People think that Film Noir is a reaction to World War II. Not true. Most of the great hard-boiled and noir pulp fiction came out during the 30’s, as a reaction to the great depression. Film noir didn’t become a big thing until after the war (post 1945), because the powers that be didn’t want to release pessimistic, down-ending films that would lower the country’s morale.
This could be a very loooong list. Hundreds of films in fact. So I am just going to list the films that I heard mentioned specifically in various film noir documentaries and books, as examples of great noir.
The Stranger on The Third Floor (1940)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
Leave Her To Heaven (1945)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
The Strange Love of Martha Ivers (1946)
Ride The Pink Horse (1947)
Call Northside 777 (1948)
He Walked By Night (1948)
The Lady From Shanghai (1948)
The Street With No Name (1948)
They Live By Night (1948)
The Reckless Moment (1949)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
The File on Thelma Jordan (1950)
Night and The City (1950)
Panic In The Streets (1950)
Where Danger Lives (1950)
Where The Sidewalk Ends (1950)
On Dangerous Ground (1951)
Strangers On A Train (1951)
The Bad and The Beautiful (1952)
Kansas City Confidential (1952)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
The Desperate Hours (1955)
The Night of The Hunter (1955)
While The City Sleeps (1956)
Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)
À bout de soufflé/ Breathless (1960)
Shoot The Piano Player (1960)
Underworld, U.S.A. (1961)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
The French Connection (1971)
To Live and Die In L.A. (1985)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988)
The Silence of The Lambs (1991)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
Devil In A New Dress (1995)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
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