This document provides summaries of 18 crime thriller films from 1926 to 1948 that helped establish the genre. It describes the key plots of films like The Bat, The Lodger, M, and Double Indemnity. Many of the early films centered around serial killers or criminals being pursued by detectives. Later films from the 1940s expanded to include themes of corruption, political intrigue, and the hunt for saboteurs. Overall, the document outlines the history and evolution of crime thriller films through brief descriptions of 18 influential titles from the genre's early decades.

1. History of Crime Thriller
Nathan Hill

2. The Bat-May 1926
Description
• Description-The film is about a masked criminal who dresses like a giant bat terrorizes the
guests at an old house rented by a mystery writer.

3. The Bells- July 1926
Description
• The film The Bell is an Alsatian innkeeper, murders a rich Pole staying at his inn But Mathias'
conscience will not let him rest, and the murdered man's spirit drives the innkeeper nearly
mad. The victim's brother calls for an inquest and brings with him a sideshow mesmerist
supposedly able to read minds. Mathias, as burgomaster, is called upon to conduct the
inquest, but under the intuitive eye of the mesmerist cannot resist torment of his own
conscience.

4. The lodger- 1927
Deception
• Description- The film is about serial killer known as "The Avenger" is on the loose in London,
murdering blonde women. A mysterious man arrives at the house of Mr. and Mrs. Bunting
looking for a room to rent. The Bunting's daughter is a blonde model and is seeing one of the
detectives assigned to the case. The detective becomes jealous of the lodger and begins to
suspect he may be the avenger.

5. Spione- March 1928
Deception
• Spione is about Haghi a criminal mastermind whose ubiquitous spy operation is always
several steps ahead of the police and the government's secret service. Enter Agent 326, the
daring and dashing young man, who thinks his disguise as a dirty, bearded vagrant is fooling
the unknown mastermind and his minions. But Haghi is well aware of 326's existence and
what he looks like. Enter Sonya, a Russian lady in Haghi's employ. Haghi wants Sonya to
subvert the efforts of the government agent, but doesn't count on her falling in love with
him. Meanwhile, Haghi is anxious to get his hands on a Japanese peace treaty in the
possession of the cunning Doctor Masimoto, whose mistress is also in his employ.

6. Blackmail- June 1929
Description
• Scotland Yard Detective Frank Webber escorts his girlfriend Alice White to a tea house. They
have an argument and Frank storms out. While reconsidering his action, he sees Alice leave
with Mr. Crewe, a painter she had earlier agreed to meet.

7. The Bat Whisperers- November 1930
Description
• A mysterious criminal by the name of "The Bat" eludes police and then finally announces his
retirement to the country, while a wealthy Cornelia Van Gorder takes up residence in the
estate of a famous banker. Along with her maid Lizzie, her niece Dale, and a bank teller
disguised as a gardener, she is terrorized by a series of strange events seemingly set in
motion by the mysterious bat. Possible suspects include a doctor, an elderly police lieutenant,
a butler, a handyman, and a big-city cop

8. M- May 1931
Description
• A group of children are playing an elimination game in the courtyard of an apartment
building in Berlin using a chant about a child murderer. A woman sets the table for dinner,
waiting for her daughter to come home from school. A wanted poster warns of a serial killer
preying on children, as anxious parents wait outside a school.

9. Freaks- February 1932
Description
• A circus trapeze artist, Cleopatra, takes an interest in Hans, a midget who works in the circus
sideshow. Her interest however is in the money Hans will be inheriting and she is actually
carrying on an affair with another circus performer, Hercules. Hans's fiancée does her best to
convince him that he is being used but to no avail. At their wedding party, a drunken
Cleopatra tells the sideshow freaks just what she thinks of them. Together, the freaks decide
to make her one of their own.

10. Number Seventeen- July 1932
Description
• The film is about a group of criminals who committed a jewel robbery and put their money in
an old house over a railway leading to the English Channel, the film's title being derived from
the house's street number. An outsider stumbles onto this plot and intervenes with the help
of a neighbour, a police officer's daughter.

