IMDb: British Noir - a list by marie

1.

Across the Bridge (1957)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X

Corporate executive Carl Schaffner is a German-born British industrialist in New York on business. After... (103 mins.)

Director: Ken Annakin

Stars: Rod Steiger, David Knight, Bernard Lee, Noel Willman

2.

Alias John Preston (1955)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.0/10 X

Wealthy John Preston arrives in small town Deanbridge. He invests in local businesses and gets involved in community affairs... (66 mins.)

Director: David MacDonald

Stars: Betta St. John, Alexander Knox, Christopher Lee, Sandra Dorne

3.

All Night Long (1962)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.0/10 X

The film, based on Othello, is neatly positioned as a vehicle to showcase some of the best Jazz musicians of the period - including Dave Brubeck and Charlie Mingus. (91 mins.)

Director: Basil Dearden

Stars: Patrick McGoohan, Keith Michell, Betsy Blair, Paul Harris

4.

Another Man's Poison (1951)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X

In an isolated house, mystery writer Janet Frobisher is involved in potentially murderous relationships. (90 mins.)

Director: Irving Rapper

Stars: Bette Davis, Gary Merrill, Emlyn Williams, Anthony Steel

5.

Assassin for Hire (1951)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X

Pretending to be rare stamp dealer, a man devotedly supports wife and musically talented younger brother as a professional hit-man. (67 mins.)

Director: Michael McCarthy

Stars: Sydney Tafler, Ronald Howard, Katharine Blake, John Hewer

6.

Game of Danger (1954)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X

When a local bully is found shot to death, the police suspect a young man who had recently been seen arguing with him... (88 mins.)

Director: Lance Comfort

Stars: Jack Warner, Derek Farr, Veronica Hurst, Michael Medwin

7.

Wild for Kicks (1960)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X

Paul, a divorced architect, marries Nichole, a woman from Paris. His teen daughter Jenny has fallen... (89 mins.)

Director: Edmond T. Gréville

Stars: David Farrar, Noëlle Adam, Christopher Lee, Gillian Hills

8.

Twist of Fate (1954)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X

Ginger Rogers, an actress living with Stanley Baker on the Riveria, becomes involved with Jacques Bergerac and learns he is a dangerous criminal. (89 mins.)

Director: David Miller

Stars: Ginger Rogers, Herbert Lom, Stanley Baker, Jacques Bergerac

9.

Bedelia (1946)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X

Bedelia Carrington is living happily, it appears, in Monte Carlo with her husband Charlie Carrington... (90 mins.)

Director: Lance Comfort

Stars: Margaret Lockwood, Ian Hunter, Barry K. Barnes, Anne Crawford

10.

Web of Evidence (1959)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X

Twenty years after being evacuated to America, Paul Mathry returns to Liverpool for a short visit. He is shocked to find that his father... (90 mins.)

Director: Jack Cardiff

Stars: Van Johnson, Vera Miles, Emlyn Williams, Bernard Lee

11.

The Big Chance (1957)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.7/10 X

Heidelberg teenagers make jazz music. (100 mins.)

Director: Hans Quest

Stars: Walter Giller, Gardy Granass, Michael Cramer, Wera Frydtberg

12.

The Big Chance (1957)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X

A clerk sees his big chance to escape a humdrum existence, but his resolve is tested as many unexpected obstacles arise. (59 mins.)

Director: Peter Graham Scott

Stars: Adrienne Corri, William Russell, Ian Colin, Penelope Bartley

13.

Bitter Harvest (1963)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X

A pretty young woman will do anything to escape her deadly dull existence in the backlots of Wales. But when she reaches the bright lights of London is the price too high? (96 mins.)

Director: Peter Graham Scott

Stars: Janet Munro, John Stride, Anne Cunningham, Alan Badel

14.

Footsteps in the Sand (1939)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X

A girl is murdered and the evidence points strongly toward Peter Charrington, who disappeared right after the crime... (70 mins.)

Director: Paul L. Stein

Stars: Joan Marion, Raymond Massey, Elliott Mason, Walter Hudd

15.

Black Memory (1947)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 3.1/10 X

(73 mins.)

