Film noir from the world's archives

1–48 of 1,780 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.

Where these films come from, and who sees what

Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.

Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.

Little OnesFilms for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool.
KidsCartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature.
TweensDocumentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures.
TeensEverything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower.
AdultSexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive The Stranger 1946 · Feature · 1 h 35 min · Subtitles Set Connecticut after World War II, The Stranger is a cat and mouse game between Wilson (Edward G. Robinson), a member of the Allied War Crimes Commission and… Internet Archive Scarlet Street 1945 · Feature · 1 h 43 min · Subtitles German director Fritz Lang is best known for the highly influential films from relatively early in his career, especially Metropolis (1927) and M (1931). But… Internet Archive Suddenly 1954 · Feature · 1 h 15 min · Subtitles "Three gunmen, who have been hired to assassinate the President, hold a family hostage while waiting for their target. Interesting B film which focuses on… Internet Archive They Made Me a Criminal 1939 · Feature · 1 h 31 min · Subtitles Boxer Johnny Bradfield (John Garfield) knocks out a rival in a postfight brawl. Thinking he committed murder, he flees to an Arizona ranch run by… Internet Archive Nightmare Castle 1965 · Feature · 1 h 19 min · Subtitles You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page . This MPEG-4 file has been encoded to work with the Sony PSP. I would be interested to get… Internet Archive The Red House 1947 · Feature · Subtitles "Middle-aged farmer goes to extreme lengths to protect the dark secret associated with a deserted house on his property. Murky psychological thriller with… Internet Archive Impact 1949 · Feature · 1 h 49 min · Subtitles "Wealthy businessman survives attempt by wife to have him killed, makes it look like she succeeded and starts a new life in small town as auto mechanic.… Internet Archive Quicksand 1950 · Feature · 1 h 18 min · Subtitles An engrossing suspense film with Mickey Rooney, Peter Lorre, and Jeanne Cagney. Needing money for a date, Rooney borrows $20 from the cash register, starting… Internet Archive Kansas City Confidential 1952 · Feature · 1 h 39 min · Subtitles Four robbers hold up an armored truck getting away with over a million dollars in cash. Joe Rolfe (John Payne), a down-on-his-luck flower delivery truck… Internet Archive The Man Who Cheated Himself 1951 · Feature · Subtitles "Tough cop helps his lover cover up the shooting of her wealthy husband. Mainstream noir, primarily distinguished by its acting and San Francisco visuals." -… Internet Archive Inner Sanctum 1948 · Feature · 1 h 2 min · Subtitles An atmospheric film starring Charles Russell and Mary Beth Hughes. Fritz Leiber, Sr. (father of the famous author) has a cameo as a seer or psychic. "You're… Internet Archive Detour 1945 · Feature · 1 h 7 min · Subtitles "Man is involved in two freakish accidents that make him look like a murderer. Poverty row masterwork that is the most precise elucidation of the noir theme… Internet Archive The Grapes Of Wrath ( 1940) 1940 · Feature · Subtitles The Grapes of Wrath is a 1940 American drama film directed by John Ford . It was based on John Steinbeck 's 1939 Pulitzer Prize -winning novel of the same… Internet Archive The Green Glove 1952 · Feature · 1 h 28 min · Subtitles Glen Ford plays Michael Blake a WWII veteran who retuns to France to find a mysterious Green Glove he had discoverd during the early days of Normandy invasion. Internet Archive He Walked By Night 1948 · Feature Gripping film noir crime drama about a manhunt for a ruthless killer who plays a deadly cat and mouse game with the police. Starring Richard Basehart, Scott… Internet Archive Strange Love of Martha Ivers 1946 · Feature · 1 h 55 min · Subtitles Top-of-the-line noir melodrama featuring Van Heflin, Barbara Stanwyck, Lizabeth Scott, and Kirk Douglas. Don't miss it. (The video is interlaced in the MPEG2… Internet Archive Please Murder Me 1956 · Feature · 1 h 14 min · Subtitles How's that for a title? Lawyer Raymond Burr (seeming very much like Perry Mason) brilliantly defends Angela Lansbury, who seems certain to be found guilty of… Internet Archive The Saint Louis Bank Robbery 1959 · Feature · 1 h 28 min · Subtitles Steve McQueen stars in a gritty, downbeat, and sometimes savage heist movie that features a gang of very psychologically warped men and a story that's based… Internet Archive The Hitch-Hiker 1953 · Feature · 1 h 10 min · Subtitles Edmond O'Brien and Frank Lovejoy pick up a hitch-hiker (William Talman) who turns out to be an insane escaped convict. The mpeg2 file is ready to be loaded… Internet Archive Club Paradise 1945 · Feature · 1 h 1 min · Subtitles Also known as "Sensation Hunters". You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page . How To Make A DVD of this film: 1) Download these… Internet Archive Behind Green Lights 1946 · Feature · Subtitles The action begins when a car occupied by the corpse of a sleazy private detective glides down a hill and winds up in front of a police station. (The title of… Internet Archive Chinatown After Dark 1931 · Feature · 59 min · Subtitles A female head of a Chinatown crime syndicate will use any lethal means available to acquire a valuable jewel. Internet Archive Convict's Code 1939 · Feature · 1 h 2 min · Subtitles