Washoe County Library System

Former soldier Lucky Gagin comes to a small New Mexico town on a mission to find the man who killed his best friend.

The rise and fall of Stanton Carlisle, a mentalist whose lies and deceit prove to be his downfall. "Darkness lurks behind the bright lights of a traveling carnival in one of the most haunting and perverse film noirs of the 1940s. Adapted from the scandalous best seller by William Lindsay Gresham, Nightmare Alley gave Tyrone Power a chance to subvert his matinee-idol image with a ruthless performance as Stanton Carlisle, a small-time carny whose unctuous...

Farewell, my lovely: "Philip Marlowe is involved in a case of deception, double-cross and murder. When Moose Malloy, a giant ex-con fresh from prison, asks to find his missing sweetheart, Marlowe winds up unconscious on the floor with a dead man next to him. The case could very well cost Marlowe his life." -- Container. Big sleep: "Philip Marlowe is caught in a deadly case of blackmail. General Sternwood, an aged and wealthy American, is being blackmailed...

A corrupt con-man teams up with a female psychiatrist to trick people into giving them money.

An affair to remember: Nickie Ferrante and Terry McKay meet on an ocean liner and fall deeply in love. Though each is engaged to someone else, they agree to meet six months later at the Empire State Building if they still feel the same way about each other. But a tragic accident prevents their rendezvous, and the lovers' future takes an emotional and uncertain turn. Laura: A beautiful young woman named Laura is found murdered shortly before her wedding...

Marking the moment when the gritty gangster sagas of the 1930s began giving way to the romantic fatalism of 1940s film noir, High Sierra also contains the star-making performance of Humphrey Bogart, who, alongside top-billed Ida Lupino, proved his leading-man mettle with his tough yet tender turn as Roy Earle. A career criminal plagued by his checkered past, Earle longs for a simpler life, but after getting sprung on parole, he falls in with a band...

Stanley Kubrick's account of an ambitious racetrack robbery is one of Hollywood's tautest, twistiest noirs. Aided by a radically time-shuffling narrative, razor-sharp dialogue from pulp novelist Jim Thompson, and a phenomenal cast of character actors, including Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Timothy Carey, and Elisha Cook Jr., The Killing is both a jaunty thriller and a cold-blooded punch to the gut. With its precise tracking shots and gratifying sense...

"This critical survey examines the relationships between horror and film noir. Included are the films based on popular horror/mystery radio shows, the works of Val Lewton, and Alfred Hitchcock's stories. Also discussed are gothic and costume horror noirs; the noir of recent films; and film noir aspects of the Hannibal Lecter movies and other serial-killer thrillers"--Provided by publisher.

Mike Hammer, a private detective in Los Angeles, gives a ride to a half-naked girl, who is abruptly killed by thugs, and after almost being killed himself, Mike tries to solve the murder.

A hard luck detective searches for the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress. "A gripping noir crime thriller set in late 1930s Bay City centers around a brooding, down-on-his-luck detective; Philip Marlowe, played by Liam Neeson, who is hired to find the ex-lover of a glamorous heiress, daughter of a well-known movie star. The disappearance is the first twist in a series of bewildering events, and soon Marlowe is embroiled in a deadly investigation and...