Director: Oswald Mitchell

Stars: Michael Atkinson, Moyra O'Connell, Michael Medwin, Frank Hawkins

16.

Black Narcissus (1947)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.0/10 X

After opening a convent in the Himalayas, five nuns encounter conflict and tension - both with the natives and also within their own group - as they attempt to adapt to their remote, exotic surroundings. (100 mins.)

Director: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Stars: Deborah Kerr, David Farrar, Flora Robson, Jenny Laird

17.

Black Orchid (1953)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X

A doctor's ex-wife dies of nicotine poison. (58 mins.)

Director: Charles Saunders

Stars: Ronald Howard, Olga Edwardes, John Bentley, Mary Laura Wood

18.

Black 13 (1953)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X

20th Century-Fox gets the blame for distributing this in the USA but they were not the production company in any manner... (75 mins.)

Director: Ken Hughes

Stars: Peter Reynolds, Rona Anderson, Patrick Barr, Lana Morris

19.

Black Widow (1954)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X

A young writer insinuates herself into the life of a Broadway producer. (95 mins.)

Director: Nunnally Johnson

Stars: Ginger Rogers, Van Heflin, Gene Tierney, George Raft

20.

Blackmailed (1951)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X

Mrs. Christopher, a kindly volunteer worker at a large hospital, does a favor for a patient by delivering a sum of money to Mr... (85 mins.)

Director: Marc Allégret

Stars: Mai Zetterling, Dirk Bogarde, Fay Compton, Robert Flemyng

21.

Blackout (1950)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.0/10 X

A man suffering from temporary blindness accidentally walks into a house where a murder has just occurred... (73 mins.)

Director: Robert S. Baker

Stars: Maxwell Reed, Dinah Sheridan, Patric Doonan, Kynaston Reeves

22.

Blanche Fury (1948)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X

Ambitious poor relation Blanche Fullerton accepts a job as governess from her wealthy cousins who have... (90 mins.)

Director: Marc Allégret

Stars: Valerie Hobson, Stewart Granger, Michael Gough, Walter Fitzgerald

23.

Man in the Dark (1965)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X

(80 mins.)

Director: Lance Comfort

Stars: William Sylvester, Barbara Shelley, Elizabeth Shepherd, Alexander Davion

24.

Chance Meeting (1959)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X

Dutch painter Jan-Van Rooyer hurries to keep a rendezvous with Jacquleine Cousteau, an elegant, sophisticated Frenchwoman... (95 mins.)

Director: Joseph Losey

Stars: Hardy Krüger, Stanley Baker, Micheline Presle, John Van Eyssen

25.

The Blue Parrot (1953)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.2/10 X

A London Soho nightclub is the focus for an undercover investigation into the murder of a small-time crook. (69 mins.)

Director: John Harlow

Stars: Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill, Ballard Berkeley, Richard Pearson

26.

Boys in Brown (1949)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X

A slice of life in a British Borstal reform institution for young criminals. (85 mins.)

Director: Montgomery Tully

Stars: Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde, Jimmy Hanley

27.

The Brain Machine (1955)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.2/10 X

A doctor is taken hostage by a drug smuggler whom she has diagnosed as psychotic. Her estranged husband has to find her before the smuggling gang find him and kill them both. (84 mins.)

Director: Ken Hughes

Stars: Patrick Barr, Elizabeth Allan, Maxwell Reed, Vanda Godsell

28.

The Great Armored Car Swindle (1961)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.4/10 X

(59 mins.)

Director: Lance Comfort

Stars: Peter Reynolds, Dermot Walsh, Joanna Dunham, Lisa Gastoni

29.

Brighton Rock (1947)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.4/10 X

Pinkie Brown is a small-town hoodlum whose gang runs a protection racket based at Brighton race course... (92 mins.)

Director: John Boulting

Stars: Richard Attenborough, Hermione Baddeley, William Hartnell, Harcourt Williams

30.

Cage of Gold (1950)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X

A young bride believes her husband has been killed. After a suitable period of mourning, she re-marries... (83 mins.)

Director: Basil Dearden

Stars: Jean Simmons, David Farrar, James Donald, Herbert Lom

31.

Cairo (1963)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.3/10 X

A man called Major is in Cairo after being released from a German Prison. He is there to proceed with... (91 mins.)

