#25 - “The Hoodlum” (1951)

Director: Max Nosseck

Stars: Lawrence Tierney, Allene Roberts, Marjorie Riordan

Synopsis: A recently-paroled sociopath and career criminal betrays his family's trust when he masterminds a complex armored car robbery.

If you enjoy the modern noir of Reservoir Dogs, you'll love seeing a much younger Lawrence Tierney here at his all-time tough guy best.

#24 - "Raw Deal” (1948)

Director: Anthony Mann

Stars: Dennis O'Keefe, Claire Trevor, Marsha Hunt

Synopsis: A criminal escapes prison while taking the rap for a crime boss, who double-crosses him and intends to get rid of him.

#23 - “The Dark Corner” (1946)

Director: Henry Hathaway

Stars: Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix

Synopsis: A secretary tries to help her New York PI boss, who has been framed for murder.

Definitely off-the-radar as far as noirs go, but the excellent cinematography and solid acting performances make The Dark Corner well worth exploring.

#22 - “Kansas City Confidential” (1952)

Director: Phil Karlson

Stars: John Payne, Coleen Gray, Preston Foster

Synopsis: An ex-con trying to go straight is framed for a million dollar armored car robbery and must travel to Mexico in order to unmask the real culprits.

Quentin Tarantino has stated that Reservoir Dogs was inspired by this movie. Only four movies in and we have our second Reservoir Dogs reference!

#21 - “Night and the City” (1950)

Director: Jules Dassin

Stars: Richard Widmark, Gene Tierney, Googie Withers

Synopsis: A small-time London hustler takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and attempts to become a big-time wrestling promoter.

Film noir and pro wrestling, what could be better? The grappler Gregorious is indeed portrayed by a real-life professional wrestler named Stanislaus Zbyszko.

#20 - "Criss Cross" (1949)

Director: Robert Siodmak

Stars: Burt Lancaster, Yvonne De Carlo, Dan Duryea

Synopsis: An armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route.

#19 - “The Hitch-Hiker” (1953)

Director: Ida Lupino

Stars: Edmond O'Brien, Frank Lovejoy, William Talman

Synopsis: Two fishermen pick up a psychotic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.

The Hitch-Hiker is one of several films listed here that are in the public domain, which means that you can view or download it for free from a variety of sources.

#18 - “Sweet Smell of Success” (1957)

Director: Alexander Mackendrick

Stars: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison

Synopsis: A powerful but unethical Broadway columnist coerces an unscrupulous press agent into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.

#17 - “Les Diaboliques" (1955)

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Stars: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse

Synopsis: The wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.

Still one of the best movie endings ever. Like the message in the credits says, don't spoil it for your friends!

#16 - “The Woman in the Window” (1944)

Director: Fritz Lang

Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Raymond Massey

Synopsis: A conservative middle-aged professor engages in a relationship with a femme fatale and is plunged into a nightmarish world of blackmail and murder.

#15 - "The Lineup" (1958)

Director: Don Siegel

Stars: Eli Wallach, Robert Keith, Richard Jaeckel

Synopsis: An unhinged gangster and his mentor are sent to retrieve heroin packages carried overseas by unsuspecting travelers.

Eli Wallach is brilliant in his portrayal of a psychopathic gun-for-hire, evoking memories of a young Joe Pesci. But it's noir-era San Francisco that really steals the show.

#14 - "Impact" (1949)

Director: Arthur Lubin

Stars: Brian Donlevy, Ella Raines, Charles Coburn

Synopsis: A unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding and allows his wife to be charged with conspiracy.

#13 - "Detour" (1945)

Director: Edgar G. Ulmer

Stars: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake

Synopsis: A chance series of events trap a hitchhiking nightclub pianist in an ever-tightening net of death, deception and blackmail.

With a 98% Rotten Tomatoes rating and inclusion in both the Criterion Collection and the Library of Congress' National Film Registry, Detour is one of more highly-acclaimed noirs on this list. It is also in the public domain.

#12 - Scarlet Street" (1945)

Director: Fritz Lang

Stars: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea

Synopsis: An unassuming man in mid-life crisis befriends a young woman, whose fiancé persuades her to con him out of the fortune they mistakenly assume he possesses.

According to Ben Mankiewicz, when Scarlet Street was first released, local censor boards in New York, Milwaukee, and Atlanta banned this film for being "licentious, profane, obscure, and contrary to the good order of the community." Sounds like prime noir to me!

