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Crime films from the 1950s
The best 100 of 322
- 1
Some Like It Hot
In Prohibition-era Chicago, musicians Joe and Jerry witness a mob hit, and flee the state in an all-female band disguised as Josephine and Daphne, but further complications set in.
- 2
Dial M for Murder
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
- 3
Witness for the Prosecution
An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.
- 4
Rashomon
Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.
- 5
The Night of the Hunter
In Depression-era West Virginia, a serial-killing preacher hunts two young children who know the whereabouts of a stash of money.
- 6
On the Waterfront
A prizefighter-turned-longshoreman with a conscience goes up against labor leaders to expose corruption, extortion, and murder among the union ranks.
- 7
Strangers on a Train
A charming psychopath tries to coerce a tennis star into his theory that two strangers can commit the perfect crime by exchanging murders—each killing the other’s most-hated person.
- 8
Touch of Evil
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
- 9
Big Deal on Madonna Street
Best friends Peppe and Mario are thieves, but they're not very good at it. Still, Peppe thinks that he's finally devised a master heist that will make them rich. With the help of some fellow criminals, he plans to dig a tunnel from a rented
- 10
Anatomy of a Murder
Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and
- 11
The Killing
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife a
- 12
The Young and the Damned
A group of juvenile delinquents live a violent life in the infamous slums of Mexico City; among them Pedro, whose morality is gradually corrupted and destroyed by the others.
- 13
Rififi
Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.
- 14
Elevator to the Gallows
A self-assured businessman murders his employer, husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.
- 15
The Big Heat
After the suspicious suicide of a fellow cop, tough homicide detective Dave Bannion takes the law into his own hands when he sets out to smash a vicious crime syndicate.
- 16
The Asphalt Jungle
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
- 17
Pickpocket
Michel takes up pickpocketing on a lark and is arrested soon after. His mother dies shortly after his release, and despite the objections of his only friend, Jacques, and his mother's neighbor Jeanne, Michel teams up with a couple of petty
- 18
The Ladykillers
Five oddball criminals planning a bank robbery rent rooms on a cul-de-sac from an octogenarian widow under the pretext that they are classical musicians.
- 19
Bad Day at Black Rock
One-armed war veteran John J. Macreedy steps off a train at the sleepy little town of Black Rock. Once there, he begins to unravel a web of lies, secrecy, and murder.
- 20
A Place in the Sun
A young social climber wins the heart of a beautiful heiress but his former girlfriend's pregnancy stands in the way of his ambition.
- 21
The Wrong Man
In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.
- 22
Night and the City
Londoner Harry Fabian is a second-rate con man looking for an angle. After years of putting up with Harry's schemes, his girlfriend, Mary, becomes fed up when he taps her for yet another loan.
- 23
Pickup on South Street
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the co
- 24
Gun Crazy
Bart Tare is an ex-Army man who has a lifelong fixation with guns, he meets a kindred spirit in sharpshooter Annie Starr and goes to work at a carnival. After upsetting the carnival owner who lusts after Starr, they both get fired. Soon, on
- 25
Kiss Me Deadly
One evening, Hammer gives a ride to Christina, an attractive hitchhiker on a lonely country road, who has escaped from the nearby lunatic asylum. Thugs waylay them and force his car to crash. When Hammer returns to semi-consciousness, he he
- 26
I Confess
When a priest hears a murderer’s confession, he becomes bound by his vow of silence—even as circumstantial evidence turns suspicion toward him. Torn between faith and self-preservation, he faces public scandal and trial for a crime he canno
- 27
Bob le Flambeur
In Paris, Bob Montagne is practically synonymous with gambling -- and winning. He is kind, classy and well-liked by virtually everyone in town, including police inspector Ledru. However, when Bob's luck turns sour, he begins to lose friends
- 28
The Lavender Hill Mob
A meek bank clerk who oversees the shipments of bullion joins with an eccentric neighbor to steal gold bars and smuggle them out of the country.
