Best Crime Movies of 1987

Veteran buttoned-down LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh is partnered with unhinged cop Martin Riggs, who -- distraught after his wife's death -- has a death wish and takes unnecessary risks with criminals at every turn. The odd couple embark on their first homicide investigation as partners, involving a young woman known to Murtaugh with ties to a drug and prostitution ring.

A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider whom takes the youth under his wing.

When a childless couple of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives become more complicated than they anticipated.

Axel heads for the land of sunshine and palm trees to find out who shot police Captain Andrew Bogomil. Thanks to a couple of old friends, Axel's investigation uncovers a series of robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.

A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.

When a Supreme Court judge commits suicide and his secretary is found murdered, all fingers point to Carl Anderson (Liam Neeson), a homeless veteran who's deaf and mute. But when public defender Kathleen Riley (Cher) is assigned to his case, she begins to believe that Anderson may actually be innocent. Juror Eddie Sanger (Dennis Quaid), a Washington lobbyist, agrees, and together the pair begins their own investigation of events.

A college freshman returns to Los Angeles for Christmas at his ex-girlfriend's request, but discovers that his former best friend has an out-of-control drug habit.

Burglary. Drugs. Assault. Rape. The students at Brandel High are more than new Principal Rick Latimer bargained for. Gangs fight to control the school using knives - even guns - when they have to. When Latimer and the head of security try to clean up the school and stop the narcotics trade, they run up against a teenage mafia. A violent confrontation on the campus leads to a deadly showdown with the drug dealer's gang, and one last chance for Latimer to save his career... and his life.

Larry Donner, an author with a cruel ex-wife, teaches a writing workshop in which one of his students, Owen, is fed up with his domineering mother. When Owen watches a Hitchcock classic that seems to mirror his own life, he decides to put the movie's plot into action and offers to kill Larry's ex-wife, if Larry promises to murder his mom. Before Larry gets a chance to react to the plan, it seems that Owen has already set things in motion.

Claire Gregory, an upper class New York personality, witnesses a murder in a luxurious nightclub. Detective Mike Keegan, recently promoted, is assigned to protect her.

LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday -- the equally straight-laced nephew of the famous police sergeant of the same name -- is paired up with a young, freewheeling detective named Pep Streebeck. After investigating some strange robberies at the local zoo and the theft of a stockpile of pornographic magazines, they uncover cult activity in the heart of the city and are hot on the case to figure out who's behind it all.

Mary Morstan has received a pearl in the post every year since her father's disappearance. This leads Holmes and Watson to the truth about a secret pact between four convicts during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

A Texas Ranger and a ruthless narcotics kingpin - they were childhood friends, now they are adversaries...

Mourning the accidental death of his wife and having just moved to New York with his young son, laconic police psychologist Cal Jamison is reluctantly drawn into a series of grisly, ritualistic murders involving the immolation of two youths.

A new batch of recruits arrives at Police Academy, this time a group of civilian volunteers who have joined Commandant Lassard's new Citizens on Patrol program. Although the community relations project has strong governmental support, a disgusted Captain Harris is determined to see it fail.

Miss Marple receives a most interesting request from Mr. Jason Rafiel, with whom she'd struck an acquaintance some years before. He would like her to solve a crime but, does not tell her what it might be, who might have been involved or where it might have occurred. In fact, he can't be sure that a crime was committed at all. The only information she gets is a booking on a tour of stately homes and gardens so, along with her nephew and godson Lionel, she sets off to see what she can learn. When they reach the village of Abbey Ducis, it begins to make sense. Not only did Mr. Rafiel live in the area it is also where his son Michael was accused, though never convicted, of murdering his fiancée, Verity Hunt. Father and son were long estranged but Michael lives rough and has so ever since. There is also the apparent coincidence that another young woman, Nora Brent, went missing at the same time as Verity and was last being seen in Michael Rafiel's car...

After the death of his girlfriend's daughter from a drug overdose, Paul Kersey (Charles Bronson) takes on the local drug cartel.

A womanizer meets his match when he falls for the daughter of a gambling addict who is in debt to the mob.

Baltimore, Maryland. Sylvia sees a girl being attacked from her lover Terry's bedroom window. The assailant flees and his victim is saved. But that same night another girl is found murdered.

Hit man Cleve approaches writer/cop Dennis about a story for his next book: How Cleve made a living, working for one of the most powerful politicians in the country. To get the story right, they travel around the country to gather statements and evidence, while strong forces use any means they can to keep the story untold.

Teenage lovers Tony (Richard Panebianco) and Tyan-Hwa (Sari Chang) tip the balance of power in New York's Little Italy and Chinatown.

A fledgling actress is lured to a remote mansion for a screen-test, soon discovering she is actually a prisoner in the middle of a blackmail plot.

A rookie cop goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of car thieves led by smooth and charming Ted. The rookie becomes too involved and starts to enjoy the thrill and lifestyle of the game, and becomes romanticly involved with the leaders sister.

Jack Higgins' straightforward thriller about a guilt-ridden IRA bomber forced into "one last job"

Alex is a disgruntled waiter at a snobby exclusive restaurant who falls on hard times. Forced to deal with the contempt and disgust of the upper class, Alex & cohorts attempt to go on a rampage. Meanwhile, General Karprov and Spider plot to involve the inept anarchists into their plans to derail the prime-minister-to-be's campaign.

A psychotic young man returns to his old neighborhood after release from prison. He seeks out the woman he previously tried to rape and the man who protected her, with twisted ideas of love for her and hate for him.

A New York journalist lies when his fake story about a pimp describes a real pimp up for murder.