Director: Wolf Rilla

Stars: George Sanders, Richard Johnson, Faten Hamama, John Meillon

32.

Calculated Risk (1963)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.4/10 X

(72 mins.)

Director: Norman Harrison

Stars: William Lucas, John Rutland, Dilys Watling, Warren Mitchell

33.

Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X

With a ruthless gang terrorizing London, Scotland Yard calls Hugh "Bulldog" Drummond out of retirement... (80 mins.)

Director: Victor Saville

Stars: Walter Pidgeon, Margaret Leighton, Robert Beatty, David Tomlinson

34.

Candidate for Murder (1962)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.7/10 X

The professional killer Kersten arrives in England and is hired by Donald Edwards to murder his wife Helene. But Helene's lover Robert Vaughan discovers the plot and he trails Kersten and Edwards to a country cottage. (60 mins.)

Director: David Villiers

Stars: Richard Bidlake, Victor Charrington, Vanda Godsell, Michael Gough

35.

Carnival (1946)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X

(93 mins.)

Director: Stanley Haynes

Stars: Sally Gray, Michael Wilding, Stanley Holloway, Bernard Miles

36.

The Frightened Lady (1940)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X

"Mark's Priory". the family seat of the Lebanons, is a house of terror to Ilsa Crane, secretary and niece of Lady Lebanon... (81 mins.)

Director: George King

Stars: Marius Goring, Penelope Dudley-Ward, Helen Haye, Felix Aylmer

37.

Cast a Dark Shadow (1955)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X

A clever fortune-hunter with a penchant for murder does in his elderly, supposedly rich, wife and manages to get away with it... (82 mins.)

Director: Lewis Gilbert

Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Lockwood, Kay Walsh, Kathleen Harrison

38.

Cat Girl (1957)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.3/10 X

A young woman inherits a family curse that turns her into a murderous feline when she is angered. (76 mins.)

Director: Alfred Shaughnessy

Stars: Barbara Shelley, Robert Ayres, Kay Callard, Ernest Milton

39.

It Takes a Thief (1960)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X

Billie and Kristy lead a gang of armed robbers who steal from banks, armoured cars, and the like. When Billie's lover... (101 mins.)

Director: John Gilling

Stars: Jayne Mansfield, Anthony Quayle, Carl Möhner, Peter Reynolds

40.

Chase a Crooked Shadow (1958)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X

A man shows up at Kimberley Prescott's villa claiming to be her brother. But Ward Prescott died in a car accident a year ago... (84 mins.)

Director: Michael Anderson

Stars: Richard Todd, Anne Baxter, Herbert Lom, Alexander Knox

41.

Circle of Danger (1951)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X

Clay Douglas an American, comes to England, to find out the truth behind his brothers death during a commando operation in occupied France... (86 mins.)

Director: Jacques Tourneur

Stars: Ray Milland, Patricia Roc, Marius Goring, Hugh Sinclair

42.

A Circle of Deception (1960)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X

Unbeknownst to him, a soldier is sent on a doomed mission because of the high likelihood of him divulging secrets if captured and tortured. (100 mins.)

Director: Jack Lee

Stars: Bradford Dillman, Suzy Parker, Harry Andrews, Robert Stephens

43.

Cloudburst (1952)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X

A Canadian World War II veteran working for the British Foreign Office scours England for the killer who murdered his wife. (83 mins.)

Director: Francis Searle

Stars: Robert Preston, Elizabeth Sellars, Colin Tapley, Sheila Burrell

44.

The Clouded Yellow (1950)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.0/10 X

When Secret Service agent David Somers is fired, he takes a quiet job with the Fentons at their country estate - cataloging butterflies... (95 mins.)

Director: Ralph Thomas

Stars: Jean Simmons, Trevor Howard, Sonia Dresdel, Barry Jones

Image of The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre: The Clue of the New Pin

45.

The Edgar Wallace Mystery Theatre (1960 TV Series)

Episode: The Clue of the New Pin (1960)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X

Stars: Bernard Lee, Bernard Archard, Allan Cuthbertson, John Carson

46.

