French Noir
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- DirectorJean RenoirStarsMichel SimonJanie MarèseGeorges FlamantMaurice Legrand, a meek cashier married to a nagging wife, has a secret passion: he's a Sunday painter. He falls in love with Lulu, a young woman dominated by Dédé, the pimp who she works for. Dédé pushes Lulu into a relationship with him.
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsMarcelle RoméeAndré LuguetJean GabinLilac is consorting with the criminal scum of Paris but then she falls in love with a handsome detective...
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsAnnabellaJean GabinRobert Le ViganPierre Gilieth has committed a murder in Paris. He flees to Barcelona, where he runs out of money. So he joins the Spanish Foreign Legion. He meets there two fellow countrymen, Mulot and Lucas. He tries to forget his fault... but Lucas's friendship soon appears to be less unselfish...
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsJean GabinSuzy PrimLouis JouvetA charismatic thief makes friends with a bankrupt baron who comes to live in the thief's slum. Meanwhile the thief seeks the love of a young woman, who is held emotionally captive by her slumlord family.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinGabriel GabrioSaturnin FabreA wanted gangster is both king and prisoner of the Casbah. He is protected from arrest by his friends, but is torn by his desire for freedom outside. A visiting Parisian beauty may just tempt his fate.
- DirectorJean GrémillonStarsJean GabinMireille BalinPierre EtchepareSoldier Lucien meets elegant Madeleine one night in Cannes. Lovestruck, he follows her to Paris after he is discharged. Their love affair begins anew, but eventually runs cold and he returns to Orange in the south of France. She follows.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsJean GabinJulien CaretteSimone SimonIn this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsAnnabellaJean-Pierre AumontLouis JouvetOn the meandering Canal St. Martin, at the Parisian Hôtel du Nord, a nearly fatal gunshot separates a dejected young couple. But, amid a sad but beautiful panorama of lively characters, love has the final say. Can life be a fairy tale?
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinMichel SimonMichèle MorganA military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsFernand GraveyMichel SimonMarcel ValléeFrank, a hobo, ends up in a garage-truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Nick Marino, its older, kind and naive owner, is married to Cora, a sexy and mercenary woman half his age. Frank, although not a fan of hard work, accepts Nick's offer to work for him. Of course, it is not for Nick's sake that the young man becomes his attendant, but for the love of Cora under whose spell he has fallen at once. It does not take long before Cora, who despises her husband, asks her lover to help her get rid of him. Frank is reluctant at first but.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsMaurice ChevalierPierre RenoirMarie DéaAfter one of her fellow taxi dancers is murdered by an unknown man who she met through a personal column advert, Adrienne Charpentier is recruited by the police to answer a series of similar adverts to try to track down the killer.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinJacqueline LaurentArlettyAfter committing a murder, a man locks himself in his apartment and recollects the events that led him to the killing.
- DirectorJean GrémillonStarsJean GabinMadeleine RenaudMichèle MorganThe captain of the tugboat Cyclone, André Laurent, rushes off to save the Mirva. He abandons his sick wife Yvonne and the couple celebrating their marriage. In the early morning, the Cyclone tugs the Mirva ashore with Catherine aboard.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsPierre FresnayGinette LeclercMicheline FranceyA French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsPaul BernardMaría CasaresElina LabourdetteA society lady engineers a marriage between her lover and a cabaret dancer who is essentially a prostitute.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsViviane RomanceMichel SimonMax DalbanAfter an elderly maid is murdered, opinions are manipulated, evidence is planted, violence erupts, and panic ensues.
- DirectorGeorges LacombeStarsMarlene DietrichJean GabinJean d'YdThe local building contractor Martin Roumagnac is fascinated by the fashionable Blanche Ferrand. To impress Blanche, Martin presents her with a villa. However, this ruins him financially. Despite Martin's many efforts for the femme fatale Blanche, she is not able to chose between him and the rich consul De Laubry.
- DirectorJacques FeyderMarcel BlistèneStarsFrançoise RosayPaul MeurisseAndrée ClémentMadame Rose runs a seedy hotel in a suburb of Paris. Strong-minded but without the least moral scruple, she once killed her husband, whose honesty was a hindrance to her business. Under a suspended sentence, she now indulges in smuggling. One day, Victor, one of her former accomplices hounded by the police, finds sanctuary with her. During a drinking spree, he has the bad idea to entrust to her a suitcase filled with bank notes, loot with which he hopes to rebuild his life in South America. But Rose, lured by temptation, betrays Victor, who is arrested. However, he manages to escape with only one thing in mind: to take revenge on Rose.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsLouis JouvetSimone RenantBernard BlierA flirtatious wife runs off to meet an older man and the husband closes in with intend to murder him, but finds the deed already done.