11. Charlie Chan's Greatest Case- Aug
1935
Description
• Chan follows the trail of clues when a "respectable" Honolulu businessman side-lining in
blackmail and other unsavoury activities is murdered. Like the earlier Black Camel

12. Charlie Chan Carries On- September
1934
Description
• Inspector Duff, a Scotland Yard detective and friend of Chan's, first introduced in Behind That
Curtain, is pursuing a murderer on an around-the-world voyage; so far, there have been
murders in London, France, Italy and Japan. While his ship is docked in Honolulu, the
detective is shot and wounded by his quarry; though he survives, he is unable to continue
with the cruise, and Chan takes his place instead. Eventually, after more murders, Chan finds
the killer before the next port of call.

13. The Man Who Knew Too Much- March
1935
Description
• Bob Lawrence and his crack-shot wife, Jill are holidaying in Switzerland when their French
friend, Louis Bernard is gunned down, warning them, with his dying breath, of an imminent
diplomatic assassination. To ensure the couple's silence, the conspirators kidnap their
daughter. However, Abbot and his comrades have fatally underestimated British pluck.

14. The 39 Steps- August 1935
Description
• The film is about a man in London who tries to help a counter-espionage agent prevent an
organisation of spies called The 39 Steps from stealing top secret information. When the
agent is killed and he stands accused of the murder, he goes on the run with an attractive
woman to save himself and stop the spy ring.

15. The Women Alone- December 1936
Description
• This film is about Mr. Verloc part of a gang of foreign saboteurs operating out of London. He
manages a small cinema with his wife and her teenage brother as a cover, but they know
nothing of his secret. Scotland Yard assign an undercover detective to work at the shop next
to the cinema in order to observe the gang.

16. After the Thin Man- December 1936
Description
• After The Thin Man is set back in San Franciso after solving his last case in New York, Nick and
Nora find another case. Nora's cousin Selma is accused of having murdered her husband, but
for Nick it's clear that she is not the murderer and he starts to investigate, supported by Nora
and Asta.

17. Night Must Fall- April 1937
Description
• Crotchety old Mrs. Bransom hires a charming young man named Danny as a live-in
companion. Less charmed by Danny is Mrs. Bransom's niece, Olivia, a repressed young
woman who suspects Danny of foul play. When news of a local murder is revealed, Olivia
suspects Danny. Although repulsed by the thought he may have committed the crime, Olivia
also finds herself becoming increasingly attracted to him at the same time.

18. The Lady Vanishes- October 1938
Description
• Travellers on a trans-European train are delayed for a night due to bad weather in a small
fictional country called Mandrika. The passengers cram into the small village hotel where
socialite Iris Henderson meets an old governess called Miss Froy. Shortly after the journey
restarts, Miss Froy disappears.

19. Exile Express- May 1939
Description
• After being wrongly implicated in the murder of her scientist boss by foreign agents, a young
immigrant woman is placed on board an "exile express" from California to New York City
where she is to be deported from Ellis Island. With the help of a journalist who has fallen in
love with her, she jumps the train and sets out to prove her innocence.

20. Before I Hang- September 1940
Description
• Dr. John Garth (Boris Karloff) is on trial for murder after performing a mercy killing on an
elderly friend. In the trial, he reveals that he had been researching a cure for aging, but had
not had time to perfect it before his friend's pain became unbearable. Despite his pleas for
mercy, the judge sentences him to be hanged in three weeks' time

21. Man Hunt- June 1941
Description
• its based on a liberal, of Jewish ancestry, Lang had fled Germany into exile in the mid-1930s –
this was the first of his four anti-Nazi movies. It was Roddy McDowall's first Hollywood film,
having been evacuated across the Atlantic following the London Blitz.

22. Cat People- December 1942
Description
• When naval construction designer Oliver Reed sees Serbian born beauty Irena Dubrovna at a
zoo, he flirts with her, and soon they fall in love and marry. Complications arise because Irena
believes she is the victim of an ancient Serbian curse that causes her to turn into a panther if
a man tries to make love to her, and the marriage is not consummated. Oliver sends Irena for
treatment with psychiatrist Dr. Louis Judd, and Oliver seeks "consolation" with his colleague
Alice Moore. Irena becomes jealous when she learns that she may be losing Oliver to Alice.

