It's a Wonderful World (1939), How to Steal a Million (1966), After the Storm (2016), The Nice Guys (2016), Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), The Kid Detective (2020), Motherless Brooklyn (2019), My Favorite Brunette (1947) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Private Detective movies.
Storyline: Based on the true story of Daniel Lugo (Mark Wahlberg) a Miami bodybuilder who wants to live the American dream. He would like to have the money that other people have. So he enlists the help of fellow bodybuilder Adrian Doorbal (Anthony Mackie) and ex-convict, Christian bodybuilder Paul Doyle (Dwayne Johnson). Their kidnapping and extortion scheme goes terribly wrong since they have muscles for brains and they're left to haphazardly try to hold onto the elusive American dream.
Plot Keywords: gym instructor, businessman, wealthy man, private detective, motivational speaker, brash, unrestrained ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Tim Callahan, aide to New York Senator Lauren Platt, is disappointed that all of the $3 million funding has been pulled from his latest pet project, a safe zone for children and youth. His personal partner, private investigator Donald Strachey, believes Tim's passion for the project stems from the fact of his own sister's troubled youth, she who has been missing since age seventeen. Tim believes his prayers have been answered when a man, identifying himself as a lawyer, tells him that he represents someone who wants to make a $3 million anonymous donation to the project. Those prayers turn into a nightmare when that lawyer is later found murdered, the dead body in Donald's car. The murdered man is Jake Lenigan, a third generation lawyer in a powerful family law firm. Jake's father was murdered twelve years earlier, the perceived suspect in that case being his wife Joan, who has since disappeared. Tim and Donald's situation becomes even more nightmarish when Tim anonymously receives that $3 million in untraceable Euro bonds. The murderer will do whatever is necessary to get that money back from Tim and Donald, the latter who is working with the police to find Lenigan's purpose in wanting to donate the money to Tim's cause, find if Jake's father's murder has anything to do with this case, discover the owner of the money and thus the probable murderer, and most importantly protect himself and his boyfriend from being possible murder victims.—Huggo
Plot Keywords: lawyer, private investigator, murderer, murder suspect, murder victim, dark, chilling ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: The Lone Wolf undercover to foil the Nazis stealing the plans!
Plot Keywords: spy, private detective, nazi, naval officer, confident, gripping, suspenseful ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Uncle Joe is ageing. He's also a millionaire. That's why his family is trying so very hard to get into his good books. They all want a piece of his empire. Unfortunately Uncle Joe isn't as stupid as his family thinks he is. He can see that his family is only nice to him because they want his money. Along comes Daniel McTeague, a struggling bowler, imported from another city by his family, to put an end to this ridiculous situation. The fight won't be easy, though, because the poor family has a little bit of competition - A beautiful nurse who takes care of Uncle Joe (and no doubt would love to take care of his bank account). Who gets all the money?
Plot Keywords: uncle, nurse, bowler, private detective, producer, wife, madcap ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Retired ex-cop and private detective Harry Ross (Paul Newman), who lives with rich actor Jack Ames (Gene Hackman), who is dying from cancer and his actress wife Catherine (Susan Sarandon) gets mixed up in murder when he is asked to deliver blackmail money. He walks into a twenty-year-old case involving the mysterious disappearance of Catherine's former husband. Raymond Hope (James Garner) is another ex-cop who also does occasional errands for the couple.—John Sacksteder <jsackste@bellsouth.net>
Plot Keywords: private detective, movie star, friend, daughter, police officer, chauffeur, uneasy ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: When a chemical manufacturer is killed after asking detective James Wong to help him, Wong investigates this and two subsequent murders. He uncovers an international spy ring hoping to steal the formula for a poison gas being developed by the first victim's company.
Plot Keywords: private detective, police officer, factory owner, scientist, secretary, murder victim, suspenseful ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: In New York City, detective Billy Taggart goes to court for the murder of the rapist Mikey Tavarez, but the Mayor Nicholas Hostetler and the Chief of Police Carl Fairbanks vanish with important evidence and Billy is declared not guilty by the judge; however, he leaves the police department. Seven years later, Billy is a private detective and lives with his girlfriend Natalie Barrow, who is an aspiring actress and the sister of Mikey's victim. His secretary Katy Bradshaw (Alona Tal) is trying to collect part of the debts to save their business. In the week of the elections, Hostetler summons Billy and offers $25,000 to investigate his wife, Cathleen Hostetler, whom he believes is having a love affair. Billy discovers that Cathleen is meeting Paul Andrews, who is the coordinator of the campaign of Jack Valliant, the opponent of Hostetler and favorite in the election. When Paul is found dead on the street, Billy finds that he had been double-crossed by Hostetler and he decides to ...