- DirectorYves AllégretStarsBernard BlierSimone SignoretMarcello PaglieroDedee is a prostitute who works in Monsieur Rene's nightclub on Antwerp's harbour. The porter is Marco, her pimp. Dedee is not happy until she meets Francesco, an Italian sailor. They fall in love and Dedee starts to dream about escaping her daily dull grind.
- DirectorHenri DecoinStarsLouis JouvetMadeleine RobinsonLéo LaparaA police detective with a striking resemblance for a murdered criminal impersonates the deceased to identify his murderer.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsJean GabinIsa MirandaVera TalchiA French fugitive arrives in Genoa, where he becomes entangled with an Italian woman and her daughter.
- DirectorYves AllégretStarsMadeleine RobinsonGérard PhilipeJean ServaisDuring the cold and rainy off-season a man arrives in a seaside town and, giving his name only as Pierre, checks into the only hotel which remains open. His arrival arouses curiosity and a degree of suspicion, as people note that he appears to know the area, yet gives no explanation for his presence at that bleak time of year in the dead-end town.
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsSimone SignoretSerge ReggianiClaude DauphinThree gangsters and an ex-con carpenter all fall for the same beautiful golden-haired woman in Belle Époque France.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsYves MontandCharles VanelPeter van EyckIn a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsJean GabinRené DaryDora DollAn aging, world-weary gangster is double-crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of eight stolen gold bars demanded as ransom.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsJean ServaisCarl MöhnerRobert ManuelFour men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes...
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsSimone SignoretVéra ClouzotPaul MeurisseThe wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsRoger DuchesneIsabelle CoreyDaniel CauchyAfter losing big, an aging gambler decides to assemble a team to rob a casino.
- DirectorGeorges LampinStarsJean GabinMarina VladyUlla JacobssonModern update of Dostoievski's novel Crime and Punishment.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsJeanne MoreauMaurice RonetGeorges PoujoulyA self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsJean-Pierre MelvillePierre GrassetChristiane EudesA French UN delegate has disappeared into thin air, sending reporter Moreau (Jean-Pierre Melville) and hard drinking photographer Delmas (Pierre Grasset) on an assignment to find him. Their only lead is a picture of three women.
- DirectorMichel GastStarsChristian MarquandAntonella LualdiFernand LedouxAfter the lynching death of his black brother in Memphis, a light-skinned African-American, heads to a small Southern town, where he draws the attention of a heiress, and learns that the place is as racist as his hometown.
- DirectorÉdouard MolinaroStarsLino VenturaSandra MiloFranco FabriziSeeking vengeance on his wife's former lover and assassin, a man sets in motion a string of killings.
- DirectorCharles BrabantMarcello PaglieroStarsBarbara LaageIvan DesnyWalter BryantFred, the nephew of a senator,has murdered a Black man on a train. The two only witnesses are Lizzie McKay, a prostitute from New York, and Sidney, a colored man. Fred decides to seduce Lizzie in order to make her give false evidence according to which Sidney has attempted to rape her. The uncle also puts pressure on the young woman. After much hesitation, Lizzie finally accepts but Sidney, who has nearly got lynched, takes refuge at her home...
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsSerge ReggianiMichel AuclairCécile AubryA classic tale about bitter relationships between a frivolous girl and a soldier is adapted for the post-World War II time.
- DirectorWilly RozierStarsDanièle RoyRobert BerriJacques DynamA waiter fond of detective stories becomes a gangster.
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsRenée FaureJany HoltSylvieAnne-Marie joins a Dominican convent as a novice where she knows Therese. After shooting a man for which she was imprisoned, Therese protests her innocence, reluctant to tell her secret.
- DirectorJean DelannoyStarsMireille BalinJean ChevrierLouise CarlettiA thief hides out in the South and gets involved with the sister of a friendly fellow employee on an outdoor work site. But circumstances draw him back to the city, to another woman, and to murder.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsPierre FresnaySuzy DelairJean TissierInspector Wens moves into a Paris boarding house to catch a serial killer.
- DirectorPietro GermiStarsMassimo GirottiCharles VanelJone SalinasA young, by-the-book judge is appointed to a Sicilian village controlled by corrupt leaders and the Mafia.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsSerge ReggianiJean DavyMonique MélinandStory takes place in a dreadful girls' reformatory. A couple of lovers will try to escape from this living hell.