The Deadliest Sin (1955)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X

A falling-out between thieves over the proceeds of a stickup results in several killings and a priest being marked for murder because of a confession he heard from one of the gang members. (90 mins.)

Director: Ken Hughes

Stars: Sydney Chaplin, Audrey Dalton, Jefferson Clifford, John Bentley

47.

Blackout (1940)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X

Early in World War II, Danish sea captain Andersen, delayed in a British port, tangles with German spies. (92 mins.)

Director: Michael Powell

Stars: Conrad Veidt, Valerie Hobson, Hay Petrie, Joss Ambler

48.

Corridor of Mirrors (1948)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.0/10 X

A man falls in love with a beautiful young woman and begins to suspect that he may have also loved her in a previous life. (105 mins.)

Director: Terence Young

Stars: Eric Portman, Edana Romney, Barbara Mullen, Hugh Sinclair

49.

The Slasher (1953)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.9/10 X

Amongst the bomb-sites and dark alleys of postwar London Roy Walsh and his gang of juvenile delinquents waylay and rob old ladies... (75 mins.)

Director: Lewis Gilbert

Stars: James Kenney, Joan Collins, Betty Ann Davies, Robert Ayres

50.

Bombsight Stolen (1941)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X

A wartime cottage on a Scottish estate becomes a focus of attention when not only the new tenant but... (90 mins.)

Director: Anthony Asquith

Stars: Leslie Banks, Alastair Sim, Jeanne De Casalis, Carla Lehmann

51.

Devil's Plot (1948)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.0/10 X

An escaped World War 2 Nazi doctor, impersonates a murdered English doctor so he can work on a vaccination to protect the Germans in their planned germ warfare. (99 mins.)

Director: Paul L. Stein

Stars: Robert Beatty, Mervyn Johns, Nova Pilbeam, Margaretta Scott

52.

Crimes at the Dark House (1940)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.3/10 X

A madman kills a man who has just inherited a large estate, then impersonates his victim to gain entrance to the estate so he can murder his enemies. (69 mins.)

Director: George King

Stars: Tod Slaughter, Sylvia Marriott, Hilary Eaves, Geoffrey Wardwell

53.

Concrete Jungle (1960)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X

An ex-con who's taken part in the robbery of a racetrack is caught and sent back to prison, but he won't... (97 mins.)

Director: Joseph Losey

Stars: Stanley Baker, Sam Wanamaker, Grégoire Aslan, Margit Saad

54.

Crossroads to Crime (1960)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.6/10 X

(57 mins.)

Director: Gerry Anderson

Stars: Anthony Oliver, Patricia Heneghan, Miriam Karlin, George Murcell

55.

Crow Hollow (1952)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X

A story of a newly-wed wife of a young doctor who goes to live with him in an oppressive old house where... (69 mins.)

Director: Michael McCarthy

Stars: Donald Houston, Natasha Parry, Patricia Owens, Esma Cannon

56.

These Are the Damned (1963)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X

An American tourist, a youth gang leader, and his troubled sister find themselves trapped in a top secret government facility experimenting on children. (87 mins.)

Director: Joseph Losey

Stars: Macdonald Carey, Shirley Anne Field, Viveca Lindfors, Alexander Knox

57.

Dancing with Crime (1947)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X

A London cab driver gets mixed up with a criminal gang and sets out to expose the group and its leader for what they are. (83 mins.)

Director: John Paddy Carstairs

Stars: Richard Attenborough, Barry K. Barnes, Sheila Sim, Garry Marsh

58.

The Human Monster (1939)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X

Insurance agent-physician collects on policies of men murdered by a disfigured resident of the home for the blind where he acts as doctor-on-call. (76 mins.)

Director: Walter Summers

Stars: Bela Lugosi, Hugh Williams, Greta Gynt, Edmon Ryan

59.

The Dark Man (1951)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.2/10 X

A killer called 'The Dark Man' commits double murder. This is witnessed by the young aspiring actress Molly Lester... (91 mins.)

Director: Jeffrey Dell

Stars: Edward Underdown, Maxwell Reed, Natasha Parry, William Hartnell

60.

Dark Secret (1949)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 -/10 X

A young couple move into a charming rural cottage. They become fixated upon the mysterious death of the earlier female occupant. (85 mins.)

