Based on a true story, the film begins in 1932 with the killing of a Chicago cop and the sentencing of two young men for his murder. Fast-forward eleven years, and the boss of the Chicago Times newspaper is intrigued to find an advert by the mother of one of the killers, Frank Wiecek, asking for information about the crime, clearly Wiecek's mother thinks her son is innocent. PJ O'Neal (Stewart), one of the Times' top reporters, is dispatched to find out whether Mrs Wiecek's opinion is clouded by find out more...

Phyllis Dietrichson is trapped in a loveless marriage to a man who inspires in her nothing but contempt, but rather than leave him Phyllis decides to kill him and collect on the insurance policy she's had set up with the help of her lover, and naive partner in crime, insurance salesman Walter Neff. The only flaws in their plan are the company's reluctance to pay out so much, the diligence of Neff's increasingly suspicious colleague, (and his 'little man'), and the exemplary ruthlessness of Ph find out more...

A classic noir adaptation of a Chandler novel with Dick Powell as the hardboiled, wise-cracking, incorruptible Marlowe in a seedy, decadent LA of shifting loyalties, unseen evil, phoneys, criminals, old money and family skeletons. Superb dialogue and definitive noir camerawork. find out more...

After the subsequent murder of a scared running girl he picked up on the highway Mickey Spillane's anti-hero, dodgy private eye Mike Hammer, smells money and follows the threads on a seedy trip through the LA underworld. find out more...

A dark, intriguing thriller. The enigmatic Laura becomes an object of obsession to a hard-bitten journalist and is found dead shortly before her wedding. As the mystery deepens with every twist and turn, the detective on the case also falls under the spell of the tragic beauty. Classic film noir. find out more...

The film that catapulted Mitchum to stardom; after Kathie shoots her admirer and runs off with his 40 grand he, naturally, hires a private dick to find her. Although the dick finds Katie in Mexico, they decide to tell Sterling that he couldn't find her. find out more...

Murakami is a young detective who loses his gun to a pickpocket, but, before he can get it back, the weapon is sold to a gangster and, before long, a woman has been robbed and shot. In desperation Murakami turns to his wily older partner, Sato, and, together, the two set out across the humid and seamy streets of Tokyo to track down the gun before more people die. Stray Dogs is one of Kurosawa's earlier works and is a highly stylish film, a gritty slice of noir from somewhere other than the North find out more...

Police Sgt Bannion is taken off investigating the apparent suicide of a corrupt cop, is he likely to uncover too much filth? Driven to further unravel the mystery Bannion continues probing until an explosion meant for him kills his wife. He resigns from the force and soon learns that behind it all is a powerful underworld syndicate led by Mike Lagana and the cold-blooded Vince Stone. The Big Heat is a classic slice of noir; a brooding, dark narrative. find out more...

The original and best version of the detective thriller classic. Philip Marlowe is hired to investigate the gambling debts of a rich man's daughter, but is plunged into a twilight world of intrigue, blackmail and violence. Stylish and gripping. find out more...

Burt Lancaster makes his debut, in this adaptation of a short story by Ernest Hemingway, as Swede, a washed-up boxer who finds himself manipulated and double crossed thanks to the charms of femme fatale Ava Gardner. A definitively noir gangster film about an unusual contract killing that stands out thanks to Lancaster's performance as the lovesick palooka taken for a ride.

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