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- Phyllis Dietrichson - Double Indemnity. Femme fatales generally fall into two categories as far as looks go. You'll see those with black hair and black outfits (what you would typically expect from the black widow type), or the icy blond who wears white (see: "Body Heat" and "Basic Instinct").
- Ellen Berent Harland - Leave Her to Heaven. In terms of the brunette leading ladies of the '40s, the two most beautiful were probably Ava Gardner and Gene Tierney, and both effectively weaponized their beauty as femme fatales.
- Veda Pierce - Mildred Pierce. The two youngest femme fatales on this list — the teenage Veda and Kathryn in "Cruel Intentions" — are arguably the evilest.
- Kitty Collins - The Killers. Many of the best noirs are adaptations of equally brilliant books, and 1946's "The Killers" is no exception. The movie is based on a story by Ernest Hemingway, and was one of the few adaptations that he didn't despise.
- EW Staff
- Catherine Tramell, Basic Instinct (Sharon Stone) A male fantasy transformed into a nightmare: a bisexual nymphomaniac who might sleep with or kill you, played by Sharon Stone.
- Suzanne Stone Maretto, To Die For (Nicole Kidman) Blind ambition meets blonde ambition. Suzanne (Nicole Kidman) wants fame at any cost—and she's just delusional enough to get it.
- Claire Underwood, House of Cards (Robin Wright) Behind every great man, there's a great woman (Robin Wright). And behind every Machiavellian power-monger politician, there's a partner just as nefarious.
- Bridget Gregory, The Last Seduction (Linda Fiorentino) Beware of a woman in trouble. Manipulative and brilliant, Bridget (Linda Fiorentino) is a big New York City fish in a small-town pond.
- 12 Jessica Rabbit - 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit'
- 11 Gilda Mundson - 'Gilda'
- 10 Judy Barton - 'Vertigo'
- 9 Brigid O'Shaughnessy - 'The Maltese Falcon'
- 8 Norma Desmond - 'Sunset Boulevard'
- 7 Kitty Collins - 'The Killers'
- 6 Kathie Moffat - 'Out of The Past'
- 5 Emily Nelson - 'A Simple Favor'
- 4 Jane Palmer - 'Too Late For Tears'
- 3 Catherine Tramell - 'Basic Instinct'
Few noirs are as unique or groundbreaking as Robert Zemeckis' 1988 animated-live-action hybrid Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Starring Bob Hoskinsand set in a version of Hollywood where cartoons and humans co-exist, the film follows PI Eddie Valiant, who must help exonerate Roger Rabbit from the murder of the Acme Corporation's owner. Like every good noi...
There never was a woman like Gilda. The one and only Rita Hayworth is the secret behind Gilda's timeless quality. The film lives and dies with her, and while the mystery that gives it its noir status is engaging, Hayworth is the reason to stay to the end. Gilda looks and sounds like a femme fatale, but she isn't. The film subverts noir expectations...
Alfred Hitchcock's noir-ish masterpiece Vertigo centers on a PI who becomes obsessed with the woman he is tasked with following. Blending elements of the psychological thriller with some of noir's most common tropes, Vertigois a timeless classic elevated by a pair of stellar lead performances. Kim Novakshines as the film's female lead and femme fat...
Classic film noir has numerous femme fatales, but Brigid O'Shaughnessy is among the most memorable. Played by the underrated Mary Astor, Brigid is the main antagonist in John Huston's noir classic The Maltese Falcon. As one of the first noirs in the golden age, Astor's O'Shaughnessy introduced many of the classic femme fatale elements audiences wou...
The obsessed artist trope has been around since the dawn of film, but few movies pull it off as perfectly as Billy Wilder's noir masterpiece Sunset Boulevard. William Holdenstars as Joe Gillis, a struggling writer who enters an intense partnership with Norma Desmond, a fading silent-film star obsessed with making a comeback. Gloria Swansonimmortali...
Burt Lancaster made his film debut in 1946's The Killers opposite the now-iconic Ava Gardner. The timeless beauty plays Kitty Collins, the deadly and shameless femme fatale at the center of the film's action. Few actors ever looked so striking as Gardner in The Killers. The face, the hair, the costumes! Gardner's Kitty is lethal but beautiful, an i...
Robert Mitchum, Jane Greer, and Kirk Douglas star in Jacques Tourneur's 1947 noir Out of the Past. The film follows a PI who escapes to a rural town but can't outrun his past. Greer plays one of the best femme fatales to ever femme fatale, the duplicitous Kathie Moffat. Kathie is a murderous, lying, and conniving woman who is always one step ahead ...
Blake Lively arguably gives the best performance of her career in Paul Feig's delicious black comedy thriller A Simple Favor. Anna Kendrickstars as Stephanie, an over-achieving stay-at-home mother who becomes close friends with the elegant but mysterious Emily, played by Lively. When Emily disappears, Stephanie begins to dig into her past, realizin...
Too Late for Tears stars Lizabeth Scottas one of cinema's ultimate femme fatales, the (almost) infallible Jane Palmer. The plot concerns a ruthless and scheming woman who stumbles upon a suitcase full of stolen money. Driven by greed, she holds on to the suitcase and goes to extreme lengths to protect her new wealth. Unique among the parade of noir...
Film noir evolved into the so-called neo-noir revival of post-70s cinema. The late 80s and 90s provided some of the best examples of neo-noir, with Paul Verhoeven's 1992 erotic thriller Basic Instinct acting as one of the best and most widely-known examples. The film is a defining part of neo-noir, mainly thanks to Sharon Stone's star-making perfor...
- Lead List Editor & Writer
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Kitty Collins. An important element of a great femme fatale is a great name, and Kitty Collins could be a Bond girl name — it's that good. In “The Killers,” Kitty is the ultimate...
Apr 3, 2024 · 1. Batman Returns – Selina Kyle. Catwoman is always seen as a mysterious, dangerous, and sexy persona, but Michelle Pffeifer’s version of Catwoman is the best of them all. She...
The 22 Greatest Femme Fatales In Movie History. The femme fatale is one of the most classic (and best) tropes in cinema. Although they existed in movies made before 1940, the character type was solidified during the noir boom of that decade.
Feb 11, 2023 · Herein, find 10 of the most inviting femme fatale cinematic delicacies you’ll ever cautiously dip your toe into. 10 The Last Seduction (1994) - Bridget Gregory
