Readers Guide To Film Noir
Film Noir listed by the books , plays , and stories that they were adapted from .
Authors name underneath , the title is added if different .
Authors name underneath , the title is added if different .
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153 titles
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.Dashiell Hammett
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeBrian DonlevyA crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.Dashiell Hammett
- CreatorRobert W. LenskiStarsTom BowerDavid CanaryMalachy McCourtPrivate eye investigates diamond theft, and becomes involved with an ancient family curse.Dashiell Hammett
- DirectorHobart HenleyStarsHelen MorganCharles RugglesFred KohlerA boozing newsman (Charles Ruggles) woos a singer (Helen Morgan) while spying on her bootlegger boyfriend (Fred Kohler).Dashiell Hammett , Red Harvest . see also Yojimbo , Last Man Standing etc
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsSamuel L. JacksonMilla JovovichStellan SkarsgårdWhile doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery.Dashiell Hammett , aka The House On Turk Street
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.Raymond Chandler
- DirectorDick RichardsStarsRobert MitchumCharlotte RamplingJohn IrelandLos Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by paroled convict Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.Raymond Chandler
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsGeorge MontgomeryNancy GuildConrad JanisDetective Philip Marlowe encounters a variety of characters while checking on why Leslie Murdock stole a rare doubloon from his mother.Raymond Chandler
- DirectorRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryAudrey TotterLloyd NolanThe lady editor of a crime magazine hires Phillip Marlowe to find the wife of her boss. The private detective soon finds himself involved in murder.Raymond Chandler
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsElliott GouldNina van PallandtSterling HaydenPrivate investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.Raymond Chandler
- DirectorPaul BogartStarsJames GarnerGayle HunnicuttCarroll O'ConnorA young woman from Kansas hires LA private detective Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother.Raymond Chandler , The Little Sister
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJames CaanDina MeyerDavid KeithAn aging Phillip Marlowe gets mixed up with blackmail and murder amongst the elite social set in 1963.Raymond Chandler , with Robert B. Parker
- DirectorAgnieszka HollandStarsDanny GloverKelly LynchDan HedayaIn 1940s, sympathetic African American L.A. shamus Philip Marlowe helps a dame in trouble whose lovers are offing each other over a possibly fake pearl necklace. He must also deal with a racist cop that's investigating the murders.
- DirectorAllan KingStarsPowers BootheMelody AndersonAllan RoyalThe woman Marlowe was hired to protect and who happens to be the girlfriend of a notorious mobster has been kidnapped.
- DirectorRobert IscoveStarsPowers BootheHelen ShaverMavor MooreMarlowe's friend called Spanish has been murdered and Marlowe suspects that the district attorney the man was running against might be behind the hit.
- DirectorRobert IscoveStarsPowers BootheRobin GivensKate TrotterMarlow is investigating the murder of a young girl. A night club cigarette girl called Token Ware might know more. The club's owner and a shady actor stand in his way. He also gets framed for extortion.
- DirectorRobert IscoveStarsPowers BootheRoxanne HartCec LinderMarlowe is hired to protect a young boxer who's being pressured to take a dive.
- DirectorRobert IscoveStarsPowers BootheKate ReidJennifer DaleMarlowe is hired to try and get a naive young man in love, who happens to be the nephew of a millionaire, to break it off with his girlfriend, after his uncle begins to suspect that she's with him just for his money.
- DirectorPeter R. HuntStarsPowers BootheKathryn Leigh ScottBilly KearnsPhilip Marlow, a one time cop and with an unfortunate habit of being too honest and too broke for his own good, takes the job of protecting a former mob accountant on the run. When two hit men arrive in town he has to do some fancy dancing to keep his client safe and breathing. With the help of Anne Riordan he makes a deal with the mob, but nothing ever goes according to plan, or does it?
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsPowers BootheBilly KearnsKathryn Leigh ScottKing Leopardi was a big celebrity and an even bigger ladykiller, but when he winds up dead in a singer's boudoir all the evidence points to her. Marlowe is hired to find the real killers before his client is thrown in the slammer. The trail becomes dangerous as more bodies drop the closer he gets to the truth. Can he solve the mystery before the next one is his?
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsPowers BootheBilly KearnsGayle HunnicuttMarlowe is subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury investigating the mob murder of a district attorney he was hired to bodyguard. Throw in a femme fatale and Marlowe has his hands full trying to shake himself loose from the murder rap of a former client killed with his gun. The pressure is on and the fix is in as the mob tries to force him to change his testimony.
