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S E A R C H    D V D B e a v e r
 
Essential Noir on Blu-ray HERE
 
Picture Gallery: The Femme Fatales of Film Noir
 
Article: Beauty Lurking in the Shadows - My Favorite Women of Film Noir HERE by Gary Tooze
 
Jonathan Rosenbaum tells us of Ten Overlooked Noirs HERE

 

Click 1st letter of film title:

 #  A  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L

 

ON PAGE 2: M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  XYZ

 

 # Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
99 River Street (1953) UA  COMPARISON MGM LE Line or Kino Blu-ray WBShop

711 Ocean Drive (1950) Columbia

COMPARISON

Sony or Kit Parker Blu-ray WB Archive

 

A Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Abandoned (1949) Universal

REVIEW

Universal Vault Series  
The Accused (1949) Universal REVIEW   Universal  
Ace in the Hole  (1951) Paramount

COMPARISON

Criterion or Masters of Cinema Blu-ray or Criterion Blu-ray

Denmark
Act of Violence (1948) Warner

REVIEW

Warner

or

Warner Box

 
Affair in Trinidad (1952) Columbia

COMPARISON

Sony US

Sony UK

 
The Amazing Mr. X (1948) Eagle-Lion Films

COMPARISON

Image or VCI or Sony

 
Among the Living (1941) Paramount

 

   
Angel Face (1952) RKO COMPARISON Warner France
Another Man's Poison (1952) UA COMPARISON

Image (OOP) or

Classicflix

Blu-ray

Simply

Media (UK)

Appointment with Danger (1951) Paramount COMPARISON Olive Films or Olive Blu-ray  
Armored Car Robbery (1950) MGM REVIEW Warner  

The Asphalt Jungle (1950) Warner

COMPARISON

Warner or Criterion Blu-ray

 

 

B Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Backfire (1950) Warner REVIEW Warner Box  
Backlash (1947) Twentieth Century Fox REVIEW Fox  
Behind Locked Doors (1948) Eagle-Lion

REVIEW

KINO  
Berlin Express (1948) Universal REVIEW Warner WB ARCHIVE
Between Midnight and Dawn (1950) Columbia REVIEW Sony  
Beware, My Lovely (1952) RKO      
Bewitched (1945) MGM REVIEW Warner WB ARCHIVE
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956) RKO COMPARISON Warner Archive Blu-ray Spain or Spain
Beyond the Forest (1949) Warner COMPARISON   Spain or France
The Big Clock (1948) Universal COMPARISON Universal or German Blu-ray Box set  
The Big Combo (1955) MGM COMPARISON

Geneon US or

Image US or

Alpha US or Olive Blu-ray or Arrow Blu-ray

 
The Big Heat (1953) Columbia

COMPARISON

Columbia or

Sony Box or Twilight Time Blu-ray or Twilight Time Blu-ray

 
The Big Knife (1955) MGM COMPARISON MGM or Optimum (UK) or Arrow Blu-ray  
The Big Night (1951) UA REVIEW Optimum (UK) Losey Box

MGM

France

MGM (MoD)

The Big Sleep (1946) Warner COMPARISON Warner or Warner Blu-ray  
The Big Steal (1949) RKO REVIEW BOX

REVIEW FRENCH

Warner or

Warner Box

France
Black Angel (1946) Universal REVIEW Universal  
The Black Book (1949) Eagle-Lion COMPARISON Alpha or
VCI or Sony
or Kino Blu-ray
Italy or Sony (MoD)
Black Tuesday (1954) UA      
Blast of Silence (1961) Universal Pictures COMPARISON Alive Film or
Criterion
 
