killing isn’t like smoking commit put on
your sleuthing cap and bring along a
trusty sidekick because the films on
this list are real whodunits stop
stalling verticals dawn I know what I’m
getting down my face you know what I’m
getting at immunity I don’t have to take
that you know No welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
murder mystery movies I need to know who
he is
I I need to stand there I need to look
him in the eye and I need to know that
it’s him for this list we’re looking at
films that stray from the formulaic plot
structure that makes it easier for the
audience to follow keeping the killers
in the dark from the audience until the
very end as a result will be skipping
over movies in which the acts of murder
are committed in the beginning or are
witnessed by the main characters and/or
the audience therefore leaving less
mystery around the cases examples
include Silence of the Lambs rear window
and psycho with the latter also being an
instance of a film where while we don’t
know who the killer is
there isn’t someone trying to uncover
any mystery throughout per se oh what’s
in the box what’s in the box number 10
vertigo only one is a Wondra two
together always going somewhere
John Scottie Ferguson a private eye with
a fear of heights kills a friend’s wife
for an investigation not only does he
fall madly in love with this madeleine
but his condition also appears to cause
her death it’s too late
something I’m just – there’s nothing too
much snow however after the back scottie
continues to see a woman that looks
eerily similar to his deceased love
interest hello my love like me was
Madeline’s death faked to cover up the
true crime being committed this
Hitchcock classic is a masterpiece that
confronts the ideas of obsession and
doomed love I loved yourself I was safe
on you fuck it is also the first film to
feature a dolly zoom technique that has
since become a staple in the industry to
evoke feelings of confusion suspense or
disorientation there was no way for them
to understand you and I know who killed
Madan number nine in the heat of the
night they call me mr. Tibbs when a
wealthy investor is murdered the police
are under pressure to make an arrest
they’ve got a murder they don’t know
what to do it I need a whipping boy
despite initially being suspected of the
murder black detective Virgil Tibbs
reluctantly agrees to help identify the
true killer why can’t you look at this
one I catch a look at it for yourself
because I’m not an expert Tibbs is
forced to work with the prejudiced chief
bill Gillespie but the two slowly begin
to foster respect for one another as
they investigate the case you take care
here
and set in a fictional small town in
Mississippi during the height of the
civil rights movement this film deals
with the deeply embedded racism
associated with the South that we
communicate you some mass notably it was
one of the first mainstream films to
show a black man strike a white man in
self-defense
say last night about midnight good ice P
yeah you saw it
number 8 Murder on the Orient Express I
want you to take a job on for me this
film is a classic example of the dark
house horror genre except for the fact
that it takes place on a train mr.
Poirot I’m not at liberty to answer any
of those questions not here on this
train perhaps in this British like a
group of strangers is trapped in an
isolated location due to the amount of
snow on the tracks
snow is fogs villi and all is for the
best after a number of threats are made
on his life ratcheting floors detective
lq dois ho for protection my life has
been threatened mr. Poirot my secretary
can show you two letters on file
uninterested in taking the case
wha-ho declines and the next morning
ratchet is found dead in his cabin mr.
