70's Detective Movies
by danny_890 | created - 15 Aug 2021 | updated - 3 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Velvet Smooth (1976)
R | 93 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The female head of a detective agency is hired by a crime lord to figure out who's taking his action.
Director: Michael Fink | Stars: Johnnie Hill, Owen Watson, Emerson Boozer, René Van Clief
Votes: 345
2. The Return of Charlie Chan (1972 TV Movie)
91 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Charlie Chan investigates a murder case aboard the yacht of a wealthy Greek shipping tycoon.
Directors: Daryl Duke, Leslie H. Martinson | Stars: Ross Martin, Richard Haydn, Louise Sorel, Joseph Hindy
Votes: 174
3. Because of the Cats (1973)
R | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A gang of wealthy ne'er do wells rape and terrorize women for fun and force their husbands to watch. A police detective tries to catch them, but can he break their twisted loyalty to one another?
Director: Fons Rademakers | Stars: Bryan Marshall, Alexandra Stewart, Edward Judd, Sebastian Graham Jones
Votes: 506
4. Tatuaje (1978)
Drama
When an unrecognizable corpse appears on a beach in Barcelona, a private investigator is hired to find out the identity of the dead man and to unveil what happened to him.
Director: Bigas Luna | Stars: Carlos Ballesteros, Pilar Velázquez, Mónica Randall, Carmen Liaño
Votes: 74
5. Shaft (1971)
R | 100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A crime lord hires black private eye, John Shaft, to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Director: Gordon Parks | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Charles Cioffi, Christopher St. John
Votes: 21,046 | Gross: $16.69M
6. To Kill a Cop (1978 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 186 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Earl Eischied is a man with his hands full. As the Chief of Detectives in New York City, he is trying to break up a group of black militants that are on a crime spree, including the killing of a police officer.
Director: Gary Nelson | Stars: Joe Don Baker, Desi Arnaz Jr., Christine Belford, Scott Brady
Votes: 90
7. Report to the Commissioner (1975)
PG | 112 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Police officer Patty Butler, alias "Chicklet," is the live-in girlfriend of Thomas 'Stick' Henderson to gather evidence. Detective Bo Lockley is instructed to try to find her, not knowing she's also a cop.
Director: Milton Katselas | Stars: Michael Moriarty, Yaphet Kotto, Susan Blakely, Hector Elizondo
Votes: 1,235
8. Los albañiles (1976)
122 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A watchman is murdered at a building site. The film narrates several versions of the people involved. Based on the Vicente Lenero novel.
Director: Jorge Fons | Stars: Ignacio López Tarso, Jaime Fernández, José Alonso, Salvador Sánchez
Votes: 257
9. The Drowning Pool (1975)
PG | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Harper's a big-city PI, who travels to Louisiana to help an old girlfriend who's worried her husband will find out she's been cheating on him.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Murray Hamilton
Votes: 6,193
10. Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
R | 95 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by paroled convict Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.
Director: Dick Richards | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Charlotte Rampling, John Ireland, Sylvia Miles
Votes: 9,614 | Gross: $4.36M
11. The Big Fix (1978)
PG | 108 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
An ex-'60s radical now working as a private eye is hired by an old flame to investigate a political smear campaign. The case becomes more dangerous as it unfolds.
Director: Jeremy Kagan | Stars: Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, Bonnie Bedelia, John Lithgow
Votes: 2,399
12. They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970)
GP | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In San Francisco, a high-priced call girl is murdered and the case is assigned to Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs.
Director: Gordon Douglas | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Martin Landau, Barbara McNair, Anthony Zerbe
Votes: 4,371 | Gross: $5.12M
13. The Organization (1971)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
In San Francisco, Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs helps a group of idealistic vigilantes expose a drug ring controlled by powerful businessmen.
Director: Don Medford | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Barbara McNair, Gerald S. O'Loughlin, Sheree North
Votes: 2,162 | Gross: $1.50M
14. What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)
R | 107 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A teacher who is having an affair with one of his students is reluctant to present an alibi when his lover witnesses the first in a series of murders connected to their school.