An ex-con is employed by the man who framed him for bank robbery. You can find more information regarding this film on its IMDb page . Internet Archive The Chase 1946 · Feature · 1 h 26 min Returning a lost wallet gains unemployed veteran Chuck Scott (Robert Cummings) a job as chauffeur to Eddie Roman (Steve Cochran), a seeming gangster whose… Internet Archive Five Minutes to Live / AKA Door-to-Door Maniac 1961 · Feature · 1 h 14 min · Subtitles A gang of bank robbers (Johnny Cash) terrorize a small town by knocking on doors and then killing whoever answers. Internet Archive Quicksand 1950 · Feature · 1 h 19 min · Subtitles After borrowing $20 from his employer's cash register, an auto mechanic is plunged into a series of increasingly disastrous circumstances which rapidly spiral… Internet Archive The Scar 1948 · Feature · Subtitles "Harsh tale of an alienated criminal's attempt to impersonate his psychiatrist-double. Important fatalistic noir, with classy visuals and a very fine script… Internet Archive The Second Woman 1951 · Feature · 1 h 31 min Robert Young plays Jeff Cohalan, a young man whose wife was murdered while they were on their honeymoon, and who is plagued by strange accidents and visions… Internet Archive The File On Thelma Jordan 1950 · Feature · 1 h 39 min http://imdb.com/title/tt0041368/ Thelma Jordon (Barbara Stanwyck), late one night, shows up in the office of married Assistant DA Cleve Marshall (Wendell… Internet Archive Jigsaw 1949 · Feature · 1 h 10 min The plot is about a shadowy group called the Crusaders, which has been organizing itself into a power center. Its poster shows a handsome Aryan lad against… Internet Archive The Strange Love of Martha Ivers 1946 · Feature · Subtitles "Man is waylaid by chance in old home town, meets a girl down on her luck and a turbulent couple with whom he shares a dark childhood secret. Significant noir… Internet Archive Strange Illusion 1945 · Feature · Subtitles "Adolescent believes that his widowed mother's suitor may have murdered his father. Stylish cheapie by the recognized master of stylish cheapies." - noir… Internet Archive Please Murder Me 1956 · Feature · 1 h 14 min · Subtitles A lawyer wins an a acquittal for his client, a woman accused of murder. After the verdict, he finds out that she indeed did commit the murder and manipulated… Internet Archive L'avare ( 1980) 1980 · Feature L'Avare (1980) Film français Réalisation : Jean Girault et Louis de Funès Scénario : Jean Girault, Louis de Funès et Jean Halain, d'après L'Avare de Molière… Internet Archive Whistle Stop 1946 · Feature When beautiful Mary (Ava Gardner) returns home to her "whistle stop" home town, long-standing feelings of animosity between two of her old boyfriends leads to… Internet Archive Port of New York 1949 · Feature · 1 h 22 min Port of New York is a 1949 film shot in semidocumentary style. The film is notable for being Yul Brynner's first movie. The film tells the story of a customs… Internet Archive Hell's House 1932 · Feature · 1 h 8 min · Subtitles Taken from IMDB : Jimmy idolizes bootlegger Matt, and when he refuses to implicate his friend, he is sent to reform school. He befriends Shorty, a boy with a… Internet Archive Borderline 1950 · Feature · 1 h 28 min · Subtitles Fred MacMurray and Claire Trevor are caught in Mexican dope-smuggling ring, fearing each other is involved, but both undercover agents. Cast includes Raymond… Internet Archive The Limping Man 1953 · Feature · 1 h 16 min World War II vet Frank Pryor (Lloyd Bridges) returns to London from America after six years to look up an old flame, Pauline French (Moira Lister), now a… Internet Archive Woman on the Run 1950 · Feature · 1 h 16 min · Subtitles In San Francisco, a woman tries to track down her husband, who is hiding from a killer and from the police. The IMDB entry is here . Internet Archive The Boss of Big Town 1942 · Feature · 1 h 3 min · Subtitles From IMDb : Diligent City Market official Michael Lynn resists overtures by well-to-do gangster Kenneth Craige to fix produce and dairy prices during wartime.… Internet Archive Fear in the Night 1947 · Feature · 1 h 12 min A film noir shocker, based on the story Nightmare by Cornell Woorlich, in which average Joe Vince Grayson (De Forest Kelley) dreams he murders someone and… Internet Archive The Chase 1946 · Feature · 1 h 24 min · Subtitles Taken from IMDB : Chuck Scott gets a job as chauffeur to tough guy Eddie Roman; but Chuck's involvement with Eddie's fearful wife becomes a nightmare.… Internet Archive Algiers 1938 · Feature · 1 h 36 min Gaby (Hedy Lamarr) arrives in Algiers engaged to a fat, vulgar borderline-loathsome older man who clearly regards her as a trophy bought and paid for. Why she… Internet Archive Stranger, The 1946 · Feature · 1 h 31 min · Subtitles Set Connecticut after World War II, The Stranger is a cat and mouse game between Wilson (Edward G. Robinson), a member of the Allied War Crimes Commission and… Internet Archive The Lady Confesses 1945 · Feature · 1 h 3 min · Subtitles Mary Beth Hughes, about to be married to Hugh Beaumont, receives a visit from his previous wife, who was presumed dead. And then the woman is found murdered.… Internet Archive Timetable (aka Time Table) 1956 · Feature · 1 h 20 min After the theft of $500,000 in a carefully executed train robbery, an insurance investigator (Mark Stevens, who also doubled as director and producer) is… Internet Archive The Pay Off (1935) 1935 · Feature NOTE: DESCRIPTION CORRECTED. This is about a crime fighting newspaperman. Brad McKay, played by Lee Tracy, whom I have never heard of, works with the police…