TOP FIVE

Inspired by a Max Allan Collins post (http://maxallancollins.com/blog/2026/03/10/top-five-noir-films-and-more/), I'll list off a few favorites of my own:

FIVE FAVORITE PRIVATE EYE NOVELS

1. The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett

2. Farewell, My Lovely by Raymond Chandler

3. The Wrong Case by James Crumley

4. Small Vices by Robert B. Parker

5. L.A. Requiem by Robert Crais

FIVE FAVORITE PRIVATE EYE MOVIES

1. The Maltese Falcon (John Huston, 1941)

2. The Big Sleep (Howard Hawks, 1946)

3. Out of the Past (Jacques Tourneur, 1947)

4. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)

5. Night Moves (Arthur Penn, 1975)

FIVE FAVORITE CRIME NOVELS

1. The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

2. The Name of the Game is Death by Dan J. Marlowe

3. Hit Man by Lawrence Block

4. Breakout by Richard Stark

5. Killshot by Elmore Leonard

FIVE FAVORITE LITERARY NOVELS

1. A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway

2. Rabbit Redux by John Updike

3. A Sport and a Pastime by James Salter

4. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy

5. The Killings of Stanley Ketchel by James Carlos Blake

FIVE FAVORITE SCIENCE FICTION BOOKS

1. The Stainless Steel Rat Gets Drafted by Harry Harrison

2. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

3. Radio Free Albemuth by Philip K. Dick

4. Behold the Man by Michael Moorcock

5. Nightwings by Robert Silverberg

FIVE FAVORITE SCIENCE FICTION MOVIES

1. The Time Machine (George Pal, 1960)

2. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn (Nicholas Meyer, 1982)

3. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (Leonard Nimoy, 1986)

5. Ex Machina (Alex Garland, 2014)

FIVE FAVORITE FANTASY BOOKS

1. October Country by Ray Bradbury

2. Alone Against Tomorrow by Harlan Ellison

3. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis 

4. Firelord by Parke Godwin

5. American Gods by Neil Gaiman

FIVE FAVORITE FANTASY MOVIES

1. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)

2. Conan the Barbarian (John Milius, 1982)

3. Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986)

4. The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987)

5. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)

FIVE FAVORITE COP NOVELS

1. The Con Man by Ed McBain

2. Fuzz by Ed McBain

3. Sadie When She Died by Ed McBain

4. Tricks by Ed McBain

5. The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly

FIVE FAVORITE COMEDY MOVIES

1. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)

2. Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974)

3. The In-Laws (Arthur Hiller, 1979)

4. The Blues Brothers (1980)

5. Defending Your Life (Albert Brooks, 1991)

FIVE FAVORITE ROMCOMS

1. Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953)

2. What's Up, Doc? (Peter Bogdanovich, 1972)

3. When Harry Met Sally (Rob Reiner, 1989)

4. Shakespeare in Love (John Madden, 1998)

5. Music and Lyrics (Marc Lawrence, 2007)

FIVE FAVORITE NOIR MOVIES

1. Detour (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1945)

2. Raw Deal (Anthony Mann, 1948)

3. Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950)

4. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)

5. The Prowler (Joseph Losey, 1951)

FIVE FAVORITE NEO-NOIR MOVIES

1. Body Heat (Lawrence Kasdan, 1981)

2. Kill Me Again (John Dahl, 1989)

3. Basic Instinct (Paul Verhoeven, 1992)

4. The Man Who Wasn't There (Joel Coen, 2001)

5. Hell or High Water (David Mackenzie, 2016)

FIVE FAVORITE CRIME MOVIES

1. Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1950)

2. Point Blank (John Boorman, 1967)

3. Thief (Michael Mann, 1981)

4. Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)

5. Emily the Criminal (John Patton Ford, 2022)

FIVE FAVORITE TV DETECTIVE SHOWS

1. Columbo

2. Mannix

3. The Rockford Files

4. Magnum, P.I. 

5. The Mentalist

FIVE FAVORTE WAR MOVIES

1. Air Force (Howard Hawks, 1943)

2. Objective, Burma! (Raoul Walsh, 1945)

3. Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean, 1957)

4. Where Eagles Dare (Brian Hutton, 1968)

5. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

FIVE FAVORITE WESTERN MOVIES

1. Destry Rides Again (George Marshall, 1939)

2. The Westerner (William Wyler, 1940)

3. The Tin Star (Anthony Mann, 1957)

4. Rio Bravo (Hawks, 1959)

5. The Magnificent Seven (John Sturges, 1960)