Director: Massimo Dallamano | Stars: Fabio Testi, Karin Baal, Cristina Galbó, Joachim Fuchsberger
Votes: 5,929
15. Seven Blood-Stained Orchids (1972)
Unrated | 92 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A woman, a survivor of a failed murder attempt by the so-called "Half-Moon Killer", and her husband try to find a connection between herself, six other women, and the killer.
Director: Umberto Lenzi | Stars: Antonio Sabato, Uschi Glas, Pier Paolo Capponi, Rossella Falk
Votes: 2,692
16. The Black Bird (1975)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
The son of famous detective Sam Spade carries on the family tradition of getting involved with the Maltese Falcon - and with the people who will stop at nothing, including murder, to get it.
Director: David Giler | Stars: George Segal, Stéphane Audran, Lionel Stander, Lee Patrick
Votes: 623
17. Contract on Cherry Street (1977 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 145 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When his partner is killed, NYC detective Frank Hovannes and his organized-crime squad go against the mob, despite strong objections from his superiors and the legal-departmental restrictions that hinder him.
Director: William A. Graham | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Martin Balsam, Jay Black, Verna Bloom
Votes: 319
18. Darker Than Amber (1970)
PG | 96 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
Professional beach bum and 'knight errant' Travis McGee goes up against psychotic body-builder Terry Bartell. McGee pulls out all the stops when he joins a Caribbean cruise to bring the killer to justice.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Rod Taylor, Theodore Bikel, Suzy Kendall, Ahna Capri
Votes: 607
19. Cops and Robbers (1979)
91 min | Crime, Drama
Cops and Robbers depicts a city where ordinary citizens hold little trust for the police; far removed from the post-ICAC Hong Kong of today.
Director: Kwok-Ming Cheung | Stars: Chung Wang, Hing-Yin Kam, Kwok-Keung Cheung, Si-dai Lau
Votes: 140
20. See Here My Love (1978)
124 min | Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Young aristocrat Arnaud de Maule hires female private detective Claude Alphand to investigate a strange cult, the Church of the Final Revival, that tried to recruit his girlfriend Chloé, who then disappeared, and it now stalks him.
Director: Hugo Santiago | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Sami Frey, Antoine Vitez, Anne Parillaud
Votes: 191
21. Assault in Paradise (1977)
PG | 90 min | Crime, Thriller
A Native American travels around a resort town, murdering cops and rich people with a high-powered crossbow, while demanding that the town's richest residents pay him money to stop the killings.
Director: Richard Compton | Stars: Oliver Reed, Deborah Raffin, James Mitchum, Stuart Whitman
Votes: 662
22. Night Moves (1975)
R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Los Angeles private investigator Harry Moseby is hired by a client to find her runaway teenage daughter. Moseby tracks the daughter down, only to stumble upon something much more intriguing and sinister.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Edward Binns, Harris Yulin
Votes: 17,736
23. Busting (1974)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Defying orders to lay-off the case, two Los Angeles vice-squad cops go after a local mobster and use unorthodox methods to achieve results.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Elliott Gould, Robert Blake, Allen Garfield, Antonio Fargas
Votes: 1,869 | Gross: $0.11M
24. Peeper (1975)
PG | 87 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
In 1947, a smart-mouthed Brit working in L.A. as a private eye (or peeper) is on a case to find the long lost daughter of a shady client pursued by two dangerous goons. The case leads him to a rich oddball Beverly Hills family.
Director: Peter Hyams | Stars: Michael Caine, Natalie Wood, Kitty Winn, Michael Constantine
Votes: 926
25. The Long Goodbye (1973)
R | 112 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Private investigator Philip Marlowe helps a friend out of a jam, but in doing so gets implicated in his wife's murder.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Elliott Gould, Nina van Pallandt, Sterling Hayden, Mark Rydell
Votes: 37,340 | Gross: $0.96M
26. Chinatown (1974)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez
Votes: 350,121
27. Creeping Death (1972)
94 min | Horror, Mystery, Western
Federal agent Alan Fields, undercover as Jonathan Pinkerton, an employee of Lloyds of London, is investigating a bank robbery where one of the three thieves has killed the other two to take possession of all the money.
