Highest-Rated Movies about 'Private Investigator'

The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Chinatown (1974), Into the Wild (2007), The Maltese Falcon (1941), Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015), The Big Sleep (1946), The Gentlemen (2020), Cape Fear (1962) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Private Investigator movies.

#1. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)

Storyline: Jordan Belfort is a Long Island penny stockbroker who served 22 months in prison for defrauding investors in a massive 1990s securities scam that involved widespread corruption on Wall Street and in the corporate banking world, including shoe designer Steve Madden.

Plot Keywords: based on true story, stockbroker, female frontal nudity, female rear nudity, topless female nudity, fellatio, debauchery ...

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#2. Chinatown (1974)

Storyline: In 1937 Los Angeles, private investigator Jake 'J.J.' Gittes specializes in cheating-spouse cases. His current target is Hollis Mulwray, high-profile chief engineer for the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, whose wife suspects him of infidelity. In following Mulwray, Gittes witnesses some usual business dealings, such as a public meeting for construction of a new dam to create additional water supply for Los Angeles, as fresh water is vital to the growing community during the chronic drought; Mulwray opposes the dam. Eventually Gittes sees Mulwray meeting with an unknown young woman who isn't his wife. Once news of the supposed tryst between Mulwray and this woman hits the media, additional information comes to light that makes Gittes believe that Mulwray is being framed for something and that he himself is being set up. In his investigation of the issue behind Mulwray's framing and his own setup, Gittes is assisted by Mulwray's wife Evelyn, but he thinks she isn't being ...

Plot Keywords: neo noir, female nudity, murder, surveillance, femme fatale, adultery, incestuous relationship ...

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#3. Into the Wild (2007)

Storyline: Based on a true story. After graduating from Emory University, Christopher McCandless abandoned his possessions, gave his entire savings account to charity, and hitchhiked to Alaska to live in the wilderness. Along the way, Christopher encounters a series of characters who shape his life.

Plot Keywords: wilderness, self discovery, alaska, based on true story, journey, following a dream, isolation ...

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#4. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Storyline: Spade and Archer is the name of a San Francisco detective agency. That's for Sam Spade and Miles Archer. The two men are partners, but Sam doesn't like Miles much. A knockout, who goes by the name of Miss Wonderly, walks into their office; and by that night everything's changed. Miles is dead. And so is a man named Floyd Thursby. It seems Miss Wonderly is surrounded by dangerous men. There's Joel Cairo, who uses gardenia-scented calling cards. There's Kasper Gutman, with his enormous girth and feigned civility. Her only hope of protection comes from Sam, who is suspected by the police of one or the other murder. More murders are yet to come, and it will all be because of these dangerous men -- and their lust for a statuette of a bird: the Maltese Falcon.

Plot Keywords: private detective, murder, homosexual subtext, fatal attraction, secretary, greed, private investigator ...

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#5. Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015)

Storyline: A devastating two hour documentary based on Lawrence Wright's book of the same name. Scientology is laid bare by a film that skilfully knits together archive footage, testimonials from former high ranking officials and public, and dramatic reconstructions.

Plot Keywords: based on book, year 2009, year 2007, cult, loss of faith, religious cult, faith ...

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#6. The Big Sleep (1946)

Storyline: P.I. Philip Marlowe's hired by a wealthy general to find out and stop his daughter, Carmen from being blackmailed over gambling debts, Marlowe finds himself deep within a web of love triangles, blackmail, murder, gambling, and organised crime. With help from Vivian (another of the general's daughters), Marlowe hatches a plot to free the family from this web and trap the real culprit.

Plot Keywords: private eye, bookstore, based on novel, greenhouse, sister sister relationship, brandy, bead curtain ...

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#7. The Gentlemen (2020)

Storyline: A talented American graduate of Oxford, using his unique skills, and audacity, creates a marijuana empire using the estates of impoverished British aristocrats. However, when he tries to sell his empire to a fellow American billionaire, a chain of events unfolds, involving blackmail, deception, mayhem and murder between street thugs, Russian oligarchs, Triad gangsters and gutter journalists.—Peter-Patrick76 (peter-patrick@mail.com)

Plot Keywords: british, drugs, gangster, london england, blackmail, heroin, dark comedy ...

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#8. Cape Fear (1962)

Storyline: Small-town lawyer Sam Bowden's life becomes torturous when Max Cady re-enters his life. Cady went to jail for 8 years after Bowden testified that Cady attacked a young woman. Now that Cady has been released, he begins to terrorize Bowden and his family, particularly targeting Bowden's daughter, Nancy. Initially, Cady uses his newfound knowledge of the law (learned in prison) to annoy the Bowdens, then poisons the family dog... Who's next ?

