a good detective never sleeps Oh some
guys looking for you asking a lot of
questions what kind of guys tough guys
very tough guys Mike welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten film noir
for this list since experts fail to
agree on a standard definition for the
genre we’re limiting our choices to
gritty cynical thrillers and crime
dramas from the early 40s to late 50s
that are shot in black and white sorry
Jimmy
number 10 strangers on a train
you never know when you’re gonna bump
wingtips with the wrong fella let’s say
that you’d like to get rid of your wife
it’s a morbid thought oh no no no no no
just suppose let’s say that you had a
very good reason and then don’t you know
it
a little chitchat and a few wild
assumptions later he’s murdering your
wife and blackmailing you into taking
out his rich father I may be
old-fashioned but I thought murder was
against the law my theory is that
everybody is a potential murderer Alfred
Hitchcock’s plays in film noir history
is the subject of debate but this is one
of the few that meets the criteria
according to most with its sinister
story amoral characters and unspoken
secrets strangers on a train as a
thriller for the ages
number nine in a lonely place squeeze
harder it’s wonderful to feel a throat
crush on Iran perhaps stop it I didn’t
hurt you tonight you’ve never seen
Humphrey Bogart this creepy as
misanthropic screenwriter dick steel a
man who never saw a problem he couldn’t
punch her drink his way out of he finds
himself at the center of a murder
investigation and his beautiful
bride-to-be must decide whether he’s the
real killer or just kind of a jerk
you unsure of him either a new knowing
better than anybody else why can’t he be
like other people though the murder
mystery is at this film’s core the love
story between Bogaerts flawed hero and
his equally damaged lady is the true
star-making there’s a doomed
moire romance you’re a horrible
conceited good-for-nothing and I don’t
love you it’s your money I met you can
offer a deal will you get some music
number eight Kiss Me Deadly sorry I
nearly wrecked your pretty little car
whether you consider it a classic or a
campy b-movie
Kiss Me Deadly influence is undeniable
she’s passed out I’ll bring her too if
you revive her do you know what that
would be resurrection that’s what it
would be and do you know what
resurrection means it means raise the
dead quintessential tough guy Ralph
Meeker plays Mike Hammer a hardened
Private Eye who picks up the wrong
hitchhiker Cloris Leachman wearing not
but a trench coat with a classic movie
MacGuffin driving the plot and inspiring
the likes of repo man and pulp fiction
this late addition to the Norrish onra
blends elements of sci-fi and Neil ISM
to produce a genre defining effort
number seven notorious I’m not afraid to
die you’ve got your chance here and now
in one of the most subtle romantic films
of his career Alfred Hitchcock pairs
Cary Grant with Ingrid Bergman as a
couple trying to root out Nazis from
Brazil while it combines many of the
visual and storytelling aspects central
to film noir experts cannot agree if
this spy thriller truly belongs to the
genre father jolly dill College let me
show you around place later his nipson
on the trail one reason for this
discrepancy is the film’s notorious kiss
while many noir films romanced in the
shadows this one plays out for audiences
to enjoy this is a very strange maybe
the fact that you don’t love me number
six the third man old man you never
should have gone to the police you know
you ought to leave this thing alone one
of the all-time classics of the genre
the third man has a style all its own
Harry get away the police are outside
quick Anna
with the winding plot twisting its way
through Allied occupied Vienna the story
follows the standard more characters the
rough-hewn plain speaking good guy the
shadowy bad guy and the beautiful femme
fatale plus with elements like a
mustachioed Inspector Clouseau esque
villain a grinning orson welles and
comical but unforgettable score carol
reads intricate mystery blends comedy
suspense and ultimately tragedy with
seamless ease mentally for 30 years
under the Borgias they had warfare
terror murder and bloodshed but they
produced Michelangelo Leonardo da Vinci
and the Renaissance in Switzerland they
had brotherly love and 500 years of
democracy and peace and what did that
produce the cuckoo clock number 5 touch
of evil you realize I haven’t kissed you
over an hour less than a decade after
our previous entry audiences witnessed