Ratchett has been rondalee stabbed with
the murder on his conscience and a train
full of passengers Pratchett must figure
out who murdered the well-to-do
businessman and the result is a stylish
and entertaining flick where in Miami
that opinion the murderer is with us now
number 7 momento my own in mr. minor so
some we are from the critically
acclaimed Christopher Nolan memento is
one of the directors most ambitious
departures from the traditional
narrative structure so you lie to
yourself to be happy there’s nothing
wrong with that we all do it who cares
if there’s a few little details you’d
rather not remember the neo-noir film
balls the journey of leonard a man
searching for his wife’s killer
despite his anterograde amnesia i don’t
have amnesia
I remember everything right up until the
incident I am Leonard Shelby I am from
San Francisco that’s who you were unable
to form new memories
Leonard must use a system of photographs
and tattoos to keep track of the clues
he gathers Lenny you can’t trust a man’s
life to you little notes and pictures
why not chronological black-and-white
sequences give the audience the
background leading up to the murder
while color sequences follow the murder
in reverse chronological
logical order what mrs. Jenkins didn’t
understand was that you can’t believe
someone into remembering the more
pressure under the harder it gets the
effect is a masterfully complicated
story that keeps the audience on the
edge of their seats until the separate
portions meet at the end and make
memento a truly unforgettable flick how
am I supposed to you if I can’t
feel time number 6 LA Confidential great
you get the girl I get the corner this
entry contrast the investigative methods
of three drastically different
detectives in 1950s LA and Exley serves
as the righteous hand of the law
agreeing to testify against crooked cops
justice has to be served
of course I’ll testify but white is the
hot head with a penchant for roughing up
criminals Jack Vincennes is just in it
for the money he can make giving hot
tips to tabloids about the latest
celebrity arrests though their cases
differ the intricate ways these
detectives work together to solve them
has made LA Confidential into both a
critic and fan favorite I want to do it
right even if it means paying the
consequences much of the story is based
off real events involving police
brutality and gang-related crime and
that realism definitely shows have a
handset down around my ankles number
five the usual suspects one cannot be
betrayed if one has no people a brutal
gunfight on a ship leaves all but two
dead and police soon discover that they
must try to locate the infamous mobster
Keyser Soze
there is no Keyser Soze the bulk of the
film is told through flashbacks by a
two-bit con artist named verbal Kint
every creep and scumbag that works the
street for a living will know the name
of verbal Kint as he tells it after
meeting in a police lineup five
criminals enter into a scheme to pull
off a heist together he does not expect
all of you to live but those of you who
do will have 91 million dollars to
divide between you in any way you see
fit
so here but however it soon becomes
clear that the job isn’t what they
bargained for Soze has engineered the
entire situation to extort the group
into a dangerous job otherwise he’ll
kill everyone they love
he kills their kids he kills their wives
he kills their parents and their parents
friends this film is beloved by many
thanks to the seemingly random events
that are woven into a cohesive narrative
and of course for its shocking plot
twist shut up Jim you hear me
telling you it’s kaisers Thomson number
four clue frankness got it had it give a
damn who says a murder mystery has to be
dark and ominous this film based on the
classic board game and featuring a
who’s-who ensemble comedy cast brings
out the lighter side of murder when
anonymous guests at a dinner party
realize that mr. Boddy has invited them
all because he has access to their
darkest secrets it was all my idea
wait a minute IIIi I don’t understand
why did you invite us here to meet your
late employer were you assisting him to
blackmail us shut me not faced with
blackmail one of the guests takes the
opportunity to murder him while the
power is out now the guests must
discover the true identity of the killer
before they are killed next then you
shot him I didn’t well you had the gun
if you didn’t shoot him who did nobody
look there’s no gunshot wound when the
film was originally released different
theaters were given one of three endings
to create a unique viewing experience
for each audience so it’s not surprising
that clue ultimately attained cult
status now there’s one thing I don’t
understand one thing number three
Chinatown hello Clark or did you get the
midget this Roman Polanski film tells
the story of Jake Gittes
a small-time p.i who spends his days
chasing cheating husbands when a wife
tells me that she’s happy that her
husband is cheating on her it runs
contrary to my experience while
investigating an engineer for the LA
Department of Water and Power
Jake realizes he’s been set up the woman
who hired him wasn’t the real wife and
the next day the engineer is found dead
in a reservoir the point is is I’m not
in business to be loved but I am in
business and believe me mrs. Mulwray
whoever set your husband up set me up
you know places dry as Los Angeles
County the price of water is going up
and someone is killing to control where
it goes you steal one of the valley ruin
the grazing
who knew that mr. boray the title
symbolizes the feelings of confusion and
frustration police often felt when
investigating in Chinatown
while the neo-noir flick itself earned
11 Oscar nods and a spot in the National
Film registry you’ve got a nasty
reputation just two kids I like that
number two am the oldest movie on our
list comes from Austrian German
filmmaker Fritz Lang after a series of
child murders the police tried
desperately to find the killer by
shaking down known criminals Christian
I’m saying either for that Saudis I know
you’re more funny of them dispensers and
what it began with it invites action
