Movies by Lists - Proto-Noir Movies (87 [87]) 
| Title | Year | Director | Genre | Rating | Runtime | Added |
|---|
| 20,000 years in Sing SingBrash hoodlum Tom Connors enters Sing Sing cocksure of himself and disrespectful toward authority, but his tough but compassionate warden changes him. | 1932 | Michael Curtiz (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 7.0 (2.7K votes) | 78 | 20211228 |
| 39 Steps, TheA man in London tries to help a counter-espionage Agent. But when the Agent is killed, and the man stands accused, he must go on the run to save himself and stop a spy ring which is trying to steal top secret information. | 1935 | Alfred Hitchcock (*) | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | 7.6 (55.5K votes) | 86 | 20211228 |
| Angels With Dirty FacesA priest tries to stop a gangster from corrupting a group of street kids. | 1938 | Michael Curtiz (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.9 (21.1K votes) | 97 | 20211228 |
| Beast of the City, ThePolice Chief Jim Fitzpatrick ruthlessly goes after organized crime and is prepared to use brutal and violent methods to fight it. | 1932 | Charles Brabin | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 6.7 (1.3K votes) | 86 | 20211228 |
| Bête Humaine. LaIn this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder. | 1938 | Jean Renoir (*) | Crime, Drama | 7.6 (7.4K votes) | 100 | 20211228 |
| Big Gamble, TheUnable to repay a substantial gambling debt to mob boss North, Alan Beckwith concocts a last-ditch scheme. Allowing North to take out a $100,000 insurance policy on his life, Alan agrees to commit suicide after the mandantory one-yea | 1931 | Fred Niblo | Crime, Drama, Romance | 5.7 (143 votes) | 65 | 20220315 |
| Black Cat, TheAmerican honeymooners in Hungary become trapped in the home of a Satan-worshipping priest when the bride is taken there for medical help following a road accident. | 1934 | Edgar G. Ulmer (*) | Adventure, Crime, Horror, Romance, Thriller | 7.0 (10.9K votes) | 65 | 20211228 |
| Black LegionA hard-working machinist loses a promotion to a Polish-born worker, he's seduced into joining the secretive Black Legion, which intimidates foreigners through violence. | 1937 | Archie Mayo, Michael Curtiz | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 7.0 (3.2K votes) | 83 | 20211228 |
| BlackmailAfter killing a man in self-defense, a young woman is blackmailed by a witness to the killing. | 1929 | Alfred Hitchcock (*) | Crime, Thriller | 7.0 (10.5K votes) | 85 | 20211228 |
| Blind AlleyGangster Hal Wilson takes psychiatrist Dr. Shelby hostage. While captive, the doctor analyzes Wilson as though he were a patient. | 1939 | Charles Vidor (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 6.3 (714 votes) | 69 | 20211228 |
| Blonde CrazyThe adventures of an egoistic con man and his glamorous accomplice. | 1931 | Roy Del Ruth | Comedy, Crime, Drama, Romance | 7.1 (1.9K votes) | 79 | 20211228 |
| Blood MoneyBill Bailey (George Bancroft) is a Los Angeles, California bail bondsman who lives in a world of complete, casual corruption, where all he has to do is pick up the phone to get the charges against a client dismissed. He falls in love | 1933 | Rowland Brown | Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | 6.8 (363 votes) | 65 | 20211228 |
| Blue Angel [Der blaue Engel]An elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer. | 1930 | Josef von Sternberg (*) | Drama, Music | 7.7 (14.8K votes) | 104 | 20211228 |
| BordertownIn Mexico, a former lawyer becomes the invaluable second-in-command to a casino owner, whose wife begins to fall for him. | 1935 | Archie Mayo | Crime, Drama | 7.0 (1.8K votes) | 90 | 20211228 |
| Bullets or BallotsWhen a crusader against rackets is murdered, a grand jury battles the rackets by promoting McLaren to be in charge of the cleanup. He fires NYPD Detective Blake, who punches him and joins the racket. | 1936 | William Keighley | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.0 (2.9K votes) | 82 | 20211228 |
| Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, TheHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders. | 1920 | Robert Wiene (*) | Horror, Mystery, Thriller | 8.1 (61.7K votes) | 67 | 20211228 |
| City StreetsMan joins a gang to free his girlfriend from prison. | 1931 | Rouben Mamoulian (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | 7.0 (1.6K votes) | 83 | 20211228 |
| Crime and PunishmentMan is haunted by a murder he's committed. | 1935 | Josef von Sternberg (*) | Crime, Drama | 7.0 (1.9K votes) | 88 | 20211228 |
| Crime Without PassionProminent lawyer shoots unfaithful girlfriend during quarrel, has to establish alibi. | 1934 | Lee Garmes, Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur | Crime, Drama | 7.0 (503 votes) | 70 | 20211228 |
| Dangerous to KnowA gangster tries to fix things so that he can marry a rich society woman. | 1938 | Robert Florey | Crime, Drama | 6.5 (233 votes) | 70 | 20240329 |
| Daybreak [Le Jour se leve]After committing a murder, a man locks himself in his apartment and recollects the events that led him to the killing. | 1939 | Marcel Carné (*) | Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | 7.7 (7.5K votes) | 93 | 20211228 |
| Dead EndThe lives of a young man and woman, an infamous gangster and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum. | 1937 | William Wyler (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | 7.3 (7.3K votes) | 93 | 20211228 |
| Dernier tournant, LeFrank, a hobo, ends up in a garage-truck stop in the middle of nowhere. Nick Marino, its older, kind and naive owner, is married to Cora, a sexy and mercenary woman half his age. Frank, although not a fan of hard work, accepts Nick's | 1939 | Pierre Chenal | Crime, Drama, Romance | 6.8 (261 votes) | 90 | 20211228 |
| Devil Is a Woman, TheA young man is warned by a captain about a temptress; nonetheless, he finds himself falling in love with her. | 1935 | Josef von Sternberg (*) | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 7.0 (3.5K votes) | 79 | 20211228 |
| Docks of New York, TheA blue-collar worker on New York's depressed waterfront finds his life changed after he saves a woman attempting suicide. | 1928 | Josef von Sternberg (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | 7.5 (4.4K votes) | 76 | 20211228 |
| Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler [Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler - Ein Bild der Zeit]Arch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him. | 1922 | Fritz Lang (*) | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | 7.9 (8.2K votes) | 242 | 20211228 |
| Dust Be My DestinyEmbittered after serving time for a burglary he did not commit, Joe Bell is soon back in jail, on a prison farm. His love for the foreman's daughter leads to a fight between them, leading to the older man's death due to a weak heart. | 1939 | Lewis Seiler | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 6.9 (716 votes) | 88 | 20211228 |
| Each Dawn I DieA corrupt D.A. with political ambitions is angered by news stories implicating him in criminal activity and decides to frame the reporter who wrote them for manslaughter in order to silence him. | 1939 | William Keighley | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.3 (3.3K votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| Fugitive, The [On the Night of the Fire]A barber commits a petty theft, which leads to his becoming involved in blackmail and murder. | 1939 | Brian Desmond Hurst | Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 6.5 (261 votes) | 76 | 20211228 |
| FuryWhen a wrongly accused prisoner barely survives a lynch mob attack and is presumed dead, he vindictively decides to fake his death and frame the mob for his supposed murder. | 1936 | Fritz Lang (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.9 (12.3K votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| Glass Key, TheEd Beaumont is the personal friend, advisor and bodyguard to Paul Madvig, the political boss of a large city. When a mysterious murder is committed---the son of a Madvig political opponent---Madvig's enemies try to pin the crime on h | 1935 | Frank Tuttle | Crime, Drama, Mystery | 7.0 (414 votes) | 80 | 20211228 |
| G-MenJames Cagney helped jump-start the gangster genre as The Public Enemy. Outcries against movies that glorified underworld criminals put Cagneyon the side of the law in "G" Men. | 1935 | William Keighley | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.1 (3.8K votes) | 85 | 20211228 |
| Great GuyThe adventures of an investigator (Cagney) for the Bureau of Weights and Measures. | 1936 | John G. Blystone | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery | 6.3 (994 votes) | 66 | 20211228 |
| Heat LightningIn the Mojave Desert, Olga runs a gas station, lunch counter, and auto camp with her younger sister Myra. In a 24-hour period, Olga must deal with Myra's desire to go to a town dance with a cad, the appearance by happenstance of Geor | 1934 | Mervyn LeRoy (*) | Crime, Drama | 7.1 (774 votes) | 63 | 20220414 |
| Hotel du NordOn the meandering Canal St. Martin, at the Parisian Hôtel du Nord, a nearly fatal gunshot separates a dejected young couple. But, amid a sad but beautiful panorama of lively characters, love has the final say. Can life be a fairy tal | 1938 | Marcel Carné (*) | Comedy, Drama, Romance | 7.6 (2.6K votes) | 83 | 20211228 |
| I Am a Fugitive From a Chain GangWrongly convicted James Allen serves in the intolerable conditions of a Southern chain gang, which later comes back to haunt him. | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 8.2 (13K votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| I Stole a MillionA grizzled cabbie is scammed out of his life savings by a fake finance company. He tries to no avail to get police assistance. | 1939 | Frank Tuttle | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery | 6.4 (105 votes) | 80 | 20211228 |
| Invisible Man, TheA scientist finds a way of becoming invisible, but in doing so, he becomes murderously insane. | 1933 | James Whale (*) | Horror, Sci-Fi | 7.7 (33.9K votes) | 71 | 20211228 |
| Johnny ApolloThe son of a jailed Wall Street broker turns to crime to pay for his father's release. | 1940 | Henry Hathaway | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | 7.0 (1.3K votes) | 94 | 20211228 |
| Joyless Street, The [Die freudlose Gasse]In post-WWI Vienna, Greta (Greta Garbo), her kid sister, and retired dad try to make it through tough times. | 1925 | Georg Wilhelm Pabst (*) | Drama | 7.2 (1.6K votes) | 125 | 20211228 |
| Kennel Murder Case, ThePhilo Vance, accompanied by his prize-losing Scottish terrier, investigates the locked-room murder of a prominent and much-hated collector whose broken Chinese vase provides an important clue. | 1933 | Michael Curtiz (*) | Crime, Mystery | 6.9 (3.4K votes) | 73 | 20211228 |
| Kid GalahadFight promoter Nick Donati grooms a bellhop as a future champ, but has second thoughts when the 'kid' falls for his sister. | 1937 | Michael Curtiz (*) | Crime, Drama, Romance, Sport | 7.3 (3.5K votes) | 102 | 20211228 |
| King of the UnderworldAfter the killing of her husband by friendly fire during a police raid, Dr. Carole Nelson tries to find gangster Joe Gurney to clear her name with the medical board. | 1939 | Lewis Seiler | Crime, Drama, Romance | 6.4 (1.3K votes) | 67 | 20211228 |
| La ChienneA woman and her pimp exploit a painter for money. | 1931 | Jean Renoir (*) | Crime, Drama | 7.6 (4.1K votes) | 95 | 20211228 |
| Lady Vanishes, TheWhile travelling in continental Europe, a rich young playgirl realizes that an elderly lady seems to have disappeared from the train. | 1938 | Alfred Hitchcock (*) | Mystery, Thriller | 7.8 (51.1K votes) | 96 | 20211228 |
| Last Command, TheA former Imperial Russian general and cousin of the Czar ends up in Hollywood as an extra in a movie directed by a former revolutionary. | 1928 | Josef von Sternberg (*) | Drama, History, Romance, War | 8.0 (3.8K votes) | 88 | 20211228 |
| Let Us LiveTwo innocent men are wrongly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The fiance of one of them convinces a police detective of their innocence, and together they try to find the real killer before the men's execution date. | 1939 | John Brahm | Crime, Drama | 6.8 (539 votes) | 68 | 20211228 |
| Little CaesarA small-time criminal moves to a big city to seek bigger fortune. | 1931 | Mervyn LeRoy (*) | Action, Crime, Drama, Romance | 7.2 (13K votes) | 79 | 20211228 |
| Lodger, TheA landlady suspects her new lodger is the madman killing women in London. | 1927 | Alfred Hitchcock (*) | Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller | 7.3 (11.5K votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| MWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt. | 1931 | Fritz Lang (*) | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | 8.3 (153.3K votes) | 99 | 20211228 |
| Maltese Falcon, The [Dangerous Woman]A lovely dame with dangerous lies employs the services of a private detective, who is quickly caught up in the mystery and intrigue of a statuette known as the Maltese Falcon. | 1931 | Roy Del Ruth | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery | 6.9 (2.9K votes) | 80 | 20211228 |
| Marked WomanA crusading district attorney persuades a clip joint hostess to testify against her mobster boss after her innocent sister is accidentally murdered during one of his unsavory parties. | 1937 | Lloyd Bacon, Michael Curtiz | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.1 (4.1K votes) | 96 | 20220414 |
| MetropolisIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences. | 1927 | Fritz Lang (*) | Drama, Sci-Fi | 8.3 (169.6K votes) | 153 | 20211228 |
| MidnightThe foreman of a jury asks questions that send a woman to the electric chair for a murder committed in the heat of passion. On the night of the execution, his actions come back to haunt him. | 1934 | Chester Erskine | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | 5.6 (931 votes) | 76 | 20211228 |
| Murders in the Rue MorgueA mad scientist seeks to mingle human blood with that of an ape, and resorts to kidnapping women for his experiments. | 1932 | Robert Florey | Crime, Horror, Mystery, Romance | 6.4 (4.3K votes) | 61 | 20211228 |
| Night CourtJudge and his mistress are investigated on suspicions of corruption. | 1932 | W.S. Van Dyke (*) | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller | 6.9 (379 votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| PaidMary Turner goes up for three years on a crime she didn't commit. Once out she and former prison mates plan a scam in which old men can be sued for breach of promise - the "heart balm" racket. After plotting verious ways to get back | 1930 | Sam Wood (*) | Drama | 6.0 (757 votes) | 86 | 20211228 |
| Pepe Le MokoA wanted gangster is both king and prisoner of the Casbah. He is protected from arrest by his friends, but is torn by his desire for freedom outside. A visiting Parisian beauty may just tempt his fate. | 1937 | Julien Duvivier (*) | Crime, Drama, Romance | 7.8 (7.1K votes) | 94 | 20211228 |
| Personal Column [Pièges]After one of her fellow taxi dancers is murdered by an unknown man who she met through a personal column advert, Adrienne Charpentier is recruited by the police to answer a series of similar adverts to try to track down the killer. | 1939 | Robert Siodmak (*) | Musical, Romance, Thriller | 6.9 (371 votes) | 106 | 20220414 |
| Petrified Forest, TheA waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert. | 1936 | Archie Mayo | Drama, Thriller | 7.6 (13.5K votes) | 82 | 20211228 |
| Port of ShadowsA military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city. | 1938 | Marcel Carné (*) | Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller | 7.8 (8.9K votes) | 91 | 20211228 |
| Private Detective 62A down-and-out private eye falls for a woman he has been hired to frame. | 1933 | Michael Curtiz (*) | Drama | 6.6 (779 votes) | 66 | 20211228 |
| Public Enemy, TheAn Irish-American street punk tries to make it big in the world of organized crime. | 1931 | William A. Wellman (*) | Crime, Drama | 7.6 (20.6K votes) | 83 | 20211228 |
| Quick MillionsTruck driver Bugs Raymond organizes the trucking associations and takes protection money. Now rich, he decides to marry socialite Dorothy Stone. She rejects him for another, so he makes plans to kidnap her on her wedding day. | 1931 | Rowland Brown | Crime, Drama | 6.4 (226 votes) | 72 | 20211228 |
| Racket, TheAn honest police captain vows to bring down a powerful bootlegger who is protected by corrupt politicians and judges. | 1928 | Lewis Milestone | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 6.7 (1.3K votes) | 84 | 20211228 |
| RioA crazed man escapes from prison to kill his wife's lover. | 1939 | John Brahm | Crime, Drama, Romance | 6.4 (112 votes) | 77 | 20211228 |
| Roaring Twenties, TheThree men attempt to make a living in Prohibitionist America after returning home from fighting together in World War I. | 1939 | Raoul Walsh (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.9 (13.7K votes) | 106 | 20211228 |
| SabotageA Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel. | 1936 | Alfred Hitchcock (*) | Crime, Thriller | 7.1 (16.4K votes) | 76 | 20211228 |
| San QuentinAn army trainer becomes captain of the prison yard and in time, falls for the sister of a hardened inmate. | 1937 | Lloyd Bacon (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 6.5 (1.9K votes) | 70 | 20211228 |
| Satan Met a LadyA double-crossing woman, the two-timing P.I. she hired, the corpulent "empress of crime", and a gentleman thief are all after a legendary priceless eighth-century ram's horn. | 1936 | William Dieterle (*) | Comedy, Crime, Mystery | 6.1 (2.3K votes) | 74 | 20211228 |
| ScarfaceAn ambitious and nearly insane violent gangster climbs the ladder of success in the mob, but his weaknesses prove to be his downfall. | 1932 | Howard Hawks, Richard Rosson | Action, Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Thriller | 7.7 (27.3K votes) | 93 | 20211228 |
| Scoundrel, TheA ruthless, cynical, hated publisher is killed in a plane crash, doomed to be a "restless" spirit for being unloved. A heavenly power gives him a month on Earth to find one person to shed a tear for him before his fate is sealed. | 1935 | Ben Hecht, Charles MacArthur | Drama, Fantasy | 6.3 (348 votes) | 76 | 20211228 |
| Shanghai ExpressA notorious woman rides a train through a dangerous situation with a British captain she loved. | 1932 | Josef von Sternberg (*) | Adventure, Drama, Romance, Thriller | 7.3 (8.6K votes) | 82 | 20211228 |
| Stolen Death [Varastettu kuolema]A thriller set in turn-of-the-century Helsinki, Stolen Death uses elements of German expressionism to tell the story of Finnish resistance fighters smuggling arms to overthrow the Tsarist occupiers of Finland. Tapiovaara stresses the | 1938 | Nyrki Tapiovaara | Thriller | 6.9 (263 votes) | 101 | 20220414 |
| Strange Love of Molly Louvain, TheMolly Louvain's plans for a respectable marriage with her sweetheart Ralph fall through so she takes to the road with a two-bit crook and becomes wanted by the police in connection with a high-profile crime. | 1932 | Michael Curtiz (*) | Crime, Drama, Romance | 6.3 (488 votes) | 73 | 20211228 |
| SunriseA sophisticated urban woman seduces a farmer in the hopes that he will murder his neglected wife and join her in the city, but he soon finds himself rekindling his romance with the latter when she discovers their scheme. | 1927 | F.W. Murnau (*) | Drama, Romance | 8.1 (50.2K votes) | 94 | 20211228 |
| Testament of Dr. Mabuse, The [Das Testament der Dr Mabuse]A criminal mastermind uses hypnosis to rule the rackets after death. | 1933 | Fritz Lang (*) | Crime, Mystery, Thriller | 8.0 (12.3K votes) | 122 | 20211228 |
| They Drive by NightA convict, just out of prison, is implicated in a murder and goes on the run, hitching a ride with a truck driver. | 1938 | Arthur B. Woods | Crime, Thriller | 7.0 (289 votes) | 84 | 20211228 |
| They Made Me a CriminalA boxer flees believing he has comitted a murder while he was drunk. | 1939 | Busby Berkeley (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Sport | 6.9 (2.3K votes) | 92 | 20211228 |
| They Won't ForgetA politically ambitious district attorney, unscrupulous tabloid journalists, and regional prejudice combine to charge a teacher with the murder of his student. | 1937 | Mervyn LeRoy (*) | Drama, Film-Noir, Mystery | 7.2 (1.6K votes) | 95 | 20211228 |
| Thin Man, TheFormer detective Nick Charles and his wealthy wife Nora investigate a murder case, mostly for the fun of it. | 1934 | W.S. Van Dyke (*) | Comedy, Mystery | 8.0 (28.8K votes) | 91 | 20211228 |
| ThunderboltA criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt's girl. Thunderbolt hopes to stave off the execution | 1929 | Josef von Sternberg (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Music, Romance | 6.5 (671 votes) | 85 | 20211228 |
| Two SecondsA condemned murderer, in the process of being executed, relives the events that led to his being sentenced to die in the electric chair. | 1932 | Mervyn LeRoy (*) | Drama, Thriller | 6.9 (1.1K votes) | 67 | 20211228 |
| UnderworldBoisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend. | 1927 | Josef von Sternberg, Arthur Rosson | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir, Romance | 7.6 (2.9K votes) | 80 | 20211228 |
| You and MeAn altruistic department-store owner hires ex-convicts in order to give them a second chance at life. Unfortunately, one of the convicts he hires recruits two of his fellow ex-convicts in a plan to rob the store. | 1938 | Fritz Lang (*) | Crime, Film-Noir, Romance | 6.9 (1.3K votes) | 94 | 20211228 |
| You Can't Get Away With MurderYouthful tough Johnnie Stone has fallen under the influence of petty crook Frank Wilson, who involves him and robbery and murder using his sister's boyfriend's stolen gun. | 1939 | Lewis Seiler | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 6.4 (1.1K votes) | 79 | 20211228 |
| You Only Live OnceThe public defender's secretary and an ex-convict get married and try to make a life together, but a series of disasters sends their lives spiraling out of control. | 1937 | Fritz Lang (*) | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir | 7.3 (6.6K votes) | 86 | 20211228 |