The femme fatale is a film noir staple that Hollywood historically has done very, very well. These manipulative and seductive sexpots are mad, bad, and dangerous to know. Never mind the Big Bad Wolf. Beware the Big Bad Bitch.
-By Melissa Anderson
1
Barbara Stanwyck (Double Indemnity, 1944)
The film noir genre was exemplified by this juicy tale of an L.A. housewife (Stanwyck) who lures a square insurance man (Fred MacMurray) into an affair—and a plot to kill her husband.
The film noir genre was exemplified by this juicy tale of an L.A. housewife (Stanwyck) who lures a square insurance man (Fred MacMurray) into an affair—and a plot to kill her husband.
2
Gene Tierney (Leave Her to Heaven, 1945)
Tierney plays a woman so pathologically jealous of the people close to her new husband that she simply watches—from behind memorable sunglasses—as his kid brother drowns in front of her.
Tierney plays a woman so pathologically jealous of the people close to her new husband that she simply watches—from behind memorable sunglasses—as his kid brother drowns in front of her.
3
Rita Hayworth (Gilda, 1946)
The luscious Hayworth stars as a nightclub singer who can’t stay loyal to any one man for long, sending everybody into a frenzy with her song “Put the Blame on Mame.”
The luscious Hayworth stars as a nightclub singer who can’t stay loyal to any one man for long, sending everybody into a frenzy with her song “Put the Blame on Mame.”
4
Lauren Bacall (The Big Sleep, 1946)
Bacall and her real-life partner Humphrey Bogart (though Bogie was married to someone else at the time) sizzle as a P.I. and an heiress who’s just a little too mixed up in blackmail and murder.
Bacall and her real-life partner Humphrey Bogart (though Bogie was married to someone else at the time) sizzle as a P.I. and an heiress who’s just a little too mixed up in blackmail and murder.
5
Lana Turner (The Postman Always Rings Twice, 1946)
In her breakout role, the “Sweater Girl” gets it on with a lusty drifter (John Garfield), convincing him that they should kill her much-older husband and take over the greasy spoon he runs.
In her breakout role, the “Sweater Girl” gets it on with a lusty drifter (John Garfield), convincing him that they should kill her much-older husband and take over the greasy spoon he runs.
6
Ava Gardner (The Killers, 1946)
Double-crossing dames don’t get much more delicious than Gardner’s Kitty Collins. The actress was once called “the World’s Most Beautiful Animal”; after you watch this film, you’ll know why.
Double-crossing dames don’t get much more delicious than Gardner’s Kitty Collins. The actress was once called “the World’s Most Beautiful Animal”; after you watch this film, you’ll know why.
7
Jane Greer (Out of the Past, 1947)
Investigator Robert Mitchum is paid to track down Greer in Mexico. They fall hard for each other, but she’s trigger-happy and eventually leaves her man in the dust.
Investigator Robert Mitchum is paid to track down Greer in Mexico. They fall hard for each other, but she’s trigger-happy and eventually leaves her man in the dust.
8
Yvonne De Carlo (Criss Cross, 1949)
Before she was Lily Munster, De Carlo ignited the screen as the ex-wife that Burt Lancaster’s character can’t forget. He wants her back; she wants to ruin his life. Criss Cross contains not just double crosses, but triple and quadruple crosses.
Before she was Lily Munster, De Carlo ignited the screen as the ex-wife that Burt Lancaster’s character can’t forget. He wants her back; she wants to ruin his life. Criss Cross contains not just double crosses, but triple and quadruple crosses.
9
Gloria Grahame (The Big Heat, 1953)
As a gangster’s moll who gets a pot of scalding-hot coffee thrown in her face (by Lee Marvin!), Grahame soon has her sweet revenge. This tough cookie’s offscreen life later mirrored a twisted film noir when she married her former stepson.
As a gangster’s moll who gets a pot of scalding-hot coffee thrown in her face (by Lee Marvin!), Grahame soon has her sweet revenge. This tough cookie’s offscreen life later mirrored a twisted film noir when she married her former stepson.
10
Marilyn Monroe (Niagara, 1953)
Monroe was the ultimate dumb blonde, but she could act. This thriller’s tagline—“A raging torrent of emotion that even nature can’t control!”—referred to the sex goddess, who played an unhappy woman scheming with her lover to do in her husband.
Monroe was the ultimate dumb blonde, but she could act. This thriller’s tagline—“A raging torrent of emotion that even nature can’t control!”—referred to the sex goddess, who played an unhappy woman scheming with her lover to do in her husband.
11
Dorothy Dandridge (Carmen Jones, 1954)
In this legendary adaptation of Bizet’s opera Carmen, with its all-African-American cast, Dandridge plays a hotheaded temptress who seduces a soldier (Harry Belafonte) into ditching his sweet and pure fiancée, only to be driven to madness by Miss Jones.