Director: Mario Bianchi | Stars: Robert Woods, Frank Braña, Nieves Navarro, Carlo Gaddi
Votes: 144
28. The Seven-Ups (1973)
PG | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Director: Philip D'Antoni | Stars: Roy Scheider, Tony Lo Bianco, Victor Arnold, Jerry Leon
Votes: 6,652 | Gross: $2.32M
29. The French Connection (1971)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Votes: 135,815 | Gross: $15.63M
30. Man on the Roof (1976)
R | 112 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When a police inspector is murdered in hospital, the investigation led by detective Martin Beck uncovers reports of police misconduct and a possible revenge motive.
Director: Bo Widerberg | Stars: Carl-Gustaf Lindstedt, Sven Wollter, Thomas Hellberg, Håkan Serner
Votes: 4,998
31. An Imperfect Crime (1970)
88 min | Comedy
Two private detectives called Salomon (Fernando Fernan-Gomez) and Torcuato (Jose Luis Lopez Vazquez), are engaged in questionable conduct research and work reports
Director: Fernando Fernán Gómez | Stars: Fernando Fernán Gómez, José Luis López Vázquez, Rosanna Yanni, Jesús Puente
Votes: 106
32. Sinthia: The Devil's Doll (1970)
78 min | Horror
Cynthia Kyle enters puberty with a vengeance, murdering her parents as they make love: she's wanted her father to love only her. Eight years later, she's free and wants to marry, but ... See full summary »
Director: Ray Dennis Steckler | Stars: Bunny Allister, Ted Royer, Brett Zeller, Gary Kent
Votes: 337
33. Last Known Address (1970)
105 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Police inspector Léonetti, a tough, efficient policeman, has been sent to a second-rate police station after being reprimanded. There he is given a partner, young and beautiful Jeanne Dumas... See full summary »
Director: José Giovanni | Stars: Lino Ventura, Marlène Jobert, Michel Constantin, Paul Crauchet
Votes: 1,904
34. Johny Mera Naam (1970)
159 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Monu (Mohan) and Sonu (Sohan) are the two sons of a police inspector. The kids excel in boxing. Their father gets killed by a goon following orders from Ranjit (Premnath). Mohan kills the ... See full summary »
Director: Vijay Anand | Stars: Dev Anand, Hema Malini, Pran Sikand, Jeevan Dhar
Votes: 925
35. Gangster Cop (1970)
R | 87 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An undercover cop befriends a yakuza underling who through his contacts helps him infiltrate two rival Yakuza gangs. He pits the two rival gangs against each other in hopes that they will cross each other out.
Director: Yukio Noda | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba, Ryôji Hayama, Machiko Yashiro, Ryôhei Uchida
Votes: 322
36. The Bullet Machine (1970)
R | 87 min | Crime, Drama
Detective Harry Clegg must track down the crazed prostitute responsible for a string of murders.
Director: Lindsay Shonteff | Stars: Gilbert Wynne, Norman Claridge, Gilly Grant, Noel Davis
Votes: 76
37. Who Killed Cock Robin? (1970)
X | 56 min | Drama
A Detective on the hunt for the murderer of Robin questions all his old lovers about their relationships with him.
Director: Don Jones | Stars: Maria Arnold, Neola Graef, Ruth Knox, Babs Lewison
Votes: 35
38. Das Stundenhotel von St. Pauli (1970)
95 min | Crime, Drama
A Hamburg police inspector investigates the crime of a homosexual in a love hotel, and although several guests are suspicious, his thoughts are elsewhere, as his own son lies on the operating table in a hospital, fighting for his life.
