Gena Rowlands, winning an Oscar nomination, is typically superb as the tough talking New York moll - half-whore, half-mother - reluctantly lumbered with a child the Mafia want dead. Tired of running, Gloria decides to confront the gangsters head on... A superb noirish thriller. 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...

Adapted from Zola's novel, this powerful tale concerns a triangle of love and murder in which a train driver becomes passionately involved with a femme fatale. With its images of trains and railways as symbols of human destiny this is a visually arresting film; Gallic and tragic. 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 studied peace of a small provincial town is slowly unravelled when a series of poison pen letters signed "The Raven" begin to circulate amongst the residents. What began as an uncomfortable embarrassment for the more prominent members of society begins to take on ever-darker tones as the mysterious revelations begin to tear the town apart. Banned upon its release, in 1943, Clouzot's dark thriller is a gripping study of fear and suspicion, and also a fascinating observation of a battered, une find out more...

One of Melville's own favourite films in which ambiguity is the name of the game as a convicted burglar completes his incarceration only to get himself straight back into trouble... find out more...

Sympathetic Francois, a factory worker, holed up in his furnished room and surrounded by police, reflects in flashback how he, hounded into jealousy and murder by the cynical seducer of his amour, ended up in this predicament. One of the original film noirs, poetic and with both beautiful and dark moments. find out more...

Acclaimed and imitated, this is Clouzot's classic tale of the sadistic head-teacher who brutalises his unfortunate wife. With the help of her husband's mal-treated mistress, a willing accomplice, the two women set out to exact revenge. But when his body goes astray this macabre story truly unfolds... find out more...

Ronet is the disgruntled war vet who plots to kill his boss and elope with his wife. Meanwhile, other events implicate him in a murder elsewhere, whilst he remains stuck in an immobile lift. Tense, clever plot with cool, minimalist direction by Malle and a great Miles Davis score. find out more...

Murder, mystery and obsession combine to produce a much studied noir classic. Please note that the DVD only contains 'Mildred Pierce'. find out more...