Plot Keywords: neo noir, based on novel, cult film, marina, ex convict, psychopath, stalking ...

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#9. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Storyline: 'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect. Groundbreaking interaction between the live and animated characters, and lots of references to classic animation.

Plot Keywords: live action and animation, year 1947, private detective, pants falling down, parallel universe, false accusation, conspiracy ...

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#10. The Nice Guys (2016)

Storyline: Set against the backdrop of 1977 Los Angeles, The Nice Guys opens when single father and licensed PI Holland March (Gosling) is hired to investigate the apparent suicide of famous porn star Misty Mountains. As the trail leads him to track down a girl named Amelia (Qualley), he encounters less licensed and less hands-off private eye Jackson Healey (Russell Crowe) and his brass knuckles, both hired by the young hippie. However, the situation takes a turn for the worse when Amelia vanishes and it becomes apparent that March wasn't the only party interested. As both men are forced to team up, they'll have to take on a world filled with eccentric goons, strippers dressed as mermaids and even a possible government conspiracy.

Plot Keywords: neo noir, investigation, porn star, los angeles california, conspiracy, private investigator, porn industry ...

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#11. The Ultimate Gift (2006)

Storyline: Jason thought his inheritance was going to be the gift of money and lots of it. Was he ever in for a big surprise. Based on the best-selling book "The Ultimate Gift" by Jim Stovall, the story sends trust fund baby Jason Stevens on an improbable journey of discovery, having to answer the ultimate question: "What is the relationship between wealth and happiness?" Jason had a very simple relationship with his impossibly wealthy Grandfather, Howard "Red" Stevens. He hated him. No heart-to-heart talks, no warm fuzzies, just cold hard cash. So of course he figured that when Red died, the whole "reading of the will" thing would be another simple cash transaction, that his Grandfather's money would allow him to continue living in the lifestyle to which he had become accustomed. But what Red left him was anything but simple. Red instead devised a plan for Jason to experience a crash course on life. Twelve tasks, which Red calls "gifts," each challenging Jason in an improbable way, the ...

Plot Keywords: wreckage, christmas, limousine, butterfly, video, private investigator, resentment ...

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#12. Angel Heart (1987)

Storyline: Harry Angel has a new case, to find a man called Johnny Favourite. Except things aren't quite that simple and Johnny doesn't want to be found. Let's just say that amongst the period detail and beautiful scenery, it all gets really really nasty.

Plot Keywords: flashback, devil worship, bathtub, lust, teenage girl, serial killer, female rear nudity ...

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#13. Cape Fear (1991)

Storyline: Sam Bowden (Nick Nolte)is a small-town corporate attorney/"Leave It to Beaver" type family-man. Max Cady (Robert De Niro) is a tattooed, cigar-smoking, bible-quoting, rapist. What do they have in common? Fourteen years, ago Sam was a public defender assigned to Max Cady's rape trial, and he made a serious error: he hid a document from his illiterate client that could have gotten him acquitted. Now, the cagey, bibliophile Cady has been released, and he intends to teach Sam Bowden and his family a thing or two about loss.

Plot Keywords: revenge, adultery, stalking, family in danger, movie theater, neo noir, dysfunctional family ...

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#14. The Lincoln Lawyer (2011)

Storyline: Mick Haller is a defense lawyer who works out of his Lincoln. When a wealthy Realtor is accused of assaulting a prostitute, Haller is asked to defend him. The man claims that the woman is trying to get some money out of him. But when Haller looks at the evidence against him, he learns that this case might be linked to an old case of his.

Plot Keywords: police detective, deception, lying, park, photograph, surveillance footage, beating ...

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#15. The Naked Kiss (1964)

Storyline: Kelly, a prostitute, traumatised by an experience, referred to as 'The Naked Kiss,' by psychiatrists, leaves her past, and finds solace in the town of Grantville. She meets Griff, the police captain of the town, with whom she spends a romantic afternoon. Kelly finds a job as a nurse in a hospital for handicapped children. The work helps her find her sensitive side in the caring and helping of her young patients. Kelly's path towards happiness is thrown amiss, when she witnesses a shocking event, which threatens not just her happiness, but her mental health as well.—Alejandro Frias

Plot Keywords: pedophile, marriage proposal, pedophilia, hooker, social commentary, nurse, hospital ...

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