The following list is the best of the best in film noir. Please leave a comment if a title is missing you feel should be on the list.
12 Angry Men
Ace in the Hole – 4+
Anatomy of a Murder – 5-
Angels with Dirty Faces – 4+ (noir precursor)
Asphalt Jungle, The – 5
Beat the Devil
Big Combo, The – 5-
Big Heat, The – 5
Big Sleep, The – 5- (4+)
Blast of Silence – 4
Blue Dahlia – 5-
Brute Force – 4+
Casablanca – 5 (disqualified)
Criss Cross
Crossfire – 5-
D.O.A. – 5-
Dark Passage – 4
Desperate Hours – 4+ (5-)
Detour – 4+
Double Indemnity – 5
Gilda – 5-
Glass Key
Gun Crazy – 4+
Honeymoon Killers, The 5-
In a Lonely Place – 5
Killers, The
Killing, The – 5-
Kiss Me Deadly – 5-
Lady From Shanghai, The – 5-
Lady in the Lake
Laura – 5-
Maltese Falcon, The – 5-
Mask of Dimitrios – 4+
Murder, My Sweet 5-
Naked City – 4
Night and the City – 4+
Night of the Hunter, The
Nightmare Alley – 4
No Man’s Woman – 4
Notorious – 5-
Odd Man Out – 5
On Dangerous Ground – 4+ (5-)
Out of the Past – 5
Pickup on South Street – 5-
Postman Always Rings Twice, The – 4
Raw Deal – 4+ (5-)
Rebecca – 5
Rope – 5-
Scarlet Street – 5
Shadow of a Doubt – 5-
Strangers on a Train – 5- (4+)
Sunset Boulevard – 5
Sweet Smell of Success
They Drive by Night – 4- (questionable noir)
Thieves’ Highway – 4+
Third Man, The – 5
Touch of Evil – 5
Woman in the Window, The – 4+
Wrong Man, The – 5
White Heat – 4+