Best Film Noir of All Time....

[Siegfried]

40. The Glass Key Dir. Stuart Heisler
(Brian Donlevy, Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix)
Wardheeler Donlevy is accused of murder; henchman Ladd bails him out. Lake is fine as the mysterious love interest, and Bendix very effective as a brutal bodyguard.
Kurosawa's inspiration for Yojimbo.

39. Ministry Of Fear Dir. Fritz Lang
(Ray Milland, Marjorie Reynolds, Carl Esmond, Dan Duryea, Hillary Brooke)
Atmospheric thriller set in wartime London, with ex mental patient Milland framed in complicated espionage plot.
From the novel by Graham Greene.

38. Fallen Angel Dir. Otto Preminger
(Alice Fay, Dana Andrews, Linda Darnell, Charles Bickford)
Hard-up drifter Andrews stops in a small California town and falls for sultry waitress Darnell. To get money to marry her, he plans first to marry mousy heiress Faye and then fleece her.
Effective performances, particularly Faye, cast against type.)

37. Force Of Evil Dir. Abraham Polonsky
(John Garfield, Beatrice Pearson, Thomas Gomez, Roy Roberts)
Rock-solid film about a racketeers' lawyer whose ideals have been compromised by his greed.
Garfield's performance is stunning.
Polonsky was one of the Hollywood 10.

36. Journey Into Fear Dir. Norman Foster
(Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dolores Del Rio, Ruth Warrick, Agnes Moorehead)
World War II spy drama, concerning the smuggling of munitions into Turkey.
Scripted by Welles and Cotten from the novel by Eric Ambler.

35. I Confess Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
(Montgomery Clift, Anne Baxter, Karl Malden, Brian Aherne)
A young priest hears a murderer's confession, and is himself accused of the crime. Bound by the seal of the confessional he cannot reveal the truth.
Unjustly overlooked Hitchcock thriller with fine performances.

34. Le Doulos Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
(Jean-Paul Belmondo, Serge Reggiani, Jean Desailly, Michel Piccoli)
Set in the shadowy French underworld, Le Doulos (The Informer) tells the story of gangster Belmondo (one of his defining performances) who may or may not be responsible for squealing on fellow criminal Reggiani, just released from prison and planning one last heist.
The ending can be seen as a homage to Huston's Asphalt Jungle.

33. The Naked City Dir. Jules Dassin
(Barry Fitzgerald, Howard Duff, Don Taylor, Dorothy Hart)
Trend setting crime drama, set on location in New York, and following the investigation of a murder step by step.
Barry Fitzgerald, cast against type, is fine as the lead detective in the case.
The intrusive narration, included to enhance the documentary feel of the film, tends to detract somewhat from its effectiveness.

32. The Lady From Shanghai Dir. Orson Welles
(Rita Hayworth, Orson Welles, Everett Sloane)
Offbeat, often bizarre murder mystery about an Irish drifter (Welles) who joins seductive Hayworth and her husband Sloane on a cruise and is framed for murder.
The famous climax in the mirror maze is riveting.

31. The Big Clock Dir. John Farrow
(Ray Milland, Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Sullivan, George Macready, Elsa Lanchester)
Megalomaniacal publisher Laughton commits a murder. His editor, Milland, attempts to solve the case and finds all the evidence pointing to himself.
Taut, effective thriller.
Lanchester is hilarious.

[Siegfried]

30. Boomerang Dir. Elia Kazan
(Dana Andrews, Jane Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, Arthur Kennedy)
The murder of a minister brings the quick arrest of an innocent man. The prosecuting attourney is determined to discover the truth.
Brilliant on every level.

29. The Woman In The Window Dir. Fritz Lang
(Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Raymond Massey)
Robinson becomes involved with the subject of an alluring portrait (Bennett) which leads to murder and the witnessing of his own investigation.
Exciting thriller topped with a surprise ending.

28. This Gun For Hire Dir. Frank Tuttle
(Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, Robert Preston, Laird Cregar)
Ladd is a contract killer, seeking revenge on the man who double-crossed him.
Effective adaptation of Graham Greene's novel A Gun For Sale.
Its influence can be seen in Melville's Le Samourai.

