Felix's Film Noir 100
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- DirectorBoris IngsterStarsPeter LorreJohn McGuireMargaret TallichetAn aspiring reporter is the key witness at the murder trial of a young man accused of cutting a café owner's throat and is soon accused of a similar crime himself.Chronologiquement, c'est le premier film qui rassemble des éléments apparemment disparates (influence à la fois des suspenses américains d'avant-guerre et de styles européens - décors et éclairages rappellent autant le cinéma allemand que le réalisme poétique français, et la présence de Peter Lorre dans un rôle inquiétant renvoie évidemment à M de Lang) se cristallisant un peu maladroitement certes mais avec une belle naïveté dans ce qu'on peut considérer comme le premier film noir.
- DirectorRaoul WalshStarsIda LupinoHumphrey BogartAlan CurtisAfter being released from prison, notorious thief Roy Earle is hired by his old boss to help a group of inexperienced criminals plan and carry out the robbery of a California resort.Alors que The Roaring Twenties du même Raoul Walsh appartient encore au genre quelque peu moralisateur du film de gangster de l'époque du Code de production, High Sierra marque un tournant dans le genre avec la figure tragique de Roy Earle, premier rôle important de Bogart. À noter que le film fut refait deux fois: une première par Walsh lui-même sous forme d'un (excellent) Western (Colorado Territory, 1949), une seconde avec Jack Palance dans le rôle du gangster (I Died a Thousand Times, Stuart Heisler, 1955).
- 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.Bien que le roman de Dashiell Hammett eût déjà été adapté deux fois dans les années 1930, la version de John Huston (son premier film comme réalisateur) demeure la version de référence, grâce à une lecture fidèle du récit et à l'interprétation inimitable de Bogart en Sam Spade à la recherche du fameux faucon... the stuff that dreams are made of!!! Les seconds couteaux (Mary Astor, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Elisha Cook, Jr.) y sont aussi pour beaucoup!
- DirectorH. Bruce HumberstoneStarsBetty GrableVictor MatureCarole LandisWhy is Inspector Ed Cornell trying to railroad Frankie Christopher for the murder of model Vicky Lynn?Petit film noir « de studio » typique de la première moitié des années 1940, I Wake Up Screaming se distingue par... son titre d'abord (!!!), son atmosphère nocturne et son inquiétant inspecteur Cornell, interprété par le corpulent Laird Cregar...
- DirectorFrank TuttleStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeRobert PrestonWhen assassin Philip Raven shoots a blackmailer and his beautiful female companion dead, he is paid off in marked bills by his treasonous employer who is working with foreign spies.Si l'intrigue de Graham Greene a été modifiée pour s'accommoder du climat du temps de guerre, le film a tout de même des qualités indéniables, depuis la chimie du couple Alan Ladd-Veronica Lake (que l'on reverra dans au moins deux autres films noirs essentiels) jusqu'au méchant dédaigneux interprété de nouveau par Laird Cregar... Le tueur à gages laconique de Ladd allait influencer plus tard Jean-Pierre Melville et Alain Delon pour l'iconique Samouraï (1967).
- DirectorStuart HeislerStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeBrian DonlevyA crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.Second film pour le couple Ladd-Lake, avec cette fois Hammett comme inspiration... Le film est aussi un remake (il en existe une version rare de 1935 avec George Raft). On retiendra de celle-ci une intrigue compliquée dans le monde de la politique et quelques scènes particulièrement rudes de passage à tabac.