- 29
Touchez Pas au Grisbi
Gentleman gangster Max and his partner, Riton, pull off their last, most successful heist and find themselves comfortable enough to retire in the style they enjoy. However, Max confides the details of the theft to his younger mistress, Josey -- who has secretly taken up with ambitious young rival gangster Angelo. Angelo then has Riton kidnapped and demands the stash of gold as ransom, which threatens Max's dreams of the perfect retirement.
- 30
The Defiant Ones
Two convicts—one white, one black—escape while chained to each other.
- 31
The Swindle
Aging small-time conman Augusto works with two younger men: Roberto, who desires to become the Italian Johnny Ray, and Carlo, nicknamed Picasso. Through a series of mishaps and personal entanglements, things go badly for Augusto.
- 32
Casque d'Or
At the end of the 19th century, during a ball in Joinville, on the outskirts of Paris, Georges, a former delinquent working as a carpenter, meets Marie, a young woman connected to a criminal gang.
- 33
The Man with the Golden Arm
When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and h
- 34
We're No Angels
Three convicts escape from prison on Devil's Island just before Christmas and arrive at a nearby French colonial town. They go to the store of the Ducotels, the only store that gives supplies on credit. They initially intend to take advantage of them but have a change of heart after they find the family is in financial troubles.
- 35
House of Wax
A sculptor opens a wax museum to showcase the likenesses of famous historical figures, but quickly runs into trouble when his business partner demands the exhibits become more extreme in order to increase profits.
- 36
Where the Sidewalk Ends
A police detective's violent nature keeps him from being a good cop.
- 37
The Narrow Margin
A tough cop meets his match when he has to guard a gangster's widow on a train journey from Chicago to Los Angeles.
- 38
Niagara
Rose Loomis and her older, gloomier husband, George, are vacationing at a cabin in Niagara Falls. The couple befriend Polly and Ray Cutler, who are honeymooning in the area. Polly begins to suspect that something is amiss between Rose and G
- 39
Angel Face
Ambulance driver Frank Jessup is ensnared in the schemes of the sensuous but dangerous Diane Tremayne.
- 40
Detective Story
Tells the story of one day in the lives of the various people who populate a police detective squad. An embittered cop, Det. Jim McLeod, leads a precinct of characters in their grim daily battle with the city's lowlife. The characters who p
- 41
The Desperate Hours
Escaped convicts terrorize a suburban family they're holding hostage.
- 42
The Big Combo
Police Lt. Leonard Diamond vies to bring a clever, well connected, and sadistic gangster to justice all the while obsessing over the gangster's girlfriend.
- 43
125 rue Montmartre
Desperate, Didier throws himself out in the Seine. Pascal, a newsboy, jumps and saves him. It’s the beginning of the friendship between them.Once, as Pascal helps Didier, he finds himself involved in a murder. Only the superintendent believ
- 44
Panic in the Streets
A medical examiner discovers that an innocent shooting victim in a robbery died of bubonic plague. With only 48 hours to find the killer, who is now a ticking time bomb threatening the entire city, a grisly manhunt through the seamy underwo
- 45
Blackboard Jungle
Richard Dadier is a teacher at North Manual High School, an inner-city school where many of the pupils frequently engage in anti-social behavior. Dadier makes various attempts to engage the students' interest in education, challenging both
- 46
The Lineup
In San Francisco, a psychopathic gangster and his mentor retrieve heroin packages carried by unsuspecting travelers.
- 47
The Breaking Point
A fisherman with money problems hires out his boat to transport criminals.
- 48
Caged
A single mistake puts a 19-year old girl behind bars, where she experiences the terrors and torments of women in prison.
- 49
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to h
- 50
Crime Wave
Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter. The other two former cellmates then attempt to force him into doing a bank job.
- 51
I Want to Live!
Brazen perpetual offender Barbara Graham tries to go straight but she finds herself implicated in a murder and sent to death row.