nodes are attached to a fogger fans in
upset by the interruption of their
businesses but crime bosses themselves
take the matter into their own hands
let’s team happy not for some legit
sneakers getting stereotyped kid sizing
aims for vini vidi unleashed in action
in differ by K filter M criticizes the
ability of the police to catch murderers
despite the new forensic tools at their
disposal and warns parents about child
neglect i’m kiza finish it – honey of
any season yeah a movie lang also
presents the moral contradiction of
criminals including other murderers who
take it upon themselves to catch the
killer doesn’t be victim dependent and
the niche trifled even think in America
his first sound film M is also notable
for Lange’s use of several new
techniques that made it into a cinematic
masterpiece before we pull back the
curtain on our top pick here are a few
honorable mentions why would a young
lady like you want to know about such an
awful no time it interests me
does it
her husband was the first suspect
husband is always the first suspect is
usually the last anybody I can’t confirm
that he didn’t open his window and go
down the fire escape okay Brendan we’re
gonna ask you to take a polygraph you
think you’d be up for that wolf there’s
greed
sloth wrath pride lust and ended I still
don’t believe in God only I believe in
God and mercy and all that but Dad a
happier dead number 1 The Maltese Falcon
good man should be approached by a
beautiful bombshell to find her missing
sister
detective Sam Spade quickly finds
himself in a complicated murder plot
with a priceless Falcon figurine in the
middle
this film is notable for both the
top-notch casting of Humphrey Bogart and
Peter Lorre as well as the technical
direction of John Huston closed-mouth
man I like to talk better and better it
is just a close match man despite the
Maltese Falcon being his first film
Huston was able to use peculiar lighting
and unusual camera angles to make it an
iconic film Huston also challenged the
physical limits of cameras at the time
with intricate flowing shots I’ll think
again and think fast I told that gun of
yours you’d have to talk to me before
you through I’m telling you now you’ll
talk to me the day your yards are you
wasting my time or I can get along
without you all these aspects combined
to make it a classic film noir murder
mystery you can’t miss you and your
stupid to get it to bite Canada found
out how valuable it was no wonder we had
such an easy time stealing it you you
imbecile you big idiot do you agree with
our list is there anything so terribly
wrong about making a decision in wanting
to hurry what’s your favorite murder
mystery movie
oh yeah such as the game’s up Scarlett
there are no more bullets left in that
gun come on you know I’m gonna fall for
that old trick for more intriguing top
10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com that was good
you
your sleuthing cap and bring along a
trusty sidekick because the films on
this list are real whodunits stop
stalling verticals dawn I know what I’m
getting down my face you know what I’m
getting at immunity I don’t have to take
that you know No welcome to
watchmojo.com and today we’ll be
counting down our picks for the top 10
murder mystery movies I need to know who
he is
I I need to stand there I need to look
him in the eye and I need to know that
it’s him for this list we’re looking at
films that stray from the formulaic plot
structure that makes it easier for the
audience to follow keeping the killers
in the dark from the audience until the
very end as a result will be skipping
over movies in which the acts of murder
are committed in the beginning or are
witnessed by the main characters and/or
the audience therefore leaving less
mystery around the cases examples
include Silence of the Lambs rear window
and psycho with the latter also being an
instance of a film where while we don’t
know who the killer is
there isn’t someone trying to uncover
any mystery throughout per se oh what’s
in the box what’s in the box number 10
vertigo only one is a Wondra two
together always going somewhere
John Scottie Ferguson a private eye with
a fear of heights kills a friend’s wife
for an investigation not only does he
fall madly in love with this madeleine
but his condition also appears to cause
her death it’s too late
something I’m just – there’s nothing too
much snow however after the back scottie
continues to see a woman that looks
eerily similar to his deceased love
interest hello my love like me was
Madeline’s death faked to cover up the
true crime being committed this
Hitchcock classic is a masterpiece that
confronts the ideas of obsession and
doomed love I loved yourself I was safe
on you fuck it is also the first film to
feature a dolly zoom technique that has
since become a staple in the industry to
evoke feelings of confusion suspense or
disorientation there was no way for them
to understand you and I know who killed
Madan number nine in the heat of the
night they call me mr. Tibbs when a
wealthy investor is murdered the police
are under pressure to make an arrest
they’ve got a murder they don’t know
what to do it I need a whipping boy
despite initially being suspected of the
murder black detective Virgil Tibbs
reluctantly agrees to help identify the
true killer why can’t you look at this
one I catch a look at it for yourself
because I’m not an expert Tibbs is
forced to work with the prejudiced chief
bill Gillespie but the two slowly begin
to foster respect for one another as
they investigate the case you take care
here
and set in a fictional small town in
Mississippi during the height of the
civil rights movement this film deals
with the deeply embedded racism
associated with the South that we
communicate you some mass notably it was
one of the first mainstream films to
show a black man strike a white man in
self-defense
say last night about midnight good ice P
yeah you saw it
number 8 Murder on the Orient Express I
want you to take a job on for me this
film is a classic example of the dark
house horror genre except for the fact
that it takes place on a train mr.