- DirectorJack HivelyStarsBurgess MeredithClaire TrevorLouise PlattAfter an accident, a New York man with amnesia finds out the ugly truth about his real identity and past by interacting with people who seem to know him well.Nouvel exemple du « petit film de studio », Street of Chance est une des premières adaptations de Cornell Woolrich (alias William Irish), dont le style onirico-somnambulesque est bien rendu par cette histoire construite autour d'un personnage amnésique, thème qui sera souvent repris par la suite (par Mann dans le méconnu Two O'Clock Courage, par Mankiewicz dans Somewhere in the Night, entre autres). La vénéneuse Claire Trevor fait ici son entrée dans le film noir, dont elle deviendra l'une des icônes.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsTeresa WrightJoseph CottenMacdonald CareyA teenage girl, overjoyed when her favorite uncle comes to visit the family in their quiet California town, slowly begins to suspect that he is in fact the "Merry Widow" killer sought by the authorities.Les thrillers britanniques de Hitchcock eurent sans doute une influence déterminante sur le cinéma hollywoodien en général et sur le film noir en particulier. Venu en Amérique au début des années 1940, il était inévitable que son oeuvre recoupe le genre. Bien que ses premiers films américains furent des thrillers plutôt victoriens ou gothiques (Rebecca, Suspicion), Shadow of a Doubt, avec son suspense s'insinuant au sein d'une petite famille ordinaire dans une petite ville californienne typique, avec le charmant oncle Charlie (Joseph Cotten) traînant un secret peu avouable, avec enfin la perte de l'innocence de la jeune Charlie et la révélation de l'horreur derrière les apparences de la vie de tous les jours, le film est certainement l'un des plus noirs de son auteur derrière son apparence bon enfant. Hitchcock lui-même ne s'y trompait pas, y voyant l'un de ses films favoris.
- DirectorNorman FosterOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDolores Del RíoAn American ballistics expert in Turkey finds himself targeted by German agents. Safe passage home by ship is arranged for him, but he soon discovers that his pursuers are also on board.Avec son premier film, Citizen Kane, Orson Welles allait révolutionner la narration cinématographique de façon presque immédiate. La forme même du récit - une enquête - laissa une empreinte au sein du film noir (voir notamment The Killers de Siodmak). Mais ses projets suivants pour la RKO furent contrés ou avortés, hormis celui-ci, finalement réalisé par Norman Foster. Thriller modeste adapté de Eric Ambler, situé à Istanbul et sur un navire rempli de personnages douteux, Journey Into Fear plonge un américain (Joseph Cotten) dans une intrigue obscure l'opposant à un tueur bedonnant et mélomane, intrigue qui sera finalement dénouée par le persistent colonel Haki (Welles).
- 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.L'intrigue sulfureuse (pour l'époque) de James M. Cain devait être un succès retentissant malgré les réserves de la censure... L'histoire de cet agent d'assurances qui se retrouve complice d'une épouse adultère et vénéneuse semble aujourd'hui très classique, et elle fut en effet plagiée à répétition. La performance de Barbara Stanwyck, malgré sa perruque (« j'ai engagé Stanwyck et je me retrouve avec George Washington », se serait écrié le producteur...) et celle de Edward G. Robinson en enquêteur tenace et ulcéré portent le film.
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsGene TierneyDana AndrewsClifton WebbA police detective falls in love with the woman whose murder he is investigating."I shall never forget the weekend Laura died...": cette phrase est le sésame de ce film envoûtant, à l'image de sa star (Gene Tierney), qui l'habite même dans l'absence. C'est l'histoire d'une obsession - une double obsession en fait: d'abord celle d'un pygmalion pour sa création, ensuite celle d'un enquêteur pour une morte...
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsDick PowellClaire TrevorAnne ShirleyAfter being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.Le roman de Chandler s'intitulait "Farewell, My Lovely", mais le studio crut bon changer le titre: en effet, la vedette étant Dick Powell (alors célèbre pour ses rôles chantants), le public aurait pu s'y tromper... La transformation de Powell en Philip Marlowe, cynique et désinvolte, mal rasé, se retrouvant drogué, battu et enfermé dans un asile, est réussie (et fut appréciée par Chandler lui-même). Elle permettra à l'acteur d'apparaître dans nombre d'excellents films noirs au cours de la décennie suivante. Les seconds rôles (Claire Trevor, le suave Otto Kruger, la brute Mike Mazurki) ajoutent à l'atmosphère nébuleuse de l'histoire de Chandler, tordue à souhait...
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsFranchot ToneElla RainesAlan CurtisA devoted secretary risks her life to try to find the elusive woman who may prove her boss didn't murder his selfish wife.Le film n'est probablement pas plus vraisemblable que l'histoire de Woolrich dont il est tiré. Mais on ne va pas bouder son plaisir pour autant: en secrétaire menant une enquête entêtée pour innocenter son patron accusé de meurtre, Ella Raines est excellente et nous fait avaler sans coup férir les outrances du scénario... La scène du solo de batterie-orgasme dans une cave de jazz est à voir pour y croire...