- 52
The Wild One
The Black Rebels Motorcycle Club ride into the small California town of Wrightsville, eager to raise hell. Brooding gang leader Johnny Strabler takes a liking to Kathie, the daughter of the local lawman, as another club rolls into town.
- 53
The Facts of Murder
A police inspector comes into contact with people of all types and dispositions during a grueling murder investigation.
- 54
Riot in Cell Block 11
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
- 55
- 56
Nightfall
An innocent man turns fugitive as he reconstructs events that implicate him for a murder and robbery he did not commit.
- 57
No Way Out
Two hoodlum brothers are brought into hospital for gunshot wounds, and when one dies, the other accuses their Black doctor of murder.
- 58
Edge of the City
A male army deserter and a black male dock worker join forces against a corrupt manager, in a corrupt environment, and as their connection blossoms they must face the oppressive and morally decaying city they live in.
- 59
Tiger Bay
In Tiger Bay, the docklands of Cardiff, rough-and-tumble street urchin Gillie witnesses the brutal killing of a young woman at the hands of visiting Polish sailor Korchinsky. Instead of reporting the crime to the authorities, Gillie merely
- 60
Guys and Dolls
In New York, a gambler is challenged to take a Salvation Army missionary to Havana, and unexpectedly they fall for each other. And the bet has a hidden motive ... classic song and dance ensues!
- 61
Human Desire
A Korean War vet returns to his job as a railroad engineer and becomes involved in a sordid affair with a co-worker's wife following a murder on a train.
- 62
Scandal Sheet
A tabloid editor assigns a young reporter to solve a murder the editor committed himself.
- 63
Murder by Contract
Claude is a ruthless and efficient contract killer. His next target, a woman, is the most difficult.
- 64
Deadline - U.S.A.
New York City newspaper The Day is in trouble. Even though editor Ed Hutcheson has worked hard running the paper, its circulation has been steadily declining. Now the publisher's widow wants to sell the paper, which will most likely mean it
- 65
The Damned Don't Cry
Fed up with her small-town marriage, a woman goes after the big time and gets mixed up with the mob.
- 66
Odds Against Tomorrow
An old-time crook plans a heist. When one of his two partners is found out to be a black man tensions flare.
- 67
The Brute
A tough young man, who helps to kick poor people out of their houses, falls in love with a girl. She lives with her father in the building about to be demolished.
- 68
99 River Street
A former boxer turned taxi driver earns the scorn of his nagging wife and gets mixed up with jewel thieves.
- 69
His Kind of Woman
Career gambler Dan Milner agrees to a $50,000 deal to leave the USA for Mexico, only to find himself entangled with fellow guests at a luxurious resort and suspecting that the man who hired him may be the deported crime boss Nick Ferraro ai
- 70
On Dangerous Ground
A big-city cop is reassigned to the country after his superiors find him too angry to be an effective policeman. While on his temporary assignment he assists in a manhunt of a suspected murderer.
- 71
Mister 880
The Skipper is a charming old man loved by all his neighbors. What they don't know is that he is also Mr. 880, an amateurish counterfeiter who has amazingly managed to elude the Secret Service for 20 years.
- 72
Footsteps in the Fog
A Victorian-era murder mystery about a parlour maid who discovers that her employer may have killed his first wife.
- 73
Party Girl
Slick lawyer Thomas Farrell has made a career of defending mobsters in trials. It's not until he meets a lovely showgirl at a mob party that he realizes that there's more to life than winning trials. Farrell tries to quit the racket, but mo
- 74
Force of Evil
Lawyer Joe Morse wants to consolidate all the small-time numbers racket operators into one big powerful operation. But his elder brother Leo is one of these small-time operators who wants to stay that way, preferring not to deal with the ga
- 75
Mystery Street
When a young woman's skeletal remains turn up on a Massachusetts beach, Barnstable cop Peter Moralas teams with Boston police and uses forensics, with the help of a Harvard professor, to determine the woman's identity, how she died, and who
- 76
The Ogre of Athens
On New Year’s Eve, a timid bank clerk is mistaken for a notorious criminal mastermind who rules the streets of Athens. Embracing his mistaken identity comes with a price though, as his unwitting white lie begins to unravel.
