Films Noir Ranked by IMDb User Ratings
All the titles with IMDb genre Film-Noir, ranked according to their average User Rating as of this list's creation.
The official IMDb definition of their genre Film-Noir can be viewed here, and it states "Typically features dark, brooding characters, corruption, detectives, and the seedy side of the big city. Almost always shot in black and white, American, and set in contemporary times (relative to shooting date). We take the view that this genre began with Underworld (1927) and ended with Touch of Evil (1958). Note: neo-noir should be submitted as a keyword instead of this genre for titles that do not fit all criteria. Objective."
While assembling this list (is there a way to import an Advanced Search into a list? I remember there used to be.) I spotted a handful of exceptions to the "American" criteria, but I suppose it says "almost always." And if you sort this list by Release Date, you'll see two of the foreign films, and several American titles released after Touch of Evil, but not beyond 1958.
The official IMDb definition of their genre Film-Noir can be viewed here, and it states "Typically features dark, brooding characters, corruption, detectives, and the seedy side of the big city. Almost always shot in black and white, American, and set in contemporary times (relative to shooting date). We take the view that this genre began with Underworld (1927) and ended with Touch of Evil (1958). Note: neo-noir should be submitted as a keyword instead of this genre for titles that do not fit all criteria. Objective."
While assembling this list (is there a way to import an Advanced Search into a list? I remember there used to be.) I spotted a handful of exceptions to the "American" criteria, but I suppose it says "almost always." And if you sort this list by Release Date, you'll see two of the foreign films, and several American titles released after Touch of Evil, but not beyond 1958.
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- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 1, rating 8.5, votes 121460
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 2, rating 8.4, votes 84990
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 3, rating 8.3, votes 99810
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsJames CagneyVirginia MayoEdmond O'BrienA psychopathic criminal with a mother complex makes a daring break from prison and leads his old gang in a chemical plant payroll heist.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 4, rating 8.2, votes 18648
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsKirk DouglasJan SterlingRobert ArthurA frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to rekindle his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control circus.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 5, rating 8.2, votes 16923
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartMary AstorGladys GeorgeSan Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 6, rating 8.2, votes 100044
- DirectorAlexander MackendrickStarsBurt LancasterTony CurtisSusan HarrisonPowerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 7, rating 8.2, votes 17922
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsCharlton HestonOrson WellesJanet LeighA stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 8, rating 8.2, votes 64192
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsGene TierneyDana AndrewsClifton WebbA police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 9, rating 8.1, votes 27449
- DirectorMervyn LeRoyStarsPaul MuniGlenda FarrellHelen VinsonWrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a Southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 10, rating 8.1, votes 8526
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsFarley GrangerRobert WalkerRuth RomanA psychopathic man tries to forcibly persuade a tennis star to agree to his theory that two strangers can get away with murder by submitting to his plan to kill the other's most-hated person.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 11, rating 8.1, votes 83252
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantIngrid BergmanClaude RainsThe daughter of a convicted German spy is asked by American agents to gather information on a ring of German scientists in South America. How far will she have to go to ingratiate herself with them?as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 12, rating 8.1, votes 65523
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsRobert MitchumJane GreerKirk DouglasA private eye escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses, and duplicitous dames.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 13, rating 8.1, votes 20428
- DirectorCharles LaughtonStarsRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishA self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 14, rating 8.1, votes 56744
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 15, rating 8.1, votes 58479
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsSterling HaydenColeen GrayVince EdwardsCrook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 16, rating 8.1, votes 55407
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsHumphrey BogartGloria GrahameFrank LovejoyA potentially violent screenwriter is a murder suspect until his lovely neighbor clears him. However, she soon starts to have her doubts.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 17, rating 8.1, votes 14732
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJoan CrawfordJack CarsonZachary ScottA hard-working mother inches towards disaster as she divorces her husband and starts a successful restaurant business to support her spoiled daughter.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 18, rating 8.0, votes 14465
- DirectorJules DassinStarsRichard WidmarkGene TierneyGoogie WithersA small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 19, rating 8.0, votes 7145
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGlenn FordGloria GrahameJocelyn BrandoTough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 20, rating 8.0, votes 14985
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsJames CagneyPat O'BrienHumphrey BogartA priest tries to stop a gangster from corrupting a group of street kids.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 21, rating 8.0, votes 14774
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsSterling HaydenLouis CalhernJean HagenA major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck and solid police work cause everything to unravel.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 22, rating 7.9, votes 16126
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartEdward G. RobinsonLauren BacallA man visits his war buddy's family hotel and finds a gangster running things. As a hurricane approaches, the two end up confronting each other.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 23, rating 7.9, votes 26088
- DirectorFritz LangStarsSylvia SidneySpencer TracyWalter AbelWhen a wrongly-accused prisoner barely survives a lynch-mob attack and is presumed dead, he vindictively decides to fake his death and frame the mob for his supposed murder.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 24, rating 7.9, votes 7902
- DirectorFritz LangStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BennettDan DuryeaA man in mid-life crisis befriends a young woman, though her fiancé persuades her to con him out of the fortune they mistakenly assume he possesses.as of 12.Jun.2015, rank 25, rating 7.9, votes 8783