1946 in crime/thriller

1946 in crime/thriller

Crime
The Killers

3. The Killers (1946)

PG | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.8 Rate this

Hit men kill an unresisting victim, and investigator Reardon uncovers his past involvement with beautiful, deadly Kitty Collins.

Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Ava Gardner, Edmond O'Brien, Albert Dekker

Votes: 14,953

Somewhere in the Night

4. Somewhere in the Night (1946)

A | 110 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.1 Rate this

George Taylor returns from WWII with amnesia. Back home in Los Angeles, while trying to track down his old identity, he stumbles onto a 3-year old murder case and a hunt for a missing $2 million.

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz | Stars: John Hodiak, Nancy Guild, Lloyd Nolan, Richard Conte

Votes: 1,710

The Stranger

5. The Stranger (1946)

PG | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.4 Rate this

An investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.

Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Edward G. Robinson, Loretta Young, Philip Merivale

Votes: 14,577

The Blue Dahlia

6. The Blue Dahlia (1946)

A | 96 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery

7.2 Rate this

An ex-bomber pilot is suspected of murdering his unfaithful wife.

Director: George Marshall | Stars: Alan Ladd, Veronica Lake, William Bendix, Howard Da Silva

Votes: 5,963

Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code

7. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Code (1946)

A | 76 min | Crime, Mystery

7.0 Rate this

Sherlock Holmes sets out to discover why a trio of murderous villains, including a dangerously attractive female, are desperate to obtain three unassuming and inexpensive little music boxes.

Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Patricia Morison, Edmund Breon

Votes: 4,193

The Dark Mirror

8. The Dark Mirror (1946)

A | 85 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.1 Rate this

A man is found murdered, with witnesses convinced about the woman they saw leaving his apartment. However, it becomes apparent that the woman has a twin, and finding out which one is the killer seems impossible.

Director: Robert Siodmak | Stars: Olivia de Havilland, Lew Ayres, Thomas Mitchell, Richard Long

Votes: 2,888

The Dark Corner

9. The Dark Corner (1946)

A | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.2 Rate this

Secretary tries to help her boss, who is framed for a murder.

Director: Henry Hathaway | Stars: Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix, Mark Stevens

Votes: 3,161

Black Angel

10. Black Angel (1946)

81 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery

7.0 Rate this

When Kirk Bennett is convicted of a singer's murder, his wife tries to prove him innocent...aided by the victim's ex-husband.

Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Dan Duryea, June Vincent, Peter Lorre, Broderick Crawford

Votes: 1,959

Terror by Night

11. Terror by Night (1946)

A | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.0 Rate this

When the fabled Star of Rhodesia diamond is stolen on a London to Edinburgh train and the son of its owner is murdered, Sherlock Holmes must discover which of his suspicious fellow passengers is responsible.

Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Alan Mowbray, Dennis Hoey

Votes: 4,132

Nobody Lives Forever

12. Nobody Lives Forever (1946)

100 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.0 Rate this

Ex-GI Nick Blake gets involved in a scheme to fleece a rich young widow, but finds himself falling for her for real, much to the displeasure of his racketeer cohorts.

Director: Jean Negulesco | Stars: John Garfield, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Walter Brennan, Faye Emerson

Votes: 896

Deception

13. Deception (1946)

PG | 115 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.3 Rate this

A piano teacher believes that her fiancé was killed on the battlefield. When he miraculously returns, they decide to marry, but are threatened by a wealthy, egotistical composer the piano teacher started dating on the rebound after she became convinced her love had died.

Director: Irving Rapper | Stars: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, John Abbott

Votes: 2,283

The Verdict

14. The Verdict (1946)

86 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.2 Rate this

After an innocent man is executed in a case he was responsible for, a Scotland Yard superintendent finds himself investigating the murder of his key witness.

Director: Don Siegel | Stars: Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Joan Lorring, George Coulouris

Votes: 1,299

The Crimson Ghost

15. The Crimson Ghost (1946)

167 min | Action, Adventure, Crime

7.1 Rate this

A criminal mastermind known as The Crimson Ghost is out to steal a device called the Cyclotrode, which can short-circuit all electrical current on the planet.