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsFrançoise ArnoulHenri VidalGaby SylviaA cop's widow is through with love and she spends her time collecting money for the orphans of the Police,abetted by a bunch of snobs and false friends.Unfortunately the person who was in charge of the money is assaulted and the money is gone..Might this respectable notable of the town be guilty,after feigning an aggression? A warden has two inmates do some repairs in his house.But he's got a too pretty wife .Two of the men are killed in mysterious circumstances and the survivor takes refuge in the widow's desirable mansion. Love begins to grow between them but is the man a victim of fate as he claims to be?
- DirectorRaymond LamyStarsJean GabinAntonin BervalDaniel GélinPortrait of a two-faced man. By day he is rich, brilliant and respectable financial officer Lussac; at night, he becomes "Mirror", a ruthless gang leader in Marseilles.
- DirectorPaul CadéacStarsMichel AuclairBarbara LaageMadeleine LebeauA former navy officer is tied up in a smuggling operation between Marseille and Tangier concentrating particularly in lucrative American cigarettes. However, his position is threatened by the arrival of a thuggish American gangster who wants to take over the whole market.
- DirectorGilles GrangierStarsJean GabinDanielle DarrieuxNadja TillerA vice inspector for the Paris police takes special interest in the plight of drug-addicted Lucky whom he considers to be more victim than criminal.
- DirectorMaurice GleizeStarsJean GabinMichèle MorganSaturnin FabreThe adventures of a sailor (Lennard) from Mexico to a lagoon in the Pacific ocean, and the meeting with a lonely girl (Lilian White).
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinBlanchette BrunoyNicole CourcelHenri Chatelard is well in his forties, owns a restaurant and a cinema in the city, and appreciate women. When he meets Marie, a 18ish stronghead who just lost her father in a small fishermen village, it is not clear who is the hunter and who is the prey.
- DirectorHenri DecoinStarsDanielle DarrieuxJean GabinJacques CastelotFrançois Donge, a wealthy mature man, is about to die. Flashback: many years ago, the seducer François meets Bébé, an idealistic young woman, and marries her. Her idealism crashes against François' personality.
- DirectorGeorges LacombeStarsJean GabinMadeleine RobinsonMichel BarbeyMadeleine arrives in Paris looking for a job as an English teacher. She finds a room in a boarding house where she meets and takes interest in Pierre Ruffin, a quiet librarian, who actually lives a double life.
- DirectorGilles GrangierStarsJean GabinElina LabourdetteAndrée ClémentReported missing in 1940, Jacques Ledru comes back to Strasbourg as Martin Schmidt. He tracks down his wife Genevieve, but she's remarried and has taken the head of his shipping company. She and her husband will do anything to get rid of Jacques and keep his company.
- DirectorHenri DecoinStarsJean GabinMarcel DalioLino VenturaHenri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable - and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection - or destroy it. Only... the Police is following his every step! Is Henri what he says he is, or an undercover detective from the French police?
- DirectorEdmond T. GrévilleStarsJean GabinAndrée DebarHenri VidalMartine is searching for her sister that disappeared mysteriously. Lequévic agrees to help her.
- DirectorGilles GrangierStarsJean GabinJeanne MoreauGaby BassetAfter a spending the night with his girlfriend, trucker Jean encounters a dead body on the road home. He reports the incident to the police who suspect that Jean was responsible for the death.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinDanièle DelormeRobert ArnouxAndré Chatelin is a restaurant owner in Les Halles in Paris. One morning, a girl named Catherine asks to see him. She happens to be the daughter of his estranged wife, Gabrielle, that André left more than twenty years before. As Gabrielle has just died, André accepts to accommodate Catherine first, then gives her a job in his restaurant before finally marrying her. But the angel-faced young lady might well be a devil in disguise.
- DirectorGilles GrangierStarsJean GabinPaul FrankeurClaude SylvainFrançois Cardinaud is one of the richest shipowners in the region. But this success arouses resentment and jealousy. When Marthe, his wife, leaves the home without warning, Cardinaud sees her life cracking little by little.
- DirectorGilles GrangierStarsJean GabinPaul FrankeurMarcel BozzuffiA garage owner maintains his business as a front for his gang of criminals.
- DirectorJean DelannoyStarsJean GabinAnnie GirardotOlivier HussenotA serial killer is targeting women in the seedy district of Le Marais.
