Pre Noir Film

This page lists classic films from the dawn of movies until the Classic Film Noir Era, which began around 1941, that have significant Film Noir elements.

Linking	startYear	Comment	MyRank
Scarface (1932) / Scarface: The Shame of the Nation	1932	This is a real tense and well made gangster flick. It has a cameo from horror master Boris Karloff, and was heavily copied for Scarface (1983).	26
Blood Money (1933)	1933	Frances Dee plays a kleptomaniac that get between a bail bondsman and his girlfriend. Norish but not a Film Noir.	52
The Petrified Forest (1936)	1936	At an isolated desert diner, a disillusioned writer, a restless young woman, and a desperate gangster collide in a tense hostage crisis shaped by dreams and sacrifice.	68
iMDB - Each Dawn I Die (1939)	1939	A crusading reporter is framed and sent to prison, where brutal conditions and an unlikely friendship with a hardened convict offer his only hope of proving his innocence.	71
iMDB - 'G' Men (1935)	1935	A young lawyer joins the federal government and becomes a determined agent, battling ruthless gangsters while confronting personal loyalties and connections to the criminal underworld.	78
iMDB - City Streets (1931)	1931	A young man enters the criminal underworld to help his imprisoned girlfriend, becoming entangled with bootleggers, gang violence, betrayal, and the dangerous consequences of organized crime.	84
iMDB - Bullets or Ballots (1936)	1936	A tough detective seemingly joins a powerful criminal syndicate, risking his life as he infiltrates the organization and battles racketeers from within to bring them down.	86
iMDB - 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1932)	1932	A cocky criminal enters Sing Sing convinced his connections will protect him, but a principled warden, prison life, and personal tragedy force him to confront responsibility and sacrifice.	99
iMDB - They Made Me a Criminal (1939)	1939	A champion boxer falsely accused of murder flees across the country, hiding on an Arizona farm where friendship and responsibility offer a chance at redemption.	116
iMDB - You Only Live Once (1937)	1937	Fritz Lang and Hollywood kick-start poetic realism! Henry Fonda and Sylvia Sidney are the doomed lovers on the run.	375
The Maltese Falcon (1931)	1931	The original version of the classic movie that would come 10 years later. This version is very good and true to the story. Not a true Film Noir.	380