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It’s that special time of year–Noirvember! As the seasons change and night falls earlier, I like to settle in and revisit my favorite dark, moody, dramatic noir films. Celebrate Noirvember with my list of must-watch noir films to stream. What makes these films so great are the unexpected twists and turns, memorable characters, impressive range of acting from the cast and thought-provoking social commentary.
For now, this list is solely made up of films from the 1940s and ’50s, though I know there are plenty of people who would argue that several 1980s movies deserve to be included. I just prefer the older films. If you’re new to noir, here’s my list of must-see noir films to stream to get you started, listed chronologically.
Pour yourself a gin rickey and get ready for a night of film noir!
Must-Watch Noir Films to Stream
The Woman in the Window (1944)
In The Woman in the Window, conservative psychology professor Richard Wanley (Edward G. Robinson) is drawn to a portrait of a beautiful woman propped behind a window. One night the subject of the portrait, Alice Reed (Joan Bennett), appears at his side while he’s admiring it. Seeing as how his wife and children are out of town, he agrees to join her for a drink. As you can imagine, this was to be the first of his many mistakes. Throughout the film, he’s pulled in two directions: the safe, yet restrained life of a family man, and that of danger, seduction and murder.
Currently available to stream on Prime, Plex and Tubi TV.
Scarlet Street (1945)
Scarlet Street stars three of the same main actors as The Woman in the Window, but the two films are quite different. In Scarlet Street, Kitty March (Joan Bennet) meets a bank cashier and aspiring artist, Christopher Cross (Edward G. Robinson). Mistakenly believing him to be a wealthy, well-respected artist, March’s abusive boyfriend Johnny (Dan Duryea) convinces March to pretend to be interested in Cross. The unstable couple cons Cross into allowing March to take credit for his paintings, but their luck eventually runs out.
Currently available to stream on Plex, IMDb TV and Tubi TV.
Gilda (1946)
This is the film that made Rita Hayworth into a femme fatale icon. In Gilda, a gambler named Johnny Farrel (Glenn Ford) begins working for casino owner Ballin Mundson (George Macready) in Buenos Aires. Things are looking up for Johnny until he meets Mundson’s new wife, Gilda (Hayworth), who just so happens to be Farrel’s ex-lover. Hayworth dazzles onscreen, and not only because of the glamorous dresses she wears throughout the film. Her talents shine as we’re treated to more than one dancing number and Hayworth’s impressive acting range.
Currently available to stream on Plex.
Sorry, Wrong Number (1948)
Sorry, Wrong Number is unique in that much of it takes place from the bedroom of spoiled heiress Leona Stevenson (Barbara Stanwyk). Believing she’s confined to a wheelchair, the neurotic Stevenson spends a great deal of time on the telephone next to her bed. When the lines get crossed, she overhears what sounds like a plot for murder. However, her attempts to inform the police are dismissed, and she only becomes more desperate as she learns the dark secrets about her husband (Burt Lancaster) and the truth about her supposed ailments.
Currently available to rent from Amazon.
Detour (1945)
Fate is a comment element of film noir, and it couldn’t play a bigger role than it does in Detour. Al Roberts (Tom Neal) is a New York nightclub piano player without much money to his name. His girlfriend Sue Harvey (Claudia Drake) decides to give Hollywood a go for a chance at a better life. Once Roberts decides he’d like to meet her, he embarks on a hitchhiking trip and is picked up by a man named Charles Haskell (Edmund MacDonald). Shortly after, the unimaginable happens; Haskell dies in the middle of the night on the side of the road. Instead of going for help, Roberts hides Haskell’s body and assumes the man’s identity, thinking that the police would have thought he murdered Haskell. Roberts then meets an unsavory traveling companion and descends toward a dark path of deceit and blackmail.
Currently available to stream on Prime, Plex and Pluto TV.
Sunset Boulevard (1950)
Struggling screenwriter Joe Gillis (William Holden) is looking for a quick escape from his troubles—and the police— and unknowingly seeks refuge in the unkempt Hollywood mansion of Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson), an aging silent film star. From there he becomes involved in an odd, manipulative relationship with the wealthy former A-lister.
Swanson is perfect for the role of Desmond and Sunset Boulevard is worth the watch solely for her performance. You may have heard the famous lines spoken by Desmond, who refuses to accept that she’s no longer a desirable actor and believes a big comeback is just ahead. When Gillis meets Desmond for the first time, he doesn’t immediately recognize her. When he does, he remarks, “You’re Norma Desmond, used to be in silent pictures, used to be big,” to which she replies, “I am big. It’s the pictures that got small.”
Currently available to stream on Prime and Pluto TV.
Sudden Fear (1952)
In Sudden Fear, Joan Crawford plays Myra Hudson, a middle-aged heiress and successful playwright who’s heading back to her beloved city of San Francisco. On the way she runs into the younger, aspiring actor Lester Blaine (Jack Palance), who she’d replaced in her last play, which went on to become a hit. Unbeknownst to Hudson, Blaine intends to weasel his way into her life and eventually convinces her to marry him. After a montage of scenes of the supposed happy couple, Blaine’s lover Irene (Gloria Grahame) steps into the picture, and the two invent a twisted plot to murder Hudson and run away with the inheritance money. Crawford received an Oscar nomination for her performance.
Currently available to stream on Tubi TV.
Dial M for Murder (1954)
The only noir on this list shot in color, this classic Alfred Hitchcock film stars Grace Kelly as the wealthy Margot, wife of ex-tennis player Tony Wendice (Ray Milland). Wendice doesn’t want to feel tied to his wife’s money any longer, and when he discovers she’s having an affair with Mark Halliday (Robert Cummings), he begins to plot her murder to obtain her inheritance. Wendice is intelligent, methodical, and it seems like he’s going to get away with it, but the night doesn’t go quite according to plan.
Currently available to stream on Tubi TV.
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