23. Double Indemnity- 3rd May 1945
Description
• Smooth talking insurance salesman Walter Neff meets attractive Phyllis Dietrichson when he
calls to renew her husband's automobile policy. The couple are immediately drawn to each
other and an affair begins. They cook up a scheme to murder Mr. Dietrichson for life
insurance money with a double indemnity clause. Unfortunately, all does not go to plan

24. Bedlam- May 1946
Description
• The spirited protege of rich Lord Mortimer, becomes interested in the conditions of notorious
St. Mary's of Bethlehem Asylum (Bedlam). Encouraged by the Quaker Hannay, she tries to
bring support to reforming Bedlam, but the cruel Master Sims who runs it has her committed
there. The inmates, however, have the last say.

25. Kiss of Death- August 1947
Description
• With his law-breaking lifestyle in the past, an ex-con, along with his family, attempt to start a
new life, knowing a betrayed someone from the past is bound to see otherwise.

26. He Walked by Night- November 1948
Description
• When a police officer is gunned down by a man whom he had stopped to question, a city-
wide dragnet fails to catch the shooter, leaving the police with only minor clues to go on.
Later they discover that the same man has been selling stolen equipment through an
electronics dealer, and they set a trap for him. But he shoots his way out of the trap and
escapes. The police must piece together a description of the man's appearance and habits
from witnesses and a few small clues, as they search untiringly for a dangerous and very
resourceful criminal

27. Stray Dog- October 1949
Description
• A young homicide detective, has his pick pocketed on a bus and loses his pistol. Frantic and
ashamed, he dashes about trying to recover the weapon without success until taken under
the wing of an older and wiser detective, Sato. Together they track the culprit.

28. Mystery Street- March 1950
Description
• A small town policeman is assisted by a Harvard professor when the skeletal remains of a
pregnant prostitute turn up on a Massachusetts beach.

29. Bad Day at Black Rock- January 1955
Description
• A one handed stranger comes to a tiny town possessing a terrible past they want to keep
secret, by violent means if necessary

30. Les Espions- September 1957
Description
• The plot concerns a doctor at a run-down psychiatric hospital, who is offered a large sum of
money to shelter a new patient. Soon the place is full of suspicious and secretive characters,
all apparently international secret agents trying to find out who and what the patient is.

31. The Thousand Eyes of Dr. Mabuse-
September 1960
Description
• A reporter is killed in his car on his way to work. Inspector Kras gets a call from his informant
Peter Cornelius, a blind fortune-teller, who had a vision of the crime but not the perpetrator.
Meanwhile, Henry Travers, a rich American industrialist, checks into the Luxor Hotel, which
has been outfitted by the Nazis during World War II to spy on people in every room.

32. Experiment in Terror- April 1962
Description
• Kelly Sherwood is terrorized by a man with an asthmatic voice who plans to use her to steal
$100,000 from the bank where she works. He threatens to kill her teenage sister Toby, if she
tells the police. However she manages to contact F.B.I. agent Ripley.

33. Dead Ringer- February 1964
Description
• After the funeral of her brother-in-law, Edith Phillips learns that Margaret de Lorca, her rich
twin sister, had tricked her way into marriage with the man she also loved. So she kills
Margaret and assumes her identity and life-style. However, her life becomes complicated by
her late sister's sleazy boyfriend, Tony Collins and Sgt. Jim Hobbson, a Los Angeles detective
who loved the "dead" Edith.

34. Arabesque- February 1966
Description
• Professor David Pollock is an expert in ancient Arabic hieroglyphics. A Middle Eastern Prime
Minister convinces Pollock to infiltrate the organization of a man named Beshraavi, who is
involved in a plot against the Prime Minister. The nature of the plot is believed to be found in
a hieroglyphic code. Beshraavi's mistress, Yasmin Azir is a mystery intertwined in the plot.
Pollock needs her help, but when she repeatedly seems to double cross him in one escapade
after another, he can't decide on whose side she is working. Ultimately working together,
Pollock and Yasmin decipher the plot and set out to stop an assassination of the Prime
Minister.