the handsomely charming Welles
transformed into the ruthlessly corrupt
and seemingly twice as large police
captain Hank Quinlan you are a policeman
March you he squares off with Charlton
Heston who is evidently supposed to be
Mexican in what is considered one of the
final films in the film noir genre what
do I do get back to embrace him right
it’s also one of the best with its
brilliantly directed serpentine story
rich supporting characters and ominous
Jarra appropriate atmosphere too bad
Welles never directed another Hollywood
film again at halo yeah looks real
pretty I Pete
soon you’ll be flapping your wings like
an angel number 4 Sunset Boulevard tour
dope he always wanted to pool well in
the end he got himself a pool Hollywood
dreams die hard in one of the greatest
and most meta films ever Billy Wilder’s
Sunset Boulevard features aging former
silent movie star Gloria Swanson as
agent silent movie star Norma Desmond an
assortment of other Hollywood greats
from director Cecil B DeMille to Buster
Keaton play themselves or versions of as
William Holden navigates the perks and
pitfalls of rubbing elbows with the rich
famous and insane are you doing
I’m packing good leaving me yes I am
Norma no you’re not and somehow throwing
film noir elements into that mix makes
this classic bizarrely comical in a
camera and those wonderful people up
there in the dark all right mr. DeMille
I’m ready for my close-up number three
Double Indemnity
is there anything I can do the insurance
right out on the 15th I’d hate to think
of you’re having a smash fender or
something while you’re not too high
probably covered oh how we longed for
the era when the insurance man came
right to your door and tried to seduce
your wife and possibly plotted to kill
you well maybe the good old days weren’t
so perfect there’s something wrong with
the dietrichson case all right because
it didn’t file a claim maybe he just
didn’t have time maybe he just didn’t
know that he was insured the product of
a collaboration between noir Titans
writer Raymond Chandler and director
Billy Wilder and based on a James M Cain
story double indemnity is perhaps the
most quintessential moiré ever with its
rough language and strong sexual
undertones it’s also a reminder to
always read the fine print it isn’t my
money anymore
it’s our necks we’re pulling out you
understand because of what Keyes can do
you’re not fooling me Walter it’s
because of Lola what you did to a father
you’re afraid she might find out someday
you can’t take it can you
I said leave her out of this number two
The Big Sleep remember I told you I was
beginning to like another one of the
stern words
we should shot I should be awfully easy
based on Chandler’s first book to
feature the great noir detective Philip
Marlowe and future inspiration for The
Big Lebowski
this black and white Howard Hawks
masterwork sees Humphrey Bogart and
Lauren Bacall in the roles they were
quote-unquote
born to play as they navigate a
convoluted criminal investigation with
more moving parts than a Swiss watch
Marlowe tries to set the record for
having the most guns pointed at him
without getting shot you take chances
master and you know he saves the day by
staying cool through impossibly
stressful situations over here can Ino
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions tell me all about
it
crap cheap little no-good trend he said
mr. Emmerich was here in this house with
her from 11:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. last
Friday night is that the statement you
made yes
was it the truth Jeff you ought to have
killed me for what I did a moment ago
there’s time yeah you I’ve never stopped
loving you what forget the heat on
plenty face the wall
put your mitts up all of it number one
The Maltese Falcon
not only is our top pick widely
considered the best film noir it’s also
considered by many to be the first
most amazing of all it was legendary
director John Huston’s first feature
made on a b-movie sized budget and based
on a book that had already failed twice
on the screen starring Humphrey Bogart
as get this a private detective
okay well the premise might not seem
revolutionary but virtually every aspect
of filmmaking was setting bogey up for
his future successes and setting the
standard for film noir what is it
the stuff that dreams are made of
do you agree with our list what Noirs
make you wish all films could be in
black and white keep it tuned to
watchmojo.com for more top 10s published
every day
