The 23 Best French Noir Films of All Time
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- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinGabriel GabrioSaturnin FabreA wanted gangster is both king and prisoner of the Casbah. He is protected from arrest by his friends, but is torn by his desire for freedom outside. A visiting Parisian beauty may just tempt his fate.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinMichel SimonMichèle MorganA military deserter finds love and trouble (and a small dog) in a foggy, French port city.
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsJean GabinJulien CaretteSimone SimonIn this classic adaptation of Emile Zola's novel, a tortured train engineer falls in love with a troubled married woman who has helped her husband commit a murder.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsJean GabinJacqueline LaurentArlettyAfter committing a murder, a man locks himself in his apartment and recollects the events that led him to the killing.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsPierre FresnayGinette LeclercMicheline FranceyA French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsViviane RomanceMichel SimonMax DalbanAfter an elderly maid is murdered, opinions are manipulated, evidence is planted, violence erupts, and panic ensues.
- DirectorYves AllégretStarsBernard BlierSimone SignoretMarcello PaglieroDedee is a prostitute who works in Monsieur Rene's nightclub on Antwerp's harbour. The porter is Marco, her pimp. Dedee is not happy until she meets Francesco, an Italian sailor. They fall in love and Dedee starts to dream about escaping her daily dull grind.
- DirectorAndré CayatteStarsMichel AuclairAntoine BalpêtréRaymond BussièresA trial of a mercy killing.
- DirectorAndré CayatteStarsMarcel MouloudjiRaymond PellegrinAntoine BalpêtréThe problem of the reasonableness of capital punishment.
- DirectorAndré CayatteStarsAntoine BalpêtréPaul BiscigliaBernard BlierSelf-centered parents of the 50's targeted by drama in which teenagers panicking after burglary supposed to finance the run from the Third World War.
- DirectorAndré CayatteStarsAntoine BalpêtréBernard BlierJean-Marc BoryJacques Arnaud arrives in a small town somewhere in the province. Soon a citizen reports to him that strangers have broken into his house where they stole a mysterious "black dossier".
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsSimone SignoretSerge ReggianiClaude DauphinThree gangsters and an ex-con carpenter all fall for the same beautiful golden-haired woman in Belle Époque France.
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsJean GabinRené DaryDora DollAn aging, world-weary gangster is double-crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of eight stolen gold bars demanded as ransom.
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsAndré BervilJean KeraudyMichel ConstantinDistrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
- DirectorJacqueline AudryStarsArlettyFrank VillardGaby SylviaThree people who despise each other find themselves sharing a room in Hell - forever.
- DirectorJacqueline AudryStarsDanièle DelormeFernand GraveyFrançois GuérinDuring the First World War, the Empyrée Montmartre, a Paris music-hall, is dedicated to patriotic revues whose star is the charming Mitsou. The young artist is not without talent but she is mainly well-connected. She is indeed the cherished mistress of Pierre Duroy-Lelong, a rich industrialist. One night, thanks to Petite-Chose, an ebullient singer-dancer and her co-star, she gets to know a handsome army, Lieutenant Bleu. Mitsou falls madly in love with him and Lieutenant Bleu is physically attracted to her. The trouble is that Bleu comes from a distinguished family and cannot put up with her lack of culture and artistic bad taste...
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsRoger DuchesneIsabelle CoreyDaniel CauchyAfter losing big, an aging gambler decides to assemble a team to rob a casino.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsJean ServaisCarl MöhnerRobert ManuelFour men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes...
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsJeanne MoreauMaurice RonetGeorges PoujoulyA self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsAlain DelonMaurice RonetMarie LaforêtTom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsCharles AznavourMarie DuboisNicole BergerA pianist helps his brother escape from two gangsters, who retaliate by abducting their kid brother.
- DirectorClaude SautetStarsLino VenturaSandra MiloJean-Paul BelmondoA ruthless criminal flees from the pursuit, involving more and more casualties.
- DirectorGeorges LautnerStarsLino VenturaBernard BlierFrancis BlancheA dying mob boss hands over his business to an old friend, Fernand. The boss' assistants want to get rid of the latter. But are the Volfoni brothers and Théo real threats? Ensuing fights and shootouts are more comical than deadly.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean GabinAlain DelonLino VenturaAn ambitious young mobster plans an elaborate diamond heist while seducing the daughter of a ruthless mob patriarch as a determined police commissioner closes in on all of them.
- DirectorJacques DerayStarsJean-Paul BelmondoAlain DelonCatherine RouvelDuring the 1930s, in Marseilles, France, two small time crooks work for local crime bosses until they decide to go into business for themselves.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonBourvilGian Maria VolontèAfter leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.
- DirectorClaude SautetStarsDanielle DurouAlain BelartMichel PiccoliA detective decides to go undercover and set up a group of robbers, but he may be getting too caught up in the task at hand.
- DirectorGeorges LautnerStarsBernard BlierDanièle DelormeMaurice BiraudIn a moment of madness a respectable pharmacist kills a young woman who is sun-bathing by a lake. Unable to take in what he has done, he flees from the scene of the crime and behaves as if nothing has happened.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsJean-Paul BelmondoSerge ReggianiJean DesaillyA burglar betraying other criminals prepares for a big heist with a trusted friend who might be as untrustworthy as he.
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsCatherine AllégretJacques PerrinSimone SignoretThe witnesses of a train murder must take the investigation into their own hands if they want to survive.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsLino VenturaPaul MeurisseRaymond PellegrinA gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonFrançois PérierNathalie DelonAfter professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsLino VenturaPaul MeurisseJean-Pierre CasselAn account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonRichard CrennaCatherine DeneuveAfter a shaky first heist, a group of thieves plan an even more elaborate and risky second heist.