27. Le Corbeau Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
(Pierre Fresnay, Ginette Leclerc, Helena Manson, Noel Roquevert, Louis Seignier)
A series of vicious poison pen letters begins circulating in a French provincial town, leading to tragic consequences.
Controversial in its day, and still disturbing.

26. Ossessione Dir. Luchino Visconti
(Clara Calamai, Massimo Girotti, Juan deLanda)
Fascinating transplanting of The Postman Always Rings Twice to an Italian setting.
The forerunner of the great period of Italian neo-realism.

25. Angel Face Dir. Otto Preminger
(Jean Simmons, Robert Mitchum, Herbert Marshall, Mona Freeman)
Ambulance driver Mitchum becomes involved with scheming, manipulative, murderous Simmons, cast very effectively against type.
Engrossing.

24. Odds Against Tomorrow Dir. Robert Wise
(Harry Belafonte, Robert Ryan, Shelley Winters, Ed Begley)
Brutal, exciting robbery story with overtones of racism.
First rate performances from a top-notch cast.
The ironic ending still packs a punch.

23. Brighton Rock Dir. John Boulting
(Richard Attenborough, Carol Marsh, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell)
Cynical thriller with Attenborough in a tour-de-force performance as a vicious, baby-faced young thug who finally gets his comeuppance.
From the novel by Graham Greene.

22. Le Cercle Rouge Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
(Alain Delon, Yves Montand, Andre Bourvil, Gian Maria Volonte)
Melville's penultimate film.
A bleak, dark French noir which is told in the director's customary minimalist style.Moody, intelligent, elegantly paced and consistently gripping.
Standout performance by Delon, Melville's favourite actor.


21. Quai Des Orfevres Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
(Louis Jouvet, Suzy Delair, Bernard Blier, Simone Renant)
Masterful police procedural, with strong performances from all involved.
When a wealthy, dirty old man is murdered, suspicion falls on the husband of a music-hall singer who was involved - albeit innocently - with him.

[Siegfried]

20. Kiss Of Death Dir. Henry Hathaway
(Victor Mature, Richard Widmark, Brian Donlevy, Coleen Gray, Karl Malden)
Richard Widmark's debut as a giggling, psychopathic killer is riveting.

19. The Big Sleep Dir. Howard Hawks
(Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers)
Convoluted thriller - even the author didn't know who committed one murder - but so effective and entertaining that no-one cares.
Great direction. Superb script (the dialogue literally crackles). Bogart and Bacall have incredible on-screen chemistry.

18. The Mask Of Demetrios Dir. Jean Negulesco
(Peter Lorre, Sidney Greenstreet, Zachary Scott, Faye Emerson)
Effective, off-beat thriller in which mild mannered mystery writer Lorre tracks down the truth about notorious criminal Scott.
As always, Lorre and Greenstreet are a great team.

17. Shadow Of A Doubt Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
(Joseph Cotten, Theresa Wright, Macdonald Carey, Patricia Collinge, Hume Cronyn)
A young girl in a small American town slowly comes to realise that her beloved Uncle Charley is in reality the notorious Merry Widow murderer.
Joseph Cotten is superb.
Hitchcock named it as his personal favourite.

16. Scarlet Street Dir. Fritz Lang
(Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Margaret Lindsay)
Meek, henpecked Robinson becomes involved in a world of crime and deception by Bennett and her sleazy boyfriend Duryea.
Effective, unsettling melodrama with director and stars in top form.

15. The Big Heat Dir. Fritz Lang
(Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Lee Marvin)
Searing story of a cop determined to bust a big city crime ring.
The coffee-throwing scene still shocks.
Grahame is memorable.

14. Pickup On South Street Dir. Samuel Fuller
(Richard Widmark, Jean Peters, Thelma Ritter, Richard Kiley)
Pickpocket Widmark becomes a target for espionage agents when he steals a top-secret microfilm.
Tough, brutal, well-made film.
Ritter literally steals the show as a street peddler who also deals in information.

13. Out Of The Past Dir. Jacques Tourneur
(Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, Kirk Douglas, Rhonda Fleming)
Mitchum finds he cannot escape his former life when his one-time gangster employer Douglas, and lover, Greer, involve him in a web of double-dealing and murder. A classic.
Greer is the architypal femme fatale.