- DirectorDavid WickesStarsPowers BootheKathryn Leigh ScottJohn TerryMops Parisi is out of the joint and out for revenge. First on the list is his crooked lawyer, Hugo Candless, then the ex-cop who arrested him, one Philip Marlowe. It comes as a surprise when a familiar face is involved, and Marlowe has to think fast and move even faster to stay ahead of the Nevada hit squad or his next ride will be his last.
- DirectorPeter R. HuntStarsPowers BootheMichael ShannonLiza RossMarlowe finds himself in grave danger when he discovers that a popular young Hollywood actor he was hired to protect has been murdered and the movie studio that the guy worked for wants to cover it up.
- DirectorW.S. Van DykeStarsWilliam PowellMyrna LoyMaureen O'SullivanFormer detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it.
- DirectorAlan CroslandStarsEdmund LoweJean DixonVictor VarconiA gambler hires a detective to investigate when a murder is committed in his casino.
- DirectorPhil RosenStarsFay WrayRalph BellamyMelvyn DouglasA paroled prisoner hits a man who's attacking a woman, then runs away, scared that he killed the man (he did not). From the book "Woman in the Dark" by Dashiell Hammett.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsChristopher LloydLaura San GiacomoPeter BergIn 1929, a famed shamus known as the Continental Op is on the trail of a well-known socialite, who ran away with a notorious gangster and is now missing. The case takes the Continental Op to blackmail and murder.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsStanley RidgesWynne GibsonTheodore NewtonA small-town police chief captures a man wanted for murder in Philadelphia. But something stinks about the murder rap, the wanted poster and everything else.
- DirectorTom HanksStarsBruno KirbyMarg HelgenbergerJon PolitoEve Cressy hides in a fancy hotel awaiting the return of her vengeful gangster ex-lover from prison. She meets Tony Reseck, the hotel dick, whose attempt to protect her ends in violence.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordJack CarsonZachary ScottA hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLana TurnerJohn GarfieldCecil KellawayA married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband.
- DirectorAllan DwanStarsJohn PayneRhonda FlemingArlene DahlAn urban wheeler-dealer gets involved in organized crime, corrupt city politics and graft while falling in love with the fiancée of the newly elected mayor.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsMario LanzaJoan FontaineSara MontielDamon Vincenti, a young vineyard worker, has a beautiful tenor voice and dreams of becoming a great opera singer. He debuts at Lardelli's Italian restaurant in San Francisco, where he is spotted by Kendall Hale, a society girl who enjoys launching young artists while making them her lovers before dumping them after use. Damon is no exception to the rule: he becomes famous but Kendall leaves him abruptly. He feels so affected that he must give up singing. In Mexico, where he has got back in touch with his inner self, Damon meets Juana Montès.They are happy and get married. But Kendall is still around...
- DirectorMatt CimberStarsStacy KeachPia ZadoraOrson WellesIn 1937 Nevada, silver mine caretaker Jess Tyler is reunited with his teenage daughter Kady who will do anything to persuade Jess to let her have claim to the mine.
- DirectorRalph MurphyStarsRichard ArlenSally EilersRobert Armstrong"Duke" Gordon (Robert Armstrong), a circus lion-tamer, tries to tames his wife, Laura (Sally Eilers), just as he does his lions. But, she is a one-man woman, married to the wrong man, but refuses to cheat on her cheating husband even though her happiness depends on doing so.
- DirectorGregory RatoffStarsLoretta YoungWarner BaxterBinnie BarnesWoman hopes to be a great singer and is encouraged by her scheming teacher. After she flops, her husband - encouraged by an amorous professional singer - tries opera and also flops.
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsIrene DunneCharles BoyerBarbara O'NeilA concert pianist unhappily married to a mentally ill woman falls in love with a waitress.
- DirectorWilliam K. HowardStarsJeffrey LynnBrenda MarshallJohn LitelThe City Trust and Savings Bank sends Vice President Dave Bennett to a branch office to check on a Charles Patterson. Charlie has greatly increased the amount of money in savings and is very involved with all of his customers. When offered a chance to run a new branch in Santa Monica, Charlie declines and is taken ill. His wife, Barbara, tells Dave that Charlie needs an operation and she will fill in for him at his savings window. Against the advice of Martha and Branch manager Jerry Helm, Dave does hire Barbara to do the job. When Dave works the window when Barbara goes to lunch, he notices that the accounts are short and the amount comes out to $9000. Dave does not know if Barbara or Charlie has taken the money, but Barbara blames Charlie and as Dave is sweet on her, he personally loans her the money. Dave hopes that this will end the problems and that Barbara will divorce Charlie but there is more trouble ahead for Dave Bennett.