Poirot I’m not at liberty to answer any
of those questions not here on this
train perhaps in this British like a
group of strangers is trapped in an
isolated location due to the amount of
snow on the tracks
snow is fogs villi and all is for the
best after a number of threats are made
on his life ratcheting floors detective
lq dois ho for protection my life has
been threatened mr. Poirot my secretary
can show you two letters on file
uninterested in taking the case
wha-ho declines and the next morning
ratchet is found dead in his cabin mr.
Ratchett has been rondalee stabbed with
the murder on his conscience and a train
full of passengers Pratchett must figure
out who murdered the well-to-do
businessman and the result is a stylish
and entertaining flick where in Miami
that opinion the murderer is with us now
number 7 momento my own in mr. minor so
some we are from the critically
acclaimed Christopher Nolan memento is
one of the directors most ambitious
departures from the traditional
narrative structure so you lie to
yourself to be happy there’s nothing
wrong with that we all do it who cares
if there’s a few little details you’d
rather not remember the neo-noir film
balls the journey of leonard a man
searching for his wife’s killer
despite his anterograde amnesia i don’t
have amnesia
I remember everything right up until the
incident I am Leonard Shelby I am from
San Francisco that’s who you were unable
to form new memories
Leonard must use a system of photographs
and tattoos to keep track of the clues
he gathers Lenny you can’t trust a man’s
life to you little notes and pictures
why not chronological black-and-white
sequences give the audience the
background leading up to the murder
while color sequences follow the murder
in reverse chronological
logical order what mrs. Jenkins didn’t
understand was that you can’t believe
someone into remembering the more
pressure under the harder it gets the
effect is a masterfully complicated
story that keeps the audience on the
edge of their seats until the separate
portions meet at the end and make
memento a truly unforgettable flick how
am I supposed to you if I can’t
feel time number 6 LA Confidential great
you get the girl I get the corner this
entry contrast the investigative methods
of three drastically different
detectives in 1950s LA and Exley serves
as the righteous hand of the law
agreeing to testify against crooked cops
justice has to be served
of course I’ll testify but white is the
hot head with a penchant for roughing up
criminals Jack Vincennes is just in it
for the money he can make giving hot
tips to tabloids about the latest
celebrity arrests though their cases
differ the intricate ways these
detectives work together to solve them
has made LA Confidential into both a
critic and fan favorite I want to do it
right even if it means paying the
consequences much of the story is based
off real events involving police
brutality and gang-related crime and
that realism definitely shows have a
handset down around my ankles number
five the usual suspects one cannot be
betrayed if one has no people a brutal
gunfight on a ship leaves all but two
dead and police soon discover that they
must try to locate the infamous mobster
Keyser Soze
there is no Keyser Soze the bulk of the
film is told through flashbacks by a
two-bit con artist named verbal Kint
every creep and scumbag that works the
street for a living will know the name
of verbal Kint as he tells it after
meeting in a police lineup five
criminals enter into a scheme to pull
off a heist together he does not expect
all of you to live but those of you who
do will have 91 million dollars to
divide between you in any way you see
fit
so here but however it soon becomes
clear that the job isn’t what they
bargained for Soze has engineered the
entire situation to extort the group
into a dangerous job otherwise he’ll
kill everyone they love
he kills their kids he kills their wives
he kills their parents and their parents
friends this film is beloved by many
thanks to the seemingly random events
that are woven into a cohesive narrative
and of course for its shocking plot
twist shut up Jim you hear me
telling you it’s kaisers Thomson number
four clue frankness got it had it give a
damn who says a murder mystery has to be
dark and ominous this film based on the
classic board game and featuring a
who’s-who ensemble comedy cast brings
out the lighter side of murder when
anonymous guests at a dinner party
realize that mr. Boddy has invited them
all because he has access to their
darkest secrets it was all my idea
wait a minute IIIi I don’t understand
why did you invite us here to meet your
late employer were you assisting him to
blackmail us shut me not faced with
blackmail one of the guests takes the
opportunity to murder him while the
power is out now the guests must
