British Noir
British film noir - from 1930s precursors to films influenced by Hollywood ( and France ) , films made by blacklisted emigrees , and the huge amount of second feature , low budget crime films .
These crime films culminate in the early to mid sixties with the Edgar Wallace series , plus the Edgar Lustgarten shorts . After that there are individual films that could be described as neo noir .
These crime films culminate in the early to mid sixties with the Edgar Wallace series , plus the Edgar Lustgarten shorts . After that there are individual films that could be described as neo noir .
List activity
5.9K views
• 9 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
906 titles
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenAlida ValliPulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsJames MasonRobert NewtonCyril CusackA wounded Irish nationalist leader attempts to evade police following a failed robbery in Belfast.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsJames MasonClaire BloomHildegard KnefIn post-WW2 Berlin, when travel to the East was still possible, the sister of a British officer from West Berlin is abducted by Communist agents and taken into the Soviet sector where her eventual rescue is arranged by a German smuggler.
- 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.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsRobert NewtonSally GrayPhil BrownClive Riordan plans a devilish revenge against his wife's lover.
- DirectorArthur B. WoodsStarsEmlyn WilliamsAnna KonstamAllan JeayesA convict, just out of prison, is implicated in a murder and goes on the run, hitching a ride with a truck driver.
- DirectorCy EndfieldStarsStanley BakerHerbert LomPeggy CumminsA rookie trucker tries to expose his boss' rackets.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsLaurence HarveyGloria GrahameRichard BasehartIn London, three otherwise law-abiding good men and their unscrupulous leader are about to commit a serious crime, but for different reasons.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsStanley BakerSam WanamakerGrégoire AslanIn the UK, after pulling a racetrack robbery, repeat offender Johnny Bannion hides the loot in a farmer's field but the police and the local mob come looking for Johnny and the money.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsStanley BakerJohn CrawfordDonald PleasenceIn Britain, a Manchester police inspector becomes obsessed with capturing a criminal who escapes from prison.
- DirectorSidney HayersStarsMichael CraigFrançoise PrévostBillie WhitelawA gang plans to steal a factory's wages, but an armored van foils them. They rob anyway, killing the driver. His vengeful wife and encroaching police make the gang betray each other.
- DirectorSt. John Legh ClowesStarsJack La RueHugh McDermottLinden TraversJohn Blandish is worth $100 million. His heiress daughter is soon to be wed to Foster Harvey, who believes she's a cold, unfeeling woman, despite loving her. Her cold emotional state is in large part due to leading a restricted life. A low level thug named Johnny overhears their secret wedding night plans, and peddles the idea of robbing her of the $100,000 worth of diamond jewelry with which she will be adorned to two groups of his gangster acquaintances, who are in competition with each other. The robbery doesn't go quite according to plan, with Miss Blandish ultimately being kidnapped and held under the eye of Slim Grisson, the heir apparent as head of the violent Grisson gang, currently run by Ma Grisson. Kidnapping holds higher risk but possible greater reward as everyone figures they can get at least $1 million for her. Ma has no plans of letting her go, killing her after getting the money. But a surprise move by Slim, who has a secret past with Miss Blandish, turns the tables on the kidnapping and in turn Miss Blandish's emotional state. She ends up falling in love with him, and he with her. They know they can't live in either of their worlds, but even if they can escape together, will there be a future for them together always being on the run from both sides as well as the Grisson's competitors?
- DirectorPeter YatesStarsStanley BakerJoanna PettetJames BoothA group of British criminals plan the robbery of the Royal Mail train on the Glasgow-London route.
- DirectorJohn BoultingStarsRichard AttenboroughHermione BaddeleyWilliam HartnellIn Brighton in 1935, small-time gang leader Pinkie Brown murders a journalist and later desperately tries to cover his tracks but runs into trouble with the police, a few witnesses, and a rival gang.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsSally GrayTrevor HowardGriffith JonesAfter WW2, former RAF airman Clem Morgan joins a gang of black-market smugglers-thieves but when a robbery goes wrong, Clem is caught , framed for a policeman's murder, and is sent to prison where he plots his escape and revenge.