- DirectorLucas PlattStarsErika EleniakWilliam McNamaraMichael LernerMandy, a modern teenage "Lolita" with a wild sense of adventure and a burning desire to taste life, buys a ticket out of her one-horse town of Paint Rock, Texas, hitting the road to love, life and self-discovery.
- DirectorLeon BarshaStarsCharles QuigleyRita HayworthMarc LawrencePolice Detective Burns (Charles Quigley) is helping Jerry Wheeler (Rita Hayworth), a night-club singer, track down the killer of a gold-digger, for which crime her brother, "Chick," (Edgar Edwards) has been sentenced to die in the electric chair. She finds evidence that convinces her that Milton Militis (Marc Lawrence), owner of a nightclub, is the killer. She gets a job in the club as a singer in order to gain Milton's confidence and find the proof of her brother's innocence. Milton finally figures out she is spying on him, so he and a henchman take her for a ride and, with glee, planing on killing her at the same time her brother is being executed.
- DirectorJack HivelyStarsBurgess MeredithClaire TrevorLouise PlattAfter an accident, a New York man with amnesia finds out the ugly truth about his real identity and past by interacting with people who seem to know him well.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsDennis O'KeefeMargoJean BrooksA seemingly-tame leopard used for a publicity stunt escapes and kills a young girl, spreading panic throughout a sleepy New Mexico town.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsFranchot ToneElla RainesAlan CurtisA devoted secretary risks her life to try to find the elusive woman who may prove her boss didn't murder his selfish wife.
- DirectorHarold ClurmanWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsSusan HaywardPaul LukasBill WilliamsAfter a woman he meets is murdered, a soon-to-ship-out sailor has until dawn to find the killer, aided by a weary dance hall girl.
- DirectorRoy William NeillStarsDan DuryeaJune VincentPeter LorreWhen Kirk Bennett is convicted of a singer's murder, his wife tries to prove him innocent...aided by the victim's ex-husband.
- DirectorArthur RipleyStarsRobert CummingsMichèle MorganSteve CochranChuck Scott gets a job as chauffeur to tough guy Eddie Roman; but Chuck's involvement with Eddie's fearful wife becomes a nightmare.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsTeala LoringRobert ArmstrongLeo PennTom Cochrane (Leo Penn'), full of dope (cocaine) and covered with blood, is picked up by the police and then questioned by detectives Shannon (Douglas Fowley) and Taylor (Harry Strang), but manages to escape. His girl friend Lois Walter (Teala Loring) , against the wishes of her guardian, Jim Grosset (Charles Arnt), assists Tom and his police-officer brother-in-law Mac McLane (Robert Armstrong) in trying to clear Tom of a possible murder charge. Tom only recalls meeting a man in a bar and going to a party. Tom and Mac find the man, Joe (Elisha Cook Jr.), who takes them to the party scene, the apartment of the Sindells. They find the body of a murdered girl in the apartment above.
- DirectorJohn ReinhardtStarsBonita GranvilleDon CastleRegis ToomeyTwo guys sharing an apartment meet twin girls (both Bonita Granville). One's sweet, the other a major piece of bad news. The nice one is murdered and her boyfriend is accused of the crime. The wrong man/wrong victim plot strikes again.
- DirectorMaxwell ShaneStarsPaul KellyDeForest KelleyKay ScottA man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real.
- DirectorWilliam NighStarsDon CastleElyse KnoxRegis ToomeyA dancer is pinned for murder after his shoe prints are found at the scene of the crime. His wife follows the trail of clues to the genuine killer.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsEdward G. RobinsonGail RussellJohn LundAfter phony stage mentalist Triton mysteriously acquires supernatural powers of precognition, he becomes frightened and abandons his act to live in anonymity.
- DirectorTed TetzlaffStarsBobby DriscollBarbara HaleArthur KennedyTo avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.
