A Glean movie guide
Shadows & Suspense: The Noir Essentials
Dark alleys and double crosses.
The definitive guide to the high-contrast crime classics of the 1940s and 50s.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
Double Indemnity
The definitive blueprint for the genre, featuring a ruthless femme fatale and a doomed murder plot.
An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.
- 02
The Maltese Falcon
Often cited as the first true noir, this hard-boiled detective story set the standard for the era.
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a beautiful liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
- 03
Sunset Boulevard
A cynical, atmospheric look at the dark side of Hollywood fame through a dead man's eyes.
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
- 04
The Third Man
Renowned for its expressionist lighting and haunting zither score set against the ruins of post-war Vienna.
In postwar Vienna, Austria, Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime, only to learn he has died. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Major Calloway, and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna.
- 05
Out of the Past
A quintessential tale of fatalism featuring iconic low-key lighting and a past that refuses to stay buried.
The peaceful life of a gas station owner is disrupted when a man from his past arrives in town and forces him to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.
- 06
The Big Sleep
Humphrey Bogart stars in this famously complex mystery defined by sharp dialogue and a labyrinthine plot.
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, deception, and what might be love.
- 07
Touch of Evil
Orson Welles directs this late-period masterpiece famous for its technical brilliance and border-town corruption.
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
- 08
Laura
A sophisticated, high-society mystery that blends obsession with Oscar-winning black and white cinematography.
A police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he's investigating.
- 09
Strangers on a Train
Alfred Hitchcock explores shared guilt and high-contrast suspense in this chilling double-murder scheme.
A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.
- 10
Sweet Smell of Success
A late-era noir featuring razor-sharp dialogue and atmospheric night-time photography in New York City.
New York City newspaper writer J.J. Hunsecker holds considerable sway over public opinion with his Broadway column, but one thing that he can't control is his younger sister, Susan, who is in a relationship with aspiring jazz guitarist Steve Dallas. Hunsecker strongly disapproves of the romance and recruits publicist Sidney Falco to find a way to split the couple, no matter how ruthless the method.
- 11
Detour
A gritty, low-budget B-movie that captures the genre's most extreme sense of nightmare and fatalism.
The life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
- 12
White Heat
James Cagney delivers an explosive performance in this gritty blend of gangster action and noir psychology.
A psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and then leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist. After the heist, events take a crazy turn.