Classic examples of the genre include:
1941
- [High Sierra]?
- [The Maltese Falcon]?
1942
- [This Gun for Hire]?
1944
- [Double Indemnity]?
- Laura
1945
- [The House on 92nd Street]?
- [Mildred Pierce]?
- [The Scarlet Street]?
1946
- [The Big Sleep]?
- Gilda?
- [The Killers]?
- [The Postman Always Rings Twice]?
- [So Dark the Night]?
1947
- [Born to Kill]?
- [Brute Force]?
- [Kiss of Death]?
- [Out of the Past]?
- Possessed?
1948
- [Cry of the City]?
- [The Guilty]?
- [The Naked City]?
- [The Pitfall]?
1949
- [Criss Cross]?
- D.O.A.?
- [The Reckless Moment]?
- [White Heat]?
1950
- [The Killer That Stalked New York]?
- [Night and the City]?
1951)
- [The Racket]?
- Roadblock?
1952
- [The Captive City]?
1953
- [The Blue Gardenia]?
1955
- [Kiss Me Deadly]?
1958
- [Touch of Evil]?
Crossovers with other genres:
with comedy:
- [Monsieur Verdoux]? (1947)
- [Unfaithfully Yours]? (1948)
with western:
- [Colorado Territory]? (1948)
- [The Furies]? (1950)
More recent, modernized examples include:
- Blue Velvet
- [Point Blank]? (1967)
- Klute? (1971)
- Chinatown? (1974)
- [Night Moves]? (1975)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- [Body Heat]? (1981) remake of [Double Indemnity]?
- Blade Runner (1982)
- [Blood Simple]? (1983)
- [Reservoir Dogs]? (1992)
- [The Last Seduction]? (1994)
- [L.A. Confidential]? (1997)
- [Lost Highway]? (1997)
- [A Simple Plan]? (1998)