guys looking for you asking a lot of
questions what kind of guys tough guys
very tough guys Mike welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’re counting
down our picks for the top ten film noir
for this list since experts fail to
agree on a standard definition for the
genre we’re limiting our choices to
gritty cynical thrillers and crime
dramas from the early 40s to late 50s
that are shot in black and white sorry
Jimmy
number 10 strangers on a train
you never know when you’re gonna bump
wingtips with the wrong fella let’s say
that you’d like to get rid of your wife
it’s a morbid thought oh no no no no no
just suppose let’s say that you had a
very good reason and then don’t you know
it
a little chitchat and a few wild
assumptions later he’s murdering your
wife and blackmailing you into taking
out his rich father I may be
old-fashioned but I thought murder was
against the law my theory is that
everybody is a potential murderer Alfred
Hitchcock’s plays in film noir history
is the subject of debate but this is one
of the few that meets the criteria
according to most with its sinister
story amoral characters and unspoken
secrets strangers on a train as a
thriller for the ages
number nine in a lonely place squeeze
harder it’s wonderful to feel a throat
crush on Iran perhaps stop it I didn’t
hurt you tonight you’ve never seen
Humphrey Bogart this creepy as
misanthropic screenwriter dick steel a
man who never saw a problem he couldn’t
punch her drink his way out of he finds
himself at the center of a murder
investigation and his beautiful
bride-to-be must decide whether he’s the
real killer or just kind of a jerk
you unsure of him either a new knowing
better than anybody else why can’t he be
like other people though the murder
mystery is at this film’s core the love
story between Bogaerts flawed hero and
his equally damaged lady is the true
star-making there’s a doomed
moire romance you’re a horrible
conceited good-for-nothing and I don’t
love you it’s your money I met you can
offer a deal will you get some music
number eight Kiss Me Deadly sorry I
nearly wrecked your pretty little car
whether you consider it a classic or a
campy b-movie
Kiss Me Deadly influence is undeniable
she’s passed out I’ll bring her too if
you revive her do you know what that
would be resurrection that’s what it
would be and do you know what
resurrection means it means raise the
dead quintessential tough guy Ralph
Meeker plays Mike Hammer a hardened
Private Eye who picks up the wrong
hitchhiker Cloris Leachman wearing not
but a trench coat with a classic movie
MacGuffin driving the plot and inspiring
the likes of repo man and pulp fiction
this late addition to the Norrish onra
blends elements of sci-fi and Neil ISM
to produce a genre defining effort
number seven notorious I’m not afraid to
die you’ve got your chance here and now
in one of the most subtle romantic films
of his career Alfred Hitchcock pairs
Cary Grant with Ingrid Bergman as a
couple trying to root out Nazis from
Brazil while it combines many of the
visual and storytelling aspects central
to film noir experts cannot agree if
this spy thriller truly belongs to the
genre father jolly dill College let me
show you around place later his nipson
on the trail one reason for this
discrepancy is the film’s notorious kiss
while many noir films romanced in the
shadows this one plays out for audiences
to enjoy this is a very strange maybe
the fact that you don’t love me number
six the third man old man you never
should have gone to the police you know
you ought to leave this thing alone one
of the all-time classics of the genre
the third man has a style all its own
Harry get away the police are outside
quick Anna
with the winding plot twisting its way
through Allied occupied Vienna the story
follows the standard more characters the
rough-hewn plain speaking good guy the
shadowy bad guy and the beautiful femme
fatale plus with elements like a
mustachioed Inspector Clouseau esque
villain a grinning orson welles and
comical but unforgettable score carol
reads intricate mystery blends comedy
suspense and ultimately tragedy with
seamless ease mentally for 30 years
under the Borgias they had warfare
terror murder and bloodshed but they
produced Michelangelo Leonardo da Vinci
and the Renaissance in Switzerland they
had brotherly love and 500 years of
democracy and peace and what did that
produce the cuckoo clock number 5 touch
of evil you realize I haven’t kissed you
over an hour less than a decade after
our previous entry audiences witnessed