35. Le Cercle Rouge- October 1970
Description
• Thief released from prison on the same day of Vogel. A murderer escapes from the custody
of the patient Mattei, a cat-loving police superintendent. Corey robs Rico, his mob boss, then
enlists Vogel and an ex-police sharpshooter, Jansen, in a jewel heist. While Corey is harried by
the vengeful Rico, Mattei pressures Santi, a nightclub owner and pimp, to help him trap the
thieves. Over all hangs the judgment of the police director, that every man is guilty.

36. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three-
October 1974
Description
• Four armed men hijack a New York City subway train and demand 1 million dollars - which
must be delivered in 1 hour - for the train and the lives of the passengers held hostage. Lt.
Zachary Garber of the New York City Transit Police must contend with City Hall red tape, the
unrelenting demands of the hijackers, and the ever-ticking clock in his efforts to save the
passengers and bring the hijackers to justice.

37. Anima persa- January 1977
Description
• Strange events keep happening in an old mansion, and it's soon obvious that something
mysterious is up in the attic.

38. Bloodline- June 1979
Description
• When a father is murdered, a cosmetics heiress becomes the next target of an unknown killer
amid the international jet set...

39. The Attic- October 1980
Description
• Woman librarian devotes life to caring for wheelchair-bound tyrannical father after being
stood up at altar. She fantasizes his death and finds joy only with her pet monkey. Monkey
disappears and a shocking past is revealed.

40. War Games- June 1983
Description
• A young man finds a back door into a military central computer in which reality is confused
with game-playing, possibly starting World War III.

41. 52 Pick-Up- November 1986
Description
• Life overturned when three hooded blackmailers appear with a video tape of Harry and his
young mistress. He's been set up, and they want $100,000. To protect his wife's political
ambitions, Harry won't go to the police; instead, he shines them on and then doesn't pay.
They up their demands, so he goes on the offensive, tracking them down and trying to turn
one against the other.

42. Black Rain- September 1989
Description
• Two New York cops get involved in a gang war between members of the Yakuza, the Japanese
Mafia. They arrest one of their killers and are ordered to escort him back to Japan where he
manages to escape.

43. Die Hard 2- July 1990
Description
• Officer of the NYPD and hero of the Nakatomi Hostage Crisis, attempts to avert disaster as
rogue military officials seize control of Dulles International Airport in Washington, D.C.

44. Fear- April 1996
Description
• A 16 year old girl takes up with a charming young man who quickly shows his colours when
he beats a friend simply for walking with her and then he goes crazy when she tries to break
up with him.

45. Open Your Eyes- December 1997
Description
• A very handsome man finds the love of his life, but he suffers an accident and needs to have
his face rebuilt by surgery after it is severely disfigured

46. 2000 AD- October 2000
Description
• The Y2K Bug. Real Warfare vs Electronic Gaming. Peter Tong, a carefree Hong Kong youngster,
finds himself drawn into the web of a deadly espionage conspiracy. A clandestine
organization schemes to use the Y2K Bug to cause mayhem throughout Asia. To survive, Peter
has to call on reserves of courage and stamina he has never needed before.

47. Casino Royale- November 2006
Description
• James Bond takes over his first mission, in which he faces a mysterious private banker to
world terrorism and poker player, Le Chiffre. Along with a beautiful Treasury agent and the
MI6 man in Montenegro, Bond takes part in a high stakes poker game set up by Le Chiffre in
order to recover a huge sum of his clients' money he lost in a failed plot that the British spy
took down.

48. The A-Team- June 2010
Description
• A group of Iraq War veterans looks to clear their name with the U.S. military, who suspect the
four men of committing a crime for which they were framed.

49. The Purge- May 2013
Description
• Film is set in the year 2022 when the United States has become "a nation reborn", with crime
and unemployment rates hitting an all-time low, due to the government having instituted an
annual 12-hour period called "the Purge" during which all criminal activity (including murder,
theft, and rape) becomes legal. The only rules during the Purge is that government officials of
"ranking 10 or higher" must remain unharmed and usage of weaponry above "Class 4" (such
as WMDs) is forbidden.