So Dark the Night (Classic Film Noir Remakes)
Some of these films are complete remakes, others are just inspired by certain Classic Film Noirs.
Plus a partial list of Classic Film Noir that these remakes were based upon.
"Every man... every man has to go through hell to reach paradise."
Cape Fear (1991)
Plus a partial list of Classic Film Noir that these remakes were based upon.
"Every man... every man has to go through hell to reach paradise."
Cape Fear (1991)
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- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobert De NiroNick NolteJessica LangeA convicted rapist, released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence, stalks the family of the lawyer who originally defended him.
- DirectorDick RichardsStarsRobert MitchumCharlotte RamplingJohn IrelandLos Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by paroled convict Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsElliott GouldNina van PallandtSterling HaydenPrivate investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.
- DirectorBob RafelsonStarsJack NicholsonJessica LangeJohn ColicosThe sensuous wife of a roadside diner proprietor and a rootless drifter begin a sordid, steamy affair and conspire to murder her Greek husband.
- DirectorEddie DavisStarsTom TryonCarolyn JonesRick JasonA man discovers that he has been deliberately poisoned and hasn't long to live. In the short time he has left, he determines to find out who poisoned him and why.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsDavid CarusoSamuel L. JacksonNicolas CageA reformed convict goes undercover with the help of an angry detective to ensnare a psychotic mobster.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsPeter GallagherElisabeth ShueAlison ElliottA recovering gambling addict attempts to reconcile with his family and friends but finds trouble and temptation when caught between feelings for his ex-wife and her dangerous hoodlum boyfriend.
- DirectorAnnabel JankelRocky MortonStarsDennis QuaidMeg RyanCharlotte RamplingA college professor's day: his top student allegedly commits suicide, his wife presents him with divorce papers and he overnights in a freshman girl's dorm. The next day: more murders around him. Will he find the killer in time?
- DirectorWilliam WitneyStarsJack HoganJune KenneyJohn BaerA burglar steals a briefcase. Unknown to him, it contains a valuable secret formula. So he has the police on his trail--plus the owner of the formula and a ruthless spy...Nods to Pickup on South Street (1953).
- DirectorTaylor HackfordStarsRachel WardJeff BridgesJames WoodsA gangster hires an ex-football player to find his girlfriend. When he finds her, they fall in love, and the twists start to appear.
- DirectorDon SiegelStarsLee MarvinAngie DickinsonJohn CassavetesSurprised that their contract victim didn't try to run away from them, two professional hit men try to find out who hired them and why.
- DirectorPeter HyamsStarsGene HackmanAnne ArcherJames SikkingA Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney is sent to protect a woman who accidentally witnessed a Mafia murder.
- DirectorWaris HusseinStarsAnthony HopkinsLesley-Anne DownDonald PleasenceIn Paris, before the Nazis penetrate into the city, an Austrian refugee doctor falls in love with a mysterious woman.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsKeith CarradineShelley DuvallJohn SchuckWhen two men break out of prison, they join up with another and restart their criminal ways, robbing banks across the South.
- DirectorMichael WinnerStarsRobert MitchumSarah MilesRichard BooneGrizzled American private detective in England investigates a complicated case of blackmail turned murder involving a rich but honest elderly general, his two loose socialite daughters, a pornographer and a gangster.
- DirectorWolf RillaStarsGeorge SandersRichard JohnsonFaten HamamahAn assortment of international criminals plans to steal priceless Egyptian artifacts from a Cairo museum.
- DirectorLawrence KasdanStarsWilliam HurtKathleen TurnerRichard CrennaDuring an extreme heatwave, a beautiful Florida woman and a seedy lawyer engage in an affair while plotting the murder of her rich husband.Nods to Double Indemnity (1944) and Out of the Past (1947).
- DirectorRoger DonaldsonStarsKevin CostnerGene HackmanSean YoungA coverup and witchhunt occur after a politician accidentally kills his mistress.
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsSam WaterstonZero MostelYvette MimieuxAn American geologist accidentally discovers oil in Turkey. Several assassins are sent to eliminate him, but they all fail. He eventually boards a passenger boat to try to escape. However, one of the passengers is an undercover assassin.