Hiller, a computer expert, was bribed by group of bank robbers to obtain details of the security system at a newly-built bank. Having obtained the information, he thought he'd seen the last of the robbers. But now they've traced him and his son to London. They hold the son hostage and force Hiller to decode the information about the alarm and then to take part in the robbery.

Nick Randall is a Los Angeles-based bounty hunter and an ex-CIA operative who is asked by a former co-worker to help track down terrorist Malak Al Rahim. However, Malak Al Rahim is also looking for Randall, and Randall's employers tell him where to find him. This results in the death of his best friend, Sgt. Danny Quintz, and his girlfriend, Terry, eventually forcing a showdown on the waterfront.

Basements is the title for the omnibus film that brings together two plays by Harold Pinter - The Dumb Waiter and The Room - each, once again, set in a single location.

Jordan White, a publisher friend of Perry, is called to a hotel where a guest, famous horror writer David Hall, has cleared out the hotel for a weekend and has called his "friends" - an actress, a fortune-teller, David's private assistant and the two remaining staff at the hotel to discuss business. They have come to the hotel as all of them are going to sue David over his new book - "The Resort" which characters are obviously based on Jordan and the guests. A practical joker, David plays tricks on them until he is thrown from the high tower of the hotel where Susan Warrenfield, the manager and owner of the hotel sees the fall and then Jordan at the tower causing the police to arrest Jordan. While Perry and Della try to solve the main mystery, Paul tries to find out who is trying to scare Susan away from the hotel. Could it really be a ghost or a more earthy visitor?

Benning continues his examination of Americana in this film through the stories of two murderers. Ed Gein was a Wisconsin farmer and multiple murderer who taxidermied his victims in the 1950s. Bernadette Protti was a California teenager who stabbed a friend to death over an insult in 1984.

Perry must defend the husband of an old flame from a murder charge.

Egocentric bandit Salvatore Giuliano fights the Church, the Mafia, and the landed gentry while leading a populist movement for Sicilian independence.

Perry is sueing a gutter trash newspaper that is running a story about a love affair between him and Della. The editor also has "dirt" files on an Army General, his banker and other "clients". All of them make little-concealed verbal threats to him at a party but the person that hated him most is a female reporter who the editor had just fired from the paper for attempting to write a serious story. She threatens him and soon after the editor is found, floating in his pool, shot. The reporter is arrested for the crime and Perry, who has a personal stake in this matter, with the aid of Della and Paul set out to solve the mystery. But the other suspects just want the case over with and will go to any lengths to protect their pasts and their secrets

A killer of Detroit clergy confesses to a priest, who turns sleuth because he cannot tell the police.

This film recounts the murder of Vincent Chin, an automotive engineer mistaken as Japanese who was slain by an assembly line worker who blamed him for the competition by the Japanese auto makers that were threatening his job. It then recounts how that murderer escaped justice in the court system.

In a world where ninjas dream of being rock stars and rock stars dream of being ninjas, a martial arts rock band goes up against a band of motorcycle ninjas who have tightened their grip on Florida's narcotics trade.

Perry investigates the murder of a former madam and uncovers a multimillion dollar banking fraud in the process.

An insurance salesman inadvertently gets trapped after dark in an apartment building that is terrorized by a street gang called "The Vampires."

Brothers Treat (Matthew Modine) and Philip (Kevin Anderson) have lived alone since they were kids, when a small time criminal enters their lives.

Harry Berg is both a con artist and an actual artist -- he constructs large sculptures out of television sets -- but he is not particularly successful in either role. He owes some money, which gets him involved with Rachel Dobs, a police detective who works with a collection agency. When Harry comes into possession of a strange parcel, both the con man and the detective find themselves wrapped up in a sinister corporate plot to fix the lottery.

A gang of bank robbers with a suitcase full of money go to the desert to hide out. After burying the loot, they find their way to a surreal town full of cowboys who drink an awful lot of coffee.

Bernice "Bernie" Rhodenbarr is a burglar by trade, and she runs a bookstore as well. Her friend Carl Hefler is a dog groomer. After a successful burglary, it's discovered that a dead body was in the house she burgled. As she's the only one who can be placed at the scene of the crime, she has to use her criminal skills to clear her name of the murder AND avoid getting charged with the burglary.

Writer, ex-con and 40-something bottle-baby Tim Madden, who is prone to black-outs, awakens from a two-week bender to discover a pool of blood in his car.

Alex is a Finnish taxi driver in Berlin. One evening pits two men feel comfortable in his taxi with a briefcase full of money, but unfortunately for Alex's money stolen and a group of gangsters are at the nape of the two. Soon it comes to shooting, and when the two men being killed, is good advice costly for the beleaguered driver. "Helsinki Napoli All Night Long" is Mika Kaurismäki's first major European production. The film features a host of famous names in the cast: The legendary film director Samuel Fuller (The Big Red One), actor Eddie Constantine (Alphaville, Europe), cult directors Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas) and Jim Jarmusch (Dead Man).

Small time crooksters Nick and Charlie have an elaborate plan to rob an exclusive jewelers store. Using a variety of disguises and posing as rich old men and women they begin the set-up, but then Nick falls for the owner of a neighboring antique store and things get a little complicated.

This is the story of a minister who's feeling unhappy in his marriage who then has an affair with a church employee, who is also married, and who also has affairs, and whose husband is unwilling to divorce her. One day the minister's wife is found dead, in what appears to be an auto accident, but the highway patrolman who investigated the accident doesn't think that it's an accident but doesn't have enough evidence to justify an investigation. Later, when the woman's husband is killed an investigation begins.

A sex worker seeks protection from an ex-cop after a failed drug bust throws their lives into turmoil.