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsRalph RichardsonMichèle MorganSonia DresdelA butler working in a foreign embassy in London falls under suspicion when his wife accidentally falls to her death, the only witness being an impressionable young boy.
- DirectorAnthony KimminsStarsBurgess MeredithDulcie GrayMichael ShepleyPretty Molly Lucian (Barbara White) enlists the reluctant aid of psychologist Felix Milne (Burgess Meredith) in treating her potentially homicidal husband Adam (Kieron Moore), who refuses to see a "real" psychiatrist. Traumatized in a Japanese prison camp, Adam proves to be on the verge of severe schizophrenia. In his risky struggle to help Adam, Felix finds his none-too-functional home life deteriorating, and is unable to help himself as he helps others. The situation rushes headlong to a suspenseful climax.
- DirectorPen TennysonStarsJimmy HanleyEdward RigbyMary ClareA young boxer falls in with a crooked fight promoter.
- DirectorJohn HarlowStarsWilliam HartnellRobert BeattyJoyce HowardAn ex-con, released after imprisonment for a jewel theft, swears vengeance on his former accomplices and devises an intricate plan to steal their fortune.
- DirectorDavid MacDonaldStarsDiana DorsGeorge MerrittFlora RobsonA young girl from the ghetto gets involved with some criminals. Driving while drunk, she knocks down and kills a Policeman. She runs away with two G. I.s who are also on the run and they start a crime wave.
- DirectorLewis AllenStarsRay MillandAnn ToddGeraldine FitzgeraldOlivia Harwood, missionary's widow, meets charming Mark Bellis, artist and rogue, on the ship taking them both back to 1890s London. After Olivia opens a lodging house, Mark becomes her lodger then her lover. Olivia falls so completely under amoral Mark's spell that he's able to overcome her scruples, and soon she's his willing tool in an ambitious scheme of theft and blackmail...maybe too ambitious.
- DirectorIrving RapperStarsBette DavisGary MerrillEmlyn WilliamsA mystery writer becomes involved in a tangled web of murderous deception not unlike the plots of her novels.
- DirectorEdmond T. GrévilleStarsCarole LandisJoseph CalleiaDerek FarrIn post- WW2 Britain, an American fashion journalist, her ex-army fiancé, and a gang of honest toughs from a local gym attempt to bring black market organized crime to justice.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsGoogie WithersJack WarnerJohn McCallumAn escaped convict tries to hide out at his former lover's house, but she has since married and is reluctant to help him.
- DirectorFrancis SearleStarsRobert PrestonElizabeth SellarsColin TapleyA Canadian World War II veteran working for the British Foreign Office scours England for the killer who murdered his wife.
- DirectorRalph ThomasStarsJean SimmonsTrevor HowardSonia DresdelA former British agent is employed at the Fenton country estate where he aids Fenton's niece in eluding the police after she's unjustly accused of murdering a local gamekeeper.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiCharles CrichtonBasil DeardenStarsMervyn JohnsMichael RedgraveRoland CulverGuests invited to a weekend in the country share their supernatural stories, beginning with Walter Craig, who senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsVictor MatureDiana DorsPatrick AllenAfter leaving his U.S. Army job in Germany, a trucker takes a long-haul driver job in Britain where he runs into an organized-crime syndicate that controls the trucking industry.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsDiana DorsYvonne MitchellMichael CraigWoman abused by men meets a man she thinks loves her. He cheats, she kills his mistress. Based on Ruth Ellis, last woman executed in Britain. Less than
- DirectorGordon ParryStarsDiana DorsGeorge BakerTerence MorganAn irresistible temptress causes trouble between two brothers when the more handsome charismatic ones turns up, leading to robbery and death.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsHardy KrügerStanley BakerMicheline PresleIn 1950s London, Dutch painter Jan Van Rooyen has an affair with a rich married Frenchwoman who is supposedly murdered, resulting in Van Rooyen becoming Scotland Yard's prime suspect.