- DirectorFritz LangStarsEdward G. RobinsonJoan BennettRaymond MasseyWhen a conservative middle aged professor engages in a relationship with a femme fatale, he's plunged into a nightmarish world of blackmail and murder.De tous les cinéastes européens venus travailler à Hollywood, Fritz Lang est sûrement celui dont les thèmes ont le plus nourri le film noir. Auteur de M le Maudit en Allemagne (1931), il réalisa à son arrivée en Amérique Fury (1936) et You Only Live Once (1937), films sociaux à la morale pessimiste et aux héros anonymes. C'est aussi un monsieur-tout-le-monde que joue ici Edward G. Robinson, tranquille professeur entraîné par les circonstances dans une histoire tragique... et tout ça à cause de ce portrait dans une vitrine...
- 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.Si les cinéphiles se souviennent de Mildred Pierce comme du rôle qui relança la carrière de Joan Crawford, c'est aussi le mélodrame noir par excellence. Cette histoire mêlant l'ambition, le dévouement et la cupidité par James M. Cain n'avait pas la même réputation sulfureuse que Double Indemnity ou The Postman Always Rings Twice... néanmoins, le vétéran Michael Curtiz, maître de l'atmosphère (il venait de réaliser Casablanca quelques années auparavant) sut bien mener la redoutable Joan (et Ann Blyth dans le rôle de sa fille gâtée-pourrie).
- 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.Réunissant le trio de comédiens de The Woman in the Window (Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett et le toujours ignoble Dan Duryea), Fritz Lang reprit une histoire de Georges de La Fouchardière que Jean Renoir avait déjà adaptée au début du parlant. Christopher Cross (Robinson) est un tranquille employé, peintre du dimanche, qui tombe dans les filets de Kitty (Bennett) et de son amant (Duryea). Lang sait tirer de ce triangle une tragédie presque classique.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsAlice FayeDana AndrewsLinda DarnellA slick con man arrives in a small town looking to make some money, but soon gets more than he bargained for.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsTom NealAnn SavageClaudia DrakeThe 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.Detour est sans conteste le film le plus fauché de cette liste, mais son exécution modeste lui confère une qualité dépouillée et ne rend que plus poignant le drame de cet auto-stoppeur particulièrement malchanceux, et de la femme fatale qui croise son chemin...
- DirectorJohn M. StahlStarsGene TierneyCornel WildeJeanne CrainA writer falls in love with a young socialite and they're soon married, but her obsessive love for him threatens to be the undoing of them both as well as everyone around them.Souvent donné comme l'exemple parfait du film noir en couleurs, Leave Her to Heaven est un portrait assez complexe d'un personnage féminin aux impulsions de plus en plus malsaines... Gene Tierney donne merveilleusement vie à ce personnage troublant, très bien dirigée par l'un des maître oubliés du mélodrame, John M. Stahl.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterAva GardnerEdmond O'BrienHit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.Précurseur du récit "hardboiled", Hemingway donne à ce classique du film noir sa prémisse: dans une petite ville tranquille, deux tueurs viennent régler son compte au Suédois, ancien boxeur qui travaille désormais comme pompiste... Au lieu de fuir, celui-ci les attend et se laisse descendre. Voilà pour la nouvelle d'Hemingway. Le reste du film, lui, doit beaucoup à Citizen Kane, l'histoire du Suédois se révélant peu à peu selon les témoins interviewés par un enquêteur d'assurances tenace (Edmond O'Brien). En plus de révéler Burt Lancaster et Ava Gardner, le réalisateur Robert Siodmak sut bien utiliser les patibulaires Charles McGraw, William Conrad et Jack Lambert, et reçut l'aide de John Huston et Richard Brooks pour peaufiner le scénario... pas mal!
- 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.D'une histoire particulièrement nébuleuse de Chandler (l'auteur lui-même ne sut pas résoudre l'un des meurtres apparaissant dans le scénario...), le vétéran Howard Hawks (et ses scénaristes, dont William Faulkner) fit un écrin parfait pour le couple Humphrey Bogart-Lauren Bacall, quitte à laisser quelques détails dans le vague... Résultat: un classique absolu du film noir! Philip Marlowe (Bogart), engagé par un vieux général pour régler des problèmes de famille, se retrouve au milieu d'histoires de chantage et de meurtre, et doit se débattre avec les filles dudit général (dont Lauren Bacall, qui l'intéresse tout de même beaucoup!), des bouquinistes et quelques personnages aussi peu fréquentables (dont le toujours minable Elisha Cook, Jr.)...
