This document lists important noir films from 1941 to 1958 along with their year of release and director. It includes seminal films like The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity, Laura, Mildred Pierce, The Big Sleep, Gilda, Out of the Past, The Third Man, Sunset Boulevard, Kiss Me Deadly and Touch of Evil. Many of the films were directed by masters of the genre such as John Huston, Billy Wilder, Otto Preminger and Orson Welles.

1. NOIR FILMS
TIMELINE

2. THE MALTESE FALCON
• Year: 1941
• Director: John Huston

3. DOUBLE INDEMNITY
• Year: 1944
• Director: Billy Wilder

4. LAURA
• Year: 1944
• Director: Otto Preminger

5. FAREWELL MY LOVELY
• Year: 1944
• Director: Edward Dmytryk

6. MILDRED PIERCE
• Year: 1945
• Director: Michael Curtiz

7. DETOUR
• Year: 1945
• Director: Edgar G. Ulmer

8. THE POSTMAN ALWAYS
RINGS TWICE
• Year: 1946
• Director: Tay Garnett

9. THE BIG SLEEP
• Year: 1946
• Director: Howard Hawks

10. GILDA
• Year: 1946
• Director: Charles Vidor

11. OUT OF THE PAST
• Year: 1947
• Director: Jacques Tourneur

12. THE LADY FROM
SHANGHAI
• Year: 1947
• Director: Orson Welles

13. THE THIRD MAN
• Year: 1949
• Director: Carol Reed

14. THE ASPHALT JUNGLE
• Year: 1950
• Director: John Huston

15. IN A LONELY PLACE
• Year: 1950
• Director: Nicholas Ray

16. SUNSET BOULEVARD
• Year: 1950
• Director: Billy Wilder

17. THE BIG HEAT
• Year: 1953
• Director: Fritz Lang

18. KISS ME DEADLY
• Year: 1955
• Director: Robert Aldrich

19. THE NIGHT OF THE
HUNTER
• Year: 1955
• Director: Charles Laughton and Robert Mitchum

20. SWEET SMELL OF
SUCCESS
• Year: 1957
• Director: Alexander Mackendrick

21. TOUCH OF EVIL
• Year: 1958
• Director: Orson Welles