Director: Rolf Olsen | Stars: Curd Jürgens, Andrea Rau, Corny Collins, Rudolf Schündler
Votes: 51
39. The Assassin (1970)
87 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Hayata is an undercover cop assigned to infiltrate not one, but two rival Yakuza gangs. Things get complicated when Hayata gets into a relationship with a young schoolteacher, the daughter ... See full summary »
Director: Ryûichi Takamori | Stars: Shin'ichi Chiba, Ryôhei Uchida, Fumio Watanabe, Toshiaki Minami
Votes: 96
40. Rend mig i revolutionen (1970)
90 min | Comedy
A comedy about a Danish private detective, normally just occupied with cases about unfaithful spouses, is suddenly involved in murder, arms deal, revolution in Guateragua, briefcase full of money and the Danish intelligence agency.
Director: Erik Balling | Stars: Ove Sprogøe, Poul Bundgaard, Helle Virkner, Helle Hertz
Votes: 135
41. Hard Women (1970)
R | 84 min | Thriller
Rough-and-ready vice detective Perrak must follow 1000 leads during the investigation of a transvestite murder case. In a profoundly mysterious massage parlor he meets industrialist wife Claire Imhoff.
Director: Alfred Vohrer | Stars: Horst Tappert, Werner Peters, Hubert Suschka, Walter Richter
Votes: 118
42. Judy (1970)
R | 75 min | Crime, Drama
A depraved sex killer preys on women of ill repute in the red light district area of Boston, Massachusetts. Hard-nosed maverick private detective Gunner Sloan gets hired by the wealthy ... See full summary »
Directors: David W. Hanson, George Meadows | Stars: Dave Haller, Sandy O'Hara, Garry Achzieger, Karen Beglan
Votes: 70
43. Dead Eye Dick (1970)
59 min | Crime
Private Investigator Dead Eye Dick is the biggest Dick in Hollywood. He snoops around finding evidence on cheating husbands and doesn't care who he has to pump for information to get the job done.
Stars: Jeannie Anderson, Jan Davis, Pete Dawson, Uschi Digard
Votes: 38
44. Skulle det dukke opp flere lik er det bare å ringe..... (1970)
98 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Cleaning lady Lilly Hansen finds her employer, managing director Martinsen, with a knife in his back. The police is summoned and Chief Inspector Bakker is put on the case, despite suffering... See full summary »
Director: Knut Bohwim | Stars: Aud Schønemann, Arve Opsahl, Thorleif Reiss, Anne-Lise Tangstad
Votes: 547
45. Golden Eagle (1970)
104 min | Action, Adventure
The heroic Red Eagle must deal with an evil imposter who is the head of a deadly criminal gang known as the Red Bamboo. Meanwhile, an undercover cop must infiltrate the gang and stop them ... See full summary »
Director: Mitr Chaibancha | Stars: Mitr Chaibancha, Petchara Chaowarat, Kanchit Kwanpracha
Votes: 7
46. The Creature Called Man (1970)
93 min | Drama, Thriller
A police inspector and Olympic sharpshooter (Kayama) is assigned to protect the president of "Southnesia" from assassination.
Director: Kiyoshi Nishimura | Stars: Yûzô Kayama, Jirô Tamiya, Mariko Kaga, Nancy Sommers
Votes: 25
47. Douglas (1970)
90 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Douglas is a slippery stuck-up policeman, working in the intelligence services, who thinks his status makes it ok to make other people's life miserable.
Director: Pål Bang-Hansen | Stars: Rolv Wesenlund, Tom Tellefsen, Per Christensen, Kjersti Døvigen
Votes: 57
48. Kidnappers (1970)
This movie was about an famous artist who's wife is kidnapped . His God son was a detective who fights the mob to rescue his wife.
Director: Leody M. Diaz | Stars: Tony Ferrer, Divina Valencia, Leopoldo Salcedo, Van De Leon
49. Os maridos Traem... E as Mulheres Subtraem (1970)
90 min | Comedy
Two friends live without knowing a most awkward situation: each one is the lover of the other's wife. Jealous, they hire the same private eye to track their women, who, of course, gets very... See full summary »
Director: Victor di Mello | Stars: José Vasconcelos, Elizabeth Gasper, Mário Benvenutti, Guy Loup
Votes: 17
50. Cry Uncle (1971)
R | 87 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Private detective takes on a case and gets mixed up in murder, sex and blackmail.