Plot Keywords: ex-cop, mayor, wife, lover, colleague, private detective, cool ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Based on the actual events of the West Memphis Three, where three young boys were savagely murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas in 1993. Spurred on by the demand from a grieving town, the local police act quickly to bring three "devil-worshipping" teenagers to trial. With their lives hanging in the balance, investigator Ron Lax is trying to find the truth between the town's need for justice and the guilt of the accused.
Plot Keywords: mother, private detective, murderer, murder suspect, child, melodramatic, intense ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A pretty Chinese woman, seeking help from San Francisco detective James Lee Wong, is killed by a poisoned dart in his front hall, having time only to scrawl "Captain J" on a sheet of paper. She proves to be Princess Lin Hwa, on a secret military mission for Chinese forces fighting the Japanese invasion. Mr. Wong finds two captains with the intial J in the case, neither being quite what he seems; there's fog on the waterfront and someone still has that poison-dart gun...—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: private detective, princess, captain, reporter, police captain, bank president, charming ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A black detective becomes embroiled in a web of danger while searching for a fortune in missing drug money.During the course of his investigation, he encounters various old connections, ultimately confronting the criminal responsible for Shame's expulsion from the force. He must also deal with two women, Angela, a beautiful old flame, and Peaches, his energetic but annoying sidekick.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: private detective, secretary, dea agent, drug lord, friend, old flame, amusing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Sardonic detective Shane, thrown out of one town for bringing trouble, heads for home and his ex-partner's detective agency. The business is in a sad way, and Shane, who has had the forethought to provide himself with a 250-dollar commission from an old lady on the train, is welcomed with open arms. When pretty Valerie Purvis walks in the next day willing to pay over the odds to put a tail on the man who did her wrong, Shane's way with the ladies looks like paying off yet again. But things start to go wrong when his partner is murdered, and Shane himself comes home to find his apartment wrecked by a gentlemanly crook who comes back to apologise -- and to tell him a fascinating fairy-story about the fabled Horn of Roland that looks like not being so mythical after all. Miss Purvis wants protection. The police want answers. And all sorts of people want the 'French horn'... but Shane is one jump ahead of everyone all the way. Well, almost.—Igenlode Wordsmith
Plot Keywords: private detective, pretty woman, client, partner, englishman, secretary, airy ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A high school baseball coach (Krumholtz) and a down-on-his-luck private investigator (Burns) form a bond as they scour New York City for the coach's wife, who's run away with a second-rate rock star. As in Burns' previous films, the city itself becomes a character as the two men confront their fear of change and the familiar habit of loneliness.—Anonymous
Plot Keywords: baseball coach, private detective, wife, rock star, brooding, emotional, amusing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: A tale about two young boys, Prosper and Bo, who flee to Venice after being orphaned and dumped in the care of a cruel auntie. Hiding in the canals and alleyways of the city, the boys are befriended by a gang of young urchins and their enigmatic leader, the Thief Lord. From their home base of an old cinema theater, the children steal from the rich to support themselves and soon capture the interest of a bumbling detective. However, a greater threat to the children is something from a forgotten past-- a beautiful magical treasure with the power to spin time itself.—Kasey and Toby
Plot Keywords: young boy, teen boy, orphan, private detective, thief, father figure, amusing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Singer-turned-boxer Andy 'Kid' Clave signs a contract with a shady promoter Joaquin Vargas. But Clave turns against Vargas when the promoter's thugs kill Clave's girlfriend when he thinks about backing out of the contract. While seeking a way to get revenge against Vargas, Clave learns that he has a blood clot in his head. But nothing will deter him from getting his revenge and making a shot at the title.—Matt Patay
Plot Keywords: boxer, promoter, girlfriend, thug, gangster, private detective, rousing ...
Movie Details Click Here!Storyline: Harry is the latest generation of the Crumbs, famous and extremely talented detectives. Unfortunately talent seems to have skipped a generation and Harry is reduced to "gumshoe" work at a remote branch of the Crumb detective agency. Back at headquarters, Crumb executive Elliot Draison hatches an evil plan which requires the inclusion of an incompetent detective. With Harry Crumb on the case Draison thinks everything will run fine for him. Despite his best efforts Crumb actually makes some headway in the case...
Plot Keywords: private detective, boss, wife, heiress, wealthy man, executive, outlandish ...
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