- 77
The Snorkel
On the Italian coast, writer Paul Decker has grown unhappy in his marriage and executes what appears to be a perfect murder of his wife. While Paul is believed to be writing a book in France, his stepdaughter, Candy, suspects him of murderi
- 78
23 Paces to Baker Street
Philip Hannon, a blind playwright living in London, overhears part of a conversation , that leads him into a desperate race, to find a kidnapped child. When he gets no help from the police, he along with his butler, and his ex fiancée, atte
- 79
The Mad Magician
Don Gallico is an inventor of stage magic effects who aspires to become a star in his own right. Just before his first performance his act is shut down by capricious manager Ross Ormond who wants Gallico's brilliant buzz saw effect for the
- 80
The Sniper
Eddie Miller struggles with his hatred of women, he's especially bothered by seeing women with their lovers. He starts a killing spree as a sniper by shooting women from far distances. In an attempt to get caught, he writes an anonymous let
- 81
The Devil Strikes at Night
Hamburg, Germany, 1944, during World War II. A serial killer terrorizes the city. When it seems clear that the local police are unable to catch him, forces as dark and terrible as the criminal himself become involved in the case.
- 82
No Man of Her Own
A penniless pregnant woman adopts the identity of a rich woman killed in a train crash.
- 83
The Green Man
Unknown to everyone but his shady Middle Eastern bosses, watchmaker Hawkins is actually a professional hired assassin with a predilection for killing his targets with bombs. After disposing of a dictator and millionaire, Hawkins is assigned
- 84
Violent Saturday
Three men case a small town very carefully, with plans to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday, which turns violent and deadly.
- 85
Yield to the Night
Locked in her cell, a murderer reflects on the events that have led her to death row.
- 86
Another Man's Poison
Mystery novelist Janet Frobisher, lives in an isolated house, having been separated for years from her criminal husband. She has fallen in love with her secretary's fiancé and when her estranged husband unexpectedly returns, Janet poisons h
- 87
The Gazebo
TV writer Elliott Nash buries a blackmailer under the new gazebo in his suburban backyard. But the nervous man can't let the body rest there.
- 88
Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye
Ralph Cotter, a ruthless criminal, escapes violently from a farm prison. Then, he seduces a dead inmate’s sister, gets back quickly into the crime business, faces corrupt local cops who run the city’s underworld and meets a powerful tycoon’
- 89
The Killer Is Loose
A savings-and-loan bank is robbed; later, a police wiretap identifies meek bank teller Leon Poole as the inside man. In capturing him, detective Sam Wagner accidentally kills Poole's young wife, and at his trial Poole swears vengeance again
- 90
Madeleine
Madeleine's middle-class family cannot understand why she puts off marrying a respectable young man, as they know nothing about her long-term affair with a Frenchman.
- 91
Cry Danger
After serving five years of a life sentence, Rocky Mulloy hopes to clear his friend who's still in prison for the same crime.
- 92
The Scapegoat
An Englishman in France unwittingly is placed into the identity, and steps into the vacated life, of a look-alike French nobleman.
- 93
The Mob
An undercover officer tracks waterfront corruption from California to New Orleans and back.
- 94
Tread Softly Stranger
Unable to pay his bookie, a man returns to his hometown where his embezzler brother and girlfriend plot a robbery that ends in tragedy.
- 95
The Crimson Kimono
Two detectives clash over the hunt for a burlesque dancer’s killer in Los Angeles’ Japanese district.
- 96
Jeopardy
A woman is kidnapped when she goes to get help for her husband who is trapped on a beach with the tide coming in to surely drown him.
- 97
The Blue Lamp
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared
- 98
Outrage
A young woman who has just become engaged has her life completely shattered when she is raped while on her way home from work.
- 99
Al Capone
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and politica
- 100
Shield for Murder
A crooked police detective masterminds a robbery then fights to keep the stolen money.