- DirectorMario SoldatiStarsTrevor HowardAlida ValliRichard BasehartA British lad tries to investigate his father's disappearance in Venice when nobody believes him.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsTrevor HowardAnouk AiméeHerbert LomA man is torn between tackling a sinister crime syndicate or turning a blind eye to the suffering it creates.
- DirectorLaslo BenedekStarsTrevor HowardDorothy DandridgeEdmund PurdomA jewel thief pulls off a big heist, stabs his partner-in-crime in the back, dumps his girlfriend and goes on the run with the loot. The ex-partner and the girlfriend team up to go after him.
- DirectorRoy KellinoStarsJames MasonSylvia ColeridgeWilliam DevlinFarmer Mark Warrow lives an unhappy existence with his shrewish wife Martha. His only happiness comes from his dog. When his wife loses her temper and kills his beloved pet, Warrow snaps and murders Martha. He goes on the run and comes across a young woman in a caravan. She gives him a lift and unbeknownst to him, she recognizes him and plans to write a book called "I Met a Murderer". She unexpectedly falls for him as the police close in.
- DirectorBrian Desmond HurstStarsRalph RichardsonDiana WynyardRomney BrentA barber commits a petty theft, which leads to his becoming involved in blackmail and murder.
- DirectorLawrence HuntingtonStarsEric PortmanDulcie GrayDerek FarrA woman becomes the target of a man who is gradually becoming insane, unable to resist his urge to strangle women to death, but who appears to be purposely leaving pieces of evidence behind.
- DirectorLance ComfortStarsRobert NewtonSimone SimonWilliam HartnellA signalman on a quay sees a fight between two men. One of the men is deliberately pushed into the water and the signalman cannot save him, but decides to keep his suitcase which he later finds is full of banknotes with a value of £5000.
- DirectorJohn Paddy CarstairsStarsRichard AttenboroughBarry K. BarnesSheila SimA London cab driver gets mixed up with a criminal gang and sets out to expose the group and its leader for what they are.
- DirectorSidney GilliatStarsRichard AttenboroughAlastair SimWylie WatsonPercy Boon lives with his mother in a shared rented house with an assortment of characters in central London. Although well intentioned, Percy becomes mixed up with gangsters and a murder. The story focuses on the effects this has on Percy and the other residents.
- DirectorArthur CrabtreeStarsEric PortmanGreta GyntDennis PriceA businessman plans to kill his cheating wife's lover and make it look like suicide.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsJohn MillsJoan GreenwoodEdward ChapmanWhen the murder of a young woman happens, her next-door neighbor is under suspicion due to his previous stay in a mental hospital.
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsJohn MillsJohn McCallumElizabeth SellarsReleased from prison after twelve years, a wrongfully convicted British man seeks revenge on the witnesses who lied at his trial.
- DirectorSidney GilliatStarsJohn MillsStewart GrangerAlastair SimA drama set during World War II. A tale of adultery and desertion.
- DirectorLawrence HuntingtonStarsJames MasonRosamund JohnPamela MasonA British brain surgeon punishes the murderess of his lover.
- DirectorHarold HuthStarsAnne CrawfordRonald HowardFred GrovesAfter World War II is over, two Army pals take opposite paths in civilian life. One becomes a petty criminal, the other becomes a policeman.
- DirectorDaniel BirtStarsValerie HobsonRichard ToddChristine NordenA writer eloping with his mistress by train has second thoughts, pulls the emergency brake, bails out and witnesses the train's collision with another train, events eventually leading to murder and a police manhunt.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsStephen MurrayRichard ToddPatricia PlunkettChristy Drew, an aspiring young writer trying to broaden his experience, gets involved with Frankie Ketchen and her two suitors, Herb Logan and Jim Heal. One night, Jim finds Frankie has been with Christy and kills her. Herb is accused of the murder and sentenced to prison. After he gets out, he blames Christy but finally proves Jim to be the real killer, based on a clue provided to him by Christy, now a famous writer.