- DirectorAlex SegalStarsBoris KarloffGeorge Gunn
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsBarbara StanwyckJohn LundJane CowlA pregnant woman adopts the identity of a railroad-crash victim and starts a new life with the woman's wealthy in-laws, but is soon blackmailed by her devious ex.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsEddie AlbertMargoRex MarshallA woman tries to escape her gangster husband by running away to Cuba with her new love.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsMildred NatwickAnthony RossA woman complains about the man upstairs, but no one has ever seen him.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsOtto KrugerRex Marshall
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsSidney BlackmerPeggy ConklinRichard CooganFollowing the sudden death of her husband, Josie marries Doc Archer, the man named beneficiary of her husband's life insurance policy. Investigator Westcott is suspicious after learning the doctor has a history of collecting such payouts. Westcott informs Josie that she is in danger of becoming her husband's next heavily insured "accident." She doesn't believe him--until she's almost killed when Doc "accidentally" knocks a sunlamp into the tub while she's bathing.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsGage ClarkePhilip CoolidgeMeg MundyRay Gardner is deep in debt and can't find work due to his ruthless ex-boss. Desperate and angry, he kills his boss and steals some money. His loyal wife Mary stands by him and the two make plans to flee New York. They spend a day filled with paranoia before leaving on the train without being noticed.
- DirectorMarc DanielsStarsDane Clark
- StarsJohn Baragrey
- DirectorLeón KlimovskyStarsGraciliano BatistaMaría Esther BuschiazzoHéctor CalcañoWhen a woman goes to see an ex-boyfriend who blackmails her, she leaves behind an earring and when she returns to retrieve it, she finds that he has been murdered.
- DirectorCarlos Hugo ChristensenStarsNéstor ZavarceBlanca del PradoFloren DelbeneThe plot centers on Lucio Santana, a lovable prankster and class clown whose dad happens to be a detective working on the serial killings of local children. When Lucho makes friends with a girl in his class, she divulges to him that a man who lives in the woods near the park has been giving her free lollipops, and plans to take her to his candy house. But she makes Lucho vow never to tell anyone. When the girl winds up murdered, Lucho is torn between honoring his word to his slain friend, or telling his father that he knows who the man is.
- DirectorCarlos Hugo ChristensenStarsÁngel MagañaRenée DumasNicolás FreguesTwo separate episodes that have in common the door which separates good from evil. In the first segment, "Alguien al teléfono", Ángel Magaña tries to avenge the death of his sister, a girl who commits suicide over gambling debts. In the second, "El pájaro cantor vuelve al hogar", Roberto Escalada is a former inmate who whistles when commits crimes, and returns home where he is expected by his blind mother, who believes he has regenerated.
- DirectorJohn EnglishStarsArlene DahlTol AveryVirginia Brissac
- DirectorFelix E. FeistStarsAgnes MooreheadTom DrakeBetty LynnA mother disapproves of her son's new fiancee.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.
- DirectorJean DelannoyStarsMichèle MorganRaf ValloneMarthe MercadierA diabolic suspense which never gives the viewer any respite....Shall Helene save her husband? But it may mean sending an innocent man to the guillotine..
- DirectorLewis R. FosterStarsEdmond O'BrienCharles BronsonKasey RogersDetective Clinton Sturges learns Murray Forman is a wanted man. Clint feels he owes the criminal for saving daughter Barbara from drowning and is torn between doing his job or assisting the fugitive.
- DirectorJames NeilsonStarsRalph DumkeFrank HanleyJonathan Hole
- DirectorTed PostStarsStanley AdamsGene BarryScott BradyThe wife of a prizefighter promises her dying husband that their son will be a fighter.
- 1955–195830mTV EpisodeDirectorSidney LanfieldStarsJane WymanVivi JanissDavid Kasday
- DirectorAntonio SantillánStarsCarlos López MoctezumaArmando MorenoBeatriz AguirreWith the intention of stealing the compensation for a work accident, Enrique kills an old man. However, it turns out that he had not yet collected it, so he will try, then, to falsify the signature of the check. Meanwhile, at the same time that the police are investigating the case, the son of the police inspector investigates on his own.
- DirectorRoy KellinoStarsIda LupinoRalph MoodyWalter CoySheila and her brother engineer a gas leak to kill her husband so they can split the insurance money. Overhearing the plot is the husband's invalid father, but it's no concern because he can't speak or write. Sheila doesn't realize he is able to communicate with his nurse through his eyes.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsDan BartonRalph BellamyVicki CummingsA dinner party turns into a guest's nightmare as a murder plot is uncovered.
