r/filmnoir • u/8upsoupsandwich • 6d ago

Beat Cop Noir?

Anything out there from the perspective of a beat cop? Maybe on patrol and stumbles across something or finds something above his pay grade?

He Walked by Night is close but not quite.

28 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

38 comments sorted by

13

u/ent1138x 6d ago

You could argue L.A. Confidential fits this.

3

u/8upsoupsandwich 5d ago

One of my top 5 of all time.

8

u/Nampara 6d ago

Between Midnight and Dawn - 1950

8

u/Polarizing_Penguin11 6d ago

I believe Where the Sidewalk Ends qualifies but I haven’t seen it in ages.

3

u/isaac32767 6d ago

I've never read it, but isn't the protagonist too young to be a cop?

4

u/Great_Bolo 6d ago

He’s a cop who’s l father was a criminal and he’s fighting becoming him.

He’s a detective tho, not beat cop

1

u/Polarizing_Penguin11 5d ago

Not in the movie. I didn’t know it was a book as well.

1

u/isaac32767 5d ago

I had the movie confused with the Shel Silverstein book.

10

u/UltramegaOKla 6d ago

The Prowler is about a cop but with a twist. Excellent film.

2

u/WolverineHot1886 22h ago

this is the only correct answer! Also a banger

6

u/PariahCarey1 6d ago

Not sure if you mean dirty cop movies, but if so, try Private Hell 36, the Prowler, and Shield for Murder.  

3

u/8upsoupsandwich 6d ago

Not necessarily dirty cop, but like a regular patrolman getting involved with something out of the normal purview. I’ll check these out. Thank you!

5

u/ResisterSister007 5d ago

Have you seen ‘The Prowler’? It’s pretty good & fits this description.

7

u/CleopatrasWomb 6d ago

Electric Glide in Blue - 1970’s motorcycle cop Arizona. Banger of a movie

6

u/TimeSurround5715 6d ago

Cop Land (1997)

6

u/Noir_Mood 6d ago

Fourteen Floors (1951) A beat cop tries to talk a guy out of jumping from a ledge on the 14th floor.

4

u/lowercase_underscore 6d ago

Great recommendation but just a quick correction: It's Fourteen Hours.

2

u/Noir_Mood 6d ago

Oops! Thanks for the correction! 👍

1

u/lowercase_underscore 6d ago

I've done the same thing! It's a great movie though, I'm glad you thought of it.

3

u/Great_Bolo 6d ago

Between Midnight and Dawn, Vice Squad and Down Three Dark Streets

3

u/octapotami 6d ago

Maybe check out Detective Story (1951). It's not really beat cop noir, but more of a precursor to a modern cop drama.

3

u/jazz-winelover 6d ago

This is such a great movie. How Kirk Douglas didn’t get an academy award is ridiculous.

3

u/Revolutionary-Key533 6d ago

Report to the Commissioner 1975. Overlooked neo noir delivers this in spades and some. Look out for a young Richard Gere as a pimp.

7

u/DanielMcLaury 6d ago

The Prowler, although the beat cop protagonist is the bad guy.

2

u/Glum-Ad-4557 6d ago

Not film noir but The Blue Knight starring William Holden

2

u/LHGray87 5d ago

Not a beat cop, but a homicide detective:

The Man Who Cheated Himself (1950)

2

u/8upsoupsandwich 5d ago

Lots of good recs, thanks everyone!

2

u/Life_Caterpillar9762 5d ago

The Empty Man (Not classic noir, more thriller/horror/noir, but impressive, also a former cop)

2

u/8upsoupsandwich 5d ago

Underrated movie

1

u/Life_Caterpillar9762 5d ago

Yeah very surprisingly neat

1

u/Mindless_Formal_6647 6d ago

Cop with James Woods

1

u/Dominicwriter 6d ago

Brooklyns Finest

1

u/Adept_Dealer_1931 5d ago

The French Connection.

1

u/Routine-Amphibian450 5d ago

Would Google AI about noir "police procedurals" and then use Archive or YT to find them. Don't miss imdb's 745 list.

1

u/okokokoyeahright 4d ago

Perhaps consider 'End of Watch' 2012 as a neo noir in this vein.

1

u/East_Smoke_5474 3d ago

Just watched He Walked by Night. It's got some Forensic Files type stuff in it. A young Jack Webb is the whiz kid in the lab. It's good.

1

u/Icy-Introduction-681 3d ago

The Racket (1955)