- DirectorJack SmightStarsRichard CrennaLee J. CobbRobert WebberA scheming wife lures an insurance investigator into helping murder her husband and then declare it an accident. The investigator's boss, not knowing his man is involved in it, suspects murder and sets out to prove it.
- DirectorJosé Luis García AgrazStarsDemián BichirSteven BrownGerardo CamarenaIn this remake of the 40's classic, two lovers murder each other, leading to an investigation and the closing of the Saln Mxico, a famous place where people used to go to dance before WWII. The police investigation leads to several flashbacks about the life and death of a low-life dancer named Mercedes (Maria Rojo) and her lover.
- DirectorJames DeardenStarsMatt DillonSean YoungJames BonfantiA determined student murders his pregnant secret girlfriend and moves onto her twin sister who gradually becomes suspicious of her new lover.
- DirectorRobert D. WebbStarsJames BrolinJacqueline BissetClaire TrevorSouth African secret agents attempt to save confidential microfilm before it falls into the hands of Communists.Nods to Pickup on South Street (1953).
- DirectorBarry PollackStarsThalmus RasulalaJudy PaceJulian ChristopherThalmus is the leader for a group of criminals who gather in L.A. to rob a bank. Their goal is to find a new bank.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsSharon StoneIsabelle AdjaniChazz PalminteriThe wife and mistress of the sadistic dean of an exclusive prep school conspire to murder him.
- DirectorMichael CiminoStarsMickey RourkeAnthony HopkinsMimi RogersAn escaped con, on the run from the law, moves into a married couple's house and takes over their lives.
- DirectorIrwin WinklerStarsRobert De NiroJessica LangeCliff GormanThe story about a cheating and incompetent lawyer (Harry Fabian) who suddenly gets obsessed on becoming a boxing promoter.
- DirectorScott McGeheeDavid SiegelStarsTilda SwintonGoran VisnjicJonathan TuckerA woman spirals out of control while trying to keep her son from being found culpable in a murder investigation.
- DirectorWilliam FriedkinStarsRoy ScheiderBruno CremerFrancisco RabalFour unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsVic MorrowSuzanne PleshetteVictor BuonoPilot Harry Black is hired to fly a man named Carlyle to Istanbul, where he's murdered. Now, mysterious Diane Reed and a local gangster, Rashi, are after Harry believing that he has the priceless plates Carlyle used to counterfeit money.
- DirectorStephen BaylyStarsColin DaleSaeed JaffreyDursley McLindenWhen the man who left a package in his care is murdered, detective Tim Diamond suddenly has every major gangster in the city after him. With only the package and the help of his little brother, he sets out to unravel the mysterious plot.
- DirectorRobert SparrStarsPaul BurkeCarol LynleyMartha HyerA woman seduces a professional golfer, then offers to kill his opponent if the golfer will kill her psychiatrist, who wants her committed.
- DirectorGeorge P. BreakstonStarsFraser MacIntoshVeronica HurstPhil BrownA young boy with a penchant for spinning elaborate yarns gets himself in deep trouble when he tries to tell people that he really did witness a terrible murder.
- DirectorRowan JoffeStarsSam RileyAndrea RiseboroughHelen MirrenCharts the headlong fall of Pinkie, a razor-wielding disadvantaged teenager with a religious death wish.
- DirectorRichard FranklinStarsHenry ThomasDabney ColemanMichael MurphyA young boy and his imaginary friend end up on the run while in possession of a top-secret spy gadget.
- DirectorFranz Josef WildStarsHildegard KnefAnton WalbrookHellmut LangeThe detective investigating Laura Hunt's murder finds himself becoming obsessed with the dead woman - and then finds out she's actually still alive.
- DirectorRobert Alan AurthurStarsSidney PoitierJoanna ShimkusAl Freeman Jr.A gang of black militants plots to rob a factory to finance their "revolutionary struggle".
- DirectorTamra DavisStarsDrew BarrymoreJames Le GrosRobert GreenbergA trashy teen murders her sexually abusive step-father, then helps get her reformed prison pen-pal released on good behavior so that she can re-corrupt him.
- DirectorPaul WendkosStarsBen GazzaraJack CarterDane ClarkA Mafia chief is torn between his brother, who has defected from the family, and his loyalty to the organization.
