Dark Shadows: Noir and Crime Dramas
Can you see through the shadows that cloud the human heart? These Film Noirs, Neo-Noirs, Thrillers, and Crime Dramas chart the tragic downfall of man when pushed to the extremes of passion. Whether, the crime is motivated by jealousy, revenge, love, lust, or greed, the truth will out, and everyone loses in the end.
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101 titles
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsClara CalamaiMassimo GirottiDhia CristianiGino, a drifter, begins an affair with inn-owner Giovanna, and they plan to get rid of her older husband.
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLana TurnerJohn GarfieldCecil KellawayA married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonJessica LangeJohn ColicosThe sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
- 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.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsGregory PeckRobert MitchumPolly BergenA lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroNick NolteJessica LangeA convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsAnne BaxterRichard ConteAnn SothernA telephone operator ends up drunk and at the mercy of a cad in his apartment. The next morning she wakes up with a hangover and the terrible fear she may have committed murder.
- DirectorHoward HawksRichard RossonStarsPaul MuniAnn DvorakKaren MorleyAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesEdward G. RobinsonLoretta YoungAn investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsJean ServaisCarl MöhnerRobert ManuelFour men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes...
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBarry FitzgeraldHoward DuffDorothy HartA step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJack NicholsonFaye DunawayJohn HustonA private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
- DirectorFrank BorzageStarsDane ClarkGail RussellEthel BarrymoreDanny is despised by his schoolmates because his father was accused of killing another man and sentenced to death.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsGene TierneyDana AndrewsClifton WebbA police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeOtto WernickeThomy BourdelleA criminal mastermind uses hypnosis to rule the rackets after death.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeAud Egede-NissenGertrude WelckerArch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsKevin SpaceyRussell CroweGuy PearceAs corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGlenn FordGloria GrahameJocelyn BrandoTough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
- DirectorCharles LaughtonStarsRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishA self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsJack WarnerDirk BogardeJimmy HanleyThe daily routine of two London Policemen is interrupted by a killer.
- DirectorKarin JulsrudStarsReidar SørensenJon ØigardenGaute Boris SkjegstadAn Oslo detective visits a hick town to investigate some murders rumored by the locals to have been the work of 'angels'. More likely, given the unsavory types he meets, vengeance and vigilantism are the very human motivations behind.
- DirectorOle BornedalStarsNikolaj Coster-WaldauSofie GråbølKim BodniaA law student starts working as a night watchman at The Department of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen. His mad friend gets him on a game of dare that escalates. As a serial-killer's victims start piling up at work, he becomes a suspect.
- DirectorGeorge SluizerStarsBernard-Pierre DonnadieuGene BervoetsJohanna ter SteegeRex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsPriscilla LaneRobert CummingsOtto KrugerA young man accused of sabotage goes on the run to prove his innocence.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsIsabella RosselliniKyle MacLachlanDennis HopperThe discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.
- CreatorMark FrostDavid LynchStarsKyle MacLachlanMichael OntkeanMädchen AmickAn idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsBill PullmanPatricia ArquetteJohn RoseliusAnonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsNaomi WattsLaura HarringJustin TherouxAfter a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
- DirectorUlrik Imtiaz RolfsenStarsTrond Espen SeimBjørn FlobergKathrine FagerlandA successful female politician hires private detective Varg Veum to find her missing daughter without attracting too much attention. During his investigation, Veum becomes aware of an international company and its dealings with corruption, black-market business, ad murder.
- DirectorMorten TyldumStarsTrond Espen SeimPer KjerstadBjørn FlobergMurder and trouble hit Veum when he meets up with classmates in the rock-band Camp, when he resumes contact with a former flame Rebecca, now the wife of his buddy. A Varg Veum mystery by best-selling crime novelist Gunnar Staalesen.
- DirectorAndrew DavisStarsHarrison FordTommy Lee JonesSela WardDr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.
- StarsEvy Kasseth RøstenLars Arentz-HansenAnders DahlbergSverre Fjeld, a young policeman, comes in contact with Trude, a single mom, who's former boyfriend belonged to a drug cartel. Sverre gets more and more involved in her problems and her life, and is slowly drawn into a web of lies and crime.
- CreatorAlexandra ClertGuy-Patrick SainderichinStarsCaroline ProustAudrey FleurotThierry GodardFollows criminal investigations in Paris from all the different points of view of those involved.
- DirectorEugene FordeStarsLloyd NolanMary Beth HughesSheila RyanDetective Michael Shayne and his girlfriend Joanne are on their way to be married when a scream from a nearby hotel room draws his attention to a pair of theatrical murders.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsJames CagneyGeorge RaftJane BryanA corrupt D.A. (Thurston Hall) with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter (James Cagney) for manslaughter in order to silence him.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyHumphrey BogartPriscilla LaneThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsKevin SpaceyGabriel ByrneChazz PalminteriThe sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsHumphrey BogartConrad VeidtKaren VerneRunyonesque Broadway gamblers turn patriotic when they stumble onto a cell of Nazi saboteurs.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJoel McCreaLaraine DayHerbert MarshallOn the eve of World War II, a young American reporter tries to expose enemy agents in London.
