# The best classic film noir movies

Private eyes, femmes fatales and rain-slicked streets: the classic-era noirs of the 1940s and 1950s that critics rank highest (BFI, MovieWeb, Collider).

- 121 votes · 16 items
- Jul 29, 2026 · Kirsty Cox
- https://even.best/en/l/2069/the-best-classic-film-noir-movies

## Top 15

1. **Double Indemnity (1944)** (12 · ▲14 ▼2) — Billy Wilder, Barbara Stanwyck and an insurance scheme.
2. **The Third Man (1949)** (9 · ▲9 ▼0) — Harry Lime in post-war Vienna and the zither theme.
3. **The Maltese Falcon (1941)** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — Bogart as Sam Spade in John Huston's debut.
4. **Out of the Past (1947)** (7 · ▲9 ▼2) — Robert Mitchum can't escape his past or Jane Greer.
5. **Sweet Smell of Success (1957)** (7 · ▲8 ▼1) — Burt Lancaster as a ruthless columnist.
6. **Laura (1944)** (7 · ▲8 ▼1) — A detective falls for a murdered woman's portrait.
7. **Sunset Boulevard (1950)** (5 · ▲7 ▼2) — A screenwriter floating in Norma Desmond's pool.
8. **The Big Sleep (1946)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Bogart, Bacall and a plot nobody fully understands.
9. **In a Lonely Place (1950)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Bogart and Gloria Grahame, a love under suspicion.
10. **Touch of Evil (1958)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — Orson Welles and that opening long take on the border.
11. **The Night of the Hunter (1955)** (4 · ▲4 ▼0) — Robert Mitchum's preacher with LOVE and HATE on his knuckles.
12. **Kiss Me Deadly (1955)** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — Mike Hammer and a glowing box.
13. **Detour (1945)** (3 · ▲4 ▼1) — A hitchhiker's bad luck on a shoestring budget.
14. **Strangers on a Train (1951)** (2 · ▲2 ▼0) — Two strangers, two murders; Hitchcock.
15. **The Killing (1956)** (0 · ▲5 ▼5) — Kubrick's racetrack heist told out of order.
16. **Gun Crazy (1950)** (-1 · ▲1 ▼2) — A couple of sharpshooters on a robbery spree.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.