Blonde Ice (1949) Film Classics REVIEW VCI  
The Blue Dahlia (1946) Paramount COMPARISON Universal Pictures (UK) or Koch (German) or Arrow Blu-ray  
The Blue Gardenia (1953) Warner REVIEW Image  
A Blueprint for Murder (1953) 20th Century Fox REVIEW Fox  
Body and Soul (1950) UA COMPARISON Artisan or
Metrodome (UK) or Olive Blu-ray
France
Bodyguard (1948) Warner REVIEW Manga or Warner France Spain or WB ARCHIVE
Boomerang (1947) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON Fox or MoC Blu-ray or Kino Blu-ray  
Border Incident (1948) Warner REVIEW Warner Box  
Born to Be Bad (1950) RKO Radio Pictures REVIEW Editions Montparnasse or Warner  
Born to Kill (1947) Warner REVIEW Warner Box  
The Brasher Doubloon (1947) 20th Century Fox REVIEW Fox Cinema Archive  
The Breaking Point (1950) Warner COMPARISON Warner or Criterion Blu-ray WB ARCHIVE
The Bribe (1949) MGM REVIEW Warner WB ARCHIVE
The Brothers Rico (1958) Columbia REVIEW Sony Box  
Brute Force (1947) Universal COMPARISON Criterion or
Image (OOP)
, Arrow Blu-ray

France

Russia

The Burglar (1957) Columbia REVIEW Sony Box  

 

C

Title / Year  / Studio

Review / DVD Comparison LINK

POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK

OTHER PURCHASE LINK

Caged (1950) Warner

REVIEW

Warner Box  
Calcutta (1947) - Paramount      
Call Northside 777 (1948) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON Fox or German Blu-ray  
Canon City (1948) Eagle Lion      
Cape Fear (1962) Universal COMPARISON

Universal or

Universal (UK) or Universal Blu-ray

 
The Captive City (1952) UA COMPARISON MGM or Kino Blu-ray WBShop
Caught (1949) MGM REVIEW Second Sight (UK) or Olive Blu-ray France
Cause for Alarm! (1951) MGM COMPARISON Roan Group or German Alive  
Champion (1949) Republic COMPARISON

Republic or Olive Blu-ray

 
The Chase (1946)

COMPARISON

VCI Box or Kino Blu-ray

 
Chicago Deadline (1949) Paramount      
Christmas Holiday (1944) Universal REVIEW Simply Media (UK) OOP  
City That Never Sleeps (1953) Republic REVIEW Olive Blu-ray  
Clash by Night (1952) Warner REVIEW Warner Box  
The Clay Pigeon (1949) COMPARISON Warner Archive

Spain or

France

Conflict (1945) Warner REVIEW Warner WB ARCHIVE
Convicted (1950) Columbia REVIEW TCM TCM Boxset
Cornered (1945) Warner REVIEW Warner Box  
Crack-Up (1946) RKO REVIEW Warner WB ARCHIVE
Crashout (1955) RKO REVIEW   Olive Blu-ray  
Crime of Passion (1957) MGM COMPARISON MGM or on ClassicFlix Blu-ray  
Crime Wave (1954) Warner REVIEW Warner Box  
Criminal Court (1945) RKO Radio Pictures REVIEW Warner  
The Crimson Kimono (1957) Columbia COMPARISON Sony Box or Twilight Time Blu-ray  
Criss Cross (1949) Universal COMPARISON Universal or Cinema Cult Blu-ray  
The Crooked Way (1949) COMPARISON Geneon or Kino Blu-ray  
Crossfire (1947) Warner REVIEW Warner or Warner Box  
Cry Danger (1951) RKO REVIEW Olive Blu-ray  
Cry of the City (1948) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON

BFI (UK)

 or 20th Century Fox or BFI Blu-ray or Kino Blu-ray

German

Spanish

French

Cry of the Hunted (1953) Warner REVIEW Warner  
Cry Vengeance (1954) Allied Artists REVIEW Olive Blu-ray  
 
D Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
D.O.A. (1950)

COMPARISON

Roan or
Alpha or
Image
Siren (UK)
The Damned Don't Cry (1950) Warner REVIEW Warner or Warner Box  
Danger Signal (1945) Warner      
A Dangerous Profession (1949) RKO Radio Pictures REVIEW Warner  
Dark City (1950) Paramount REVIEW   Olive Films or Olive Blu-ray  
The Dark Corner (1946) 20th Century Fox REVIEW

Fox

 
The Dark Mirror (1946) Universal COMPARISON Olive Blu-ray or German Blu-ray Box set or Arrow Blu-ray

Germany or France

or Spain

Dark Passage (1947) Warner COMPARISON Warner or Warner Blu-ray  
The Dark Past (1948) Columbia REVIEW Columbia

