Bleakest Noir Films?

Good choices though I think The Set-Up has a hopeful ending. It isn't all doom and gloom in the end.

To me nothing beats Scarlet Street for bleakness. Honorable mention goes to The Killers, Criss Cross and New York Confidential.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Hey Jess,

True, the ending of The Set-Up is not so bleak but the rest of the film certainly is. I really wanted the best for Ryan's character.

Scarlet Street(poor Eddie G!) and The Killers are good choices. Never seen New York Confidential, another to keep an eye out for. 




Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly .

My choice for the bleakest is Odds Against Tomorrow (1959). The story deals with a group of losers who gather in NYC to plan a heist in upstate NY. Right from the beginning their situation seems hopeless and doomed to failure as racial tensions and disagreements flare. The story takes place in the dead of winter with a howling wind in the city, and a barren, snowy landscape as they drive upstate to pull-off the job. The excellent jazz score is very moody and laid back and exacerbates the hopelessness of the entire endeavor.

How could I forget that one? It should certainly be in the top 5.

Jessica Rabbit
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."

Never seen this one. Am going to try and find it.



Go to bed Frank or this is going to get ugly .

Odds Against Tomorrow is a great one, a lot of the upstate locations are still there too.

How about "The Asphalt Jungle' (1950)?

If heist pictures can count as noir, I think that Kubrick's The Killing qualifies.

Does it get any bleaker than Edgar Ulmer's Detour? This is a movie in which absolutely nothing goes right. It's like a nightmare, a fever dream.