- DirectorRoy RowlandStarsVan JohnsonArlene DahlGloria DeHavenWhile his wife is urging him to quit the force, a Los Angeles homicide detective hunts for the killer responsible for the murder of his ex-partner, who might have been on the take with local bookies.
- DirectorWilliam AsherStarsPhilip CareyBetty GarrettJohn Drew BarrymoreThree young thugs rob a farmhouse, kill the owner and take his stenographer hostage but the woman's estranged husband, a police detective, starts investigating her disappearance.
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsTommy Lee JonesJohn GoodmanPeter SarsgaardA detective in post-Katrina New Orleans has a series of surreal encounters with a troop of ghostly Confederate soldiers while investigating serial killings of local prostitutes, a 1965 lynching, and corrupt local businessmen.
- DirectorNiels Arden OplevStarsMichael NyqvistNoomi RapaceEwa FrölingA journalist is aided by a young female hacker in his search for the killer of a woman who has been dead for forty years.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsStephen ReaJaye DavidsonForest WhitakerA British soldier kidnapped by the IRA soon befriends one of his captors, who then becomes drawn into the soldier's world.
- DirectorSeijun SuzukiStarsJô ShishidoMariko OgawaAnnu MariAfter a botched assignment, a rice-fetishizing hitman finds himself in conflict with his organization, and one mysterious, dangerous fellow-hitman in particular.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsJohn CusackKevin SpaceyJack ThompsonA visiting city reporter's assignment suddenly revolves around the murder trial of a local millionaire, whom he befriends.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsSean PennTim RobbinsKevin BaconThe tragic murder of a 19-year-old girl reunites three childhood friends still living in Boston--the victim's gangster father, a detective, and the disturbed man they both suspect of killing her.
- DirectorShôhei ImamuraStarsKoji YakushoMisa ShimizuMitsuko BaishôA businessman kills his adulterous wife and is sent to prison. After the release, he opens a barbershop and meets new people, talking almost to no one except an eel he befriended while in prison.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsJohn CusackRay LiottaAmanda PeetStranded at a desolate Nevada motel during a nasty rain storm, ten strangers become acquainted with each other when they realize that they're being killed off one by one.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantJoan FontaineCedric HardwickeA shy young heiress marries a charming gentleman, and soon begins to suspect he is planning to murder her.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
- 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.
- DirectorGus Van SantStarsNicole KidmanMatt DillonJoaquin PhoenixA beautiful but naïve aspiring television personality films a documentary on teenagers with a darker ulterior motive.
- DirectorJohn McNaughtonStarsKevin BaconNeve CampbellMatt DillonA police detective uncovers a conspiracy behind a case involving a high-school guidance counselor when accusations of rape are made against him by two female students.
- DirectorCurtis HansonStarsAnnabella SciorraRebecca De MornayMatt McCoyAfter her sex offender husband gets caught in the act and kills himself, an embittered pregnant widow loses her child, and embarks on a mission of vengeance against one of her husband's victims and the woman's family.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsMichael DouglasSharon StoneGeorge DzundzaA violent police detective investigates a brutal murder that might involve a manipulative and seductive novelist.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsRachel WardJeff BridgesJames WoodsA gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and the twists start to appear.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsIngrid BergmanGregory PeckMichael ChekhovA psychiatrist protects the identity of an amnesia patient accused of murder while attempting to recover his memory.
- DirectorEthan CoenJoel CoenStarsTommy Lee JonesJavier BardemJosh BrolinViolence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsRobert DonatMadeleine CarrollLucie MannheimA man in London tries to help a counter-espionage agent, but when the agent is killed and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring that is trying to steal top-secret information.
- DirectorMennan YapoStarsJoachim KrólNadja UhlChristian BerkelViktor, a methodical hit man, probably on his last job, has no plan for his retirement. He does not kill Nina, a woman sleeping beside his latest mark; then he follows her and rescues her from an attempted suicide. Nina is attracted to him, but also wants to know who he is. Her pursuit of his identity crosses the investigation of Lang, a brilliant police investigator who tries to inhabit the minds of the victims and the killer. Viktor's employer also wants to kill Viktor and his contact, an aging arms dealer and family friend. Does Viktor have a future?
- DirectorS. Sylvan SimonStarsVan HeflinPatricia DaneCecilia ParkerClassic whodunit mystery film about a gold-digging variety show actress who has many enemies and is found dead in her private railroad car at Grand Central Station in New York.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJames StewartLee RemickBen GazzaraAn upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoJean SebergVan DoudeA small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsMarlene DietrichJane WymanRichard ToddA struggling actress tries to help a friend prove his innocence after he's accused of murdering the husband of a high-society entertainer.
- DirectorTim HunterStarsCrispin GloverKeanu ReevesIone SkyeA high school slacker commits a shocking act and proceeds to let his friends in on the secret. However, the friends' reaction is almost as ambiguous and perplexing as the crime itself.
