. The movie is significantly brutal in its depiction of violence, but the story is one of redemption.
Nick Bianco is a regular criminal who can’t get on the right path because of his previous crimes and prison sentences. This is why he kept committing crimes and ended up in prison for up to two decades. How he reforms himself and helps bring other criminals to justice forms the crux of the story.
8The Big Sleep
Not As Simple As It Seems
The Big Sleep has multiple elements that make it a true piece of art in the film noir genre. The movie has a complex and murder-filled story, characters that can be good or bad depending on one’s perspective, and the film is narrated from a first-person point of view.
The story opens with a general tasking a private detective to clear his daughter’s debts. While this seems simple enough, if you’re a film noir enthusiast, you’ll know that nothing is ever what it seems. The detective becomes part of a complex slew of murders and blackmail, where it’s unclear till the end who is blackmailing whom and where the characters' allegiances lie.
7In A Lonely Place
Anger Is The Biggest Enemy
In a Lonely Place has an unbearable protagonist who is anger-prone, and you’re able to relate with the police officer when the protagonist is suspected of murder. However, Humphrey Bogart’s character’s violent tendencies aren’t so simple, and you may sympathize with him once you learn of his trauma.
The story revolves around a luckless screenwriter who hasn’t seen success in too long, which is causing him to spiral out of control. He is accused of murder, and because of his previous violent tendencies, the detective focuses on proving him guilty. During this time, he starts a relationship with his alibi, and Bogart suspects her of betraying him.
6The Wrong Man
When Everything Goes Wrong
The premise of The Wrong Man is intriguing. The story follows Manny, a musician who hasn’t made it in his career and who visits an insurance company because he needs money. There, he is mistaken for a criminal who had robbed the company twice before.
The police come, and he is jailed due to a series of unforeseeable events. The rest of the story sees Manny on trial, and viewers wait to see if he can be proven innocent.
5Thieves’ Highway
Revenge Or Justice
Thieves’ Highway is director Jules Dassin’s last Hollywood movie. The movie has elements similar to other film noir movies, and the story focuses on apples. The protagonist’s father was crippled and robbed by an apple sales agent.
In the movie, Nick Garcos vows to avenge his father and partners up with a trucker. Whether his partner will betray him or not is something that the viewers need to find out for themselves. The story also introduces additional characters, some of whom you may think are a little too suspicious.
4Sunset Boulevard
Delusion Isn’t The Solution
Sunset Boulevard begins with its protagonist dead in a swimming pool. The story is told through flashbacks, a common occurrence in film noir movies. Joe Gillis is a down-on-his-luck screenwriter who gets stuck in a mansion with a yesteryear-forgotten actress, Norma Desmond.
The story focuses on what happens when one gets disillusioned by the fantasy they’ve created in their mind. Joe gets caught in the middle of it all, and when he wants to get out, he ends up dead instead. It’s up to the viewer to unravel the mystery surrounding his death. Gloria Swanson’s performance as Norma is especially impressive, and that is likely why the movie is one of the greatest film noirs.
3The Third Man
Who Was It?
The Third Man is one of the most engaging film noir movies. The protagonist isn’t the usual detective type with an antihero angle. Instead, Holly Martins is a bookwriter caught in a web of lies and deceit when he visits his friend Harry Limes.
The story goes that when Martins reaches Vienna, he’s told that Limes died in a road accident. He is then approached by two men who claim Limes told them to look out for Martins. Later, Martins finds out there was a third man that day, and who he is will surprise you completely.
2Chinatown
Forget It, It’s Chinatown
In Chinatown, Jack Nicholson plays the role of a private investigator who’s hired to trail a supposedly cheating husband. He proves the suspicions to be correct, but the proof makes it to the newspaper, and the husband is found dead. Faye Dunaway’s role and her unique characterization that confuses you about whether she’s the femme fatale is an interesting deviation from other movies.
Chinatown explores various film noir themes, and the identity of the alleged mistress and her relationship with the deceased’s wife are unexpected twists. The characters are especially well written, and the story is one of the best in the genre. Chinatown is hailed as a masterpiece in the genre, with its “Forget it Jake, it’s Chinatown” still a popular quote.
1Double Indemnity
Money Or Love
Double Indemnity has everything you could ask for in a film noir movie. After all, it’s an adaptation of a noir novel, so you already know it’ll be worth the watch. The protagonist has a questionable moral compass, and the femme fatale executes her role to perfection.
The movie begins with a wounded insurance sales agent recording a confession. In a flashback, it’s shown that the protagonist fell for a woman who wanted to murder her husband and collect insurance money by making it look like an accident. Whether the wife is successful and who shoots the protagonist unfolds in this roller coaster of a movie.