the handsomely charming Welles
transformed into the ruthlessly corrupt
and seemingly twice as large police
captain Hank Quinlan you are a policeman
March you he squares off with Charlton
Heston who is evidently supposed to be
Mexican in what is considered one of the
final films in the film noir genre what
do I do get back to embrace him right
it’s also one of the best with its
brilliantly directed serpentine story
rich supporting characters and ominous
Jarra appropriate atmosphere too bad
Welles never directed another Hollywood
film again at halo yeah looks real
pretty I Pete
soon you’ll be flapping your wings like
an angel number 4 Sunset Boulevard tour
dope he always wanted to pool well in
the end he got himself a pool Hollywood
dreams die hard in one of the greatest
and most meta films ever Billy Wilder’s
Sunset Boulevard features aging former
silent movie star Gloria Swanson as
agent silent movie star Norma Desmond an
assortment of other Hollywood greats
from director Cecil B DeMille to Buster
Keaton play themselves or versions of as
William Holden navigates the perks and
pitfalls of rubbing elbows with the rich
famous and insane are you doing
I’m packing good leaving me yes I am
Norma no you’re not and somehow throwing
film noir elements into that mix makes
this classic bizarrely comical in a
camera and those wonderful people up
there in the dark all right mr. DeMille
I’m ready for my close-up number three
Double Indemnity
is there anything I can do the insurance
right out on the 15th I’d hate to think
of you’re having a smash fender or
something while you’re not too high
probably covered oh how we longed for
the era when the insurance man came
right to your door and tried to seduce
your wife and possibly plotted to kill
you well maybe the good old days weren’t
so perfect there’s something wrong with
the dietrichson case all right because
it didn’t file a claim maybe he just
didn’t have time maybe he just didn’t
know that he was insured the product of
a collaboration between noir Titans
writer Raymond Chandler and director
Billy Wilder and based on a James M Cain
story double indemnity is perhaps the
most quintessential moiré ever with its
rough language and strong sexual
undertones it’s also a reminder to
always read the fine print it isn’t my
money anymore
it’s our necks we’re pulling out you
understand because of what Keyes can do
you’re not fooling me Walter it’s
because of Lola what you did to a father
you’re afraid she might find out someday
you can’t take it can you
I said leave her out of this number two
The Big Sleep remember I told you I was
beginning to like another one of the
stern words
we should shot I should be awfully easy
based on Chandler’s first book to
feature the great noir detective Philip
Marlowe and future inspiration for The
Big Lebowski
this black and white Howard Hawks
masterwork sees Humphrey Bogart and
Lauren Bacall in the roles they were
quote-unquote
born to play as they navigate a
convoluted criminal investigation with
more moving parts than a Swiss watch
Marlowe tries to set the record for
having the most guns pointed at him
without getting shot you take chances
master and you know he saves the day by
staying cool through impossibly
stressful situations over here can Ino
before we unveil our top pick here are a
few honorable mentions tell me all about
it
crap cheap little no-good trend he said
mr. Emmerich was here in this house with
her from 11:30 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. last
Friday night is that the statement you
made yes
was it the truth Jeff you ought to have
killed me for what I did a moment ago
there’s time yeah you I’ve never stopped
loving you what forget the heat on
plenty face the wall
put your mitts up all of it number one
The Maltese Falcon
not only is our top pick widely
considered the best film noir it’s also
considered by many to be the first
most amazing of all it was legendary
director John Huston’s first feature
made on a b-movie sized budget and based
on a book that had already failed twice
on the screen starring Humphrey Bogart
as get this a private detective
okay well the premise might not seem
revolutionary but virtually every aspect
of filmmaking was setting bogey up for
his future successes and setting the
standard for film noir what is it
the stuff that dreams are made of
do you agree with our list what Noirs
make you wish all films could be in
black and white keep it tuned to
watchmojo.com for more top 10s published
every day
Please follow and like us: