Classic Noir Mysteries

When Mildred Pierce's out-of-work husband leaves her for another woman, Mildred decides to raise her two daughters on her own. Despite Mildred's financial successes in the restaurant business, her oldest daughter, Veda, resents her mother for degrading their social status. In the midst of a police investigation after the death of her second husband, Mildred must evaluate her own freedom and her complicated relationship with her daughter.

When Johnny comes home from the navy he finds his wife Helen kissing her substitute boyfriend Eddie, the owner of the Blue Dahlia nightclub. Helen admits her drunkenness caused their son's death. He pulls a gun on her but decides she's not worth it. Later, Helen is found dead and Johnny is the prime suspect.

In flashback, New York nightclub pianist Al Roberts hitchhikes to Hollywood to join his girl Sue. On a rainy night, the sleazy gambler he's riding with mysteriously dies; afraid of the police, Roberts takes the man's identity. But thanks to a blackmailing dame, Roberts' every move plunges him deeper into trouble.

The intrigue is unleashed in this film noir classic with the explosion of a car bomb that kills two people in a technically unprecedented sequence shot, setting off an intricate story captivatingly told by Orson Welles. A narcotics detective, Mike Vargas, becomes entangled in a web of deceit and secret dangers involving police captain Hank Quinlan. The film, known for its atmospheric cinematography and suspenseful narrative, displays intense characters, all of whom have an importance that adds layers of complexity to the story.

During the Great Depression, Ben Harper robs a bank and hides $10,000 in his daughter Pearl's doll before being caught and sentenced to death. In prison, he shares a cell with Harry Powell, a serial killer, who tries to learn the money's location. After Ben's execution, Powell seeks out his widow, Willa, and her children, John and Pearl. Marrying Willa, Powell intimidates the children, who flee with the money, but he follows in hot pursuit.

Dix Steele, a struggling screenwriter with a troubled past and explosive temper, is made a prime suspect in a murder investigation, after being the last person to see, Mildred, the young and innocent victim, the previous night. He is luckily cleared by his new neighbor Laurel, confirming his alibi. They then form a lovely relationship, but as time passes, Dix's volatile nature and new incidents raise doubts about his innocence.

A war veteran visits a hotel in Key Largo to pay respects to his late comrade's family and finds the hotel commandeered by gangsters as a hurricane approaches. Tensions rise as the storm traps them together, leading to a dramatic confrontation. This gripping film noir is noted for its intense atmosphere and stellar performances. Highly recommended for fans of classic thrillers and high-stakes drama.

Drifter Frank Chambers arrives at a quiet California roadside restaurant where he meets and falls for drop-dead gorgeous Cora, the wife of restaurant owner Nick Smith. After weaseling his way into a job, the two begin a deadly love affair and cook up plans to end her marriage and start a new life together. After a few botched attempts at a clean break, they are forced to put their honeymoon on hold after being rerouted into the arms of a D.A. hot to convict and a corrupt lawyer with designs on Cora. Frank and Cora thought they packed just enough luck to avoid what should be unavoidable but the duo failed to account for the possible intervention of a formidable force that doesn't need a badge.

In Buenos Aires, a shrewd gambler saved from a robbery by enigmatic casino owner Ballin Mundson soon becomes his trusted lieutenant. The plot thickens when Mundson returns from a mysterious trip with a stunning new wife, Gilda, who shares a dark past with the gambler. With the casino’s dark secrets threatening to surface and a violent confrontation looming, the stakes get higher than anyone could anticipate.

After a former boxer turned gas station attendant is fatally shot by hitmen, an insurance investigator unravels the complex events leading to his death, uncovering a tale of betrayal and crime. This noir classic, based on Hemingway's short story, is renowned for its sharp dialogue and suspenseful plot. It's a riveting exploration of fate and corruption, perfect for aficionados of mystery and classic film noir.

Detective Mark McPherson is tasked with unraveling the mysterious murder of Laura Hunt, a stunningly beautiful and successful advertising executive. Found lifeless in her apartment, Laura's allure captivates everyone, including McPherson himself. As McPherson pieces together Laura's life through the testimonies of those who adored her, he becomes increasingly obsessed.

In 1995, Kelli Peterson started a gay and straight club at her Salt Lake City high school. The story of her ensuing battle with school authorities in interspersed with looks back at the diary of Michael Wigglesworth, a 17th-century Puritan cleric, at the 30-year love affair of Sarah Orne Jewett and Annie Adams Fields, at Henry Gerber's attempt after World War I to establish a gay-rights organization, at Bayard Rustin's role in the civil rights movement, and at Barbara Gittings' taking on of the American Psychiatric Association's position that homosexuality is illness. One person comments, "To create a place for ourselves in the present, we have to find ourselves in the past."

Private detective Philip Marlowe is drawn into a labyrinth of deceit and danger when he's hired by a wealthy general to address his daughter Carmen's blackmail predicament. As Marlowe delves deeper, he uncovers a web of murder, hidden agendas, and tangled relationships involving Carmen and her sister Vivian. With each step, Marlowe finds deadly threats and a twisted conspiracy beneath the surface.

Walter, an insurance salesman, and Phyllis, a married woman, are complicit in killing her husband to collect on the man's insurance policy. For the supposedly "perfect crime" suspicions about the duo soon follow. A definitive film noir that you won't forget, gripping from start to finish and with a raw look at fear, loneliness and human violence.