Director: Maclean Rogers

Stars: Dinah Sheridan, Emrys Jones, Irene Handl, Hugh Pryse

61.

The Dark Tower (1943)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.1/10 X

A struggling circus finds salvation in the form of an exciting new twist on their high-wire act. (90 mins.)

Director: John Harlow

Stars: Ben Lyon, Anne Crawford, David Farrar, Herbert Lom

62.

Daughter of Darkness (1948)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X

Emily, a pretty young Irish girl, gets a job on an English farm owned by the Tallent family. The local men take to her but the women don't... (91 mins.)

Director: Lance Comfort

Stars: Anne Crawford, Maxwell Reed, George Thorpe, Barry Morse

63.

Daybreak (1948)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X

A hangman conceals his true identity when he falls in love, and sets up home with his girl on a barge in the river Thames... (81 mins.)

Director: Compton Bennett

Stars: Ann Todd, Eric Portman, Maxwell Reed, Edward Rigby

64.

Dangerous Masquerade (1939)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 4.7/10 X

A down-and-out writer being hounded by collectors stumbles upon dead man lying under a fallen tree limb... (69 mins.)

Director: Harold French

Stars: Robert Newton, Betty Lynne, Peter Gawthorne, John Warwick

65.

Dead of Night (1945)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X

An architect senses impending doom as his half-remembered recurring dream turns into reality. The guests at the country house encourage him to stay as they take turns telling supernatural tales. (103 mins.)

Director: Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton

Stars: Mervyn Johns, Michael Redgrave, Roland Culver, Mary Merrall

66.

Deadly Nightshade (1953)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.6/10 X

Escapee switches identities but finds the new one quite a handful. (61 mins.)

Director: John Gilling

Stars: Emrys Jones, Zena Marshall, John Horsley, Joan Hickson

67.

Dear Murderer (1947)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X

When successful business man Lee Warren suspects his wife is having an affair, he sets out find her lover... (90 mins.)

Director: Arthur Crabtree

Stars: Eric Portman, Greta Gynt, Dennis Price, Jack Warner

68.

Delayed Action (1954)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.4/10 X

(58 mins.)

Director: John Harlow

Stars: Robert Ayres, June Thorburn, Alan Wheatley, Bruce Seton

69.

The Depraved (1957)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.0/10 X

U.S. Army captain stationed in England has an affair with a local married woman. Together they hatch a plan to kill her husband. (70 mins.)

Director: Paul Dickson

Stars: Anne Heywood, Robert Arden, Carroll Levis, Basil Dignam

70.

Desperate Moment (1953)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.9/10 X

(88 mins.)

Director: Compton Bennett

Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Mai Zetterling, Philip Friend, Albert Lieven

71.

The Way Out (1955)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.5/10 X

A man tells his wife that the police are after him for having killed a bookie during an alcoholic binge... (86 mins.)

Director: Montgomery Tully

Stars: Mona Freeman, Gene Nelson, John Bentley, Michael Goodliffe

72.

Do You Know This Voice? (1964)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 6.8/10 X

A great murder mystery. The only clue to a mad killer's identity is his shoes! The crime's only witness... (80 mins.)

Director: Frank Nesbitt

Stars: Dan Duryea, Isa Miranda, Gwen Watford, Peter Madden

73.

Don't Talk to Strange Men (1962)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.1/10 X

An innocent girl is "groomed" over the telephone, and nearly becomes the victim of an attacker (65 mins.)

Director: Pat Jackson

Stars: Christina Gregg, Cyril Raymond, Gillian Lind, Conrad Phillips

74.

Chamber of Horrors (1940)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 5.8/10 X

A murder is found to be connected to a false heir and a secret underground torture chamber. (89 mins.)

Director: Norman Lee

Stars: Leslie Banks, Lilli Palmer, Romilly Lunge, Gina Malo

75.

Double Confession (1950)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X

When his wife is murdered, the husband tries to divert suspicion from himself to someone else. Unfortunately, his scheme winds up getting him mixed up with some real murderers. (80 mins.)

Director: Ken Annakin

Stars: Derek Farr, Joan Hopkins, Peter Lorre, William Hartnell