Best Crime Movies of 1929

A young Chinese woman, working in the kitchen at a London dance club, is given the chance to become the club's main act.

Snub Pollard and Marvin Loback find comic situations as bums, night cops and seance attendees in this silent short.

Three bank robbers on the run happen across a woman about to give birth in an abandoned covered wagon. Before she dies, she names the three bandits as her newborn son's godfathers.

A young man of society wants to make an expedition to Africa, but his fiancée asks him for help about one of her fathers guests shortly before his planed departure. Her suspects about that guest were serious, this man tries to steal one of her fathers rubin, and she and her fiance are kidnapped and brought to a house, where strange things happen. The whole thing becomes a nightmare under the direction of a mysterious Mr. Satan.

The rich, amoral Zelie is married to Pierre Boucheron, "The Rat" - but her interest in another man is an open secret. Forced to defend his honour, the Rat takes refuge in his old domain of the Paris underworld. But even here he has a rival - and when murder is afoot, the sinister Morel's ambition threatens to cost the Rat dear....

Inspector Killian tries to solve a murder case with his assistant Carney.

A criminal known as Thunderbolt is imprisoned and facing execution. Into the next cell is placed Bob Moran, an innocent man who has been framed and who is in love with Thunderbolt's girl, without knowing of their relationship. Thunderbolt hopes to stave off the execution long enough to kill young Moran for romancing his girl.

An escaped convict and the detective tasked with hunting him down end up working in parallel to clear the convict's name and nab the gangsters that framed him.

Three New York Irish brothers cross paths as policeman, doctor and bootlegger.

A naive young dancer in a Broadway show innocently gets involved in backstage bootlegging and murder.

Chick Williams, a prohibition gangster, rejoins his mob soon after being released from prison. When a policeman is murdered during a robbery, he falls under suspicion. The gangster took Joan, a policeman's daughter, to the theater, sneaked out during the intermission to commit the crime, then used her to support his alibi. The detective squad employs its most sophisticated and barbaric techniques, including planting an undercover agent in the gang, to bring him to justice.

A beautiful showgirl, name "the Canary" is a scheming nightclub singer. Blackmailing is her game and with that she ends up dead. But who killed "the Canary". All the suspects knew and were used by her and everyone had a motive to see her dead. The only witness to the crime has also been 'rubbed out'. Only one man, the keen, fascinating, debonair detective Philo Vance, would be able to figure out who is the killer. Written by Tony Fontana

A Chinese doctor vows revenge against the allied troops who killed his wife and child during the Boxer Rebellion.

A man is blamed for a murder that was actually committed by his wife.

The Flying Scotsman is a 1929 black and white film set on the Flying Scotsman train from London to Edinburgh. Engine driver Bob is due to retire from his job after years of distinguished service. On his second to last day he reports Crow, a disgruntled fireman for drinking at work, leading to his dismissal. The sacked man decides to get his revenge, vowing to kill Bob on his final run. Meanwhile, Crow's young replacement has fallen in love with a beautiful girl, whose father, unbeknown to him, happens to be Bob (and who has also boarded the train in an attempt to stop the villain).

Joan Fry, a society woman, falls in love with Chuck Riley, the white-leader of a powerful gang in Chinatown, and he quickly drags her down into the depths with him. But seeing her so much in love with him causes him to realize he isl in love with her, and he determines to lift her up again. "Boston" Charley, the rival gang-leader, has other plans.

Show girl Jill Deverne is married to song writer Fred Deverne, and everyone is involved in the Broadway night life and endless parties. Jill is being pursued by a gangster, and she leaves her husband after he spends the night with a floozie. Jill ends up as the gangster's moll, but she soon gets tired of the lifestyle.

A reporter's marriage is jeopardized by his drinking and he finds himself accused of a murder he didn't commit.

A dapper gangster sponsors an alcoholic violinist in order to win the love of a glamorous divorced socialite.

Sir George hires Hillary Gatt to find out more about Eric who wants to marry Lois. Gatt is murdered and the couple, married, run off to India. Old friend John Beetham sympathizes with the bride who sees that her hubby is a liar and drunk. John and Lois fly to San Francisco. Eric shows up and tries to kill John, but Scotland Yard's Lt. Charlie Chan intervenes. Chan fans may be disappointed in this globe-trotting mystery, however, as the detective only appears in a few scenes. The film is more noteworthy for its introduction of Boris Karloff to sound features, in a small role as a servant from Sudan who mutters inscrutable nonsense about the whims of the desert.

A married society woman accidentally kills her would-be lover and blackmailer and then suffers a crisis of conscience when his disgruntled butler is charged with the crime.

A Mandarin hypnotises his partner's daughter to locate hidden bonds.

A prince in disguise saves a runaway princess from becoming a forger's dupe.

Tad's dream is to attend a military academy so he can grow up to be a great soldier and a war hero, like his father. What he doesn't know is that his father, Slag, is actually a thief and a derelict. Slag robs a factory in order to get the money to send Tad to military school, then gets a job at the academy's horse stables to be close to his son, who doesn't know he's alive.

Talkie about a maid who is accused of killing the lady of the house

Twin sisters, one good and honest and sweet, and the other given to totin' pistols and pulling robberies, keep confusing a detective about which one he his chasing for what, since he has different reasons for chasing both.