discover the true identity of the killer
before they are killed next then you
shot him I didn’t well you had the gun
if you didn’t shoot him who did nobody
look there’s no gunshot wound when the
film was originally released different
theaters were given one of three endings
to create a unique viewing experience
for each audience so it’s not surprising
that clue ultimately attained cult
status now there’s one thing I don’t
understand one thing number three
Chinatown hello Clark or did you get the
midget this Roman Polanski film tells
the story of Jake Gittes
a small-time p.i who spends his days
chasing cheating husbands when a wife
tells me that she’s happy that her
husband is cheating on her it runs
contrary to my experience while
investigating an engineer for the LA
Department of Water and Power
Jake realizes he’s been set up the woman
who hired him wasn’t the real wife and
the next day the engineer is found dead
in a reservoir the point is is I’m not
in business to be loved but I am in
business and believe me mrs. Mulwray
whoever set your husband up set me up
you know places dry as Los Angeles
County the price of water is going up
and someone is killing to control where
it goes you steal one of the valley ruin
the grazing
who knew that mr. boray the title
symbolizes the feelings of confusion and
frustration police often felt when
investigating in Chinatown
while the neo-noir flick itself earned
11 Oscar nods and a spot in the National
Film registry you’ve got a nasty
reputation just two kids I like that
number two am the oldest movie on our
list comes from Austrian German
filmmaker Fritz Lang after a series of
child murders the police tried
desperately to find the killer by
shaking down known criminals Christian
I’m saying either for that Saudis I know
you’re more funny of them dispensers and
what it began with it invites action
nodes are attached to a fogger fans in
upset by the interruption of their
businesses but crime bosses themselves
take the matter into their own hands
let’s team happy not for some legit
sneakers getting stereotyped kid sizing
aims for vini vidi unleashed in action
in differ by K filter M criticizes the
ability of the police to catch murderers
despite the new forensic tools at their
disposal and warns parents about child
neglect i’m kiza finish it – honey of
any season yeah a movie lang also
presents the moral contradiction of
criminals including other murderers who
take it upon themselves to catch the
killer doesn’t be victim dependent and
the niche trifled even think in America
his first sound film M is also notable
for Lange’s use of several new
techniques that made it into a cinematic
masterpiece before we pull back the
curtain on our top pick here are a few
honorable mentions why would a young
lady like you want to know about such an
awful no time it interests me
does it
her husband was the first suspect
husband is always the first suspect is
usually the last anybody I can’t confirm
that he didn’t open his window and go
down the fire escape okay Brendan we’re
gonna ask you to take a polygraph you
think you’d be up for that wolf there’s
greed
sloth wrath pride lust and ended I still
don’t believe in God only I believe in
God and mercy and all that but Dad a
happier dead number 1 The Maltese Falcon
good man should be approached by a
beautiful bombshell to find her missing
sister
detective Sam Spade quickly finds
himself in a complicated murder plot
with a priceless Falcon figurine in the
middle
this film is notable for both the
top-notch casting of Humphrey Bogart and
Peter Lorre as well as the technical
direction of John Huston closed-mouth
man I like to talk better and better it
is just a close match man despite the
Maltese Falcon being his first film
Huston was able to use peculiar lighting
and unusual camera angles to make it an
iconic film Huston also challenged the
physical limits of cameras at the time
with intricate flowing shots I’ll think
again and think fast I told that gun of
yours you’d have to talk to me before
you through I’m telling you now you’ll
talk to me the day your yards are you
wasting my time or I can get along
without you all these aspects combined
to make it a classic film noir murder
mystery you can’t miss you and your
stupid to get it to bite Canada found
out how valuable it was no wonder we had
such an easy time stealing it you you
imbecile you big idiot do you agree with
our list is there anything so terribly
wrong about making a decision in wanting
to hurry what’s your favorite murder
mystery movie
oh yeah such as the game’s up Scarlett
there are no more bullets left in that
gun come on you know I’m gonna fall for
that old trick for more intriguing top
10s published every day be sure to
subscribe to watchmojo.com that was good
you
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