- DirectorMichael CaffeyStarsSteve ForrestDean JaggerWill GeerMiraculously still alive after his hanging, gunfighter James Devlin defends a young widow's farm from a vicious land grabber.
- DirectorRichard T. HeffronStarsArmand AssanteBarbara CarreraLaurene LandonA PI investigates the murder of his one-armed friend, a PI working on a case. Clues lead to a sex clinic. Bodies pile up.
- DirectorRobin DavisStarsNathalie BayeFrancis HusterRichard BohringerAfter a train accident, a woman survives and is mistaken for an other woman she just met on a train before the accident.
- CreatorLarry BrodyStarsStacy KeachLindsay BloomDon StroudThe cases of Mickey Spillane's classic private eye character.
- DirectorGary NelsonStarsStacy KeachTanya RobertsDon StroudMickey Spillane's private eye Mike Hammer (Stacy Keach) probes his long-lost love's death while seeking their daughter.
- DirectorJonathan WinfreyStarsStacy KeachShane ConradShannon WhirryLila B is a singer who is romantically involved with a mobster, Johnny Dive. When she becomes a murder suspect, Mike tries to help.
- DirectorGary NelsonStarsStacy KeachLindsay BloomDon StroudA high-stakes poker game is robbed and Pat intervenes as the thieves make their getaway. He is shot in the back and then framed as a drug dealer. Hammer makes it his job to clear Pat and find out who nearly killed him.
- DirectorRay DantonStarsStacy KeachDon StroudLindsay BloomA young girl is kidnapped and there is an attempt on the daughter of an well-known actress. The kidnapper then turns up dead. Hammer is hired to protect the girl and travels to Los Angeles, where she is then kidnapped.
- DirectorLee H. KatzinStarsArthur HillDiana MuldaurJames StacyLeft to die in the desert by his wife and her lover, a businessman fights to survive and get his revenge.
- DirectorSam WanamakerStarsYul BrynnerCharles GrayEdward WoodwardU.S. Agent Novak and Scotland Yard Officer Thompson go undercover to infiltrate a counterfeit organization.
- DirectorGeorges LautnerStarsJean-Paul BelmondoCristiana RealiSandrine KiberlainSince the suicide of his wife, Jacques Loursat has gone downhill. Estranged from his daughter, his lawyer's pratice in ruins, he consoles himself with drink. One night he is woken by a gunshot and catches sight of a young man fleeing the house. Isabelle, his daughter, claims to know nothing about it, even when he finds the body of a young man. Isabelle hangs around with a gang of spoiled young people who have no shortage of money, and is in love with Joel, an ambitious boy involved in drug dealing. Antoine, from a more modest background, is in love with her. When the police start investigating Joel's murder, Antoine becomes the ideal suspect.
- DirectorArthur PennStarsMary SteenburgenRoddy McDowallJan RubesA fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.
- DirectorRachel FeldmanStarsTracey GoldKevin DobsonDee WallaceA young woman on the run allows grieving parents to believe that she is their late son's wife.
- DirectorWade WilliamsStarsTom Neal Jr.Lea LavishSusanna FosterA nightclub piano player (Tom Neal Jr.) hitchhikes to the West Coast and soon figures into two deaths.
- DirectorPierre RouveStarsJames MasonGeraldine ChaplinBobby DarinJohn Sawyer, once an eminent barrister, has slid into a life of cynicism and drunkenness since his wife left him. When his daughter's boyfriend is accused of murder, Sawyer decides to try to pull himself together and defend him in court.
- DirectorDavid GreeneStarsRichard ChamberlainDiana ScarwidAmy BeboutA false preacher ingratiates himself with a dead man's family to find where he hid the money from a robbery.
- DirectorJeff BlecknerStarsChristopher ReeveDaryl HannahRobert ForsterModern remake of Rear Window in which the lead character is paralyzed and lives in a high-tech home filled with assistive technology.
- StarsKate WinsletGuy PearceEvan Rachel WoodDivorced single mom Mildred Pierce decides to open a restaurant business, which tears at the already-strained relationship with her ambitious elder daughter, Veda.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoMichelle PfeifferSteven BauerIn 1980 Miami, a determined Cuban immigrant takes over a drug cartel and succumbs to greed.
