Act of Violence (1949), Sweet Smell of Success (1957), Out of the Past (1947), Sin City (2005), The Big Heat (1953), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), The Narrow Margin (1952), A Bittersweet Life (2005) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Hard-boiled movies.
Storyline: When Johnny comes home from the navy he finds his wife Helen kissing her substitute boyfriend Eddie, the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. Helen admits her drunkenness caused their son's death. He pulls a gun on her but decides she's not worth it. Later, Helen is found dead and Johnny is the prime suspect.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, mystery, detective, murder, veteran, marital issues ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: In this roman-a-clef for the infamous Lucky Luciano Trial, Mary Dwight and four roommates work as hostesses at the Club Intime, a "clip joint" that offers gambling, liquor, and female companionship to the "big spender" clientèle. When ruthless thug and pimp Johnny Vanning takes over all the clubs in town, the girls are forced to follow Vanning's rules and kick back on their "tips" in exchange for protection. Although she is not a hardened old hand like Gabby and Estella, Mary knows enough to sidestep Vanning's amorous advances. Unfortunately the more naive Mary Lou is impressed by Vanning's oily veneer of materialism and accepts invitations to "entertain" at the gangster's private parties. Mary's naive younger sister Betty arrives from college just when Mary and her roommates are arrested as material witnesses in the murder of one of the casino's non-paying customers. Vanning's corrupt lawyer frees the others but pressures Mary to commit perjury in order to discredit crusading District Attorney David Graham. Disillusioned by her sister's lifestyle. Betty consents to accompany Emmy Lou to one of Vanning's private parties where the gangster ends up killing her for not submitting to the advances of one of the party's guests. Mary decides to tell the truth to the D.A., and is beaten to disfigurement by one of Vanning's hoods. Even so, Mary agrees to testify - and at her bedside, all the other hostesses decide to follow her example in the coming hearing. (original by duke1029)—duke1029
Plot Keywords: crime, drama, film noir, female-led, courtroom, social issues, corruption ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Committed but seen-it-all police inspector Martineau rightly guesses that after a violent jailbreak a local criminal will head home to Manchester to pick up the spoils from his last job. Martineau is soon investigating a murder during a street robbery which seems to lead back to the same villain. Concentrating on the case and using his local contacts to try and track the gang down, he is aware he is not keeping his own personal life together as well as he might.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Plot Keywords: crime, thriller, film noir, british film, police, fugitive, mystery ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: During World War II, a soldier is hit by a grenade that deforms his face and leaves him with amnesia. Sometime later, he is recovered and learns that his name is George Taylor and he is discharged from the Army. He finds a letter written by a man named Larry Cravat who would be his pal and he goes to Los Angeles to seek out Larry Cravat to find his identity. He goes to a bank, a hotel, a Turkish bath, and a night-club following leads. He is beaten up by Hubert, the henchman of Anzelmo who dumps him at the front door of the singer Christy Smith who works in a night-club. George tells his story to her and Christy decides to help him. She calls her boss and friend Mel Phillips who schedules a lunch with his friend Police Lt. Donald Kendall and Christy. They learn that Larry Cravat was a private investigator who somehow received $2,000,000 three years ago in Germany from a Nazi who was immediately deceased. Then George receives a tip to go to the Terminal Dock where he meets Anzelmo who explains that Larry Cravat is wanted by the police for the murder of a man at the dock to keep the money. Larry has disappeared and Anzelmo believes George Taylo is the man who was with him and probably the killer. George's further investigation finds that a man named Conroy was a witness to the crime, but he was hit and run by a truck and is interned at the Lambeth Sanatorium. When George meets Conroy, he realizes that the man was stabbed but he tells where he hid the suitcase with the money before dying. Now George is close to solving the mystery.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, mystery, amnesia, identity crisis, detective, los angeles ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: During the campaign for reelection, the crooked politician Paul Madvig decides to clean up his past, refusing the support of the gangster Nick Varna and associating to the respectable reformist politician Ralph Henry. When Ralph's son, Taylor Henry, a gambler and the lover of Paul's sister Opal, is murdered, Paul's right arm, Ed Beaumont, finds his body on the street. Nick uses the financial situation of The Observer to force the publisher Clyde Matthews to use the newspaper to raise the suspicion that Paul Madvig might have killed Taylor.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, mystery, political corruption, murder, detective, adaptation ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Private investigator Bradford Galt has moved to New York from San Fransisco after serving a jail term on account of his lawyer partner Tony Jardine. When he finds someone is tailing - and possibly trying to kill him, Galt believes Jardine is behind it. As he finds there is rather more to it, he is increasingly glad to have his attractive new secretary Kathleen around, for several reason.—Jeremy Perkins {J-26}