Amazon Spain

Spain
Dark Waters (1944) REVIEW

Image

 
Dead Reckoning (1947) Columbia

COMPARISON

 

Columbia US or

Columbia UK

 
Deadline at Dawn (1946) RKO REVIEW Warner Box  
Decoy (1946) Monogram REVIEW Warner Box  
Desert Fury (1947) Paramount COMPARISON DV1 or Kino Blu-ray

Germany or Australia or

Spain

Desperate (1947) RKO REVIEW Warner Box  
The Desperate Hours (1955) Paramount REVIEW Paramount  
Destination Murder (1950) RKO REVIEW Warner WB ARCHIVE
Detective Story (1951) Paramount REVIEW Paramount  
Detour (1945) PRC COMPARISON Alpha or
Image or
Siren (UK) or Criterion Blu-ray
France
The Devil Thumbs a Ride (1947) RKO Radio Pictures REVIEW   Spain
Dial 1119 (1950) MGM REVIEW Warner  
Don't Bother to Knock (1952) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON

Fox or

Fox Boxset or Twilight Time Blu-ray

 
Double Indemnity (1944) Universal COMPARISON MoC Blu-ray or Universal Blu-ray  
A Double Life (1947) Republic COMPARISON Republic or Olive Blu-ray  
Drive a Crooked Road (1954) Columbia REVIEW Sony Box MU or TCM
 
E Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Edge of Doom (1950) RKO

REVIEW

Warner Archive  

The Enforcer (1951) Republic Pictures

COMPARISON

Artisan or Olive Blu-ray

 

Escape in the Fog (1945) Columbia Pictures Corporation

COMPARISON

Sony or Kino Blu-ray

 

 

F Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Fall Guy (1947) Monogram

REVIEW

Warner WB Archive
Fallen Angel (1945) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON Fox or BFI or BFI Box or BFI Blu-ray  
The Fallen Sparrow (1943) Warner REVIEW  Warner WB Archive
Fear (1946) Monogram REVIEW Grapevine  
Fear in the Night (1947) REVIEW

Alpha

 
The File on Thelma Jordon (1950) REVIEW Olive Blu-ray  
Flaxy Martin (1949) REVIEW Warner  
Follow Me Quietly (1949) RKO COMPARISON Warner France or Spain or WB ARCHIVE
Force of Evil (1948) COMPARISON Lions Gate or Olive Blu-ray or Arrow Blu-ray France
Fourteen Hours (1951) 20th Century Fox REVIEW

Fox

 
Framed (1947) - Columbia REVIEW TCM TCM Boxset
Fury (1936) MGM REVIEW Warner  
 
G Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Gambling House (1950) RKO Radio Pictures

REVIEW

  Spain
The Gangster (1947) Allied Artists

REVIEW

Warner WB ARCHIVE
The Garment Jungle (1957) Columbia REVIEW Sony  
Gaslight (1944) Warner REVIEW   Warner Archive Warner Store
Gilda (1946) Columbia COMPARISON

 Columbia,

Sony Box or Sony Blu-ray or Criterion Blu-ray

 
The Glass Key (1942) Universal COMPARISON Universal (UK) or Koch Blu-ray or Arrow Blu-ray  
The Great Flamarion (1945) Republic Pictures COMPARISON

Sony (Fr) or VCI

 
Guest in the House (1944) United Artists REVIEW

Alpha

 
The Guilty (1947) Monogram  

 

 
Guilty Bystander (1950) Laurel Films      
Gun Crazy (1949) Warner COMPARISON Warner or Warner Box or Wild Side Blu-ray or Warner Blu-ray  
 
H    

 

 
Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK  POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Hangover Square (1945) 20th Century Fox

REVIEW

Fox Box  
The Harder They Fall (1956) Columbia REVIEW Columbia (OOP) Japan Box (OOP)
He Ran All the Way (1951)  COMPARISON Optimum (UK) or Kino Lorber Blu-ray  
He Walked by Night (1948) MGM COMPARISON MGM or Koch Media or ClassicFlix Blu-ray  
Hell's Half Acre (1954) Republic REVIEW

