The 10 Best Film Noir Movies of All Time, Ranked
The article ranks ten film noir films, balancing the classic period of the 1940s and 1950s with a few later neo-noir titles. It notes that the genre’s boundaries are debated and that even landmark films such as *The Maltese Falcon* and *Touch of Evil* are omitted, so the ranking is one selection rather than a definitive list.
Among the films discussed are *Out of the Past*, praised for Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas’s performances and Jacques Tourneur’s atmospheric direction; *Elevator to the Gallows*, whose crime story steadily escalates; and *The Third Man*, set in Vienna and led by Joseph Cotten, with Orson Welles in a supporting role. The article presents these films as examples of noir’s range, from shadowy classic crime stories to works that helped shape later cinema.
In short
- The ranking spans classic noir and later neo-noir.
- *Out of the Past* and *The Third Man* feature among the selections.
- The list leaves out some major noir landmarks.
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