In this legendary adaptation of Bizet’s opera Carmen, with its all-African-American cast, Dandridge plays a hotheaded temptress who seduces a soldier (Harry Belafonte) into ditching his sweet and pure fiancée, only to be driven to madness by Miss Jones.
12
Jane Russell (The Revolt of Mamie Stover, 1956)
Knockout Russell is chest in show as a San Francisco prostitute who runs off to Honolulu to start a new life, but soon finds herself up to her old tricks with the sailors in town. Don’t miss the topheavy star’s hula number “Keep Your Eyes on the Hands.”
Knockout Russell is chest in show as a San Francisco prostitute who runs off to Honolulu to start a new life, but soon finds herself up to her old tricks with the sailors in town. Don’t miss the topheavy star’s hula number “Keep Your Eyes on the Hands.”
13
Brigitte Bardot (… And God Created Woman, 1956)
Pouty Bardot became the world’s most famous sex kitten thanks to her breakthrough performance as a libidinous 18-year old orphan who drives men wild with her barefoot dances on tabletops—a shimmy that eventually turns one besotted brother against another.
Pouty Bardot became the world’s most famous sex kitten thanks to her breakthrough performance as a libidinous 18-year old orphan who drives men wild with her barefoot dances on tabletops—a shimmy that eventually turns one besotted brother against another.
14
Kim Novak (Vertigo, 1958)
Alfred Hitchcock’s classic tale of obsession stars the huskyvoiced Novak as two characters—high-class blonde Madeleine and brunette shopgirl Judy—each of whom causes a straightand- narrow detective (Jimmy Stewart) to lose his grip on reality.
Alfred Hitchcock’s classic tale of obsession stars the huskyvoiced Novak as two characters—high-class blonde Madeleine and brunette shopgirl Judy—each of whom causes a straightand- narrow detective (Jimmy Stewart) to lose his grip on reality.
15
Jean Seberg (Breathless, 1960)
The gamine Seberg plays an aspiring American journalist in Paris whom Jean-Paul Belmondo’s petty thief finds irresistible. While he plans their getaway to Italy, she calls the cops on him.
The gamine Seberg plays an aspiring American journalist in Paris whom Jean-Paul Belmondo’s petty thief finds irresistible. While he plans their getaway to Italy, she calls the cops on him.
16
Elizabeth Taylor (Butterfield 8, 1960)
Taylor, famously sulking in a slip, won her first Academy Award playing an Upper East Side call girl who has a tempestuous affair with Laurence Harvey. It’s a thin line between love and hate as Taylor memorably digs her stiletto into Harvey’s foot.
Taylor, famously sulking in a slip, won her first Academy Award playing an Upper East Side call girl who has a tempestuous affair with Laurence Harvey. It’s a thin line between love and hate as Taylor memorably digs her stiletto into Harvey’s foot.
17
Angela Lansbury (The Manchurian Candidate, 1962)
Love is even more twisted for Laurence Harvey in this thriller, in which a diabolical—but still kinda hot—Lansbury, playing his brainwashing mom, convinces him to kill, kill, kill.
Love is even more twisted for Laurence Harvey in this thriller, in which a diabolical—but still kinda hot—Lansbury, playing his brainwashing mom, convinces him to kill, kill, kill.
18
Anne Bancroft (The Graduate, 1967)
The prototype for both the MILF and the cougar, this bored, horny housewife beds a college grad (Dustin Hoffman) whose father’s business partner is her husband. Mrs. Robinson is none too pleased when Hoffman gets the hots for her daughter.
The prototype for both the MILF and the cougar, this bored, horny housewife beds a college grad (Dustin Hoffman) whose father’s business partner is her husband. Mrs. Robinson is none too pleased when Hoffman gets the hots for her daughter.
19
Jeanne Moreau (The Bride Wore Black, 1968)
Moreau is a woman out for revenge. She kills, one by one, the five men who made her a widow on her wedding day, determined to complete the job even if she has to wait years.
Moreau is a woman out for revenge. She kills, one by one, the five men who made her a widow on her wedding day, determined to complete the job even if she has to wait years.
20
Catherine Deneuve (Mississippi Mermaid, 1969)
More French marital mishap ensues when a lonely tobacco farmer (Jean-Paul Belmondo) meets his mail-order bride, none other than icy beauty Deneuve. She cleans out his bank account and runs off to Antibes, causing hubby to have a nervous breakdown.
More French marital mishap ensues when a lonely tobacco farmer (Jean-Paul Belmondo) meets his mail-order bride, none other than icy beauty Deneuve. She cleans out his bank account and runs off to Antibes, causing hubby to have a nervous breakdown.
