The best classic film noir movies
The top 3 according to 121 votes from people: Double Indemnity (1944) · The Third Man (1949) · The Maltese Falcon (1941). (Updated Jul 29, 2026.)
Private eyes, femmes fatales and rain-slicked streets: the classic-era noirs of the 1940s and 1950s that critics rank highest (BFI, MovieWeb, Collider).
Top 15
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1
Double Indemnity (1944)
Billy Wilder, Barbara Stanwyck and an insurance scheme.
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2
The Third Man (1949)
Harry Lime in post-war Vienna and the zither theme.
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3
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Bogart as Sam Spade in John Huston's debut.
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4
Out of the Past (1947)
Robert Mitchum can't escape his past or Jane Greer.
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5
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Burt Lancaster as a ruthless columnist.
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6
Laura (1944)
A detective falls for a murdered woman's portrait.
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7
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
A screenwriter floating in Norma Desmond's pool.
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8
The Big Sleep (1946)
Bogart, Bacall and a plot nobody fully understands.
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9
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Bogart and Gloria Grahame, a love under suspicion.
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10
Touch of Evil (1958)
Orson Welles and that opening long take on the border.
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11
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Robert Mitchum's preacher with LOVE and HATE on his knuckles.
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12
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
Mike Hammer and a glowing box.
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13
Detour (1945)
A hitchhiker's bad luck on a shoestring budget.
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14
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Two strangers, two murders; Hitchcock.
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15
The Killing (1956)
Kubrick's racetrack heist told out of order.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 15… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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16
Gun Crazy (1950)
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.
Is something missing?
Comments (3)
Double Indemnity at the top is correct. Stanwyck is the ultimate femme fatale.
Glad to see Detour here, made for nothing and better than half the big studio ones
Out of the Past should be higher, Mitchum is the coolest man in any noir