Genre: Film noir

Direction Billy Wilder

Cast William Holden · Gloria Swanson · Erich von Stroheim · Nancy Olson

Synopsis Sunset Boulevard (1950) follows a struggling screenwriter (William Holden) who seeks shelter in the grand mansion of a former silent film icon (Gloria Swanson) to evade creditors. As he becomes entangled in her world, he uncovers the dark and unstable...

Direction Akira Kurosawa

Cast Toshirô Mifune · Kyôko Kagawa · Yutaka Sada · Takashi Shimura

Synopsis High and Low (1963) centers around Gondo, a prominent executive in the shoe industry, portrayed by Toshirô Mifune, who is orchestrating a corporate takeover to seize control of his company. Gondo has secured the necessary funds for his scheme when...

Direction Billy Wilder

Cast Fred MacMurray · Barbara Stanwyck · Edward G. Robinson · Tom Powers

Synopsis Double Indemnity (1944) follows the tale of a seemingly innocent man, Mr. Dietrichson, who finds himself in a perilous situation after his cunning wife (Barbara Stanwyck) persuades him to take out a double indemnity insurance policy, facilitated by a charming...

Direction Fritz Lang

Cast Edward G. Robinson · Joan Bennett · Dan Duryea · Jess Baker

Synopsis Scarlet Street (1945) follows the life of Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson), a timid bank employee who, despite marking 25 years of service, feels unfulfilled with his monotonous job and his nagging wife. His sole joy comes from his passion...

Direction Carol Reed

Cast Joseph Cotten · Alida Valli · Trevor Howard · Orson Welles

Synopsis The Third Man (1949) follows the journey of Holly Martins, a writer of pulp fiction, who travels to Vienna after World War II. He arrives at the invitation of his old friend, Harry Lime, who has secured him a job....

Direction Orson Welles

Cast Charlton Heston · Janet Leigh · Orson Welles · Marlene Dietrich

Synopsis Touch of Evil (1958) begins with a mysterious figure setting a timer on a bomb and placing it in the trunk of an elegant car. The countdown starts as a wealthy businessman and his less affluent companion drive away. Their...

Direction Otto Preminger

Cast Gene Tierney · Dana Andrews · Clifton Webb · Judith Anderson

Synopsis Laura (1944) follows the gripping tale of a murder investigation centered around the enigmatic and alluring Laura Hunt (Gene Tierney), who is discovered fatally shot in her apartment. The relentless Lieutenant Mark McPherson (Dana Andrews) is tasked with solving the...

Direction John Huston

Cast Sterling Hayden · Louis Calhern · Sam Jaffe · Jean Hagen

Synopsis The Asphalt Jungle (1950) follows recently paroled Doc Erwin Riedenschneider as he assembles a crew for a meticulously planned jewelry store heist. The team includes Dix Handley, a rugged and tough individual, Gus, a bar owner, and Louis Ciavelli, a...

Direction Fritz Lang

Cast Edward G. Robinson · Joan Bennett · Raymond Massey · Edmund Breon

Synopsis The Woman in the Window (1944) follows the story of a professor at Gotham College named Wanley, who, along with his companions, becomes captivated by a portrait of a woman visible from their club's window. Wanley's fascination leads him to...

Direction Fritz Lang

Cast Glenn Ford · Gloria Grahame · Lee Marvin · Jocelyn Brando

Synopsis The Big Heat (1953) follows the story of Dave Bannion, a tenacious and principled police officer who is relentlessly pursuing a ruthless criminal organization that he believes has infiltrated the police department. After a fellow officer's apparent suicide and the...

Direction Howard Hawks

Cast Humphrey Bogart · Lauren Bacall · John Ridgely · Martha Vickers

Synopsis The Big Sleep (1946) follows the tale of private investigator Philip Marlowe, portrayed by Humphrey Bogart, who is enlisted by General Sternwood, played by Charles Waldron, to handle a blackmailer. The General has two daughters: Vivian, portrayed by Lauren Bacall,...

Direction Charles Laughton

Cast Robert Mitchum · Billy Chapin · Sally Ann Bruce · Shelley Winters

Synopsis The Night of the Hunter (1955) follows a sinister preacher, portrayed by Robert Mitchum, who is driven by an obsessive quest to track down two young siblings, played by Billy Chapin and Sally Jane Bruce, during the Great Depression. The...

Direction Jules Dassin

Cast Jean Servais · Carl Möhner · Robert Manuel · Jules Dassin

Synopsis Rififi (1955) follows the story of Tony le Stéphanois (Jean Servais), a tough and cynical criminal who has just been released from prison after taking the fall for his younger friend Jo le Suedois (Carl Mohner). Jo is a criminal...

Direction Jacques Tourneur

Cast Robert Mitchum · Jane Greer · Kirk Douglas · Rhonda Fleming

Synopsis Out of the Past (1947) follows the tale of Jeff Markham, portrayed by Robert Mitchum, an ex-private investigator with a murky history. Seeking a clean slate, Jeff adopts a new identity, finds love, and takes on a modest role managing...

Direction Raoul Walsh

Cast James Cagney · Virginia Mayo · Edmond O'Brien · Margaret Wycherly

Synopsis White Heat (1949) follows the story of Cody Jarrett, a brutal and unpredictable mastermind behind a notorious criminal organization. Plagued by severe headaches and deeply attached to his mother, Cody's erratic behavior makes him both feared and respected within his...

Direction Alfred Hitchcock

Cast Cary Grant · Ingrid Bergman · Claude Rains · Louis Calhern

Synopsis Notorious (1946) follows the tale of a captivating woman with a troubled history (Ingrid Bergman) who is recruited by American intelligence officer Devlin (Cary Grant) to infiltrate a group of Nazis operating in post-war Rio de Janeiro. As she delves...

Direction Billy Wilder

Cast Kirk Douglas · Jan Sterling · Robert Arthur · Porter Hall

Synopsis Ace in the Hole (1951) follows the story of Charles Tatum, a once-prominent journalist who has fallen on hard times and is now employed by a modest newspaper in Albuquerque. His life takes a dramatic turn when he discovers a...

Direction Raoul Walsh

Cast James Cagney · Priscilla Lane · Humphrey Bogart · Gladys George

Synopsis The Roaring Twenties (1939) follows the post-WWI journeys of three former soldiers—Lloyd Hart (Jeffrey Lynn), Eddie Bartlett (James Cagney), and George Hally (Humphrey Bogart)—as they return to civilian life in the United States. Facing significant challenges in securing stable employment,...

Direction Mervyn LeRoy

Cast Paul Muni · Glenda Farrell · Helen Vinson · Preston Foster

Synopsis I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932) follows the harrowing journey of James Allen, portrayed by Paul Muni, who returns from World War I only to be wrongfully convicted of a crime. Sentenced to a decade of harsh...

Direction John Huston

Cast Humphrey Bogart · Mary Astor · Gladys George · Peter Lorre

Synopsis The Maltese Falcon (1941) follows the story of a seasoned private investigator, Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart), who finds himself entangled in a complex web of deceit and danger as he pursues a mysterious and valuable statuette. The quest begins when...