- DirectorTay GarnettStarsLana TurnerJohn GarfieldCecil KellawayA married woman and a drifter fall in love and then plot to murder her husband.Après le succès de Double Indemnity, la très puritaine MGM (propriétaire des droits du roman de James M. Cain) se trouva enfin en mesure de réaliser une adaptation de cette histoire réputée infilmable selon la censure de l'époque... Ayant déjà fait l'objet de deux adaptations sous des cieux plus permissifs (Le Dernier tournant de Pierre Chenal en France, 1939, et Ossessione / Les Amants diaboliques de Luchino Visconti en Italie, 1943), Le Facteur... trouva sa forme hollywoodienne sous la direction du vétéran Tay Garnett. Ce fut surtout une occasion pour ses deux vedettes - John Garfield et Lana Turner - de briller dans leurs rôles, très certainement parmi les meilleurs de leurs carrières.
- DirectorCharles VidorStarsRita HayworthGlenn FordGeorge MacreadyA small-time gambler hired to work in a Buenos Aires casino discovers his employer's new wife is his former lover.
- 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?
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsLucille BallClifton WebbWilliam BendixA secretary tries to help her boss who's been framed for murder.
- DirectorGeorge MarshallStarsAlan LaddVeronica LakeWilliam BendixAn ex-bomber pilot is suspected of murdering his unfaithful wife.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsJohn HodiakNancy GuildLloyd NolanGeorge Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to track down his old identity, he stumbles onto a 3-year old murder case and a hunt for a missing $2 million.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsBarbara StanwyckVan HeflinLizabeth ScottA man is reunited with his childhood friend and her husband who believes he knows the truth about the death of her rich aunt years earlier.
- 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.
- DirectorDelmer DavesStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallBruce BennettA man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try to prove his innocence.
- DirectorJohn CromwellStarsHumphrey BogartLizabeth ScottMorris CarnovskyA soldier runs away rather than receive the Medal of Honor, so his buddy gets permission to investigate, and love and death soon follow.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsDennis O'KeefeWallace FordAlfred RyderTwo US Treasury agents hunt a successful counterfeiting ring.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsRobert YoungRobert MitchumRobert RyanA man is murdered, apparently by one of a group of demobilized soldiers he met in a bar. But which one? And why?
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsVictor MatureBrian DonlevyColeen GrayA crook arrested for a jewelry heist initially refuses to give up his accomplices, but he changes his mind once his wife dies under worrying circumstances.
- DirectorEdmund GouldingStarsTyrone PowerJoan BlondellColeen GrayThe rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsClaire TrevorLawrence TierneyWalter SlezakA calculating divorcée risks her chances at wealth and security with a man she doesn't love by getting involved with the hotheaded murderer romancing her foster sister.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsJohn IrelandSheila RyanHugh BeaumontA beautician and her crooked boyfriend attempt to rob the bookie operation located in the back room, but when the plan goes wrong, they frame an innocent man.
- DirectorMaxwell ShaneStarsPaul KellyDeForest KelleyKay ScottA man dreams he committed murder, then begins to suspect it was real.
- DirectorFelix E. FeistStarsLawrence TierneyTed NorthNan LeslieLaw-abiding Jimmy Ferguson soon regrets giving a ride to killer Steve Morgan.
- DirectorRobert MontgomeryStarsRobert MontgomeryThomas GomezWanda HendrixWW2 veteran Lucky Gagin arrives in a New Mexico border-town intent on revenging against mobster Frank Hugo but FBI agent Bill Retz, who also wants Hugo, tries to keep Gagin out of trouble.
- DirectorAbraham PolonskyStarsJohn GarfieldThomas GomezBeatrice PearsonAn unethical lawyer who wants to help his older brother becomes a partner with a client in the numbers racket.