- DirectorRoy KellinoStarsPeter ReynoldsPatrick HoltLawrence O'MaddenAfter a failed bank robbery the getaway driver flees to the Devon countryside and the farm of his uncle.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsDonald SindenMuriel PavlowTony WrightIn wartime France, a young officer is killed during a raid to kill a German general at the house that used to belong to his grandmother. Before he dies, he talks about a treasure that was hidden there. Several years later, the members of that group are still together as a street band living in a London cellar. The last of the gang, who was chosen for his skills as a ruthless killer, escapes from prison in a rampage of killing and, obsessed with the treasure, takes the gang to France to recover it.
- DirectorCliff OwenStarsStanley BakerHelmut SchmidTom BellA criminal gang sets out to pull off the heist of a large army payroll.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyAlec C. SnowdenStarsRichard BasehartMary MurphyConstance CummingsA married movie studio executive's life starts to unravel when he is stalked by a seductively beautiful woman he claims he does not know.
- DirectorJohn BoultingRoy BoultingStarsBarry JonesAndré MorellOlive SloaneWhen a scientist threatens to detonate a powerful bomb in the heart of London, Scotland Yard has just seven days to find him before it is too late.
- DirectorPatrick JenkinsSam NewfieldStarsDane ClarkKathleen ByronNaomi ChanceA social-climbing American with a business in illegal gambling falls in love with a blue blood, but gangsters and a jealous ex-girlfriend stand in the way of happiness.
- DirectorReginald Le BorgStarsBarbara PaytonFrederick ValkJohn SlaterA scheming blonde seduces a fighter and convinces him to murder her husband, a fight manager.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsGeorge BrentMarguerite ChapmanRaymond HuntleyThe married owner of a bookstore is attracted to his sexy blonde clerk. He finally gives in to temptation and makes a pass at her, but that only results in him getting enmeshed in blackmail and murder.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsPaul HenreidLizabeth ScottAndré MorellA doctor repairs a female inmate's disfigured face to match the lovely woman who left him, and marries her, only to find out how abusive she is.
- DirectorGodfrey GraysonStarsDennis O'KeefeColeen GrayHugh WilliamsOn loan to the Tate Gallery in London, Da Vinci's 'Madonna and Child' is stolen and replaced with a fake but the American security expert working for Tate aims to recover the original painting and catch the culprits.
- DirectorMontgomery TullyStarsDan DuryeaElsie AlbiinGudrun UreAn American pilot AWOL from the states is framed for his wife's murder and has just 36 hours to prove his innocence.
- DirectorTed TetzlaffStarsGlenn FordAnne VernonMaurice DenhamAfter a terrorist plants a bomb on board a train, the police call in an army bomb disposal expert to find and dismantle it, but once it has been made safe, he has another shock in store.
- DirectorMontgomery TullyStarsDane ClarkCecile ChevreauPaul CarpenterA failed business deal forces James Nevill to blackmail his weak-willed friend into murdering him so that his wife can collect his insurance, but circumstances suddenly change.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsDane ClarkBelinda LeeBetty Ann DaviesA broke American in London meets a woman who offers to pay him for a marriage of convenience. He agrees, but awakes bloodied in a strange place, having unknowingly become entangled in her father's murder.
- DirectorKen HughesStarsSydney ChaplinAudrey DaltonJefferson CliffordA falling-out between thieves over the proceeds of a stickup results in several killings and a priest being marked for murder because of a confession he heard from one of the gang members.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsDirk BogardeMargaret LockwoodKay WalshEdward "Teddy" Bare is a delusional psychotic with a lust for wealth, older women and murder. Having committed what he thinks is the perfect murder of his elderly wife; Teddy sets his sights on new targets when her fortune goes elsewhere.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsRichard ToddAnne BaxterHerbert LomAt Kimberley Prescott's villa, a stranger shows up and claims he is her brother who supposedly died the previous year in a car accident.