Directors: Fred C. Brannon, William Witney | Stars: Charles Quigley, Linda Stirling, Clayton Moore, I. Stanford Jolley

Votes: 271

The Curse of the Allenbys

16. The Curse of the Allenbys (1946)

A | 61 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery

5.2 Rate this

A young heiress finds evidence suggesting that at night she acts under the influence of a family curse and has begun committing ghastly murders in a nearby park.

Director: Jean Yarbrough | Stars: Don Porter, June Lockhart, Sara Haden, Jan Wiley

Votes: 1,687

Whistle Stop

17. Whistle Stop (1946)

85 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

5.6 Rate this

When beautiful Mary returns home to her "whistle stop" home town, long-standing feelings of animosity between two of her old boyfriends leads to robbery and murder.

Director: Léonide Moguy | Stars: George Raft, Ava Gardner, Victor McLaglen, Tom Conway

Votes: 712

Decoy

18. Decoy (1946)

76 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.8 Rate this

A mortally wounded female gangster recounts how she and her gang revived an executed killer from the gas chamber, to try and find out where he buried a fortune in cash.

Director: Jack Bernhard | Stars: Jean Gillie, Edward Norris, Robert Armstrong, Herbert Rudley

Votes: 1,172

A Scandal in Paris

19. A Scandal in Paris (1946)

A | 100 min | Adventure, Crime, Romance

6.9 Rate this

The autobiography of elegant criminal, François Eugène Vidocq, from his birth in a French jail in 1775 to his appointment as chief of police of Paris where he intends to rob the city bank. ... See full summary »

Director: Douglas Sirk | Stars: George Sanders, Signe Hasso, Carole Landis, Akim Tamiroff

Votes: 593

So Dark the Night

20. So Dark the Night (1946)

A | 71 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.4 Rate this

A renowned and relentless Paris detective takes his first vacation in eleven years at a small inn in the French countryside. There he meets and falls in love with the hotelier's daughter, ... See full summary »

Director: Joseph H. Lewis | Stars: Steven Geray, Micheline Cheirel, Eugene Borden, Ann Codee

Votes: 437

Three Strangers

21. Three Strangers (1946)

92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.0 Rate this

Three strangers, each with a serious problem in their lives, share a sweepstakes ticket which they wished upon together before a Chinese idol.

Director: Jean Negulesco | Stars: Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Joan Lorring

Votes: 1,138

Dark Alibi

22. Dark Alibi (1946)

A | 61 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

7.2 Rate this

A public defender enlists Charlie to exonerate one of his clients, an ex-con falsely accused of bank robbery and murder, scheduled for execution in nine days.

Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Ben Carter, Benson Fong

Votes: 851

Night Editor

23. Night Editor (1946)

68 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.8 Rate this

"Night Editor" was based on the already existing radio program in which a newspaper editor would recount the 'inside story' of some bit newspaper story, and later became a television series... See full summary »

Director: Henry Levin | Stars: William Gargan, Janis Carter, Jeff Donnell, Coulter Irwin

Votes: 397

Secret of the Whistler

24. Secret of the Whistler (1946)

65 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.4 Rate this

An artist married to a wealthy but ill woman begins an affair with one of his models, who is after him solely for his money. His wife discovers the affair and threatens to cut him out of ... See full summary »

Director: George Sherman | Stars: Richard Dix, Leslie Brooks, Michael Duane, Mary Currier

Votes: 269

The Trap

25. The Trap (1946)

68 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

7.0 Rate this

When a troupe of showgirls with their impresario and press agent vacation at a Malibu Beach resort, two of them are garroted. Charlie takes on the case assisted by Number Two Son Jimmy and faithful chauffeur Birmingham Brown.

Director: Howard Bretherton | Stars: Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Victor Sen Yung, Tanis Chandler

Votes: 724

Crack-Up

26. Crack-Up (1946)

A | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.6 Rate this

Art curator George Steele experiences a train wreck...which never happened. Is he cracking up, or the victim of a plot?

Director: Irving Reis | Stars: Pat O'Brien, Claire Trevor, Herbert Marshall, Ray Collins

Votes: 827

Nocturne

27. Nocturne (1946)

87 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.6 Rate this

In 1940s Los Angeles, when womanizing composer Keith Vincent is found dead, the inquest concludes it was a suicide but police detective Joe Warne isn't so sure.

Director: Edwin L. Marin | Stars: George Raft, Lynn Bari, Virginia Huston, Joseph Pevney

Votes: 827

Step by Step

28. Step by Step (1946)

62 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.4 Rate this

Johnny, an ex-Marine, and Evelyn, a chance acquaintance, find themselves caught up in a plot involving Nazi spies in California.