Olive Blu-ray

 
Hell's Island (1955) Paramount      
High Sierra (1941) Warner COMPARISON Warner or Horizon Blu-ray  
High Wall (1947) MGM REVIEW Warner WB Archive
Highway Dragnet (1954) Allied Artists COMPARISON

Kino Blu-ray

 
Highway 301 (1950) Warner

REVIEW

 Warner WB Archive
His Kind of Woman (1951) Warner COMPARISON Warner Box or Odeon (UK)  
The Hitch-Hiker (1953) COMPARISON Kino or Roan or Kino Blu-ray  
Hollow Triumph aka 'The Scar' (1948)  COMPARISON VCI or Koch Media or Film Detective Blu-ray or Kino Blu-ray  
The Hoodlum  (1951) REVIEW Image  
Hoodlum Empire (1952) Republic REVIEW Olive Blu-ray  
House by the River (1950) Republic COMPARISON Kino France
House of Bamboo (1955) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON Fox or Twilight Time Blu-ray Germany
House of Strangers (1949) 20th Century Fox REVIEW Fox  
The House on 92nd Street (1945) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON Warner or Kino Blu-ray  
The House on Telegraph Hill (1951) 20th Century Fox REVIEW

Fox

 
Human Desire (1954) Columbia COMPARISON Sony Box or Masters of Cinema Blu-ray Japan Box or Spain
Hunt the Man Down (1950) RKO REVIEW Spain  
The Hunted (1948) Allied Artists Pictures REVIEW Warner  
 
I Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
I Confess (1953) Warner COMPARISON Warner or Warner Box or Warner Blu-ray  
I Died a Thousand Times (1955) Warner REVIEW  Warner WB Archive
I Married a Communist aka The Woman on Pier 13 (1950) Warner

REVIEW

 Warner WB Archive
I, the Jury (1953) UA      
I Wake Up Screaming (1941) 20th Century Fox   COMPARISON Fox or Kino-Lorber Blu-ray  
I Walk Alone (1948) Paramount REVIEW  Kino-Lorber Blu-ray  
I Was a Communist for the FBI (1951) Warner REVIEW  Warner WB Archive
I Wouldn't Be in Your Shoes (1948) Monogram  

 

 
Illegal (1955) Warner REVIEW

Warner

or

Warner Box

 
Impact (1949) UA REVIEW Image  
In a Lonely Place (1950) Columbia COMPARISON Columbia US or Columbia UK or Criterion Blu-ray  
 
J Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Jeopardy (1953) MGM REVIEW Warner Box  
Johnny Angel (1945) RKO REVIEW Warner  
Johnny Eager (1941) Warner

REVIEW

 Warner WB Archive
Johnny O'Clock (1947) Columbia REVIEW Sony  
Journey Into Fear (1942) RKO  REVIEW Warner France or Spain
 
K Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
Kansas City Confidential (1952) MGM COMPARISON MGM or
Image or
Alpha or
TreeLine or Blu-ray
France (OOP)
Key Largo (1948) Warner COMPARISON Warner or Warner Archive Blu-ray  
The Killer That Stalked New York (1950) Columbia

COMPARISON

Sony Box or Kino Blu-ray  
Killer's Kiss (1955) MGM COMPARISON MGM vs. Criterion Blu-ray  
The Killer Is Loose (1956) United Artists COMPARISON MGM s. ClassicFlix Blu-ray  
The Killers (1946) Universal COMPARISON Carlotta Blu-ray or Criterion Blu-ray or Arrow Blu-ray  
The Killing (1956) MGM COMPARISON  MGM or Criterion Blu-ray or Arrow Blu-ray  
A Kiss Before Dying (1956) MGM COMPARISON MGM or Kino-Lorber Blu-ray  
Kiss Me Deadly (1955) MGM REVIEW

MGM (OOP) or Blu-ray

 
Kiss of Death (1947) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON

Fox

or

BFI (UK) OOP or Signal One Blu-ray

 
Kiss the Blood Off My Hands (1948) Universal REVIEW Universal  
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (1950) Republic COMPARISON Artisan(OOP)or Olive Blu-ray  
Knock on Any Door (1949) Columbia COMPARISON   Japan Box or Germany
 