Director: John G. Avildsen | Stars: Jackson Beck, Pamela Gruen, Allen Garfield, Devin Goldenberg
Votes: 689 | Gross: $1.08M
51. Don't Deliver Us from Evil (1971)
Unrated | 102 min | Drama, Horror
Two bored Catholic schoolgirls spending summer in the countryside decide to become Satanists, and begin committing a series of morbid and increasingly dangerous crimes.
Director: Joël Séria | Stars: Jeanne Goupil, Catherine Wagener, Bernard Dhéran, Gérard Darrieu
Votes: 2,735
52. Without Apparent Motive (1971)
PG | 100 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A strange series of murders are being committed in Nice on the French riviera. The commissionaire Carella is in charge and tries desperately to find a missing link between all of these ... See full summary »
Director: Philippe Labro | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Dominique Sanda, Sacha Distel, Carla Gravina
Votes: 949
53. The Widow Couderc (1971)
TV-14 | 92 min | Action, Drama, Romance
John, an escaped convict, takes refuge on the farm of Widow Couderc. He becomes the older woman's lover and admits that he's on the run. The widow's in-laws, who despise her,
Director: Pierre Granier-Deferre | Stars: Alain Delon, Simone Signoret, Ottavia Piccolo, Jean Tissier
Votes: 2,095
54. Chandler (1971)
GP | 85 min | Crime, Drama
A hardboiled aging private eye is hired to find and protect a missing government witness sought after by the gangsters. The witness is a beautiful French woman and even the cops can't be trusted. The case is tough, but so is Chandler.
Director: Paul Magwood | Stars: Warren Oates, Leslie Caron, Alex Dreier, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 630
55. Klute (1971)
R | 114 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
A small-town detective searching for a missing man has only one lead: a connection with a New York prostitute.
Director: Alan J. Pakula | Stars: Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Charles Cioffi, Roy Scheider
Votes: 29,650 | Gross: $17.44M
56. Magnum Force (1973)
R | 124 min | Action, Crime, Mystery
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan pursues a conspiracy of vigilante cops, who are not above going beyond the law to kill San Francisco's undesirables.
Director: Ted Post | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Hal Holbrook, Mitchell Ryan, David Soul
Votes: 66,716 | Gross: $4.56M
57. Walking Tall (1973)
R | 125 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Based on the life of Tennessee sheriff Buford Pusser, who almost single-handily cleaned up his small town of crime and corruption, but at a personal cost of his family life and nearly his own life.
Director: Phil Karlson | Stars: Joe Don Baker, Elizabeth Hartman, Leif Garrett, Dawn Lyn
Votes: 6,751 | Gross: $4.75M
58. The Big Sleep (1978)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Grizzled American private detective in England investigates a complicated case of blackmail turned murder involving a rich but honest elderly general, his two loose socialite daughters, a pornographer and a gangster.
Director: Michael Winner | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Sarah Miles, Richard Boone, Candy Clark
Votes: 5,440
59. Death Occurred Last Night (1970)
TV-14 | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A compassionate police captain searches for a mentally challenged 25 year old daughter of a widower, who's been kidnapped and forced into prostitution.
Director: Duccio Tessari | Stars: Raf Vallone, Frank Wolff, Gabriele Tinti, Gillian Bray
Votes: 728
60. Cangrejo II (1984)
Drama
Based on real events, it tells the story and recreates the events of the murder of a young woman in which his brother priest later turned out to be the main suspect.
Director: Román Chalbaud | Stars: Miguel Ángel Landa, Eduardo Serrano, Rafael Briceño, Ramón Hinojosa
Votes: 47
61. Cangrejo (1982)
102 min | Crime, Drama
Tell the story and recreate the kidnapping events of a child that shocked public opinion in Caracas, Venezuela, 1973.
Director: Román Chalbaud | Stars: Miguel Ángel Landa, América Alonso, Carlos Márquez, Domingo Del Castillo
Votes: 83
62. The Case of the Scorpion's Tail (1971)
Not Rated | 95 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
An insurance investigator tries to determine any irregularities in the policy of a heiress' dead husband, but soon finds himself suspected of her murder.