- DirectorJames FoleyStarsChow Yun-FatMark WahlbergRic YoungWith the aid from a New York City policeman, a top immigrant cop tries to stop drug-trafficking and corruption by immigrant Chinese Triads, but things get complicated when the Triads try to bribe the policeman.
- DirectorAntoine FuquaStarsDenzel WashingtonEthan HawkeScott GlennA rookie cop spends his first day as a Los Angeles narcotics officer with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears to be.
- DirectorCarl FranklinStarsDenzel WashingtonTom SizemoreJennifer BealsA Black war hero is hired to find a mysterious woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal in 1948 Los Angeles.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsKurt RussellWilliam BaldwinRobert De NiroTwo feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these crimes.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsRobert MitchumJane GreerKirk DouglasA private eye escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses, and duplicitous dames.
- DirectorArnold LavenStarsEdward G. RobinsonPaulette GoddardK.T. StevensPolice procedural film following a few cases assigned to LAPD captain of detectives Barnie Barnaby.
- DirectorErik SkjoldbjærgStarsStellan SkarsgårdSverre Anker OusdalMaria MathiesenIn a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsAl PacinoRobin WilliamsHilary SwankTwo Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
- DirectorRichard WallaceStarsJohn GarfieldMaureen O'HaraWalter SlezakIn 1940, an American former Republican prisoner during the Spanish Civil War, John McKittrick, is determined to find the killer of NYPD Lieutenant Louie Lepetino, who had helped him escape.
- DirectorJohn NicolellaStarsStacy KeachLynda CarterLindsay BloomMike is asked by a Las Vegas entertainer to come to Vegas. Mike refuses, he is then knocked out and dropped (literally) into Las Vegas. He is led to believe that the entertainer had him shanghaied, which the entertainer denies. Later the entertainer is blown up (literally) and someone has planted evidence that points to Mike. Mike then sets out to try and clear his name but everyone he goes to get information is killed and he is again the suspect. Can Mike find someone who can clear him and can he keep that person alive long enough to do so?
- CreatorLarry BrodyStarsStacy KeachLindsay BloomDon StroudThe cases of Mickey Spillane's classic private eye character.
- StarsDarren McGavinBart BurnsVito ScottiThe adventures of Mickey Spillane's tough-talking, brawling, skirt-chasing private detective Mike Hammer, who's always ready to use his fists on a "mug" or his charm on a "skirt" to get the case solved.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFarley GrangerRobert WalkerRuth RomanA psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJohn IrelandSheila RyanHugh BeaumontA beautician and her crooked boyfriend attempt to rob the bookie operation located in the back room, but when the plan goes wrong, they frame an innocent man.
- DirectorMark PiznarskiStarsPeter HortonCarrie SnodgressWendy MakkenaSteven Keeney is a big corporate lawyer who decides to take on a small-time murder case to discover the true circumstances behind the death of a young girl. Virginia McGinnis is the one suspected of pushing the women off the cliff to collect on a small insurance policy. The further he goes into the case the more he reveals about the background of the suspect. Keeney finds support from others who also want to find out the truth behind the case.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodIsaiah WashingtonLisaGay HamiltonCan an over-the-hill journalist uncover the evidence that can prove a death row inmate's innocence just hours before his execution?
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsEli WallachRobert KeithRichard JaeckelIn San Francisco, a psychopathic gangster and his mentor retrieve heroin packages carried by unsuspecting travelers.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsWilliam H. MacyFrances McDormandSteve BuscemiMinnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsLawrence TierneyPriscilla LanePhillip ReedAfter being fired for insubordination, homicide detective Mike Carter is hired as bodyguard by the owner of a local meat-packing plant where a meat inspector has been murdered.
- DirectorCarl ReinerStarsArmand AssanteSherilyn FennKate NelliganA cop who moonlights as a lawyer cheats on his wife, not knowing that she's cheating on him and plans to kill him for the insurance....and just for fun.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsEdward G. RobinsonLon McCallisterJudith AndersonAn old man and his sister are concealing a terrible secret from their adopted teen daughter, concerning a hidden abandoned farmhouse, located deep in the woods.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJohn GetzFrances McDormandDan HedayaThe owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
- DirectorJim MickleStarsMichael C. HallSam ShepardDon JohnsonWhen a protective father meets a murderous ex-con, both need to deviate from the path they are on as they soon find themselves entangled in a downwards spiral of lies and violence while having to confront their own inner psyche.
- DirectorJames MangoldStarsSylvester StalloneHarvey KeitelRay LiottaThe Sheriff of a suburban New Jersey community, populated by New York City police officers, slowly discovers the town is a front for mob connections and corruption.
- DirectorRowdy HerringtonStarsCuba Gooding Jr.Tom BerengerMarianne Jean-BaptisteA disbarred lawyer takes credit for a late friend's book, which becomes a smash hit but the tables turn on him sooner than he suspected.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsCate BlanchettKatie HolmesKeanu ReevesA fortune teller with extrasensory perception is asked to help find a young woman who has mysteriously disappeared.