- DirectorDenys de La PatellièreStarsJean GabinAnnie DucauxJean DesaillyNoël Schoudler is the head of a wealthy and powerful family in France. He manages his financial and commercial concerns with an iron grip, leaving little room for his son François to prove himself.
- DirectorJean DelannoyStarsJean GabinMichel AuclairValentine TessierThe Countess de Saint-Fiacre, having received a terrible anonymous letter predicting her imminent death, summons Commissioner Maigret in the hope that he can protect her and save her from a secret ill-wisher.
- DirectorGeorges LacombeStarsPierre FresnayMichèle AlfaSuzy DelairSix friends promise to share their fortune in 5 years. The moment is very close, but one of the six is mysteriously murdered, then another... Superintendent Wenceslas Woroboyioetschik (aka Wens) is in charge of the investigation...
- DirectorHenri DecoinStarsDanielle DarrieuxMichel AuclairCorinne CalvetFrancois Roques, a power-and-money-mad editor of a Paris newspaper (who justifies his actions by calling attention to his poverty-stricken childhood), invites four women to a housewarming at his penthouse apartment. He plans on one of them to meet death by means of a loose railing on the balcony. The invitees are: Constance, Francois' first wife, whose love and integrity also stood in the way of his schemes; Vera Volpone, his second wife, from whom he is seeking a divorce, and who, with the aid of her lover, is blackmailing Ffancois; Maggy, his mistress who aids him in his illegal transactions; and Cecile, his fiancée, who is pregnant by another man. The women arrive, tension overwhelms them and the host, three of the women depart...and Francois is alone with his intended victim. Despite a misleading Review/Comment on this site-page, the keyword is "intended."
- DirectorBernard BorderieStarsEddie ConstantineDominique WilmsHoward VernonFBI Agent Lemmy is sent after a missing two million in Casablanca while mob boss mistress Carlotta plays both sides of the law.
- DirectorJean SachaStarsEddie ConstantineColette DeréalGrégoire AslanAn escaped convict on the run becomes the newest member of the international criminal network. In order to gain the respect of the gang, he gets involved in a plot to kidnap a rich American heiress.
- DirectorBernard BorderieStarsEddie ConstantineNadia GrayDominique WilmsLemmy Caution is back! He hooks up with a fellow agent at a night club to exchange info about a beautiful babe the FBI has under observation. Later, Eddie finds his fellow agent murdered and stuffed into a refrigerator! Who is the mysterious woman? Is she or her friends responsible for the murder? One of the better Caution series entries.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsEddie ConstantineMay BrittJean DanetA con man (Eddie Constantine) is approached by a shipping magnate to become one of his security agents.
- DirectorJohn BerryStarsEddie ConstantineBella DarviOlivier HussenotMichel was just released from prison when he is suspected of having killed his wife as she was the one who brought him into prison. She also betrayed him with Rupert, a journalist not wanting to become a part of the newspaper stories. Thus Rupert asks the reporter Barney to find proof for Michel's innocence. But the police already sees Michel back in prison.
- DirectorPierre ChevalierStarsEddie ConstantineMaria FrauFrançois PerrotA group of bandits conspire to kidnap a scientist who can help them manufacture diamonds.Unbeknownst to them , the FBI is already on their case.
- DirectorBernard BorderieStarsEddie ConstantinePascale RobertsLino VenturaA boat en route to a treasure hunting?
- DirectorPatrice DallyStarsEddie ConstantineDanik PatissonGaby AndréBob Stanley was an American secret agent during World War II in France. After the war Stanley returns to France as a consul. In reality, he works for the FBI, to roll up the organization that manufactures fake U.S. dollars. A violent confrontation is insurmountable.
- DirectorAlex JofféStarsNadja TillerRobert HosseinSilvia MonfortVicky de Berlin, a female gangster, haunted by wartime memories , runs a floating night-club in Brussel. Marcel, her partner and lover, is in charge of the banknotes forgery manufacture concealed in the bottom of the boat. He decides to rob the Bank of Belgium and exchange a huge sum of counterfeit money for its equivalent in genuine one. But things get complicated when Yoko, the she leader of another gang and her lover The Bug interfere...
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsErich von StroheimAlbert PréjeanJany HoltParis, 1937. Winckler kills his enemy Gordon, a Chicago mobster, from the stage of a Parisian music hall, where he performs telepathy. He pays another artist, Helene, so that she tells the police they've spent the night together, which doesn't fool Callas, the police officer who investigates the murder. He hires one of his fellow officers in order to seduce Helene.