Beau Nash is a "gentleman crook" who headquarters his gang of jewel thieves in a run-down boardinghouse. When one of his gang, Mike, gets arrested, his sister Claire--aka "Lady Byron"--swears to get revenge. The gang frames Donald, the best friend of the detective who arrested Mike, for a jewelry store robbery. The detective gives Donald--and his new love, Claire--a short time to find the thieves and clear his name before he takes him in.

Miriam Holt hopes to solve the disappearance of a million dollars in bonds allegedly stolen by her late uncle. A team of crooks is following her, though, in hopes she'll uncover the missing money and they can grab it from her. She checks into a hotel where Franklyn Green works as a desk clerk. Franklyn is learning to be a detective through a correspondence course, and he thinks he's just the guy to help Miriam solve her mystery. The fact that she's a very attractive lady doesn't hurt, either.

From the Universal synopsis: Retired Inspector Blake of Scotland Yard learns that Lord Blanton has acquired the sacred "Love Ring"---a cursed jewel that has brought grief to its previous owners. Prince Darius seeks to obtain the ring, and the mummy of a princess of an ancient country to return them to his homeland.

In Woman Trap, Hal Skelly is hard-bitten police sergeant Dan Malone, whose mission in life is to rid his community of gangsters. The revelation that Dan's own brother Ray (Chester Morris) is the secret head of all local criminal activities does not weaken Dan's resolve in the least. The barely relevant title is a reference to "heroine" Kitty Evans (Evelyn Brent), the wife of a minor gang functionary. Screenwriter Joseph L. Mankiewicz, presumably on a dare, makes a brief appearance as a crime reporter.

Behind the doors of a foreign government's embassy in Washington D. C., a group of royal loyalists is attempting to raise funds to aid a counter-revolution and restore the deposed emperor in a new republic. They are led by an unknown leader called 'The Eagle."

A man is tried and convicted for the murder of a man who flirted with his wife., and sentenced to death However, it turns out that he is innocent of the murder and that the real killer has close ties to a powerful politician.

Pat and Danny McGlone are identical twin brothers, rivals and competitors in everything they do, and Pat grows up and becomes a policeman while Danny turns to a life of crime. They now find themselves on the opposite sides of the law, and both are in love with a pretty Irish girl from their neighborhood, Kate Dean. Before long one has to prove that blood is thicker than water.

The commissioner of an African outpost lives with a woman who drives the white men to their deaths with her seductive ways. The commissioner learns that his brother will be his next assistant, and the woman begins working her wiles on him....

An expedition sets out through the jungle to find a missing explorer, but stumbles upon an ancient Mayan temple that houses a giant ape.

The Line-Up (1929)

The Redeeming Sin (1929) is a crime drama part-talking silent film with Vitaphone music and sound effects. It was produced and distributed by Warner Bros. and stars Dolores Costello. This film is currently a lost film.

Michael Lanyard, a reformed cracks-man, adopts Adrienne, the daughter of an old friend, and goes to Southampton to attend a party celebrating her engagement to Bobby Crenshaw, the son of a wealthy society couple. The Count and Countess Polinac, international jewel thieves, also attend the party, and Count Polinac forces Lanyard to open the safe containing the jewelry of the guests by threatening to expose Lanyard's criminal past. Lanyard forestalls the count, however, and protects the valuables. The count and countess are arrested, and Michael's secret is kept safe.

"Light Fingers" is both the name and the physical description of this film's hero, a dapper petty thief.

John Hueston, a wealthy newspaper publisher, plans to publish an exposé of a criminal gang but is silenced by a bullet. Pat Doran, rich sportsman, is consoling Hueston's daughter at her home when members of the gang break into the house in an effort to put their hands on the incriminating evidence accumulated by Florence's father. Pat chases the crooks off and follows them to their hideout; they capture him, and he is imprisoned on a deserted island. Pat escapes, rounds up the gang, and wins Florence's love.

A doctor is wrongly convicted of murder and sent to prison.

A mad captain poses as a cleric to murder people aboard a fogbound ship.

'Woman shelters epileptic son when he kills prostitute.' (British Film Catalogue)

Following a promise she made to her father on his deathbed, Laura Fairlie go to Scotland with Sir Percival Glyde to his mysterious mansion to be married. Once there, many strange and disturbing things happen. She meets a girl who has been a victim of Sir Percival's scheming in order to get her fortune.

This silent picture (which was redone as a talkie in 1930) concerns the daughter of the head of a criminal gang, who falls in love with the son of her father's most bitter enemy.

Nightclub singer Alice Carroll is found in the office of club owner Al Barrow, who is lying dead on the floor. Alice has been overheard threatening to kill Barrow rather than give in to his advances. She protests her innocence, but the District Attorney doesn't believe her and charges her with Barrow's murder. However, things aren't quite as cut-and-dried as the D.A. believes them to be.

This Vitaphone one-reel short, written by the author of "Show-Off", George Kelly

Mary, a high society girl, wants to see how the other half lives, so she becomes a cabaret dancer in a New York nightclub. The owner of the nightclub, Pop Hanson, and his criminal friends, Harry and Cassie, scheme to rip off a Montana millionaire. Finding herself interested in Harry, Mary goes along with their plan and decides to pose as his wife. The gang moves into Mary's aunt's deserted mansion as their base of operations. A silent film with sound sequences.

A train engineer and his fireman are best friends until the engineer breaks up a romance between his pal and a trampy girl he knows is no good for him, which also breaks up their friendship.