Director: Sergio Martino | Stars: George Hilton, Anita Strindberg, Alberto de Mendoza, Janine Reynaud
Votes: 3,577
63. The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971)
Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A corpse is found in the trunk of a car that belongs to the Swiss ambassador to the UK. Speculations run wild, as more people around the ambassador keep falling victim to the vicious killer. A former detective is hired to investigate.
Director: Riccardo Freda | Stars: Luigi Pistilli, Dagmar Lassander, Anton Diffring, Arthur O'Sullivan
Votes: 1,029
64. A Dragonfly for Each Corpse (1975)
Not Rated | 85 min | Crime, Horror, Mystery
A killer is cleaning up the streets of Milan by murdering those considered as deviant. An ornamental dragonfly, soaked in the blood of the victim, is left on each body.
Director: León Klimovsky | Stars: Paul Naschy, Erika Blanc, Ángel Aranda, María Kosty
Votes: 663
65. What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Horror
Police investigate apparent suicide of teen girl and uncover details of a teenage prostitution racket. They go on the hunt for a motorcycle riding killer.
Director: Massimo Dallamano | Stars: Giovanna Ralli, Claudio Cassinelli, Mario Adorf, Franco Fabrizi
Votes: 2,400
66. Foul Play (1978)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
A San Francisco librarian picks up a hitchhiker whose car has broken down, which leads to her being stalked and hunted by shady individuals. A cop she briefly met during a function eventually comes to her rescue.
Director: Colin Higgins | Stars: Goldie Hawn, Chevy Chase, Burgess Meredith, Rachel Roberts
Votes: 16,953 | Gross: $45.00M
67. Family Plot (1976)
PG | 120 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A phony psychic/con artist and her taxi driver/actor boyfriend encounter a pair of serial kidnappers while trailing a missing heir in California.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Karen Black, Bruce Dern, Barbara Harris, William Devane
Votes: 24,848
68. Frenzy (1972)
R | 116 min | Thriller
A serial murderer is strangling women with a necktie. The London police have a suspect, but he is the wrong man.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Jon Finch, Barry Foster, Barbara Leigh-Hunt, Anna Massey
Votes: 49,442 | Gross: $12.60M
69. The Driver (1978)
R | 91 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A getaway driver becomes the latest assignment for a tenacious detective.
Director: Walter Hill | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Bruce Dern, Isabelle Adjani, Ronee Blakley
Votes: 19,442 | Gross: $4.91M
70. A Knife for the Ladies (1974)
R | 86 min | Drama, Horror, Mystery
A private detective travels out west to investigate the murders of several prostitutes, facing off against the reluctance of the town's grizzled sheriff, and several suspicious characters, each with something to hide.
Director: Larry G. Spangler | Stars: Jack Elam, Ruth Roman, Jeff Cooper, John Kellogg
Votes: 401
71. The Conversation (1974)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 121,967 | Gross: $4.42M
72. The Late Show (1977)
PG | 93 min | Comedy, Mystery, Thriller
A grumpy semi-retired private investigator partners with a quirky female client to catch the people who murdered his partner.
Director: Robert Benton | Stars: Art Carney, Lily Tomlin, Bill Macy, Eugene Roche
Votes: 3,312
73. 'Sheba, Baby' (1975)
PG | 90 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A Chicago private detective returns back home to Louisville, Kentucky, to help her father fight mobsters.
Director: William Girdler | Stars: Pam Grier, Austin Stoker, D'Urville Martin, Rudy Challenger
Votes: 1,812
74. Detroit 9000 (1973)
R | 106 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After a fundraiser for a black politician is robbed, Detroit police put two detectives, one white and one black, on the case, who try to work together under boiling political pressure.
Director: Arthur Marks | Stars: Alex Rocco, Hari Rhodes, Vonetta McGee, Herbert Jefferson Jr.
