Top 21 Crime Movies Fan Favorite Released in 1942

A group of professors working on a new encyclopedia while living in a Manhattan mansion take in a mouthy nightclub singer who is wanted by the police to help bring down her mob boss lover. Explore Ball of Fire / IMDB / YouTube

When assassin Philip Raven shoots a blackmailer and his beautiful female companion dead, he is paid off in marked bills by his treasonous employer who is working with foreign spies. Find out about This Gun for Hire / IMDB / YouTube

A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign. More about The Glass Key / IMDB / YouTube

When a German saboteur jeeringly predicts to the nation new depredations, via their radio Voice of Terror, the Intelligence Inner Council summons Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) to help in the crisis. Read about Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror / IMDB / YouTube

Runyonesque Broadway gamblers turn patriotic when they stumble onto a cell of Nazi saboteurs. More about All Through the Night / IMDB / YouTube

The step-daughter of a district attorney falls in love with a gangster on parole who her father originally imprisoned. Explore Johnny Eager / IMDB / YouTube

Three ex-cons buy a luggage shop to tunnel into the bank vault next door. But despite all they can do, the shop prospers. Learn about Larceny, Inc / IMDB / YouTube

In Shanghai, dragon lady 'Mother' Gin Sling operates a gambling house for wealthy patrons but she clashes with influential land developer Sir Guy Charteris who wants to put her out of business. Learn about The Shanghai Gesture / IMDB / YouTube

In California, Bobo and his mooching pal Tiny are doing odd jobs and getting drunk and they hide a secret about the unsolved murder of sailor Pop Kelly but suicidal waitress Anna, saved by Bobo, unravels the mystery. Find out about Moontide / IMDB / YouTube

Attempting to find his lost dog in a vast Georgia swamp, Ben Ragan stumbles upon wanted murderer Tom Keefer who convinces Ben he was framed for the murder by the real killer. See more about Swamp Water / IMDB / YouTube

Kurt Ingston, a rich recluse, invites the doctors who left him a hopeless cripple to his desolate mansion in the swamps as one by one they meet horrible deaths. Read about Night Monster / IMDB / YouTube

An amnesiac French diplomat is blackmailed for crimes that he committed before he lost his memory. More about Crossroads / IMDB / YouTube

Charlie Chan investigates apparent poisonings at a mystery mansion in the Mojave Desert. Check out Castle in the Desert / IMDB / YouTube

Fearing life in prison for a fourth offense, convict Duke Berne pulls out of an armored car robbery, planned by his crooked lawyer, but he is framed for the robbery anyway. Get info on The Big Shot / IMDB / YouTube

Kindly soup kitchen operator and professor of criminology Bela Lugosi uses his soup kitchen as a front for a criminal gang who commit a series of daring robberies and murders. Info on Bowery at Midnight / IMDB / YouTube

The Falcon and reporter Ann Riordan try to solve a string of murders after an ex-wrestler, released from jail, goes looking for his girl friend. Find out about The Falcon Takes Over / IMDB / YouTube

Crime lab expert Gordon McKay uses the latest forensic techniques to solve murders in a city plagued by political corruption and mob rackets. Look into Kid Glove Killer / IMDB / YouTube

Superman battles train robbers seeking to steal a billion dollars worth of gold. Check out Superman: Billion Dollar Limited / IMDB / YouTube

A New York private eye works the puzzle of an actress found slain in a Grand Central Station railway car. Learn about Grand Central Murder / IMDB / YouTube

Two con artists take a shopgirl under their wing, but she disrupts their marrying-for-money scheme by falling for a mathematician. More about Rings on Her Fingers / IMDB / YouTube

An unemployed actor in Chicago aims to solve the mystery concerning a string of axe murders, apparently committed by a lunatic. More about Fingers at the Window / IMDB / YouTube