#11 - "Pickup on South Street" (1953)

Director: Samuel Fuller

Stars: Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter

Synopsis: A pickpocket on a subway train unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes the target of a Communist spy ring.

Protip: If you ever come across a film noir starring Richard Widmark as a two-bit thug, by all means watch it. You really have to wonder if he was the character inspiration for Frank Gorshin's Riddler from the Batman '66 TV series.

#10 - "Quicksand" (1950)

Director: Irving Pichel

Stars: Mickey Rooney, Jeanne Cagney, Barbara Bates

Synopsis: After borrowing 20 dollars from his employer's cash register to go on a date, an auto mechanic encounters increasingly disastrous circumstances which rapidly spiral out of control.

An incredibly entertaining noir with a baby-faced Mickey Rooney encountering a series of unfortunate twists and turns that are almost Twilight Zone-ish. Quicksand is another film that is in the public domain.

#9 - "City That Never Sleeps" (1953)

Director: John H. Auer

Stars: Gig Young, Mala Powers, William Talman

Synopsis: An officer—who plans on resigning from the police force and leaving his wife the next day—has a very eventful last night on duty.

#8 - "D.O.A." (1949)

Director: Rudolph Maté

Stars: Edmond O'Brien, Pamela Britton, Luther Adler

Synopsis: A man is told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, he then scours the city to find out who poisoned him and why.

This movie has been remade one at least one occasion. The 1949 original is in the public domain and is definitely the one to watch.

#7 - "Gun Crazy" (1950)

Director: Joseph H. Lewis

Stars: John Dall, Peggy Cummins, Berry Kroeger

Synopsis: Two young lovers explore their fascination with guns through a bloodthirsty and violent crime spree.

Film noir meets Bonnie and Clyde. 'Nuff said!

#6 - "Stray Dog" (1949)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Awaji

Synopsis: During a sweltering summer, a rookie homicide detective tries to track down his stolen pistol.

While Kurosawa is perhaps better known for his Japanese period films, he also directed a number of film noirs, including High and Low, The Bad Sleep Well, and this stellar movie.

#5 - "The Killing" (1956)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Stars: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards

Synopsis: A hoodlum assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a complicated and daring race-track robbery.

One of Stanley Kubrick's earliest and most memorable works. It's hard to believe that he was 28 when this film was released.

#4 - "The Asphalt Jungle" (1950)

Director: John Huston

Stars: Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen

Synopsis: Several hoodlums devise a major heist that takes place underneath the city streets.

Despite being given top billing and featured prominently in the poster to your left, Marilyn Monroe appears sparingly throughout The Asphalt Jungle. Like The Killing and Rififi, the great ensemble cast and complicated plot heist are the main attractions.

#3 - "Double Indemnity" (1944)

Director: Billy Wilder

Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

Synopsis: An insurance representative is coerced by a seductive housewife into a murder scheme that arouses the suspicion of his insurance investigator friend.

This movie is Number One on quite a few noir lists, and for good reason. If you're new to the genre and are looking for a film to get started with, Double Indemnity is probably your best bet.

#2 - "He Walked By Night" (1948)

Directors: Alfred L. Werker, Anthony Mann

Stars: Richard Basehart, Scott Brady, Roy Roberts

Synopsis: Los Angeles police detectives stage a city-wide manhunt for a resourceful and elusive criminal who is committing a series of violent burglaries, robberies and murders throughout the City of Angels.

This crime drama deviates from most noirs in that it features no romantic interest and no femme female. With its LA-driven police narrative, He Walked By Night feels very much like a precursor to the long-running TV series Dragnet. Not-so-coincidentally, this film happens to feature a young Jack Webb.

#1 - "The Third Man" (1949)

Director: Carol Reed

Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli

Synopsis: An American pulp novelist travels to shadowy, post-war Vienna by the request of an old friend, only to find himself investigating his friend's mysterious death.

Of all the brilliant American film noirs listed here (as well as a few excellent foreign noirs!), it is an English film that captures the top spot. Not that any of this matters once you get caught up in this gripping tale of black market trafficking and political intrigue.

Honorable Mention:

"Rififi" (1955)

"The Great St. Louis Bank Robbery" (1959)

"Borderline" (1950)

"The Man Who Cheated Himself" (1950)

"Highway Dragnet" (1954)

"Jigsaw" (1949)

"Suddenly" (1954)

"The Maltese Falcon" (1941)

"The Big Combo" (1955)