Votes: 1,158 | Gross: $3.36M
75. Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970)
R | 97 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two Harlem cops investigate a robbery, believing that a reverend has staged it in order to steal the money he's collected for a local fundraiser.
Director: Ossie Davis | Stars: Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Calvin Lockhart, Judy Pace
Votes: 2,691 | Gross: $4.39M
76. Come Back Charleston Blue (1972)
PG | 100 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Sequel to Cotton comes to Harlem. Another bad influence is hitting Harlem and Gravedigger and Coffin Ed are the two cops who will stop it. Charleston Blue was a prohibition era black ... See full summary »
Director: Mark Warren | Stars: Godfrey Cambridge, Raymond St. Jacques, Peter De Anda, Percy Rodrigues
Votes: 359 | Gross: $0.34M
77. Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Shaft is back to find the murderer of an old friend on the cold hard city streets with a little help from his new friends.
Director: Gordon Parks | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Moses Gunn, Drew Bundini Brown, Joseph Mascolo
Votes: 3,597 | Gross: $10.00M
78. Shaft in Africa (1973)
R | 112 min | Action, Adventure, Crime
Private investigator John Shaft is recruited to go undercover to break up a modern slavery ring where young Africans are lured to Paris to do chain-gang work.
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: Richard Roundtree, Frank Finlay, Vonetta McGee, Neda Arneric
Votes: 3,219 | Gross: $3.18M
79. No Way Back (1976)
R | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Crowder is a man who will do anything, if the price is right. He is a private detective with a past in the police force. A woman comes to his office one day and asks if he will find her ... See full summary »
Director: Fred Williamson | Stars: Fred Williamson, Charles Woolf, Tracy Reed, Virginia Gregg
Votes: 110
80. Black Eye (1974)
PG | 98 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Private detective investigated a series of murders connected with a drug ring in Venice, California.
Director: Jack Arnold | Stars: Fred Williamson, Rosemary Forsyth, Teresa Graves, Floy Dean
Votes: 309
81. The Laughing Policeman (1973)
R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
In San Francisco, California, one victim in a mass murder is a police detective. His partner and a new partner investigate in the city's seamy side.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Walter Matthau, Bruce Dern, Louis Gossett Jr., Albert Paulsen
Votes: 3,231 | Gross: $1.36M
82. The New Centurions (1972)
R | 103 min | Action, Crime, Drama
An idealistic rookie cop joins the L.A.P.D. to make ends meet while finishing law school, and is indoctrinated by a seasoned veteran. As time goes on, he loses his ambitions and family as police work becomes his entire life.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: George C. Scott, Stacy Keach, Jane Alexander, Scott Wilson
Votes: 3,291
83. The Super Cops (1974)
R | 90 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The true story of two New York City cops. Greenberg & Hantz fought the system, became detectives and were known on the streets as "Batman & Robin".
Director: Gordon Parks | Stars: Ron Leibman, David Selby, Sheila Frazier, Pat Hingle
Votes: 1,124
84. Serpico (1973)
R | 130 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An honest New York cop named Frank Serpico blows the whistle on rampant corruption in the force only to have his comrades turn against him.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Al Pacino, John Randolph, Jack Kehoe, Biff McGuire
Votes: 134,958 | Gross: $29.80M
85. Murder on the Orient Express (1974)
PG | 128 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In December 1935, when his transcontinental luxury train is stranded by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before, with a multitude of suspects.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery
Votes: 69,183 | Gross: $0.07M
86. The Anderson Tapes (1971)
GP | 99 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
After ten years in prison to protect a mafia family, Duke Anderson is released and he cashes in a debt of honor with the mob to bankroll a caper.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Sean Connery, Dyan Cannon, Martin Balsam, Ralph Meeker
Votes: 8,851 | Gross: $10.90M
87. Across 110th Street (1972)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Two New York City cops go after amateur crooks who are trying to rip off the Mafia and start a gang war.
Director: Barry Shear | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, Anthony Franciosa, Frank Adu
Votes: 7,155 | Gross: $3.60M
88. Murder by Death (1976)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
Five famous literary detective characters and their sidekicks are invited to a bizarre mansion to solve an even stranger mystery.