Director: Phil Rosen | Stars: Lawrence Tierney, Anne Jeffreys, Lowell Gilmore, Myrna Dell

Votes: 221

Dangerous Money

29. Dangerous Money (1946)

A | 66 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

7.1 Rate this

A treasury agent on the trail of counterfeit money confides to fellow ocean liner passenger Charlie Chan that there have been two attempts on his life.

Director: Terry O. Morse | Stars: Sidney Toler, Gloria Warren, Victor Sen Yung, Rick Vallin

Votes: 829

The Unknown

30. The Unknown (1946)

70 min | Action, Crime, Mystery

6.2 Rate this

The daughter of a strange famiy has returned after a long time to the family estate. She has two investigators checking out the eerie goings-on on the estate's spooky mansion.

Director: Henry Levin | Stars: Karen Morley, Jim Bannon, Jeff Donnell, Mark Roberts

Votes: 209

Two Smart People

31. Two Smart People (1946)

93 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

6.5 Rate this

Director Jules Dassin (Night and the City) combines the best of film noir, crime caper and romance in this little gem starring Lucille Ball, John Hodiak and Lloyd Nolan.

Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Lucille Ball, John Hodiak, Lloyd Nolan, Hugo Haas

Votes: 304

Below the Deadline

32. Below the Deadline (1946)

65 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

5.3 Rate this

A veteran, Joe Hilton (Warren Douglas), returns from the war to find that his brother Jeffrey Hilton (George Meeker), a gangster, has been killed. His quest for revenge leads him to take ... See full summary »

Director: William Beaudine | Stars: Warren Douglas, Ramsay Ames, Jan Wiley, Paul Maxey

Votes: 70

The Madonna's Secret

33. The Madonna's Secret (1946)

A | 79 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

6.4 Rate this

The sister of a murdered model poses for the same artist to try to catch her killer.

Director: Wilhelm Thiele | Stars: Francis Lederer, Gail Patrick, Ann Rutherford, Edward Ashley

Votes: 79

Dick Tracy vs. Cueball

34. Dick Tracy vs. Cueball (1946)

A | 62 min | Action, Crime, Film-Noir

6.3 Rate this

Expensive diamonds are stolen but before the thief can fence them he is strangled by ex-con Cueball, who then takes the gems and continues murdering people he believes are trying to swindle... See full summary »

Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Morgan Conway, Anne Jeffreys, Lyle Latell, Rita Corday

Votes: 897

The Devil's Mask

35. The Devil's Mask (1946)

65 min | Action, Adventure, Crime

5.9 Rate this

A crashed plane that had a shrunken head aboard is the only clue to a mystery involving a secret code.

Director: Henry Levin | Stars: Anita Louise, Jim Bannon, Michael Duane, Mona Barrie

Votes: 200

The Other One

36. The Other One (1946)

98 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

7.5 Rate this

Add a Plot

Director: Roberto Gavaldón | Stars: Dolores del Rio, Agustín Irusta, Víctor Junco, José Baviera

Votes: 145

The Room Upstairs

37. The Room Upstairs (1946)

A | 115 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

6.5 Rate this

The local building-contractor Martin Roumagnac is fascinated by the fashionable Blanche Ferrand. To impress Blache, Martin presents her with a villa. However, this ruins him financially. ... See full summary »

Director: Georges Lacombe | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Jean Gabin, Jean d'Yd, Daniel Gélin

Votes: 218

Lady of Mystery

38. Lady of Mystery (1946)

60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

6.0 Rate this

Sleuth Blackie is framed for murder but manages to catch the culprit.

Director: Lew Landers | Stars: Chester Morris, Lynn Merrick, Richard Lane, Frank Sully

Votes: 204

The Bandit

39. The Bandit (1946)

83 min | Crime, Drama

7.0 Rate this

Ernesto ritorna dalla prigionia in Germania, alla fine della Seconda Guerra mondiale. E' solo, la casa distrutta, la mamma morta, la sorella scomparsa. La ritrova in un bordello, durante la... See full summary »

Director: Alberto Lattuada | Stars: Anna Magnani, Amedeo Nazzari, Carla Del Poggio, Carlo Campanini

Votes: 152

Shadows Over Chinatown

40. Shadows Over Chinatown (1946)

64 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

7.5 Rate this

Charlie investigates murders connected with insurance fraud. This one is set in San Francisco's Chinatown.