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, mystery, detective, betrayal, conspiracy, murder ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Jane and Duke (alias Capt. Blake) accidently meet in Vera Cruz while chasing flim-flam man Fiske. Soon the local Inspector General (El Gato) is involved. Fiske races across Mexico, pursued by Jane and Duke, trailed by the real Capt. Blake. The crafty Inspector General is waiting for them in Tihuacan but they all give him the slip, just in time for the climactic finale. Very tight script and pacing.—<timbo@netcom.com>
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, suspense, thriller, romance, chase, conspiracy ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Frankie Madison returns to New York after 14 years in prison. Noll Turner, Frankie's former partner in bootlegging, is now a wealthy nightclub manager, and Frankie is expecting him to honor a verbal '50:50' agreement they made when he was caught and Noll got away. Fat chance! Can Frankie, who knows only the strong-arm methods of Prohibition, win out against Big Business? It'll be tough...even with the unlikely alliance of torch singer Kay (Noll's ex-girlfriend).—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: film noir, crime, drama, mystery, revenge, betrayal, gangster ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Joe Bonaparte's father wants him to pursue his musical talent; but Joe wants to be a boxer. Persuading near-bankrupt manager Tom Moody to give him a chance, Joe quickly rises in his new profession. When he has second thoughts Moody's girl Lorna uses feminine wiles to keep him boxing. But when tough gangster Eddie Fuseli wants to "buy a piece" of Joe, Lorna herself begins to have second thoughts...for that and other reasons. Is it too late?—Rod Crawford <puffinus@u.washington.edu>
Plot Keywords: crime, drama, film noir, courtroom, lawyer, moral dilemma, social criticism ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Mobster Tommy Gordon isn't worried about being sentenced to Sing Sing prison because his political pals have promised him a quick parole. A troublesome prisoner, he finally concedes that his friends have deserted him, and he makes an effort to reform. When his girlfriend Kay is injured in an accident, Warden Long gives Tommy a pass to go see her. But trouble erupts when Tommy encounters the man responsible for his imprisonment.—Jim Beaver <jumblejim@prodigy.net>
Plot Keywords: crime, prison, prison break, drama, film noir, 1940s, american film ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: LAPD detective Tom Ludlow is a ruthlessly efficient, unorthodox undercover cop. Captain Jack Wander always covers for Ludlow, as do even his somewhat jealous colleagues. After technically excessive violence against a vicious Korean gang during the liberation of kidnapped child sex slaves, Ludlow becomes the target of hotshot Internal Affairs captain James Biggs, who feels passed over after Wander's promotion to chief. Ludlow's ex-patrol partner, Terrence Washington, sides with IA but is killed during a shop robbery in Ludlow's presence. Ludlow works his way through the twisted rungs of the police and the deadly streets of Los Angeles for answers that lead to more and more questions.
Plot Keywords: action, crime, thriller, police, corruption, los angeles, violence ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Saturday, April 9: A known bookie named Miller Starkie has been "cut in half" by a sawed-off, double-barrel shotgun. Working out of Intelligence Division, Sgt. Joe Friday and Off. Frank Smith piece together what little evidence they have, interview acquaintances, intimidate witnesses, interrogate suspects to the point of harassment, utilize a Minifon and a wiretap, and testify before the Grand Jury in a tireless effort to catch and convict Starkie's killers.—Michael J. Hayde <mmeajv@earthlink.net>
Plot Keywords: crime, drama, film noir, detective, police, investigation, mystery ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick is fighting gangster Sam Belmonte. He asks his dishonest brother Ed to keep an eye on Daisy who was connected with Belmonte.—Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>
Plot Keywords: crime, gangster, police, corruption, violence, action, mystery ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: When young Danny Lambert runs away from camp in south-central Colorado, he becomes the object of a park-wide-search by his wealthy father Robertson Lambert. He is found by Gerry Barker and told to wait at an abandoned look-out tower while he goes for help. Instead, Barker calls the father and demands $200,000 ransom. The money is delivered and Barker buries most of it. Meanwhile, the panicky boy has fallen from the tower to his death, and Barker drops the body off a cliff. The FBI, led by James Madden, capture Barker but can't convict him of kidnapping and he is given only five years for extortion and sent to Casabel Island Prison. There he is assigned a cell with Rollo Lambar, Alamo Smith, Benny Kelly and Machine Gun Mason. The FBI have now traced an affiliation between Barker and Emily Evans, a nurse at Danny's camp. The five cell-mates, led by Rollo, who plans to kill Benny and dress him in Barker's clothes to throw off the police, execute an underwater prison escape, and head north for the ransom money.—Les Adams <longhorn1939@suddenlink.net>
Plot Keywords: crime, film noir, prison, thriller, drama, mystery, 1950s ...
Movie Details Click Here !Storyline: Two detectives are investigating a robbery. Though they're able to find the money, their trail leads one of them to a woman with expensive tastes, and though he desperately wants to keep her, he knows his salary isn't enough for her to stay.—frankfob2@yahoo.com
Plot Keywords: crime, film noir, drama, thriller, police, corruption, moral dilemma ...
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