21
Jane Fonda (Klute, 1971)
No one rocks a shag hairdo and a micromini in quite the same way as Fonda in this creepy mystery. Her Manhattan high-class prostitute/aspiring actress is being stalked by a killer but protected by a podunk private eye who quickly falls in love with her.
No one rocks a shag hairdo and a micromini in quite the same way as Fonda in this creepy mystery. Her Manhattan high-class prostitute/aspiring actress is being stalked by a killer but protected by a podunk private eye who quickly falls in love with her.
22
Faye Dunaway (Chinatown, 1974)
This twisty neo-noir, set in 1930s Los Angeles, features foxy Dunaway as the widow who lures private eye Jack Nicholson into her bed, only to later reveal the most unnatural relationship she had with her father: “She’s my sister and my daughter!”
This twisty neo-noir, set in 1930s Los Angeles, features foxy Dunaway as the widow who lures private eye Jack Nicholson into her bed, only to later reveal the most unnatural relationship she had with her father: “She’s my sister and my daughter!”
23
Charlotte Rampling (Farewell, My Lovely, 1975)
A year after she immortalized kinky Nazi fetishism in The Night Porter, cool British bombshell Rampling played an update of Lauren Bacall’s noir temptresses, a married woman making eyes at Robert Mitchum’s weary P.I.
A year after she immortalized kinky Nazi fetishism in The Night Porter, cool British bombshell Rampling played an update of Lauren Bacall’s noir temptresses, a married woman making eyes at Robert Mitchum’s weary P.I.
24
Isabelle Adjani (The Story of Adele H., 1975)
The gorgeous French actress, starring as the real-life daughter of nineteenth-century novelist Victor Hugo, loses her mind—and ruins the lives of many—after she is gripped by an obsessive, unrequited love for a British officer.
The gorgeous French actress, starring as the real-life daughter of nineteenth-century novelist Victor Hugo, loses her mind—and ruins the lives of many—after she is gripped by an obsessive, unrequited love for a British officer.
25
Kathleen Turner (Body Heat, 1981)
Turner is even hotter than the Florida sun, driving William Hurt’s sleazy small-town lawyer wild with lust and convincing him to kill her rich husband. How could he resist come-ons like, “My temperature runs a couple of degrees high, around a hundred.”
Turner is even hotter than the Florida sun, driving William Hurt’s sleazy small-town lawyer wild with lust and convincing him to kill her rich husband. How could he resist come-ons like, “My temperature runs a couple of degrees high, around a hundred.”
26
Isabella Rossellini (Blue Velvet, 1986)
As one of David Lynch’s most mysterious, sinister brunettes, Rossellini’s tormented lounge singer introduces upstanding suburban boy Kyle MacLachlan to rough sex, all the while begging him to protect her from psycho Dennis Hopper.
As one of David Lynch’s most mysterious, sinister brunettes, Rossellini’s tormented lounge singer introduces upstanding suburban boy Kyle MacLachlan to rough sex, all the while begging him to protect her from psycho Dennis Hopper.
27
Lisa Bonet (Angel Heart, 1987)
Bonet shattered her Cosby Show image by playing Epiphany Proudfoot, the daughter of a dead voodoo priestess in New Orleans, who has a notoriously graphic, blood-soaked sex scene with two-bit private dick Mickey Rourke—and helps lead him to hell.
Bonet shattered her Cosby Show image by playing Epiphany Proudfoot, the daughter of a dead voodoo priestess in New Orleans, who has a notoriously graphic, blood-soaked sex scene with two-bit private dick Mickey Rourke—and helps lead him to hell.
28
Glenn Close (Fatal Attraction, 1987)
Nothing says “Love me!” like a bunny boiled on the stovetop. After a fling with family man Michael Douglas, Close’s psycho stalker stops at nothing to get him back. She gives love a bad name.
Nothing says “Love me!” like a bunny boiled on the stovetop. After a fling with family man Michael Douglas, Close’s psycho stalker stops at nothing to get him back. She gives love a bad name.
29
Theresa Russell (Black Widow, 1987)
Russell murders her millionaire husbands by injecting them with poison, inheriting all their riches. When federal investigator Debra Winger goes after her, Russell injects a little lezzie action into the proceedings with a lusty smooch.
Russell murders her millionaire husbands by injecting them with poison, inheriting all their riches. When federal investigator Debra Winger goes after her, Russell injects a little lezzie action into the proceedings with a lusty smooch.
30
Anjelica Huston (The Grifters, 1990)
A bleached blonde Huston stars as a longtime con artist who’s a little too attached to her equally scheming son—but not so attached that she doesn’t set him up, kill him, and steal his loot.
A bleached blonde Huston stars as a longtime con artist who’s a little too attached to her equally scheming son—but not so attached that she doesn’t set him up, kill him, and steal his loot.