- DirectorJohn FrankenheimerStarsRichard JoyFranchot ToneLaraine DayJohnny Marr's fiancee is killed by a whiskey bottle thrown from an airplane. Marr seeks revenge by killing the loved ones of the passengers on the flight.
- DirectorJohn BrahmStarsJoel AldrichArthur BatanidesLee MarvinA detective is convinced a man is guilty of murder despite ballistics tests to the contrary.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsRonald ReaganHarry BartellImogene CocaA female taxicab driver finds a dead man in the back seat of her cab, and a persistent suitor in the person of the detective who investigates the case.
- DirectorRalph HabibStarsLouis JourdanDany CarrelRoger HaninSome gangsters use a young girl to get to a recently released convict who hid $10 million from a robbery just before he was caught.
- DirectorWalter DonigerStarsWilliam BoyettWilliam BryantThomas ColeyWhile taking in a movie with his girlfriend, a police detective recognizes a fellow patron in the theater as being a dangerous criminal who is a fugitive from justice. After he leaves to phone the authorities and returns, the policeman finds that the killer has gone and also taken his girlfriend as a hostage.
- DirectorFletcher MarkleStarsGeorge SandersScotty BeckettPaul GaryNice guy Ben Cook, goaded by his scheming common-law wife, fakes his own suicide and moves to another town-all to trick his life insurance company into making a large payout. No one en route or at the new address will recognize him, will they?
- DirectorPaul HenreidStarsPhyllis AveryPat ColbyRobert EllensteinA disappointed suitor is accused of playing cop when he voices doubts about a former girlfriend's choice of a husband.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsNancy KellyE.G. MarshallRichard LongPaul Steppe, a watch repairman, suspects his wife is cheating on him while he tends to his store every afternoon. Consumed with jealousy, he devises a time bomb set to go off at four o' clock - the same time her "lover" pays his daily visit. One day, when his wife is at the market, he sneaks into the house to plant the device. There, Paul is surprised by two burglars, who tie him up and gag him - leaving him at the mercy of his own device ticking away.
- DirectorDon WeisStarsAlfred HitchcockGeorge MathewsBeverly MichaelsGangster Sam Dunleavy sets up an elaborate alibi so that he can kill his ex-girlfriend Goldie, who left him for another man.
- DirectorRobert StevensStarsAlfred HitchcockSkip HomeierJoanne WoodwardRichard Paine decides to steal money from his boss that he has owed him for months, and it turns into an unnecessary and ironic murder.
- StarsPhyllis HillPeter Mark RichmanFay SpainA proficient insurance investigator doggedly pursues the perpetrator of a series of deliberately set local fires. His investigation suddenly becomes one of professional and domestic turmoil when he begins to suspect that the firebug is actually his emotionally disturbed wife.
- DirectorTed PostStarsBoris KarloffJohn IrelandJeanne BalA composer in need of inspiration turns to Voodoo melodies, but finds himself the victim of a Voodoo curse by Papa Benjamin.
- DirectorHerschel DaughertyStarsBoris KarloffLarry PennellEdward PlattA brother helps his brother cover up the murder of his philandering wife by framing her lover.
- DirectorIda LupinoStarsBoris KarloffRobert MiddletonDanielle De MetzFrance, 1875. A condemned man learns of a legal loophole allowing him to be pardoned if the executioner dies before his execution. He then enlists his wife in a scheme to make sure that this improbable scenario comes to pass.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJeanne MoreauJean-Claude BrialyMichel BouquetJulie Kohler is prevented from suicide by her mother. She leaves the town. She will track down, charm and kill five men who do not know her. What is her goal? What is her purpose?
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsCatherine DeneuveJean-Paul BelmondoNelly BorgeaudA wealthy plantation owner is captivated by a mysterious woman with a shady past.
- DirectorAlan GibsonStarsStefanie PowersDavid BuckAlan MacNaughtanA doctor's newly discovered serum restores the life of a female suicide who cannot recall how she was driven to such despair.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsMargit CarstensenKarlheinz BöhmBarbara ValentinAfter the death of her abusive father, the lonely librarian Martha marries an equally vile businessman - Helmut. The cruel and torturous nature of their relationship leads Martha to believe Helmut might be trying to kill her.
- DirectorGiorgio CapitaniStarsSophia LorenMarcello MastroianniAldo MaccioneA happy-go-lucky prostitute gets mixed up with the Mafia.