Top 100 Mystery Movies List

#20 Mystery Movie

The Big Lebowski (1998) R

"The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire Lebowski, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Director:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore

#19 Mystery Movie

Double Indemnity (1944)

An insurance representative lets himself be talked into a murder/insurance fraud scheme that arouses an insurance investigator's suspicions.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler

Stars:

Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

#18 Mystery Movie

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

In a murder trial, the defendant says he suffered temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?

Director:

Otto Preminger

Writers:

Wendell Mayes, John D. Voelker

Stars:

James Stewart, Lee Remick, Ben Gazzara

#17 Mystery Movie

Shutter Island (2010) R

In 1954, a U.S. marshal investigates the disappearance of a murderess who escaped from a hospital for the criminally insane.

Director:

Martin Scorsese

Writers:

Laeta Kalogridis, Dennis Lehane

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Emily Mortimer, Mark Ruffalo

#16 Mystery Movie

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

A screenwriter is hired to rework a faded silent film star's script only to find himself developing a dangerous relationship.

Director:

Billy Wilder

Writers:

Charles Brackett, Billy Wilder

Stars:

William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

#15 Mystery Movie

Solace (2015) R

A psychic works with the FBI in order to hunt down a serial killer.

Director:

Afonso Poyart

Writers:

Sean Bailey, Ted Griffin

Stars:

Anthony Hopkins, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Abbie Cornish

#14 Mystery Movie

The One I Love (2014) R

A troubled couple vacate to a beautiful getaway, but bizarre circumstances further complicate their situation.

Director:

Charlie McDowell

Writers:

Justin Lader

Stars:

Mark Duplass, Elisabeth Moss, Ted Danson

#13 Mystery Movie

Chinatown (1974) R

A private detective hired to expose an adulterer finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.

Director:

Roman Polanski

Writers:

Robert Towne

Stars:

Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston

#12 Mystery Movie

Vertigo (1958) PG

A San Francisco detective suffering from acrophobia investigates the strange activities of an old friend's wife, all the while becoming dangerously obsessed with her.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Alec Coppel, Samuel A. Taylor

Stars:

James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes

#11 Mystery Movie

Dial M for Murder (1954) PG

An ex-tennis pro carries out a plot to murder his wife. When things go wrong, he improvises a brilliant plan B.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

Frederick Knott

Stars:

Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings

#10 Mystery Movie

L.A. Confidential (1997) R

As corruption grows in 1950s LA, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.

Director:

Curtis Hanson

Writers:

James Ellroy, Brian Helgeland

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce

#9 Mystery Movie

Get Low (2009) PG-13

A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.

Director:

Aaron Schneider

Writers:

Chris Provenzano, C. Gaby Mitchell

Stars:

Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek

#8 Mystery Movie

True Story (2015) R

When disgraced New York Times reporter Michael Finkel meets accused killer Christian Longo - who has taken on Finkel's identity - his investigation morphs into a game of cat-and-mouse.

Director:

Rupert Goold

Writers:

Rupert Goold (screenplay), David Kajganich

Stars:

James Franco, Jonah Hill, Felicity Jones

#7 Mystery Movie

The Usual Suspects (1995) R

A sole survivor tells of the twisty events leading up to a horrific gun battle on a boat, which began when five criminals met at a seemingly random police lineup.

Director:

Bryan Singer

Writers:

Christopher McQuarrie

Stars:

Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri

#6 Mystery Movie

Inception (2010) PG-13

A thief, who steals corporate secrets through use of dream-sharing technology, is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a CEO.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Christopher Nolan

Stars:

Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page

#5 Mystery Movie

Gone Girl (2014) R

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Director:

David Fincher

Writers:

Gillian Flynn

Stars:

Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris

#4 Mystery Movie

The Green Mile (1999) R

The lives of guards on Death Row are affected by one of their charges: a black man accused of child murder and rape, yet who has a mysterious gift.

Director:

Frank Darabont

Writers:

Stephen King, Frank Darabont

Stars:

Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse

#3 Mystery Movie

The Prestige (2006) PG-13

Two stage magicians engage in competitive one-upmanship in an attempt to create the ultimate stage illusion.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan

Stars:

Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman, Scarlett Johansson

#2 Mystery Movie

Memento (2000) R

A man juggles searching for his wife's murderer and keeping his short-term memory loss from being an obstacle.

Director:

Christopher Nolan

Writers:

Christopher Nolan, Jonathan Nolan

Stars:

Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

#1 Mystery Movie

Rear Window (1954)

A wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.

Director:

Alfred Hitchcock

Writers:

John Michael Hayes, Cornell Woolrich

Stars:

James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey

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