- DirectorMichael CristoferStarsAntonio BanderasAngelina JolieThomas JaneA woman, along with her lover, plans to con a rich man by marrying him, earning his trust, and then running away with all his money. Everything goes as planned until she falls in love with him.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsKeith CarradineShelley DuvallJohn SchuckWhen two men break out of prison, they join up with another and restart their criminal ways, robbing banks across the South.
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsYves MontandFrançois PérierSimone SignoretAn inspector is having a secret relationship with a woman. When she is murdered by his boss, all proof is against him.
- DirectorRick BergerStarsKim MyersBrett CullenSusan BarnesA delusional babysitter goes on a psychotic rampage, putting the little girl she is looking after in grave danger.
- DirectorPeter CollinsonStarsJacqueline BissetChristopher PlummerJohn Phillip LawIn a remake of the 1940s film, Helen has been incapable of speech since seeing her husband die - will she become the target of a deranged serial killer targeting disabled people?
- DirectorJames HeadStarsNicollette SheridanJudd NelsonAlex McArthurDuring a storm, a group of people are trapped inside a mansion with a killer.
- DirectorBernard GirardStarsStella StevensShelley WintersSkip WardEllen Hardy gets a rude awakening when she discovers that her brother and sister are scheduled to leave the mental institution where they were put as young children after they killed their parents.
- DirectorLou AntonioStarsRobert WagnerNancy EverhardFredric LehneA killer for hire named Raven kills his target. However, he believes that he was just killing an ordinary person, but before he knows it, there's a massive manhunt for him. It seems that the man he killed is a senator. While trying to evade the police, he takes a woman, Anne hostage. Though he eventually lets her go. She develops some kind of fascination for him, which doesn't please her boyfriend, who just happens to be the one who tracking Raven. At the same time Raven tries to find out who set him up and why.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsRichard GereDiane LaneOlivier MartinezA New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
- DirectorJohn BadhamStarsTuesday WeldJoan HackettSam WaterstonThe wife and mistress of the abusive headmaster of a boy's school plot and carry out his murder. They dump his body in the murky swimming pool at the school and await for it to surface. After several days, some unusual circumstances point to clues that he is not dead after all.
- DirectorRichard LangStarsVincent GardeniaJane SeymourStephen CollinsAfter attorney Frank Girard is murdered, Detective Al Church (Vincent Gardenia) suspects that Ms. Leigh Cullen (Jane Seymour) is the perpetrator, as she was supposedly last seen with the man. However, after Leigh's alleged twin sister, Tracy, shows up at the police line-up with Leigh, Church is left puzzled and with no specific suspect to pinpoint. Therefore, Church asks Psychiatrist Dr. Jim Eiseley (Stephen Collins), an acquaintance of Leigh's, to evaluate the sisters and run tests on them in hopes of filtering out the murderer. However, Eiseley's increasing involvement with Leigh complicates things with Tracy in the picture.
- DirectorNeil JordanStarsNick NolteRalph FiennesNutsa KukhianidzeAn aging gambler on a losing streak attempts to rob a casino in Monte Carlo. But someone's already tipped off the cops before he even makes a move.
- DirectorRoger AvaryStarsEric StoltzJulie DelpyMartin RaymondThe cab driver sets American Zed up with Zoe in his Paris hotel. Despite FFR1000 charged, she's an art student with day jobs e.g. bank. Safecracker Zed meets his junkie friend after 11 years to rob a bank.Nods to Violent Saturday (1955).
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsRobert MitchumJane GreerKirk DouglasA private eye escapes his past to run a gas station in a small town, but his past catches up with him. Now he must return to the big city world of danger, corruption, double crosses, and duplicitous dames.
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsGregory PeckRobert MitchumPolly BergenA lawyer's family is stalked by a man he once helped put in jail.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallJohn RidgelyPrivate detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.
- DirectorTed TetzlaffStarsBobby DriscollBarbara HaleArthur KennedyTo avoid the heat of a sweltering summer night a 9-year-old Manhattan boy decides to sleep on the fire escape and witnesses a murder, but no one will believe him.
