My Top 30 Favorite Films Noir

Noirvember is finally here and to celebrate, I’m going to share with you my top 30 favorite noirs. I did a top 20 last year and I felt like it wasn’t enough. I left some of my big ones out and it almost killed me, so this year I thought a top 30 was in order.

CRITERIA

• This is a very personal and very subjective list. I’m not claiming these are the 30 greatest noirs, I’m saying these are MY favorites.
• Neo-noirs will not be included, because The Old Hollywood Garden focuses on the classic period primarily.
• Because noir is a very broad genre (why do they have to make this even more difficult?!), I tried to stick to films that most closely resemble and fit into the noir category.
• I have seen 55 films noir, so you can imagine how hard this was. Feel free to ask me about any noir you didn’t see on the list.
• Because I haven’t seen every film noir ever made and because tastes and preferences change overtime, this list can be updated in the future.
• As always, you’re more than welcome to share your personal favorites on the comment section.

Here we go!

30. The Woman in the Window (1944)

      Dir. Fritz Lang

 

‘I don’t want to make trouble for anybody. I can, of course, but I don’t want to.’

 

 

 

 

 

29. The Blue Dahlia (1946)

      Dir. George Marshall

‘Half the cops in LA are looking for you.’

‘Only half?’

 

 

 

 

 

28. Decoy (1946)

      Dir. Jack Bernhard

 

‘People who use pretty faces like yours don’t live too long anyway.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

27. Detour (1945)

      Dir. Edgar Ulmer

 

 

‘Fate, or some mysterious force, can put the finger on you for no good reason at all.’

 

 

 

 

26. Touch of Evil (1958)

      Dir. Orson Welles

 

‘He was some kind of man. What does it matter what you say about people?’

 

 

 

 

25. The Lady from Shanghai (1947)

      Dir. Orson Welles

 

 

‘Killing you is killing myself. But you know, I’m pretty tired of both of us.’

 

 

 

 

24. In a Lonely Place (1950)

      Dir. Nicholas Ray

 

 

‘I was born when she kissed me. I died wen she left me. I lived a few weeks while she loved me.’

 

 

 

 

 

23. Scarlet Street (1945)

      Dir. Fritz Lang

 

 

 

‘Can’t you get those lazy legs off that couch, baby?’

 

 

 

 

 

22. The Asphalt Jungle (1950)

      Dir. John Huston

 

‘Experience has taught me never to trust a policeman. Just when you think one’s all right, he turns legit.’

 

 

 

 

21. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

      Dir. John Huston

 

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‘I’ll be waiting for you. If then hang you, I’ll always remember you.’

 

 

 

 

 

20. Mildred Pierce (1945)

      Dir. Michael Curtiz

 

 

 

‘She plays the piano like I shoot pool.’

 

 

 

 

 

19. The Third Man (1949)

       Dir. Carol Reed

 

‘Oh Holly, you and I aren’t heroes. The world doesn’t make any heroes outside of your stories.’

 

 

 

18. Raw Deal (1948)

     Dir. Anthony Mann

 

 

 

‘I want to breathe. That’s why I want to get out of this place. So I can take a deep breath again’

 

 

 

 

 

17. Crossfire (1947)

      Dir. Edward Dmytryk

 

 

‘I was in a stinkin’ gin mill, where all he had to do to see me was walk in, sit down at the table and buy me a drink.’

 

 

 

 

16. The Big Sleep (1946)

      Dir. Howard Hawks

 

 

‘What’s wrong with you?’

‘Nothing you can’t fix.’

 

 

 

 

15. The Big Heat (1953)

     Dir. Fritz Lang

 

‘You know I’ve been meting your kind now for ten years. Sacred rabbits who never see a thing. You wouldn’t stick your big fat neck out for anybody, would you?’

 

 

 

14. Pickup on South Street (1953)

     Dir. Samuel Fuller

 

‘Even in your crummy line of business you gotta draw the line somewhere.’

 

 

 

 

13. Kansas City Confidential (1952)

     Dir. Phil Karlson

 

‘I know a sure cure for a nosebleed. A cold knife in the middle of the back.’

 

 

 

 

12. Gilda (1946)

      Dir. Charles Vidor

‘Hate is a very exciting emotion. Haven’t you noticed? Very exciting. I hate you too, Johnny. I hate you so much that I think I’m going to die from it.’

 

 

 

 

11. T-Men (1947)

      Dir. Anthony Mann

‘They had to know all the answers. Failure to do would mean a bad grade later on in the shape of a bullet or an ice-pick.’

 

 

 

 

 

10. The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)

     Dir. Lewis Milestone

 

‘A sure thing is never a gamble.’

 

 

 

 

9. Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950)

    Dir. Otto Preminger

 

‘That’s a fancy way of trying to frame somebody – getting yourself knocked off. A guy’s gotta be outta his head for that. I didn’t know a guy could hate that much. Not even you.’

 

 

 

8. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

    Dir. Alexander MacKendrick

 

‘Match me, Sidney.’

 

 

 

7. The Big Combo (1955)

    Dir. Joseph H. Lewis

 

 

‘First is first and second is nobody.’

 

 

 

 

 

6. Notorious (1946)

    Dir. Alfred Hitchcock

 

 

‘Dry your eyes baby, it’s out of character.’

 

 

 

 

 

5. The Killers (1946)

    Dir. Robert Siodmak

 

 

‘If there’s one thing in this world I hate, is a double-crossing dame.’

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Out of the Past (1947)

    Dir. Jacques Tourneur

 

 

‘And then I saw her – coming out of the sun. And I knew why Whit didn’t care about the forty grand.’

 

 

 

 

3. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

    Dir. Billy Wilder

 

‘Alright Mr DeMille, I’m ready for my close-up.’

 

 

 

 

2. Laura (1944)

    Dir. Otto Preminger

 

‘I shall never forget the weekend Laura died. The silver sun burned through the sky like a huge magnifying glass. It was the hottest Sunday in my recollection.’

 

 

 

Before I reveal my number 1 noir, here are a few honorable mentions: The Hitch-hiker (1953), Kiss me Deadly (1955), Pitfall (1948), Fallen Angel (1945), The Chase (1946), D.O.A (1950)…

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1. Double Indemnity (1944)

         Dir. Billy Wilder

‘It sounds crazy, Keyes, but it’s true, so help me. I couldn’t hear my own footsteps. It was the walk of a dead man.’

 

 

That’s it from me!

Happy Noirvember, everyone!