- 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.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsBarry FitzgeraldHoward DuffDorothy HartA step-by-step look at a murder investigation on the streets of New York.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsRita HayworthOrson WellesEverett SloaneFascinated by gorgeous Mrs. Bannister, seaman Michael O'Hara joins a bizarre yachting cruise, and ends up mired in a complex murder plot.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsVictor MatureRichard ConteFred ClarkPolice Lieut. Candella, longtime friend of the Rome family, walks a tightrope in the case of cop-killer Martin Rome.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRay MillandMaureen O'SullivanCharles LaughtonA magazine tycoon commits a murder and pins it on an innocent man, who then tries to solve the murder himself.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsVan HeflinRobert RyanJanet LeighAn embittered, vengeful POW stalks his former commanding officer who betrayed his men's planned escape attempt from a Nazi prison camp.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsDick PowellLizabeth ScottJane WyattMarried insurance adjuster John Forbes falls for femme fatale Mona Stevens while her boyfriend is in jail and all suffer serious consequences as a result.
- DirectorJean NegulescoStarsIda LupinoCornel WildeCeleste HolmA night club owner becomes infatuated with a torch singer and frames his best friend/manager for embezzlement when the chanteuse falls in love with him.
- DirectorSteve SekelyPaul HenreidStarsPaul HenreidJoan BennettEduard FranzPursued by the big-time gambler he robbed, John Muller assumes a new identity, with unfortunate results.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsCathy O'DonnellFarley GrangerHoward Da SilvaAn escaped convict injured during a robbery falls in love with the woman who nurses him back to health, but their relationship seems doomed from the beginning.
- DirectorWilliam KeighleyStarsMark StevensRichard WidmarkLloyd NolanA covert FBI agent infiltrates a ruthless gangster mob, but his life is at risk from a mysterious informant who funnels inside information to the hoodlums.
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsDennis O'KeefeClaire TrevorMarsha HuntJoe Sullivan (Dennis O'Keefe) has taken the rap for Rick (Raymond Burr), who double-crosses him with a flawed escape plan and other means intended to get rid of him.
- 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.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsJohn DallPeggy CumminsBerry KroegerTwo disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterYvonne De CarloDan DuryeaAn armored truck driver and his ex-wife conspire with a gang to have his own truck robbed on the route.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsRichard ConteValentina CorteseLee J. CobbA war veteran turned truck driver attempts to avenge the crippling and robbing of his father at the hands of an amoral produce scofflaw.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJames MasonBarbara Bel GeddesRobert RyanAn ambitious young LA department store model gets her wish of marrying a millionaire but she eventually discovers that rich life isn't always a happy one.
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJames MasonJoan BennettGeraldine BrooksAfter discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsRobert RyanAudrey TotterGeorge TobiasExpecting the usual loss, a boxing manager takes bribes from a betting gangster without telling his fighter.
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsCornel WildePatricia KnightJohn BaragreyA parole officer falls in love with his client, a ravishing blonde who served time for murder, and he's determined to help her go straight despite her interfering criminal boyfriend.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsGene TierneyRichard ConteJosé FerrerA woman suffering from kleptomania is hypnotized in an attempt to cure her. Soon afterwards, she's found at the scene of a murder with no memory of how she got there, and seemingly no way to prove her innocence.
- DirectorTed TetzlaffStarsBobby DriscollBarbara HaleArthur KennedyTo avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsBrian DonlevyElla RainesCharles CoburnA unfaithful wife plots with her lover to kill her husband, but the lover is accidentally killed instead. The husband stays in hiding and lets his wife be charged with conspiracy.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsLizabeth ScottDon DeForeDan DuryeaThrough a fluke circumstance, a ruthless woman stumbles across a suitcase filled with $60,000, and is determined to hold onto it even if it means murder.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenGloria SwansonErich von StroheimA screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsDana AndrewsGene TierneyGary MerrillDet. Sgt. Mark Dixon wants to be something his old man wasn't: a guy on the right side of the law. Will Dixon's vicious nature get the better of him?
- DirectorAnthony MannStarsFarley GrangerCathy O'DonnellJames CraigA struggling young father-to-be gives in to temptation and impulsively steals money from the office of a shady lawyer--with catastrophic consequences.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- 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.
