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Jan 26, 2024 · Private detective movies have an enduring appeal, captivating audiences with their air of mystery and coolness. These films have elevated the public perception of real-world investigators, bestowing upon them an aura of intrigue and style.
- The 10 Best Movies About Private Investigators, According To IMDb
Whether in noir classics such The Maltese Falcon or modern...
- The 10 Best Movies About Private Investigators, According To IMDb
1. The Long Goodbye. 1973 1h 52m R. 7.5 (38K) Rate. 87 Metascore. Private eye Philip Marlowe helps friend Terry Lennox out of a jam and is implicated in his wife Sylvia's murder. He also is hired by Eileen Wade to locate her dipsomaniac husband Roger, who frequently disappears when he wants to dry out.
- Molly Pohlig
- Murder on the Orient Express (1974) Sidney Lumet’s 1974 adaptation of Agatha Christie’s classic mystery starred Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot, with a supporting cast that included Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Ingrid Bergman, and Anthony Perkins, just to name a few.
- Shaft (1971) Richard Roundtree stars as private detective John Shaft in this classic of the Blaxploitation genre, an adaptation of the novel by Ernest Tidyman.
- Kiss Me Deadly (1955) Mickey Spillane’s popular private detective Mike Hammer (played here by Ralph Meeker) usually deals with petty divorce cases, but all that changes when he picks up a hitchhiker named Christina who’s just escaped from a mental institution.
- The Maltese Falcon (1941) Another stellar Dashiell Hammett adaptation (see The Thin Man, above) was directed by John Huston in 1941, this one starring Humphrey Bogart as the seminal private detective Sam Spade.
- Ewell, My Lovely (1975) - 7.0
- HT Moves (1975) - 7.1
- Te (1971) - 7.1
- El Heart (1987) - 7.3
- Nice Guys (2016) - 7.4
- S Kiss Bang Bang (2005) - 7.5
- Long Goodbye (1973) - 7.6
- Big Sleep (1946) - 7.9
- Maltese Falcon (1941) - 8.0
- Natown (1974) - 8.2
Coming as one of the best adaptions of Raymond Chandler's novels, Farewell, My Lovely proved that the noir genre still had power in the 1970s. The story follows Chandler's legendary detective Phillip Marlowe as he is hired by an ex-con to track down his estranged wife. With veteran actor Robert Mitchum in the lead role, Marlowe is played with more ...
The 1970s was a great decade for modern noir stories, and many of the best centered on private investigators. Night Moves follows a Los Angeles P.I who is hired to track down an actress who went missing in Florida. Once there, the P.I stumbles across something much larger than he anticipated, and it all ties back to Hollywood. Night Moves ramps up ...
While many films aimed to do something new in the noir genre, Klute was one of a few films that actually succeeded. The story follows a small town detective who is hired to look for a missing man in New York. With nothing else to work with, the detective finds that his only lead is a sex worker who may be the next victim. The standard pieces of a c...
While many P.I stories are gritty and suspenseful, Angel Heart showed that they could be terrifying as well. The film follows a P.I who is hired to track down a musician who may not want to be found. Soon the P.I learns that there is more to the case than he could ever imagine. RELATED: The 10 Strangest Horror Movies Of The 1980s, According To Redd...
Many P.I stories have attempted to take the genre in darker directions but The Nice Guys showed that there was a fair amount of humor to be found as well. The story follows a pair of P.Is in the 1970s who are hired to find a missing woman, and they must work together despite their clashing personalities. Showing that buddy comedies are truly in his...
While most P.I films are relatively simple with their setup, some have a convoluted plot that only gets more complicated as the story progresses. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang is the story of a thief who is mistaken for an actor and sent to train with a private investigator for a new role. Once together, the P.I and thief are brought into a murder mystery in...
Once again returning to the Raymond Chandler well, Hollywood managed to find a wealth of new possibilities in his stories. The Long Goodbye finds Phillip Marlowe caught in a jam after he attempts to help a friend and ends up being implicated in the murder of his friend's wife. By recasting the legendary role with a fresh-faced actor, Elliot Gould, ...
While he played a plethora of roles in his career, Humphrey Bogart is most known for his hard-boiled detective parts. The Big Sleep follows Phillip Marlowe as he is hired by a wealthy family to investigate who is blackmailing their daughter over extensive gambling debts. RELATED: 10 Dark Detective Movies To (Re)Watch After The Batman The Big Sleep ...
Though usually playing second fiddle to Raymond Chandler, the works of writer Dashiell Hammett also had a profound impact on cinema, especially his novel The Maltese Falcon. The story follows hardened detective, Sam Spade, who gets embroiled in an intriguing plot between criminals that involves a priceless artifact. Not relying as much on complex p...
Not only is Chinatown considered one of the best detective stories of all time, but it is also frequently brought up as one of the greatest films of all time. Set in the 1930s, the film follows a private detective who is hired to expose a wealthy adulterer and ruin his reputation. Along the way, he stumbles across a web of political corruption, and...
- Dalton Norman
- Senior Staff Writer
Feb 10, 2021 · Tom Jolliffe offers up 10 essential private investigator movies… The humble Dick. I mean P.I of course. Private Investigator. They often operate on a perilous high wire between law and...
- Tom Jolliffe
List of the best films about private detectives according to the audience: Knives Out, Zone 414, City Hunter, Man from Reno, Reminiscence, The Postcard Killings, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, Dylan Dog: Dead of Night, The Nice Guys, Once Upon a Time in Venice.
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San Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