12. The Spiral Staircase Dir. Robert Siodmak
(Dorothy McGuire, George Brent, Ethel Barrymore, Kent Smith)
Superb Hitchcock-style thriller.
A mute servant girl is in danger from an insane killer who targets young women with physical disabilities.
Dorothy McGuire is unforgettable.

11. Gilda Dir. Charles Vidor
(Glenn Ford, Rita Hayworth, George Macready, Joseph Calleia)
Highly charged story of an emotional triangle which leads to murder.
Rita has never been sexier.

[Siegfried]

10. The Maltese Falcon Dir. John Huston
(Humphrey Bogart, Mary Aster, Sidney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre)
Third, and by far the best version of the Dashiell Hammett Novel.
Masterful direction and screenplay by John Huston (his debut as a director).
Bogart is perfectly cast as Sam Spade, with superb support from Aster, Greenstreet and Lorre. The film moves at a cracking pace, and actually improves with each viewing.

9. Les Diaboliques Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot
(Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel)
A sadistic, tyrannical school master is drowned by his wife and mistress, and his body placed in the school swimming pool. However, when the pool is drained, the body is not there.
Clouzot builds the suspense slowly but surely to the final twenty minutes, which are genuinely frightening. A must.


8. Strangers On A Train Dir. Alfred Hitchcock
(Farley Granger, Robert Walker, Ruth Roman, Patricia Hitchcock)
Two men meet by chance on a train, and 'exchange' murders.
Robert Walker dominates the film as charming psychopath Bruno Anthony.
One of Hitchcock's finest suspense thrillers.
The merry-go-round climax is unforgettable.

7. Rififi Dir. Jules Dassin
(Jean Servais, Carl Mohner, Magali Noel, Robert Manuel)
One of the finest heist films ever made, centering on a quartet of jewel thieves who are in more danger from one another than from the police.
The 20 minute burglary sequence, in complete silence, is justly famous.

6. The Killers Dir. Robert Siodmak
(Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker, Sam Levine)
An ex boxer is murdered, and his death is investigated by an insurance investigator.
The structure of the film is reminiscent of Citizen Kane.
Lancaster in his debut role is excellent.
Gardner, as a treacherous, manipulative femme fatale, is marvellous.

5. Touch Of Evil Dir. Orson Welles
(Orson Welles, Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Joseph Calleia, Marlene Dietrich)
From the breathtaking opening crane shot to the finale, a totally gripping study of police corruption in a small town on the Mexican border.
With one exception, the cast is faultless.
A dazzling achievement. For many (including me) Welles' masterpiece.

4. Laura Dir. Otto Preminger
(Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews, Clifton Webb, Judith Anderson, Vincent Price)
One of the all-time great classic murder mysteries, has cop Andrews trying to solve the puzzle of Tierney's death - except she's not dead.
A standout cast, particularly Webb as cynical columnist Waldo Lydecker.
Preminger's finest achievement.

3. The Asphalt Jungle Dir. John Huston
(Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, Sam Jaffe, Marilyn Monroe)
The plotting of a crime, and the gathering together of a gang to pull it off.
Intelligently plotted, realistic thriller with a fine cast all at the top of their game.
Sam Jaffe is outstanding.
Marilyn Monroe is memorable in a small role as Calhern's mistress.

2. Le Samourai Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
(Alain Delon, Francois Perrier, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier)
Plotwise, reminiscent of This Gun For Hire. Melville acknowledged the influence of that film on this.
Delon, in his most iconic role, plays a contract killer who sets out to exact revenge on the man who hired and then betrayed him.
Told in Melville's customary minimalist style, this is a multi-layered thriller which actually requires more than one viewing to fully come to grips with its complexities of plot and character.

1. Double Indemnity Dir. Billy Wilder
(Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson)
What can I say that hasn't already been said?
From the cracking good screenplay, to Wilder's assured direction, to the uniformly superb cast, a masterpiece that deserves its place as one of the great classics of American cinema.

[gali7]

My favorite movie is 'The Big Sleep" This is one of those movies I always like to watch. Bogart and Bacall are unfogettable.

[infostream]

I would say Double Indemnity with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck. It is such a clever story masterfully told by one of the great directors.

[RobertBarr]

I know it doesn't answer your actual post but rather only your title, but I love The Missing Person. Not many people have seen it, but it's definitely worth watching.