Blackmail (1929)

Blackmail (1929)

[5] Alfred Hitchcock directed Blackmail just as synchronized sound was being added to the movies. It has the distinction of being Britain's first sound feature, although it was also released as a silent version. I opted to watch the silent version since…
The Big Heat (1953)

The Big Heat (1953)

[8] In this disturbing film noir piece from director Fritz Lang (Metropolis, Fury), Glenn Ford plays a police detective who uncovers a crime syndicate involving the police department and the district attorney. After investigating the unlikely suicide of a fellow officer, Ford…
Dick Tracy (1990)

Dick Tracy (1990)

[6] Warren Beatty directs and stars in Disney's big budget adaptation of Chester Gould's 1930s comic strip about a square-jawed detective caught in a constant battle of whack-a-mole with a horde of colorful gangsters. The screenplay by Top Gun's Jim Cash and…
No Country for Old Men (2007)

No Country for Old Men (2007)

[8] Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin star in this Southwestern chase movie that doubles as a meditation on man's perpetual but futile attempt to make order out of chaos. Brolin's character, Llewelyn Moss, stumbles upon the bloody aftermath of…
This Gun for Hire (1942)

This Gun for Hire (1942)

[7] Alan Ladd (Shane) made his breakthrough performance in this unusually dark and violent film noir tale co-starring Veronica Lake and Robert Preston. Ladd plays a hit man hunting down a client (The Lodger's Laird Cregar) who double-crossed him. Lake plays a…
The Roaring Twenties (1939)

The Roaring Twenties (1939)

[7] In this quintessential '30s gangster flick, James Cagney stars as a World War I vet who has a hard time finding a job when he returns home to New York City. He resorts to transporting liquor to speak-easies during Prohibition, which…
A Perfect World (1993)

A Perfect World (1993)

[8] Clint Eastwood directs and costars with Kevin Costner in A Perfect World. Costner plays an escaped convict who kidnaps a young boy (T.J. Lowther) as hostage while he tries to flee Texas for Alaska. Eastwood plays the ranger in pursuit, accompanied…
The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog (1927)

[6] Alfred Hitchcock directed two other films prior to this one, but the director regarded The Lodger as the first true 'Hitchcock film'. It's also widely regarded his best from the silent era. The Lodger opens with London in a panic over…
Sea of Love (1989)

Sea of Love (1989)

[7] Al Pacino stars as a New York detective working with John Goodman to solve a series of murders -- all men shot in the back of the head, face down on their beds, presumably by a woman out for revenge. When…
Goodfellas (1990)

Goodfellas (1990)

[8] Director Martin Scorsese (Mean Streets, Raging Bull) returns to the gangster subgenre that made him a household name. Goodfellas is based on the true story of Henry Hill, a Brooklyn youth who quit his primary education to start working for the…