Director: Robert Moore | Stars: Peter Falk, Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, Eileen Brennan
Votes: 41,714
89. The Cheap Detective (1978)
PG | 92 min | Comedy, Crime, Mystery
San Francisco, 1940, detectives, dames, documents, Nazis, and a treasure.
Director: Robert Moore | Stars: Peter Falk, Ann-Margret, Eileen Brennan, Sid Caesar
Votes: 5,754
90. Death on the Nile (1978)
PG | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As Hercule Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile, a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board. Can Poirot identify the killer before the ship reaches the end of its journey?
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: Peter Ustinov, Mia Farrow, Simon MacCorkindale, Jane Birkin
Votes: 39,870
91. Dirty Harry (1971)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
When a man calling himself "the Scorpio Killer" menaces San Francisco, tough-as-nails Police Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan is assigned to track down the crazed psychopath.
Directors: Don Siegel, Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Andrew Robinson, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni
Votes: 168,454 | Gross: $35.90M
92. The Enforcer (1976)
R | 96 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan reluctantly teams up with rookie Inspector Kate Moore to foil a terrorist organization made up of disgruntled Vietnam veterans.
Director: James Fargo | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Tyne Daly, Harry Guardino, Bradford Dillman
Votes: 49,216 | Gross: $46.20M
93. The Gauntlet (1977)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A hard but mediocre cop is assigned to escort a prostitute into custody from Las Vegas to Phoenix, so that she can testify in a mob trial. But a lot of people are literally betting that they won't make it into town alive.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince
Votes: 25,112 | Gross: $35.40M
94. Freebie and the Bean (1974)
R | 113 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
San Francisco police detectives Freebie and Bean are determined to bust local crime boss Red Meyers at any cost, even if this means destroying the whole city in the process.
Director: Richard Rush | Stars: Alan Arkin, James Caan, Loretta Swit, Jack Kruschen
Votes: 3,589
95. Shoot First, Die Later (1974)
Not Rated | 94 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A police lieutenant suddenly faces the consequences of his choice to part for the local mobs.
Director: Fernando Di Leo | Stars: Luc Merenda, Richard Conte, Delia Boccardo, Raymond Pellegrin
Votes: 995
96. Live Like a Cop, Die Like a Man (1976)
Not Rated | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Fred and Tony are members of an elite 'special squad' of police in Rome, Italy, who are licenced-to-kill, undercover cops who thrive on living dangerously.
Director: Ruggero Deodato | Stars: Marc Porel, Ray Lovelock, Adolfo Celi, Franco Citti
Votes: 1,649
97. The Cynic, the Rat and the Fist (1977)
100 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A hardened cop is left for dead by the henchmen of a escapee gangster he had previously arrested, and upon recovery relentlessly pursues them.
Director: Umberto Lenzi | Stars: Maurizio Merli, John Saxon, Renzo Palmer, Gabriella Lepori
Votes: 1,280
98. The Violent Professionals (1973)
R | 104 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
When his colleague is murdered by an organised criminal gang, a Milanese cop goes undercover to continue the investigation and single-handedly destroy the organization from within.
Director: Sergio Martino | Stars: Luc Merenda, Richard Conte, Silvano Tranquilli, Carlo Alighiero
Votes: 989
99. Ransom Money (1970)
GP | 84 min | Crime
An unseen mastermind has abducted the only son of a wealthy widower. Using the most sophisticated electronic devices available, the kidnapper manages to elude the police - and coerce the widower to pay his million dollar ransom.
Director: Dewitt Lee | Stars: Broderick Crawford, Rachel Romen, Gordon Jump, Randy Whipple
Votes: 75
100. Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs (1974)
Unrated | 88 min | Action, Crime, Drama
After a politician's daughter is kidnapped by a ruthless gang, a brutal policewoman is released from jail and sent after them.
Director: Yukio Noda | Stars: Miki Sugimoto, Eiji Gô, Tetsurô Tanba, Hideo Murota
Votes: 1,010
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