L Title / Year  / Studio Review / DVD Comparison LINK

 POSTER / STAR LARGE SCAN LINKS

AMAZON PURCHASE LINK OTHER PURCHASE LINK
The Lady from Shanghai (1948) Columbia

COMPARISON

Columbia or TCM Blu-ray or Mill Creek Blu-ray  
Lady in the Lake (1947) Warner US REVIEW Warner Box  
A Lady Without Passport (1950) MGM  REVIEW Warner WB Archive
The Las Vegas Story (1952) RKO Radio Pictures  REVIEW Warner  
Laura (1944) 20th Century Fox US COMPARISON Fox Blu-ray or MoC Blu-ray  
The Lawless (1950) Paramount REVIEW

Olive Films

 
Leave Her to Heaven (1945) 20th Century Fox COMPARISON

Fox or Twilight Time Blu-ray

 
The Letter (1940) Warner REVIEW Warner  
The Lineup (1958) Columbia REVIEW Sony Box  
Loan Shark (1952) Lippert REVIEW VCI  
The Locket (1946) RKO REVIEW

Warner

or

Manga

WB Archive

Spain

The Lodger (1944) 20th Century Fox

COMPARISON

Fox Box or Fox Blu-ray  
The Long Night (1947) RKO REVIEW

Kino or

Kino Box

 
The Long Wait (1954) UA      
Loophole (1954) - Allied Artists REVIEW Warner WB Archive
The Lost Weekend (1945) Universal REVIEW Universal or MoC Blu-ray  
Lured (1947) UA COMPARISON Kino or Cohen Blu-ray  

 

For almost a decade, Gregory and I have maintained, updated and altered the DVDBeaver complete list of generically labeled film noir titles (now located HERE). Over time we watched and reviewed hundreds, read many books on the 'dark cinema' and had group email discussions with our friend and noir aficionado Irina... plus many others that we consider experts who we've encountered over the years. So while there is no universally accepted definition of the term 'Film Noir' - nor the titles that deserve to be punctuated by that powerful descriptive classification - we were able to establish a criteria consensus of our very own. We maintain that the cycle is deeply based in American-made films, from the 1940s through to the late 50s, and we don't deviate from that in our selections (the UK produced The Third Man may be a notable exception.)

 

The term itself is literally translated as "Black Cinema (or film)" and so defined by French critics post WW2 to describe the increasing trend of American crime dramas shot with murky, shadowy grays often with anti-hero protagonists. The description evolved to center around mid-to-lower economic-class characters that were enticed, often by circumstance, to do something illegal... in pursuit of love and/or money. Wilder's Double Indemnity and Edgar Ulmer's Detour would be prime mid-1940s examples. The nebulous Noir moniker expanded to include films with plot devices of amnesia, recent ex-convict characters, flash-back (remembered) narratives, femme fatales, tragic conflict between individual and society, shared guilt, pathos, classic nemesis and occasional obtuse camera angles. These became the mainstay recognizable stylistic norms building the distinguishing keys of 'Film-Noir'. Most often the plots were derived from the hard-boiled pulp fiction crime novels of the era. More of a theme or mood than to be pigeon-holed as a 'genre' - perhaps the beauty of 'Film-Noir' is its lack of limitation, and its corresponding problematic nature of strict classification.

 

We have taken care to parse down the pre-existing list(s) while occasionally adding our own titles (agreed upon by committee). We decided that our below listing - always in state of flux, with possible insertions or deletions potentially forthcoming - finally be made public. We still maintain that there should be no rigid definition to unnecessarily inhibit the style and we don't rate our list as either comprehensive nor definitive. Please find a list of films that are deserved of the term 'Film-Noir'... we feel these are 'essential' to the term's core understanding.

 

Gary Tooze (and Gregory Meshman) 

 

NOTE: Titles in bold are, or have been at one time, available on DVD. Images are linked to, frequently very large, scans for both posters and star photos (not necessarily glossies from that corresponding film). More will be added over time - please continue to re-visit and comment HERE on titles you may feel have enough merit to considered for addition to the list. Your opinion matters greatly to us. We developed this page for you.

 

 

Click 1st letter of film title:

 

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ON PAGE 2: M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  XYZ

 

 

 

 

 

 

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