Director: Terry O. Morse | Stars: Sidney Toler, Mantan Moreland, Victor Sen Yung, Tanis Chandler

Votes: 535

It Couldn't Happen to a Dog

41. It Couldn't Happen to a Dog (1946)

70 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy

6.9 Rate this

A reporter who wants to solve crimes gets into comic scrapes with a beautiful stranger and a misunderstood dog.

Director: Herbert I. Leeds | Stars: Carole Landis, Allyn Joslyn, Margo Woode, Harry Morgan

Votes: 90

The Phantom Thief

42. The Phantom Thief (1946)

65 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

6.4 Rate this

Blackie tricks a blackmailer-murderer into a confession. Story involves sinister seances and ghostly apparitions.

Director: D. Ross Lederman | Stars: Chester Morris, Jeff Donnell, Richard Lane, Dusty Anderson

Votes: 147

A Voice in the Night

43. A Voice in the Night (1946)

A | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

7.2 Rate this

The son of a Victorian hangman is driven insane by thoughts of his father's profession. The young man emulates his father by strangling young women. He then meets and falls in love with a ... See full summary »

Director: Lawrence Huntington | Stars: Eric Portman, Dulcie Gray, Derek Farr, Roland Culver

Votes: 219

Blackie and the Law

44. Blackie and the Law (1946)

A | 69 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

6.3 Rate this

Blackie performs in a magic show at a women's prison, which gives an inmate an opportunity to escape.

Director: D. Ross Lederman | Stars: Chester Morris, Trudy Marshall, Constance Dowling, Richard Lane

Votes: 193

The Missing Lady

45. The Missing Lady (1946)

A | 60 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

4.9 Rate this

A jade statue, the "missing lady", is stolen and its owner killed. Lamont Cranston, alias the Shadow, sets out to catch the killer but is blamed for the murders himself as each time he ... See full summary »

Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Kane Richmond, Barbara Read, George Chandler, James Flavin

Votes: 47

Shadow of Blackmail

46. Shadow of Blackmail (1946)

A | 73 min | Crime, Drama

6.5 Rate this

Career-slipping movie star Carole Raymond (Kay Francis) buys in as a real estate partner of Jeff Caldwell (Paul Cavanagh). Actually, through his secretary, Nola Reed (Veda Ann Borg), ... See full summary »

Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Kay Francis, Paul Cavanagh, Robert Shayne, Veda Ann Borg

Votes: 59

The Shadow Returns

47. The Shadow Returns (1946)

61 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery

5.7 Rate this

People are literally flying off balconies to their deaths as Lamont Cranston, aka the Shadow, tries to make sense out of a confusing jumble of murders, disappearances, jewels that aren't ... See full summary »

Directors: Phil Rosen, William Beaudine | Stars: Kane Richmond, Barbara Read, Tom Dugan, Joseph Crehan

Votes: 84

Crime Doctor's Man Hunt

48. Crime Doctor's Man Hunt (1946)

61 min | Thriller, Crime, Drama

6.2 Rate this

The Crime Doctor comes up against a criminal with a dual personality.

Director: William Castle | Stars: Warner Baxter, Ellen Drew, William Frawley, Frank Sully

Votes: 181

Bowery Bombshell

49. Bowery Bombshell (1946)

A | 65 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

6.9 Rate this

Slip (Leo Gorcey), Sach (Huntz Hall), Bobby (Bobby Jordan), Whitey (William Benedict) and Chuck (David Gorcey) unsuccessfully try to sell a dilapidated car to a street cleaner for a ... See full summary »

Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Leo Gorcey, Huntz Hall, Bobby Jordan, William 'Billy' Benedict

Votes: 232

Murder in the Music Hall

50. Murder in the Music Hall (1946)

84 min | Crime, Music, Mystery

6.7 Rate this

Lila Leighton, the lovely ice ballerina, meets Carl Lang, former ice-show producer, at his New York City penthouse apartment. Lia refuses Lang's offer to star in his new Music Hall Ice Show... See full summary »

Director: John English | Stars: Vera Ralston, William Marshall, Helen Walker, Nancy Kelly

Votes: 50

Thriller
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