- DirectorMaurice TourneurStarsAlbert PréjeanSanta RelliGermaine KerjeanA woman keeps coming to Quai Des Orfevres to see Inspector Maigret about disturbing events in her household.Maigret and his colleagues are annoyed, until this woman is found dead and they realize she was on to something.
- DirectorVictor TrivasStarsVladimir SokoloffMadeleine OzerayMarcelle WormsA gang of poverty-ridden juvenile delinquents progress from petty theft to hard crime, but a kindly judge manages to set most of them on the right path after they are finally apprehended.
- DirectorMarc MauretteStarsRaymond RouleauTramelNoël RoquevertPhilippe and Sylvie have to do with Alvarez, dangerous band leader. They break with him and commit robbery and murder. Sylvie offers Philippe to take refuge in his calm family.
- DirectorRichard PottierStarsAlbert PréjeanJuliette FaberJean TissierPicpus is a street and a subway stop where a number of murders have been committed, Maigret tries to find the killer.
- DirectorRaymond BernardStarsGaby MorlayCharles VanelLine NoroTwo sisters struggle to stay on the straight and narrow.
- DirectorRené JayetStarsAlbert PréjeanJunie AstorFrancine Bessy
- DirectorMaurice CamStarsAlbert PréjeanGinette LeclercAndré BruléOn his way to work on the subway, Pierre catches a glimpse of a man seemingly stabbing a woman.
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsConstant RémyGabriel GabrioPaule AndralEarly example of poetic realism: A grubby poor neighborhood, where buildings are slated to be taken down, reacts to the arrival of a young woman, whose father has spent time in prison.
- DirectorPierre ChenalStarsViviane RomanceLouis JouvetPierre RenoirTown trollop Safia, much against her better judgment, falls in love with Matteo, a beggar and mystic in the native quarter of Sirocco. She flees to France, first as the mistress and then wife of a wealthy archaeologist, and bears him Matteo's child, whom he believes to be his own. Complications arise years later when Matteo finds Safia, and a ring of blackmailers uncover her past and exposes her to her husband.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsFrançoise RosayAlbert PréjeanLisette LanvinJenny is a madam at a brothel. When her daughter comes back from England, she does not want her to find out what kind of job she really has.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsBoucot FilsGermaine AusseyJean WallA burlesque heist film with an O.Henry type twist ending.
- DirectorWilly RozierStarsTony WrightLysiane ReyColette RipertA ship has sunk;insurance premium: a hundred million Francs.
- DirectorWilly RozierStarsTony WrightMagali VendeuilRobert Berri
- DirectorWilly RozierStarsTony WrightDominique WilmsDany DaubersonCarlos, a weapons trader, is struck by his resemblance to a certain Slim. Wishing to take advantage of this situation, the mafioso asked the latter to be the commander of his ship.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsMichel SimonRaymond RouleauJohn van DreelenThree episodes of a police nature, one of them starring Maigret and the other Lemmy Caution.
- DirectorRaymond BernardStarsEdwige FeuillèreFrank VillardJean DebucourtLyria, a faded beauty who runs a seedy waterfront bar, is madly in love with Bob, a crooked attorney. Bob can't bring himself to confess his love for Minnie, the pretty daughter of Simon, a safe cracker. In order to run away with her, Bob, one of the masterminds of a big-time robbery, betrays his friends. But Lyria, who has found out what is happening, makes Minnie fall into a deadly trap...
- DirectorGeorges LacombeStarsFrançoise ArnoulRenée FaureJean-Claude MichelA female journalist beats two male rivals to a scoop by exposing a white slave racket going on right in 50s Paris.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsKäthe von NagyJules BerrySuzy PrimTwo journalists from different papers are looking for the same story. They want to know, who a group of gangsters getting young women from Europe to South America, where they are forced to work in brothels. But the gangsters have their own battels against each over, so the journalists can escape the danger, in which they've brought themselves.
- DirectorCurtis BernhardtStarsCharles VanelJules BerrySuzy PrimA amnesiac industrialist is tricked into a game of mistaken identity.
- DirectorJean SachaStarsLouis SalouClaude GéniaAndré Valmy
- DirectorRichard PottierStarsAlbert PréjeanSuzy PrimJacques BaumerA murder has been committed in the basement of the Grand Hotel Majestic. Ms Petersen's body was indeed discovered in the staff locker rooms by a kitchen employee. Commissioner Maigret and Inspector Lucas are in charge of the case.