31
Sharon Stone (Basic Instinct, 1992)
In her most notorious role, a beaver-exposing, ice-pick-wielding crime novelist, Stone has rough sex with a washed-up alcoholic detective (Michael Douglas), which sends her lesbian lover into a rage. He survives her wrath, but more crazy awaits.
In her most notorious role, a beaver-exposing, ice-pick-wielding crime novelist, Stone has rough sex with a washed-up alcoholic detective (Michael Douglas), which sends her lesbian lover into a rage. He survives her wrath, but more crazy awaits.
32
Lara Flynn Boyle (Red Rock West, 1992)
Boyle plays an unfaithful wife whose husband (J. T. Walsh) hires a guy (Nicolas Cage) to kill her. When Cage warns Boyle, the sultry siren makes him a counteroffer he can’t refuse.
Boyle plays an unfaithful wife whose husband (J. T. Walsh) hires a guy (Nicolas Cage) to kill her. When Cage warns Boyle, the sultry siren makes him a counteroffer he can’t refuse.
33
Linda Fiorentino (The Last Seduction, 1994)
Director John Dahl followed up Red Rock West with another neonoir. Fiorentino’s even deadlier dame, while on the lam with a bag of cash she stole from her drug-dealing husband, convinces a divorcé that murder will prove just how much he loves her.
Director John Dahl followed up Red Rock West with another neonoir. Fiorentino’s even deadlier dame, while on the lam with a bag of cash she stole from her drug-dealing husband, convinces a divorcé that murder will prove just how much he loves her.
34
Nicole Kidman (To Die For, 1995)
Kidman will stop at nothing to become a world-famous news anchor. She seduces a teenager (Joaquin Phoenix) to encourage him and his pals to kill her husband, who had the audacity to ask her to take some time off from her career and procreate.
Kidman will stop at nothing to become a world-famous news anchor. She seduces a teenager (Joaquin Phoenix) to encourage him and his pals to kill her husband, who had the audacity to ask her to take some time off from her career and procreate.
35
Jennifer Tilly (Bound, 1996)
The Wachowski Brothers give the neo-noir a decidedly lesbo spin, casting Tilly as a mobster’s girlfriend who quickly develops the hots for a butch ex-con (Gina Gershon). As the girl-on-girl action grows more frenzied, their plot to kill the mafioso thickens.
The Wachowski Brothers give the neo-noir a decidedly lesbo spin, casting Tilly as a mobster’s girlfriend who quickly develops the hots for a butch ex-con (Gina Gershon). As the girl-on-girl action grows more frenzied, their plot to kill the mafioso thickens.
36
Kim Basinger (L.A. Confidential, 1997)
Basinger’s call girl finds herself the object of a brute cop’s obsession in this twisty tale of the underbelly of 1950s L.A.—and just may have the answers to the corruption case he’s investigating.
Basinger’s call girl finds herself the object of a brute cop’s obsession in this twisty tale of the underbelly of 1950s L.A.—and just may have the answers to the corruption case he’s investigating.
37
Laura Elena Harring (Mulholland Drive, 2001)
As both amnesiac Rita and manipula tive Camilla, Harring is pure seduction, leading Naomi Watts (also playing dual roles) on a mystery quest, down the rabbit hole, and into her bed.
As both amnesiac Rita and manipula tive Camilla, Harring is pure seduction, leading Naomi Watts (also playing dual roles) on a mystery quest, down the rabbit hole, and into her bed.
38
Rebecca Romijn (Femme Fatale, 2002)
There’s more hot lesbian action in Brian De Palma’s thriller. After boosting some diamonds and diddling a foxy lady in a bathroom, Romijn leads Antonio Banderas on an obsessive chase.
There’s more hot lesbian action in Brian De Palma’s thriller. After boosting some diamonds and diddling a foxy lady in a bathroom, Romijn leads Antonio Banderas on an obsessive chase.
39
Rosario Dawson (Sin City, 2005)
There are plenty of baddies and crazies in this hyperstylized adaptation of Frank Miller’s noirish graphic novels, but perhaps none quite as tough —or sadistic—as Dawson’s faux-hawked Gail, one of the head prostitutes of Old Town.
There are plenty of baddies and crazies in this hyperstylized adaptation of Frank Miller’s noirish graphic novels, but perhaps none quite as tough —or sadistic—as Dawson’s faux-hawked Gail, one of the head prostitutes of Old Town.
40
Eva Mendes (The Spirit, 2008)
Mendes sizzles as the curvy gold digger who has a past with the vigilante hero. Like all the best no-good vixens, she seduces, uses, and kills wealthy men to fund her own empire.
Mendes sizzles as the curvy gold digger who has a past with the vigilante hero. Like all the best no-good vixens, she seduces, uses, and kills wealthy men to fund her own empire.
