Lists · Movies

The Dark Beauty of Film Noir in 50 Perfect Shots

In an attempt to capture the visual brilliance of film noir in one place, The Nitrate Diva presents 50 beautiful shots from the best of the genre.

film noir The Third Man

By The Nitrate Diva · Published on October 13th, 2017

MURDER, MY SWEET (1944)

Director of Photography: Harry J. Wild | Director: Edward Dmytryk

Murder My Sweet

PHANTOM LADY (1944)

Director of Photography: Elwood Bredell | Director: Robert Siodmak

Phantom Lady film noir

DETOUR (1945)

Director of Photography: Benjamin H. Kline | Director: Edgar G. Ulmer

Detour

LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN (1945)

Director of Photography: Leon Shamroy| Director: John M. Stahl

Leave Her To Heaven

MILDRED PIERCE (1945)

Director of Photography: Ernest Haller | Director: Michael Curtiz

Mildred Pierce

SCARLET STREET (1945)

Director of Photography: Milton R. Krasner | Director: Fritz Lang

Scarlet Street

THE BIG SLEEP (1946)

Director of Photography: Sidney Hickox | Director: Howard Hawks

The Big Sleep

DECOY (1946)

Director of Photography: L. William O’Connell | Director: Jack Bernhard

Decoy film noir

GILDA (1946)

Director of Photography: Rudolph Maté | Director: Charles Vidor

Gilda

THE KILLERS (1946)

Director of Photography: Elwood Bredell | Director: Robert Siodmak

The Killers film noir

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5

Related Topics: Film Noir, Shot Collections

Recommended Reading

The 35 Most Beautiful Roger Deakins Shots

In celebration of his first Oscar win (on his 14th try), let’s celebrate by counting down the most beautiful shots in Roger Deakins’ prolific career.

.wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em;}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none;}body{--wp--preset--color--black:#000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray:#abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white:#fff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink:#f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red:#cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange:#ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber:#fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan:#7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan:#00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue:#8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue:#0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple:#9b51e0;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple:linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,#9b51e0 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan:linear-gradient(135deg,#7adcb4 0%,#00d082 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange:linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red:linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,#cf2e2e 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray:linear-gradient(135deg,#eee 0%,#a9b8c3 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum:linear-gradient(135deg,#4aeadc 0%,#9778d1 20%,#cf2aba 40%,#ee2c82 60%,#fb6962 80%,#fef84c 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple:linear-gradient(135deg,#ffceec 0%,#9896f0 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux:linear-gradient(135deg,#fecda5 0%,#fe2d2d 50%,#6b003e 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk:linear-gradient(135deg,#ffcb70 0%,#c751c0 50%,#4158d0 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean:linear-gradient(135deg,#fff5cb 0%,#b6e3d4 50%,#33a7b5 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass:linear-gradient(135deg,#caf880 0%,#71ce7e 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight:linear-gradient(135deg,#020381 0%,#2874fc 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small:13px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium:20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large:36px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large:42px;--wp--preset--spacing--20:.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30:.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40:1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50:1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60:2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70:3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80:5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural:6px 6px 9px rgba(0,0,0,.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep:12px 12px 50px rgba(0,0,0,.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp:6px 6px 0px rgba(0,0,0,.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined:6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255,255,255,1),6px 6px rgba(0,0,0,1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp:6px 6px 0px rgba(0,0,0,1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap:.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap:.5em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignleft{float:left;margin-inline-start:0;margin-inline-end:2em;}body .is-layout-flow > .alignright{float:right;margin-inline-start:2em;margin-inline-end:0;}body .is-layout-flow > .aligncenter{margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignleft{float:left;margin-inline-start:0;margin-inline-end:2em;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignright{float:right;margin-inline-start:2em;margin-inline-end:0;}body .is-layout-constrained > .aligncenter{margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > :where(:not(.alignleft):not(.alignright):not(.alignfull)){max-width:var(--wp--style--global--content-size);margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;}body .is-layout-constrained > .alignwide{max-width:var(--wp--style--global--wide-size);}body .is-layout-flex{display:flex;}body .is-layout-flex{flex-wrap:wrap;align-items:center;}body .is-layout-flex > *{margin:0;}body .is-layout-grid{display:grid;}body .is-layout-grid > *{margin:0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap:2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap:2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap:1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap:1.25em;}.has-black-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color:var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background:var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size:var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;}.wp-block-navigation a:where(:not(.wp-element-button)){color:inherit;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap:1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap:1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap:2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap:2em;}.wp-block-pullquote{font-size:1.5em;line-height:1.6;}