- DirectorBretaigne WindustRaoul WalshStarsHumphrey BogartZero MostelTed de CorsiaA crusading district attorney finally gets a chance to prosecute the organizer and boss of Murder Inc.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsJohn GarfieldShelley WintersWallace FordNick and his partner Al stage a payroll holdup. Al is shot, and Nick kills a policeman. Nick hides out at a public pool, where he meets Peg Dobbs. They go back to her apartment, and he forces her family to hide him from the police manhunt.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsVan HeflinEvelyn KeyesJohn MaxwellAfter Susan Gilvray reports a prowler outside her house police officer Webb Garwood investigates and sparks fly. If only her husband wasn't in the way.
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsRobert MitchumJean SimmonsMona FreemanAmbulance driver Frank Jessup is ensnared in the schemes of the sensuous but dangerous Diane Tremayne.
- DirectorNicholas RayIda LupinoStarsIda LupinoRobert RyanWard BondRough city cop Jim Wilson is disciplined by his captain and is sent upstate, to a snowy mountain town, to help the local sheriff solve a murder case.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsJohn PayneColeen GrayPreston FosterAn ex-con trying to go straight is framed for a million dollar armored car robbery and must go to Mexico in order to unmask the real culprits.
- DirectorRichard FleischerWilliam Cameron MenziesStarsCharles McGrawMarie WindsorJacqueline WhiteA woman planning to testify against the mob must be protected against potential assassins on the train trip from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsGlenn FordGloria GrahameJocelyn BrandoTough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsAnne BaxterRichard ConteAnn SothernA telephone operator ends up drunk and at the mercy of a cad in his apartment. The next morning she wakes up with a hangover and the terrible fear she may have committed murder.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsRichard WidmarkJean PetersThelma RitterA pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring.
- DirectorIda LupinoStarsEdmond O'BrienFrank LovejoyWilliam TalmanTwo fishermen pick up a psychopathic escaped convict who tells them that he intends to murder them when the ride is over.
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsGene NelsonSterling HaydenPhyllis KirkReformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter.
- DirectorRichard QuineStarsFred MacMurrayKim NovakPhilip CareyAn undercover police officer falls for the beautiful moll of a bank robber on the run, and together they plan to double-cross the hood and the cops.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsRalph MeekerAlbert DekkerPaul StewartA doomed female hitchhiker pulls Mike Hammer into a deadly whirlpool of intrigue, revolving around a mysterious "great whatsit".
- 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.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsCornel WildeRichard ConteJean WallaceA police lieutenant is ordered to stop investigating deadly crime boss Mr. Brown because he hasn't been able to get any hard evidence against him. He goes after Brown's girlfriend, who despises him, for information instead.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsRobert RyanRobert StackShirley YamaguchiPlanted in a Tokyo crime syndicate, a U.S. Army Investigator attempts to probe the coinciding death of a fellow Army official.
- DirectorStanley KubrickStarsSterling HaydenColeen GrayVince EdwardsCrook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDana AndrewsJoan FontaineSidney BlackmerA novelist aided by his future father-in-law conspires to frame himself for the murder of a burlesque dancer as part of an effort to ban capital punishment.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsDana AndrewsRhonda FlemingGeorge SandersA serial killer has been killing beautiful women in New York and the new owner of a media company offers a high ranking job to the first of his senior executives who can get the earliest scoops on the case.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsHenry FondaVera MilesAnthony QuayleIn 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsAldo RayAnne BancroftBrian KeithThrough a series of bizarre coincidences, an artist finds himself falsely accused of bank robbery and murder and is pursued by the authorities and the real killers.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsCharlton HestonOrson WellesJanet LeighA stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping and police corruption in a Mexican border town.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartKim NovakBarbara Bel GeddesA former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
- DirectorIrving LernerStarsVince EdwardsPhillip PineHerschel BernardiClaude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer - until he finds his next target is a woman.
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsHarry BelafonteRobert RyanGloria GrahameIn need of quick money, a fallen former cop recruits a hard-bitten ex-con and a debt-ridden nightclub singer to pull off a bank job. But as the animosity between them boils over, the entire plan threatens to implode.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsCliff RobertsonDolores DornBeatrice KayA teenager who witnesses the murder of his father vows to exact revenge on the four mobsters involved in the killing.