- DirectorArthur LubinStarsStewart GrangerJean SimmonsBill TraversIn early-1900s England, a maid tries to blackmail her master into romancing her when she discovers that he murdered his wife.
- DirectorAnthony YoungStarsGriffith JonesPatricia LaffanJames KenneyA man wakes up in a strange location with a gun in his hand and a dead body, not knowing how the whole thing happened. He doesn't remember anything about the whole scenario.
- DirectorSeth HoltBasil DeardenStarsGeorge NaderMaggie SmithBernard LeeIn London, a Canadian serving prison time for grand theft escapes prison and attempts to retrieve his loot, kept in a bank safety deposit box, but his accomplice takes the security key while he only has the pass code.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsStanley BakerAnne HeywoodDavid McCallumThe struggle between a Liverpool Juvenile Liaison officer and a dangerous young pyromaniac.
- DirectorCharles SaundersStarsAlan BaxterBarbara ShelleyFerdy MayneThe wife of a night club owner frames an American writer for his murder.
- DirectorMuriel BoxStarsVan JohnsonHildegard KnefAlbert Lieven1959. Drama. Directed by Muriel Box. Starring Hildegard Knef, Katherine Kath and Van Johnson. A military doctor is falsely accused of dealing illegal drugs. Can he prove his innocence?
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsKarlheinz BöhmAnna MasseyMoira ShearerA young man murders women, using a movie camera to film their dying expressions of terror.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsJack WarnerRonald LewisYolande DonlanA woman is found murdered in a house along the coast from Brighton. Local detectives Fellows and Wilks lead an investigation methodically following up leads and clues mostly in Brighton and Hove but also further afield.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsNigel PatrickYvonne MitchellMichael CraigThe murder of a young woman in London exposes deep racial tensions and prejudices inherent in the area.
- DirectorJoseph LoseyStarsDirk BogardeAlexis SmithAlexander KnoxAfter a convict breaks in a psychotherapist's home, he agrees to rehabilitation rather than arrest but the therapist's wife becomes infatuated with him.
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsJack WarnerDirk BogardeJimmy HanleyThe daily routine of two London Policemen is interrupted by a killer.
- DirectorLance ComfortStarsMargaret LockwoodIan HunterBarry K. BarnesBedelia, a newly remarried beautiful widow, is on honeymoon in Monte Carlo. A painter approaches her inquiring about her past. When she and her husband go back to England the artist will soon be there. Danger, crime and truth will follow.
- DirectorWolf RillaStarsMaxwell ReedSandra DorneLeslie Dwyer1953. Crime drama directed by Wolf Rilla and starring Maxwell Reed and Sandra Dorne. The wife of the garage owner is caught with the mechanic, when he is accidentally killed and a cover up begins.
- DirectorAlbert S. RogellStarsMona FreemanJean KentMaxwell ReedA college student returns home to attend her father's funeral and begins to suspect her stepmother of foul play.
- DirectorMax VarnelStarsPhilip FriendSusan BeaumontJohn Martin
- DirectorJohn GillingStarsLarry ParksConstance SmithLisa DanielyOn the first night of his London assignment, news agency reporter John Desmond becomes heavily involved with enigmatic Anna Ray. The affair ends when she is shot struggling for a gun she has pulled on him. This is only the start of his troubles, as Anna worked for a criminal organisation who know Desmond has now got her valuable contacts list.
- DirectorDavid MacDonaldStarsMark StevensJean KentGarry MarshDuring a London reunion of a World War II RAF unit, an American pilot gets into a fight with one of his buddies, who is drunk and belligerent. The next day the pilot wakes up in a strange hotel room with blood on his suit, and can't remember how he got there. Then he discovers that the friend he fought with the night before has been murdered, and he is a prime suspect.
- DirectorAntony DarnboroughTerence FisherStarsJean SimmonsDirk BogardeDavid TomlinsonVicky Barton visits Paris with her brother Johnny, only to discover the following morning he has gone missing and the hotel staff have no recollection of his presence.