- DirectorJohn BoultingStarsRichard AttenboroughHermione BaddeleyWilliam HartnellIn Brighton in 1935, small-time gang leader Pinkie Brown murders a journalist and later desperately tries to cover his tracks but runs into trouble with the police, a few witnesses, and a rival gang.
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsRichard WidmarkJean PetersThelma RitterA pickpocket unwittingly lifts a message destined for enemy agents and becomes a target for a Communist spy ring.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsSterling HaydenLouis CalhernJean HagenA major heist goes off as planned, but then double crosses, bad luck and solid police work cause everything to unravel.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsNina FochMay WhittyGeorge MacreadyJulia Ross secures employment through a rather nosy employment agency, with a wealthy widow, Mrs. Hughes, and goes to live at her house. 2 days later, she awakens - in a different house, in different clothes and with a new identity. She's told she is the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Hughes and has suffered a nervous breakdown. Is Julia really 'Julia', or is it true that she's lost all memory of who she is?
- DirectorMax OphülsStarsJames MasonJoan BennettGeraldine BrooksAfter discovering the dead body of her teenage daughter's lover, a housewife takes desperate measures to protect her family from scandal.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsHumphrey BogartFredric MarchArthur KennedyThree escaped convicts move in on and terrorize a suburban household.
- DirectorEdgar G. UlmerStarsTom NealAnn SavageClaudia DrakeThe life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsSimone SignoretVéra ClouzotPaul MeurisseThe wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsFred MacMurrayBarbara StanwyckEdward G. RobinsonA Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsRichard ConteDianne FosterKathryn GrantA retired mob accountant is drawn back in when his brothers, who have recently made a hit for the organization, decide to go to the authorities.
- DirectorEdward DmytrykStarsDick PowellClaire TrevorAnne ShirleyAfter being hired to find an ex-con's former girlfriend, Philip Marlowe is drawn into a deeply complex web of mystery and deceit.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsRoger DuchesneIsabelle CoreyDaniel CauchyAfter losing big, an aging gambler decides to assemble a team to rob a casino.
- DirectorJoseph H. LewisStarsJohn DallPeggy CumminsBerry KroegerTwo disturbed young people release their fascination with guns through a crime spree.
- DirectorHarry EssexStarsBiff ElliotPreston FosterPeggie CastleDectective Mike Hammer is determined to catch and kill the person who shot his close friend dead, so he follows clues that lead to a beautiful, seductive woman.
- DirectorMitchell LeisenStarsBarbara StanwyckJohn LundJane CowlA pregnant woman adopts the identity of a railroad-crash victim and starts a new life with the woman's wealthy in-laws, but is soon blackmailed by her devious ex.
- DirectorRobert SiodmakStarsBurt LancasterAva GardnerEdmond O'BrienHit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.
- DirectorGerd OswaldStarsRobert WagnerJeffrey HunterVirginia LeithA ruthless college student resorts to murder in an attempt to marry an heiress.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsVictor MatureBrian DonlevyColeen GrayA crook arrested for a jewelry heist initially refuses to give up his accomplices, but he changes his mind once his wife dies under worrying circumstances.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsRichard WidmarkGene TierneyGoogie WithersA small-time grifter and nightclub tout takes advantage of some fortuitous circumstances and tries to become a big-time player as a wrestling promoter.
- DirectorCharles LaughtonStarsRobert MitchumShelley WintersLillian GishA self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRay MillandMaureen O'SullivanCharles LaughtonA magazine tycoon commits a murder and pins it on an innocent man, who then tries to solve the murder himself.
- DirectorRoy Ward BakerStarsRobert RyanRhonda FlemingWilliam LundiganA tough, hard-driving business tycoon suffers a broken leg and is left to die in the desert by his scheming wife and her greedy lover.
- StarsDarren McGavinBart BurnsVito ScottiThe adventures of Mickey Spillane's tough-talking, brawling, skirt-chasing private detective Mike Hammer, who's always ready to use his fists on a "mug" or his charm on a "skirt" to get the case solved.
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsVictor MatureRichard EganStephen McNallyThree hoodlums carefully case a small town while planning to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday. On Saturday, things turn violent and deadly.