Get Between the Covers with one of these classic film noir movies and join the adult summer reading program!
Act of Violence (1948)
An embittered, vengeful POW stalks his former commanding officer who betrayed his men’s planned escape attempt from a Nazi prison camp.
Angel Face (1952)
A psychotic woman planning on killing her stepmother for a large inheritance seduces a man into marriage hoping to blame him for the murder.
The Asphalt Jungle: City Under the City (1950)
An aging criminal is released from prison and decides to assemble the old gang to go on one last heist.
The Big Sleep (1946)
L.A. private eye Phillip Marlowe takes on a blackmail case…and a trail peopled with murderers, pornographers, nightclub rogues, the spoiled rich and more.
Crime Wave (1954)
Reformed parolee Steve Lacey is caught in the middle when a wounded former cellmate seeks him out for shelter.
Dark Passage (1947)
A man convicted of murdering his wife escapes from prison and works with a woman to try and prove his innocence.
Decoy (1946)
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.
Detour (1945)
Hitchhiker Al Roberts encounters two sinister characters — one of them a venomous, blackmailing woman.
Dial M for Murder (1954)
A man devises a plan to murder his wife, not only because he wants her money, but because she is in love with another man.
D.O.A. (1950)
A complacent accountant unknowingly swallows a drink spiked with radioactive poison and then spends the last few days of his life trying to find out who killed him–and why.
Double Indemnity (1944)
A woman seduces an insurance agent and convinces him to kill her husband so they can collect the insurance money.
House of Strangers (1949)
A favored son seeks revenge on his brothers after he is jailed and they drive the father to his death.
I Wake Up Screaming (1941)
When a model is murdered, her sister joins forces with the chief suspect to find the real killer.
Illegal (1955)
After an overly aggressive district attorney unknowingly sends an innocent man to the chair, he resigns, turns to drink, and acquires a criminal clientele.
In a Lonely Place (1950)
A hotheaded Hollywood screenwriter, questioned for murder, is drawn to his neighbor when she confirms his alibi.
Key Largo (1948)
A disillusioned returning WWII veteran goes to visit the widow and father of an old war buddy in a Florida island hotel and finds that an infamous gangster has moved in and taken over the place.
Killer Bait (1949)
A bickering couple finds a bag of money in the back seat of their car. The husband wants to turn the illicit cash in, but his money-hungry wife has a different idea.
Laura (1944)
Investigating the murder of a beautiful woman, a police detective finds himself falling in love with her.
Little Caesar (1931)
A career-criminal abandons small-time holdups to become a powerful mob boss.
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
After the death of his partner, private eye Sam Spade is dragged into a quest for a priceless statuette.
Marked Woman (1937)
A young assistant District Attorney uses a prostitute to indict a gang of racketeers, its czar, and his underlings.
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
A down-on-his-luck private detective searches for an ex-convict’s missing girlfriend and finds himself in a dark world of mayhem and murder.
The Naked City (1948)
A squad of homicide detectives roams through the seamier parts of New York City as they solve a murder case.
Nightmare Alley (1947)
A dark story revolving around a carnival troupe, that features a carnival barker who turns into The Great Stanton, a mind-reader. His career and ambition get the best of him as he heads downward fast.
Possessed (1947)
A middle-aged woman gets involved with a callous lover, whose inattention finally drives her crazy.
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
A hitchhiker falls in love with a cafe waitress. Together they murder her husband and then their troubles begin.
The Prowler (1951)
A nefarious cop stalks a lonely, repressed Los Angeles housewife and decides to win her by killing her husband.
Scarlet Street (1945)
Homely, henpecked Chris Cross leads an honorable, if tedious, middle-class life until he falls madly in love with the dangerously seductive young Kitty.
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
A young woman discovers her visiting “Uncle Charlie” may not be the man he seems to be.
Side Street (1950)
A struggling, young father-to-be gives in to temptation and steals money belonging to a pair of ruthless blackmailers. Every move he makes plunges him deeper into trouble, as he’s pursued and pursuing through the shadowy, sinister side of New York
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Guy Haines, a tennis star who hates his wife, is approached on a train by a stranger, Bruno Anthony, who hates his father. Anthony offers a plan: each could kill the other’s victim.
The Street With No Name (1948)
An undercover agent is sent to penetrate the inner circle of the notorious Stiles gang. Everything goes according to plan, until an informant inside the police department tips off Stiles.
Sudden Fear (1952)
A wealthy woman playwright marries a worthless actor who plans to kill her.
Suspicion (1941)
A shy young English woman marries a charming gentleman, then begins to suspect him of trying to kill her.
Tension (1949)
A meek pharmacist creates an alternate identity under which he plans to murder the bullying liquor salesman who has become his wife’s lover.
They Live By Night (1949)
An escaped convict is injured and is helped by a woman with whom he has an ill-fated relationship.
Touch of Evil (1958)
In a bustling border town, a Mexican narcotics agent on his honeymoon investigates a car bombing to find a tangled web of corruption.
Where Danger Lives (1950)
A young doctor falls in love with a disturbed young woman, becomes involved in the death of her husband, and has to flee with her to the Mexican border.
Whirlpool (1949)
A habitual shoplifter falls prey to a fraudulent hypnotist and winds up accused of murder, leaving her psychoanalyst husband to figure it out.