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsRex HarrisonPeggy CumminsWilliam HartnellA convict sentenced to three years for killing a detective escapes from a prison and goes on the run aided by a local girl.
- DirectorFrank NesbittStarsDan DuryeaPatricia OwensRichard LeechIn England, an American expat is hired by a woman to kill her ex-husband but things are not what they seem to be at first glance.
- DirectorFrank NesbittStarsDan DuryeaIsa MirandaGwen WatfordThe kidnap of a child goes wrong and the child dies. An old lady is the only witness having heard the disguised voice of the kidnapper from outside a public telephone box. To trap the murderer she tells the press she has seen his face.
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsKim StanleyRichard AttenboroughMargaret LaceyA medium and her husband stage a kidnapping in order for her to pretend to solve the crime and achieve fame.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsSylvia SymsHerbert LomRonald HowardSurrounded by new 1950s East End high-rise flats, a London detective thinks back to how different things were in the late 1930s. Then it was an area of overcrowded tenements teeming with impoverished unemployed people with little or no hope. He relates the story of attractive young Hetty who desperately tried to stop her younger brother descending into crime while her mother was endlessly urging her to take up with Wilkie, a smooth local racketeer, in the belief this would get the family out of poverty.
- DirectorTerry BishopStarsHarry H. CorbettFelicity YoungSpencer TeakleSet in the sleazy world of a backstreet 1950s nightclub, a serial killer is believed to be murdering the models of a glamour magazine.
- DirectorJohn HarlowStarsBen LyonAnne CrawfordDavid FarrarA struggling circus finds salvation in the form of an exciting new twist on their high-wire act.
- DirectorLance ComfortMutz GreenbaumVictor HanburyStarsJames MasonLucie MannheimRaymond LovellA hunt for a spy, in an hotel in the South of France just before World War Two.
- DirectorSeth HoltStarsSusan StrasbergAnn ToddRonald LewisA wheelchair-bound young woman returns to her father's estate after 10 years, and although she's told he's away, she keeps seeing his dead body on the estate.
- DirectorMichael CarrerasStarsKerwin MathewsNadia GrayDonald HoustonAn American painter has an affair with a bar owner in a French village and agrees to help murder her husband, who has escaped from a prison for the criminally insane.
- DirectorFreddie FrancisStarsDavid KnightMoira RedmondJennie LindenThe nights of young private-school student Janet are troubled by horrible dreams in which her mother, who is actually locked up in a mental institution, haunts her. When her persistent nightmares get her expelled and sent home, those visions insist on continuing to plague her at home.
- DirectorFreddie FrancisStarsJanette ScottOliver ReedSheila BurrellA man long believed dead returns to the family estate to claim his inheritance.
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsPeter van EyckBetta St. JohnMandy MillerAlthough the police have termed her mother's death a suicide, a teenage girl believes her step-father murdered her.
- DirectorQuentin LawrenceStarsPeter CushingAndré MorellRichard VernonA charming but ruthless criminal holds the family of a bank manager hostage as part of a cold-blooded plan to steal 97,000 pounds.
- DirectorVernon SewellStarsChristine NordenRobert AyresJennifer JayneMark Sherwin ( Robert Ayres) is the victim of a brutal beating and car theft. The thief dies in a crash; Mark suffers from amnesia, and recuperates on a horse-training property. Discovering a clue, he returns home to find he had been declared dead, his wife welcomes him back, only to plan a real death for him so she and his best friend (with whom she is having an affair) can get his substantial wealth.
- DirectorVal GuestStarsClaude DauphinDiane CilentoRonald LewisAfter surviving a traumatic car accident, a race car driver travels to the Cote D'Azur to recover but is plagued by an urge to strangle his wife.
- DirectorCharles SaundersStarsPatrick BarrJane BaxterJulie SomersAn older doctor in a rural area takes on a younger physician as his partner. When the older doctor's wife is found murdered, the man becomes the chief suspect, especially when he suddenly disappears. His new partner. not believing that he did it, sets out to discover the real killer.